Basketball Game

Look! Justin's running so fast that he came right out of his shoe!

And he STILL never skipped a beat. That's my superstar!

Game Highlights

Justin is playing basketball right now. He (very sadly) had to sit out this week's practice because he was busy writing an apology letter to his Principal...so I didn't know how today's game would go. In short, it was no problem at all. They had team pictures today, and he was excited for that, but really he just wanted to get out on the court and run. I don't understand the first thing about basketball (Ask Stacy...she can vouch for that), and I really don't even like the game, but it's fun to watch Justin! I would explain what the heck he's doing, but really, it all looks like chaotic running back and forth to me.

Angelface and Sassypants

I'm sure that every parent under the sun finds this phenomenon to be true: Each of my children was blessed with not one...but TWO distinctly different personalities! Annalise has two nicknames around our house. She's commonly known as "My Little Angelface" because she's so darn sweet. She's generally willing to help when I need it and she's very happy playing on her own. Her favorite activities involve making a mess with paper, toys, or cooking supplies. She's very artistic and does not like to be hampered by the tedium of keeping things clean. She likes to play Mommy and all of her dolls play happily with her. Those poor Barbies have taken many trips to the bottom of the bathtub and many dollies have been "put to sleep" under/behind her mattress. I have two favorite words of hers right now: "Bretfast" (Breakfast) and "Babing Suit" (Bathing Suit). She snuggles me any time I want her to and she is always ready to play a game with me when the mood strikes. She enjoyed the last snow storm with me by sitting at the window and examining snowflakes to see if we could find two that looked alike. She's very patient and very determined when she has an idea in her head. And she loves clothes. Any new clothes.

Sometimes she decides to put on her "Sassy Pants" and then the game changes a bit. When she's feeling this way, her favorite phrases are "I most certainly will NOT" and "you NEVER let me do ANYTHING!". Another of my favorites is "You're so MEAN!". I am always a little bit nervous when this child shows up because I know that her favorite activity is to start trouble with her brother (a favorite tactic is walking by and hitting him...but doing it ever so slyly that he knows it happened but can't actually come up with proof). This child usually has her arms crossed over her little tummy and is sporting a very stubborn stance punctuated by her cocked hip. Polly calls this child "Sassy Lou" and poor little "Sassy Lou" got to eat soap the other night. (This was one of the hardest things I've had to do in a while as she stared at me, tears streaming down her face, BEGGING me not to burn her tongue!). Sassy Lou has been experimenting with different words recently and she's had several warnings so when she called her brother "Stupid" I had to do it. I gave her the choice between hot sauce and soap. She chose pink "Hello Kitty" soap and I put the tiniest little drop on my finger. She said I was trying to kill her. John was laughing quietly about 5 feet away as he watched the drama unfold. He says that if it had been him, he would have gone for the bar of soap and she would have been chewing on it for a while. I'm a softie and I try to hide that fact from her because she is most certainly not!

Usually there's a good mix between the two. She's a very determined and logical girl who will debate absolutely anything she can debate. She's a bit like her Daddy that way. She likes to have a little bit of control over things so she's happy when she has a choice. If she's not happy with one of the choices, she'll debate to get a set of options that please her. Unlike Justin, who will let an argument go if there is something better to do, she'll fight to the end and it takes an act of God to get her to buckle.

My Little Angelface is awake and sitting next to me now. We're watching "Max and Ruby" with Justin and this is always a funny experience. Annalise loves Ruby and Justin hates the show because Ruby is so bossy. Annalise just said to me, "I like Ruby...she's bossy" and Justin answered from the other end of the couch (where he reading a book so quietly that I didn't realize he was even paying attention), "Oh GREAT!"

Trouble in School

Justin's Teacher this year: Mrs. Dufour

Although I have admitted to sometimes pretending that life is rosy when really it's murky, I still have to stand by the fact that there is usually laughter that can be found in the worst of situations. Justin has been a PILL the past week or so and we're having a ton of trouble with him in school. Important to note: I often read these posts to the kids but I will probably skip reading this one to Justin for at least a year (or 10).

The scoop goes like this: Justin's started Spanish again recently as well as joined an after school program on "electricity and magnetism" put on by POW Science. (Which is an incredible family run business here in Rhode Island). He got sent to the Principal's office on Tuesday for talking out in the science program and then the Spanish teacher admitted that she's at her wit's end with him. We're having a tough week...that's all there is to say about it!

Here's the comedy of the whole situation. John and I have been trading emails with his teacher and principal throughout the week and Justin's a little irritated that he can't seem to keep a secret from us. I wrote to Mrs. Dufour (his absolutely amazing teacher) and let her know that Justin has some turmoil going on at home with John and Zachary leaving for Florida. She is wonderful at putting things in perspective and here is what she says today:

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for letting me know all this. It certainly must be stress producing for him. AND you too!He came in today a different boy. So far we did morning work, and then up on the rug for a long while and he was focused the whole time. Now they are at music since the music teacher could not take us yesterday we have it today. I gave him a reminder about thinking the whole time. I just went by there and they are doing square dancing.....OMG.....not the easiest activity for Justin to be perfect with. I just hope he does not dosie do some girl to the floor! But we'll see how the day goes. He is a great kid....and he needs to just think a lot about keeping his body under control. I'll be in touch.

Mary

Go Chargers!

Brody and Katina made a cake - I ate most of it

The kids getting into the game

Swan Palace and Captain Rex

Katina and Demetra

Captain Rex commanding the push up drills

A casualty of the push up drill - As you can see they were crushed!

Graysie and a tired Captain Rex

Round 2 of the Push Up Game

Da Boyz

This post is a little bit outdated because we've been busy, but I wanted to catch everyone up on our football party. The date was January 8th and the Chargers were headed to the playoffs again. Our hopes were high going in to the game and we were sure we'd see the Chargers go all the way. We had the usual suspects at our house for the occasion: The VonBergens, Dolbys, Chesters and Perlmutters. The usual chaos was a great comfort to me and I was smiling as the kids started the normal loops around the house. Julie (Charlie's sister) was visiting and she was at the party with us. She was the only one smart enough not to break open the wine or the "tokillya". (Figures, since she's a Professor and all).

The highlights of the day were when Zane (aka Captain Rex) and Annalise were quietly playing with the Swan Palace while the older boys got rowdy. Zachary melted my heart when he sat down next to me and asked me to explain football to him. He picked a favorite player (Darren Sproles) and watched for him the whole time. Demetra came in, watched everyone, and quickly figured out that she was going to have to get tough in order to keep up. Demetra is a self assured snuggle bug and I can never get enough hugs from her! Bayley and Graysie were here holding their own and the fun certainly jumped up a notch when Charlie got on the floor to do pushups with the kids. All of them. On his back.

Even though the Chargers lost, we had a great day with great food (John was cooking again!) and some amazing friends. Justin and Annalise love having "built in friends" in our town here and I hope they will never forget the relationships they have created.

Attitude

One of the things I believe in with all of my heart is the power of Positive Attitude. I’ve gone through my life much the same way as any normal, excessively blessed middle class American would do it. That is, with very little trial or tribulation but with the fairly routine pains of life that a girl goes through as the teenage years progress toward the twenties and eventually into marriage and motherhood. I have seen what I feel is sadness as well as joy and I believe that my life has been full of gifts.

Whenever something particularly hard comes into my path, my natural reaction is to focus completely on the positive aspects. This has annoyed several people over the years and I’ve had a couple of friends tell me so in fairly blunt terms. Fortunately, it works for me. Today I have again seen the power of positive attitude … and the raw emotion of my life.

I got Annalise up early this morning so that John could take her to school. When I explained that he was going to take her to school, she realized that it meant she would have to forgo her “snuggle and kid show” routine in order to be able to leave on time. Might I say that this was not an ideal situation for her? I went through a couple of reasons with her for why she could handle it and I came to “Daddy is going to Florida soon and he won’t be able to take you to school so you should enjoy your morning with him today.” She asked the next logical question, but I was not prepared to deal with it. My “Positive Attitude” had morphed completely into denial and I had not dealt yet with the fact that I am just plain sad that John will be going to Florida. Soon.

Annalise’s question was “How many days until Daddy goes to Florida?” I had to think, and the number of days was shockingly small. I hated the reality and it hurt to have to say it. I never WANT to feel sad when he goes because I am surrounded by military families every day who are braver than me and who endure much harder realities than I do. This morning, everyone else’s situation stopped mattering to me for a bit and I felt sad. I was sad for myself and I was sad for my kids.

So, when everyone left, I cried. That’s what I do…

And now, I am again reminded of the Power of My Positive Attitude. Although it may be a form of denial for me, the attitude makes me focus on the good and helps me avoid dwelling in the bad. I feel like it’s important to make the most of every day and I feel like it is easy to get wound up in what you don’t have or what might be going wrong. That’s a dangerous cycle if you ask me and I have always enjoyed looking out at what I can be proud of.

In summary, John is leaving. I’m sad. It’s crap. I need to figure out how to deal with my sad days in order to create the best environment I can for my kids because that’s my most important job today. The reality is, John is an incredible husband and he is my best friend. He’s a tremendous Dad and we’re so fortunate to be feeling sadness right now. This military life we have chosen reminds us every day about the great things we DO have and it reminds us to always appreciate the days as they come.

People are starting to ask me questions like "How are you doing?" and "How do you do it?" My answer will probably annoy them because I'm going to say that I'm lucky to have something like this in my life to remind me of how much I love John, how lucky I am to be his wife, and how lucky I am to have had the kind of year with him that many take for granted.

And if all of that doesn't help, Justin's got a good answer too. Sledge Hammers!!!! ... I'm going to have to get creative this time because we don't have a bedroom closet to destroy...

Eatin' Apples

As if he needs to lose any more teeth...

In the chair

Chewing Gauze

Chewing Gauze and trading up for a Milkshake!

Dinner - Milkshake (with vitamins)

Dad is helping him feel better

One of the monstrosities that was removed!

you can tell where the tooth ends and the root begins.

Justin had a couple of teeth pulled today. He won't be "Eatin' Apples" any time soon!

The idea is that the two center teeth are having trouble coming in because the two teeth outside of the center teeth haven't come out yet. I thought this was all all a bunch of "hooey" when I first heard it, but after seeing the teeth that came out of his mouth today, I believe it! Usually baby teeth fall out after the root has eroded or dissolved. As you can see, that has not happened in my son's case! Hopefully the gigantic masses that were removed today were the problem and Justin can avoid some of the major orthodontia that I have been saving for.

He was such a brave kid!!!!!!!! He climbed in the chair, dealt with the novacaine like a champ, and told me on the way home that it hurt "as bad as stubbing his toe" (which he does daily). To help you image what he looks like (which is, quite plainly, a hockey player), he is missing all of his top front teeth between the two pointy "eye" teeth on the side except for the tiny sprout of the adult tooth that is coming in at a 45 Degree angle to the left.

Talk with my Dad

I had a great talk with my Dad on the phone today. We talked about what life seems to bring our way and how we choose to deal with it. I was sharing with him that this year has completely changed my life and he said he wanted to hear about it. It's amazing how my Dad never offers advice but asks the questions you never think to ask yourself:

"What makes you happy about what you're doing now?"
"What has changed?"
"What do you want to do next?"

Let's see. The answers are easy:

"I'm spending more time with my family"
"My focus has shifted to my family"
"Spend more time with my family"

John, Justin, Annalise: I thank God for each of you every day. As I grow and learn more about the world, everything good comes back to one of you.

The Butt Bet

I'm not sure how it all happened, but an argument started at the dinner table tonight. Justin swore that the Green Bay Packers had won the last 6 Superbowls in a row. He says "I remember it like it was yesterday - The guy on TV asked the quarterback if he had room for more trophies!" John and I laughed at him....like the good parents we are.

Justin kept on his argument and we told him that the Arizona Cardinals had won last year and that the Packers were nowhere near the game. Justin says "I swear I remember yellow pants!" He said a few minutes later that maybe it was the Steelers and John stood firm that the Cardinals had won. They tried to bet their right arms on the answer and I said it was too dangerous (thinking Justin would lose) since Justin had to climb into bed on the top bunk.

So...they bet their butts.

Saturday with my girl

Annalise freezing in front of the Newport Bridge
Annalise freezing in front of the Naval War College Museum
Annalise in front of the Marble House

Playing outside of the Marble House

Warming her hands on Hot Tea (at the "shooshee" restaurant)

Yesterday, while John and Justin raced each other to the bathroom and watched Harry Potter on TV, Annalise and I decided to get out of the house. It was cold, but the sunshine was out so we decided to go take some pictures together after Ballet.

We drove by a house that I love the color of to get a picture (kind of on a main street with no parking options). I couldn't get it the first or second time, so we tried a third time and hoped for a red light. We got the red light, but we were headed the wrong direction so we had to try again. ON about the fifth pass by, we got a picture and hopefully Home Depot's paint department can figure out how to match the color for me. God be with them on that project!!!

After we stalked the house for a while, we went to the War College and took a picture of Annalise in front of the Pell Bridge (Newport to Jamestown). I love the bridges around here and I am going to miss them like crazy!!! The picure is taken from John's campus so you can see he's been having a tough life over the past year.

We drove around taking pictures for a while (Tucker's Bistro, boats, Newport beaches) and then we decided to take the opportunity to see a mansion. We went to the Marble House (Where Ariel and Prince Eric currently live) and toured in a very small group. It was beautiful but we couldn't take any pictures inside. I didn't hear all of the history becaue Annalise and I were busy determining which rooms the princesses danced in. What I did hear was that the lady of the house (very wealthy, of course) was obsessed with French History and she actually purchased several original paintings of royalty which still hang in the house. Amazing...

Once we were done with "Ariel's House", we drove around and found the cottage where Annalise thinks the Seven Dwarfs live as well as where the evil stepmother lives. I was getting hungry and was begging for sushi since we were in Newport. Annalise agreed that we could follow this schedule: "We'll fill your tummy up with shushi, then we'll go to the not expensive bookstore (library), and then Target!". That was an awesome plan for me!!! We enjoyed Sushi at Tokyo House and the waitress gave her a set of barrettes (since Annalise is so cute) before heading to Dartmouth for our trip to Target (birthday present for Brynn) and to Bed, Bath and Beyond (new bedding for both of my kids - they now look like proper California Kids with Quicksilver and Roxy bedding).

I had such a good day with my girl today and, although I'm sad that the boys were sick, I am so thankful to have had the time with her. She was full of smiles, imagination, pleasure, patience, and love for me. Hopefully we can find another day to spend together like that before too much time passes. I love you Annalise!!!

All in the name of "Mom"

Annalise was at a birthday party on Wednesday night (Briggs' 4th) and they were at Bounce Beach. She ate a lot of cake, ice cream, and nerds but not much else. John says he tried to get her something of substance (he laughs and says, "Not that Wendy's is any better...") but that she wasn't interested. She didn't even pay attention to the pizza. At least she had eaten colorful foods!

They got home about 8:00 and John called for me to come get her from the car since she was sleepy and he thought we could get her right into bed. When I picked her up, she told me her tummy hurt so I snuggled her and took her upstairs. I laid her on her tummy and patted her back to try to work out any gas but it didn't help. She cried a little bit and I picked her up to put her on my lap and hold her. She was there for about 30 seconds before it all came up. For perspective, she threw up so much that we now have a new mattress arriving in a couple of days. It was bad! I was a good Mom but the part I had a really hard time with was getting my own clothes off because they were covered in it. Pulling my shirt over my head was, um, gross.

She was sick all night and we stayed downstairs where she could lay on a plastic sheet hugging a trash can. She was still running a slight fever on Thursday and was feeling pretty good by Friday. As soon as she started to get better, and I had the chance to clean up a little bit, that DUMB DOG of ours went outside and rolled around in POOP!!! (This is a strange habit she has and we're not sure why she does it. She finds a pile of poop and lays her head in it before rolling all over and covering herself in the stuff. If you have any recommendations on this, I'm all ears!).

Friday night around 2:00am, Justin woke us up and let us know that he had thrown up. As you know, he is on the top bunk. Not convenient. Luckily his waterproof sheet was on his bed and we could pull that right off. This was all good except that I thought it was all in one spot and I started throwing blankets on the floor. Problem: one blanket was fully loaded! John helped clean the part I threw down onto the floor while I dealt with the laundry room again. He came downstairs to stay with Justin and I went upstairs to try to sleep. It's hard to fall asleep when you know your kid is downstairs feeling miserable. I even tried to read one of John's books from school and I made it all the way to page 17 of "India -Emerging" (or something like that). I fell asleep and when I got downstairs in the morning, John had gotten the bug too.

The extra funny part to the whole "week of throw-up and poop" is that during all of this we were playing "Mom and Dad" to the Property Manager who stole from us as well as the tenant (currently living in our house) who is lying to us. John was so mad that I was afraid he was going to jump into the phone and kill Alan! I got to figure out which one of them actually owes us part of the disputed amount. People are amazing these days...

My thought of the week: "Perspective!!!!"

Dentist

(That's a "lightsaber" that Justin is holding for the dentist).

Justin was a brave kid on Wednesday!!! He went to the dentist to have sealant put on his teeth but he had a little bit of a strange circumstance which required novacaine. (His enamel didn't form properly due most likely to a fever when he was growing up). The dentist gave him sunglasses and then he said, "OK, close your eyes because I'm going to squirt some stuff and you don't want to get it in your eyes." Justin never saw the needle coming and he was brave while the medicine was going in. He was in the chair for about 15 minutes and he was a trooper the entire time! We got a milkshake and soup on the way home and he got to eat while he was watching TV since he was "recovering..."

...See the next post to hear about how he got totally jipped with being the center of attention...

New Year...Same Us

We spent New Year's Eve together at home with a fire, crafts, sparkling cider, "America's Funniest Home Videos Marathon" and plenty of pots and pans to bang together at midnight. This was Justin's idea (thanks completely to his Grandparents!). We have traditionally spent New Year's Eve with my study abroad friends (because they are awesome!) but that wasn't in the cards this year. We did manage to keep in touch through emails, texts, and video conference (Stacy is an awesome video chat date). Technology is amazing!

The kids had a great evening and I couldn't help but feel sad to see the year end. It's been a tremendous one for my family! We came to Rhode Island not knowing what to expect and I certainly remember feeling anxious, nervous, and scared about the whole idea. Having gone to college in Boston, I thought I knew what the area was about and I was not excited about having to deal with the cold. In short, I thought I knew everything...

When we arrived, I was shocked by the cold and further frustrated by the inability to find the routine things that I had come to count on while living in Southern California. Nowhere (nowhere) was I able to find a Target, Starbucks, Costco, or a familiar stucco house with a King Palm planted out front. I was upset when our car got snowed in and we didn't have any groceries in the house...I had no idea where to find a grocery store since there aren't strip malls all over the place. I was a fish out of water. I was scared but I decided to have a good attitude about it. (John and the kids were already on the "good attitude train" and I jumped on board). It's funny - as soon as I did that, things turned around and I fell completely in love with Portsmouth! This is the home of small town America where we know the guy driving the snow plow, our neighbor works at the grocery store, and we can count on anyone for anything. While I was initially irritated by the lack of familiar stores, what I found was that I could get everything I needed in the small town shops up and down Main Street and I could, more importantly, get local goods any time I wanted to! We reached out wherever we could and we suddenly had friends! Good Friends! It's amazing what you can find when you open your heart to new experiences.

This year has been a tremendous one for us. I have been able to work from home and John has been a student. This means that we've had plenty of time to be together. We have grown as a family and we have learned about what is important to us. I believe that things happen for a reason and I believe that we wound up in Portsmouth because we had gone a little awry in setting our priorities. For so long we have been running the rat race and keeping up with the fads that I lost sight of the fact that I already have absolutely everything in the world that anyone could ever want to have. And it's right in my own home. Justin has done so well here and we have learned simple tricks to help him be the best kid he can be. I see how important it is for us to be involved in his life, get him involved in activities where he can be successful, embrace the simple things like playing outdoors and eating good food, and helping him to tackle the "craziness" he sometimes feels by slowing down and remembering the basics. Annalise is growing up with a strong sense of confidence because she can go over to her friends' houses (or invite her friends to her house) and she can be given a little more independence here than she can in San Diego. Although she is commonly "wearing her sassy pants!" (hello attitude!!!), she is growing up very quickly and I have enjoyed spending so much "girl time" with her while she will still let me.

This year I resolve to keep living the life that I have found here in Portsmouth. I have found a way to be healthy and not have to rely on fads or diets or crazy ideas to "get in shape". I have found that I am a better person when I read a book. Playing games with the kids is a joy and it doesn't have to be complicated! They have a great time playing tic-tac-toe with me and they really enjoy it when I sit in their room and listen to them tell me an imaginary story. I appreciate the time I have with John and with our friends. It's so nice and healthy to spend time enjoying conversation with adults and learning other perspectives on life. I never realized how much you can learn from people if you just listen! I have always believed in balance and I believe now that I have learned how to achieve it. I may not always do the best job at everything, but what you will find with me is that I am happy as long as I am striving for that.

I'm anxious to see what the New Year brings!!! I'm so sad to see 2009 coming to a close, but what I have learned is that life is always ready to hand you a gift. As long as I remember that, anything that comes our way will be just fine with me.