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Change? We fear change.

We have some huge changes coming up here pretty soon at Casa de Nichols. I am referring of course to the retirement of our long-term (5.5 yrs!!) sitter and the kids moving into official full-day schools. As a type-A control freak, I am not very big on change. But over the years I’ve both developed coping mechanisms for dealing with change, namely planning! I get to make lists and time tables and label things and suddenly even though I can’t control what else the change is going to do to us, I feel better because backpacks are labeled and the calendar is updated and I have a chart for making sack lunches.

So I am slowly but determinedly getting everything ready for the big shift. I have a countdown sort of going in my mind, not like 52 days, 51 days, 50 days … but practically every time I look at the calendar, I do a gut check of “Wow. Just a month until our sitter’s last day,” or “Wow, just 3 weeks until we do Kindergarten registration.” I’ve ordered Ben a nap mat – it arrived yesterday and let’s just say he hasn’t been this excited for naps in a loooong time – and some personalized stickers to label clothes and lunch containers. In all seriousness, I do have a file of links to lunch ideas. I’ve also been filling out mounds of paperwork and making sure all the things we need to do before school starts (immunizations, dentist appointments, shopping trips) are handled. And I am planning a small “thank you” dinner for our sitter.

Winston Churchill said, “There is nothing wrong with change as long as it is in the right direction.” I’m sure he was right. But I also like my change well orchestrated.

 

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Big Week

While I’ve been off working on the parties for our company’s 50th Anniversary (a big deal unto itself – more details tomorrow, hopefully), my kids have been having a banner week. Monday Ben started preschool at the same charming little school Tabby’s been attending for two and a half years.

It is only a 6 wk summer camp and he starts “real” preschool in the fall, but he is having a great time. He brought back glowing reports of his big day and the crafts he did and his one disappointment (he didn’t get to have a pony ride during recess because he didn’t know to get in line in time). He and Tabby are in the same class and she is loving showing him the ropes.

Tabby herself is having quite a big week. After making amazing progress last weekend while camping with her bike sensei, Uncle Mikey, she has been eager to ride again. They rode bikes on Tuesday night and she was doing well, but last night while they were at Uncle Mikey’s house while we were at the party, she went from 2 week balance bike to fully riding a “two wheeler WITH pedals” as she’ll proudly tell you.

This amazing transformation is wholly on Uncle Mikey helping her out and her absolutely amazing determination. I’m proud to say Matt and I had nothing to do with it! It is really cool to watch your kids just take flight on something completely separate from you.

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On Her Way to the Top

As I mentioned, Tabby started her first rock climbing course last night. She has been looking forward to this for a while, ever since she saw some of the little kids climbing over a year ago. The class starts at age 5 and so we signed her up for the first one available. I unfortunately missed her first class since I had to work late, but I understand she was one fearless little Gecko, climbing swiftly up the wall. The class is an hour and 15 minutes long, which is by far the longest class/sport she’s taken. Even soccer was only an hour. But she really seemed to take to it.

She described the process of getting down for me when we met up for dinner. “You just have to let go, but then the wall kind of holds you, so you have to kick away and let yourself fall. But it’s OK because it’s just a little bit and the rope holds you.” I can’t wait to check it out in person.

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This Crazy Life

What’s going on, you ask?

  • We are headed camping this weekend. We reserved last minute so all we could get was the “group” site which holds up to 75 people (and 15 vehicles). Three families are going so it’s not toooo ridiculous. I’m calling it The Jamboree. I can’t wait. But of course this makes lots of work … to get ready for camping … again. The kids are beyond thrilled and not just because I got them new buckets and bug catchers.
  • My darling over-achieving husband added to our workload yesterday by getting MORE bedding plants at the nursery. He was there to get tomatoes and came home with a bunch more flowers to add to the beds. I was a bit peeved because remember how I hate gardening? Still do.
  • We braised a pork shoulder in Dr. Pepper last night … oh. my. word. We were supposed to take it camping with us but we underestimated how much it would cook down. Unfortunately we were left with about a cup of insanely tasty pulled pork and that will feed … maybe the kids? Maybe me? Not all of us though. Plan B. Costco also has pulled pork.
  • Speaking of cooking, you have probably noticed that the Cookbook Challenge has fallen by the way side. I had fun with it at first but then it got to be a chore, so I chucked it. I have enough chores. I’ll share a recipe when I really really love it. The end.
  • We found a piece of land we’re very interested in. There are about 15 hurdles (big ones) we have to jump through  and very few of them come with guarantees, but we’re very seriously looking into it.
  • I have been pretty slacky on the whole being healthy thing, but I had a serious talk with myself and decided I would correct this. It is actually going pretty well and I’m pleased with myself. Of course this is only Day 3.
  • Relatedly, I am really enjoying running right now. I’ve been chilling more about mileage and just focusing on having good enjoyable runs. Matt and I did a great session at Table Mountain on Saturday. I want to get out to more trails. I love the scenery and the peace.
  • Tabby is doing a photoshoot with some friends on Friday for an outdoors gear company. They will apparently be some sort of team and may appear on a box. The important part (to Tabby) is that they get cash for their efforts. The kid is big on saving money and this thrills her to the core.
  • Ben has a nasty abrasion on his face. He tripped and fell face first this weekend while running … on the side walk. He has been wearing a bandaid over it all week. It looks pretty cute and quite rakish on him. They do feel fast though!
  • I am behind on so many things and trying to get my act together. Work is pure madness right now. I have two very big projects I’m tackling right now and things are falling through the cracks at home as my work hours go longer and it follows me home.
  • I am very much looking forward to a few minutes of peace tonight when I get my hair cut.
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PVC Pipe, Physics and Flying Marshmallows

This weekend we not only gave the kids guns … we made them for them. While at Maker Faire, Matt and I succumbed to the pretty displays and bright lights and allowed Tabby to bring home a Marshmallow Shooter kit. I had no ethical qualms about this you understand – just financial qualms over paying $20 for a few bits of PVC. But it was a neat souvenir and since we got home she’d been begging to build them.


So when we knew we’d be at our friends’ house all evening on Saturday I grabbed a bag of mini marshmallows at the store and we brought the kit with us. This is a ridiculously easy kit to put together. You just snap together a few pieces of PVC and err … that’s it. You load a mini mallow into the mouthpiece of the shooter and puff some air in and it zooms off at an impressive speed. As they’re marshmallows, the projectile doesn’t really hurt anyone. The dads got into it big at the BBQ and kept shooting the kids who would then look down for the marshmallow and eat it.There also may or may not have been a shootout at our house between my sister, Matt and myself after the kids went to bed and everyone else had gone home on Sunday night. I’m not at liberty to say.

If you want to build your own marshmallow shooter, and I recommend you do because they’re all kinds of fun, here’s an instructable to show you how to do it. Though even that isn’t really necessary. You take 1/2″ PVC pipe and connect it with Ts and elbows and such until you have the configuration you want. You have to have only two open pipe ends one for blowing air into and one for the marshmallow to exit and you can do just about whatever configuration you want and see what works best. Don’t glue the PVC – not only is it unnecessary but PVC glue is pretty toxic and definitely something you want to avoid if you can!

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Happy Trails to Preschool

Last Thursday, Miss Tabitha said bye bye to Preschool. She donned her homemade chaps (her preschool is a kids “ranch” and so there’s always a bit of a western theme there) and sang a bunch of fun songs about the farm/ranch and her days at her school. The last song was a “Happy Trails” and we were invited to sing along with the kids. It was almost as bad as Pomp and Circumstance for eliciting tears.

Then she was capped (with a cap made from a paper plate and paper bowl) graduate of preschool and handed a diploma. She, and all the other kids, told us what they wanted to be when they grow up. Tabby said “ballerina” which is the very same thing she’d told me a few days before when I’d asked. The answers were great, ranging from policeman (or “cop!” as said by one sweet looking little girl) to princess to wedding planner to super striker to mom.

She will actually be back at preschool in just a few weeks, this time with her sidekick Ben, to attend the daycamp program they have, but otherwise, preschool is done and before we know it she will be in Kindergarten officially. It was probably just because she graduated, but all weekend she’s looked bigger, older, more grownup to me. I miss her as the little girl who toddled around with her binky, but I love the big girl she’s become.

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San Fran Days 3 and 4

By Sunday afternoon we’d had enough Maker Faire – well Matt and I might’ve been able to stay a bit longer, but the sun was hot and the kids were exhausted – Ben in fact fell asleep on Matt’s shoulders walking back from the fair – and so we went back to the hotel and had naps. Immediately following naps, we loaded in the car and headed south to Campbell, CA where we visited my Uncle Ted and Aunt Susan. They have a lovely home in Campbell. Ted is an amazing crafsperson and has restored a number of Model A automobiles. He currently has three: a sedan, a coupe and a pickup. They are all in amazing condition and we were all treated to a ride in the sedan. It was the first time a carseat had been in there!!

After the car rides, the kids went crazy running around their backyard. They were loving having room to move and they loved their gardens (things were very well watered) and their tangerine tree. It was quite a disappointment to hear that they wouldn’t be able to grow one back in CO. Then we were treated to a lovely dinner and of course wonderful company. After dinner the kids conned Aunt Susan into reading them a dozen books or so (I have a suspicion she wasn’t too hard to convince) and Matt and Ted talked shop. Once the kids were entirely exhausted we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning we drove into SF to meet up with our friends, Donna and Ed at the California Academy of sciences. It’s a beautifully built building with some really wonderful exhibits. We got to see a planetarium show that talked about the eclipse of the sun (which had been the day before) and the Transit of Venus, a truly once-in-a-lifetime event that will be happening on June 5. We also loved the amazing rainforest exhibit and the beautiful aquariums.

But perhaps our favorite exhibit was the penguins. These African Penguins who reside at the California Academy of sciences include in their number one male penguin over 29 yrs old (about double the normal life span of one of these guys) named Pierre. A few years ago, he molted but didn’t grow any of his feathers back. He couldn’t swim much because it was too cold and the other penguins started to shun him because of his appearance. Eventually, his keeper decided to see if she couldn’t help him out with a wetsuit. Not only did it get him back to normal penguin life, but it also allowed him to grow back his feathers. It was a really cute story and we got to see the penguins be fed. The kids brought home a book about him which has been well loved already.

The next morning we checked out of our hotel and went to downtown San Mateo which is a nice little area. We had lunch at a funky pizza shop with TVs installed at the ends of the booths (the kids watched Sponge Bob) and checked out a giant toy store. And after the longest wait in a security line ever, we flew back to Denver.

Just about every trip we go on with the kids is easier. This time we only had one carseat on the plane since Tabby is in a booster now and they cannot be used on a plane. We also had no diapers and that was a big big deal. Even little things like the fact that I packed only one sippy cup for each of them and they can each carry their own backpacks is a pretty good deal.  It is really great to be able to show them the world.

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Tabby on the Run

Today, I ran my slowest 5K ever, clocking in at right around 50 minutes. And I couldn’t be more proud. Today marks Tabby’s racing debut. She successfully completed the Rockie’s Homerun for the Homeless 5K. It wasn’t easy and we had to give lots of encouragement, water breaks and walk breaks along the way, but she started what she finished and completed all 3.1 miles under her own power. I’m so so proud of her!!

We got the whole family involved. Matt pushed Ben in the stroller and we all ran in a little pack with our friend and her son. It was a pretty hilly course and there was a fair bit of whining now and again, but she didn’t show signs of fatigue during or after the race and it seems to me that it’s mostly a mental fortitude thing right now – a lot to ask of a five year old, I know, but also a great skill to cultivate as she gets older. I’m sure it didn’t help that it wasn’t a fine sunny Colorado day like I ordered, but chilly and misty.

The race was really fun and really went by pretty fast. By the end Tabby was happy she completed it and chowed down on all the after-party offerings: bananas, granola bars, hotdogs and a rarely-allowed Sprite.

Ben got in on the action too. We signed him up for the kids fun-run (a 1K around the stadium) so he could have his very own bib like Tabby. When we asked him minutes before it started if he wanted to run, the answer was an enthusiastic YES!!! Matt took him over and he ran with the 5 and under crowd and had a great time.

When he came around the last curve, a bunch of little boys were up in the stands holding out their hand to him and he ran over to them, wanting to give them 5, but way too short to do so. So Matt picked him up and he was able to high-five the little boys – he told me all about it in great nonsensical detail later.

The race was a real winner and I’m so glad we did it. And we’ll get to go see a Rockies game later this summer as part of our race fee!

After showers, we joined some friends for brunch (my own mom is in Boston – we celebrated last week) and had a nice calm and quiet rest of our day. Hope you and all of yours had a wonderful Mothers’ Day!

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Baby Jogger*

Last night, I took Tabby running with me (*jogging is a term runners normally eschew, however I used it in this case for the fun play-on-words). She is keen to run a race with me soon and I wanted to test her mettle a bit before I signed her up. Title 9K (actually 9.9 K or ~6 miles) is my next shorter race and she is allowed to be a part of it. However, even though she’s eager, I don’t want her to get out there, not be quite up to it and end up hating it.

I’ve talked before about cultivating a love of various activities in our kids. I would love it if my kids loved running, but more than anything, I don’t want them to hate running because I was too eager about it and pushed them too hard into it (or any of my other favorite activities).

Anyhow, so we went for a run. My goal was to get her through a mile, so we set off around our neighborhood which is mostly flat with some small hills. I had to keep holding her back from going too hard because whenever she did, she would tire out and then need a walk break. She took a fair few little walk breaks, but managed to finish the mile right around 14 minutes, which for her little legs seems pretty darn good to me. I think she could have kept going too.

I asked her if she thought she could do that five more times (how much she’d have to run for the T9K) and she said she thought she could on another day. I’m not signing us up quite yet, but I’m not ruling it out either!

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The Robot Mouse

One of Tabby’s most favorite gifts from her birthday was the robot mouse Matt got for her, or rather the robot mouse KIT. It had to be built, soldered together. One night after Ben had gone to bed and I was otherwise occupied, Matt and Tabby built this little guy together. As she has excellent fine motor skills, she held the solder while Matt held the iron. I wish I had seen (and been able to take photos!) of them working together, but I’m glad they had their special time together.

The cool thing is that when it’s done, it chases the brightest light in the room. It works best in relative darkness, but you can use a flashlight to lead it around the room. It is fun to play with and both kids are getting a big kick out of it.