summing up the week

Well Collin started his gymnastics class on Friday morning and we are very proud of him! Sometimes he can be a bit intimidated by new situations, especially ones involving lots of people.
So he started crying as soon as we got in to the parking lot insisting he wouldn't do it. Then he cried some more when we got in to the building.
And I eat it up. Isn't that terrible?!
I can't help it. I absolutely love this little boy who is happiest just to be with me and Tim. My Mom asked him the other day if he was going to start preschool.
He said, "No, I'd miss my Mommy too much".
I'll be content for Collin to ride along on my hip as long as he wants.
A year ago he was butting heads with me constantly and making life pretty challenging. I love 3 year old Collin who can't seem to put his clothes on anymore or buckle his seatbelt. He just wants me to be his Mommy and do it all like I used to.

Yes- I know... I can only eat it up for so long. It's also my job to help him become confident and independent. Which is why I insisted he did gymnastics on Friday.
And ya know what? After a few minutes he was running around laughing having a blast.
I was so happy for him. Collin rocks!!
Today Kayla got her part for the play in her acting class.
It's a really cute little play. It's about a hair salon with different princesses and characters coming in with hair issues.
For instance, Rapunzel needed a haircut desperately!
Sleeping Beauty had a rat's nest for sleeping for so many years.
And Goldilocks (whom Kayla is playing) needs her hair color to be changed to brunette because the 3 little bears are ticked off and after her for rummaging around in their house!
Wow- she has a lot of lines so we are going to be practicing every day!
We also went to "Walking with the Dinosaurs" which was such an awesome experience!
The kids loved it, although Collin and cousin Nicky plugged their ears much of the time. :)
When the inevitable meteor hit and ended the dinosaurs' time here on earth Kayla cried and I cried with her. I love experiencing moments with that girl because she feels them down to her soul.

Tomorrow we leave for AZ. I am making a promise to myself. I will try to never be afraid to pull my kids out of school for vacations and experiences.
I can't believe how fast they grow up and I'm not going to bend to the pressures and worries of school systems! My kids and I are going to have fun whenever and wherever we want. I had always promised this to myself but found myself really worrying about telling Kayla's teacher we were leaving for a week.
Now that I've notified everyone and gotten everything in place I wonder what I was so worried about??

Finally, I got my hair done tonight by a local gal. Sometimes souls meet up in the strangest places. We talked and talked and I learned that she lost her daughter to cancer at age 21 after her 7 year battle. She told me that her daughter was never once worried about her own death. Instead, she was worried that what was happening to her would kill her parents and brother. So Donna (the hairdresser) told me that she smiled every day so that her daughter would know it didn't kill her after all.
She cried when she told me that and I cried too. And I am crying right now.
Then she told me that her passion was training horses. She has a few pregnant mares right now and told me I could bring the kids out to see the babies in the Spring and that Kayla could ride one of her horses.
So even though my hair is too blond and a little too brassy I am thankful that I met her and I will stay in touch with Donna.

Robin

Acting 101

So Kayla started her acting class on Saturday.
It's been a couple of months since her last drama class.
I'd forgotten how fun it is! This Children's Theater Group is really something else.
The directors are so nice and so sweet to the kids. While they play lots of theater games and ice breakers, they are also learning skills each week.
Last week they actually had to audition for their parts.
I was really bursting at the seams with pride! They told Kayla they would help
her read her audition lines, but she said, "Nope, I can read it myself!"
And she did, while still managing to project her voice and use expression.
Whether it's soccer or ballet or drama, it's really neat to see a child in their element. Drama is definitely Kayla's.
The directors were really happy with her and so sweet about it.
I told my Mom that day, "It's just so fun to be Kayla's Mom!!!"

Meanwhile, Collin and I are planning our very first Mother/Son trip.
I'm taking him to AZ... just the two of us.
Whenever there is a holiday or vacation, I feel like Collin has to compete a bit (or at least he feels like he has to :) for attention.
He's always been with Kayla and sometimes Kayla and the cousins.
He is really at such an adorable age and he is so sweet so much of the time now.
So we're going to give him some one one one, or two on one time with the grandparents, with me and with Uncle Chris. I can't wait!!!

This Saturday Kayla gets her part in the play and then it is time for "Walking with Dinosaurs" We're looking forward to this weekend!!

Country songs

This picture was taken tonight. See how well my sleep plan is working out??
Ha ha... no really... actually the sleep plan worked beautifully.
The kids were in their own beds, sleeping through the night with their new sleep buddies (the stuffed animals that needed sleep training).
But then we had to leave the house again due to the dusty messy work being done in our basement.
A couple of nights in a hotel, and we're back to sleeping together!
I love how close my kids have become so I do find the whole thing pretty cute.
But I told them tonight is the last night... then we're getting back to our OWN beds!
Although I'm feeling happy and fine today, I decided that my life is a bit of a country song right now!
My house is falling apart, my dog got hit by a car (maybe.. more on that later)
Tim is travelling so we're missing him. Now my truck (OK minivan) just needs to break down!
But in the whole scheme of things- life is pretty darn good! :)

Musical Beds

Anyone who knows our family knows that Tim and I have little to no ability to let our kids cry it out at night. I don't know when this happened, because I was extraordinarily tough with Kayla's sleep schedule when she was a baby. If she needed a nap and it took her two hours of crying to get there... well then that's what it took. And she has been a great sleeper for it. But now, all it takes is for one tremor in Collin's little lips, and the words, "I'm scared" and one of us is sleeping with him.

Lately Kayla has been having bad dreams and getting in to our bed. Sometimes she gets in to Collin's bed. Sometimes the bed I fall asleep in is not the bed I awake in.
It's getting a bit out of control. We love sleeping with our kids- but it's out of control!!

Monday night Kayla came downstairs crying saying she refused to go to sleep.
I asked her why and she said, "Our babysitter told us we had to go to sleep because we grow when we sleep."
"That's true... so what's the problem?" I ask.
"Well, I don't want to grow. Growing means I'm getting older, so growing is bringing me closer to my own death!" And she started crying again.
So I explained how lack of sleep can cause health problems, and bad health can also bring us closer to death. This seemed to help a bit. :)

But tonight is the night!!
I bought each of the kids a stuffed animal with terrible sleep habits.
Their job is to teach the stuffed animal how to stay in bed all night and be brave.
So far so good. They are both asleep in their own beds.
Kayla even read a story to her new stuffed animal to calm him down. :)
We'll see if we all remain in our own beds though!!

What a week!

What a crazy week.
Monday began as a relaxing day... Kayla stayed home from school and we played with friends in the morning.
Monday evening I went to Explorer Elementary school's choice meeting.
We are very excited about the prospect of Kayla attending 1st grade there!
It will be a bit heartbreaking not to return to daVinci in the fall and I will really miss the community and teachers there, but we need some resources available to us that Explorer seems to be able to provide now. I think that Kayla can always choose to return to the Arts emphasis when she is older.
More about that later...

Tuesday Kayla went on a field trip with her class to an Imagination Celebration play, "Aesop's Fables". They were all dressed up and it was very cute.
Yesterday turned in to an adventure, when the work being done in our basement turned in to a gigantic dusty mess and we were sent to a hotel. Our entire house had to be professionally cleaned, as a nice layer of cement dust settled on just about everything!
Our dog, Drew had a bit of a nervous breakdown in the midst of it all. But I am coaxing him back in to good mental health this afternoon. We are making progress... :)

After a lot of stress and running around, we finally arrived at the hotel around 7:00 PM and ordered a pizza, cinnabread and a two-liter.
We watched American Idol and ate yummy food and the crappy day turned in to a pretty nice evening.
It really made me thankful for all the moving and travelling we, as a family have done.
The kids are so used to hotels and travelling that they just go right along with the flow.
It would have been more fun if Tim was with us, but we made do.
We had a snow day today, so Kayla has still not officially had any school this week!
We look forward to getting back in to the swing of things tomorrow!!

Today I am thinking about how much I hate cold wind, how I will never build a new house again,
how much fun I have with my kids, what I'm going to make for dinner, and how I can barely stand to wait for Spring Break!!!

Getting started

OK, so this is my first official BLOG!!
I decided to begin blogging so that I have a better record of my thoughts and of special moments with Tim and the kids.
While I'm pretty good about writing down the cute things the kids say, I have so many thoughts, ideas and feelings that pass by and could eventually be forgotten.
So while I may not be an every day blogger, I hope to do this once or twice a week to keep better records of our family life.
I decided my first blog would be about my communication and writing style and about things that are most consistent in my thoughts so that certain threads will be recognizable (and probably funny) throughout my blogging days.

Communication:
First, I LOVE exclamation points! They make me feel positive and they reflect my excitement about life, including the little things!! One exclamation point is usually not enough for me!
I LOVE being on the computer. I love typing. I love surfing the net. And I love researching all the questions and concerns I have. Sometimes this is a great thing, as I feel prepared and knowledgeable. Sometimes this gives me extra angst about things that I'm already worried about (I'll list those momentarily)!!
Last, I deflect emotion with humor. It is a family trait, and it's something my brother Chris and I noticed this Christmas while spending the day in Boulder together.
If either one of us would show any emotion about something in a conversation, or even if one of just said something nice about the other, we would quickly follow it with a joke.
I love humor of all kinds, and I love people that can take a joke. I like self deprecating humor!

We laugh a lot in our family and we are often unsure as to who is the biggest kid in the house.
Kayla thinks I'm so silly but she still claims that Uncle Chris has me beat!
Tim has loosened up over the years and is now able to dance around the family room with us and he can really let loose! He is the funnest person I know!

There will be exciting, new or special moments I'll blog about so that one day we can all look back and laugh, and sometimes maybe cry.
But here are the things that I'm often thinking about and working on:

1. I'm always planning a trip. Not a day goes by where I am not discussing an upcoming trip with someone! This is a product of having family and friends so spread out over this country. But it is also a product of our need for adventure!
Currently we are planning a Spring Break trip to Las Vegas and Phoenix, a dinosaur dig trip in Western Colorado for this summer, and a possible international trip in 2 years.

2. I'm always thinking about family. I talk to my parents and brother every day, and I talk to Tim's parents just as much. I miss my Grandmas in Michigan. I think about them all the time and I wish I could see them every week. Chris and I made a trip to see them recently without our parents. What an amazing trip! I think we learned more about our Grandmas in that short weekend than we did in several years combined.
It was so neat to learn about who they were as young people, with jobs and ideas, crushes and problems... to learn that they broke rules or didn't always agree with authority, whether it be parents or religion or politics. They are both so fun and smart! I can't wait to visit again.
Outside of my immediate family, my brother is my best friend and I need him for my daily dose of tear pouring laughter.
Kayla and Collin love their cousins! It is more fun than ever to get together these days. The kids play and laugh non-stop.
I wish we had more opportunities for Kayla and Hannah to get to know eachother the way she and Collin have had the opportunity with Jack and Nick. Hannah is the only other girl in the family and she is far way in Florida!

3. I'm always thinking about education. I'm always thinking about what the best thing might be for Kayla and eventually Collin. Kayla is an old soul and we feel enormously blessed to have her in our lives. But it is a big job to keep up with her passions and convictions and her budding mind. She's got a lot going on in that head of hers. She is also the only one who can calm me down when I'm stressed out or mad. She always has a pearl of wisdom for me or something to say that really makes me think. She was NOT an easy newborn or baby, but she turned in to the smiliest, happiest toddler. And now she's such a fun kid with a big heart.

Collin is proving to be a lot like his sister. Funny, smart and full of ideas. We are learning to be a little more careful with him though. He is the sensitive one. He has a harder time taking a joke and he doesn't want to feel like he's being laughed at. We work to be sure he feels special and loved for who he is. Collin has taught me to relax a LOT. He jumps off his dresser, climbs the furniture and flies through the air! He is the essence of "boy" and a breath of fresh air in my life.
The day he was born was the best day of my life because it was such a perfect birth and he was such a perfect newborn. He was so quiet for the first couple of months and I will always cherish the first moment I held my son. Collin loves to be home. Unlike Kayla, he has no need for playgroups or Gymboree. He'd rather play with Mom or Dad any day. His perfect day is to stay in PJ's all day long and just play with his family.

4. I'm always thinking about the evening. As pathetic as it may sound, I LOVE thinking about what shows are on that night. Tim and I are reality junkies!! I love it!
I love our routine. I cook dinner while he entertains the kids. Then he does the dishes while I give them a bath and get them ready for bed. We both read to them and we always makes up stories to tell them. Then we retreat to the family room with the fireplace on and who knows- Survivor, The Apprentice... something will be on.
We love politics and we spend a lot of time learning about and talking about the candidates.
We can be a bit competitive... darts or board games.
We also love having treats after the kids go to bed. Ice cream, candy or cookies... every night!

5. I'm thinking often about where we want to live. Tim and I are adventurers at heart.
While we love the thought of staying in one house forever, we could still move a few more times. There are so many people we want to live by. There are so many cities we'd love to experience! Tim and I are realtor.com junkies too. Always checking out housing prices in different places. To name just a few of the places we'd love to live... Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Phoenix, Northern California, Michigan, and most of all- the East Coast baby!
Oh how I fell in love while on a trip with my friend Liz. I felt as though I was home for some strange reason. Especially in Salem. (Was I a witch in a past life??) ha ha
Realistically though, we'll probably stay by the comfort of family and friends in Colorado or Arizona. We can dream though...

6. God. I'm always curious about the true nature of God. Religion is so interesting to me, but I have to wonder whether God even needs or requires "religion"
I feel that all of us possess a physical and spiritual being. I think that our religious experiences and choices can nourish our spiritual side. But I do wonder how much of religion is man-made and how much is a reflection of God's will for us to worship? Hmmm...
After having kids, I sometimes even feel that our souls existed before our bodies.
It's interesting because I feel like I'm getting to know my kids every day, yet I also feel that I've known them forever. And I believe that our souls are bound together for all of time.
I'm a bit Mormon that way!! :)

7. Terrorism. While this is not on my mind as much as my family and lifestyle... it worries me that our nation might really be one of sitting ducks. We are so involved with our tiny little worlds, and so sure of ourselves. I don't think we are as aware of the dangers as much as the rest of the world. I even wonder how safe schools will be in the coming years.
Travel worries me a bit too. But even so I plan to travel and continue having faith and fun in this world!

Well, from now on I think I'll blog about memories, experiences, thoughts and funny stories.
But these are the basics of the "House of Dean".