Ballet

Hungry for interaction with other kids, since we have no friends here, Elle is taking ballet. She had her first class yesturday. The teacher was excellent, very clear spoken, fun, made eveything a game or a story... Elle really enjoyed it. The other kids have been in the class since early September so for the most part they had the motions down, Elle sort of reminded me of myself when trying to do work out videos... as soon as you figure out what to do, they move on to the next thing!  HA! But she enjoyed herself and half the fun was dressing up in tights, tutu, and ballet slippers and getting her hair all put up (yes, she IS my daughter...WAY more girlie than I ever was). She got to do some tap too. Loud shoes... a child's dream...a mother's nightmare....=)

On the way home from here there was a TERENCHAL (sp?) down pour! I had the wipers on full blast and still couldn't see 5 yards in front of me. The roads became rivers in just a few minutes and there was thunder crashing and lightning stricking all around us. It was incredible. Poor Michael was working in it...but it was pretty spectacular. I love thunder storms and this one was definately the most dramatic one I've ever been in.

Children's Museum

The place was PACKED. I could hardely believe it. Elle was enthralled (sp?) with all the kids. I think there were at least 6 bus loads of kids there from schools, plus all the other individuals. I have still never been to the Children's museum in Olympia so I have nothing to compare this to, but it other than how packed it was and you couldn't hear eachother even from 2 feet away, it was nice. Elle really enjoyed it. I think it'd be even more great for 5 year old's and older. It was not stroller friendly and it was tough on my own to keep my eye on Elle and chase Christian all over the place-as he is in the "run away" phase and could care less if he stays where he can see me/I can see him. They both LOVED driving the remote control boats in in the pool, there was a puppet show of the 3 little bears that Elle really enjoyed. Elle even went "fishing" off a boat and caught three "fishes"- she was so proud of herself... and me too, those fish are tought to catch! (the magnet kind, with the magnet "hook" and magnet in the fish's mouth) The best part of all, that I need to create at our place is the pretend grocery store. They had little carts, all sorts of fake food, real registars and check out stands. She absolutely loved it. She could have played that for hours. I think I am going to start saving food boxes and cans to tape back up and set up a store for her. Christian enjoyed putting things in and out of the cart as well.

Where are the Florida oranges?!

First Africa, now Austrailia..... no grocery stores have oranges from...ahem... FLORIDA! Someone educate me... do oranges not grow at this time of year? They don't store well, what? What possible reason is there that no grocery stores down here sell FLORIDA oranges? There are at least a dozen billboard signs as you drive into the state with pictures of lucious oranges and statements of encouragement to purchase these juicey delites...my mouth has been watering for them since....but where are they?!

PRIDE

Pride has completely changed my daughter. We go to the pool daily and every day she pushes herself to do more and more things learning how to swim. Other than the one day on Sunday when Michael watched Christian while it was just her and I at the pool, I basically just watch Christian and keep my eye on her. I am not involved with what she is pushing herself to do- the ideas are hers and the execution is done out of my reach. (although I am ready at every moment to pounce if she ever did go under.)
The last 3-4 days have totally changed her. She is so proud of herself. I consider myself to be a positive mom. I give positive reinforcement to her regulary during the day (even hourly)... you know, "way to listen first time", "oooo, nice letters you are writing", "wow! I didn't know you could..."...but this is so different. She would be just as proud of herself if I wasn't even commending her for her bravery and skills in the water. This is a pride that no one would be able to take from her if they tried. It is a true experiance for her. I can see her process her fear before she jumps, her focus, her concentration with how far she is from the wall or the steps in relation to how far she was the last time, I can even hear her talk herself through it at times...and she triumphantly does it! She jumps, her face goes under water and she keeps it under water intentionally (to push herself as this is a new skill) and kicks and paddles to the step before bringing her face up with a conquering smile.

It absoluetly affects our entire day. That hour in the pool changes her. She is obediant, doesn't argue or try and debate me, she isn't just happy, she's joyful. Her confidance gained carries her through things that otherwise would be difficult for her or "worth the battle". The way she is able to CONTROL her fear while jumping and going under water, makes controling everything else (where we are going, what she is eating, what tone of voice she should use, how she is dressed, etc...) no longer as important to her. It is a truly remarkable transformation.

So...therefore, I am sold. Children need this kind of pride and confidence. They need to be given the opportunity to become successful at something difficult (even if it's just difficult in their minds) and feel like they did it themselves.  I'm not saying I 'had' a bratty child, or even a disobediant one, or anything like that. I actually think we have always had her trained well (certainly with failing moments...but overall...) and she's always been a very happy girl (except for maybe the hours between 8pm and 8am for the first 3 years of her life)...but it is just different now.  So FIND IT, find what your child wants to learn (something that would be challengeing) and figure out how to enable them to learn it on their own or with you "behind the scenes" as much as possible.
 I can't express how much easier my day is because of this transformation. There are no longer those petty battles with her, or "control" battles, she doesn't get jealous of attention given to Christian anymore and is just all around a more confident person, happy to do what we have taught her is right.

Also, I know this is the "right" kind of pride because she immediately wants to share the joy of it with others. She anxiously tries to teach Christian to do it too "come on, it is so much fun", or "you can do it!" and tells me that she can now give me "swim lessons" if I want, because "she is ready". =) She wants to help others to be good at what she is good at and that's how I know it is a pride/confidance that I want to encourage.
On a lighter note, she did tell me this evening that maybe she still needed swim lessons so she could "learn how to breath underwater"...  ;)

four chairs and a sheet

I remember making forts like this when I was a kid. My brothers and I were only allowed to eat sugared cereal (lucky charms was my favorite) on Saturday morning. So we would make some magnificant fort and eat a rediculous ammount of sugared cereal and watch cartoons. I had totally forgotten about it until Elle made this one. Great entertainment for young kids... almost more time (and fun) in "building" it than actually playing in it.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I was itching to bake yesturday, to make something from scratch, to fill this foreign smelling condo with a "baking scent"...so Elle and I made Cinnamon Rolls. I have literally been to the grocery store 6 (yes, SIX) times since I have been here, and I have not even been here a week. It is amazing how many things you just have when you cook/bake often that lasts a while and you don't really consider often. Well, here I started with hardly anything- I brought along some recently purchased items from Azure Standard like organic flour, sugar and black beans- but other than that I mainly brought baby food and child's snaks. Every time I try and make a meal I find myself realizing I don't have a very basic ingrediant that I always would have had on hand back home.
Homemade meals really are cheaper than eating out (not to mention way healthier) all the time, but when you are starting with having to re-buy everything like baking soda, baking powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, spices, seasonings, etc... it gets spendy fast!
So Elle and I made these cinnamon rolls after carefully checking the ingrediants and going to to grocery store to get all that we needed. I put them in the fridge to chill overnight with the plan to get up an hour before Michael had to leave for work to set them out and cook them and put icing on them so they could enjoy them warm that morning.... As they were cooking, I began to make the icing (which had a separate ingrediants list)... and had no powdered sugar! It was 4:30 in the morning and no grocery store close enough to make it there and back in time, let alone worth risking who knows what being out in this area in the dark... so the kids and I had icingless cinnamon rolls this morning... but we made our 6th grocery run this afternoon and I got powdered sugar, so we'll try again tomorrow. =)

Here's the recipe: (altered from Better Home and Gardens Cook book)
Prep: 45 Minutes    Rise: 1 hour     Chill: 2-24 hours (or not at all)
Stand: 30 Minutes (if you choose to chill)   Bake: 20-25 minutes 
Oven: 375 degrees    Makes: 24 rolls

4 3/4-5 1/4 Cup of all-purpose flour                                      Vanilla Glaze:
1 package dry active yeast
1 Cup milk (I think whole milk works best)                           In a small bowl stir together 2 1/2 Cups
1/3 Cup butter                                                                        powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons light colored
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar                                                      Olive Oil, 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla. Add
1/2 teaspoon Salt                                                                    enough half and half to reach drizzeling
3 eggs                                                                                      consistancy. (about 2-4 Tablespoons)
1 Cup packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 Tablespoon Cinnamon
3/4 Cup butter
a few Tablespoons of half and half
1 recipe of Vanilla Glaze

Optional add ins:
Raisins, pecans, chocolate chips, peeled and diced apple chunks (I used these)

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/4 Cups of the flour and yeast. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, 1/3 Cup butter, granulated sugar, and salt just until warm (120-130 degrees F) and butter almost melts; add to flour mixture along with eggs. Beat with electric mixer (or a strong arm as I did...) on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in as mush of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (about 3-5 minutes). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; turn one. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about an hour).
3. Punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in  half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two 9x1 1/2 inch round baking pans or 2 baking sheets; set aside. For filling, stir together brown sugar, the 1/4 C flour, and cinnamon; cut in 1/3 Cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Roll each half of dough into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Using 1/2 of remaining butter on each rectangle, spread butter evenly over dough. Sprinkle filling over butter. If desired sprinkle any optional add on's at this time. Roll up each rectangle starting from a long side. Seal seams. Slice each roll into 12 peices. Place cut sides down in prepared pans or baking sheets.
5. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to rise. Chill for 2-24 hours. Uncover; let stand at room tempature for 30 minutes. (Or, to bake rolls right away, don't chill the dough. Instead, cover loosely; let dough rise in a warm place undtil nearly double, about 30 minutes.)
6. Break any surface bubbles with a greased toothpick. Brush dough with half and half. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until light brown (you may want to cover the rolls with foil the last few minutes to prevent over browning). Remove from oven. Brush again with half and half. Cool for 1 minute. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze. Serve warm.

The trash commitment

I have never used a trash shoot before. It is unbelieveably stressful! You take the bag full of garbage down the hall, open the door, pull the metal handle back and drop in the trash bag... it should be simple... but once you drop it...it's GONE! I just can't seem to get over it... What if something was in there I will realize later that I need? What if the kids dropped something in there I didn't see? A bill? My cell phone? A phone number on scrap of paper? A sentimental toy? ...I am not a material person, we don't have very many nice things let alone anything that I would be really upset if I lost (basically just the ring on my finger, a couple of stuffed animals of the kids and some furniture that I didn't even bring with us) but it still never fails me to hesitate before dropping the bag and then standing there for a moment after waiting for that "moment after memory" to occur that never fails to kick in when it is already too late, and then all the way back to the room I go over in my mind what "might have been in there"...
My conclussion on the trash shoot is that the stress far out weighs the convienance... I miss having haul my garbage to the can off the back deck and then 700' down the driveway to the curb... at least then I had a whole week to rummage through and get anything that accidently found it's way there or caused too much remorse to get rid of... this being said... I cannot think of a SINGLE time that I have EVER gone and "retrieved" ANYTHING from the trash...humm... maybe the garbage shoot isn't so bad.
This city living is making me crazy... a post about garbage?! What am I thinking....

Here's a capture I got of Elle the first full day we were here. I was putting things away and she was playing in our room building a "boat". I noticed it got quiet and went to investigate and found this. She slept like this for over an hour. Cozy kid.

We have been practicing Spanish since we've been here. I will probably butcher the spelling (much like I do with the English language as well) but I thought I'd share what we're learning and if anyone wants to teach us a few essentials- that'd be great. It is so fun learning with a 3 year old- languages come so easy for them. Rapido=fast. Coma-es-ta?= how are you?. Muy bien=very good. Gracias=Thank you. Daynota=you're welcome. Ola=hello. Senta=jump. and of course the numbers 1-10. Minuteo=minute. Porfevoir=Please. I think that's it. She has got them all down except for Coma-es-ta? she usually says something like "Coma-mushy-tineo"....so funny.

I have to just throw this in because I'm not sure where else to put it and it was such a shock. We went to the grocery store and started in the produce section and I was excited to get yummy Florida oranges... I saw the oranges and started putting them in the bag.... until I saw... "grown in Africa"...AFRICA!? I put them back and looked thoroughly for the other section of oranges... there were none... they had NO Florida oranges, only ones from Africa! That would be like a grocery store in Washington not carrying any WA grown apples! I was shocked.

Alligator Farm

These are the geese I wanted to get last year when we got Elle's chicks....but they're over $50 per gossling... but aren't they beautiful!

They look fake!

My little man is growing up fast!

Elle touched the tail when I was holding it... then she asked if she could touch it's mouth.... nope! =)

Elle kept asking to see the Aligators and Crododiles since she learned we were moving to Florida. When I was teaching her states I "tagged" each state with something to stand out for her and those were Florida's (Montana's where the cowboys go... Maine's where the lobsters live etc... I made it into a song for bath time and she loves it.). So we went to the Alligator farm today down by the Everglades. She loved it. I feared she was all talk and when it was time to see them up close, she would burrow into my chest, but she didn't. It was fun. We didn't stay too long the kids are still getting climatized and it was HOT out, but I started a new tradition (if you could call it that) I got the kids a book from the gift shop. I am going to try and buy them a book each time we go do something special and then write in each book where we got it, what we did that day, how old they are, etc... I thought that'd be a fun sort of educational way to remember where they've been.

The pool

Elle loves the pool here. Today her and I spent a lot of time there and every day she gets more and more comfortable in the water. But today was a break through for me with her that I thought I would share for anyone else who has a VERY strong will and "I'll do it myself" type personality. (And I'd love any ideas/examples anyone else may want to share with me! It takes a village!)
 I have a challenging time teaching her things that require a process--she is super easy to teach facts to, but actions are much more difficult because she is so determined to lead- not follow. I want so much for her to learn not only how to follow directions about things that are not easy to do but also that good leaders are leaders who know how and what it is like to follow.
So with the swimming it has been a real process trying to encourage her to do more things in the water, without pushing her to where she doesn't like it or is scared of the water. So today I took a new approach and asked her to teach me. (really the best way to learn anyway) She LOVED it. I said "okay I am going to show you real quick how to use your arms and then you're going to teach me how to do it." We made our hands into "closed bear claws" and "scoop scoop scoop"ed the water behind us. And then she taught me- ever so carefully- correcting me and using her hands to show me and to push my fingers together. I pretended to wonder why we want our fingers together instead of appart,  and we "contemplated" it, etc... It worked great and in less than 10 minutes I made more progress with her than the last 3 pool visits combined. Her "getting" to teach ME meant so much to her and she was so proud of herself and it was obvious that the techniques will not be forgotten.

Coconut Grove...treasure found....

I found it! Nearly 5 miles from the condo... the most incredible area! A grand park that is HUGE- lots of different play toy areas, exercise area (a little cheesey- but Elle loved it), bridge over the water with an incredible view of boats and wind surfers, open grass, sand volleyball pits, jogging path.... awwww..... a mile past the park is an area called Coconut Grove... a bit to the opposite extreme fromo "my" neighborhood... pretty ritzy.... nice stores, a market (can't wait to check that out), sidewalks without trash, broken furniture and dog poop on them, a beautiful marina, no bars on the windows, The Cheesecake Factory (!!!! YUM!) and other stores that I recognize. The greatest part of it all is that NO highway is required to get there! I make 2 turns and that's it.... I may just have a change of heart about the city after all...

We survived!

My courage was still wanting this morning for the grocery trip... I ended up walking with the kids in the stroller... I would rather be mugged than get lost on the highway!... I found the grocery store (about a mile-mile and a half away) and only bought what I could fit in the stroller and then rushed to get home before any of the perishables went bad. Finding that store on foot (way easier to go back the way you came on foot that by vehicle) gave me the confidence to pull up my boot straps and find the bank AND Wal*Mart (which I rarely shop at back home). I was so proud of myself, with Mapquest's help- I found both! And then failed miserably to find my way back home... I should have mapquested my return trip as well because retracing my steps does not work when they don't have the same street exits going one way as they do the other. These erronds would have taken me MAYBE 50 minutes to complete back home.... today... 2 hours 38 minutes... same approximate mileage... not to mention how difficult it is to haul purchases in with two kids- one who needs to be carried and an assigned parking spot that is as far away as possible (75 yards?) from the 4 (yes FOUR) doors that we have to go through to get to our condo. Just to bring in the $38 worth of groceries took me 3 trips...Again... seriously... how/why do people live like this as a choice?!

Did I mention that everything here is WHITE?

White tile floors, white dishes, white towels, white sheets, white bath rugs, white (well, really sort of cream) cushioned dinning room chairs, and white walls... oh dear.... I do not belong here... I suddenly notice how dinggy all of my things are (mom- you were right...). I had no idea how much soot would be on our patio! Within hours of being here we have successfully made trails of BLACK throughout the condo with our dirty bare feet! One bath rug is totally at a loss and Elle managed to get her little black feet on a wall. Blueberries for dinner were a trial for not staining the chair cushions, and I just immediately boxed up all the white towels and sheets and comforters and put them in the closet. This place will be lucky to survive me and my children... I am going to buy some slip covers for the furniture and the dinning room table chairs... how do people live like this? I am just glad there's no carpet... Talk about CULTURE shock!

13 states, 3376.4 miles, 4.5 days and 2 kids under 4

Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida... We have arrived!
Here was some of the play by play:

20 minutes in- Elle: "I have to go potty."
35 minutes in (just after leaving rest stop for Elle)- a strange noise... is that a water hose broke in the engine? (I say that like I know what that is... I have no clue, but it sounded like what I'd imagine one breaking would sound like). Pull off... nope! Just the toy oven "boiling water"... back on the road...
1 hour, 20 minutes in- Elle: "Are we almost there?" =)
3 hours in- carrier starts whapping (is that word?) against the roof of the van...seriously DEAFENING... pull over, tighten the strap... 5 minutes later, still doing it... This continues for about a hour before I am determined enough to figure out a way to stop it or just leave it on the side of the road... I wrap a wash cloth with electrical tape (thank you Niki! It was the roll you gave me ages ago) around the srap and problem fixed.
Day 2 -Christian cried the ENTIRE day. The only time he didn't cry was when he finally fell asleep for short naps. When he finally fell asleep at "night" (7pm) I decided to keep going to get a couple hours in while there was finally SILENCE. (Elle had been an angel all day.) I stopped at about 10pm hoping to carry in two groggy kids and put them to bed and then crash myself... Christian was WIRED! It was so adorable... he was so happy to be out of that car seat, the was flopping around on the bed, head butting me, growling and having such a fun time....until nearly 1 am.... Elle thankfully slept through it all.
Day 3- Elle: "Are we going back home now?"
My phone car charger is broke... My battery is low and abviously this is a problem... turn phone off to save battery
Day 4- Stop at a gas station to ask where nearest Verizon store is for a car charger. The guy tells me, but also showes me that they have car chargers and directs me to the rack....of about 30 different chargers... none of them are working. He kindly comes around the counter, "what phone are you looking for one for?" I show him, "this one"... He chuckles outload with great restraint to hold it in... "no, I know we won't have one for THAT one...better try the Verizon store."
I find the Verizon store... I present my phone at the counter and inform them that I need a new charger. There are 3 people standing there, and they all look at each other with smirks on their faces. I am thinking I must have granola bar stuck to my face or something... "no ma'am (did he just call ME ma'am!?), we haven't carried cords for THAT phone in THREE years." !!!! Apparently I have an ANTIQUE cell phone! So I had to buy a whole new phone in order to get a charger. I got the cheapest one there and it is still so stink'en complicated and fancy!
Day 5- we arrive! The FIRST turn off of a main hyway and I am lost! I don't get over fast enough- those semi's don't take the mini van with the 2 decade old roof rack seriously... I am COMPLETELY lost and all turned around- I end up on a bridge that is taking me WAY to the other side of the city.... I am so stressed out... I hate the city... I got it all figured out to get back to the correct side of the city and Michael met me at a gas station and had me follow him the rest of the way...completely helpless... I am never leaving the condo...

Trip Observation:

Not a SINGLE person asked what was taking us to Florida... NO ONE asked a SINGLE question when I mentioned we were traveling from WA to FL. They all just sort of looked at us... we looked RAGGED... the kids had dread locks forming on the backs of their heads from their carseats rubbing, Christian rarely had pants on and was ALWAYS covered in whatever food he had been eating for the last 5 hours, Elle never wanted to wear shoes and had WAY too much time to pick the scabs on her chin and cheeks and often had dried blood on her face. I won't even start to describe how rough I looked... let's just say it was NOT pretty... Everyone who saw us either thought I was running away from my abusive husband, or I had stollen those kids and was on a run for it....probably didn't help that I paid with cash every where I went. Those kids don't look like me at all...which is a whole nother story... "oh your kids are SO CUTE... they look JUST like their dad."... Not as much with Christian... in fact in the beginning I had people ask what ethnicity my husband was! (he sort of has chinnese eyes) and then there were (are) all these comments... "where does that RED hair come from?!"... hello folks- I AM 40% IRISH!.... I promise, I don't know any red headed Chinnese men... anyway, I digress... I am certain that a family almost offered to buy us lunch one day at McDonalds when it was taking me a minute to find my cash!

To the drivers who saw me dancing like a crazy person... there were kids behind those tinted windows and THEY were loving it.... To the Verizon store that allowed my children to run around and roll on the ground and play like crazy in that huge open show room.... thank you.... And to the woman at the rest stop that was seriously beside herself in shock that I allowed my children to run through the sprinklers and roll in the grass down the hill... you should try it sometime...

Here's photo's of the new place...

Those are the trees roots!

Our new back yard. =(

Couldn't be more different, but the pool is awesome and it is so sunny and warm here! Tomorrow's adventure... find a grocery store... and find our way back... oh my... how my "adventures" have changed... I think I'd rather help birth a cow...