Worst Mom of the Year Award

Worst Mom of the Year Award in.... 3.... 2.... 1

This morning Jack was resting on the couch in the living room when I heard him yell, "Mom, get me a tissue!"

Now, this statement alone should have been my first clue, but I'm not much of a morning person. Instead, I reminded Jack that he needs to ask nicely for things, which was less than effective.

"Mom, get me a baby wipe! They're in my room!" He yelled again.

I calmly replied, "Jack, you need to talk nicely."

"Mom, you get baby wipe for me?" Jack said in a sweet voice.

"Ok," as I slipped into his room and grabbed a wipe. When I came into the living room, I found Jack sitting motionless with puke all over himself and the couch. No wonder my little guy was being so demanding!

Needless to say, he didn't go to school. Instead, we had a bath, did laundry and are enjoying a lazy day watching puppy videos on YouTube.

"Aw, how cute, Mama! The puppies are so cute!"

Orris King 1925-2013

Orris Trela King
Loving Mother
1925 - 2013

When my Grandma's last days where upon us, I wrote the following words to share with her...

Lindsay & Gma
circa 1987

My Dear Grandma,

You have always been one of my favorite people in this world. Growing up you were bigger than life, and not just because you were tall in stature or so physically strong. I think it was your strength of heart. It takes a pretty amazing woman to single-handedly parent that rowdy passel of children like you did. And, to choose to continue living when your eldest son passed away. Now that I'm a parent, too, I more fully understand the strength it required to continue.

One of my favorite, childhood activities was listening to mom tell stories about growing up in a home with six children. I remember one story where you tried to take a nap only to have some stranger knock on the door to tell you that your children were ice skating on the pond. The temperature wasn't low enough to freeze the pond entirely so they had waded out to the ice. It's no surprise that you have always been one of the strongest women in my life. You have to be, to put up with your wild bunch.

Grandma with Zeke & Carbin

You are sweethearted & loyal in your caring for others. Whether it be your son, Steve, or one of the people you encountered as a social worker. Even while in the hospital this week, you would ask your caretakers how they were doing and reach up to stroke their face.

 Stubborn as a mule. I remember you visiting our home in Seattle. We had this 8-foot-tall, blueberry bush with the most delicious fruit. You were harvesting like crazy despite the large beehive tucked in the branches. After being stung several times, mom implored you to leave the bush & bees alone, but you didn't think the bees should get all the berries. Mom was falling apart in laughter at your stubborn streak while she continuously put a baking soda and water mixture on your stings.

Look what poor Grandma had to deal with!
Rosemary, Rita, Grandma, Brenda.

You are fiesty, as Clarke can attest.

A brilliant and quick-witted mind who enjoyed books, crosswords and word puzzles up to the end.

I imagine your resourcefulness partially grew out of necessity, but I'll never forget my amusement when I saw how you packed lunch for me one time. In your frugal way, you used an empty coffee tin for my chips rather than wasting a plastic bag. Some may have been embarrassed, but I was proud of my Grandma who had strived despite hard times.

Great Gma OK & Jack

Resilient. Before divorces were acceptable, you had one and you continued to hold your head high. Before women were common in the workforce, you proved to be a force of your own.

Homemaker. Even though I only visited once a year or so, your house always felt like home. I always enjoyed your cooking. I remember your amusement when I was so excited after you made creamed peas. I remember when you introduced me to peaches with cream and a dash of sugar. Mmm! I'll always remember that you were able to make a good meal out of nothing.

April 2013

Mostly, I will remember that I was your favorite. Or, at least, that's what I always told you, but the truth is
that you were my favorite, Grandma. I love you, and I'm going to miss you.

Kid Tested, Mother Approved

Jack goes to "school" two mornings a week. Both Mom and Jack agree that school is just about the best thing. Ever. Jack often runs through his school door without so much as a "see ya" to his Mom-mom, which is actually a very comforting feeling. 

I love everything about the setup. Jack is familiar with the preschool teachers because he's with the same teachers and in the same room as Sunday School. Mom knows that all the teachers are background checked and receive continued education. Every week a parent will help out and so I've seen, firsthand, the wonderful care the kids receive. I know that all the toys are cleaned each day, which is seems like overkill but is completely necessary with the infinite drooling & colds that occur among toddlers.

Hmmm, which toy is next?

The 2 and 3yo's have free time after which they help clean up. (Yea for learning to clean up!) They get to play in the "Muscle Room" with the big toys where they run their little hearts out. Sometimes they even get to play with bubbles, which Jack will remind the teachers to bring if they forget. Then, Jack & his friends eat healthy snacks, they learn cute prayers and the importance of washing their hands. All the kids help put away their chairs before story time and singing songs. Then more playing.

Jack can be a lil mischievous.

The best part is that school totally helps get Jack's wiggles out. A couple weeks ago was Spring Break so Jack didn't have school... Those are the weeks that Jack spends his energy terrorizing the house, pulling poor Charlie's tail and breaking the kid latch on the knife drawer.

This pic is Mom-mom's favorite.

Okay, the actual best part is how excited Jack is when Mom-mom comes to pick him up. She is guaranteed a big hug from her happy guy.

Photo Credit: Rachel Drecshel.

The Three Little Pigs

Some of the best parenting advice that Brian & I received in our early years came from my Uncle Tim & Aunt Janet. They pointed out the threadbare remains of my youngest cousin, Levi's, "Silky Dog," and suggested we buy duplicates of Jack's favorite, soothing item whether it be a teddy bear, blanket, etc. 

Jack, much to his Great Grandmother King's revulsion (perhaps, living on an actual farm has effected her affection for pigs), fell in love with pigs. His favorite movie is "Charlotte's Web". His favorite TV show is "Wibbly Pig". Many of his favorite books include pigs. He loves "This little piggy went to the market..." And, if I have to sing about Old McDonald's farm one more time!

Jack quickly discovered the extra
"Closet Pig" and will often be seen
toting two pigs about the house.

After recognizing Jack's infinite love of everything pig, his parents dutifully bought a couple more. Now, three little pigs may seem like overkill to the average parent, but today we used all three.


I awoke at 3:30AM to hearing my son intermittently, crying and puking. Poor Daddy who had to leave for work in less than 2 hours jumped out of bed (Literally. I don't think he was even awake) to help console our confused, little boy while Mom-mom cleaned up the mess. This happened 2 more times before 5:30am so needless to say Mom-mom has been doing her share of laundry today.  

Jack is seen here with "Car Pig"

Jack is currently napping with one of the pigs while mom continues to fight the laundry mountain.

So, today I find myself especially grateful for wonderful pediatricians, Jack's Daddy and the ability to use the internet to purchase matching pigs. Because what would we do in a world without pigs?

Jack with "Crib Pig"

I'm So Thankful - Pt. 1, 2 & 3

Several friends of mine are creating a List of Thanksgiving. It's just one item a day from Nov 1st to Nov 22nd (Thanksgiving Day) to help give a little perspective as we move into the holy-day season. It sounded like a good idea so I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Here's mine, thus far:

Jack & Grandma Brenda

Nov 1st

I'm grateful for a small moment this evening. While running through Target, Jack was caught off kilter and almost ran into another couple. Without any parental instigation (because I've actually never told him to say this), Jack said, "'scuze me!" 

I'm thankful for two reasons. First, it was another example of how freakin' adorable my kid is. I know I'm slightly biased but pretty sure he is the best little man ever. Also, it made me feel like I'm doing alright with the whole parent-thing when my smart little guy sees & mimics polite behavior.

Nov 2nd

I'm thankful that my son gets excited to eat homemade applesauce. I'm thankful because it's a fairly healthy treat, especially compared to the garbage we were doling out two days ago.

Also, I've never been much of a homemaker, but since Jack I've found myself doing more homemaker-like projects. Gardening. Baking bread. Making dried fruit from apples & pears that I picked. I'm even planning a birthday party with some homemade decor (coming soon to a blog near you!). All that to say, I'm thankful for the ways I've grown being a mom.

I promise not all of these are going to be about Jack.

The Seahawks' Russel Wilson & Brian
Brian looks po'd about the last loss.

Nov 3rd

I'm thankful for my husband's job. For those of you who don't know me well, I'm not an army lover (unless it's the end of the month, as Brian likes to say). Brian works ridiculously long hours. He leaves home long before any sane person would be rousting (5:30AM), and he's lucky to be home by 6:30PM. As a commander, Brian must respond to calls and texts at all hours of the day & night. Sometimes this means late-night, last-minute treks to the base (usually because idiot soldier was arrested).

But I need to remind myself to be thankful. Brian is supposed to be deploying with his brigade this month. But last minute, the colonel asked Brian to be the rear commander, which means he is in charge of the soldiers who are unable to deploy. And like in the Bible, the ones left behind tend to be the screw ups. (Okay, so that's not how Jesus would have put it. Nor are all the soldiers trouble, but give a girl some creative license).

Anyway... back to being thankful for Brian's well-paying, pain-in-the-neck job. He may have to work a bit over the holidays, but at least he's not in a foreign country with kevlar strapped to his body. Brian will have quite a few late nights over the next month, but at least he'll be around for Jack's birthday.

Trick or Treat

At two-years-old, Jack doesn't understand Halloween. He's not allowed candy, but he did like his striped pajamas tights. I couldn't convince him to say "trick-or-treat" or "Happy Halloween," but he did say, "thank you." So, I think we did pretty well for our first year.

Coloring at the church's HarvestFest

Jack O'lantern

Add caption

Hurry up, Mama!

Jack is Twenty-Three Months!

Daddy & Jack play hide and seek.
Thanks for the great photos, SuLee!

Our life is currently all about trains. When Jack wakes up in the morning, the first thing he says is, "choo choo train?" Needless to say the adults in the house can often be found humming Thomas the Train's theme song.

We also like to watch Sesame & Super Why, which the adults in the house like a little better since it helps with learning the alphabet and letter recognition. Another thing Jack loves (that maybe our neighbors did not) was when Mama wrote the ABC's in big letters across our front sidewalk. We'd never have guessed that it wasn't going to rain for 81 days, but that gave us lots of time to practice finding our letters.

Jack's Sidewalk Alphabet

It's amazing to see how quickly Jack is learning. He says 2-3 word sentences - my favorite being his sweet, "please, mama?"

Below is a video from when cousin, Lucy, came to spend the night.

Grandparents: Jack needs warm footie pajamas in 24M or 2T, educational toys (leapfrog?), or play kitchen supplies.

Jack is Twenty-Two Months!

Jack likes eating a whole apple all by himself... And, I do mean the whole thing. Where's the core, Buddy?

Jack loves Super Why & Sesame. Yes, we let him watch TV. Don't judge me. I don't know how else to get a break so I can make dinner!

Jack loves trains and airplanes. He will enthusiastically announce their arrival whenever he sees or hears one nearby.

Jack loves to be outside, especially if it means playing in the water or throwing dirt in the air. Going fast. Or, climbing something dangerous.

Son, I love how stubborn independent you are. I love that you get so excited when you see letters of the alphabet, and how quickly you're picking up the ABC's. I love that even though you are all boy, you still stop to give your Mama some loves.

Beach Babes

West Coast Sea Glass needed some new pictures of our cool jewelry, which makes for a wonderful excuse to head to the beach in the middle of a workday. Jack happily tagged along with beach bucket & trowel in tow. When it came time to head home, Jack could barely walk his pants were so sodden with beach water, but I'm pretty sure he still thought it was worth it. And, the old folks from a nearby retirement center got a kick out of the toddler running around in a thermal and sandals.

Jack didn't love the loud trains but clinging to Mama helps.

We brought a bucket of toys to add to our fun.

Who needs toys when you can just sit in the freezing Sound?

Why did I just say that?

Kirby, The H.S. Years
Isn't she adorable?!

Does anybody else ever say really stupid stuff? Maybe it's because I'm a little too honest... The joke in my family is that I'm the honest daughter and Kirby is the strong daughter. For whatever reason, my Mom had it backwards for awhile. She would ask Kirby, "Does this outfit look OK?" Instead of lying, Kirby started telling Mom to go ask me

(Tangent: Kirby on the other hand is the PNW equivalent of an Amazon woman. By that I don't mean that she likes internet shopping, though that is also true. When she was on a mission trip in high school, she carried two, full five-gallon buckets uphill for most of a day. Another time, while hiking through Peru, Kirby got some blisters but didn't want to complain. When she finally showed her guide, he essentially had to do surgery on the side of the road because her blisters were super infected. She's a tough cookie.).

Sometimes I say really stupid stuff and I wonder if I came with a filter. One of these days, I'm really going to get myself in trouble.

Sisters, Ivy & Winnie

For example, there was a day when a bunch of teenage girls were at my house to hang out with Kylie. I noticed one of them had a tag still attached to her hat, and before I finished thinking out pops, "is that a black thing?" Now, lucky for me two things happened. First, Ivy just laughed because she knows me well enough to know that my question stemmed from honest curiosity rather than a prejudice. And secondly, Ivy agreed that it was a African-American trend.

Jack saw our neighbor's daughter outside and so he went toddling next door. While we were there, Jack makes a beeline for her brick stairs, which of course have loose bricks. I didn't really want Jack to play on them because he was still working on just walking smoothly so I made a comment about how he's making me look bad because he always has some bruise on his face. After an awkward silence, I remembered. "Oh, my neighbor works for CPS...."

Jack & Charlie, Fall '11.

More recently, I attempted to get in trouble with my son's doctor. Jack was getting a prescription for another ear infection, and Dr. Overstreet shared that honey can actually sooth sore throats better than conventional medicine sold in the drugstores. With a totally dry face, I told her that I just like to give him a spoon of whiskey instead because it puts him right to sleep. After another super awkward pause, I said that I was kidding and luckily she believed me.

Feel free to share your embarrassing moments to help me feel a little better about myself!

Jack is Twenty-One Months Old!

My Dear Sweet Son,

You're talking non-stop and it's fun to have conversations with you. You love pointing out colors and shapes that you see. I'm amazed how quickly you learn, and yet not thrilled with all of your mimicry. I've had to ask several people to watch their language as you are a little too quick to repeat anything you hear.

Daddy & I have done all we can to prevent ear infections, but your little body seems prone to them so it looks like we will have a meeting with an ear specialist to discuss tubes. I feel badly that you have to go through this, but I'm sure that your doctor is tired of your paranoid mom scheduling appointments to check your ears.

You love to sing songs, especially songs with hand motions. You love planes & trains. It's scary how fearless you are, but I enjoy seeing you love life.

Because digging in just a diaper is so much fun.

Someone wasn't very patient with the photo op process.

Enjoying treats from Hello Cupcake.

A Day At the Beach

Jack & I went to Sequim the other day. Since we were staying across the street from the beach AND having great weather, we decided to go play by the water. Jack thought he was pretty big stuff hanging out with the older kids.

Ashley, Jack, Emma & Blaise

And, he sure kept his friends busy. Jack really wanted in the water, but I had several helpers who kept Jack from getting wet.

Blaise carries Jack away from the water's edge.

Blaise & Jack

Playing in the sand.

Leaving Las Vegas!

In July, Kylie flew to Vegas for orientation at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. After her first week, she already had a job at UNLV's bookstore and was excited to meet her roommate. So far, I think she's liking college life.

Brian drove Kylie's car down to Vegas and swung by Montana to grab Therin on his way. Then, Mama and Jack flew down on a plane. Jack loves planes, and he loves getting to see "Brother" and "Sister" in one spot.

Therin, Jack & Kylie

When people hear we're going to Vegas, I know that they immediately picture The Strip. We actually go to visit family and play in Grandma Mary's pool. However, this time Brian treated me to a night at the Luxor (so now I can say that I've slept in a pyramid). We caught an early show, and like the party animals we are, were in bed by 11:30pm.

We stayed at Brian's brother's house so we could play with cousins as much as possible. It was fun to meet our newest little cousin. Heath is sweet & smiley. And, really limber. The kid is always chewing on his toes! I'm positive that I've never been that flexible...

Our new cousin, Heath.

Hayden is a sweetie and a wild man.

Jack & Hayden at the water park that Uncle Dave built.
Well, maybe he just helped find funding for the project.

Jack with his namesake, Uncle David

It was great to see the fam and nice to get some warmer weather, but we fly home this afternoon. Although, we're sad to say goodbye, it will be nice to climb into our own beds tonight.

Jack is Twenty Months!

Well, Jack, I've always thought you were brilliant, but the doctor confirmed it this month. Apparently, most children learn their colors around 3 or 4. But you, my wonderful child, are learning colors like crazy. It's so cute to hear you say, "yellow", and you clearly love blue as you constantly point it out.

Speaking of color, you love to color. I have to be careful, less you color all over yourself or the walls or the table or books...

You're a feisty little thing. You completely know what's naughty and will often hide behind your hands when you know you're due a swat for disobeying. In fact, you've been known to swat your own bottom for walking off the driveway and into the road.

Proof of your little brother abilities to annoy...

Jack is Nineteen Months!

In his reading chair.

Dear Jack,

You love to read. Several times a day, you'll hand me a book and climb into my lap for story time. I'm okay with that because it's a rare opportunity that you allow me to cuddle you.

Daddy has been gone this month, and he comes home tonight. I know you will be so excited to see him. We talk about Daddy a lot and look at his pictures. We even have some video of Daddy reading you a story. One time when we were watching the video you kept waving your little hand, saying, "Hi. Da. Hi." It was pretty adorable.

You are working so hard to communicate and have all sorts of new words under your belt. Even if you're not always able to communicate what you want, I often find myself surprised by how much of life you're tracking. My favorite new word is "Ma!", which always tends to be in the form of a yell. My least favorite is "mine."  

Cute like Daddy.

Other New Words:
Moon
Star, car and guitar (which all sound very similar).
Water

Things You Love:
Coloring
Hammering
Blueberries
Swinging
Riding in your wagon
Climbing (like your Aunt Kirby did)

I love you, Little Man! Looking forward to the next month with you!

James Archie King, 1925-2012

Grandpa came to visit my family in Seattle

James Archie King was quick-tempered, ornery, stubborn, and always one to question authority, especially when it came to those damn doctors.

Considered legally blind by 41yo, my grandfather needed a lot of those strong Irish traits just to make it in the world.

Recently, he confessed that a policeman pulled him over for driving his lawnmower into town. He wanted to know if he needed a license to drive a scooter instead. Apparently, he continued to ride his lawnmower anyway.

Grandpa was pretty rough around the edges, but put a baby in his arms and he'd coo and giggle. In fact, Baby Jack loved Grandpa's overalls with it's shiny buttons.

After an all you can eat buffet, I'm sure.

Ever the farmer.

Because blind guys like to drive, too.

My Aunt Rosemary & Grandpa

Grandpa loved Jack. Maybe even more than he loved me.

I love you, Gramps.