We're Those People

Every year some of our fantastic neighborhood friends throw a costume party for Halloween. Until I post some of the kids in their costumes, perhaps enjoy ours. It was a disco party. When the hunt for a polyester one-piece proved fruitless, I sought inspiration from some of my dad's old buddies and my friends' dads back in the day. Travis worked it in his delicious disco duds. I had so much fun dancing the night away.

National Adoption Month

Not sure if you've been introduced to therhouse blog but it's worth checking out. When I first came upon it, I was so intrigued, fascinated, and in awe at the stories I read and all I learned about adoption. My grandmother was adopted and she had a negative experience and challenges surrounding her adoption. I always grew up with this a less than positive idea about adoption. Now that I have learned more, developed friendships with adoptive and adopted friends, my feelings have become so much about realizing that families become families in many different ways. I'm grateful for adoption and respect birth moms who love their children so much.

On the blog also is an invitation to a dinner at a yum-o restaurant (Trav has been there, I haven't yet), Blue Lemon, in Salt Lake.

*I guess I should note that adoption has come a long way. It isn't what it once was, and I do believe much of that is through education and sensitivity.

Daddy's Girl

Cassidy has been so sweet and loving the past few days. We had a fabulous afternoon cooking/baking together while Beckett slept yesterday and Boston was at school. When she's in charge or has an assignment, she is a new person. She wants to blaze her own trails and have ownership over a few things. A true middle child--like mom. But mostly my Cass is like her dad.

She loves:
Pickles (kosher dills)
Christmas songs
Having her back tickled
Meat
Winning (who doesn't...but she reeeaaallly wants to win)
Taking her shirt off when she comes inside after running around in hot weather
It's no wonder he calls her his precious angel.

In other news, Beckett finally started sleeping through the night while I was in Park City on my girls' trip. Seriously, he better keep it up. I am a new person when I sleep.

Congrats!

Congratulations to Patrick and Emily! They got engaged last weekend. We're excited to welcome her and her two beautiful boys to the family. My kids already adore them.


And below: a tiny photo I stole from facebook.

Last Week: Sucky and Lucky

Last week was both sucky and lucky. Sucky because Boston had these little clusters of skin-colored bumps on his leg. Some friends' kids had similar bouts with this rash called moluscum. Apparently, my pediatrician said I could just let them clear up or take him to a dermatologist to have a simple procedure done. After our California trip they seemed to have spread a bit, so I made an appointment. The doctor treats these bumps a couple times a month. All she was to do was put some ointment (literally beetlejuice) on each one and cover each with a small piece of tape. She instructed me to leave it on about 3 hours and then shower him off. The ointment would make the spots blister, mesaaging his body to attack the virus. I put him in the tub after about 2 hours but soon discovered that the tape was stuck like glue to each emerging blister. His leg was so tender that I decided not to send him to school. I tried repeatedly to get the tape off but Boston cried in pain. With a few calls back and forth to the doctor I realized I just had to get all the pieces of tape off. I held him down and began to pick. It's really hard to have to hurt your kid and the whole time I kept thinking how unnecessary this all was and how the doctor may have not given me the right instructions.

Long story short, poor Boston was writhing in pain the whole night as he basically got chemical burns and I had been forced to peel off parts of his skin that would not relinquish the tape. The verdict was that his body reacted too quickly to the ointment and was perhaps more sensitive than other kids' skin. 3 missed days of school and a loooong, ouchie weekend are finally behind us, though his legs may scar.


The week was lucky, though, because I got to see my long-time friend, Daniel. We've known each other since I was 15. He enlisted in the army when I was 16 (thought it was the end of the world!) but has made it his career and will be a lifer. He had some business to do in Colorado so he stopped in. We stayed up late chatting and catching up on old times. He is so magnetic. He tells things as he sees them and has an infectious smile. He is hilarious and easy to love. My kids gravitated to him immediately (he says it's because he looks like Mickey Mouse). Anyway, I called to check on him during his long drive home and we got to talking about how we both would like to eventually write books. He said he thought I'd finish first. "Oh yeah, why?" I asked, having a feeling I knew what was coming. "Because you have more time on your hands." What the?! I remained calm and asked him how many hours he'd be working at his new job. 40 (as I had suspected. Hmmm.). "So what will you be doing after work?" He told me he'd probably be vegging on the couch from exhaustion.
"Well my job never ends, Daniel." And that night we all stayed up chatting? Yeah, you slept solid til 10 a.m. I slept 3 hours, you little stinker. Knowing (as any good man does) that he was digging himself a hole, he added a most deliciously dangerous comment. "Come on, Chelsea. I've seen your kids. They're angels. And I know a lot of women who do what you do AND work a full-time job."
The end. Feel free to comment because this post is already long.

6

I can't believe the Beckett man Bobas is 6 months old! As you are the third, Little Man, I'm not sure describing your infancy is all that accurate. A lot of the memories we have are centered around our family dynamic. For instance, your bout of colic/fussiness that started at 6 weeks I really feel wouldn't have been a big deal had it not been for the other two energetic kiddos. When Boston was a baby, I had the time to sit and hold him and nurse him at all hours. And though your little nervous system was working itself out, I also have never felt such euphoria. The weeks after delivery I just couldn't get enough of you. Dad hated admitting that you were--quite possibly--the cutest kid he'd ever seen. Part of the joy of having you was seeing Boston and Cassidy accept and love you immediately. They have never said one unkind thing about your arrival. They innately protect and care for you. They adore every little thing about you. When you're ready for the tub, Cass can't stop patting your bare 'bum bum'. And Boston loves to play with you and try to escape your drool and claws. He's so excited to teach you baseball and is so proud when he can hold you on his own and show you to his friends and classmates.

At 5 weeks, you rolled over for the first time and blessed us with your first grin. By the time you were almost 3-months-old you were rolling across the floor. And even though you hated your carseat as a newborn and being naked, you now appreciate the opportunity to roll around sans clothing (grabbing yourself to make sure nothing has disappeared since the last diaper change!) and proved to be the most amazing traveler on your first flight to LA and road trip to California.

You are so aware and determined. You are always looking around for new faces and already experience cabin fever. You love being outside and would choose noise and the hustle and bustle of a busy household over quiet activity. The other day we put you in the stroller with Jason and you immediately grabbed the sides and started rocking back and forth as if to say, "Quit chattin' and let's get this show on the road!" You love toys more than any baby I've seen. I'm constantly rotating them out and you already have a favorite (the caterpillar I hijacked from Brandi).

Lastly, I must mention your crazy ability to eat. You are only 50th percentile in weight (75th in height) but eat like a toddler. Sometimes I'm concerned that you could eat 6 oz every 3-4 hours around the clock. It's exhausting and mind-blowing all at the same time.

I try to keep most of these mommy details in my personal journal, but I just had to post about how much I adore you, Beckett. You are my little blonde surfer-boy. I know in all your eye contact that you have a lot to say and your own little personality. You look just like Dad and I just can't get enough of that pouty lower lip. Though it may seem that you are compared often to your siblings, just know that I enjoy you in a special way because I'm not a brand-new mommy. I have had calmness (thus far) with you and more assurance in my parenting skills which has allowed me to take it all in and savor your milestones without being schedule-obsessed or overly worried. We love love LOVE you.

Uhh Uhh Hoooppy Birtday

Today is my amazing sister's birthday. She is the reason I even consider having another baby...the opportunity to possibly give my Cassidy the beautiful gift of a sister. Bridget is the greatest friend. She is beautiful, courageous, unpretentious, genuine, guileless, spiritual, funny (so funny!), accepting, and unafraid.

When we were kids, she was always trying to snuggle and smother me with love (which I truly couldn't stand as a kid!). I was uncomfortable with all the mooshy affection--which only fueled her fire to squeeze in one more forced hug. She's always been a lover of a girl. Her sensitive, tender ways haven't always yielded the best outcomes for her but now pay off big for her as a parent. Her children will never question the love she has for them.

When I became a pear-shaped pre-teen and she was the slender, gorgeous adolescent I remember going to her room to cry to her about my body insecurities. She didn't hesitate to drop whatever she was doing (talking on the phone, daydreaming to Kost 103.5, writing in her journal, or planning which baggy jeans and bodysuit she'd wear to school the next day) to give me a pep talk and loving advice.

We've both had our reason along the way to live parallel lives, but these last few years we have become soul sistahs. We have no jealousy between us. I always know she wants the best for me and I her. When we aren't laughing our way through the craziness that is motherhood (visualize Jason's once-silent, slide-into-home tantrums or Cassidy's order-barking from the bed to deliver juice, popcorn and/or candy stat), we are sharing tender moments and finishing each other's sentences. We see each other almost every day. She's got my back (and she's just the cholita you want in your corner, yo). I love her more than molten chocolate cake, long random (and sometimes unsavory) trips to Ross and the 'Maxx, walks around El Pecker Park, and even a labor-inducing deep-fried Twinkie. Happy Birthday, my wonderful Biddy!