Back to School

So, as it turns out, I felt more like I was on vacation the day I returned to work than I did all 10 days I was in Virginia. Eight whole hours without kids felt like bliss. I kept checking the clock thinking, I can't believe I have four more kid-free hours, three more, two more ... It's kind of sad, isn't it, when work is an escape, a break, a vacation from kids? By day two, I realized that checking the clock all the time was really me missing the kids, feeling their absence, wondering how they were doing at school.

Sawyer got a time out on his first day. Go figure. I brought it up in the car on the way home and he asked how I knew that he got a time out. "A little birdie told me," I said. He wanted to know where I keep my little birdies and whether we have any bird food at home. The next day at school, Sawyer told his teachers: "My mommy has little birdies that tell her when I'm bad!"

Back East — Part 4

To celebrate all the summer birthdays in the family — Sawyer, Ross, Kieran, PopPop *and Justin in absentia — Aunt Bonnie threw her 2nd annual Unbirthday Party. Please note the cake — Oreo bottom, Cheesecake middle, strawberry candle holders and grape spears. We all sang happy birthday to ourselves and received fun gifts like this:

"What Happens at Grandma's never happened."

Back East — Part 3

It's amazing how you can live your whole life in a city like Washington DC and never see all the museums and sites. This visit, we took the kids to the National Building Museum. I never even knew it existed. This building used to hold the U.S. Pension offices and has some of the largest indoor columns in the world. Now its a lovely space that honors architecture and building.

We went specifically to see an exhibit by Adam Reed Tucker who created LEGO replicas of some of the world's most famous buildings. 4-year-old Sawyer was probably the only child old enough to appreciate the architecture itself. The other kids breezed through the display straight to the huge room of LEGOs where they could create their own designs.

Downstairs in the museum there is a children's room filled with all things building oriented. Arden played with a doll house. Kieran built a block tower. Sawyer organized half a dozen children in a game inside a giant playhouse.

For a minute there I thought I'd lost Sawyer and I ran around the museum in a panic. Turns out I just didn't recognize him:

Back East — Part 2

I'm sorry, was I just complaining about traveling alone with children? Because, if I was ... I take it all back. Several days into the trip my dear brother arrived in Wash. DC, put his wife on a train to New York and drove two hours south to the Northern Neck with his 2-year-old son and 3-month-old (unweaned) baby for three relaxing — HA! — days by the Rivah with me. Was it fun? ... I can't remember.

We provided backup for each other. We both had our melt downs. And if you think swimming in a freezing cold pool with two young non-swimmers is challenging, try swimming in a freezing cold pool with one non-swimmer in the water and a fussy baby on shore.

By the way, my brother out-parents me on many levels, but he takes the gold star in playground participation.

Back East — Part 1

This vacation started in a Korean barber shop in Northern Virginia. The sign out front should have read 'slaughterhouse' cause that's what happened to everyone's hair. There was a plan to go short with Sawyer, start over. Arden, however, had never had a haircut and her bangs were nearly grown out, they just needed a little angle to help keep them out of her face. Long story short — I was focused on the hack job that was happening to Sawyer and all the hair going down his neck. I kept turning around to check on Arden. One time I turned around and she had bangs. Just like that.

For both kids this hair cut seemed to lift a curtain. Perhaps it was the mirror of family and old homes and Virginia — but the kids seemed to age years before my eyes. Arden stopped being a baby/toddler and suddenly transformed into this vivacious, willful, little preschooler. Sawyer became "all boy" not only in looks but in personality. Like most 4-5 year old boys he suddenly seemed too energetic ... too BIG ... for any room he occupied.

Traveling alone with multiple children is challenging, especially when trying to keep everyone on best behavior for the family. Throw in a two hour time shift, toss out routine and sprinkle on a healthy serving of stimulation and HOLY SHIT. Enough said about that.

Between melt downs — theirs and mine — we had some great adventures. Check back all week long for photos and stories.

The pastel horror

I could say some pretty awful things about this stroller. I bought it for $5 when we moved. It's exclusively for airport use. I don't care what the airline does to it. The only downfall is that I have to be seen in public pushing something that looks like it belongs to ... this is where I have to stop myself. But you can go there quietly in your mind. It's just too rude to say out loud. Despite the yellow elephants, blue lady bugs and tattered edges, it's actually quite functional. Big basket underneath, cup holders, single handle, sunbrella. We don't use strollers anymore in our everyday life. I sold our good one when we moved. Arden wasn't even 2 yet, but we're not big mall shoppers and there's very few places we frequent requiring a stroller. Most stores have carts, and Arden doesn't really want to be confined when we're out exploring some place. So it's a novelty when I pull it out. I just won't be surprised if I find my brother and sister-in-law walking on the opposite side of the museum from me.

Recipes for Picky Eaters No. 2

OK, this one is super duper simple. French Toast. I love it for several reasons — it's a great use for stale bread. Often you can sneak in a healthy grain bread and the kids won't even notice. And, it was — for a long time — the only way could get my kids to eat eggs. Proportionally, it's all just guess work for me. I crack a few eggs, and toss in some milk. The proper ratio of the two ingredients seems somewhat key to their success, but it all has to be carefully divided by the amount of bread (and the absorbency of said bread). Just make sure you beat the mixture well and cook it on a medium temperature and it's almost fail proof. Butter, syrup — a guaranteed success. Another idea — make extra, freeze the leftover and warm them up in oven on a morning when you have less time.

A love note from Riverside

This video card from the Cali cousins was exactly what I needed.
Had to repost. Thanks Jami.

Skate Park Kids

Justin wasn't the only one who spent most of his summer at the skate park. My kids went almost every day with their summer camp. They took their own bikes to school and adventured to the skate park in Granby from there. Scott caught some footage of them over the last month or so and I strung it together. Music is by Rusted Root "Send me on my way."

On My Way from Reid Armstrong on Vimeo.

BTW — I used to go off on moms who dressed their kids in helmets and pads: "Nobody ever bubble wrapped us when we were kids," I'd say. Well — as you'll see, my kids all wear helmets and the boys both have all the pads for when they're practicing tricks. Sawyer fell no less than 10 times at the bike park with Scott last weekend, trying to learn a new trick he saw some teenager doing. He never cried. But he was surprise to find that his knees were pretty sore that night when he was going to bed.

There's a reason I don't shop at Cosco

My athletic little kids have many talents — such as moving one of their kid-sized chairs , using it to climb onto the kitchen counter, getting into the narrow cabinet by the microwave where I keep things like THEIR VITAMINS, opening the "Child Safety" cap on said bottle, and having little snack before breakfast — like, 40 vitamins between the two of them.

In one of my finer moments of parenting, I was still sleeping after being up until 1:30 a.m. covering the Colorado Primary Election for the Associated Press. The kids — I thought — were zoned out downstairs in front of The Backyardigans. The dog barked. I popped out of bed and came downstairs. And there they were, casual as ever. Sitting in front of the TV, throwing back gummy vitamins like popcorn. My daughter still had a fistful, but the almost new bottle was basically empty.

So I go online. Because what else does a good mother who sleeps while her kids are playing to do? I googled "Overdose On Gummy Vitamins" And got a bunch of WikiAnswers and Yahoo! Answers — websites where people ask questions and other people respond — highly recommended course of action when you think your kid's been poisoned (NOT!). And these answers were like: "OMG get off this website and take your kid to the ER right away because if you don't have their stomach pumped right away they will probably die."

So I clicked on one last link that took be to some Baby Gaga Forum and there's some story about a kid spending five days in the hospital with iron poisoning. But there's also four or five people who said: call the Poison Control Hotline and gave the number — 1-800-222-1222. I used to have that number on my fridge but I'm not sure it survived the move. I honestly thought that number was more for when your kid drinks a gallon of bleach. I didn't even think about using it for the vitamin question. I've never called a hotline before.

I dialed, and the VERY NONJUDGMENTAL woman, Kirsten, at the Rocky Mountain Poison Center asked me a few questions about the kids ages and genders and had me read some information off the bottle and estimate how many vitamins they ate between them. She asked about other medications and general health. Then she plugged it all into a computer and said that the kids would probably have a stomachache, diarrhea and maybe even vomit a few times. She said I should give them water and a snack. BUT — there was no need to race off to the emergency room and have their stomachs pumped.

Calling that number probably saved me hundreds of dollars in Emergency Room bills and/or an entire day of grief and worry. Here is a worthy cause, if there every was one. FREE medical advice. That number again is 1-800-222-1222. If you've googled "My kid ate the whole bottle of vitamins" and landed here, then call it. Every situation is different and they can help you decide the best to do in your situation.

Several hours in, and the kids seem fine so far. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. I've had a big lecture with them about how vitamins aren't treats, and I'll be moving everything up one shelf. I'm just glad I don't shop at Cosco. That could have been a bottle of 200 vitamins, and this story would have had a very different ending.

I'd also like to thank Duncan. Who barked.

Small milestone

This blog is about to turn 20,000 ... hits that is. I know, I know. Small potatoes. It's an average of 22 hits per day and an average of 150 hits per week. But it's a milestone nevertheless. And — would you believe it — far and away my most popular post of all time is THIS! (Responsible for at least 20 hits a week) ... Believe it!

Happy Day

For the third week in a row, weather and circumstance has kept me from hiking Byers Peak. But Sailda Dara and I took advantage of this soupy-sky day to hike to Columbine Lake. It was a beautiful climb up a mountain valley alongside a gushing stream. Wildflowers abounded — Indian paintbrush, aster, arnica, parrot's peak, elephant's head ... yellow, purple, orange, fuchsia, red, white, green. As we neared treeline, rock cliffs jutted into the low clouds along the valley's edges, leaving us to imagine what the peaks looked like. Definitely have to go back and find out.

We had a huge egg and potato breakfast for lunch and, later, we took the kids for a quick hike up in Rocky Mountain National Park. Twas a perfect day as far as I'm concerned.

Recipes for Picky Eaters No. 1

I'm going to start a regular series on this blog called, "The Domestically Challenged Mom: Recipes For Your Picky Eaters." (Basically Jessica Seinfeld without the time or talent.)

All around me, I see kids the same ages as my kids eating all kinds of healthy, interesting foods — deli sandwiches with mayo and lettuce, vegetables of all varieties, dishes with several ingredients mixed in together — gasp. Not my kids. They are strictly no-food-touching-any-other-kind-of-food purists. Between 18 months and 3 years, Sawyer's entire diet consisted of dairy and white-colored carbohydrates. He just this year added apples and oranges to his fruit repertoire and I about fell over when he asked for broccoli. He's finally trying exotic new things — like meat and chicken.

Arden's no less picky, but she's likes the opposite things. I can actually get her to eat an entire bowl of broccoli (as long as there's a vat of melted butter nearby) but she won't eat a single piece of chicken. Ask me tomorrow and they will have both flip-flopped their preferences. I can't keep up.

So, I have come up with a few interesting meals to improve the variety in their lives, which I will share from time to time here. I'd like to dedicate this to my mom who taught me everything I know about melted butter and who invented many of these Domestically Challenged recipes for me — the original picky eater.

RECIPE NO. 1: CHICKEN ON A STICK


The first lesson for any chef trying to please a picky eater — it's all about the packaging. The big wigs in the food industry figured that out a long time ago. I mean, look at the Sarah Lee Sandwich Bread with the Toy Story wrapping. My kids are convinced that the bread was hand-kneaded by Woody himself. Pleeease can we get the Toy Story bread? Who cares that it's a full dollar more than the generic brand. And, just try to get them through the soup aisle without cans covered with Cars and Princesses magically ending up in the basket — who cares what's inside — they don't even like soup.

So, Armstrong family legend also has it that one of my early favorite foods on Guam was Chicken Yakatori — aka chicken on a stick. A perfect example of how it's all about the packaging. My kids won't eat plain cubed up chicken, but put it on a stick and watch out. It's oh-so-fun.

I make up my own sauce, which involves melting a big scoop of creamy peanut butter in a sauce pan and adding drizzles of soy sauce and drops sesame oil until it tastes good. My kids think its chocolate sauce. The grocery store also carries Thai peanut sauce in a jar, but it tends to be too spicy for my kids.

I soak the sticks in water, coat the raw cubed chicken with the sauce and then skewer it. (Cut off sharp tip for little kids.) I bake it on a tin-foil lined cookie sheet at 350-400 degrees until it's done (white and flaky).

For the side dishes this time, I made plain jasmine rice and edaname — something green that the kids actually seem to like in small doses as long as it's doused in soy sauce.

Don't forget an extra bowl of sauce for dipping!

Funny things 2

"Skunkus" = Arden's word for skunk

Sawyer: Mommy, do you remember when we were at the beach and Mimi and Pop Pop were watching Arden and there were fireworks? (An exact memory of our rather uneventful Fourth of July last year — which I had forgotten.)

Sawyer: I had a dream that Pop Pop had a really long 'munstache.'

Sawyer: I really liked our "babysister" today. (babysitter)

"Paydo" = Arden's favorite thing in the world (playdough)

Sawyer: "Mom, I've got to go poop. Can you get me a magazine?"

You know how kids call their preschool teachers Miss Molly, Miss Jamie, Miss M.J.? Well now Arden calls me Miss Mommy.

Having just given Sawyer pajamas out of the laundry he says: Mommy, if you was my pajamas a lot I'll give you a big heart cookie. (perhaps he hasn't noticed — I actually do his laundry ALL THE TIME.)

Skittles

Skittles from Reid Armstrong on Vimeo.

Justin leaves Monday after seven wonderful weeks. It was pure summer for him this year. I had intended to enroll him in camp, but after a week hanging out at the skate park across the street from Scott's office in Winter Park, he was hooked. He was at that park from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. almost every single day. He would come home at night, take the dog on a long bike ride, eat a refrigerator full of food, help put the kids to bed, soak his wounds in the bathtub and pass out on the couch by 9 p.m. And ... repeat.

As Scott describes it, the whole Hideaway Park skate scene reminds him a lot of his own surfing days. Justin made buddies with a bunch of other kids at the skate park and several times a day they would walk over to the skate shop to play with the tools, tweak their boards and pick up some stickers. Scott said the guys at the shop took Justin under their wing, like he was a little sponsored gromit or something. They gave him pro deals on gear, stenciled his skateboard and all shouted his nickname whenever he walked in. The culture at the skate park was also interesting, Scott said. It was a super athletic, positive group of kids. Everyone supported each other, and a lot of the older skaters gave Justin tips along the way. I witnessed this when I took this video today — the support, the positive vibes, and the tips from more experienced skaters.

So, Justin went from barely being able to ride his board down the street to what you see here in this video. A huge accomplishment in seven weeks. It took him the better part of that time for him to get up the nerve to drop into the pool, (he's always been one to watch and listen quietly and to take only carefully calculated risks when he's good and ready) but once he made the plunge — he advanced quickly. We're both super proud of him (Understatement — Scott is beaming), and Justin's rightfully proud of himself too. We can't wait to see how much this helps his snowboarding.