MauldenNews January 2011

I find myself with a little bit of time right now, so even though I don't have pictures downloaded, I will at least get this month's news on the blog.

Sad but true: I got a new camera for Christmas, but have yet to actually use it. The old one still works. I guess it's just psychological inertia. In order to use the new one, I'd have to take 5 minutes to figure out how it works. OK, I officially make this my goal for the month. I'll post pictures from the new camera in February.

Alex is doing really well in kindergarten. Her social skills have improved compared to last quarter (much less hitting , though she still displays some "resistance to authority" - surprise, surprise). Academic skills are at the top 10%, not surprising. I am so pleased with her caring teachers and small class size of 14 students. Most important is the fact that she LIKES school and even admits to liking it. I'm grateful. Alex's most recent remarkable statement was this: "I don't mind Sam, and I don't mind singing; it's the two together I can't stand." Really, Sam's singing isn't so bad, but I can remember how irrititating my siblings were (I won't mention any names) so I kind of sympathize with her. But can't bring myself to ban Sam's singing. Alex can plug her ears.

Sam is doing well too - he has perfected his Curious George voice and mannerisms, which we are trying to cure him of, but to no avail. He enjoyed performing his gymnastics skills with his class this month and proudly repeats them at home (forward rolls off the couch! cartwheels off the couch! balancing on the couch!). He wakes us each morning with cheerful songs and lots of wiggly romping in our bed. Things I wish he wouldn't do: climb up on counters and steal candy from the top shelves where we unsuccessfully try to hide it; eat crackers at my computer leaving crumbs all over the keyboard; leave the toilet unflushed. Any hints for getting kids to flush will be welcome here.

Bryan's news of the month was the onset of repeated episodes of vertigo, a new experience for him. Luckily, his personal neurologist was close at hand; I decided his nervous system was functioning properly except for a consistent deviation to the left while walking with eyes closed. My prediction of a normal brain MRI was happily correct, leaving us with a probable inner-ear issue. Luckily he seems to be back to normal. His other adventure was a little sledding in his car on an icy road, hitting a curb and losing a hubcap in a snowdrift. The car had a wobble at highway speeds after this, which the kids enjoyed (they liked saying "ahhhhhh" and hearing their voices vibrate) but is now fixed after the bent wheel was replaced.

I actually have a career highlight to report this month. As a result of my project to implement standardized computerized order sets for stroke patients at the VA, I was selected to attend a forum on Patient Advocacy sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology. Although we had to do camera interviews, which are not my favorite thing nor my talent, I enjoyed being with a group of very dedicated, caring people who are doing interesting things to advocate for neurology patients. One example was a doctor who started an art therapy program for Alzheimer's patients. His father was able to express himself through art long after his ability to speak was gone.

While victims of Alzheimer's disease and other related dementias are losing their memories and ability to communicate, art can be their escape. “Art can often be a window to bypass the constrictions of dementia,” says UAB geriatrician Andrew Duxbury, M.D. “Their brains may be damaged, but the qualities present in children that allow them to express themselves are still there. It's a way for them to express what they're thinking and feeling.”

If you're interested, here is a news article about it.

http://www.petoskeynews.com/news/null-art-therapy-changing-perspectives-lives-of-alzheimers-patients-20110128,0,3319637.story.

My other accomplishment for this month was running my second half-marathon! It wasn't an official race, just a solo "fun run" on a 40-degree winter's day. For my course, I chose the Porter Rockwell trail, a paved route with nice mountain views, bikers, runners, walkers, dogs, and the occasional horseback rider. I enjoyed it and finished without injury, but despite trying to speed it up a bit in the second half, I finished about 1 minute slower than my first half marathon time back in September. Maybe this route was hillier, and I was facing a headwind coming back, and I was getting over a virus...or maybe I'm just getting slower...?? but anyway, I did it! Next official race is set for May, the Ogden Half Marathon, but for now I'm going to take a break and relax. My inner runner is satisfied.

And that's all for this month's news. Hope all is well with everyone. Send me an e-mail - I'd love to hear from you!

quote of the day - a song in my belly button

Bedtime with Sam...

Sam: "I have a song in my belly button."
Me: "Oh. What song is it?"
Sam: "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

MauldenNews December 2010

Wow, another year gone already. Feeling grateful for a happy and blessed year. I've been rather lazy about blogging, but we've had a good month.

Sam drew a complete blank when Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, but luckily there was a box of candy canes at Santa's feet so Sam pointed and said, "That."  Alex was too nervous to tell Santa what she wanted; all she could do on his lap was giggle. No matter, she told me she really really wanted yarn for Christmas, and she did get a full-size multicolored skein (if that is the right word - I've not really touched yarn since about second grade). She has spent hours making yarn creations, mini-balls of yarn, yarn Christmas ornaments, yarn animals, and more. We have spent some time picking up yarn around the house, too. At least it's easy to clean up.

Sam's stocking is not in this picture because Sam absconded with it on Christmas Eve and it took me a while to find it. It was upstairs dangling from the cord to the window blinds. I guess he thought it might be easier access for Santa. Alex made sure we didn't forget to leave cookies and CHOCOLATE milk for Santa, because "Santa's probably never had chocolate milk before!"

 Bryan is showing off his gift from Alex: a candle and two AA batteries to power it.

 Sam liked his Lightning McQueen Pez dispenser.

 Alex loved her can of Mr. Bubble so much that she used the entire thing in the course of one bath.

And finally, we are so proud of our little swimmer - isn't she awesome?

For some reason I don't feel I have much to say tonight - I should be summarizing our year or remembering the highlights, or making a top ten list, or sharing my New Year's resolutions...but you'll just have to call me or e-mail me for those details...I'm feeling lazy tonight.

Mostly I am grateful, for the life I've been given and the people God has given me to love.

Happy and blessed New Year to all.

Morning of Dec. 8

I have finished my morning workout and am taking advantage of the still-quiet house to do a little reading before the kids wake up. I'm reading a book called "Everyday Blessings" on "mindful parenting." The chapter I'm on is called "Live-in Zen Masters" and is causing me to reflect on all the things my children have taught me, and are still teaching me. Like how impatient, rigid, and attached to having my own way I can be. How reluctant I am to cede any of my planned free time to unexpected interruptions. How little I pay attention to my own internal state when under stress and how often I lack empathy for what it's like to be small and powerless. Yes, my little Zen masters are powerful and effective teachers.

Ten glorious minutes of reading go by. I hear small footsteps and look up to see Sam's head, covered in a blanket, peeking around the corner. I offer my standard morning greeting: "Samwise! Good morning sunshine!" His mouth opens and a little squeak comes out. The blanket goes over his head and he disappears back into the hall. A few seconds later he is back, curled up face-down on the floor at my feet. "Woof, woof," he says. I rub his back. "'Woof, woof' means 'I am hungry,'" he informs me. "OK, little puppy dog, let's get you something to eat."

The morning routine begins. Coffee, oranges, cereal, frozen berries. Sam gets himself dressed but in the process opens up a wound on his thumb that begins to bleed. At the same time, he urgently needs to go to the bathroom. He runs to the toilet clutching the front of his pajamas and sucking his injured thumb. Alex makes him a "band-aid" out of yellow sticky-note paper and offers to bandage him with it. I am happy she's trying to help, but must veto the paper "band-aid" in favor of a Snoopy one with an absorbent pad. We finish breakfast. I start a load of laundry and load the dishwasher. The kids find the number 8 on their Advent calendars and happily munch their chocolate squares.

10:00 AM. Swimming lessons for Alex. She is making beautiful sine-waves with her body, moving like a dolphin across the pool, a plastic ring around her feet to keep her legs together. Sam is borrowing the instructor's clipboard, writing "SAMUEL" and "MOM" in awkward capital letters with a pencil. "How do you spell 'humongous?'" he asks. We write more words and draw mazes. Alex does a delicate dive, followed by a belly-flop and a cannonball off the diving board.

11:30 AM. Half an hour for lunch and then we head to school. Alex asks if we can go to the library, "pretty please, with a cherry on top" to get a book called Barn Owls that she read in school.  She also asks, "Mom, why is it important to know how to fight?" I tell her that sometimes we need to fight to protect ourselves from being hurt, or to protect others who we love. We talk about self-defense. She wants to study Tae Kwon Do. I think I may sign her up, and Sam if they will take him.

That's it for today. Just wanted to record the ordinary stuff. Life is beautiful, no?

November MauldenNews

Alex's homemade glasses

Hi All,

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. We had a great time in Reno with my mom and various Billharzes/Billharz associates. Sam kept singing "Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go!" In this case it was "over the mountains and through the snow." We had cold temps (the lowest recorded on our car thermometer: 2 degrees) and icy roads on I-80, but we made it in about 9 hours. Kids' dramamine and a portable DVD player with "How to Train your Dragon" kept the back seat crew pretty happy. Alex drew some awesome dragons too.

Thanksgiving day - Alex had a blast sledding with her cousins in grandma's yard. I ran my own 5K around the neighborhood and broke a new personal record - for the coldest I've ever gone running outside (at least voluntarily). 26 degrees. Crazy! We had the usual holiday mob - 25 or so for the big turkey dinner, 15 of which were kids ages 1-18. Thomas ate mostly broccoli, Sam ate mostly cheese cubes and grapes, and Alex ate mostly cranberry sauce. Mom cooked all the side dishes and Jenny brought 3 turkeys: one real and two made out of fruit and veggies. I need to get the pictures from mom - they were amazing! It was actually a little strange NOT to cook for Thanksgiving this year, but I didn't mind too much. :-) The rest of the weekend was soooo nice and relaxing. We watched UNR beat Boise, spent time with family, helped put up the Christmas tree, and took the kids swimming and then out for pancakes. Sunday I went to church and sang hymns with my mom, which made me happy. I ran into some familiar faces there, including the pastor who married me & Bryan 19+ years ago.

After playing with their cousins, Sam and Alex decided to start their own clubs. Sam's is "the flying club," in which the boys shoot people with marshmallow guns from their airplanes, and no girls are allowed. Alex's is "the loving club" and grandma and I were the first to join.

In other news, I visited Washington, DC for a work conference and enjoyed the change of scenery, the chance to eat at a good Ethiopian restaurant, and warmer weather than in Utah. But it was good to get back home.

Four books I liked this month:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (listened to Jeremy Irons read this on CD - great stuff!)
The Hunger Games - good suspenseful thriller with an interesting premise
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan - an American woman goes on an impromptu 4-month "walkabout" across the Australian continent with a tribe of Aborigines
Fool's Gold by Gillian Tett - the story behind the 2008 financial meltdown - the housing bubble, the big banks crashing and burning, the Wall street craziness behind it all. Not my usual reading material but it's been surprisingly interesting, and eye-opening.

Well, that is about all our news for November. We are full of thankfulness and mindful of our many blessings.

Peace,

Sarah

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MauldenNews October 2010

Hello All,

How is everyone? 

We've been busy with the usual things - school, work, 3 friends' kids' birthday parties, swim lessons, and of course, Halloween. We had a purple fairy princess and a Lightning McQueen racecar driver this year.

This month was pretty nice, weather-wise, for Utah. We did get our first snowstorm, with about 5 inches of snow at our house and more in the mountains. Ski season has begun. Still, Tammy and I have been lucky to have several good long runs together on Saturday mornings. I love keeping in shape and getting some extended chat time with a good friend. :-)

I've had a pretty good reading month, too. My book club read The Help by Stockett, which I really liked,  and I have slowly been working my way through Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child by Patty Cogen. This is my new favorite on adoption and parenting issues - I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone parenting any child with a complex background - very helpful insight,  interesting research reports, and best of all, practical wisdom and tools for every age and stage all the way to adulthood. Grateful to be reading it at this stage, as both kids are growing more aware of adoption issues and asking questions about their identity. I wish I'd had it earlier - am now more acutely aware of my many parenting mistakes  - but I'm learning. 

Other books that are worth mentioning:

Razing Hell by Sharon Baker - a well-thought-out, interesting and provocative look at the theology of hell. Actually it touches on other key theological topics as well - but easy to read for us non- (or amateur) theologians. This would be a good one to discuss - if anyone's interested or has read it - let me know! I really liked it. 

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah - I listened to this on CD - it was painfully sad (story of a child soldier), but good. Not for the faint of heart.

Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan - I'm halfway through this one now - woman gets sort of kindly "kidnapped" by Australian Aborigines for a 3-month "walkabout" across the Australian continent. Intriguing so far...

And that's about it for us. As always, I hope things are well with all of you.

Sarah

first school photo - kindergarten

I was a little worried about how this first school photo would turn out, since this girl does not like to comb her hair. Plus, picture day was Papa's day to drop her off at school and who knew what she would be wearing. I think we got lucky! Whew.

bedtime fears

Alex goes through stages of bedtime fears. I think it's a form of separation anxiety. She'll be fine for a while and then go through a period of being afraid. When we ask what she's afraid of, she'll say, "My room," or "the dark," or "my closet." The other night she told me, "I keep hearing ominous sounds in my room." :-) I didn't even know she knew that word!

We have developed a system that works for us. We put a sleeping bag or blanket on the floor of our bedroom. We tell her that whenever she is afraid, she is welcome to come in and sleep on the floor as long as she is quiet. When kindergarten started, she did start coming in about every other night. Gradually she's coming in less and less. It helps that our floor is not quite as comfortable as her bed.

I had forgotten all about the sleep fairy until she reminded me a few days ago. When she was 3, we had a really hard time getting her to go to sleep and stay in her room. We told her that the sleep fairy would leave her a prize under her pillow if she went to bed quietly and stayed quiet all night. The sleep fairy left pennies, raisins, pieces of candy, stickers, and occasionally small toys.

The other day she said she wanted the sleep fairy to come again. Maybe this was her way of telling me she is ready to plan on sleeping in her room every night again. So the sleep fairy has been visiting. Now that Sam is a little older, of course he wants in on the action, so he gets a prize too. I have to admit it's a lot of fun being the sleep fairy and coming up with new things to put under their pillows. I love to watch them sleep.

book thoughts: A Long Way Gone

I just finished listening to Ishmael Beah read his book, A Long Way Gone. Oh, that book was hard. It's a first-person account of the author's childhood during war in Sierra Leone, including his years as a child soldier. It's the kind of book that makes you feel like crying on every page. It's hard for me to comprehend that it even happened. 


Despite the above, I do recommend it. It will change your perspective about things for a while. 

Beautiful October; 9 miler

I love October in Utah. This month has been so nice and warm, with cooler nights (finally turned on the heat this month). We had our first dusting of snow on the mountaintops recently, but it didn't last long. The leaves are gorgeous.

Tammy and I had a great run together this morning on the Jordan River Parkway. It's so nice to start a Saturday running as the sun comes up. I went 9.25 miles in 1:42:49, a good bit better than my last run of that length (approx) - 9.55 miles at 2:03. Just happy to be doing it.

Sam's moment of genius

Yesterday was Sam's half birthday (making him 4 and 1/2). He made it a special day by reading "5 Hour Energy" off a bottle in the grocery store. I was astounded - normally don't kids start with little words like "cat"? Before you get too impressed, I'll just say he hasn't read anything before or since. But it was nice to know he is off to a good start!

Rant: still trapped in between

Today I went shopping for some simple basics: black sweatpants and plain long-sleeve t-shirts.

I was quickly reminded why I have hated shopping for clothes ever since I turned 13. I'm sort of a freak of nature, but I always forget until I try to find clothes that fit.

I am still IN BETWEEN the girls' sizes and the women's sizes, believe it or not. Since the super-sizing of America, I swear women's "Small" sizes have increased every year. Clothes my size simply do not exist in most stores. The "petite" sizes are great for my pre-teen-length legs, but actual petites are few and far between, and if I find them at all they scream "grandma" or "reject from 8 seasons ago". The women's "XS" shirts are the only ones with a neckline that doesn't plunge below my nipple line, but at the same time their sleeves hang down to my knees. Who actually fits in these clothes? The women's sweatpants don't exist in XS, but the "S" sizes (smallest available) extend 3 inches past my heels. Since they are a cotton/poly blend, I don't think my old trick of washing them in hot water and blasting them in the dryer to shrink them will work.

So I head to the girls' section, since the largest girls' clothes occasionally fit, sort of. The advantage is, sometimes they are cheaper. The disadvantage: most girls' clothes are NOT appropriate for 40+ professional women. Sometimes the legs are short enough; most often they are too short. There isn't much hip or bust room, even though I've not got much of either. The "L" sizes are too tight and the "XL" sizes have legs that are too short combined with waists that are too big.

I felt fortunate to find ONE women's petite pair of black yoga/stretch pants, which were exactly the right length and cost 3 times as much as any of the regular women's or girls' pants. They were the only petite clothing item I saw in the entire store. I bought them.

It's one thing to be a teenager in this awkward in-between stage and eventually outgrow it. It's another to be permanently stuck there. My mom is still there too - at least I know I'm not the only one. And someday, maybe I'll be a grandma and all those grandma clothes will be perfect!

our little fish

Alex really, really loves swimming. Every time we take her to the pool, she gets this huge grin plastered across her face. When it's swim lesson day, her face lights up and she can't wait to go. When it's time to get in the water, there is no toe-dipping or getting used to the water - she just bounds in (head and all, under the water) as if there's not a moment to be lost. I don't think there's anything she likes better.

So when we won free swim lessons with Swimkidz at a school fundraiser silent auction, it was perfect! She LOVED her lessons and made great progress. The only problem is, now she is addicted to the one-on-one attention and wants the expensive private lessons instead of the cheap group lessons. Surprise, surprise.

Actually, I did see big improvements in her abilities after just 2 lessons. She is swimming on her back independently, diving to the bottom to retrieve rings, jumping off the diving board, making good progress in the backstroke and starting to learn the crawlstroke. So, how could we not give her more lessons? There is true joy in following your child's passion and doing little things that make them so ridiculously happy.

Up Up and Away!

Took the plunge. Dealing with the fall-out. About to secure my freedom from the evil tentacled monster. Takes 12 steps, but I hit a brick wall at 8.

Took time off to recuperate and recover my energy. Now back from paradise, rejuvenated and ready to take on the beast again. All eyes on the prize, one more trip to deliver the coup de grace to that other beast in the west. Once that's done, its just a matter of time and protocol until the next step is reached.

Its scary and new, but isn't that just what makes it all so deliciously exciting?

scary dinosaur park

We've been having beautiful weather, and this weekend Bryan was on call so I thought I'd take the kids out to do something new and fun.
I'd heard about this Dinosaur Park up in Ogden, about an hour north of here, and it was a perfect fall Sunday afternoon so off we went. Darn it, I forgot the camera. Oopsie.

It was a good park, full of interesting facts and life-size models of all kinds of dinosaurs. There was a robotic display inside, in which a triceratops with 2 babies faces off against a T. Rex. Lots of posturing, roaring and grunting.

The thing was, they had the park all decorated for Halloween, including very loud realistic sounds coming from speakers all over the park. We could hear it from outside the gate. Howls, growls, roars, thunderous footsteps, and crashing-through-the-brush sounds. A sign at the front entrance read that some of the Halloween decorations may be a bit scary for young children. Yeah - do you think young children coming to a dinosaur park might find fake body parts and human skeletons hanging from the trees just a wee bit disturbing?

At first the kids were pretty freaked out. They stayed close to me especially when the sounds got louder and more threatening. We talked about how everything was just pretend and they understood that. Eventually they were able to enjoy the playground, the dino dig, real lizards and especially some popsicles I bought them, but overall I was disappointed. At least the kids seemed to survive and there was no evidence of nightmares the next day.

I just don't get all the gory, creepy Halloween displays. I'm a Halloween scrooge. I say, Bah, humbug.