Ascent to the Golden Bushie

Years ago -- I can't remember how many exactly -- my hubby and eldest son, who must have been quite little at the time, summited the hillside of our neighborhood to a particularly large shrub my son dubbed, "The Golden Bushie". If I recall, it was one of those days where father and son needed some time outside together and mommy needed some quiet time at home. It was pre-little brother. Or at least, pre-mobile little brother. The Golden Bushie is remarkable in that in Fall it stands out on the green hillside due to its golden, yellow shade. It is also, for some strange reason, flanked by several madrona trees. (One doesn't usually see too many madrona trees this far inland. Of course, we have a decent amount of seagulls around too. Go figure.)Anyhow, since that time we have walked the woods and hills behind --in front of?? It depends on where you're coming from... -- our neighborhood on numerous occasions, but have never again been able to reach this elusive location. Until two Saturdays ago....

After parking at the trailhead about a mile from our house, we trek down the trail and head into the woods...determined to reach our goal.

Little Brother isn't so sure about all this...

Big Brother is game for any adventure...

Emerging onto the grassy hillside, Mommy takes up the rear, with dog in tow...

Big Brother forges his own path...as usual

Snacks: Don't leave home without them.

The men break off from Mommy, whose still-weak ankle won't let her climb steep hills, leaving her with the dog, the camera, and a cell phone... Little Brother is actually riding baby-gorilla style on Daddy's back by this point.

Objects in this photo are FARTHER than they appear...but they are getting CLOSER to their goal!

Success! If you look closely to the left of THE Golden Bushie, you can see Hubby...

Zooming in, a shot of the happy climbers.

And we even made a friend...

The End!

Wordless Wednesday

(You'll get it if you've seen Kung Fu Panda.)

A Great (Wolf) Vacation

We had a wonderful trip to the Great Wolf Lodge last week. I think I was the person most reluctant to leave. T had such an amazing time. He was totally in his element -- literally. We could have left him in the wave pool for 48 hours straight and he would have been thrilled. Talk about sensory heaven! He willingly took on every slide for which he was tall enough, a bazillion times. He would have gladly tried the Tornado, but alas, he was too short. We splurged on the lodge's Magiquest game -- and it was well worth it. The boys got wands with which we completed a series of quests and adventures. There were interactive items (eg. animals and paintings) all throughout the lodge. Wave your wand at the item and it gives a clue or results in a a stage of a quest being completed. By the time we left, we were Master Magi! Our room was perfect -- the boys had their own decorated bunkbed area and we had a fridge and microwave. Wolves, water, wands and wonderful boys, what more do we need?!

Sorry it took so long to get the photos up. And the ones we have aren't super. The problem with a lodge is the lighting is...well, lodgy. Many of our photos are just too dark to enjoy. And the flash gave everyone red eyes. so I had to go in and edit that out. I was also sort of grieving the end of the trip, like I mentioned. T was SOO happy and mellow and pleasant...meaning everyone was relaxed and enjoying each others company. It was sad to leave knowing that it would mean a return to the struggle that it every day life. But such is a real vacation. A break from the norm. For once we really got to experience that...and I'm extremely grateful.

A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Tomorrow is the 6th birthday of my big, bouncy boy! We, however, won't be here. We're heading south to the Great Wolf Lodge! What better present for a boy whose favorite thing in the world is water than a trip to an indoor water park?? Its also likely our "last hurrah" since we are now Number 7 on the wait list! (And we're getting poorer by the minute -- before we leave town we have to pick-up our minivan...for $404! Yuck!)

Love you so much, Big Boy! Happy birthday!

Neurotypical Vs Not-So-Typical

There are certain moments when I catch myself marvelling at the differences in my two boys. The youngest is three and a half now, which is about the age where with my oldest I really had started to conclude that something was wrong. There were glimmers of it before that time, but it wasn't really concrete until age three. Having the neurotypical (ie "normal") child second obviously offers only the benefit of hindsight in that regard; "normal" behavior of the second child shows what was missing with the not-so-typical first.

Some differences are glaring, as in the pitiful stages of separation anxiety. Boy #2 leans to the extreme on this one -- he's still very clingy when it comes to his mommy. His brother, on the other hand, never shed a tear over being left in someone else's care. He usually cried when I returned to pick him up. (That's a transition issue.) Mostly he never seemed to care where I was at all. If he needed something, he would simply improvise a way to get it. (He has since learned, much to my chagrin, that if he hollers for something he might avoid having to work at getting it himself.)

Today I experienced one of the more subtle examples of something else that was missing: conversation. My younger son has developed a love for hot chocolate. He would much prefer my coffee, but this is an acceptable compromise. This morning I decided to join him in a cup and sat down beside him at the table. The little guy proceeded to tell me all about the previous evening at AWANA club, how he gets sad when I leave him with Grandma, and so on. He asked if I get sad too when I leave him, to which I replied that yes, I often miss him very much. As our conversation continued in this way, I was struck by its shocking novelty.

Ever since his brother started kindergarten this year, I have been surprised at how much the little guy talks. (And talks. And talks.) In fact, I have remarked about it on several occasions. But over that cup of hot chocolate this morning I realized that the kind of conversations I envied between other mommies and their children were actually happening to me. All that talking he's been doing is normal. It wasn't normal to hold a one-sided conversation with a silent child. (And, oh, I talked and talked to that child! Being the quiet type, I was so worried that he would be lacking interactive conversation, so I talked about everything I could possibly think of....) As he got older, the silent child spoke more often. But I realize now that he never shared feelings or thoughts about his experiences. He asked questions. Repetitively. One after another. He never responded when spoken to...until about age four when he would respond with a squawk and a smack to the stomach before bolting from the room.

Its funny to feel like a new mommy when you're raising your second child. There have been so many milestones, most of them subtle, that we simply never had with our eldest. Right now I'm working on potty training with our three year-old. His brother potty trained himself in one day when he was nearly four. Never an accident, never big-boy underwear by day and pull-ups by night. Diapers to underwear in one day -- just because he wanted to. Even then I knew that was unusual! I have no idea what to expect this time around. I do know that I got off easy the first time around, at least on that one account.

Today, when I hugged my soon-to-be-six year-old before I sent him off to school, I told him that I loved him. For about the fourth time in his entire life he actually responded -- he said "Me too."

_________

** I just realized that this is my 99th post. Am I supposed to do something interesting for my 100th? Any ideas?

Baker, Baker

I have a confession. I hate to cook. Always have. Yet, it is necessary for me to do so for my family's survival, so I have learned the basics and do the best I can. Baking, on the other hand, holds more interest to me. The problem with baking is that I simply don't have time to do it very often. Oh, I bake my boys' birthday cakes, cupcakes, and the usual potluck brownies, but I don't often get to do much more than that.

A short time ago -- 10 days to be exact -- I was given an Amish friendship bread starter from a Bible study friend. (If you're like me and have never heard of Amish friendship bread before, think of it like a chain letter in the form of bread dough. Someone gives you a starter mix in a Ziploc bag, you take it home and mush it around for a certain number of days, then add some ingredients to multiply it into four starters and batter. At this point, you'll have three starters to give away, one starter to keep for yourself, and batter to make into two loaves of bread.) Well, I faithfully mushed that little starter for the required number of days, then today the little guy and I got to turn it into its doughy destiny. As you can see by the photo, I am so pathetic in the cooking/baking world that I had to scrounge for pans to use! Hey, at least I had the ingredients on hand. Tonight we'll find out how successful we were....

So, Becky E, does this make me in the dough-know??

Wordless Wednesday