36-hour Vacay

Since this was a three-day weekend, and we desperately needed a break from the house and its to-do lists (and springtails), but we can't spend any money for the next six months and being within 25 yards of the house seems to require us to spend money (BOTH a/c units have broken in the last 10 days; they were under the seller's warranty still, thank goodness, but we still had to pay the service fee and we were still without a/c for a few nights each time), so we decided we needed some sort of magical free vacation that wouldn't require any planning, any money, and because JP is so overwhelmingly busy at work and would have to work all day on Memorial Day, would only require 36 hours of our time.

Enter, my parents' lakehouse. It's about a 4 hour drive (3.5 if you don't stop and take the speed limit as more of a suggestion than a rule) and we get a comped room and meals since we know the owners. We piled the kids and canine in the car with a few swim suits, a ziploc of dog food, and some packed lunches to eat on the way and off we went!

all packed and ready to go!

We pulled up to the lake about 2 p.m. and Landon was in the water at 2:09, where he remained until forced out for dinner.

Lanman and Papa 

Cbear took some convincing with the life jacket (we require the kids to wear them any time they leave the house; there's several hundred feet of dark, deep water front and I can't handle the idea of one of them falling in and us not being able to find them), but she decided it was an acceptable fashion statement and wore it with surprisingly little protest for the rest of the trip.

ready to roll

And this is the other reason the life jackets are required-- the gaggle of dogs. Ours, my brother's, my brother's girlfriend's, and the two that belong to my parents.

Doggie Spring Break 2012

They had to jump in and cause chaos every time anyone got into or out of the water. Tex tried to keep up, but all the other dogs are about 8 years younger, so he mostly took the rear guard position.

the boys and the doggie gaggle

Landon got to take a ride on the jetski with JP, and then Claire wanted a turn. She was very focused and did NOT want help steering.

no time for photos when you're the driver

Then it was time for more swimming. Despite many trips to the lake, I think this was my first time to get in the water since our post-wedding breakfast in 2005. 2005 was also one of the last times I wore a bikini. It was a weekend for feeling 22 again (except for the whole two kids thing).

the ladies

Sunday morning bright and early with blue skies and calm water, so we headed out for Claire's first boat ride.

tolerating it

Which led to Landon's first tube ride!

loving it

Landon was brave all weekend. Last time we were at the lake (outside of Christmas when we don't use the boat), he was only 2 and he did NOT like the boat to go fast AT ALL. This time, he sat up front with Gigi and let the wind blow his hair back. It was so fun to see him have so much fun.

 

We made a pit stop (i.e., the boat got grounded) near Pine Island, so the men headed out to look for buried treasure (we just finished the Magic Treehouse book #4, Pirates Past Noon). They returned with a flip flop.

 

Later, in the spirit of carefree fun, I jumped off the top of the boat dock.

 

I think I look very graceful.

 

We spent the rest of the day swimming, playing, eating, and swimming some more.

JP's favorite game

My dad anchored one of the tubes near the boat dock so Landon could have a "private island" that he thought was the coolest thing ever. I burned the sides of butt cheeks laying on the island with him. I'm pretty obsessive about sunscreen, but I can't remember the last time I had to worry about my behind getting too many rays. The drive home was not so comfortable.

 

I'm not sure Landon has ever had so much fun. I love that he raised his drink for the photo. I take no credit for that.

drinks up!

Tex would also classify this as one of the greatest weekend of his life. He's been sleeping since 4 p.m. yesterday in an attempt to recover.

a wet exhausted blissfully happy dog

We headed home at 4 p.m. yesterday after a lunch of brisket and s'mores (s'mores that nobody wanted except the little boy who had been promised a marshmallow roast and had been so good we couldn't rescind).

 

JP and I were both over-sunned and under-rested, so we thought for sure the kids would sleep on the drive home. But in the end, it was JP who fell asleep immediately upon pulling on the highway and the kids remained bright eyed and bushy tailed (and luckily, perfectly behaved) the whole 4 (3.5) hours. We'd been talking about installing a car DVD player for their birthdays, but now I'm thinking we can divert those funds elsewhere, like to a third bugman.

All in all it was a fabulous little vacation that I know Landon will be talking about for months. And even though JP had to work from the lake on Saturday, and work after we got home last night, and work all day today, he did get a little break for jet skiing and washer playing and the eating of delicious food. And I loved that I got to have fun jumping off boat docks while watching my kids laugh and make memories with their uncle and grandparents. It was a perfect minication.

And now JP just alerted me that there's a lizard in our shower, so I suppose that means we're back to reality. Happy 3-day weekend everyone!

The Bear, Illustrated

The Bear turns two in 12 days. I hardly know what to do with that. I ADORE the crazy, feisty, fabulous little lady she's become, but oh you guys, she's my baby. My baby who taught me I like babies; the baby who taught me that babies like me. She's our snuggle bug, our little herder who insists we all stay in the same room, our giver of hugs, our kisser of boo boos, our little biscuit who follows us around demanding "up!". She is fiercely independent but still cries most mornings at drop off. She quite literally screams hello at strangers at the store, but gives you a skeptical frown if you approach her without invitation. She wants to be held, but only by us. She wants to help, but only if you don't help her. She drives us crazy but is so adorable, so lovable, she (very almost) makes us want another one.

I went through my pictures from the last two months, trying to find a few that capture our Clairebear in all her honeybadger bearness. I really need to take more video, but these give you a taste.

1. Milkaholic Bear, who decided to help herself from the recycling bin.

 

(Also captured: her penchant for removing her clothing, and her love of socks and her insistence on putting them on BY HERSELF. Not captured: her displeasure when she tipped her head back and found out the carton was empty.)

2. Interloper Bear inserts herself in any situation.

disinterested, but close by just in case


mildly intrigued


choo choo!!


MY book 

3. Fashion Bear. We are NOT allowed to help with the dressing.

 

(I believe this is a pair of pj shorts, with both legs shoved through one leg hole, one shirt worn as a midriff covering tube top, and another shirt worn tarzan style over the shoulder.)

4. Zooming Bear.

 

Claire doesn't just go, she zooms. Pretty much everything happens at full throttle, with maximum risk for injury.

5. Skeptical Bear.

 

You do not often wonder what the Bear is thinking.

6. Spotter Bear. We must point out (and yell out) every plane, truck, train, dog, bird, bug, and baby we see.

 

Immediately following this sweet point to the heavens for an airplane, there was much squealing and jumping for many minutes.

7. No Hands Bear!

 

When the Bear eats pasta, it's a mandatory hands up policy until we can get her wiped down. We have "hands up" drills just to practice.

8. Bossy Bear.

 

Just guess who is in charge in this relationship?

9. Pretty bear.

 

This picture is blurry, but you get her bright blue eyes, the still chubby cheeks, the hair down in her eyes, and the wonder of being two... you get Claire.

Start of Summer

I'm not sure when summer officially begins. Google could tell me, but my personal definition is when the temperatures hit the 90's and pools and lakes are warm enough to get in (and doing anything outside for more than five minutes makes you hot enough to want to get in regardless of the water temp) -- that's the start of summer. And summer is simple and easy and familiar... it's too hot to start new projects and it's layered in the comfort of home and friends before the start of a new school year.

This weekend was the start of our summer. We're unpacked, and but for four boxes containing our carefully padded china and crystal that's waiting patiently for a nice new modern sideboard that perhaps we'll purchase ourselves for Christmas, the house is settled. It's renovated, painted, and fully functional. It's amazing how little time it takes for you to know what's behind every cabinet. Our first weekend here I was always opening the wrong cabinet for glasses in the kitchen, but now the blueprint is there in my head and I move around my day knowing where everything is, or at least, is supposed to be. Humans are so adaptable.

Anyway, summer. Summer is many things, but for me it's about fun, heat, margaritas, and water. This weekend we had all four, plus visitors! One of my best Austin friends drove over with her husband and 3-year-old daughter (Landon's old swim lesson partner). Their adorable squishy 4-month-old stayed back in the care of her grandparents, which was a little sad because I wanted to soak up her adorable squishiness, but also great because it was just us and the big kids (and Claire, who thinks she's a big kid). We crammed all the car seats and grown-ups in our Highlander and showed them around town, or at least our small corner of it. We spent 50% of our time in the pool, which we followed up with margaritas and mexican food, a trip to the water gardens, and then much beer drinking out by the fire pit in the backyard after the kids were in bed. It was fun and fabulous and we already miss them. This morning we went on our long walk to the park, which they found beautiful and also eventful as Landon had an epic (EPIC) meltdown(s) along the way.

But while I enjoyed every second of their visit, except perhaps the part where we ended the walk with our screaming almost-five-year-old slung over JP's shoulders while my friend carried his bike, it was the Saturday afternoon in the pool that captured exactly the kind of afternoon I hoped to have when we bought this house.

friends


beverages


poolside service


fish


horse


fun

The Lanman

I have a draft post from last week about Landon's parent-teacher conference. Well, if you can call the uploading of four pictures a "draft." Seriously you guys- unpacking, cleaning, organizing, interior decorating, finance stressing, lunch packing, children raising, dinner making, internet surfing, springtail obsessing, and the occasional bit of TV-watching takes up the bulk of my evenings. And last week, I was doing all that while JP was out of town getting 9-hours of sleep in a room without springtails. Which is all to say, not a lot of writing has been happening lately and that makes me sad.

Anyway, back to the parent teacher conference I never got a chance to write about. There are very few thrills in parenting equal to that of hearing someone else tell you your child is wonderful. Sure, much of who Landon is comes from something inside himself, and it's not like JP or I had any control over the genetic material we gave him, but you do not get a report card when raising your kid. There is no one to tell you on a moment-to-moment basis that you handled a particularly challenging moment well. And there are SO MANY moments where some sort of guidebook or grading system would be helpful. So hearing your son's new teacher tell you that he is a JOY, that he is a leader, that the other children look to him, that he works so hard and does it with a smile, that she would never have to raise her voice if her whole class was filled with Landons, and that she is just so happy to have him in her class... I have to admit I got a little teary.

front yard climbing tree

Since he had such a marvelous report, and he's come along so far academically in the mere 8 weeks he's been there, we celebrated with a trip to the "yogurt restaurant with all the toppings" down our street. Claire flipped out when we pulled in the parking lot, even though we've only been once before and I can't believe she recognized it.

(I know her car seat buckle is too low, she yanks on it because she knows she's not supposed to)

Landon was given his own cup to fill with yogurt and any four toppings he wanted. He made very careful selections, posed for a picture, and then sat in complete, almost reverent silence while he ate every bite.

 

Two of our personal parenting principles are (1) that we don't bribe- good behavior is expected, not bargained for, and bad behavior is punished, and (2) treats are just that- treats. Special, exciting, and unexpected. So as we were heading out to the car after dinner and we announced the frozen yogurt trip and why we were going, it was so fun to see his proud, excited expression. Because we were going to get dessert and we were going because of him. I'm smiling just thinking about his adorable flustered grin.

~~~~

Then, today Landon's class had their graduation ceremony and show. Landon was careful to tell us that he was not graduating, so he would be wearing flowers and NOT a graduation cap, but that was okay, because he would graduate next year after he learned even more things and grew even bigger. We listened carefully and nodded our way through his earnest explanation, never letting on that we were the ones who'd decided he'd be staying an extra year in the Montessori school, and though we agonized over it at first, we're now completely certain it was the right decision.

Not surprisingly, Landon took his job as performer very seriously, following all instructions and reciting each poem and song with a focused expression. There was a song in French, a telling of the presidents, the continents, and the planets, and a meandering story about never asking a black bear where it's going. Adorable.

 

There was a receiving of diplomas. Landon INSISTED that a belt must be worn for the special day, so JP punched a few extra holes in a too-big belt we found in his drawer.

 

I was presented with a belated Mother's Day book and plant.

 

JP got hugs. I wish you could see their matching cowboy boots.

 

And we got to meet the parent's of Landon's class girlfriend (and spy on the little couple through my telephoto lens).

 

It was a great afternoon. The greatest part was getting to see our baby boy in the spotlight, and to be able to focus on him alone. I can't remember the last time we spent time with him without Claire (as is his preference, but still, it was nice to be able to completely focus on him for a while). But the second greatest part? Using an extra credit hour to log out of work exactly when I needed to in order to be at the school 15 minutes before showtime, so I could be the relaxed parent in the front-row, smiling with my camera ready. No checking my blackberry, no reassuring anyone I'd be available later if needed, no need to log in and make up for the hours tonight. The move and my job change did have a price, but the resulting could-not-previously-be-comprehended, absolutely life-altering lifestyle change has been priceless. Even with the bugs.

But back to Landon. I'm so proud of him, and while I can't believe my baby boy is about to turn five, watching him grow and learn and change is so fun and rewarding that I can't honestly say I want him to freeze in time and stop. But if he could slow it down a bit, that would be great.

An Entomologist I Am Not

Hello there. I'm exhausted and need to get to sleep before 11 tonight, but I thought you all needed an update after my semi-hysterical post the other day.

1. The winged creatures that invaded my pristine white coverlet were, indeed, winged black carpenter ants. I swear I had even walked through the 4-step analysis wikipedia advised to distinguish between winged ants v. winged swarming termites, but obviously my 18 hours of college biology were no match for the emotional vortex of seeing winged possible termites on my bed, mere days after seeing a snake and giant-foot-eating beetle, while still under attack from a horde of springtails in my bathroom, having just recovered from a hard fought battle with fruit flies in the kitchen. Needless to say, I did not handle it well. Images of my house crumbling around me, of that termite commercial where the post of wood gets devoured in like 17-time-lapsed-seconds, of waking up covered in swarms of winged bugs HAUNTED me all night. I slept in 30 minute intervals, waking up with a start to grab my phone and shine my flashlight all over the room. Every creak and tiny sound made me think a giant termite was crawling on my roof, ready to crash into the room on top of my sleeping form and devour me. I am only barely exaggerating.

I woke up in the morning to a winged-bug-free room, with bloodshot eyes and a splitting headache, and decided I could no longer mock people for overreacting about things I think aren't worth the overreaction (this includes all medical procedures, pretty much everything involving pregnancy and babies, and most everything else). Luckily the new bug man arrived at 8 a.m. and told JP the good news (good news I'm not sure is quite so awesome after reading up on the wood-destroying winged black carpenter ants) and doused the hell out of our house with bug-killing chemicals. I haven't seen a winged ant since, though the springtails are still present and reinstated as Public Enemy No. 1.

2. I spent my entire Mother's Day weekend cleaning, scrubbing, organizing, and harassing JP into doing the same. I have promised him a Father's Day of absolute nothingness in return for my Mother's Day of non-stop activity, but I unpacked the last box and now feel 98% settled!

3. The A/C unit in our master bedroom stopped working yesterday. Yep. Not as bad as termites, but possibly more expensive and the temps are already hitting the lower 90's during the day. We're sleeping in the guest room until the HVAC guy comes on Friday.

4. I love this chair and it needs to be in my living room. I can't buy it because of the aforementioned HVAC issues, but I love it and knew you all would appreciate it. (It's the "Liliana" chair from Pier 1).

5. Seriously, does anyone know how to get rid of springtails? There's one calling across my computer screen as I type.

LL out.

Vermin and Varmints

I started to write this last week, then I started to write it yesterday, and now I must publish it today because every day that goes by adds a new insect or creature to the list of things that have entered my house VERY EXTREMELY UNINVITED. It was a long week. I had just flown in from Chicago on Sunday night when JP immediately left for Austin. I had a terrible, skull splitting headache, so after the kids were asleep I went to draw myself a nice bath. I love our new bathtub. It has clean lines, a deep center, and only cost $140 (I'm still close enough to the project that I like almost everything in relation to how much it cost, maybe in a few months I won't see dollar signs everywhere; also, it only cost $140 because of a sale, a coupon, and the initial delivery of the wrong tub which resulted in many phone calls, a 10-day delay, and a 50% off credit for the post-sale, post-coupon price).

So, my bath. I leaned over to turn on the water from my favorite water spout (that I would adore even if it hadn't been on sale) and I see teeny tiny grey things moving around in my tub. Like 200 teeny tiny grey things. And then I see them jumping. Then I see them on the sides of the walls around the tub and on the floor and in my sink. I promptly freak out and call JP. I am a strong, independent woman and I am not afraid of bugs when they are outside in the wilderness where they belong. But the minute they enter my home I kind of lose it. I feel invaded and I hate them and I want to shiver and shake and brush invisible insects off my body while scouring my skin under hot water. This is why we paid a few hundred dollars to have the entire house sprayed with toxic chemicals the week before we moved in, and why we continue to pay the company to come back and do a sweep with kid/pet-friendly supposedly insect-unfriendly chemicals every month or two. I DO NOT LIKE BUGS IN THE HOUSE. I think we had 10 in our house the whole time we lived in Austin and each time I wanted the bug company to come back and spray. I'm kind of princess and the pea about the whole thing.

Back to Sunday. I call JP and our conversation goes something like this:

Me: there are a million teeny tiny bugs in our bathtub!
JP: oh, don't worry, the bug guy said they're just springtails. They don't hurt anything and they'll die off in a month or so when it gets really hot. They can't do much for them.
Me: A MONTH?! THEY'RE IN MY BATHTUB AND I WANT TO TAKE A BATH AND I WANT TO DO IT ALONE.
JP: Be one with the springtails, seriously, they won't hurt you.
Me: [hanging up to kill springtails with a vengeance]

So I killed them all, cleaned the tub out with clorox spray, and took my bath. The next morning, they were back. The battle raged on all week.

Then, on Saturday, I decided we would clean the whole house from top to bottom, unpack the last few boxes, and hang all the pictures on the walls as my Mother's Day present. JP was at swim practice, but at 7:15 I was up and vacuuming the sunroom in preparation for mopping. I pulled away our shoe basket and there was a SNAKE. A 10-inch long, smallish, but still 100% snakeish SNAKE. I jumped back, because I was barefoot and it was early and I just wanted to vacuum my house, and then I almost landed (barefoot) on a giant black horny beetle. I did not scream at the snake, but I did scream at the beetle and the fact that I should be able to be barefoot in my own goddamn home without risk of death or impalement by snake or beetle. And then I called JP. He was lifting weights. Our conversation went something like this:

JP: Yeah.
Me: Snake!!
JP: What?
Me: Snake and a beetle! A giant pointy beetle!
JP: What?!
Me: IN OUR HOUSE! Snake and a beetle, SNAKEANDABEETLE! COMEHOME.
JP: Where? Is it alive?
Me: Sunroom, where OUR CHILDREN are eating their breakfast and I am vacuuming barefoot. And I don't know. It hasn't moved. And I think they're upside down.
JP: So... they're dead then.
Me: Irrelevant. Come home.

Claire and Landon both wanted to touch the dead bloated smelly snake, I just wanted to throw up and move back to Austin. JP came home forever later and dealt with it, giving Landon a lesson in snake biology on the way out the door.

Then yesterday I found springtails in the family room and on the floor of our bedroom, so they've moved beyond the bathroom. And they're still in my tub and even though they are so tiny and they don't bite or eat or destroy anything, I hate them and I want them out of my house. So last night when I couldn't sleep I was googling "springtail extermination" until my eyes crossed. A different bug company is coming out tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. and they have promised to kill every living thing that is not human or canine in our house.

And then tonight, while I sat in my bed browsing etsy for living room decor, I saw several long antish looking insects with wings crawling around on our white quilt. I googled them. They are termites. TERMITES. Swarming termites to be exact and I can apparently expect many more to be showing up shortly. Also, I probably have an infestation. I might cry. I'm probably going to cry.

On the upside, I no longer care about the springtails.

Chicago and Back

I woke up in Chicago today. That sentence makes me smile. The travel home was kind of terrible- I left the hotel at 10 a.m. this morning and took two el trains to get to the airport only to have my flight delayed for 1 hour before boarding and another hour on the runway. I had a layover in Northwestern Arkansas ("XNA" for those of you into airport codes; before today, I had never heard of that one) because I was trying to be fiscally responsible and use airline miles for the trip. I missed my connecting flight and spent an extra two hours in the 10-gate, 1-terminal XNA, drinking a glass of wine and commiserating with other stranded travelers. I wasn't traveling with small children, so my only real inconvenience was that I'd already read both books I downloaded for the trip, but JP had to drive to Austin tonight for an early meeting tomorrow (three days of meetings, actually), so he was waiting for me to get home before he could leave. That was a problem. I got on another flight to Dallas two hours later thank goodness, and he picked me up with a little baggie of rolls, cheese, and an apple. He was concerned I'd be hungry after all my travels. Love that man. (Will MISS that man- due to our serial trips, we're spending five nights apart which is a new record since we've been married. I'm displeased by this. Five nights!)

Anyway. I was in Chicago for one of my very best law school friend's weddings. It became a reunion of sorts, with friends and classmates flying in from all over.

(from San Francisco, LA (bride!), Ft Worth (me!), San Francisco (date!), Hong Kong (rehearsal dinner date!))

I didn't bring my camera, so I had to rely on my iPhone, which resulted in all of my photos being either blown out or blurry. Or both. That picture was kind of west-coast heavy, we also had buddies in from DC, NYC, and more. It was so great to see them, but the beautiful bride stole the show in her Vera Wang dress and vintage cape. I had a hard time picking out a dress to wear. I posted this picture below on facebook to get an informal poll, but everyone voted for red v. black, which wasn't all that helpful when the dresses were actually magenta v. navy. Again, I blame my phone.

 

I ended up in the navy. I decided that since it cost more money (the pink was $40 at Ross), I needed to wear it more often so the cost/use could decrease faster. Financial wizardry- I have it.

I wore an off the shoulder dress to the rehearsal dinner at Spiaggia. I bought this dress from Express back in 2003 when Express sold dresses of the non-short-tight-shiny variety. It's been worn so many times I think it's now free and should be retired, but all my other dresses were too big when I frantically tried them on at 10 p.m. Thursday night before I left.

 

The wedding was at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Center near Lincoln Park. It's a beautiful venue, made extra memorable by the giant Canadian geese that decided to fly into the little outdoor ceremony spot and honk very loudly at us. I took a photo while trying to avoid eye contact (which I thought might be a sign of aggression). Of course it is my clearest, best photo of the whole night. The fact that I hadn't yet had any champagne might have been a factor, but I really prefer to blame the phone.

 

My roommate/date for the event was another best law school friend who left her husband and child at home like me. We mamas were out on the town and we partied like it was 2006. Which means we drank mostly responsibly, danced up a storm, and took a cab home before we got too sleepy. We all went to Chicago Law- we can only get a certain amount of crazy.

Another highlight was meeting the beautiful Frenchie, who is a best high school friend of the bride and a bridesmaid in the wedding. She is super funny and stepped in as my dance partner for a few romantic rap songs. There was a lot of jumping. Her amused husband took a picture of us, hopefully I'll get a copy.

I love weddings. I cried during the vows, as always, and I remembered my own wedding (in which I cried during the vows) and I missed JP and wished he was next to me so he could squeeze my hand and then make fun of me for how I cried during our vows. Such happy memories of that day nearly 7 years ago, and such fun times at my friend's big day on Saturday.

Now I'm home, unpacked, exhausted, single-parenting it for the next 4 days, and FREAKING OUT because a painter is coming tomorrow to paint our living room, entry way, and kids' room and I haven't picked out colors for any of the above. I was supposed to do it last week, but I was so busy and then suddenly I was gone and now JP is gone and I think I'm just going to hand him the paint we used for our master bedroom for the living room/hall. I want a neutral grey/blue and I think this will do it. But I feel like I should be trying samples and getting opinions and looking at more colors. Also, for the kids' room- I want a very light blue that isn't too pastel. Is that an oxymoron? Claire will have bright pink bedding and Landon has navy. I contemplated just going with bright walls and then dressing it up with pictures on the walls and a big colorful throw rug... actually, that may still be what I do. I have a whole 12 hours to decide, no problem, right?