Des Moines Update

I'd say we did pretty well getting all the kids in the picture, even though they aren't all smiling. This was at Rita's house on Friday night. We had a little pizza party, and it was here that Stephen discovered his love of Cheetos.

I wanted to include this one, just to show off Abby's lovely hair and because Anna was so excited to be holding her little buddy.

Here are Abby and Addie, who is 2.5 months younger. They were both quite social when we got together to play on Friday morning.

Stephen was pretty excited to visit "Uncle" Peter at his pharmacy in Adair.

Those who are my friends on Facebook might have known that Grandma Susan got us in (or out, depending on how you look at it) to see the helicopter at Methodist Hospital.

Stephen even got to sit in the pilot's seat!


It was a wonderful week, seeing friends and family. It always goes by too quickly. In other news, Ryan sprained his wrist the Friday before we left. We're thankful that it doesn't seem to be broken. (We did have an x-ray done and nothing showed up.) We're currently in the middle of making sure that our home is a safe place for all of us to be. We had some lead contamination that seems to have been taken care of, and now we're wondering if the glaze on the bathtub that was supposed to seal in the lead is causing its own problems. It's disconcerting to feel like my own house is poisoning our children.

"__________, Come over!"

Stephen has decreed that the following people need to come over to our house:

• Gina
• Maya
• Phoena
• John and Jackie
• Obama
• Aunt Sherry

Stephen is also very sad that we aren't currently getting in the car to go to grandma and grandpa's house. But how could we? We're waiting for friends to come visit us . . .

Toddler Revenge and Ingenuity

Yesterday when we were taking a walk, soaking in the glorious weather, a man walked past us and teased Stephen a little bit for wearing a Hawkeyes jacket. Understandable--we do live in Illini territory!

Not to be intimidated, Stephen announced to me right after he passed us, "Follow her!" (tee hee - last time he'll mess with my kid!)

Stephen likes watching tractor clips on youtube, and this is one he's been asking for a lot recently. (It's not really worth watching unless you like watching tractors; it's of a tractor driving on its rear wheels.)

Keeping that in mind, this is what I saw him pushing this across the floor this morning. (Who taught him how to do that?!?)

Highlights and Lowlights

The kids and I are back from a 6-day trip to Texas to see my parents and to give Ryan some time to really work on his school and air force stuff. I'm glad we were able to go, but the trip was not without its challenges. I'll mention here some good and some less-than-desirable circumstances.

On the way there, Stephen and Abby were delightful travel companions. On our 2nd flight, the young woman next to us was sleeping almost the whole time. As we were getting ready to deplane, Stephen noticed that she still had her eyes closed. He started pointing at her frantically: "WAKE! WAKE! WAKE!" I promised him that I'd make sure she got off the plane, too, but at that point she was already smiling at him. Stephen was so excited when he saw mom, dad, and Emily waiting for us that he sped up from his casual stroll to an all-out run to greet them.

We got to have lunch at the restaurant where Emily works. It was a busy time for them, so she was pretty busy, and Stephen didn't understand why he couldn't have "Tantie Em" all to himself.

I was given a few names of women to connect with in San Antonio (hi Bethany and Julie and Sherri) ... and that was really nice as we weren't really there to be tourists but rather to get a feel for what the locals do.

While I'm glad we got to go to San Antonio for the day, it was a little overwhelming for me. The hour-long wait at the visitor center to get onto the base was tiring and the city is too big to just drive around a few areas where we might want to live.

Wednesday when mom and I got back from toy shopping, Stephen was resting on the couch with a fever. He continued to get sicker and sicker and we finally took him to the minute clinic at the CVS down the street. We did that mostly so they could take a look at his ears to see if he would be able to handle the airplane ride today. She heard his wheezing and sent us immediately to urgent care. "Urgent care" was not a good name for this place, as we waited 2.5 hours to see a doctor and get a prescription for a sinus infection. The medicine did its work and Stephen is much better today!

We celebrated Emily's 25th birthday with a giant cookie. Stephen sort of ruined the little bit of surprise it would have been; when she walked in the house he said, "CANDLES!"

I mentionned the toy shopping before. Mom and I found a great deal on toy train track (all you could fit in a gallon ziploc for $5!) and I got a magnetic calendar that I won't use for awhile. We also found the pushtoy for Abby that she LOVES!

MAMACITAS!

Today was pretty much a nightmare at the airports. We flew Austin-Chicago-Indianapolis and then drove home. Stephen hardly ever wants to sit in the stroller, and that's fine when we aren't in a hurry and when he is being cooperative and staying close to me. After being sick Wednesday and Thursday, he was still feeling rather weak and would really have prefered to sit on the couch with mommy watching Thomas the Tank Engine. So hooray for being home with 2 sleeping kids :).

Mamacita's

My one request, food-wise, was that we eat at a Mexican place while the kids and I were visiting mom and dad in Texas. So this was on our way home from San Antonio yesterday and it was sure great! We also enjoyed a nice lunch at The Cove and took a quick tour of Lackland AFB, where Ryan will be working sometime later this year.

Abby got a new push toy today and loved it. Mom has a video of it up on YouTube.

I would post more, but I'm anticipating a rough night with a little boy with a fever and a girl who gets me up a lot anyway.

Not Just Another Fire Station

No, this is a fire station made of recyclables! When Carolyn and Susan were here this weekend, we put this together during naps and after bedtime. The station is made of cereal boxes, and the truck is made of an egg carton.

Speaking of egg cartons, we picked up some eggs at Meijer tonight, and soon afterwards, I asked Stephen to put a jar of peanut butter in the cart. Oops! Right on top of the eggs. I checked, and 2 eggs were broken in a significant way. Long story short, I got a dozen solid eggs and Meijer didn't make me pay for the broken ones. That was nice.

You Know You're a Mother When ...

... you think "living on the edge" means going to the library without a diaper bag.

This is precisely what I did a couple of hours ago.

And I'm sure that you're now thinking I'm going to tell you a thrilling poop story. But I'm not. It was fine. There were no catastrophes.

But we did stumble upon a birthday party for Abraham Lincoln, complete with cake and punch! Ever since going to the museum a few weeks ago, Stephen has noticed Abe's picture just about everywhere. And since he's on the Illinois license plate, we hear about dear ol' Abe quite a bit.

And now we're waiting for Susan and Carolyn to arrive. It'll be a little later than they expected since Obama decided to go to Peoria when they were driving through.

Lest You Think Abby Is Adopted ...

My dad has been having fun digitizing old slides.

Here are two: One is of my sister Emily when she's about a year old. The other is of my dad (on the right) and his twin brother sitting on their grandparents' laps.

Show and Tell

One of the ways I've been able to stay connected to adults while I'm home with kids all day is through reading blogs. Some of my favorites are Keeper of the Home and Not Always Right. It doesn't require me to have more than one hand free--essential with a baby!

Yesterday I discovered a new feature of Google Reader.

I can "share" articles and blog entries that I find interesting and want to share with other people. I can even make comments next to them (without commenting on the blog itself). One of the ways to do this is through a website that anyone can access. So here it is. Check it as often as you want; I'm not making any promises to update it but if I do it's something I think is worth reading!

Favorite Things

My friend L posted today about what we can be happy about in February. Since the only things I can really add to her list are that grandma and Aunt Care are coming next weekend and the kids and I are going to Texas later in the month, I decided to write a list of some of our current favorite things.

Abby's favorite place to hang out
Under the table, where, despite my best attempts at frequent sweeping, she finds bits of food to eat

My favorite new treat
Stroopwafel Cookie. Bethany brought me a bag from Germany last week. And I hope my food coop friends want to order some, too, so we can buy a whole case ...

Ryan's favorite thing to not have to do on Wednesday night
A paper for musicology

Stephen's favorite pastime at the library
Reading books (he just realized they were there last night?!?!)

Abby's favorite new toy
An empty bottle of dried oregano

Stephen's favorite thing to hand me in the middle of the night
a booger

Stephen's favorite CD
Veggie Tales Sing-a-long, which he refers to as "MADE-O" (tomato)

Ryan's favorite hot chocolate
After trying many types, he still claims that nothing compares to Friedrich's in Des Moines

Stephen's favorite nonsense word
Alort

My favorite laundry soap
Charlie's. Some friends and I just ordered a 5 gallon bucket and are splitting it up 13 ways.

Big or Little?

We noticed that Stephen was distinguishing between big and little things ... He has big trucks and little trucks ... in the picture of hot air balloons he will point out the little balloons and the big balloons and do so correctly.

But then this is how our conversation went this morning:

Me: "Is Abby big or little?"

Stephen: "Little."

Ryan: "Is mommy big or little?"

Stephen: "Little."

Me: "Is daddy big or little?"

Stephen: "Little."

Me: "Is Stephen big or little?"

Stephen: "Big."

There Are Things Children Learn from Their Parents

Stephen started hugging Abby and then he started kissing her on the lips. She was a willing participant in his display of affection. I ran to get the camera but the imitating of me and Ryan was over. Here you'll see a more appropriate, brother-and-sister sort of interaction.

Swim Lessons

A month ago I decided to sign Abby up for swim lessons at the same pool where I swam when I was expecting her. Today was the 1st day. I can't say she loved it, but she definitely did get used to the water and even seemed to improve over the course of the half hour that we were there.

With our upcoming move to Texas, we think it's pretty essential that the kids get used to water soon. There'll be no better way to cool off in the hot summer!

Ryan has been taking Stephen to the campus pool on the weekends during their family hours. Stephen isn't loving it either, but he gets better each time. We'll just need to keep it up for both kids. And we should have more opportunities this summer.

Eric and Bethany ... I mean Dr. and Mrs. ... Landquist left today to go back to Germany. It was great to have them here for a couple days but it did feel like a whirlwind for them. Eric's defense went well and he deposited the very next day.

Abby had her 9-month checkup this week and checked out just fine. She's slowing down in her growth - which is a FINE thing - just different from her brother who continues to be really tall for his age. She's hitting gross motor milestones much faster than he is. She's very motivated and has begun standing without support as well as cruising in the past week.

Be on the Lookout for Paint-With-Water

I cannot find Paint with Water books! I think Stephen would enjoy it. Anyone know where you can get these anymore? It seems they were all over when I was little, wherever coloring books can be found. I guess I can get them online, but I was thinking a little closer to home ...

But since we could not find them, we got some Play-doh.

And Abby needed a little snuggle time after I got out the very scary vacuum cleaner.

Duh-scovery

Ryan and I both wear contacts.

Though not the same prescription strength.

But we both have identical prescriptions for our own eyes, making it unnecessary to store them in the designated "L" and "R" sides of the contact case.

Today I realized: Left, Right, Lisa, Ryan. WOW!

A simple switch of the lids, and we now have personalized contact cases. Beautiful.

Lincoln Museum

One of the things we've wanted to do while living in this area was visit the Lincoln Museum in Springfield. It would have been easier without the kids, but the day we thought would be good to do it did not jive with grandmas or grandpas being in town. So on Sunday we took off.

The museum itself isn't huge, but the exhibits are very well done. There are 2 movies, and we watched one of them. Even Stephen sat through it--it was only 10 minutes long.

Most of it was "no photography allowed," so I will show you some from the kid's area as well as the atrium.

Simple Things

It's the simple things in life that sometimes go unmentioned, but down the road I wonder why I never said them before.

So here, in this blog world, let me just say that I really appreciate it when I can pull up to a sidewalk at a store and walk in without having to cross the parking lot. Maybe a civil engineer will read this and design a lot with mothers like me in mind. For their sake and mine, thank you! I have discovered, especially with all the snow recently, that it makes getting in and out of a store so much easier! Even at our Schnucks down the street, I will park farther away down the strip mall just so we don't have to cross the parking lot. And here's a 2nd best option for the store's cart-pushers: when you take the carts inside, leave 1 or 2 in the corral for mothers to park next to. I'm impressed by certain workers' eagerness, but I have seen them snatch away the last cart in the lot just as I'm pulling in and it's quite devastating (at the time, anyway).

I have recently started making my own yogurt. I've known it was possible, but after 1 failed attempt I didn't know if I wanted to try again. Then I ran across a way to make it in the crockpot and WOW! It's so easy and makes it so affordable to have smoothies ("moobies") on a daily basis. At the moment I am cooking pancakes that have yogurt in them instead of milk and I think the fam is going to like them.

The Big News: A Move to San Antonio, Texas

Here is the news that we've been waiting to share, simply because we wanted to decide for sure if we were going to do it! Ryan will accept a saxophone position with the Air Force Band of the West and we'll be moving to San Antonio this summer. Now some of you are blog scanners and that's all you needed to know. For those of you with more questions, I'll try to address the FAQs.

Does he have to go through basic training?
Yes. It's 8 1/2 weeks, and it will be after this semester of school. No, we don't get to see him for that time, but we will be able to talk on the phone a few times.

What is the commitment?
We give them a 4-year commitment. Chances are that we'll be in San Antonio that whole time.

Will he have to travel/go overseas?
Yes, he will have to travel. The region he tours is Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The projections are that there will be 6 tours a year, each lasting 7 - 10 days. There is a small chance he would be deployed, but it would be to play the saxophone with his ensemble. We're prepared to cross that bridge if necessary.

Will we live on base?
Probably not. About 90% of the band members live off base, and we're leaning towards doing the same.

Isn't that close to Emily?
Yes. She lives in Salado, which is about 2 hours away. My parents recently bought a home in Georgetown, which is even closer -- just north of Austin.

What are Lisa and the kids going to do while Ryan is in training?
Good question. Of course I don't want to alone with the kids that whole time. But I also want to keep life somewhat normal for Stephen and Abby's sakes. I'll probably do some combination of traveling to see family and friends as well as staying in Urbana.

What will Ryan's rank be?
He'll enter as an E-3 Airmen 1st Class. (I'm not totally sure what that means, but I'm sure we'll find out.)

What is the high in San Antonio for tomorrow?
67

What is the high in Urbana for tomorrow?
32

And now I will leave you with a photo of Abby clapping and Stephen playing his own version of Twister.

What We Did to Kick Off 2009

We traveled to Des Moines on January 1, right after Ryan played a new year's eve gig in Bloomington. (Side note: I knew when I married Ryan that December 31 would be a work day for at least one of us. I'd performed in a concert almost every December 31 since joining the symphony and he--a jazz musician--would be even more in demand. So far here is the rundown: Year 1 - in Montana, and Ryan was battling a stomach bug. Yuck. Year 2 - sitting in a hotel room with Stephen while Ryan performs in Oskaloosa, IA. Year 3 - sitting at home while Ryan drives a limo. Year 4 - trying to keep happy Abby quiet in the same room as sleeping Stephen in Bloomington.)

We got together with the Adair, IA, family on the 2nd. Here are Grandma and Grandpa Fay with all the grandkids and great-grandkids.

Aunt Care had a great time with both kids. Here she is with Abby, whose hair continues to make me laugh. It'll lie down on her head one of these days.


Here is the gingerbread house that Ryan and I assembled and then Stephen and Susan finished decorating. The cookies tasted NASTY but Stephen liked them anyway.


These photos are from my trip to Marshalltown to visit the Snodgrasses. Nick and Xander and Abby had a good time, though all 3 kids are still more interested in making sure they know where mommy is than they are in playing with each other.


Ryan went to San Antonio to audition for a job. More TKTK.

I Hope Someone Tells Me This Is a Hoax

I'm pretty skeptical of most email forwards I get or shocking declarations of drastic changes in laws or policies. I usually check on snopes.com to see if there's any validity to the claims, and am usually alerted to where the scam or story began.

But this one seems to be true.

It sounds like a good idea. Test children's products (including books, clothing, and toys) for lead and keep the tainted items off the market. I don't want my baby having lead poisoning and I am careful about what she puts in her mouth because of that. I know someone personally who deals with lead poisoning from paint chips she ate and it has profoundly impacted her life.

But this new law that was supposedly signed into effect in August of 2008 will cause all retailers to pull toys, clothing, and books off the shelf if they haven't been tested for lead by an independent 3rd party. And it's not as simple as sending a lead-detecting police dog through the store. Some places claim it can cost $500 per item to be tested for lead. It would include consignment stores and thrift stores.

Here are some links that I've run across.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,2083247.story
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML

And a website to try to do something about it:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

Something tells me that this just isn't going to happen.