Saving My Memories

 I'm posting this here to make sure the site doesn't get deleted.  I still want to make a book of these memories someday.  

++Already Failing++

1. I already failed week two.  I was sick last week.  Stay-at-home moms don't get sick days, but bloggers do.  Ok?  It wasn't the flu.  Just a cold.

2. There won't be any photos today.  I'm way behind in my leisure time because I was washing dishes.  Yep.  My dishwasher doesn't seem to be working.  I'm trying to rule out every different angle of human error before calling in the experts.  Mark is gone so I can't even get a second opinion.  Good thing we have a Home Warrenty.  Now if I could only find the paperwork.  Ugh. 

3. I'm also worried that it just might be cold.  As you may have heard it has been COLD here.  Not just a little chilly but take your breath away cold.  Like high temps not above zero.  After getting one of those semi-annoying "I don't miss those days" from my mother, I reminded her we only have a few days like this a year and you just treat them like a day that's pouring rain.  You just stay inside or run from your car to the building.  Now if it's causing my dishwasher not to work, that's another story.  That wall of our kitchen tends to be cold.  We joke that if you pulled the cabinets off the wall you'd see the back side of the exterior paneling.

4. When it's only sort-of cold (which for us hearty Minnesotans is 20s), we've been doing our best to get engaged in some winter activities.  We took the kids ice skating for the first time.  I only have iPhone photos because there is no way I'm taking the big guy out on the ice.  They were both surprised by how hard it was.  Wyatt got the hang of it after not so long.  Claire preferred watching from the sidelines.  Ironically, over the weekend we went skating and it was too warm for good conditions.  Over 30 means slushy ice! 

5. The kids and I went to the Mall of America this afternoon.  I'm still trying to navigate the complexities of having that place in our (sort of ) back yard.  We were there on business and I successfully avoided paying for any rides but we did make "browsing" visits to the Lego store and Disney store.

6. Wyatt spent the entire car ride home trying to figure out all the ways he could come up with the $70 he would need to buy the new Lego museum heist set.  It was a decent lesson in money math.  "So mom, how many pennies would it take?"  He knew he had some cash left from Christmas but would need to find about $30 more.  I suggested chores. He told me he would dry my dishes tonight for $30.  I told him for that I could buy new dishes.  My suggestion?  Call Grandpa.

7. One of the reasons for our trip (the other being an upcoming birthday in the family) was to exchange two pairs of jeans I ordered online for Wyatt.  I bought him new size 6s when the school year started and somehow he has become that kid with too-short jeans that I swore I would never be the parent of.  I accidentally forgot to order slims and the regular jeans, even with the adjustable waist pulled in, would not stay up.  Am I the only one disturbed by this?  He's not fat but he isn't exactly super skinny either.

8. Mark and I are splitting Gopher basketball tickets with some friends of ours who has great seats.  We've been having lots of fun being back at Williams Arena.  I love that place.  They are actually really good this year which makes it all the more fun. 

9. We're planning an "Art" birthday party for a certain soon-to-be 4-year-old.  How is she 4? Last week I enrolled her for her last year in preschool, ever.  Seriously. 

10. That's about all I have this week.  I need to get going with some photos as they sure do add a little interest to my posts.  Oh well.  Better than nothing. 

++Hello 2013!++

Does anyone still read this?  I know the grandparents miss it.  And some friends who used to be long-distance and are now in town even told me they miss it.  The truth is, I kind of miss it too.  So, I've committed to coming back once a week and updating you with a little Ten on Tuesday action.  I won't capture everything, but it's all better than nothing.  Maybe I'll even update you on a little of what we've been up to over the last year or so.  Oh, and just remember that this goes both ways.  A little love in the comments section never hurt either. 

1.  We are officially getting re-acquainted with snow and cold in our family.  Or, in Claire's case it's really just acquainted since she's never lived in a cold weather state.  She's adjusting well but has told me more than once of her plans to move to Florida when she grows up because it is hot there.  Ironically, she's never been there either. 

2. Wyatt LOVES to shovel.  He has always been game for yard work.  So glad it seems to have carried over to the wintertime work as well.  So far I have avoided all shoveling.  I intend to hold on to that streak for as long as possible.

3. I'm so far behind I'm not sure what all needs catching up on.  Did I mention that we have a Kindergartner?  The bus comes for him at 8:08 every morning and delivers him back at 3:27 and what happens in between is somewhat of a mystery.  He read me a book tonight, and last night too, so it must be working, whatever it is that they do there.

4. We've had a major case of the sickies around here lately.  Wyatt missed his last day before break with a fever.  Claire puked on New Year's eve while we had about 40 people here (as an aside, if you want to clear out a party in fifteen minutes flat, get your preschooler to puke) which turned into a wonderful stretch of days for us being tied to our house and just when we thought we were out of the woods, Wyatt started fevering all over again.  Can't we just be healthy?

5. We're getting a new cousin in early March, our first Pacyna cousin.  Claire is convinced it's a girl.  I really hope she is okay if it's not.  I also hope she is okay with sharing her Aunt Taylor with a new baby.

6.  We celebrated Christmas here in our new house.  It was great!  Our house was built in 1941 and at times there are parts of the original house (it's gone through some additions in it's life) that maybe aren't as suited for life in 2013.  It is a perfect house for Christmas though.  Tree in the living room window, stockings hung by the chimney, hello Norman Rockwell!

7. In case you need photo evidence here we are.  A little self-timer magic!

  But, to be honest, these are my faves.  A little more "us".

8. Lucky for Wyatt his school doesn't do any type of Holiday program so I can't treat you to an image like this, this, or this.  Claire had plenty of times to shine.  She sang front and center in front of our whole church, volunteered to go up front for her preschool chapel time with parents and rocked her ballet performance...all 60 seconds of it.

9. What else is new around these parts?  Mark and I are recommitting to health once again this January.  I'm not one for excuses (ok, so maybe a little bit) but both a move and a bulging disk in one's back are not so great for one's physical fitness.  We're trying to strike a balance between holding each other accountable and pissing the other one off.  Not so easy.  So far, so good.

10. So, a little out of order but I had to share one last photo.  I fear this will be the last year my kids will wear matching jammies on Christmas.  It makes me so happy though.  Here they were on Christmas morning in their new slippers (each perfectly suited for their personalities), checking out the loot from Santa.

See you next week?

++Some Explaining++

So I think I have some explaining to do.  I've been absent in blog land recently.  Here's what has happened in our lives. 

First there was this:

 Next came this:

Yep.  We did it again.  See that kid up there in red and gray?  He's about to move into his 4th house.  He's 5.  And Miss Claire will be 3 for 3.  We may just be crazy.  Most importantly, we're home. 

The best news of all, the agent came by to put the sold sign up on our Sammamish house shortly after we took this photo.  It sold the day we listed it to friends of our neighbors.  We ended up doing a 180 from the last two places we lived and came back in towards the city to a dream neighborhood for Mark and me.  More on that later. 

We don't close for 7 weeks so hopefully I can catch up on things before the storm hits.

++Three++

I'm so remiss in this post but here's a letter to Claire on her birthday.

Dear Claire (aka "Kelly", Miss P, P,  Clairina Pacyna, Princess Sillypants, Crazy Pants, Lover Doodle),
I can't believe you are three already.  You are still my baby and probably always will be.  You make me carry you all over the place.  I never carried Wyatt at three, I was carrying you!  I'm glad you are still a peanut--it makes it easier on me!

We love the way you could play for hours really doing nothing at all. As long as you have some purses, babies, music and fancy shoes you are good to go. As much as it can try my patience that you want to sit ON ME whenever I sit down, I'm glad you like to snuggle. What's a mom to say when her little girl comes to her and asks for some "loving time"?

I really do believe that one of the greatest gifts of parenting is that it really helps us to be better people and to keep things in perspective.  You and your off-kilter sleep schedule, your non-existant appetite and your multi-layer creatively-fabulous outfits have thrown my scheduled type-A personality for quite a loop.  It's good for me though.  I'm learning to roll with it.  Although I'll never understand why anyone would want to sleep in a headband!

I always dreamed of having a little girl, but I'll have to be honest, that little girl wasn't like you. Your personality is far bigger, your sparkle is far brighter, your smile is far prettier and your quirky little sense of humor is far more unexpected. Thank you for being you!

Your mommy loves you more than you know!

++Will Someone++

Will someone please tell my daughter that these are tights, not pants, and that this really isn't her best look?  Sadly, I have a feeling she won't listen to you either. 

Will someone please tell my pre-mother self to stop passing judgement on mothers who let their daughters out in public looking less-than-perfect?  Perhaps I wouldn't be paying for it like this now.  

++Ten...sometime++

1.We've coined a new nickname for the little girl in our house" quick change".  Gopher basketball fans will remember their halftime quick-changing magic shows.  If you come to our house any hour of the day you may be treated to as many as ten outfits.  Sometimes appropriate, usually not.  Sometimes she is wearing my clothes, found in the laundry basket.  Lovely. 

2. We're just plugging along here, getting through the dreary, dark Washington winters.  I keep forgetting to buy some Vitamin D supplements.  Sounds so funny but we really are supposed to take them here.

3. Wyatt learned the hard way at his tennis lesson last week not to stand too close to your friend when he is going to hit the ball "really, really, far."  He's got quite the mark on the side of his nose to show for it.  Just between you and me, I think it makes him look even cuter.  I really should take a picture of it.

4. Speaking of pictures, I think I have my husband convinced to let me use my share of the tax return it looks like we are getting, to buy my new camera.  If I don't technically earn any of the money in this family, do I still get to claim a share of the tax return?  I think so. 

5. I've been doing a lot of thinking, and some reading, lately and am trying to have our whole family eating cleaner, better food.  It isn't easy when the kids don't eat much of any food to begin with.  I fear they would starve if I cut crackers out of their diet. Baby steps. 

6. Someone in our family had a birthday last week.  Happy Birthday Mark!

7. It's been so fun to see how different our kids are as they grow up.  We're really starting to see that Claire is a VISUAL person.  Wyatt seems to be an auditory learner.  He is great at telling detailed stories of things we have done.  He remembers everything he hears (he seriously teaches us all sorts of things about Animals and Trucks that we never knew...gotta love Wild Kratts and Mighty Machines.)  Claire, on the other hand, for the life of her can't seem to grasp her letters.  She can, however, draw with her finger in the air the letter that they talked about at school, but she can't remember what it's called, or doesn't care, or both.  She can tell you what everyone in her class wore each day though! 

8. On that note, here is a bath tub conversation from the other night: Mark holds up the letter O from our letters and asks Claire "what letter is this? you talked about it in school today."  Claire: "A?" Dad: "no" Claire: "P?" Dad: "no...." Claire: "Stinky."  I guess we have some work to do. 

9. Our family is on the verge of sharing some exciting news.  NOT baby related.  How old to I have to be before I can stop adding that caveat to a statement like that?  Stop back soon and hopefully we'll be ready to give the details. 

10. And finally, a favorite from our snow week: