In an attempt to put a stop to Noah and Riley arguing, I invited them to help me make sugar cookies. Success! They stopped arguing over trivial things and were completely, 100% engaged in the cookie making process. Fortunately, they did not want the same cookie cutter, because that would have been problematic. Noah was the gingerbread cut-out and Riley was the star.

“Mommy’s job is to flatten the dough. Once I flatten the dough, you can cut your cookie with the cookie cutter.”  I only wish I didn’t have to flatten the dough with the palm of my hand and a glass cup. My mother probably has three rolling pins, and I have zilch when it comes to rolling pins. Oh well, nobody here seems to care that the cookie making process is more laborious than it needs to be.

“Now, Mom?” questioned Riley.

“Not yet,” I respond.

“Now?”

“Go for it, the dough is ready.”

Clean little hands went to work cutting cookies in the shape of stars and gingerbread. The assembly-line process worked pretty well. They cut the cookies and I was in charge of placing each cut-out on the cookie tray.

“Oh man, my gingerbread doesn't have an arm.” Commented Noah. When the cookies started to lose limbs, it was my turn to flatten more dough.

“That’s it. Now it is my turn to deal with the dough again.” I began the laborious dough flattening process all over again and the kids hovered. They were watching and waiting for the moment they could use their cookie cutters again.

“Now, Mom?” they both asked.

“Go for it. Now it is your turn.” I said. The cookie cutting process went on like this all night. We made a mess in the kitchen. The kids laughed and giggled with each other. Dean was mesmerized by the kids and how good they were at making cut-out cookies. The only thing I would change is to use a rolling pin next time to flatten the dough. Maybe I can sneak one of my mom’s rolling pins in my suitcase next time I visit.

Decorating the tree is a family tradition. Without the effort of our Leisgang team, the tree decorating would be a disaster.

Dean hauls the plastic tubs of Christmas decorations upstairs, from the depths of the basement. He also drags the “fake” Christmas trees upstairs; however it is my job to put them together. Our pre-lit tree is a puzzle because the strands of lights on the tree have to be plugged together, properly; allowing the tree to light up. The puzzle is the connection of the plugs. The company that made the tree labeled the plugs A, B and C. So, one would think A plugs into A, B plugs into B, and C plugs into C. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I thought I was smart a few years back and labeled the plugs, with silver Sharpie ink. In my perfect world, the silver Sharpie plug number 1 connects with the other number 1 plug. Then, plug 2 connects with plug 2, and so on. Sadly, my world is not perfect. This year I could not figure out how to make the tree light up, period. Alas, I broke down and weaved a green extension cord up the trunk of the tree. All the A’s, B’s, C’s and 1, 2, 3’s are plugged into the green extension cord. Magically, the tree lit up.

Moving on to the decorating portion of our family tradition involves tons of help from Noah and Riley. Noah and Riley are in charge of decorating the tree. They even had stools placed in front of the tree this year so that could place ornaments closer to the top of the tree. Noah had a plan to place all the theme ornaments near each other. So, if you wander over to our house and notice all the jingle bell ornaments clumped together, you will know why. Riley worked hard to fill in the empty spaces on the Christmas tree. My job is to un-clump the ornaments, so they are spread throughout the entire tree. But, I must be very sneaky when relocating ornaments, otherwise the kids will get upset with me for moving their carefully  placed ornament. Dean is in charge of unpacking ornaments from boxes, placing hooks on them for hanging and reminiscing about the history of each ornament. He has a great memory for who we received ornaments from, why we received them and the sentimental value attached to each ornament.

Last but not least, Dean, Noah and Riley place the singing stuffed animals on the fireplace each year. Many years ago I declared a holiday theme of snowman, so we have singing snowman coming out our ears. The kids like to place them on the fireplace and make the snowman sing, AT THE SAME TIME. It is hilarious the first time this happens. It is funny the second this happens. It is even funny the third time this happens. However, singing snowman, singing different songs, all at the same time does get tiresome.  But, I wouldn’t change any of these moments. I look forward to our decorating tradition, and so do Dean and the kids.

Bear Cubs

Off to school for our two little bear cubs. Noah is in Second Grade and Riley is attending 4K. My sister-in-law, Bonnie, once said that Noah and Riley are like two little bear cubs because they are always together. They rough house, snuggle, fight and make-up like bear cubs.
Unfortunately, my cubs are attending class in two different locations, so they won't be able to take care of each other like they have all summer. Who am I kidding; they don't always take care of each other. Sometimes the evil twinkle in their eyes kicks in and they attack the other with vengeance. If only I knew a magic spell that I could cast; putting an end to the bear cub attacks. Life, minus bear cub attacks, would be so peaceful, and probably very boring.
On the other hand, two different locations for class is a good thing because when they reunite at the end of the day the hugs and snuggles are endless.
Cheers to a new school year!

I Win

“I can swim across the pool without floaties. Can you?” Noah tauntingly asks Riley.

“No, Mom said I have to use a noodle or floatie when I am in the big pool.”  Riley responds in a very matter of fact manner.

Fast forward two days and Riley is swimming in the pool without floaties, noodles or any other device. The essence of competition is overwhelming in my family. Years ago, Noah refused to trust arm floaties as a device that could provide some independence while in the water.

Splash!

When his sister jumped in the pool with arm floaties, he quickly followed. He was unwilling to be shown up by his sister, and hastily put his faith in arm floaties to help him swim independently.

The competitive edge carries over to other activities as well. Noah successfully maneuvered across a climbing wall at the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena, California.

I kept asking, “Are you sure you don’t want to get down?”

He was firm in his response. “I will get to the end.”

While watching Noah, and waiting to save the day if he fell, I realize Riley is attempting to climb the wall. Initially, she struggled with the foot holds and hand holds, but eventually was able to hold herself on the climbing wall successfully. That is where her attempt to climb the wall ended. She quickly reverted to freak out mode.

"Get me down!" She squealed.

Needless to say, the spirit of competition drives my children to challenge each other to try new things. Luckily, Dean and I are always close by to rescue Noah or Riley if the challenge is a bit scary.

Family Night @ Lambeau Field

 

Football, fireworks, food, oh my!

Family night at Lambeau Field was a first for our family. It was Noah and Riley's first time attending a "so called" game. Okay, it was a scrimmage against other Packer players; however, it was the first time the kids had been inside the historical landmark without being guided by a tour guide.

We enjoyed the evening with 60,000 others who were there to soak in the beginning of football season. Noah asked way too many questions. Thankfully, Dean was able to answer each and every question. Riley took pictures with my cell phone camera and went to the bathroom fourteen times. Truthfully, she went to the bathroom four times, but it felt like we spent  half our time in the bathroom. I tried to convince her the lavatory was not the most exciting place, but when you have to go, you have to go.

We snuck out of  Lambeau a few minutes early to avoid getting lost in the crowd. Noah's competitive side emerged as he attempted to race Riley down the spiral walkway. Around and around we walked, jogged, or ran so we could watch the fireworks from across the street.

Success! Noah won his impromptu race and Riley was able to enjoy the fireworks.

Bug Slug

“Bug slug!” announced Noah.

Laughing to myself, I stated, “I think you mean slug bug.”

“Oh yeah, slug bug is what I meant to say,” chuckled Noah.

Visions of my brother slugging me in the car when I was much younger flooded my brain. He would slug me and I would try my hardest to locate another Volkswagen Bug. Of course, in “Kim,” fashion, I was always one step behind my brother. He would spy another bug and slug me in the arm once again.

Sadly, the slug bug game would continue with me being slugged repeatedly. I would feverishly scan the streets; looking for any hint of a Volkswagen Bug. Unfortunately, I would get sidetracked while hunting for a bug and SLUG. Out of nowhere, I would be on the receiving end of another blow to the arm.

So, the question is do I elaborate and share the rest of the rules for the slug bug game with Noah? I think not because I would probably lose. I don’t have any desire to set myself up for failure.

Questions

“Can a person without feet walk?” asked Noah, while we were riding in the car. “I am trying to tell Riley a person without feet can walk, but she does not believe me.”

Where did this question come from? What prompted Noah to ask this question? Why is he asking me such a serious question right now? We are driving to the pool. Why not ask about the pool, since we have never been to this particular pool.

Here goes…my attempt at answering Noah’s question went a little bit like this.

“Absolutely! If the person has prosthetic feet, they can walk. However, if the individual does not have prosthetic feet, they cannot walk.” I answered, hoping I told him correct information. “Noah, if the person does not have prosthetic feet, they probably use a wheel chair to get from place to place.”

All day I have been baffled by Noah’s question. Even as I write this, I am pondering what sparked Noah’s interest in this topic. Immediately my mind went to a friend and co-worker whose husband lost his legs in an accident, but we haven’t talked about their family recently. Noah is incredibly observant and inquisitive. Plus, he tends to peek over my shoulder when I am browsing Facebook. So maybe we don’t have to talk to spark questions because he is observing so much in his daily life. Simple observations in his daily life prompt numerous questions.

Then it dawned on me, Dean and I recently watched an ESPN documentary about a University of Alaska-Anchorage (UAA) athlete who lost his feet due to frostbite. Noah was in and out of the room the entire time the documentary was on television. The documentary told the story of a young college student, from overseas, who was a talented long-distance runner. His family poured their entire life savings into their son’s opportunity to attend college in the United States. Due to circumstances out of the young man’s control, he went into a severe depression and wandered deep into the wilderness during the month of November. The athlete was reported missing and many people were searching to find him. When the young man did resurface from the depths of the Alaskan wilderness, he was severely frostbitten and suffering from hypothermia. Medical teams worked feverishly to help the athlete recover from the effects of frostbite and hypothermia; resulting in the amputation of the athlete’s feet. Today, the young man has prosthetic feet and is dedicated to earning his college degree. More importantly, he is passionate about overcoming or controlling his depression and helping others who suffer from depression do the same. Maybe Noah has been thinking about and questioning what happened to the UAA athlete and all his questions are surfacing today while we drive to the pool.

Finally, to end the day, our family happened to watched a quick news clip about the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team. The soldiers participating in the game lost limbs while serving our country. Noah was mesmerized while watching the soldiers play baseball. He did not even notice the players’ prosthetic limbs. What he did notice was the players’ motivation to excel while playing the game of softball.

“The soldiers playing baseball are not any different than you and me.” Dean stated in a very matter of fact manner.

Regardless of why Noah is asking me inquisitive and thought provoking questions, it is more important he understands all human beings have feelings, dreams, goals, families and so much more. It doesn’t matter the shape, size, color, faith, ability or disability of individuals in our society. What matters is we treat people with respect and kindness on a daily basis, regardless of our differences. Our differences make us unique.