Chicks Dig Jake

This wouldn't be a problem if Jake was seventeen instead of seven, but for now unless she can throw a tight spiral, he has no use for girls. I don't remember being boy crazy in first grade, but that was a very long time ago. This is going to sound like bragging, but I am just stating the fact that at least weekly Jake comes home with love notes from various admirers. The notes are starting to get more terse and direct in their tone. Like the one today was from a pair of fellow first grade girls. First it proclaims their collective love for him in word, art, and symbolism (XOXOXOX) then demands in no uncertain terms to know if Jake loves one or both of them back.

I am getting the feeling that Jake has failed to respond to these inquiries in the past, since the one today was given to me to give to Jake. I guess they think that if they get Jake's mom involved, their chances of finding out once and for all where Jake's affections lie will improve. I dutifully handed the note to Jake when he got home from school. He took one glance and shred the note in a fit of anger before depositing it in the trash forcefully. Geez, I'm just the messenger. Be careful Jake- girls can hold grudges for a long time. You may find yourself dateless to the prom if you continue down this path. I have to say that I have remained an exception to Jake's no girls rule. I still seem to have his heart as he shamelessly yells, "I LOVE YOU, MOM!" and demands one more hug and kiss as he leaves the car everyday. But then again, I can throw a tight spiral, too.

Kid Friendly Salsa

I love a good salsa, but have yet to find a canned one that didn't taste like vinegar. I've been experimenting with various versions of my homemade salsa lately. Last week I discovered the mix that isn't too spicy for my kids, but has enough kick to make it not taste like tomato soup. I've made this three times this past week. Poor Dylan has no idea how many vegetables he has been consuming. His body must be in shock.

So here it is:

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 4 ounce can of green chilies
handful of chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp onion powder (because I don't like real onions)
1 tsp chili powder
1 pinch of cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicier)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Mix in blender and use Nana's chips for best results.

Try it out for your Superbowl party. Go Cards!

A New Day in America and My Anniversary of Motherhood

So I was holding myself together and coming to accept our new president, and was almost even enjoying watching the inauguration proceedings this week. I was looking forward to hearing President Obama speak. He does have a talent for conveying a message and I appreciate talent. Despite my misgivings about his political agenda, I am determined to give him a chance. I have to say though, that a "chill ran up my spine" when I saw him standing between Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi at the podium at one point. It wasn't for the same reason as CNN's Chris Matthews' "chill". That image was a little too much reality. It is just me, or does Obama seem like a level-headed centrist compared to those two. (You score no points with me Mr. Reid for being Mormon, you are still dead wrong on almost every issue.)

It was a good day for America, as far as diversity goes. So according to the media talking heads, America can finally move past the race issue. I shouldn't be so cynical, but I can't help but notice that progress only counts if it is progress from one of the media anointed ones. I'm convinced that if it had been Colin Powell, or Condi Rice, or Alan Keyes that became president - that it would not have been celebrated in the same way. It's not so much about race as it is about race coupled with the correct political agenda.

Putting aside politics, race, and religion for a safer topic- I celebrated my seventh anniversary of motherhood last week. Jake has brought me so much joy and continues to amaze me every single day since that cold January evening in 2002. His birthday is a good excuse to show off a couple of my favorite photos of Jake..

Brotherly love..
Jake (5) shows off his personalized Grasshopper's baseball uniform.

Birthday Letters

I am afraid that I have diverted all of my creative energy toward Jake's annual birthday letter, leaving my blog postless for a few days. (I am sure that has been devastating for my three readers and one occasional commenter.)

On Jake's second birthday, Wes and I decided to start a tradition of writing each child a letter on their birthday. We write to them as if they are adults telling all about what they did that year - their interests, things they learned, and all the cute and great things about them, etc. No rules really, just a few paragraphs to say whatever we feel like telling them. We plan on presenting them with this compilation of letters someday when they leave home, so they will always know how much they mean to us. Presents are quickly broken and forgotten, money gets spent, memories fade, and parents usually can't be with you your whole life, so we hope that these letters will be a lasting treasure to them someday. Besides, it is a good exercise for me to pause long enough to put into words all the positive things about being their mom. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the routine- eat your food, do your homework, clean up, be nice, brush your teeth, get in the bath, say your prayers, go to bed - that I lose sight of how fabulous it really is to be blessed enough to have these amazing little people in my care. So that is my plug for the day... write your kid a letter on their birthday. An added bonus is being able to read the previous years letters. You will be surprised at all the little things you forgot about.

Thanks Cardinals

Tears of joy after the Cardinal's win.

Jake wakes up to his birthday bouquet.

The Cardinals, yes the formerly hapless team for whom the saying "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" was coined, is headed to the Superbowl. It could not have been timed better for Jake. He says it was his best birthday present ever. He was watching the players cry after the victory and he got real tears himself. This kid loves football and totally gets the game. Happy Birthday, Buddy. I can't wait to watch you in the Superbowl someday! Complete birthday coverage to follow!

Garage Sale

Every January, our HOA sponsors a community-wide garage sale. They do all the advertising and encourage everyone to participate. I hate garage sales. First of all I have low tolerance for clutter and regularly make runs to DI as our stuff starts to encroach on our living space, limiting the availability of stuff to sell. Our family has grown but our square footage has not, so it is necessary. I often will think, hey I should try to sell this, but I hate the process of strangers rifling through my stuff, like for instance the infant car seat that I brought all three of my babies home from the hospital in. Putting a price on it just seems blasphemous. It's not that I want to keep it forever and bronze it or something. I've always tried to keep in perspective that life is about people, not stuff, so it is way way more satisfying to give it away to someone who needs it than have someone offer a quarter for it and resell if for all I know.

Anyway, I broke all my rules today and let the kids put out some of their things to sell that they have out grown. For the record, Power Rangers, baby books, and Cars branded stuff goes, Monster Trucks and stuffed animals stay. Unfortunately for me, the boys lost interest in their entrepreneurial endeavors in the first five minutes, leaving me to deal with the customers. They did not lose interest in the doughnuts and hot chocolate being sold by neighbors, however severely eating into our profits. In the end we (meaning I) sold about $35 bucks worth of stuff. I've had better paying jobs. The "find" of the day though was the Little Tykes Tree house being sold out of the Marriot's garage. I almost bought a similar play house for Christmas at a full retail price of over $200. Today's price: $10 delivered. Nice!

Cancel My Zoo Membership

Good news. There is no need for me to pay for the kids to see animals anymore. A zoo has moved in next door, complete with four chickens, three dogs, one parrot, and who knows how many more on the inside of the house. The kids have bird's eye view of next door neighbor Brian's house and his backyard because of the perch and slide that Wes built. At first, the three yappy dogs were driving me crazy with their barking, but they seem to have gotten used to us and are actually pretty entertaining for the kids now. The chickens were apparently raised as pets and will be spared the kitchen butcher knife...for now anyway. Let's see how bad this economy gets before we guarantee anything. Even if I objected to the zoo, I am afraid we are still louder, messier, smellier, and generally worse neighbors than Brian's new entourage, therefore having no leg to stand on for complaining.

We got Guitar Hero for Christmas and Jake has spent many hours perfecting his skills. Should it be disturbing to me that I heard Sophie singing "I hate myself for loving you!" this afternoon.

I'm Raising a Monkey

This is what I saw when I looked out the front window this afternoon. Who needs a jungle gym? This kid seriously has NO fear.

Wipeout

Sophie is generally pretty coordinated, but she was so excited to get to the neighborhood "grassy field" (as dubbed by Jake and DB) that she tripped this afternoon. She caught her fall with her face. I'm not sure how she managed to get a scrape on the top of her forehead, side of the nose, and under her nose in the same fall. It was some serious velocity. Thankfully, it was not anything that an Oreo and Dora couldn't cure. Ironically is was Dora and her damn Walmart shoes that caused the fall in the first place. Days between a Whittaker kid sustaining a blood gushing wound: 5. Surely we can do better.

Why I Love Arizona

Where else can you experience this kind of contrast in the same week and within a 90 minute drive? This was Sophie's first experience with snow. She was a little perplexed. We are so ill equipped for snow that she is wearing one of Jake's gloves and one of mine. It was a fun day trip, but I sure enjoyed driving back to the sunshine. I'm a total wimp in cold weather. We emptied out the ice chest and packed it with snow so the kids could have a snowball fight with the neighbors. (Apologies to the Rickebergs for the one that landed in your house.)

I won't include a photo of this (as cute as it is), but Sophie seems to have turned the corner on her potty training by successfully abandoning diapers for two days now without any accidents. What will I do with all my extra diaper cash?

Sophie and Lani were playing with their pretend kitchen today. They ripped open a box of Mac and Cheese, poured the contents in a pan, and put it on the fake stove. After a few minutes, Sophie got a spoon and offered to give Lani a taste of the Macaroni. I stopped her because I didn't want Lani to choke on the hard pasta. I told Sophie that it needed to be cooked first if they were going to eat it, to which she replied, "I just did." My bad.

Ch- Ch- Ch- Chia!

Until last week, the only thing I knew about Chia was that if grown on the head of a clay Scooby Doo , it was the best Christmas present Walgreen's had to offer. Turns out this power food is pretty good for you. Cheryl, Becca, and I tried it over the holidays and it made me feel good enough that I bought some of my own. (Sprout's, $17.99) I am always cautious to not fall into the trap of confusing correlation with causation but after my trial period of three days, I am convinced this stuff is worth every penny. You put a scoop of Chia seeds in water, stir for a minute then let it sit for five before chugging it. I turns to a nasty tapioca pudding consistency, but it doesn't taste bad. It is rich in protein, fiber, and Omega-3. It is filling, stabilizes my blood sugar, gives me energy, and just generally makes me feel good . So that's my plug. I am anxious to see if others have the same experience or if it's all in my head...Penny for your thoughts, my three loyal blog readers... And thanks to Cheryl for introducing me to this power food!

All I Want For New Years Is My One Front Tooth

I promise not to chronicle every single tooth Jake loses on this blog, but I just had to show the side by side comparison after losing his front tooth. What is it that makes a person's front tooth so critically important to appearance? I feel as if poor Jake instantly lost 20 IQ points.

Several years before we met, Wes got his front tooth knocked out by an errant elbow in a basketball game. He got it replaced and it was pretty much a non issue until one day about a year into our marriage he shows up at the breakfast table with his tooth missing. I about choked on my Wheaties. I seriously was frightened at how drastically different he looked. And I don't mean different good. This very well could have been a deal breaker had this occurred prior to me signing that marriage license.

Anyway, I hope Jake remembers how to get home from the bus stop when he goes back to school on Monday. If not I will very slowly go over it again for him.

See Ya 08, Wouldn't Want To Be Ya.

I considered giving this post the more cheery, "Happy New Year!", but I just couldn't. I started out 2009 by doing something I don't think I did in all of 08 - sleep in until 9:00 AM. Thank you to my sweet husband for keeping my early bird children at bay. The combination of a marathon of family parties (totally fun but exhausting) and chronic insomnia had finally caught up with me.

It is always sad to say goodbye to Bruce and Becca and their sweet kids, but you can be sure we spent as much time as we could with them, soaking it all in. I truly am blessed to have the best in laws a person could ask for. I married into a great family, and my siblings married fabulous people, without exception. It has been so fun being together over Christmas.

I am by nature an optimist. I always tend to err on the side of believing the best case scenario will unfold, maybe even naively sometimes. But I can't help it. It's the way I choose to see life and if I changed that I might stop finding reasons to get out of bed. I am famous for saying, "I can't believe that is has been X number of years since Y" or some variation thereof.

I have to say though that I CAN believe that 2008 is over. It has seemed much much longer than 365 days. It has been fraught with the kind of details that belong and will stay in my personal journal, rather than my totally public blog, but it suffices to say that it has had it's rough spots.

I am not naive enough to think that magically 2009 will solve all our ills. I do however take great comfort in knowing that the One (and I don't mean Barack Obama) who sent me here knows me and cares about me and my petty problems, and he knows you. I also can't help but notice that He doesn't have a history of removing all life's obstacles, solving all problems, and eliminating all adversity. But I do know that if I do all that I can, that I can turn the rest over to Him and knowing that is one of my greatest blessings. We are in tough times and even the optimists of the world have to acknowledge that '09 could conceivably see even worse times. Enjoy the ride (good and ugly), and keep the faith alive. Happy New Year!