Trouble

Oh Boy!  We are in for it.  Four years into this adventure we call "parenting", we are hitting bumps that I didn't think we'd encounter for at least another five years....... On Sunday we invited Cally's classmates and teacher over for an informal gathering.  This was something another mom had talked about doing earlier in the year, but it never happened, so John and I decided to host cocktails and sledding.  Because there was no snow, the sledding didn't happen, and perhaps that was the problem with our plan.  Whatever is the case, our daughter behaved in ways that we had never seen...... Soon after her girl buddies arrived, she was bubbling with excitement.  The warning bells should have gone off when, ten minutes into this "party", Cally said that she and Addie were going to draw on each others faces with her markers.  I mean, I guess, it's good that she told me before it happened..... I reminded her what happened the last time she did that with Hazen and asked if she was prepared to lose her marker for a week this time (for the first infraction it was just 24 hours).  She immediately declared that, no, she didn't want that to happen, but snuck upstairs with a few markers without me seeing.

Ten minutes after that, the rest of her classmates had arrived, and they immediately became a pack and headed upstairs.  Cally had spent some time cleaning up her room and in the past she'd shown her friends her room, maybe tried on dress ups or played with stuffed animals, but we never had any reason not to trust her up there.  We even sent her buddy Isaac's older sister upstairs to make sure nothing really bad happened (in retrospect, I'm not sure why we thought a 7 year old would or could wield the authority we needed).  Soon after they went up there, Cally came running downstairs, hardly able to contain the giggles-- she had used markers to write on her trash can.  I then moved the markers and said they wouldn't be able to be used for a week and went back to making sure the adults in the house were fed and hydrated.  Ten minutes after that, she came running down in a diaper and her bathrobe/towel on.  When I asked her what was going on and why she was acting so funny, she exclaimed that they were "playing babies" and she was the baby.  John then got her to get dressed and had a conversation about her silly behavior and why she was acting so differently that she does at school. The final straw came when the girls decided to sneak salsa and bean dip up to Cally's room for a "picnic".  I was alerted to a spill just as I was serving my homemade mac and cheese for the kids.  I ran upstairs to find two vomit sized spots on her oatmeal colored berber carpet.  Addie's mom was doing her best to clean it up, but it was clear that this was going to be a tough mess to clean up.

Through all of this, I was trying to be a "mellow" hostess, but at this point, I was ready to blow a gasket.  Our party was winding down and both John and I were scratching our heads as to why our cute and thoughtful daughter had behaved as she did.  We knew that she did not work alone and she was likely to be doing this because her friends were around.  We wondered if having had few playdates was a part of the problem..... she was so excited to have friends over that she got carried away and disregarded all established norms in our house.  Or maybe our norms or standards weren't clear?  Or maybe she's just too young to be trusted to be unattended?  I think it's a combination of it all, but we were so bummed out by her odd behavior.

But that didn't last long, because it's hard to be bummed out about a girl like this.  Someone who decides that we need to all go out and sled on a Monday afternoon because it finally snowed and Zephy needs some exercise or a that girl who randomly throws out "I love you's" just when you need them the most and tells us that we are beautiful on a whim.  She's that kid who gives random hugs to her brother and is learning how to share even though it doesn't come naturally, but she knows it is the right thing to do.  But, most importantly, she already gets the importance of saying "I'm sorry".
 

Don't get me wrong..... the gathering wasn't all bad.  The other parents had a ball and thanked us for hosting such a great event.  And at the end of the night, the boys had a little dance party-- during which Hazen was proud to learn a few new moves:

 

Sick and Proud

Our house has been full of a lot of sickness.  Everyone has had something...... Cally was the first to go down, but she seemed to get right back up from a rogue fever with only a lingering cough.  John is still coughing from his close encounter of the flu variety, Hazen has had a fever here and there, and I succumbed to a sinus and ear infection in the beginning of the week.

Everything was looking up by the middle of last week.  I was on antibiotics and feeling better, John and Cally were both sleeping through the night again, and all seemed great..... until the middle of my third period class on Thursday when I got the dreaded call.  It was Tammy calling to say that Cally had thrown up at daycare.  My stomach instantly lurched and my deep seeded dread about these situations was upon me.  As I've mentioned before, John and I were both eager to have children.  I told him I'd pull my weight with the sleepless nights, the midnight and early feedings, nasty diapers, middle of the night steam showers for coughs, spit up, whatever.  I just wanted him to promise me that he'd deal with the real throw up.  He eagerly agreed, but as it turns out, it never really works out that I can duck away and let him deal with these situations alone-- one of us usually needs to deal with the kid while the other cleans up the mess.  And this case was no exception.  Because I work five minutes away from Tammy and John had evening obligations that night, there was no option but for me to deal with this one on my own.

When I arrived at Tammy's, she'd already cleaned up the mess and Cally was curled up on a chair in her snow pants (she'd gotten barf on her shoes, pants, and socks), she was pale as a ghost, and she smelled like vomit because it was in her hair and on her necklace.  I gave her a big hug, loaded her in the car (thankful that she wasn't likely to get sick in the seven minute drive home), and bathed her as soon as we were home.  I then lined the family room couch with towels, talked her through the feelings she had before getting sick at Tammy's so she could tell me if she was feeling that way again, and set her in front of the television while I deep cleaned the house in a way that I haven't in some time.  I'd recently heard an NPR story about how virulent and nasty this new strain of the norovirus is and I didn't want to take any chances with it.  As Cally slept and zoned out to children's shows on PBS, I swept, vacuumed, mopped, and sprayed 7th Generation disinfectant over any non fabric surface in the house.

By 4 pm, I realized that I was going to have to load her into the car to pick up Hazen.  This time I covered as many surfaces of my car as I could with spare towels and had Cally sit with a bucket in her carseat.  I gave her the pep talk about how much easier it is to clean up barf in a bucket or toilet and crossed my fingers that this dam would not crack.  We made that trip without a hitch, but then she told me she was hungry.  I was tempted not to let her eat, but figured I couldn't let her go hungry so I made her some toast with butter and had her drink a bunch of water.  She asked me to bring her to the bathroom about five times throughout the afternoon and early evening and nothing ever happened, but by 6pm, she had that "familiar feeling".  She managed to sit on the toilet and barf in the bucket.  I was able to rub her back and help her through something that I've always thought myself a failure.  This was a milestone for both of us!

Friday morning, school was cancelled because of what was thought to be the next big storm (but really wasn't) and Cal was feeling better in the belly, but complained of an ear ache.  She'd been complaining briefly about this for the past week, so I decided to get in to see her doctor.  She did have some fluid in her ears, but her doctor wasn't very worried about that.  He did take a moment to listen to her lungs and found that she has walking pneumonia!  This presented itself so differently that last year-- no fever and acting pretty darn perky.  So, while John dropped Hazey off with Tammy and John headed up to the mountain, Cal and I went to our favorite lunch soup spot and picked up her antibiotics. 

By Saturday morning she was feeling well enough to join her friends for a Valentine's Luncheon at Annie's house while Hazen hung out with Henry and a babysitter and the parents got out to enjoy a morning of skiing together in the new snow.

On Sunday, it was below zero when we woke up, so we decided against bringing the family to Sugarbush and decided to haul the kids up to Underhill State Park in the Chariot.  At the last minute, I asked Cal if she wanted to ski down the road when we got to the top.  She seemed eager.  We didn't want to push it, but stuck Cally's skies, boots, and helmet into the Chariot just in case.  A two mile, 1000 vertical skin up brought us to CCC Road/Sunset Ridge Trail intersection. Hazen had napped the whole way up, and Cal was all excited to ski down.  And so she did..... the entire way with only a little Daddy's assist on the flats.

She had a ball:

And even wanted to hit the highland lift at Smuggs with her friend Lottie for some laps in the sunshine.  They looked like racing starfish:

And after that, she still had the energy/mental capacity to read, yes read, her first book from cover to cover:  Hot Soup (it's six pages long)!  But after such a crazy week and weekend, we were really happy to be able to get everyone's health back (for the time being) and do what we love to do with our kids.

A Great Day for a Skate

On Saturday, we skied at Cochran's, watched some cross-country ski races at Trapps, hit the Swimming Hole in Stowe, and had dinner at Frida's.  So today we had a lazy morning (with Donuts from Poorhouse Pies, again!) and then headed to this scene for a few hours of skating.  Chez Ganzenmuller!

They say it's hard to learn to skate on hockey skis b/c they are curved on the bottom..... but Cally went for it.  She used the double decker crate and managed to skate by herself from one end of the pond to the other.

But what Cally liked best, was being pulled around in the sled by anyone willing to do it:

Hazen snoozed through much of our visit, but when he did get up, he was keen to just "check it out":

Checking out the scene post nap

Chillaxing with Dad!

We are a little nervous, because he really seems to like flicking a puck around the house with his new hockey stick..... Not sure we want to join the youth hockey cult, but it's pretty cute to hear him talk about hockey.

Hazey's 2nd Birthday!

I can't even believe this little guy is 2!  Sweet Hazey, you have been such a gift and you continue to bring smiles to the faces of all around you.  That mop of red hair, sweet voice, fantastic giggle, and strong hugs are the elixer to our life.  Cally, John and I are constantly finding ourselves saying, "you are so darn cute!" and you have made our family complete.

Your birthday fell on a "hump day" this year.  Your dad was coming out of the darkness of a flu-like illness, your mom was busy wrapping up one semester and starting the next, the deep freeze came to an abrupt hault-- with temps nearing 55 degrees and Cally was coming down with the same creeping crud that your dad had.  But, your godparents and cousins rallied to celebrate your two trips around the sun and you couldn't have been happier!

We made your a big lasagna because you always say you want "pasta" for dinner and you got really into unwrapping all the amazing gifts you got in honor of your special day.



He instantly took to the new scooter he got from Grandma and Bumpa, loved the Peter Rabbit he got from his Nana and Grandpa, messed around with the a new car carrying truck from his cousins, snuggled with his new stuffed monkey from Cally and has already made a few slap shots with the hockey/Lacrosse/soccer equipment he got from us.

A beautiful quilt made by Godmamma Cara's Mom, Minerva

You are the sunshine in our grey days!  Thanks for the big smiles, goofy dances and love.  We can't wait to get to know you better with each new day. 

Daniel Boone/Davey Crockett hats from Cynthia & Scott

This is just one of the great cards that you got for your birthday.  I think Cally made about six different cards for you, but this is the one she liked the best.  Your friends at daycare also had a great card and celebration for you. Thanks everyone for the love on this fine fellows special day.  We all love you so much Hazey!

Artist in the house!

"Our House" by Cally 1/27/13

The end of January is a busy time for the Abbott's.  John starts a new semester.  I end a semester with exams and then start a new one.  But for the kids, it's just another time of the year.  We had some brutally cold weather recently.  The days were brilliant and sunny, but in the negative range.  It was frustrating.  You can only stay inside and draw so many pictures

"Dad and me at the beach"

On Saturday, when it was supposed to get into the positive double digits and John had to attend a leadership retreat for the day, I decided to just go for it and get out of the house with the kids.  I'm pretty sure between the weight of the children (60 lbs), the chariot and ski attachment  (37 lbs) and various other accessories (sleeping bag, fleece blanket, etc.), that I was pulling over 100 lbs up Smuggler's Notch...... It was a workout and it was cold (there isn't much sun in the notch).  But these two were having a ball.  As I rushed down the road because I was freezing and worried about the kids, I heard Cally busting out in song:

"I like winter, I like snow!
I like icy winds that blow,
I like snowflakes oh so light,
Making all the ground so white.
I like sliding down the hill
I like tumbling in a spill!
Oh! Ho! Seasons come
And Seasons go.
I like winter, I like snow!"

On Monday the weather gods finally brought us some new snow and Cally dragged her run down and sick parents out to sled with her and her brother in the backyard.  I'm so glad she did because within 24 hours, the snow was gone and 24 hours later everything was frozen solid! 

But these monkey's have nothing to complain about.  They are happy putting on their monkey jammies and doing their monkey dance.  And, in other big news, sharing a bedroom!  Yep, Hazey has moved to a big boy bed in Cally's room and it is possibly one of the cutest scenes I've ever seen!

January Thaw

John was teaching a Winter Skills class in the White Mountains from Tuesday - Saturday last week.  I always dread these "Single Parenting" times.  I worry about how I can pull off drop off, working, pick up, and the evening routine while maintaining my sanity.  I think the anticipation is the worst of it, and this always makes John feel guilty about leaving the team.

But, when I'm in it, it really isn't as bad as I anticipate.  I only forgot a hat for Cally and my own school bag one morning and then got it together for all other drop offs.  I squeezed in a few ski tours for myself (and paid a little extra for after care at Poker Hill) and even got out for a girls night (thanks to Cousin Chris coming over to babysit).  The kids were in bed every night by 7pm and I was in bed by 9:30 (I'm rarely in bed before 11pm when my parenting partner is around).  So, I'm figuring out how to make the best of these times when John has to be gone, without making him feel bad for doing what he's always done.

I was even able to handle a Saturday morning with three kids under the age of 4 (my brief foray into parenting three kids) on my own.  I managed to do an art project, get them dressed to go outside to build a snowman, and fed.

And once John did get home, we decided to go on a "family date" to the neighborhood cafe.  Cal wore her professional figure skater's dress, formal slippers and new sweater from Nana.  Hazen just opted for his new skate boarding shoes and a red sox sweatshirt over a button down.

Even though the snow is melting and we are pretty sad about that, it gives us a chance to slow it down and have a lazy brunch with good friends!

Nana's Big 7-0!

Decade birthday's are meant to be made a fuss about!  So, when we asked Nana what she wanted to do to celebrate her 7 decades on the planet, she made it clear she just wanted to be surrounded by family.  With January being a hectic time in our household, we knew we had to put everything aside and make it down to Nana and Grandpa's for a visit.

We arrived with sleeping kids on Friday night, who settled into their beds easily and let us enjoy a lovely Peg cooked meal for dinner.  The kids slept until 7am and Peg whisked them downstairs, fed them breakfast and let John and me sleep in until 8:30!  I'm not really sure if we've ever both slept past 7am.

Because our visit was less than two weeks after X-mas, Nana and Grandpa decided to extend the gift giving madness and we had two little critters who were thrilled about opening a few more packages!

 Cally was thrilled to get a talking monkey (which made both her and her Nana laugh like little school girls) and a new book about her body (more on this later, but she's pretty much obsessed with the human body, the circulatory system and kidneys are her favorite).  Hazen was immediately throwing the balls that he got and using his new magnifying glass.

And both kids are looking even cuter than ever with adorable new Nana made sweaters!

Grandpa and Nana were kind enough to watch the kids for most of the afternoon so that John and I could visit with Mark and catch up with some of John's old elementary school buddies.  It was so great to see Mark.  He's six months out from the stem cell transplant and everything is looking great.  It hasn't been without it's stumbling blocks, but he's keeping such an amazing attitude.  The big news is that he was given the green light to eat hot food prepared outside of the home!  He hasn't been able to eat anything that wasn't cooked in his own kitchen for six months!  I can't even imagine having to make so many home cooked meals.

The real treat was getting to take Nana out for an adult only dinner with Lynn, Chris, and  Catherine.  Peg chose a trendy Oyster Bar/Restaurant in West Hartford and we had a great evening.

As Art put it, "I never thought, when I took this gal out for a date 51 years ago, I'd end up with this-- 8 grandkids, 3 kids......."  We are all so lucky that Baby Peg was born 70 years ago!  She's raised great children, been an amazing grandmother, and a wonderful mother-in-law!  May she have many more trips around the sun.

New Years Eve

And so we end another year in the Abbott families life.  The Top 10 List for 2012:

1. Hazen getting tubes (he's speaking more and hasn't had an ear infection since September-- after having more than six in the previous year.
2. Summer Tour de New England (Cape Cod, Maine with friends from near and far)
3. Cally being at Poker Hill (the best place in the world for her right now)
4. Bates Burning Man (surrounded by dozens of amazing old and new friends)
5. John's Birthday in Montreal (great culture and new friendships)
6. Katy's 40th Birthday celebrations (skiing, relaxing at the spa, the great song, and fun friends)
7. Idaho (being in big mountains with old and new friends, babysitters, and snow)
8. Finishing the front porch (and stringing it with lights for the holidays)
9. Down to only one nap a day (freeing us to actually go on family outings)
10. Christmas Storm (time for Mom and Dad to ski, but also having the whole family on the slopes)

We spent the last day of 2012 doing exactly what this family loves to do.  John and I earned some of the most amazing turns of the year with our good friend, Anton at Bolton.  We took four laps and returned home to cook some food for the Harris-Plimpton Sledding Party.  The conditions were ideal! I think Cally took 8 or 9 runs with the big girls (she already has no interest in hanging with her parents-- at 4!).   

And the best part was the lift back up the hill after every run!

We didn't make it very far into the evening.  With the kids asleep in the car, we did stop at an adult only party for 15 minutes, but I'm pretty sure we were all asleep by 10pm.