2020 Olympics, Here We Come!

Zach and Allie are into their third week of gymnastics. They absolutely love it. They get to gracefully walk the balance beam, flip around on the single bar, climb like a bear on the parallel bars and master some cool tumbling moves. Here they are in action as they conquer the balance beam.

Angel (or devil?) of the Morning

One thing I've learned over my parenting years is that when your child is in that 3-4ish age range, how the first few seconds out of bed in the morning goes is a good indicator of how your morning will fare.

Sometimes our little ones are in their sweetest, most angelic state during those magical moments between being asleep and rousing to wakefulness.

Zachary is very predictable. He's usually the first one to loudly pitter-patter out of bed -- you'd think he has Michael Phelps-sized flipper feet the way they echo loud slaps down the ceramic-tile-floor hallway.

I'm usually either still in bed or getting into or out of the shower. With his tossled-about golden bedhead, his eyes still droopy and his baby blue blankie firmly in hand, he has one of two requests:

"I'm hungwee for bekfest." OR "I want to watch Mickeeeyyy Mouse."

Allie, on the other hand, is as unpredictable as the Arizona monsoon season.

Sometimes we call her "Little Miss Sunshine." She'll bounce out of her room, Tigger-style. "Gooood mornin, everrrybudy." Then she'll proudly tell me, "Mommy, I slept good." This after she's grown accustomed to my routinely asking her how she slept.

But other times, and thank goodness it's not all that often, she turns into a little possessed child -- someone else's child, I'm convinced.

Yesterday morning, first thing, she SCREAMED ... "Mommy, I want to watch Monsters, Inc."

Of course, this is one of the movies that's not in our billion-title collection. We DVR'd it once and it erased itself after a couple weeks.

"Mommmyyyy. I know we have it ... I've seen IT. I .... WANT ... TO ... WATCH ... MONSTERS .... INKKK!! Her face is tomato red and she sounds like a crazed NFL football coach whose star player made a rookie mistake.

"Allie, sweetheart," I say, trying to remain composed. "We don't have it anymore. Why don't we eat breakfast," trying the good ol' diversion tactic.

"I ... DON'T ... WANT ... BREAKFAST!!!"

No wings for Allie today.

Arrr! Zach Sparrow is in our midst

Zach in his Jack Sparrow costume playing with his new pirate ship and figures -- all birthday gifts.

One of the most entertaining -- and sometimes slightly embarrassing -- parts of parenting a fledgling preschooler bursting with imaginative energy is watching their obsession with specific fictional characters consume them.

With Blake it was Batman. He was the Caped Crusader two Halloweens in a row. We'd be at the grocery store or the doctor's office and someone would ask him his name. He wouldn't bat an eyelash (sorry, bad pun), wouldn't think twice, would just matter-of-factly reply, "Batman."

Nicky was a red Power Ranger for many months, insisting on wearing his costume to said grocery stores and doctor's offices. Then for awhile it was the ominous Darth Vader.

And now, over the past year, the twins have reached this fun stage. Zach's character of choice is the pirate, most of the time assuming the role of "Zach" Sparrow.

He loves watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (I know ...probably not a great choice for a 4-year-old) and has his "What arrrrrre ya doin'" line down to a T.

Last Halloween Zach was a no-name, generic pirate. He had fun wearing his costume but after the holiday it stayed nicely on its hanger in the closet, clean and intact, along with my hopes of selling it on Ebay the following September.

But soon the dress-up bug hit our household. As Allie began donning Disney princess garb, Zach decided it was time to pull down the pirate costume. My plans for selling it have been dashed -- the V-neck white shirt has been ripped down to almost his belly button. The shirt is emblazoned with watermelon stains. And there's a bit of blue marker on the sleeve. Such is the life of a 4-year-old pirate.

In June when we went to Disneyland, Zach's fascination with all things pirate, and especially all things Jack Sparrow and Pirates of the Caribbean, escalated as high as Cinderella's castle.

Zach was all smiles as he rode the beloved Disney pirate attraction ... several times.

And then, the highlight of the trip for our young matey -- meeting Jack Sparrow.


Upon returning home, the pirate costume -- although tight and tattered -- became a daily fixture on Zach.

And on his birthday last week, Grandma and Grandpa Joe sent him a brand new Jack Sparrow costume, complete with hat and wig.

Zach sported the hat/wig while playing games at his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's. And Friday night he insisted on wearing it when we grabbed something to eat at Chili's, drawing compliments and "Oh, how cute" comments from restaurant-goers.

Zach Sparrow takes Allie for a spin on his motorcycle at Chuck E Cheese's.

So far the only downside is finding long synthetic black strands of hair throughout the house. That, and knowing all too well that this pirate stage of Zach's childhood will come to an abrupt end way before I'm ready.

In the meantime, I'll sit back, watch, and enjoy.

"Yo, ho, ho, it's a pirate's life for me ... "

Babies No More -- Zach and Allie Turn 4

Allie and Zach
August 14, 2004

"You say it's your birthday ... It's my birthday, too."

Zach and Allie turn 4 today. Seems like just yesterday the blurriness of day and night, the unbelievable sleeplessness, the never-ending feedings and those tiny little 5-pound babies -- one of whom had a high-pitched cry, earning her the nickname of "Allie Cat" -- turned our lives upside-down.

Zach and Allie came at the onset of the 2004 Summer Olympics. On Aug. 13, 2004, Brett and I watched the Opening ceremonies of the Athens games. We called it a night around 10:30 or 11 as the ceremonial hoopla seemed to rage on with no end in sight. Several hours later, at about 2 a.m., I felt a pint-sized gymnast and a mini-swimmer doing cartwheels and butterfly strokes inside my belly. Then, without warning, they turned into boxers -- jabbing and punching unmercifully. Time to go to the hospital.

On Aug. 14, they arrived. First Zach at 10:14 am. Then Allie at 10:39. By the way, Nick was an Olympic baby, too. He arrived on Day 3 of the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000. And actually, I was pregnant with Blake during the 1996 Summer games. Brett loved that his paternity leave was during the Olympics. And it came in pretty handy with those middle-of-the-night feedings. I could feed the babies and catch up on all the oh-so-exciting equestrian, water polo and ping-pong events reserved for the nightowls.

But back to Zach and Allie. How quickly they've turned into little people who chase butterflies, dress up as pirates and princesses, color "beautiful" pictures, play hide and seek, fight with their siblings and all the other things 4-year-olds are known for.

A part of me is sad the baby stage is slowly coming to an end. I still feel a little tug inside when I walk down the baby food aisle at the grocery store or see a little infant cooing in her mother's arms. But another part of me is eager for the beginning of this next chapter. It's finally feeling like that crazy upside-down feeling is gradually easing its way right-side up. Just in time for Blake hitting puberty ...

Happy Birthday, Zach and Allie!

Zach and Allie -- Almost 4

Zach and Allie -- 3rd Birthday

Zach and Allie -- 2nd Birthday

Zach and Allie -- 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday, Brett!

Today is Brett's birthday. His 41st birthday, to be exact.

For the past four years, I admit, his birthday has been overshadowed by Zach and Allie's big day, which is in just two days. The family parties have been all about Elmo and Sleeping Beauty. The gifts have been about dolls and cars. Slipped in on a weekday evening, Brett would have his cake and receive his gifts, as my mind would always quickly turn to balloons and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey for the upcoming toddler bash.

Before the twins came along (and when we were living in Sacramento with grandparents handy to watch the kids), we frequently celebrated birthdays and anniversaries with weekend trips to Lake Tahoe, San Francisco or Napa. Or at least a nice dinner downtown.

This past Saturday we ventured to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in Glendale to celebrate Brett's 41st. Amy and Cory and their girls joined us. It was a lot of fun, but Brett just wasn't feeling well. Bummer.

So, Brett, today I want you to know that even though there's no weekend getaway this time around, we all (me and the kids) wish you a Happy Birthday. For all the gestures that might not always be immediately acknowledged -- making coffee everyday, giving the twins their baths, making pool time fun for the kids, running out and getting us ice cream on a whim, always being there to help with the chauffeuring of the kids, still calling me from work every day to see how I'm doing, getting up with a sleepwalking child, watching T.V with me later than you'd like -- now seems a good time to say "thank you."

Happy Birthday!

Back to School

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers."
~Edgar W. Howe

Blake and Nick loaded up their brand spankin' new Quicksilver camouflage backpacks, picked out their own outfits and abandoned the vacation flipflops for their straight-from-the box athletic shoes as they ventured into the start of another school year.

Hard to believe, but Blake's in 6th grade now and Nicky's headed to 3rd. The boys were both in good spirits this morning with their backpacks stuffed full of required and "requested" supplies. Blake weighed his pack -- 14.5 pounds. Yikes!

It's supposed to be 107 degrees today. And Blake calls it "horrible timing" that the Olympics just started and he can't stay up late watching them. But the timing, I thought, was just about perfect.

With our trips to California and Minnesota, Blake's soccer camp and the kids' swimming lessons, our summer slipped away as fast as a glass of a tall lemonade in an Arizona back yard. We had a great time on our two trips. And we enjoyed the lazy days at home, sleeping in with no place to be and hanging out in the pool.

But the final week or so told me -- no, not told, but shouted down through me -- that the time was right. With the mixture of boredom, restlessness, and school-is-looming nervous energy ferociously whipping about, I was afraid the boys were going to kill each other. Whether it was fighting over what to watch on T.V. or "you're sitting too close to me," or calling each other mean or banned names, or putting gum on the seat so the other would sit in it (yes, and Nicky was the victim in this one), these two have been up to one form of mayhem or another for days now.

At this point in parenthood I've realized that there's nothing I love more than spending one-on-one time with my kids. It seems they're in their most angelic, pure, talkative form when they're alone with Mom. But it's playing the role of referee for two pairs of kids (especially the older two), that have me grateful school is here again.

Catch of the Day and Other Minnesota Tales

I finally dowloaded (or is it uploaded?) my 350+ pictures from our trip to Minnesota. I'm still editing, but will send out the link to view soon.

Going through the pictures, I think I've found a favorite. This was our first day up at the cabin and little Zach's first time fishing. It was overcast and muggy. Brett, Blake and Nick had gone out on the boat with Erik; they caught about a dozen fish and the boys were hooked.

Meanwhile, back on the dock, Brett's Mom and I were helping Zach fish. He didn't know what to do with himself when he caught one (pardon the spot ... I apparently need to clean my lens). Grandma reeled it in and Zach pretty much freaked out upon viewing his catch ...


Once Nicky caught his hearty bounty, he fancied himself an expert fisherman and became the designated "net man." He looked so cute in his hat ...

Blake was enthusiastic about fishing, too:

Meanwhile, Allie spent a lot of her time picking flowers around Grandma's cabin.



Another special memory we all took home was spending an afternoon with Brett's sweet grandmother, his aunt Linda and three of his cousins and their kids. Grandma Lillian had never met the twins and it was so wonderful that she got to have all eight of her great-grandchildren together ... although when group photo time came around, they were all silly and bouncing off the walls from too many cookies ...


And, of course, no family gathering would be complete without the photo of the clan:

Back to the Business of Everyday Life

It's that time of year: when the lazy days of summer, the swimming lessons, the summer camps, the vacation memories still fresh in our minds, are all nudged out of the way by that looming singular day -- for us it's Aug. 11 -- that signals the start of routine, discipline, crazy busy evenings with two boys playing soccer, and everything else that goes with the start of the school year.

Here in Phoenix the kids are back to school when it's still ridiculously hot -- at least 105 for another month or so. They'll be wearing shorts for at least another three months, probably closer to four. It still just seems so early. When I was a kid the first day of school was always right after Labor Day. Still, I think I'm the boys are more than ready.

After a couple of busy weeks, we're having a mellow last week of summer vacation.

From where I last left off, here are the highlights:

• Blake survived his first overnight camp. His soccer camp at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff was a success. When we picked him up, he had a hoarse voice, a sunburned nose and a suitcase full of muddy, musty athletic clothes. And, no, he never called home. Says he lost the calling card. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever ...
• Oh ... and how can I forget? No story involving vehicle travel would be complete unless a carsick child was involved. Again. I know it's getting old. Anyway, the ride up there was about two hours. After we got Blake we stopped for a late breakfast/early lunch. Sitting at the table -- thank goodness it was tucked away in a corner -- Zachy, you guessed it, got sick. I'll spare the details, but it was pretty embarrassing. And is it bad to be glad it didn't happen in the minivan???
• So two days after that, we flew to Minnesota, where we spent a week with Brett's mom and her husband. The kids were angels on the plane ride. Our little adventurer Allie LOVED taking off and landing. When the plane zoomed down the runway for take-off, she let out huge uncontrollable laughs and woo-hoos. It was great fun for her.
  
• One of the first days we went to a local water park. The weather this day was perfect -- about 80 degrees. But it's funny how 80 degrees draws a HUGE Minnesota crowd to an outdoor water attraction. The place was packed. More than I had ever seen at an Arizona or California water park. Most water parks in Arizona aren't even open at Christmas time
  in 80-degree weather.
• Another day we went to the amusement park inside the Mall of America. Zach and Allie loved the log ride -- a big one with a long downward plunge.
• We spent three days "up north" at Brett's mom's lakeside cabin. I've made three trips out to Minnesota now in the years Brett and I have been married. I've always loved spending time at the cabin because it's so calming and peaceful. You can walk outside and not hear a sound. If you're lucky you'll spot a loon or two, as we did. Even better is hearing their haunting cries from across the lake.
• I haven't downloaded the photos yet -- I know, very slow for me, the crazed picture fanatic. But some will be clogging your inbox appearing soon.
• Upon our return I immediately came down with a case of strep throat. I'm finally starting to feel normal. Now I'm just hoping none of the kids get it. And just like that, I'm going to shut up or no one will want to keep reading end for now ...
  

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."
~Sam Keen