Charlie, the Coffee Addict

On Sundays, Jayson and I like to bring coffee to church. Usually he makes it. I teach Sunday school two Sundays a month, but on the other Sundays, it's really the only time I get to just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee. Today we got our coffee at Caribou because for Earth Day they had free coffee if you used a reusable mug.

We also put Charlie in the nursery at church. Today, though, she screamed the whole time because she hadn't gotten a chance to say good-bye to Jayson before he dropped the other two off. So, about ten minutes into the service, the Sunday school director came up to get him. He went downstairs and she was pretty upset, so he brought her up to church with us.

When Jayson makes coffee during the week, Audrey and Charlie are usually eating breakfast and they insist he bring the bag of coffee over to the table so they can smell it. Today in church, Charlie took that one step further. Or, actually several steps. Jayson had taken the lid off his coffee and she kept insisting on smelling the coffee in his cup. She would lean over the cup, inhale completely, and then let out a satisfied exhale. Then yell, "More coffee! More coffee!" and she did it over and over again.

Then she asked for the lid. And licked it. And kept putting it back on the cup to get more coffee on it and then licked it again. She did this through most of church. When Jayson's coffee was gone, she moved on to mine. The opening in the lid was small enough that after I took a sip, it still had a film of coffee covering it, kind of like a bubble wand. She excitedly stuck her finger in it and sucked on it. She tried to get the lid off, but I convinced her it didn't come off. So, she improvised and licked the top of the lid.

Jayson and I have always said that one of the girls needs to be a barista so we can have good coffee all the time. I think Charlie will do just fine.

Wheeling and Dealing

We just had an interesting lunch. Jayson made asparagus and chicken and we had some potato chips with it too. (It's nice to break up the healthiness). Both Lydia and Audrey proclaimed that they did not like the asparagus (or scarabus, as Audrey calls it), despite the fact that they have eaten asparagus many times before. So, Jayson told them that whoever eats all their asparagus gets a piece of Easter candy.

After a while, Lydia had eaten everything except her asparagus. She asked for more chips. We told her no. She told Audrey that if Audrey gave her some of her chips, she would eat all of her asparagus, then get a piece of candy and she would share the candy with Audrey. Audrey agreed.

A little while later, Lydia asked Audrey to help her eat her asparagus. Audrey agreed. Then Audrey decided she liked the asparagus and ate all hers. Lydia then realized what was about to happen. If they both finished their asparagus, Lydia would get half a piece of candy and Audrey would get one and a half pieces. She brought up this situation to Jayson and I and we both agreed a deal was a deal. Audrey really enjoyed eating that extra candy!

Spring Break

We enjoyed some much needed family and relaxation time this spring break. We kept very busy the whole time, but I also enjoyed staying up late and having some time to myself and getting to sleep just a bit later. Our break started out with a bang -- right from school I came home and we headed to Madison for Colby's first communion.

Highlights from that...

We got Colby a Brewers pocket watch and it was a hit. Who knew a kid could check the time so frequently?

When Charlie went up to the altar with us, she noticed the tiny loaves of bread and starting yelling, "Cookie NOW! Cookie NOW!"

Colby asked me if I've ever heard of Harry Potter.

Colby with his pastors and youth leader:

Charlie showing her stuff:

On Friday, I can't remember what we did. I think we ran errands? Who knows.

On Saturday we had the birthday party for Lydia and Charlie with family, which I already blogged about.

Sunday was Easter. Lydia and Audrey were very excited to hunt for all the eggs. Charlie found four and then sat down and started eating while the other two did the hard work.

Then, we ate what everybody eats on Easter. Sushi! OK, maybe we're the only family whose answer to everything is sushi. The girls got orange chicken, but I was very pleased that they also wolfed down a ton of edamame and Audrey even tried (and liked!) some California rolls. For some reason, waiters at Japanese restaurants seem to really like our kids. Our waiter on Sunday really took a liking to Charlie and at one point even picked her up and walked around the restaurant with her. I thought for sure she would start screaming, but she was fine with it. He gave her candy, which helped.

On Monday we went to the zoo. The girls love the zoo so we get the zoo pass and go as much as possible. For Charlie, it was kind of a new experience because she didn't really remember it from the last time we were there in the fall. She asked to see elephants, so we did. She really liked the lions because they were being pretty active. She was a little scared on the train at first, but then enjoyed it. We went with some friends from the gym who have two boys the same ages as Audrey and Lydia. Audrey sat as close to her little friend as possible (she says he's one of her boyfriends) and Lydia sat as far from hers as possible. 

Tuesday was swim lessons. I am always astounded at what little fish the girls are. Lydia and Audrey put on their goggles and I don't even have to worry about them. They go all over the pool and stand on the edge and jump in under the water. Charlie tried to jump in too, but she stands too far back and lands on the edge on her butt. I helped her get in closer to the water and she loved it. She kept pushing me away and said, "No help. No help," and then would land on the ledge. She thought she outwitted me and ran for the lap pool, but I caught her, and if I hadn't, the lifeguard who was out of his chair and running towards her, would have. I took her to shallower water and we laid on our tummies and practiced kicking, blowing bubbles, and putting our faces in the water.

Tuesday night Jayson had softball practice. The girls and I ordered Chinese food. I always order Charlie extra rice because she will devour it. The other two prefer pink chicken (sweet and sour). After our food, we played beauty shop. Lydia got her hair straightened, Audrey got curls, all three got manicures and pedicures. 

On Wednesday we went to the gym in the morning and then Discovery World in the afternoon. We had never been there, but had just gotten a one year membership at a silent auction at our church.

The Great Lakes model was really cool.

Audrey was a little scared when the storm came.

The ship was also a hit, but Charlie was the only one brave enough to go underneath with Daddy at first. The other two eventually followed.  

Crazy pirates.

They didn't know what a phone booth was. Later, Lydia saw a record and said, "Oh look! A CD!"

Running on the hamster wheel.

Bed of nails.

Audrey was a little more unsure.

On Thursday, we stuck close to home. Jayson worked, I took the girls to the gym, then we met friends at the park for a picnic and playing.

Friday was Lydia's party with her friends. We invited her whole class, but luckily only 8 came. It was insane. Also lucky -- it didn't rain like it was supposed to, so I was able to keep them outside for most of it. Lydia requested a birthday party where they did projects. The four projects were: 1) Making their own pizzas 2) Decorating cupcakes 3) Making necklaces and 4) Decorating T-shirts. I asked Lydia's Uncle Kyle, who owns a T-shirt business, to order the shirts for me so the kids could decorate them with puffy paints, and he suggested he help each kid screen print their own shirt! Awesome!

Saturday I don't think we did much.

Sunday the aforementioned Uncle Kyle moved his shop, which had previously been in his basement, into a storefront. The girls came with, because really, what's more helpful when moving than three little kids getting in the way? They really liked seeing the truck all loaded up and running around at the new store.

The whole week went by way too fast. It definitely made me really wish summer vacation was a little bit closer. I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble we can get into.

Birthday Party Part I

In the past, we've had birthday parties for the girls and our guests have been all of our family and friends. This year, Lydia wanted to invite her classmates. That resulted in a conundrum. I was fine with her having a friends party, but couldn't figure out when to have family and our friends over as well. If they came for her friends party, there would be way too many people and it would be chaos. Plus, Charlie's birthday is three days after Lydia's, and last year they had a combined party. So, we decided to have a small party with just family for both Lydia and Charlie, then Lydia would have her friends party, and then in June when it was Audrey's birthday, we would have the big bash with family and friends and make it for all three of them. So, technically, Lydia really makes out by having three parties, even if two of them are shared.

So, this past Saturday was the family party. I made the cakes and they turned out great. My track record with cakes isn't that great, but these were good. I was pleased.

A rainbow cake for Lydia (she decorated it herself).

Brobee cake for Charlie. She loved it and kept saying "More Brobee cake now please."

Oh, the rainbow cake? This was inside. So impressed with myself.

We lit the candles and the girls blew them out. Oh, but first? Lydia's hair caught on fire.

So, that was traumatic. But, we recovered.

Afterwards, presents were opened and then everybody went outside and played.  I absolutely love any opportunity the girls get to see their cousins because they just love them so much and have a blast playing. They ran all over the yard until they were exhausted.

Want a balance bike? Let me save you $89.

Last fall we took Lydia's training wheels off her bike and tried to teach her how to ride it without them. A lot of "I'm scared! OK, I'm going to do it. No! Wait! I'm scared!" ensued. There was a lot of me promising I absolutely was not going to let go. And then letting go. We made some progress, but she didn't get the hang of it, and so far this spring, she hasn't either.

I have several friends who swear by balance bikes and I decided I for sure wanted to try it for Audrey and Charlie. For those who don't know -- a balance bike is just like a regular bike but it has no pedals or chain. Kids just scoot around using their feet to propel them and eventually they're able to go faster and start picking up their feet and before you know it, they can balance and are ready for a big bike with pedals. I looked on Craigslist and found nothing.

Today we went to the Wheel and Sprocket Bike Expo at State Fair Park and I was pretty set on buying one there even though I knew it would probably be a bit more than I really wanted to spend. When we got there at about noon today, the girls had to go to the bathroom immediately, and I was excited when I spotted a pink balance bike on our way back to the restrooms. When we got out, we went to go look at it, and somebody had already taken it. It was the last one. I love Wheel and Sprocket. Their customer service has always been great. Jayson and I both bought our road bikes from them. They told me to just go to their store next week and tell them I wanted to buy a balance bike at the expo price of $89, and they would set me up.

I'm not patient. I wanted the balance bike TODAY. So, when I got home, I decided I was going to just take the pedals off of Lydia's old bike and turn it into a balance bike. After some research on the internet, I found some good tutorials and got to work. It took a matter of minutes. So, now I'm going to explain to YOU how to do it!

The one thing that you might need to buy is a chain tool. It pushes the pin out of a link of the bike chain so you can completely remove it from the bike. We bought one for $15. However, I would be willing to bet that your friend neighborhood bike shop would do it for you for free. However, I'm not patient and I thought the tool might come in handy in the future, so we bought one.

I also think you might want to go a size down. You have to remember their feet need to not only touch the ground, but touch the ground with room to bend and run. The bike we used was Lydia's old one that she's too big for now, but as a balance bike, it was just the right size. Audrey is just barely big enough to fit on it and there's no way it would work for Charlie. I'm planning on finding a smaller bike for Audrey and/or Charlie to transform. Then I can rationalize the chain tool purchase even better.

So, here it goes.

These are the tools you'll need. That's a 15 mm wrench in the middle. Also, you don't need a hammer. I don't know why I put that in there. The tool next to the hammer is the chain too.

First, you want to take the pedal off of the side that does not have the chain. I accidentally did this later on in the process, so the picture shows the other part taken apart too.  You'll want to use the 15 mm wrench because the adjustable one is too bulky. Also, for everything you unscrew, it's opposite what you would think. So, left tighty righty loosey. That black nut where the pedal attaches to the crank thingy (it's technical) is what you want to loosen. If it's an old bike, it's going to take some muscle.

Next, you want to remove that bolt you see further down the crank thingy. Behind that is a washer and behind that is another thing you need to loosen, but a wrench won't fit around it. It has slats on it, so you kind of use the screw driver to push it around. Both those things are clockwise again, not your usual counter-clockwise.

Now the crank is loose and the pedal is off, so you kind of wiggle it through the other way. (Oh, you might have had a plastic piece that went over the chain that you would have had to unscrew too). Now the only thing left is the chain, which is still connected through the frame of the bike. Use the chain tool to get it off.

Finally, clean the bike up. Especially the little gear where the chain used to be and the hole where the crank used to be. Get all that grease out of there. And.... voila!

Here are the leftover parts. You can always put them back on again later when they're ready for pedals. The big pink plastic thing is that chain protector I was talking about.

Lydia loved it and was able to coast immediately.

Audrey needs a couple more inches until it's more comfortable for her, but she did like trying it out and kept yelling, "THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!"

Charlie stuck with her little bike.

Seriously you guys, this was so easy and so cheap. If you have questions, let me know. Or, just bring your bike to my house and I'll do it for you. Then I can really rationalize that chain tool purchase.

Our Almost ER Visit

No, not recently. But, a friend of mine recently had to take her daughter to the ER, which brought up memories of the one and only time we almost went to the ER. Lydia was 3, Audrey was 1, and Charlie was not in the picture yet. It was a Tuesday night. Jayson was playing softball and Audrey was sleeping. Lydia was not feeling well. She had a fever, so she was in her jammies earlier than she normally would be. Then she complained that her neck hurt. My immediate thought was, "Oh my God, she has meningitis."

I called the doctor on call for our pediatrician's office. I went over her symptoms with him and he was also concerned about the neck pain. He told me to ask Lydia to put her chin to her chest.

Let me interject here to say that Lydia is and always has been a drama queen. A very good one, too. She can pick up on emotions in a room and respond in a way that will ensure as much attention is placed on her as possible. She can cry at the drop of a hat. She can lay a guilt trip on you and you won't even realize what hit you until she's laying in your spot on the couch with a handful of cookies and your blanket and you have promised her that tomorrow you will make special pancakes for breakfast and ride the train at the zoo.

So, when I asked Lydia to put her chin to her chest, she winced with pain and cried that it just hurt too much and she couldn't do it. I informed the doctor and he said that if it's too painful for her, I needed to get her to Children's Hospital ER. So, I frantically called Jayson and told him to come home immediately. As I ran around the house grabbing my shoes and purse, I continued to ask Lydia if she could please just put her chin to her chest, and she would try, but then cry in pain.

I got Lydia in the car, and as soon as Jayson got home, we left. As we drove, she seemed to cheer up. I popped in her favorite Raffi CD, and we sang along. I pointed out that she seemed to be feeling better, which threw her immediately into another fit of pain. I told her that if we went to the hospital, she might have to get a big shot. Didn't seem to upset her. I asked her again to touch her chin to her chest and she refused because the pain was just too much.

We pulled into the ER parking lot and got to the doors. I knew that if we went through those doors, we would be in for a long night. I was having doubts about the severity of her symptoms. I knelt down in front of her, and pointed to a monkey on her pajamas right on her belly. I smiled, "Look at this silly monkey! What's he doing?" She looked, down, chin to chest, and smiled at the silly monkey. I stood up, grabbed her hand, and sighed, "Back in the car, Lydia. We're going home."