Memorial Day weekend–Lake Chelan

We had a fun long weekend at Lake Chelan to celebrate Memorial Day weekend this year.  We took the boat and this was Sara’s first camping trip. Here is our trusty steed.

 

Heading over the mountains is no easy task with two kiddos, so we were on the lookout for somewhere to stop and let the kids play.  We found Smallwood Farms right outside of Leavenworth.  It had toys, chickens, a petting zoo, goats, swings, you name it.  All FREE!  We were almost the only ones there and got the wiggles out of the kids. 

Sara was enthralled with the chickens.  She first saw them and her face just froze.  It was like she was saying “Mama, look at those animals.  They are r.e.a.l. animals, but they aren’t cats or dogs.  What are they?”

Alex got to feed the goat and really liked that.

And we pushed on to Lake Chelan.  We arrived at our campsite early afternoon and started by setting up our campsite.  This is Alex’s 4th camping trip and I don’t know if he actually remembers or just remembers looking at pictures, but setting up the tent is what Alex wanted to do.  And that is exactly what he got to do (with Dad).

 

 

This being Sara’s first trip, she was looking all around her at everything that was new.  New tent, new mattress, new sleeping bags, new picnic tables, new everything!

We happened to be on a campsite that was right next to some heavenly scented lilacs.  MMMMM!

 

We arrived on Thursday and had the campground pretty much to ourselves.  There were a few people here and there, and it was nice to have some quiet time.

 

We found out that Sara loves Mike’s.  LOVES Mike’s.  Well, not Mike’s itself, but the bottle.  Every time we would open one up, she would want the bottle so badly.  So we would just pour out our drink and give it to her.  Happy girl.

There was a big playground at the state park, oh what fun!

Not necessarily a good one for little 1 year olds, but with Mama or Dada there – she was in heaven.

Of course, Alex knew just how to do it all.

Thursday and Friday were actually really nice, we had some sprinkles and a short rain cloud, but otherwise it was beautiful.  Although, the lake was very low (apparently lower than usual because of the cold spring not melting the snow as fast as usual).  The yellow buoys are the swim buoys.

 

Lance is the man who does all the cooking while we are camping.  And he’s good at it.  He made us pancakes and sausages one morning and oatmeal and hot chocolate (with marshmallows) the other mornings.  Here he is flipping the pancakes with Alex anxiously awaiting.

 

Chow down!

 

And some resident ducks who would always know just when we were eating and come pick up anything that Sara would throw down.  She was so excited about them coming, she even learned to say Duck (sounded like “Duh”) and Quack Quack (“Wah Wah”). 

We took the boat out on Friday, Lance was chopping at the bit.  We had never been to Lake Chelan before and so we didn’t know if it was normal, but there was a lot of wood in the lake.  We don’t know what exactly happened, but part of the outboard broke off seemingly by a piece of wood getting stuck and causing the outboard not to be able to go down all the way.   You would think the prop would break first, but the side of the outboard has a big chunk out of it and it’s just gone.  It does seem to run fine with this piece missing, but it will be forever a mystery.  Here is Lance getting in the water at the dock after we first started the boat and took it out, it made some funny noises.  We came back to the launch and he checked it out.  Cold water, I hear.  Lance was pretty upset and I think Alex sensed something was wrong with the boat right after Lance did and was totally scared our first ride.  He screamed the entire 20-30 minutes.  We came back in finally, and then about 1/2 hour after we got off, said he wanted to go on the boat again?!?

 

Sara, our little birdie.

Boat motors make excellent napping conditions.  (plus snuggly monkeys and a tight life jacket)

We found a nice beach that would’ve been underwater if the level of the lake were up.  It was warm in the sun, but not hot.  Hence, the sweatshirt and shorts on Alex. 

We went to get pizza on Friday night and it was very nice out.  Sunny, upper 60’s.  Alex was wearing his shades and had a lollipop.  Too cute!

 

The pizza place “Local Myth Pizza” we went to was delicious!  We had there “Crispy Pepp” pizza which was fantastic, and a greek salad!  We would highly recommend this place!  We took the pizza and fixings over to Beebe Bridge State Park on the Columbia River.  It was very nice, quiet park. 

 

No rowdy, crazy, drinking at 9 am, CWU college crazy campers.  It was nice to get away from them for a bit.  In fact, those crazy campers have inspired Lance and I to seek out “alcohol free” camp grounds.  They were not TOTALLY absolutely awful, but they were so highly annoying.  We would even be willing to consider not taking alcohol on our next camping trip should be enough explanation.

 

Playing on the beach.

And now some iPhone pictures:

The kids had a good time, and we decided to come back on Sunday.  The kids slept most of the way home and slept soundly when we got them home, clean and in their own beds.  Alex looks so cute when he’s asleep in the car – all tuckered out.

 

And on the way home – a deer jumped out at just the wrong time and hit the boat, didn’t do any damage.  The deer did not make it and was killed instantly.  The truck and boat are a big force to move (or stop).  Lance saw the deer, but could not stop in time.  We feel HORRIBLE.  Absolutely horrible.  Lance knows he did everything he could, but it still sucks.  The deer was crossing highway 2 and was probably going to get struck by someone else, if it hadn’t been us. 

 

Alex was awake when it happened, but did not see it.  He just felt a bump and heard us talking about “did it break anything”  “is it OK?”, and got pretty worried.  He was so tired, I just told him we hit a bump and everything was fine.  He fell back asleep.  Lance and I thought that we were pretty lucky.  The deer could’ve been hit on the front of the truck, come through the windshield, done damage to the truck or boat, or both, caused a crash, but luckily none of these happened. 

 

Unluckily for the deer.  

 

So sorry deer, so sorry.

Perforated Eardrum

 

Sara was sick with a croupy cough a few weeks ago, then had a runny nose cold the week after that, but was getting better.  Not letting it slow her down one bit. 

 

Until last Friday when she took a turn for the worse.  It started out just cranky and clingy, not wanting to be put down and just wanting to be held.  By Friday afternoon she had a mild fever and was pretty tired.  We let it go since the fever temperature does have an immune system function, it wasn’t too high.  We let it go Sunday, thinking she must be getting better soon, the fever was still at about 102 degrees. 

 

But, she didn’t. 

 

In fact, I found two little brownish spots on her pillow on Sunday and thought it was odd.  Then I noticed her right ear with some brownish crusty stuff in there.  Ok, things are starting to seem suspicious…

 

So, Monday morning after struggling about whether to take her into the doctor or not, but she was still fevering, and now had some yellow crusty stuff in her ear, I finally decided to do it.  She is obviously teething, too.  And had a goopy eye.  So, I thought that the least they would say was that she was teething and to wait it out. 

 

She was so puny by the time I took her to the doctor on Monday afternoon, she would just sit in my lap.  (I did get some good snuggling time in, though).  She obviously didn’t feel good and she didn’t look good either.  She didn’t even mind the doctor listening to her chest and just sat there.  He looked in one ear and said “Oh – I think I know what’s causing this” (an ear infection), but then looked in the other ear and said “Well, this one has burst” (perforated eardrum). 

 

 

 

Now that makes a Mama feel guilty!  I’m SO glad I did take her in, but I can’t believe I was even thinking of not taking her in!

 

Now she’s on her first antibiotic for 10 days at 13 months old.  The doctor even commented on how healthy she has been and how she has not visited the doctor for anything other than her well-child visits. 

 

We hope this medicine kicks the bugs out and no more ear infections and burst eardrums!   

 

The ear drum should heal on it’s own in the next few weeks and she’ll be back to her old self. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sure brings back memories of Alex’s ear infections and ear tube adventures, though. 

Sara’s new sandals

 

And they’re not pink!

 

What is it about babies legs in shorts that is just too cute?!?

 

And, to top that – they were even on super warehouse sale – originally $42 – got them for $16!

 

 

Sara smelling the flowers (but she really thinks they are all dandelions and blows them with a little puff of air – so cute!)

Spring family photo

I’ve been consciously trying to get in front of the camera more.  I can ask others to take the photo, or use my tripod or timer.  In this case, I used my tripod (and remote) and captured our family on a (gasp!) sunny Spring day a while ago.

Things are going by so fast – I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old!  Crazy! 

Before you know it, we will look back at this and “remember when”…

No bathtub

 

Well, what do you do when you have no bathtub?  Give the baby a bath in the kitchen sink! 

 

Or let them just get stinker and stinker…  Ewwwww!!!

 

Our bathroom remodel is coming along nicely, probably will be done in the about two weeks. The tile is ALMOST all done, then the grout, the countertop/sink and then install the fixtures.  Then, it’s all the details: the shower curtain rod, the mirror, toilet and new light fixture, etc. 

 

Until then, we’ve been giving Sara baths in the kitchen sink and she loves it! 

 

 

She looks so much like Alex to me in the picture below, I don’t know if it’s the mole hill hair or the open mouth smile.

Happy face / Mad face

 

 

Taken within ~ 1 minute of each other (photos by Lance).

 

 

Thoughts on Motherhood

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

4 years ago, I had a (almost) 2 month old baby boy named Alex. 

Today I have a 4 year old and a 13 month old who are my all, my everything.

I have collected some of my favorite quotes about Mothers today.  And my thoughts that go along with them.  Enjoy! 

 

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren

I have learned so much over these 4 years.  I’ve learned to be comfortable in my new Mom identity, to trust my Mom instincts (they guide us in so many ways), I’ve learned that making the hard decisions where there is no right answer, only the one I make, is tough, but someone has got to do it.  I used to second guess my self and not feel sure about the choice I did make, but now I am so much more confident.  Having Sara has given me so much strength in what I want for my kids.  And more & more each day, to not feel (as) guilty when I take time for myself, to know that I can leave my child for work or a date night and it will be OK (& thank goodness for wonderful caregivers, too), to understand what my child needs from me and when, and when to help them learn things themselves. 

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I can’t “do it all”.  I can’t.  And I won’t.  Something has got to give and if you push and push to “do it all” it will be at you and your kids’ expense.  Delegate, Delay, Ask, Say No, Share, Help, Balance are some of the keys I have learned.  I’m not saying say no to everything, but just make sure the urgent doesn’t overtake the important too much of the time.

The best advice I can give to Moms is to be in the moment - The best time of your life should be today; what's past is past and the future holds no guarantees.  Take videos and pictures, they won’t be like this for long, in fact, they will only be like this today.  And when you look back and those videos and pictures, it will seem like yesterday. 

There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one. ~ Jill Churchill

I used to think about being a “good” mother and how to be “good” (vs. “bad”).  But, I’ve realized that there is SO many ways to be a good Mom, and being a “good” Mom does NOT mean that you are practically perfect in every way.  In fact, just the opposite.  I can get mad at my kids and still love them.  I can be tired out and need a break.  I can leave them with their Dad and (almost) not feel a bit of guilt.  I can take time for myself because when I do, I’m a better Mom (for them and for me).  I can work and make a living for our family and still be an involved loving Mom. 

 

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone

A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after. ~Peter De Vries (you know it!)

The phrase "working mother" is redundant. ~Jane Sellman

Working mothers are guinea pigs in a scientific experiment to show that sleep is not necessary to human life.
~ Author Unknown  (Uhh, this one is totally spot on!)

Remember that behind every successful woman......is a basket of dirty laundry.
~ Author Unknown

Working and having children has become so much easier.  It was so difficult for me to go back to work after Alex was born.  And sometimes I feel like I work 24/7/365.  But, I know all Mothers feel this way (I used to think it was only me).  I used to think staying home was “the answer”, but know I know there is no right or wrong answer.  Just like there is so many ways to be a “good” mom, there are so many ways to be a good working Mom.

The patience of a mother might be likened to a tube of toothpaste - it's never quite all gone.
~ Author Unknown

Remember that behind every successful woman......is a basket of dirty laundry.
~ Author Unknown

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. ~Charles R. Swindoll

This is part of the reason that I take so many photographs.  I remember looking at them when I was a child and into adulthood and remembering small details, like the clothes I wore, my friends, & what I liked to do.  The photo visual is so strong, in my opinion, even stronger than sound/stories. 

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~ Phyllis Diller

(and thank goodness for housecleaners!)

 

 

 

2011 – Mother’s Day

 

2010 – Mother’s Day

2009 – Mother’s Day

 

{Sadly, I did not take a 2008 Mother’s day Photo.}

A reminder to us all to get in front of the lens and just capture the beauty of you and your family. 

You will miss it when you don’t have it, trust me.

 

 

2007 – Mother’s Day

 

Hopscotch

Alex has been having so much fun with hopscotch lately.  We draw them on the driveway, or find them from when our nanny and her daughter, along with Sara, were playing outside with the chalk. 

 

He knows everything – about the numbering of the boxes, to hopping, to throwing the rock and skipping over that box. 

 

We made a particularly big hopscotch last week and it probably had 40 boxes that turned out in the (somewhat) shape of a nine.  He was hopping away for probably an hour and making more and more boxes and putting the numbers in each of them.  He would ask, what is after 10?  I would say 11.  He would ask what numbers are 11?  I would say – a one and a one.  We would continue all they way up to 29.  Then we would restart.

 

 

Sara loves drawing with the chalk too, and even sometimes trying to eat it!  And she loves dandelions too!  Yummy!

 

 

 

“Ta-da!”