She's Free!

This morning, 11 weeks to the day after breaking her arm, Annika's arm was officially freed from being in a cast.

Needless to say, we have one VERY happy girl. She graduated to a brace that she'll wear for the next 4 weeks. On an up note, she can take it off to bathe, sleep, and to do her PT stretches. (I'm also pretty excited that it can be washed ... unlike the casts!)

She received the green light to ease back in to participating in the activities she'd been banned from since breaking her arm. She can participate in Irish dance again (so long as she isn't risking tripping and falling) starting next week, and she can return to taking part in PE class at school in 2 more weeks (again, so long as it is safe/comfortable for her arm).

The orthopedics team members at Children's Hospital were incredible and we are grateful for their level of care throughout this entire process. That said, I hope they aren't offended when I say, "I hope we never have a reason to see you again!" 😄

Way to heal, Annika!! Just no more monkey bars, please!

One very excited girl!

Skinny little arm!

So much better than a cast

Conor's 9th Birthday

Yesterday, Conor celebrated his 9th birthday and proclaimed the day to be a hugely great day. 

One of the fundraisers at the kids' school is purchasing the message on the reader board for a week. Both kids asked for us to buy this so we could publicly wish them a happy birthday (Conor) and happy half birthday (Annika). 

The night before his big day, Conor and I baked chocolate mint cookies for his classroom treat. Conor toiled over which treat to bring as he thumbed through our Duff cookbook, but finally opted on a tried and true option that Conor knew he'd succeed at making and were quite tasty.

Conor awoke at 6:05 and proclaimed that he wasn't quite 9 years old  yet... he had few more minutes to go. Hello, Mr. Precise! True, he was born at 6:13 AM, but Eric and I were perfectly happy to still wish him a happy birthday and call him 9... even if we were 8 minutes early. Ha!

Because it was his birthday, Conor got to wear free dress to school. Bonus!! He also dug up the "Birthday Boy" pin that I bought a few years ago and insisted on wearing it all day. Hey, why not??

For his birthday dinner, Conor requested pasta carbonara and grasshopper pie for dessert. (I threw in some green beans as a side dish during dinner, just to round out things a bit.)  I'm pretty sure this is the third year in a row that he picked carbonara and grasshopper pie as his birthday meal. The boy knows what he likes!

Speaking of things that he likes ... he likes opening presents!! He received some very generous gifts from our extended family members (thanks, all!) and loved every moment of unwrapping them. After the paper finished flying, he and Eric got to work assembling the Lego robot that we gave to him. (I'm not sure who had more fun with it, if I'm being completely honest!) It was really fun to hear their conversations while building the ever-evolving robot, not to mention their reactions to the robot's abilities as its skills developed with each new task/set of instructions provided by the kit. 

To everyone who has had a hand in this little guy's life so far, thank you for your love, support, and energy. He's a silly, busy, inquisitive, and imaginative little guy and we are excited to see where this next year takes him. 

Happy birthday, Conor!

Batman Fluxx card game and Hex bug

Cold hard cash, a Taco Time g/c, and a wallet, baby!!
(one $ for each year... clever!)

Woot woot! Remote control toys are awesome

Future scientist!

Lego Robot kit

Blowing out his candles

Do you think he'll let me take his birthday sign photos even when he's a grown up?
I sure hope so! :)

March Birthday Weekend on Whidbey

This past weekend, we made another trip up to Whidbey to celebrate the March birthday boys. And what a great weekend it was!!

On Saturday, we rose bright and early (much to Annika's chagrin) to catch the 8:30 ferry to the island. Honestly, Annika didn't complain much about getting up early on a Saturday (aside from a few groans of "its already time to wake up???" because it was for her that we had to get there by a certain time. Eric's mom had offered to take Annika to an on-island needle felting class and Annika wanted to participate. During the class (which she loved), Annika learned how to make a needle felted bunny. After the the class and returning to the house, Annika proceeded to make a whole family of bunnies! (You know what they say about rabbits multiplying!)

Conor was curious about the felting process, so Annika very sweetly taught him the techniques she learned during her class. Both kids learned the hard way about aiming the felting needle ... multiple bandaged fingers this weekend!

While Annika and Bestmore were at their class, Conor, Eric, and Bestefar busied themselves on a secret project in the workshop. (I wasn't allowed out there because of the surprise element, so I busied myself making the lemon meringue pie for that evening's birthday festivities.)

Little did I know that the guys were busying themselves making a Canada good napkin holder for our kitchen table. Bestefar has a project book with the template and had the idea all sorted out before our arrival. Together, they cut out the wood pieces and set to assembling the final product. Eric used his dad's wood burning tool to outline the goose and Conor did all of the shading himself. (I'd like it pointed out I didn't hear a single report of anyone getting burned or hurt ... talk about a workshop win!) Conor even burned his name and the year on the inside of the napkin holder, making it extra special.

Our kids have been completely clueless about some plans that have been in the works for going on a year. When I say clueless, I mean NOT A CLUE. Eric's parents have decided to continue their incredibly generous tradition (that started with our two older nieces) of taking each grandchild on a trip to Europe for a week-long tour with the Tauck Bridges program. This weekend, the kids learned about their upcoming trips.

This summer, Bestemor and Bestefar will take Annika to Ireland and in a year or two, they'll take Conor to Italy. The kids were over the moon with excitement as we told them about the trips and all that they'll do. Annika will get to do her Irish dancing while in Ireland (HOLY MOLY), as well as sleep in a castle, learn how to make Irish jewelry, go on a treasure hunt in Dublin, take a train through the Irish countryside, take an Irish cooking class, and more!!

Yup! She's excited!

When Conor's trip rolls around, he'll take a gladiator class, tour the Roman Catacombs, see the Sistine Chapel, visit St. Peter's Basilica, go to Pompeii and a family farm (to learn about how olive oil and cheese are made), take a pizza-making class, and more.

Conor still processing all that he is hearing about his Italy trip

Needless to say, both kids are beyond excited for their upcoming adventures and can hardly wait until it is time to go. Conor had an extra bit of excitement when he realized he'll get the kids' summer nanny for himself for an entire week this summer while Annika is in Ireland. (They do love Miss Emma!) That's his bonus for having to wait longer for his trip. :)

As if learning about big trips wasn't enough, we had THREE birthdays to celebrate on Saturday. (I told you, this was one heck of a fun weekend!) Conor received a really neat present from Bestemor and Bestefar - Bloxels. It is a kit (of sorts) that helps kids learn about computer coding and how that ties in with video game creation. One of Conor's current future career goals is to be a video game builder, so this is perfect for him!

Eric received a new X-box video game controller. We seem to go through them a bit faster than anyone would hope or expect due to people who shall remain nameless (cough cough ... the kids) dropping them on the floor. I have a feeling Eric might keep this one under lock and key so he's the only one using it!

Bestefar received some really neat gluten-free flour called Einkorn and a baking book specifically tailored to use that kind of flour from Bestemor, a golf book from Annika and Conor, and a snow blower from Eric/me, Eric's brother/sister-in-law, Eric's sister/brother-in-law, and Bestemor. (Eric's dad shoveled their driveway during Snowmageddon 2019 and I decided that a snowblower was a better alternative... everyone else agreed!) Of course, this probably means we won't get any snow for a few years. HA!

The rest of the weekend was filled with playing card and dice games, catching up, playing with the dogs, lounging around, and just being together.

OH! Eric's dad and I got a little time together in the shop, too. It is always fun to build something in the shop with him because he's great at teaching what to do and why you do it a certain way. He even taught me how to confirm a measuring tape's accuracy ... something "many of those young construction guys don't know how to do". Now I'm feeling official! Because I haven't given the item we made away yet, I'll keep it as a bit of a secret for now. Shhhh....

RITUS 2019 Cookies

Each year at our kids' school, the 8th grade participates in a ritual called RITUS. (It used to be called Potlatch, but apparently a Catholic school using a Native American word ruffled some feathers outside of the school community ... hence the renaming.)

The 8th graders work for months to prepare for this ceremony, which in many ways provides them with the avenues to explore who they want to become as they evolve into adults. They learn how to drum, memorize poetry and prose, learn songs, make masks that represent their inner selves, and more. They talk about shared memories from each year at the school ... often evoking tears and laughter from all involved. It is a moving experience to watch; I promise you that I'll be a puddle on the ground when our kids are 8th graders and participate in their own RITUS ceremonies.

For the past 5 (I think) years, I've made personalized cookies for the 8th graders. They are supposed to be a surprise for the kids, but Annika informed me (in no uncertain terms) that "Mom... EVERYONE knows about the cookies. It is NOT a surprise. At. All." Well, then.... OK.

In years past, I was asked to make cookies that showed the animal totem each student chose. Let me tell you, that was no small task. Last year, with the renaming of the ceremony, the approach to the cookies changed and I was asked to make crosses for the kids instead. WAY easier. This year, I did a blue/green filigree pattern with their names (21 in all) decorated with gold luster dust. In all honesty, I didn't put much thought into the specifics of the actual design until right before I needed to do it, and would have chosen to do the filigree in silver, but didn't have any silver luster dust. Hence, green/blue filigree.

They sort of ended up with an old-world feel to me, and I like that. Happy? Yeah, I'm happy. I was THRILLED when I delivered them to the school and didn't break any en route. (It's the small things sometimes!)

Conor's Leprechaun Trap

In years past, the kids have made leprechaun traps at school and creativity always abounds with this project.

This year, St. Patrick's Day fell on a Sunday, so there was no need to make a trap ... that is to everyone except Conor. Our boy insisted on trying his hand at catching a leprechaun. He was bound and determined to build a trap at home and catch himself a genuine leprechaun.

Unfortunately for everyone except Conor, he chose to dig through the recycling bin for cardboard boxes and, because we were all still asleep, the house alarm was still on .... and (I'm guessing you're seeing where I'm going with this) the recycling bin is on the other side of a door that has a house alarm sensor. YUP!! As soon as he opened the door, the house alarm went off in full-blown alarm mode. WAHWAHWAHWAHWAHWAH!!! (Annika slept through it ... Eric and I didn't.)

Once our hearts returned to a more normal rate and we caught our breath, I knew I was up. SO, Conor and I got to work on his trap. I did the x-acto knife work for him to preserve his cute little fingers and avoid any trips to the ER... yeah, that's the kind of mom I am. :)

Conor decided to lure his leprechaun to the top of this trap with the promise of a party.

PAR-TAY!

The leprechaun had two party entrance options - a LEGO staircase and a popsicle stick ladder. (We are nothing if not accommodating.) When the leprechaun got to the top of the trap and stepped on the white welcome (correction ... "welcom") mat, the hole below the mat would cause the leprechaun to fall and become snared in the lower (inner) cardboard box. At least, that was Conor's hope.

It appears that our house's leprechaun had watched some MacGyver episodes and figured out a way to climb out of the trap using some tape and a piece of gold ribbon. (We are still trying to figure out if the leprechaun escaped on his/her own or if there is a Leprechaun Freedom Force (LFF) that rescues all trapped leprechauns. Either way.... this leprechaun left behind 4 pennies for Conor's efforts... so Conor is seeing it as a win, even though the leprechaun got away.

Conor and his leprechaun party trap

Conor's Basketball Season

On Sunday, Conor and his fellow teammates wrapped up their 3rd grade (debut) basketball season, and what a season it was!

The boys have practiced every Tuesday and Thursday (5-6 PM) for weeks to learn a bit about shooting, defending, and plays. These boys have never played on a basketball team before, so everything they learned was brand new. That's the beauty of CYO sports ... they give kids a chance to learn a sport before winning/losing becomes a factor. The kids play for a few years before score is kept. At this age, the refs also take on the role of educator/pseudo-coach during the games to help the kids learn and understand the sports. Love it!

  

The funniest moment was during their first game. The whistle blew and LITERALLY, not a single boy on the court moved.... on either team. No one was 100% sure what to do and just stood there. After a second, the coaches and ref offered a little guidance. From then on, it was smoother sailing. (Full disclosure: There were still plenty of comedic moments, but hey! They're little kids!! Coordination and follow-through aren't exactly their defining characteristics at this point in life!)

This past Sunday was the boys' fourth (and final) game of the season. It was such fun to see their abilities develop and confidence grow over the season. They had a much better understanding of how to run their screen play (yes, play .... again, they are 3rd graders ... learning multiple screen plays would have probably made their minds explode and bodies combust), pass effectively, and try to out-maneuver defending players. Sure, there were still many instances of traveling, double dribbling, and waaay off-target passes, but we just see that as part of the learning process. This game also included some strong offense (Eric taught Conor how he could use his backside to keep a defending player from stealing the ball as he dribbled toward the basket ... and he did it!!!), some knee-sacrificing moves toward recovering the ball when it went rogue, team communication, and some impressive rebounds.

 The boys enjoyed their season so much that they opted to practice this week, even though they are done with their games. A special shout out to their coaches for taking the time to work with the boys and showing what patience can achieve!

 Here's a quick video of Conor making one of his three (four?) baskets during this week's game. (#ProudMama)

Annika's Arm Saga Continues

On Tuesday, I picked up Annika from school and we headed to Children's Hospital with the hope she'd have her cast removed and she'd start the "brace" phase of her recovery process. Let's just say things don't always work out as we hope they will...

In the weeks leading up to the appointment, I cautioned Annika against being 100% sure the cast would be a thing of the past. I really expected it to be done, but you just never know. We gave her really silly reasons why it might not pan out ... UFO lands on the hospital, etc. Boy, am I glad we prepped her for the possibility of the cast being around longer than that appointment because that's exactly what happened. (Much to her chagrin.)

Excited girl

At previous appointments, she had x-rays taken through her cast, which is what I'd expected this time. Nope. We went straight into the cast room and had her cast taken off. Annika was a ball of nerves and excitement leading up to the removal process. She giggled as the saw cut her cast into two pieces, and then became VERY protective of her arm... she was acutely aware of how vulnerable it was and how stiff her elbow felt.

Buh-bye green cast

It tickles!!!

Free arm!

We popped across the hall to the x-ray room and had a couple of images taken of her arm, so a proper evaluation of her progress could take place. We waited awhile for the results to be evaluated ... longer than I had expected. In hindsight, it makes sense because the providers consulted with each other before filling us in on the results. While Annika's healing bones look great in terms of angles and such, the bone growth rate isn't such that the medical team felt comfortable freeing her arm from being in a cast... yet. Because Annika is in the twilight of her childhood growth timeline, her bones are slower to rebuild themselves. (If she was 5 or 6, she'd most likely be out of her cast by now.)

After a few tears, talking through the importance of the long-term goal of a fully-healed arm in the shortest amount of time (aka, not experiencing a setback by taking her arm out of the cast too early and re-injuring it and starting the WHOLE process over), and lots of hugs, and realizing that her new cast would allow her elbow to move freely, Annika was able to move forward and picked out the colors for her new cast: 1/2 green and 1/2 pink to represent a spring flower.

Not the outcome we'd hope for, but things could be a lot worse

To ease the sting of her still-casted arm, we opted for dinner from Dick's. Let's be honest.. a cheeseburger and some greasy fries can't fix her broken arm but they can put a smile on her face! (They also made our dinner planning after an unexpectedly long ... 2 hour ... appointment very easy!)

YUM

After realizing how vulnerable her arm felt in its new cast, Annika almost seemed relieved to have an transitional cast experience. Her elbow is very stiff and she's working on remembering to use it so it can start to loosen up a bit. It's all a process and she's many steps closer to the finish line.... just not quite as far as she'd hoped. We'll return to Children's on Eric's birthday for another check-up; if her bones still hurt when they are touched, she'll stay in the cast longer. If they don't hurt, she'll graduate to the brace. Stay tuned, dear readers!

Anna's Ear Warmer

Recently, my sister (hi, Suzanne!) showed me a picture of an ear warmer that she and my niece (hi, Anna!) saw in a boutique. Suzanne wondered how easy it would be to make something akin to what they saw in the boutique. I identified it as a crochet project (aka faster than a knit project) and popped onto the Internet to hunt for a similar project. I don't know if "hunt" is really a good verb, considering I found one almost immediately.

That said....

I found a pattern (actually, a tutorial), pulled out some yarn from my stash, a crochet hook, and got to work. This project flew together.... crochet + bulky yarn = easy to stick with my "finish what you start" theme for the year. BOOM! I added an Irish knot button as the finishing touch. Voila!

The beauty of this project is not only did I finish a project, but said project also helped me reduce my craft/sewing supplies stash. I had the yarn, crochet hook, and button all on hand. Decluttering + Finished Project = WIN across the board!

Doesn't it look cozy??

Me modeling Anna's ear warmer

"Ooh... what's this??? It's sooo warm!" 

Conor's Dream Treehouse

Conor and I have been reading the book The Dangerous Book for Boys together and have been learning a lot about really random things. Reading this book together has become "our" thing.... we snuggle up and read a couple of sections now and then. It's wonderful to have this 1:1 time to slow down, learn some new things, and just be.

This book is very eclectic. There are sections on fossils, how to play stickball, how to fold paper airplanes, etc. One of the topics we read about last night was how to build the perfect tree house. Mind you, this was a VERY in-depth construction tutorial... pages and pages of specific board lengths, cutting angles, and hardware.

Needless to say, Conor was VERY inspired to build a treehouse after we read this section, and is gung ho about building a treehouse or fort at his grandparent's house .. Watch out, Bestemor and Bestefar! :D

Before going to bed last night, Conor insisted on drawing out the plans for his dream treehouse (see below). It comes complete with a juice/lemonade/smoothie hut, two dog houses (for Bestemor and Bestefar's dogs), a variety of M.C. Escher-esque staircases, and a rooftop deck complete with a pointy decoration thing-a-ma-bob. It is fall in his drawing, so there's only one leaf on the tree, but it is sunny enough for Conor to require sunglasses.

My theme for 2019

I'm not a big "New Year's Resolution" kind of gal. If I want to adopt a new habit or give up a tendency, I'll do it when the time feels right ... not because the calendar says January 1st.

Instead of a resolution for this year, I've decided to give 2019 a theme. Anyone who knows me ... and I mean KNOWS me ... knows that I'm REALLY good at starting projects but not always great at finishing them. (Pretty sure that's how my ADD has manifested itself.) Anywho! To combat that tendency (and to de-clutter the house a bit), I've decided that 2019 is the Year of Finishing Projects.

So far, I've finished knitting a hat that I started last year, a Valentine's Day rag wreath (started and finished in time for Valentine's Day!), and a quilt for our niece that I started (I think) going on 2 years ago.

Valentines Day Rag Wreath
(SOOOO many knots!)

Sent this to Annika's pen pal, Katie, so the girls can have matching hats

Emily's lap quilt

Stay tuned for project updates throughout the year!!

Anna's Masters Recital and Robert's 23rd Birthday Cake

Part 1: Anna's Recital

Our niece Anna is a VERY talented musician and is currently pursuing a masters in choral conducting from UW. Part of that program includes putting together a music recital from top to bottom - picking the theme, the music, working with the vocalists, etc. etc. etc. Well, Anna did all that and had her recital all set for February 7th... as in when snowmageddon 2019 hit. Yup. Lucky her. Ugh! Needless to say, Mother Nature was NOT Anna's best friend when her snowy antics caused Anna's recital to be postponed. Fast forward to last Friday, the recital's new date. As I drove the kids to school, my stomach sank when I saw snowflakes flurrying around. REALLY? Fortunately, the snow only spun around in the air for a bit and didn't disrupt Anna's recital.

Oh what a recital it was!! The theme was "Take Me To The Water" (I think ... or something along those lines). All of the songs she chose tied in with water in some way, including a really neat song traditionally sung by Japanese fishermen, "Bridge Over Troubled Water", and "Let the River Run". The extra treat was hearing Anna sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with three of her peers; I didn't expect her to sing at all because of her conducting responsibilities. Bonus for Auntie!

Because I'm ... well ... me, I opted to make Anna cookies to celebrate her big evening. Because of the recital's water theme, I chose colors that represented the different colors of blue found in water. I also made a lot of them knowing she'd share with her singers. Fun stuff!

Part 2: Robert's 23rd Birthday
Today, our "little" nephew turns 23. When my sister was pregnant with him (but hadn't told us yet), she asked me, "Do you like being an aunt?" I was hurt.... I thought I'd done something to fail as an aunt and had no clue what it was. When I replied, "YES! Of course I do!" She said, "Oh good, because you're going to be one again."

A few weeks ago, our niece Emily reached out to me and asked if I'd make a surprise birthday cake for Robert's birthday. YUP!!! She had the idea of using the song lyrics from Blink 182's song "What's My Name Again?", which is a favorite of Emily and Robert. Knowing he is a fan of grasshopper pie (aka mint chocolate chip ice cream in a chocolate cookie pie crust), I opted for the same flavor profile. I made chocolate cake and a mint buttercream frosting. Tasty and it freshens your breath. Win!

Happy birthday, Boomer!! We love you and still like you ... even though you're 23!