Birthday Party, Baseball, and a Bike Ride

This past weekend, we celebrated Seth's birthday with his two close buddies and the rest of their class at a local, minor-league baseball game. It was so much fun! The kids played in the play area (merry-go-round, moon bounce, whiffle ball), ate an unlimited buffet of hot dogs, popcorn, chicken nuggets, and ice cream, and watched a great baseball game. The birthday kids got to stand on top of the dugout while the whole stadium sang Happy Birthday.

Then they got to go in the press box and announce a hitter ("Now batting, Buck Britton!"), learn how to work the score board, and see the behind-the-scenes working of a baseball game.

Seth especially loved the mascot, Louie. Check him out, peering up at Louie in this picture:

Equally as exciting as the birthday party, however, was the huge milestone of Seth learning to ride his bike! Without training wheels! I actually got this one on video. He's still learning how to stop (as you'll see in the video) and how to start, but he's so proud of himself!

After such a busy and exciting Saturday (which included a t-ball game in the morning), we were able to chill out a bit on Sunday and enjoy new toys and bike riding and a great dinner with out neighbor and Baba.

Today was back to the grind--a rainy, cool Monday. Blah. Seth and I took the Metro to work today because our car was in the shop. Taking the Metro on a rainy day is not on my list of things I love to do, but Seth was such a trooper. Our train into the city this morning was packed like sardines, and Seth and I had to stand almost he whole time (thanks, two middle-aged dudes in the seats right by us--I guess chivalry really is dead). He didn't complain at all! When we finally got seats, there was a long delay, so by the time we finally hoofed it to his school from the Metro station, he had missed morning snack. We were both starving so we went to my office building and bought breakfast in the carry-out and ate it in my office. Seth's comment on the way back to his school made it all worth it: "This is turning out to be a great day!" Too cute.

I'll end with some pictures of Seth and William on Seth's actual birthday:

And finally, a chair picture, reminescent of the chair pictures I took every month for the first year of Seth's life. Now:

And then:

November 2008

Happy 5th Birthday Seth!

Dear Seth,

Today, you turn 5. I can hardly believe how quickly time is flying by, and how much you are changing, growing, and learning--on a daily basis it seems! In your fifth year of life, you traveled a bit (to Florida and North Carolina, including an airplane ride), played at the beach, spent lots of time with family, started Pre-K, grew 3 inches, learned to swim (almost), discovered Legos, climbed trees, spent lots of time riding your bike and scooter, and gave more hugs and kisses than I could count in a lifetime.

You are writing your name now, along with lots of other letters. You are learning to read and still love books--maybe even more than ever before. Every night after I tuck you into bed, you put on your headlamp and grab a pile of books and sit on your bed and read. This year you have loved Junie B. Jones (reading them and listening to them in the car), Berenstain Bears, Little Critter, Harry Potter (you like HP even more than William does! It doesn't scare you like it does him.), Ladybug Girl, Spiderman, IronMan, High Five Magazine--pretty much anything that anyone is willing to read to you.

You also still love to help around the house and in the yard. It's pretty impressive how good your are at sweeping now! And folding. You are not afraid to work hard and you love seeing the fruits of your efforts. This year, you have noticed that your dear old mom is not the most organized person in the world and have taken it upon yourself to help me out. You love to make lists and you are awesome at reminding me of things that I shouldn't forget. What would I do without you?

Best of all, Seth, you are passionate and direct and loving and thoughtful and earnest and sincere and willful and happy. You are such an awesome part of our family and such a great kid to be around. You know what you want and you never hesitate to stand up for yourself, but you are also willing to works things out and always show concern for others. You want everything to make sense and to have a purpose and you live life with such conviction. You are a people person and love nothing more than interacting with others, whether it's playing a game or having a "little chat" or going on an adventure or just watching TV.

You are growing up so quickly, and I wish time would slow down. But at the same time, I am loving all the things we can do together now and am looking forward to all the things we will do in the future. I hope that you have a special day today and feel loved, treasured, valued, and safe, today and always. Daddy and I love you so much and are so proud of the 5 year old you have become. We will keep doing our best to guide you, to be patient and kind, to appreciate all of the wonderful things that make you you, and to help you see every day how capable and interesting and amazing you truly are. Happy happy birthday Seth!

And Life Goes On

I've had all kinds of awesome stuff that I've wanted to blog about, and then the bombing at the Boston Marathon happened. And none of it seemed quite as important anymore. The boys have no idea what happened, and I'm very glad for that. I'm happy to shield them for as long as I can from the horrors that a few people can unleash on our world. But at the same time, I'm almost looking forward to being able to show them how wonderful people truly are. People amaze me and inspire me. My favorite quote so far is from Patton Oswalt: "So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, 'The good outnumber you, and we always will.'"

But, as we all know, life goes on. There is still work that needs doing, laundry that needs folding, groceries that need buying, dinner that needs cooking, books that need reading, butts that need wiping, kids that need hugging. Blessings that need counting, for sure. So in lieu of the post I was planning, I'll just stick to the bullet point format:

• Opening Day for our little league was Saturday, April 6. The kids walk in a parade down a long street to the main field. Then the announcers call each team and the teams run around the infield and settle down in groups to watch the opening ceremonies. The t-ball teams are called first, in alphabetical order. Our team is the Barracudas, so we were first! It was pretty fun. But then we had to wait for all the other teams to get called and to run out on the field. My kids did great. As the ceremony began, I looked around and realized that I was the only woman on the field. The only woman managing or coaching a team! I have never felt so proud for stepping forward and taking on this challenge. There are lots of girls who play t-ball, and now they will see a woman coaching. And my own kids are watching me coach! It's a pain in the ass, but worth it for that reason alone.
• Part of what made me feel so proud is that I just read Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. It is not just about staying in the work force once you have kids. It's not just about working outside the home. It's not about climbing a ladder or getting to the top. It's about attitudes and stereotypes and leadership and getting along with other people and believing in yourself and being open to criticism and examining your feelings and assumptions and goals. I highly, highly recommend it--not just for women but for men, too. Even if you are skeptical of her statistics and research and assumptions, it's still an awesome book. Read it!
• Back to t-ball, our first game was last weekend. It was . . . comical. You have the third baseman and the shortstop building sand castles. You have the second baseman with his back to the field, staring up at the sky. You have the first baseman watching the ball come right at her, and then watching it go right by her. I'm yelling, "Throw the ball to Charlie! To Charlie! At first base! Charlie! Do you know Charlie?" It was awesome. My only solace was that the other team didn't look that much better. We had practice today and it was HARD to keep the kids focused. The infield was very dry and dusty and the kids just wanted to play in the dirt. We split them up into groups to work on catching, throwing, and hitting. But it was still hard to keep their attention. Hopefully we'll get better!
• Clearly, t-ball is going to consume me until our last game on June 6. (Boy--if you want time to slow down, just commit to something you kind-of dread!) But I still have Seth's birthday and party coming up, and then William's. We're doing Seth's party with his two buddies from school--the last year we'll have their party together. We're going all out this year, to a Bowie Baysox minor league baseball game. Hopefully it will be a lot of fun. William is having an indoor swim party at a fun indoor pool. I haven't sent out invitations yet, but hope to do that soon. I can't believe my boys will be 5 and 7! No more little guys. I pretty much now have kids. I'm not overly nostalgic about the babies years (not my favorites), but at the same time, I'm trying really hard to remember my boys as babies, and at each stage of their childhood. I wish I had taken more videos along the way.
• I almost forgot--one more thing! For over two weeks now, I've been drastically reducing the amount of sugar I eat every day. I'm not cutting sugar out entirely. I still eat processed food with sugar (bread, salad dressing, deli meat, crackers, stuff that you wouldn't assume has sugar) and I'm still eating fruit and drinking orange juice. I've had a cookie here and there. Last night I ate Honey Bunches of Oats. But what I have cut is Coke, chocolate milk, cookies, chocolate, candy, granola bars, and sugar cereals. It's a very small change, really. And while I've cut out a lot of sugar, I'm trying to add in more fruit and veggies. For now, I'm just trying to eat at least one more fruit or veggie a day. (I'm doing well if I eat 3 servings a day, but it's a start, right?) And I'm trying to drink more water. I don't think it's making a huge difference, but I'm eating better than I was two weeks ago and that's a start. Today, for example. when I got the 3:30 munchies and didn't have anything with me, I ventured down to our carry-out shop which is a landmine of temptations. I walked away with a package of edamame, which was perfect. Two weeks ago, I would have walked out with a Twix bar and a Coke! It's the little things, right?

So that's my news. Not much, but enough to keep me busy. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the Boston bombing, and with anyone who is suffering. There is a LOT of suffering out there, big and small. It reminds me that I need to work harder to spread kindness and compassion in this world. I need to actively look for opportunities, great and small, but especially small, to make a difference in someone's life. And I need to work harder to show kindness and compassion to the people closest to me. Sometimes, it's easier to be nice to a total stranger than it is to my own husband and kids. Charity begins at home, right?

Just Bad Enough

Tonight's t-ball practice was just bad enough that I think I got a parent to step forward and volunteer to coach. Woo-hoo! (More like begged. He e-mailed me before he even left the field after practice! LOL)

It was just good enough that each of the kids ran the bases, practiced hitting off the tee, and worked on the alligator chomp to catch ground balls. It was pretty cold and windy, but otherwise, I think it was respectable.

Opening day of the season is Saturday. There's a parade in the morning (all the league player parade from one school to another), team pictures mid-day, and then our team has a practice at 1:00 p.m. Kind of a long day but what can you do? At least I got the first practice over with.

One down, ten more to go. (I think.) *Sigh*

So Much to Write About . . . So Little Motivation

There is so much catching up I need to do! But I really just want to go to bed. So the highlights will have to do.

First up, GIRLS' WEEKEND!!! Laura did an awesome write-up (with pictures) so you will have to visit hers. Suffice it to say that spending time with these four women--and one woman who was dearly, dearly missed--was awesome. They are all so incredibly smart, kind, generous, funny, and thoughtful. Most of the time I feel like I am way out of their league. But I'm so glad and lucky to call them my friends! Thank you ladies! And especially to Laura who hosted.

Second, upon driving home from girls' weekend, I hit a snow storm! Driving in the snow on untreated roads is not fun. But I made it. And on the first day of the boys' spring break (Monday), we had enough snow to build a snowman and go sledding. So much fun!

On Wednesday, I packed up the car again and headed back to North Carolina with the boys to visit my mom and brother. We got to see Ed's sister and brother-in-law and the boys' cousins, and had two beautiful days in Charlotte. We went on walks, went to museums, played at the playground, and the boys got to watch lots of movies and play Minecraft and their DS's to their hearts content. Here they are on the greenway near my mom's house:

We drove back home on Saturday and enjoyed Easter Sunday with a neighborhood Easter egg hunt (arranged by the only girls who live on our street--Hannah, age 8, and Kaitlyn, age 11--so cute!) and dinner with my cousin and her two boys. The highlight of the Easter egg hunt was Seth finding the "golden egg!" He was beside himself excited.

So that's the quick and dirty update. First t-ball practice is tomorrow. I'm dreading it but it will be good to get it behind me. I've got the warm-up and drills planned out. Just hoping I can get some parents to step in and help out. Wish me luck!

Did I Really Just Do That?

I'm having buyer's remorse in a huge, huge way right now. In a moment of pure weakness, I volunteered to manage William's t-ball team. Which also means that for all intents and purposes, I volunteered to coach William's t-ball team. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????

I got my team roster today. Ten kids. Who have never played t-ball before. Twenty parents who are hoping that their kids will have a great experience and will learn a lot. Poor, unsuspecting parents. LOL. What was I thinking? Hopefully there will be at least one other mom or dad who knows a little something about t-ball and will help me teach the fundamentals. My neighbor also loaned me a DVD set that covers Little League basics. And the t-ball coordinator said he'll send a manual that has practices all mapped out with step-by-step instructions. How hard can it be, right? So right now, the back of my car contains practice balls, game balls, a tee, bats, and batting helmets. *Sigh*

My only other apprehension is that I signed William up for the t-ball "rookies" instead of the t-ball "sluggers." It was a hard call because he's 6, almost 7, which means he's older than the other kids on his team (and one of the oldest in this league), and not in the same league as some of his friends (who are either in sluggers or single-A). But he's never played before, other than the fall clinic we participated in. So I wanted to make sure his skill level matched the other players. He's also pretty small compared to other first graders, so hopefully, he won't care that his team is mostly kindergarteners. I'm more concerned with his level of confidence. Nevermind the look of utter confusion that crossed his face when I told him I would be managing his team. He still didn't get it when we loaded all the gear in the back of the van.

Will: "Why are we putting this stuff in our car?"
Me: "Because I'm coaching your team."
Will: "What team?"
Me: "Your t-ball team."
Will: "What do you mean, coaching?"
Me: "I'm gonna be the coach."
Will: "But what are you coaching?"

Bawhahahahah.

In other news, we survived another weekend, intact and with laundry done. Saturday turned out to be a nice day with mild temperatures, so the boys spent most of the day playing outside with all the neighbors. They rode bikes and scooters and ran around. The dads started playing stick ball. It was a lot of fun and tired the boys out. I didn't realize how tired they were until after dinner, however. William got sent to his room during dinner for acting up, so while I cleaned up in the kitchen, Ed made William put on his pajamas and brush his teeth and wait for me to come upstairs to read to him. In the meantime, I gave Seth a bath and got him in his pajamas. At 7:00 I checked on William, only to find him sound asleep in his bed. He slept until 6:40 a.m. the next morning. I don't think he's ever slept for that many consecutive hours before. Ever. And today he was hungry all day. Maybe a growth spurt is coming on?

So that's my news. Two months--I just gotta make it through the next two months. Thankfully, there are two weekends before our season officially starts. And for one of those weekends, I'll be at the beach for a girls' weekend! And then we've got spring break, and think a trip to see Baba and Uncle Chris. Haven't worked out the details yet. But regardless, it's a week off.

Crap. I just realized how much I need to get done in the next week. Aghhhh! Stay tuned!

Sick Day . . . Snow Day . . . Sick Day

What a week. Mostly unremarkable, but a week all the same. On Monday, I got a call at work that William had been in the nurse's office twice complaining of a bad headache. After the third call, I finally left work to pick him up, only to have him act perfectly normal and healthy for the rest of the afternoon. Kid: one. Mom: zero.

On Wednesday, we had the Snowquester,which turned into the Snowbuster. Such a disappointment! We got a bit of snow, and the boys played outside for a while in the morning. But when they came in, they were completely, soaking wet. As if they had been outside swimming. I'm talking coats, snow mittens, boots--soaked completely through. By afternoon, it was basically just raining. I did manage to catch a few pictures:

For a brief time in the morning, Seth was over at one neighbor's house and William was at another's. PEACE!!! It was beautiful. And then they ALL came over to our house. Seven kids between the ages of 2 and 10. Fun stuff. This is what they spent much of the afternoon doing:

 

By the end of the days, the boys were exhausted. So was I!

On Thursday, William woke up complaining of a sore throat. He didn't have a fever, so I made him get dressed and get ready for school. He was still complaining that he didn't feel well, but when I told him he'd have to stay in his room all day and rest, with no TV, Kindle, or DS, he decided he wanted to go to school. I gave him some Motrin and sent him on his way.

Guess who called at 11:30? Ed was in meetings for the whole day and I was dealing with call after call asking for info on filibusters (thanks to Rand Paul's 13-hour filibuster on Wednesday). My boss asked me to add descriptions to our list of longest Senate speeches, which would take a while, so I told William to go back to class, told the nurse I would be there as soon as I could, but probably not for an hour at least, and then hustled. Luckily, a co-worker came to my rescue and I left to pick up Seth (his daycare is on the Hill, so when I leave, he leaves) and finally picked William up at 1:45 p.m. He ended up running a low-grade fever for the afternoon and night. The school nurse hates me! (Or at least moms like me.) William told her he had taken Motrin, and the nurse told him that Motrin "always wears off." Ouch! I swear I didn't give it to him to cover up a fever! I do have a history of sending him to school when he says he doesn't feel well. *Sigh*

So today is another sick day--although William seems to be fine. That's the story of my life! I'm taking them to the library and then to McDonald's. We really live it up here at Casa Hahn. Before I go, I thought I'd leave you with a picture of William's $60 shoes. He looks like such a big kid in them. And he loves them. And no--he can't tie his own shoes quite yet. But he's trying.

And not to be outdone in the style department, here's one of Seth's favorite outfits:

Does that answer the question of whether or not I let my kids choose their own clothes? :-)

Save-the-day Music, Life Lessons, and Other Stuff

On the way to school this morning, Seth was playing the Arthur Christmas app on my iPhone. It starts out with the movie's score, which Seth enjoys. He said, "I like this save-the-day music, Mommy!" He is really quite good at describing things, wouldn't you say?

Instead of "Cat in the Hat," Seth calls him "Captain in the Hat." Cracks me up every time.

Instead of asking, "What in the world are you doing?" Both boys say, "What are you in the world doing?" I love it.

We've started giving the boys an allowance. They get $1 a week, and they can earn extra money by helping out around the house. (They already have their own responsibilities, which they don't get paid for, but they can take on more jobs to earn money.) Over the weekend, William was messing with my lip balm in the car and he twisted it all the way up and it wouldn't go back in the tube. He basically ruined my lip balm. So he had to buy me a new tube of lip balm. He was distraught when he didn't get his dollar allowance this weekend. It's a tough lesson, but when you ruin someone's stuff, you gotta replace it.

The boys continue to have completely opposite tastes. William usually likes meatloaf a lot. Seth usually hates it. On Saturday night, I made meatloaf. Seth ate two and a half pieces. William ate one bite. I can't win!

We went to the mall on Saturday to buy new shoes. I paid $90 for two pairs of shoes that will last maybe six months. How is it that I balk at spending more than $50 on a pair of shoes for myself that will likely last me at least  three years, yet I'm willing to shell out $60 for a pair of kids' shoes? Do they lace the air with crack at the kids' shoe store?

We're supposed to get measureable snow on Wednesday. (5-6 inches maybe) I would have been happy for snow a month ago. Now? With the daffodils about to bloom and the peak days for cherry blossoms just announced? Not so much. But thank goodness I have kids. Kids make you enjoy stuff even when you feel grumpy about it. So bring on the Snowquester! (As the local media have hilariously -not- named the pending storm.

William got his report card. (Our school does progress reports three times during the year.) They assess whether or not the child meets certain expectations most of the time (M), part of the time (P),  or not yet (NY). William scored all Ms except in two areas: Uses time constructively and Keeps desk and supplies neat and orderly (scored Ps for both of those). The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? Way to go, William!

That about wraps things up. I'm off to read. If you haven't read Tiny Beautiful Things yet, go do it. It will make you really, really think about your life. It's the kind of book that stays with you. I borrowed it from the library but I'm thinking I need my own copy to hang onto. It's that good.

February Wrap-Up

I wish I could get my blog mo-jo back, so I would feel like posting more often. But alas, my days have fallen into a routine that does not include blogging. It's not that I don't think about subjects to blog about. Because I do. Just about every day I think of something that would make a good conversation starter, or something funny or cute or endearing that the boys said or did, or some clever observation about kids and parenting and life when you're 40. But at the end of the day, after kids and commuting and working and commuting and kids and dinner and homework and and cleaning and bathing and tucking and kissing and re-tucking and re-kissing, there is no more output left. My motivation to do anything more than mindlessly surf Facebook, watch TV, or read a magazine(or--gasp--a book! Which isn't mindless and does require brain functionality and thus doesn't happen as much as I'd like) is gone.

But since today is the last day of the month, I thought I'd make a herculean effort to get some of the jumbled thoughts I've been having out of my head. So here goes:

• My kids are awesome. They totally suck, but they are awesome and I love them to death.
• William is finally (finally!) reading chapter books by himself. His reading skills are fine (even slightly above average) but he struggles to stay focused on the page when he reads. He loses his place and his eyes move all over the page and he gets easily distracted. He figured out that it helps to place a card underneath each sentence as he reads to help him keep his place. (I would try to put my finger under each word as he reads, but he repeatedly informed me that first graders DO NOT POINT!) And it also helps when we look at the pages ahead of time to go over any words that he might not know. When he gets tripped up by a word, that often causes him to get distracted. The really great part is that he has strong comprehension of what he reads. So that is very positive.
• In the car the other day, Seth asked if boys could marry boys and girls could marry girls. I haven't really had this conversation with the boys because it hasn't come up before and we don't watch the news much. Anyway, I gleefully answered that Yes! Boys could marry boys and girls could marry girls in Washington, D.C., and in Maryland. Yay! But not yet in Virginia. Boo. We all decided that was really unfair. It was a short and sweet conversation, and hopefully, the first of many.
• We've booked Seth's birthday party (at a minor league baseball game--can't wait!) and are working on William's. I'm trying to convince him to have an indoor swimming party because it's the cheapest option for the most number of guests, and God bless him, William wants to invite his whole class. I think I almost have him convinced.
• The boys got haircuts. It seems like they need haircuts all the time so Ed took them and told the stylist (barber?) to give them both short cuts. They both ended up with close-to-buzz cuts. They're still pretty cute, though.
• This is what a "photo shoot" looks like with my boys:

• I went on a field trip with William's class to the Museum of Natural History. It was a lot of fun, but we only had 45 minutes of "free" time. I led a group of 5 kids--3 boys and 2 girls. They had a tough time agreeing on what to do. We went to the dinosaurs first, and then the mummies, which led to an exhibit on the forensic evidence left behind by the graves dug up at Jamestown. At which point the girls informed me they were going to have nightmares and could we please get out of there. We ended with insects and then the field trip was over. Fun stuff!
• Weekends have been pretty good around here. William had sleepovers two weekends in a row. This past weekend, our neighbor had both Seth and William over to watch a movie, and Ed and I got to watch Argo uninterrupted. (LOVED Argo. So glad it won best film!) Yay for spontaneous date nights and awesome neighbors! Seth came home after the movie and William stayed to spend the night. I love that he does great at sleepovers with friends.
• I almost wrote that I can't wait until Seth has sleepovers, but I caught myself because I can wait. Time is flying by way too quickly. I need to savor all of Seth's 4-year-old deliciousness before it's gone.
• That's enough for now, I guess. I know I've had some profound and deep thoughts lately, but I'll be damned if I can conjure them up right now. So this will have to do. My next post will probably be about spring break at the rate I'm going. Man--I'm so glad March is here. I'm ready for spring. But still--time could slow down and I'd be okay with that, too.

Valentines

In years past, we have always purchased valentines in a box (or bag). Transformers or Spiderman or one year, playdough minis. In pre-k, William signed his own name on all the envelopes. Last year, he wrote his friends' names and his own name on each card.

This year, William had other ideas. He wanted to give his friends personalized valentines--the shape of each state (or country) where his friends were born. I gently tried to dissuade him by showing him cool store-bought valentines (Phineas & Ferb! Scratch-off bookmarks!), but he stuck to his guns. So I dutifully emailed the parents of his classmates and asked them where their children were born. Most of them replied. The teachers provided the ones who didn't. In thinking about how we wanted to make these valentines, our choices were pretty limited. We don't have a printer at home, and I couldn't find any good graphics of states that we could print out. Also, we were working against the clock. His teachers had wanted the valentines turned in by Monday morning, but I didn't even get all the state info until Tuesday evening!

So quick and dirty was the way to go. I found state shapes online that I could cut out and then trace onto construction paper. I could have had William help with this step, but he has 22 classmates and I could anticipate with great clarity how that endeavor would go. Addressing and signing the cards would be hard enough. SO, on Monday night, after a school meeting and drinks with friends, I came home and traced 14 Virginias on red and pink construction paper and cut them out. At work the next day, I found the other states and printed out labels that read, (as dictated by William) "I'm glad you were born (in Virginia)!" (or whatever other state--or country--his friends were born in). When we got home on Tuesday night (late, I might add, thanks to State of the Union traffic), William got to work putting the labels on the states, addressing and signing them, and adding stickers to decorate them. After dinner/bath/homework/reading/bed I traced and cut out the rest. On Wednesday morning, William addressed and signed those and added sticker, and BOOYAH--they were done. (A day early! Or two days late--whatever.)

Now, I probably could have pushed William to just go with the store-bought cards. But here's the thing. I'm terrible with follow-through. The boys come up with ideas all the time that I vaguely commit to ("Sure--we can do that some time") and rarely follow through on. My biggest struggle with myself is follow through, and I don't want to pass that along to the boys. I want them to see that when you want to do something, you make it happen. In this instance, it was a very small thing, in the grand scheme of things, to make happen. And I'm glad we did.

Now, in all this scurrying around to get William's valentines done, I don't want you to think that poor Seth got ignored. He did not want store-bought valentines, either. But he liked my suggestion that I cut out hearts and we could write his friends' names on them and decorate them with stickers. (Way easier than states!) At first, he wanted to write his friends' names and his name. But then he decided I should write his friends' names. And later, he decided that I should write his name, too. LOL. We got his valentines done in a jiffy, and this morning, he delivered the valentines to all his friends' cubbies. The best part, however, is that I think Seth has internalized his mom's disorganized ways and has decided that there is a better way to live. Before delivering his valentines, he got a clipboard and clipped the list of his friends' names on the board. Then he got a pen and as he put each valentine in a cubby, he checked that friend's name off his list. When he was all done, he double-checked his work. God love him!

So that's our valentines tales for 2013. Tonight I will make heart-shaped pancakes for the boys (along with bacon and fruit) and Ed and I will enjoy fondue after the boys go to bed. Happy Valentine's Day!

The State of the Hahns 2013

It's that time of the year--time for my annual State of the Hahns Address. In the past, this time of the year has not always been pretty. In fact, in some years, I distinctly remember feeling like the State of Hahns was downright miserable. Until now, January has not been a kind month to the Hahns. It took me a few years to realize that January/February are pretty much the worst freaking months of the year. There's the post-holiday letdown, the sick season, the lack of sunshine, the cold, the drudgery of housework and homework and work work and kid-raising. I almost always feel like the Hahns are struggling at this time of the year.

But this exercise, reporting on the State of the Hahns, has actually been a really good way to pull my head out of my ass get some perspective, to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and to remember what is important. This year, more than ever, I am reminded of the big picture. I am reminded of what really matters. Love. Patience. Kindness. Joy. Not taking anything for granted. Letting go of the stupid things that stress me out. The truth is, the State of the Hahns is in constant fluctuation. There are bad days. And really bad days. And really good days. And so-happy-I-think-I-might-burst days. And that is never going to change. And I don't want it to change. There's a quote I love by Gordon B. Hinckley:

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.

 So, the State of the Hahns is not blissful--at least not on a daily basis. And not even most of the time. And probably not even a lot of the time. But the State of the Hahns is ready--ready to embrace the good and to deal with the bad. Ready to take advantage of the really beautiful vistas and ready to learn from mistakes and grow and figure things out as we go along.

The State of the Hahns is humbled by how fortunate we are. And optimistic about everything that the future has in store for us. The State of the Hahns is okay--okay with knowing that we are not perfect and we will make mistakes and we will hurt each others' feelings and we will kiss and make up and we will tell each other we're sorry and that we love each other and that we are in awe of everything that makes each one of us wonderful and special and such a gift to this family and to this world.

The State of the Hahns is strong. Maybe not as strong as it has been. And not as strong as it will be. But strong in the knowledge that remembering what matters will always steady the ship and guide her home.

Stop the Presses

For the first time in six years, I have experienced a sick-free January. SICK-FREE peoples. This is HUGE!!! (If you need a review of how January usually works for us, check out my post from last year.) I can not tell you how happy this makes me. I have almost eight days of sick leave saved up. Who knew that sick leave in the bank could make someone practically giddy!

I attribute this to a few things. First off, the boys are getting older and are out-growing their vulnerability to ickiness. Second, I LOVE the Neti-pot. I have been sick once in the past year. And the one time I got sick was when I wasn't regularly using the Neti-pot. Third, we changed William's meds and put him on Zyrtec daily. Instead of doing Pulmicort in the nebulizer every day, he now takes Singulair every day and Zyrtec twice a day. We give Seth one dose of Zyrtec in the morning. Maybe William would still be fine, and has just outgrown his asthma, but it seems like the allergy meds have really made a difference.

Of course, I have now doomed myself to what will likely be the worst February ever. But so be it. I can handle it. Anything is better than having to deal with one more sick-filled January!!!!

Right Now I Am

Marveling that both boys now eat rice!

Reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Laughing at every page of Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Mourning for friends who are dealing with loved ones facing cancer.

Hating cancer.

Praying for miracles, for strength for my friends, for peace and courage and healing.

Floating on a cloud (still) from Monday's experience.

Looking forward to book group on Friday night.

Anticipating the arrival of a new necklace I bought at a Stella & Dot party last night.

Fearing the very real possibility that my happy, comfortable world could come crashing down on me at any moment.

Trying so very hard not to take a single moment of my blessed life for granted.

Counting my blessings.

Thinking about ways that I can have a positive impact on other people.

Figuring out summer camps for William.

Wishing I didn't have to figure out summer camps for William.

Planning summer vacations in my head.

Missing my three best friends who have known me longer than everyone but my family.

Dreaming about girls' weekends ahead.

Longing for warmer weather.

Wondering why my boys have to call me twice before I leave my office to ask when I'll be home, then once in the car on my way home to see when I'll be home.

Marveling at how I am the center of their universe.

Knowing that it will not always be so.

Loving them so much, it makes my heart feel like it will explode if I even imagine anything ever happening to them.

Feeling so incredibly lucky to have two healthy, bright, happy, loving boys to come home to, to wake up with, to kiss and hug each night.

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

This morning I woke up at 3:30 a.m., took a shower, blow-dried my hair, put on makeup, bundled up, grabbed a banana, some granola bars, and chocolate milk, and headed out the door. My destination was the U.S Capitol and the 57th Presidential Inauguration. My official duty was innter platform seating manager. My specific section was the Supreme Court Justices and House leadership. It was AWESOME!!!

The Capitol at 0'dark-thirty this morning

The carpet on the platform had to be re-stretched and stapled at 4:00 a.m., so they were just starting to put chairs back in place when we arrived. Last-minute changes to the guest list and seat adjustments meant plenty for us to do to get ready. We had to put name cards on each seat, along with a program and a blanket. By the time the sun came up, we had everything mostly in place. I ran inside to print a few more name cards. We all had a chance to take a quick break, grab a snack, use the bathroom. The time flew by quickly, and before we knew it, guests started arriving.

The view from the platform as the Mall begins to fill up

POTUS and VPOTUS chairs

The Blue Goose

The seating managers (myself and four other volunteers) helped the White House aides (the military escorts) guide guests to their seats. Although we each had a specific section, the two inner sections had PIC guests (Presidential Inaugural Committee) and Cabinet members and lots of Biden family members. Lots of people whose faces we didn't know, so we were scrambling to get them all seated in the right spots. As I helped seat a woman, she asked me where the closest bathroom might be. Ack! I had asked the coordinator what to do if someone asked to use the restroom. She said no one would ask--they should know once they got out there, there wouldn't be a chance to get back in. Well, this woman didn't know that. And she was a bit elderly and really didn't think she could wait. So I had to lead her back inside the main entrance, find a key to the bathroom, squeeze between the House Leadership and the Senators, who were all waiting to come down the chute, and get the woman to the restroom. Once we got there, I asked her if she'd be able to find her way out. She asked me to wait.

Which was fine, except the House Leadership was at that moment coming out of the chute and onto the platform. That was my section! I was supposed to help seat those guys! Oh well. I led the woman back through the crowd and came upon a couple in the chute getting their photo taken. Oops! I think I photo-bombed Newt Gingrich and Calista! After I led the woman back to her seat, I went back to my section and helped seat a few more guests. Out came Kelly Clarkson and her finace. Then out came Beyonce and Jay-Z. Jay-Z reached out and touched my shoulder as he passed and said, "Hey, how you doing?" Then I quickly made my way up the center aisle, hoping to get off the inner platform before the Supreme Court Justices came out, but instead, I had to tuck myself into a row as they all filed past. I made eye contact with almost all of them! And Sonia Sotomayer and Elena Kagan were last, and they were both grinning ear to ear. It was fun. After that, I got to my seat on the first row of the outer platform--the same row as Newt and the Daschles.

After that, my duties were done and I got to watch the show. It was so cool! When it was all over, we stuck around until everyone filed out. All the senators walked past us, and as Senator Gillibrand walked by, I told her how much I loved the picture of her and her son as she was sworn into office. She said, "Wasn't that hysterical? Doesn't matter what I tell him. He's not impressed by anything!" There was another senator beside her who laughed about it, too. I can't remember who it was, maybe Klobuchar? Anyway, it was awesome. And just reinforced my desire to hang out with her.

I didn't get great pictures, but they're enough to show I was there:

The Clintons

The President

James Taylor

The First Lady

The Carters

When I got home, the boys were happy to see me. (Once William came home from the neighbor's and Seth woke up from his nap.) I got about 10 minutes to myself before I was roped into playing 3 games of Busytown and 4 games of Zingo. And before I made homemade pizza for dinner (the boys rolled out their own dough and spread their own sauce and cheese). And gave the boys a bath and read to them and put them to bed. And now I'm utterly spent. But happy. I wonder if Gillibrand went home and did the same thing with her boys? I'm gonna pretend like she did. :-)

Oh yeah--and that woman who I escorted to the restroom? Turns out that was Dolores Huerta. She is a labor and civil rights activist who, along with Cesar Chavez, co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. Wow. Kind of feel bad I had no idea who she was. And I'm glad I didn't abandon her in the rest room!

I'll close with a picture I took Sunday afternoon. I had to go to the platform to count seats and help make sure all of the outer platform sections matched the seating charts. As the sun was setting, I took this picture.

I'm so glad I said yes to this experience. At dinner, William asked, "So Mom. How was the thing you went to? What is it called again?" I think he was sorry he asked because I launched into details about what the inauguration is and why it's important and about the peaceful transfer of power and about Barack Obama's speech. His eyes glazed over, but I'm secretly hoping he'll go to school tomorrow and brag that his mom was on the platform wiith President Obama. And I hope that the boys will get a chance to be this close to history one day. But more than that, if they get the chance, I hope they'll take it.

Where Things Stand

There's no good way to catch up when you go so long without blogging. So I'll just start from where I stand.

Things are good!

• William is currently obsessed with Minecraft. It's a computer game and I got the pocket version for Kindle. He likes "creative" mode, where you basically just build things. Out of squares. I don't get it but he LOVES it. And I figure it has to be better for his brain than Plants vs. Zombies or Transformers Prime or Power Rangers.
• William has had a huge growth spurt this past year. He's grown 3 inches in one year. Crazy! He's still super skinny, but all his pants are too short now. 
• William is still super picky about what he wears. Only athletic-style pants--nylon. But not swishy material. He's also picky about his shirts now. His two favorite shirts are his orange jack-o-lantern shirt and his black skeleton shirt. Too bad Halloween isn't year-round.
• Thanks to the growth spurt, William has started eating more. He's my carnivore and especially loves fish. But he'll eat steak, any kind of chicken, pork chops, pork tenderloin, bacon, sausage. He'll eat green beans, broccoli (prefers the stems, not the florets), and edamame. And lo and behold, he likes rice now! I've been making brown rice on the side, cooked in chicken broth, and he eats it up. This is game-changing for the dinner menus. He still, however, does not like pasta, casseroles, or one-dish meals where everything is mixed together. (You know--the stuff that would be easy to cook during the week!)
• We're signing William up for t-ball in the spring. He's excited about it. We're also signing him up for a weekly class on building executive function skills, which starts at the end of this month. And believe it or not, I'm already looking into summer camp and trying to figure out our summer plans.
• Seth is starting to read! He's taken interest in the BOB books, and also in writing letters. I'm very encouraged, although he does not like me to correct him, which can be challenging when you're actually teaching someone how to do something. But I'm pretty excited that it's starting to fall into place for him. 
• Seth is my game player. He loves Busytown Eye Found It, Zingo, Spot It, Go Fish, Trouble, Chutes and Ladders, and pretty much any game on my Kindle. He has figured out which games are "educational" (the ones that work on letters, numbers, shapes, words, and math) and which are "just for fun." He's really into Monkey Word School Adventure. And he likes Temple Run and Plants v. Zombies.
• Unlike William, Seth has pretty much sworn off meat. He'll eat deli ham and bacon. And pepperoni (although I haven't tried that lately). The only vegetable he'll eat is iceberg or romaine lettuce. Makes meals interesting! Fortunately he likes eggs and "white circle cheese" (provolone). So at least we have options. LOL.
• Seth still loves to clean and organize. On the weekends he wants to sweep, help fold laundry, clean the glass doors with Windex, dust, and vacuum. I know! A mother's dream. (Or in our case, a father's dream, as Ed is the neat freak in our household.) He also loves office supplies. I set up his room with a rolling cart containing notepads, pens, a stapler, folders, clipboards, tape, and paperclips. We hung a cork board on his wall and got him some pushpins and he's in business! He is also pushing me daily for a responsibility chart. I guess I need to get on it. LOVE that kid!
• The boys are fighting more than ever these days. Everyone knows how to push everyone's buttons. It's maddening!
• The inauguration is Monday and I am now an inner platform seating manager. INNER PLATFORM people. Look for me on TV! I've got the section wtih Supreme Court justices and House leadership. I'll be off the platform once those guys are seated, though. I'm excited, except it's going to be REALLY cold. Fun, but cold.
• I think I said it before, but I did not make any "resolutions" this year. There are always things I want to do better. Things that I want to do more of. Things that I want to do less of. Things I want to change. There always have been. There always will be. They don't change from day to day, month to month, year to year. I don't need to write them down. Writing them down and calling them goals does not help me accomplish anything. (Unfortunately) It doesn't mean I won't keep trying. It doesn't mean I'm giving up on anything. I've just got to figure out where my motivation and will power come from. 
• So where things stand is pretty much right where they should be, and right where I want them to be. Well maybe, right where I'm okay with them to be. Contentment can be be a hard state to find, and I'm happy that it doesn't take much to get me there!

Opening Day of Congress

Yesterday was the opening day of the 113th Congress. After the new and returning senators took their oaths on the Senate floor, they went to the Old Senate Chamber, where the vice president swore the members in again, one at a time. The senators get to have a family member or two with them, and then after the oath, their whole families come up for a photo op with the vice president. They can't do this on the Senate floor because cameras are not allowed on the Senate floor. So this provides an opportunity for family and loved ones to be present and to get a nice picture to boot.

I LOVE the opening day of Congress. Despite all the negativity surrounding Congress and politicians right now, the opening of a new Congress always gives me hope. My cynicism melts away and I find myself admiring the politicians who are sticking their necks out there, trying to make a difference, and believing that they can. I don't always agree with their ideas or share their perspective, but at their core, they believe that they will help make our world better. That's worth at least a little bit of respect.

I especially love to see the senators with young children. In 2011, I posted one of my favorite photos ever of Senator Rubio with his two youngest sons. This year, this is my favorite photo:

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who has two young sons, hoisted one on her hip, had the other son hold the Bible, and still managed to put her hand (the one holding her younger son) on that Bible while she swore the oath. And then her son started messing with her hair. THIS IS MY LIFE! That could be me up there! The best part is her smile. She was cracking up. I immediately felt a bond with her, and now I want to hang out with her and talk about kids and working and dish the dirt on the other senators. It's not likely that this will happen in 2013. But it's possible. In the meantime, I send out my sincerest best wishes for all of those senators with young children at home. And I also want to say thank you--for taking on what is surely one of the most grueling, frustrating, at times heart-breaking, and pretty thankless jobs out there.

Making the Most Out of the Last Days of Vacation

As the end of our winter break approached, I wanted to end on a high note, since we had all started to get a little bit cranky from our, er, togetherness. We decided to divide and conquer, so Ed took William to the Natural History Museum on Saturday while Seth and I stayed home and put away all the Christmas decorations. Seth is such a homebody and loves nothing more than spending the day being busy--cleaning, organizing--you know, the usual four-year-old stuff. LOL. On Sunday, William had a friend come over to play in the afternoon. On Monday--New Year's Eve--we went to our local city's First Night celebration, which the boys loved. It was chilly, but not too cold. There were lots of inflatable slides and bounces and William hung out with a gang of his buddies from school. We had to drag the boys away at 10:00 p.m., when they started to melt down, but when we got home, we let them drink pomegranate-apple juice "champagne" from real wine glasses and snuggle on the couch to watch the ball drop. Seth fell asleep at 10:30. William conked out at 11:00.

The best day, however, was Tuesday--New Year's Day. William and I went to the Air and Space Museum at the Mall and he got to see whatever he wanted, for as long as he wanted. We stayed there for several hours, saw a planetarium show about stars, ate some ice cream, and then headed home. Then we got Seth and the three of us went ice skating. We skated for almost an hour and a half and the boys loved it. They got better and better each time we went around the rink. Seth fell a million times but it didn't phase him. We had such a great time. We finally got home at 6:30 p.m. and did our usual nighttime routine in preparation for back to school.

So far, back to school has not been too bad. Work is crazy for me (Hello new Congress!) but I like it. William seems happy to be back, and so does Seth. William's school does a reading incentive program for the months of January and February. They give out prizes and have weekly meetings with the whole first grade. William has to fill out a new weekly reading log and bring in a book once a week that he'll read to a volunteer. It's pretty cool. I'll be volunteering one or two days this month. I'm looking forward to it. And William seems excited about it, too.

Also on tap for this month, Obama's second inauguration! I didn't go to his first, but I'm going to this year's! Actually, I'm working it. I worked Bush's 2005 inauguration, and it was pretty cool. But I think this year's will be pretty awesome--even though I'll probably freeze my butt off. I'm helping to staff a seating area, which means I get to stand outside. For a long time. But it's a pretty sweet section. It's not on the platform, but it's still a nice spot. 

And finally--I was looking back at my Chippy the Elf posts and realized I never updated the post where Chippy brought some kind of seeds for the kids to plant in a bowl of sugar. Go back and check out the results!

So that's where things stand. I think 2013 is off to a decent start!

2012 In Review, Part 2

Continuing the year in review . . .

July
Celebrated the 4th, loved swimming and the beach, and visited Chucker Farm

August

Back to North Carolina for a visit with Baba, Uncle Chris, and the cousins. The Discovery Place Museum was a big hit again.

September

William started 1st grade and we went to the Book Festival on the Mall.

October

Fall Festivals, Truck Touch, and a trip to Florida for Baba's 70th birthday

November

The end of fall baseball clinic and a visit from friends

December

Santa, Chippy, and snow! (Funny how we ended the year the way we started.)

 

It was hard to pick just a few pictures for each month, but more than anything, this year in review in pictures makes me realize that I need to do a MUCH better job of capturing my kids on film. Or rather, on megabytes. Or however you describe digital pictures. Anyway, I'm not setting resolutions for 2013, but if I were, taking more pics would be first on the list!