A Leprechaun trap....

Almost as exciting as Christmas, for my boys, is St. Patrick's Day. Leprechauns visit our house every year, leaving green footprints and gold coins around the house. This year the boys wanted to see if they could catch a Leprechaun, so they made a trap they found in a magazine. It was so cute to see them all working together to finish it. This was ALL on their own (the idea, anyway). I helped them get the stuff and they did the rest. Even going outside and collecting sticks to make a "natural" ladder that would tempt the Leprechauns to scale it. Calder made a "Do not Climb Ladder" sign because, he told me, Leprechauns like breaking rules. The top of the hat was a trap door, with the further enticement of gold coins on it. Then they turned on the spotlight and put the stool up to the cabinet to help aid the little green man to the top.

Here it is, in all it's glory:

The boys, showing great excitement at the prospect of catching a Leprechaun:
Calder asked me what we would do, if we caught a Leprechaun and he told us that his pot of gold was in London. I said "Then you better hope we don't catch him and he leaves gold coins instead, because there's no way we are going to London to get it!!"

This was there reaction to that pronouncement:

(Kaelan is just along for the ride)

Now, the waiting....... Oh how tortuous a few hours can be!

(another funny comment: Calder asked "Do Leprechauns only visit those with Irish Blood?" (He knows that he has Irish Blood) "Because Nathaniel has NO Irish blood and the Leprechauns have never visited him!")

Care for an eyelash trim????

Care for an eyelash trim?
Levi could give you one. He just practiced on himself tonight.
*insert "very heavy sighing by mother" here*
(he might just throw in an eyebrow trim as well, for free.... apparently he does those too.)

No, he wasn't a very willing participant in these pictures. Yes, he really did cut his eyelashes and eyebrows with SCISSORS!! Yes, he really is almost eleven, not almost four!! No, I don't know where I was when he did this. Yes, I did notice it for the first time when I kissed him goodnight and, yes, I had a very hard time not laughing while I sternly reprimanded him! ( I mean really!! Scissors RIGHT next to his eyes!! What WAS he thinking?!?!)

This kid beats all! He definitely has a "scissors + hair" fetish. This is hair cutting episode #5, with the last time only being last year (a chop to the front)!!! I am predicting a long and healthy battle with this one. Do I take the scissors away?? I don't know....maybe the public humiliation will be enough.

The Mother of Boys

There is an enduring tenderness in the love of a mother to a son that transcends all other affections of the heart.

– Washington Irving , writer

The Mother of Boys

Praise to the High One for giving me joys
Peculiarly sweet, I'm the mother of boys!
Mud puddles, torn blue jeans, toads, whistles and worms.
The furred and feathered and whatever squirms.

Black knuckles, bats, arrows and thundering noise.
They're all in a day for the mothers of boys.
But, ah, 'tis a dear joy to turn the blue eyes
To the manifold wonder of earth, sea and skies.

And, ah, 'tis a dear joy to watch a small hand seize
The hand of God in the knowledge of these.
Spare me, oh High One, to praise Thee more when
This mother of boys is the mother of men.

Beware the Ides of March, Whoops........I peeked, and got caught!!

Ahhh.....Sundays! The day termed "The Day of rest". I am becoming increasingly convinced that this name has been given in hopes of the impossible, not in an actual expectation.

Beware the Ides of March, as the saying goes. Today was one of those Sundays that most definitely did not involve resting, for even a moment. This morning we had our bi-annual youth leadership meeting from 9-12am at a member's house. These events are a big deal with all of the bishopric, adult youth leaders, and the quorum and class presidencies in attendance. We serve breakfast and meet to plan the next 6 months worth of activities and give training to the youth. It is important and necessary, but I tell you spending 6 hours at "church" in one day is about as restful as running uphill! Our church is as 2pm, so normally sleeping in a little on Sunday is perfectly allowable. Today I was up a 7am finishing up preparing my Sunday lesson for the Mia Maids before I had to go to the training/planning meeting. It wouldn't have been so bad if I weren't such an overachiever and decided to make these lovely handmade mirror notebooks for all my girls, in correlation with my lesson. But, alas.... as Joe likes to say "I make work for myself".

Aren't they SO cute though??!
(these are the extras)

They went with the quote printed inside, that said:

"Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you"

They are gratitude journals to help them remember why they should be happy!

After the correlation meeting I quickly ran home to finish up the lesson prep, help the kids get ready, eat lunch, pack the car/bags etc. Then straight to church, without one chance to sit down. It was quite exhausting, fortunately I have an awesome husband who totally took over with the kids and got them dressed and fed for me!

Sacrament meeting is always interesting with four boys on a tiny pew. We always sit in the same spot, right behind the Aaronic Priesthood boys, and the same older couple usually sits right behind us. It is nice having tradition, right? Today all the boys decided that they wanted to be with me. It was about 10 minutes into sacrament meeting when I turned to Joe and said (eyeing his very empty side of the pew) "I am getting claustrophobic!!" He smiled sheepishly, and said "that's what you get for being loved!" What-- ever! They are just used to having me all day, and today I had been gone all day, so now it was payback time!!! I had two boys sitting on my lap, one leaning into me and the other resting his arm on my shoulders. I felt like a boy magnet! They were all stuck to me. Ansel kept grabbing my hand and putting it on his back for me to draw on his back, I was feeding Kaelan pieces of apple with the other (as he hugged me tightly around the neck) and also helping Calder with his quiet activity, meanwhile Levi just seemed to need to touch me.


Here is a typical 5 minute snatch of sacrament time with the Severson boys:

"Ansel, sit still.... remember your feet's job."
"what is it?"
"To stay still and not tap dance on the pew in front of us!"
"Mo-oommm!"
Kaelan comes over and dumps out all of the colored pencils and quickly wipes them off the pew onto the floor.
Mom hisses "Quickly, Levi! Help pick those up!"
Mom grabs Kaelan and tried to interest him in more apple pieces. No can do. He squeals, twists away from me and stands up.
"Shhh, KK" I whisper.
Kaelan promptly turns to the family behind us and puts his fingers to his mouth and says "SHHHHH!!" to them. All the family's children start giggling at this.
I grab one of the pencils Levi is cleaning up and plop it into Kaelans hand, directing it to a piece of paper. We draw a smiley face together and the lead breaks. The boys all laugh at that.
Meanwhile Ansel decides to be the feet "police". (After all mom just reprimanded him for putting his feet up.)
Ansel: "Calder!" " Put your feet DOWN" (said while slapping Calder's upraised feet)
"Ansel! That is mom's job, not yours!" I say, exasperated!
"But , MO-OM.... I am hungry!!" He says this while mournfully eyeing KK's apple pieces, as if there is some relationship between hunger and bossing Calder around!
"Those are not for you Ansel, you just ate and you are a big boy!"
Ansel whines, "I am STARVING!!! I haven't eaten for a million years!!" (Typical Ansel exaggeration....said with desperate conviction!)

"thunk, thunk, crackle, rustle, bang" ..... I turn to find Levi tossing and catching, then sitting on top of one of Kaelan's "I spy" bean bags.
"Levi!!!!" I hiss....."What ARE you doing?! Sit, still! You know better!!"
"oh, sorry mom!" Levi says, chagrined.

All the while dad is sitting on HIS side of the pew with his head down, oblivious to the struggle going on around him. Until, finally mom says "Joe! A little help here, which do you want?"

What would your guess be? What would a typical dad choose as his job??......

Taking the littlest one out of course!! Who ever said that dad's aren't sly?!!! Where does he go? To the nursery of course.... Kaelan gets to play, dad gets to relax, and mom gets to carry on with 3, instead of 4. Big Change.... Haha!


The next two hours, even teaching, is such blessed relief. Free babysitting, while you get to be spiritually uplifted...or spiritually uplift, what could be better?

How about not putting windows on the nursery room doors?!?!?!! How many of you parents out there can resist the temptation for a casual peek into the room where your little one is supposed to be playing happily?(you hope). If you are one, well then... good for you. I am not. I am just too curious, I guess. I want to see him in action, without me around. My glances are usually quick and sneaky, and are always on the way to my 3rd hour Mia Maid class, since I have to walk right past there.
Today was no different... except that this time he happened to be looking AT the window when I walked by! He saw me, his eyes lit up and he jumped off his leader's lap and ran to the door! CRAP! He thought that nursery was all done, I could see it in his little face. Sighing, I opened up the door, accepting my fate. I was going to have to bring him to Mia Maids with me now, there was no getting around it. The other option would be worse.... a huge setback in nursery transitioning. We can't have that, not since he just started being okay with the whole idea (finally!). I pick him up, apologize to the leaders for my stupidity, and sulk down the hall to my class, to teach a lesson on Finding Joy in the NOW.

As I walked down the hall, with my little happy daudling KK, the most pressing question on my mind was, "Who really needs this lesson more... Me... or my girls?"

I guess I don't really need to answer that.....

A drawing of Levi....Finished over one year later!

What does this say about me.......That it takes so long to finish one little drawing? He looks like a different kid now, all these new big adult teeth, and that long hair. He has grown 4 inches or so and the clothing, that he is wearing in this picture, Calder has almost outgrown.

But, even still, it feels really good to get it done. There are much older pictures, still left undone, that I vow I will do soon. But, my soon or "real" soon is still yet to be decided. I think that this is why I have such a hard time stopping, once I have started a project. The steam goes out, and it gets shoved aside as soon as the focus shifts, ....and I don't want this to happen, so I don't usually stop until I finish. Or things, like this, become the result:I mean really!?!?! Who stops when you are almost at the finish line??? The hard part is all done, and now it is just the easy (but admittedly tedious) part, drawing in the folds and shades of clothing/hands and shoes. It won't take long, and yet it sits..... waiting for a day when I decide to pick up the pencil again and get working!

Earning Crystals

In our house the term "earning crystals" is met with much fervor by my three big boys. To them it means getting closer to choosing out a toy to "buy" with their crystals, to mom it means NO complaining about practicing piano, learning new skills, or taking on extra-large cleaning jobs. They even have an opportunity to earn bonus crystals for doing an exceptional job (the key is that they can't ask for bonus crystals, these are handed out by mom without their expectations in evidence, when I see a job well done). When crystals are involved they frequently ask how they can earn more. We do a daily tally of their crystal count, and they do their math to figure out how much more they have to earn in order to buy the toy they are saving up for.

Here is our "crystal center":

The piano is the hub for crystal earning.
The "crystals" are the glass pieces in the container on the left. The boys crystal tins are on the right.

I transformed some old hot cocoa tins into these fashionable, snazzy, personalized crystal tins:

The boys LOVE them, and have even personalized them further with stickers on the side, and Levi even decided that one "Levi" wasn't enough, so he wrote his name again in silver lettering!

This has been the most successful "motivational" venture I have taken on thus far. We are going on three months and the fervor is still at it's peak. The boys have been doing a very good job working hard for their crystals and love the day they get to "pay up" for a toy! (in fact, just as I am writing this, Ansel came in and said "mom, I want to practice my piano as soon as I get home from preschool....don't forget!" Now how is that for ultimate success?!?!?)

Here is the toy "store" located in our guest bedroom closet:They are high enough up that only with mom's help can the boys peruse the store. They are not allowed to touch until they have paid up! As you can see there are 3 tiers of toys. The bottom is worth 50 crystals, middle is worth 100, and the top is worth 150. (in this picture the middle and top are switched, the brown basket goes on top)


Here is the 50 crystal selection:

Here is the 100 crystal selection:

Here is the 150 crystal selection:

What has made me the most excited was watching the boys holding out for the better toys. They were willing to delay gratification for the ability to buy the more expensive/better toys. Now, if only that holds true in real life, that they can understand the concept that "good things come to those that wait" (and I would add: work hard and save)


Here is how the earning goes (for those of you who are interested):

1 crystal per piano skill practiced (so if great-grandma says do the scales up and down 5 times they would get 5 crystals for doing that skill the 5 times) --this is for all three boys.

5 crystals per 20 minute reading lesson with mom -- with NO complaining or messing around a mandate. (this is for Calder and Ansel only)

5 crystals per *starred* homework completed on time, neatly, and quickly without my asking --for Levi only. (starred homework is extra special/important homework due the next day)

TBA crystals for various special jobs mom needs done.

1 crystal per other skill practiced (this could be writing/ spelling/remembering to always use polite words/ tying a shoe/what ever mom things they need to work on)



The first day Ansel got to buy something for 50 crystals (he REALLY wanted a candy necklace...more than any of the toys available!!) he was so excited to count them out:


Here he is with his hard earned candy necklace:

Kaelan even loves the crystals.... for throwing that is. We have to keep them up and away from him, or I might soon be replacing one of the many LARGE windows we have around the house.


But the best thing of all is watching them really grow in their skills. They are getting so much more out of this than just a toy. I have watched their piano skills increase, reading become easier (including notes coming home asking what we were doing here -at home- to have Calder improve so much, so quickly), responsibilities become ritual, and my little young men become masters of their days and their time and see with their own eyes what hard work gives them.

Picture windows, Snow showers, playtime, Sunshine and Hail

I love picture windows.

I have one very large picture window over my kitchen sink, which makes making doing mountain's of dishes so much easier. In fact, sometimes I come up with dishes to do, in order to gaze out of it. Well, okay, not really..... dishes are torture.... but you get my meaning!

Today, when we woke up to get the kids out the door to school, this is what awaited me out my picture window:

(notice the mountains of dishes, from last night's family dinner with 30+ people, )

The view from my picture window, without the window in the picture: (sorry, I couldn't resist)
There were so many gloriously fat snowflakes, but alas, a photo just doesn't capture the elegance of the falling flakes or their size. They just kind of look like small blurs marring the photograph. Oh well. Kaelan and I spent at least 20 minutes snuggling and watching the snowflakes fall gracefully to the ground. It is amazing how many snowy days we have had this year, one is more than normal and we have had at least a dozen. One in March is especially unusual, so one has to stop and enjoy it when it comes.

After those 20 minutes, Kaelan got restless (a sad thing for moms, snuggling is the best ever, especially in the morning) and we got out some "moon sand" to play with while we watched the snow fall. He wasn't really sold on the texture as you can tell by the face he is pulling here:We made shapes (he calls circles "O's") and then I finally had him clean it up, because he didn't really want to touch or play with it much. That is what he is doing in the above picture (as I am singing the clean up song) I seriously LOVE the faces he made as he cleaned it up! Classic!!

We had just cleaned up and started coloring, when Ansel woke up. Kaelan was really "excited" to share with him...... Can you tell??!! (this is his "do something about this, mom" face)


Mom, quickly, got out the moon sand for Ansel to play with, and then all was well. But I just have to say, some pictures say it all. This following shot shows exactly how Kaelan was feeling about having any interaction with Ansel at all. WARY.... that is the word for it! Notice the slightly interested look on his face, at the sculpture Ansel is showing him. But, more importantly look at how tightly he is clutching his crayons to his chest!! HAHAHAHA! Wary..... Love it! It is the "I will look, but don't you come any closer!!" body language!




He was persuaded to, once again, touch the "moonsand" by Ansel, but I love the fact that he still thinks it is gross.... Look at this face he is pulling! He grabbed it, quickly showed me, and promptly gave it right back to Ansel. He looks like he is going to be sick!

Finally they settled down to their individual activities, Kaelan forgot that Ansel was right next to him and he finally started smiling again:

This is his "Lightning McQueen" face:
In case you are not a "Cars" expert, as I am (now that I have officially watched it hundreds of times). This particular Lightning McQueen "face" is in the beginning of the movie, when he is jumping over the wrecked cars in the race and the "twins" in the stands swoon at him. You will have to check it out, so you can see how EXACT this facial mimic is.


Kaelan didn't actually do much coloring, but he did enjoy checking out the pictures on each individual crayon and then stacking them on top of the moonsand lid.

Ansel's favorite activity was interfering with Kaelan's. Partly, this is because he just wants Kaelan to acknowledge his existence on a regular basis (...oh, say..... every 30 seconds or so) and partly this is because he gets such a good rise out of him.

See this angelic face?....... with a touch of deviousness? That is my Ansel.



The best thing about today was it's constant change, not only in our activities, but also in the weather. Springtime means change, and I think that today was a perfect example of how wild it can be.
First it snowed:
then it was sunny:

and then it hailed: (I just love how fast the hail falls, do you see it cascading down the roof?)

A close up of the hail:
(and then it was sunny again)
Now it is cloudy........
This was all in one day!! Never a dull moment in Oregon, or in the Severson Family!

My Thyroid and I

For a while now.....oh, say.... a decade or so, I have had a love/hate relationship with my Thyroid. This little gland has been quite the primadonna. Only functioning when it chooses to, and wreaking havoc on my body's ability to keep all systems go. She first reared her ugly head when I was pregnant with Levi. We had just moved out to California (after graduating) and all of a sudden things weren't quite right. They say hind sight is 20/20, and they are right, because at the time I was new to the pregnancy thing and just figured it was a part of it. But, now I know that gaining 95lbs and swelling up like a balloon, not to mention the pitting endema/hives and lack of hunger/energy, were all a part of this little Butterfly-shaped gland's temper tantrum. It wasn't until Levi was a year old, and I still hadn't healed from his birth (not to mention having a really tough time even getting off the couch) that my sister-in-law JoAnn mentioned something about getting my Thyroid checked.

That was the ticket! It turns out that my Thyroid was not functioning at all. The Thyroid is responsible for your metabolism, mood, energy, strength.... well lets just say it is kind of like the motherboard it regulates your whole body. Some reports say that a normal Thyroid function indicator is between .5 - 4.5 on the TSH test. Mine registered at 25. Essensially indicating that my Thyroid was on strike. I was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, given a synthetic hormone replacement prescription to take for the rest of my life, and sent on my way.

Ever since then, my Thyroid has been monitored, from time to time, making sure that my TSH is staying within the normal range. Which, it always was. But, I started to notice some strange patterns. When the test came back at 1.5 or above, was when I was feeling depressed, gaining weight, losing energy, losing appetite and feeling out of sorts. When it came back at .99 or less, I was feeling at my best. I started paying careful attention to this pattern. Usually the decline from good to bad was gradual, and not easily noticed. I started to wonder why, if I was in the normal range, was I still having all of the symptoms of Hypothyroidism at times.

This past year (since May 2008) I have probably felt my very best, in a long time. I started feeling like myself again, having a ton of energy, getting down to a healthy weight, feeling happy, etc. It lasted until Dec 2008, when for the first time, my pattern didn't do its usual thing. It didn't gradually decline, I was dropped off a cliff. I gained 20 lbs in 3 weeks, became really depressed (for me - I rarely feel that depressed) and emotional, and lost all of my motivation and energy. My hands and feel swelled up, as well as my face, and I started to do some serious research on the Thyroid. I got my TSH tested and begged my doctor to also test the REAL Thyroid hormones T3 and T4. (this first doctor was my OB because my cycle was also wildly thrown off and acting strangely) She, at first, forgot and only did the TSH. It, of course, came back at 1.5, which followed in my pattern completely. She said "your normal" and left it at that, but did put in an order for the other two, also suggesting that I go see my primary care doctor about it.

While I was waiting for the T3/T4 results to come back, I started to do some serious research on what's "normal". I learned a TON about T3/T4 ranges and functions, and I prepared for my doctor's appointment, bringing with me some papers I had on it all. When my T3 and T4 results came back I was low on both of these, but the T4 was .7 in a range .7-1.9 (so barely within normal) and I was worried that the doctor was going to brush it off as not the problem. What I had learned, though, pointed to the fact that you could techinically be in "normal" and still have hypothyroidism. So I was prepared to battle my point if the doctor wouldn't listen to my feelings on the matter.

The big day came, and I went in to meet with my doctor. I presented my case, and the information I had with me, and then asked "how is this 'normal' range found? Is it possible that this normal is not normal for me?" My doctor suprised me by agreeing with me and all the points I had made, and told me that the normal range is a bell shaped curved, based on population, with 2 standard deviations thrown in, and that I could well be a different "normal" than most people. I was ESTACTIC that he listened to me (I guess that goes to show you that being informed is always the best way to go). He talked to me like I was a fellow doctor and gave me all the scenarios. He thought that I had all the classic symptoms of hypothyroidism and wanted to supplement my current T4 pill with a T3 pill called Cytomel and see where it leads us.
He said that I am like a luxury car, I run on a higher grade thyroid, and will breakdown if not given the precise grade! I thought that was a funny comparison! Apparently I have a sensitive pituitary and hypothalmus, aren't I so lucky!!??

So, once again, my thyroid and I are at odds. I hope this time is the last, and that maybe, just maybe, I can make it do what I want it to do. And who knows, maybe I will finally be able to get ALL the way back to normal, after a decade of quarrelling with this little butterfly brat!

The "key" to using a public toilet

Have you ever wondered how fast you could stick your hand in and out of the "poo" water in a public toilet? Well, neither have I....... until tonight. Blechk..... (In fact I would have NEVER, previously, wasted my time even pondering the thought of that thought.) But now I have been forced to contemplate even more disgusting, more thought provoking potty thoughts than ever before. Like, if you are REALLY fast at putting your hand in and out, does it lessen the amount of germs that stick to you? Will I ever be able to call myself clean again? What about objects retrieved from said toilets? Can they ever be clean again either? What if they have sensitive electronic parts, will those have a greater chance of working/being clean again, if I get to it faster? What if you were at a restaurant, could you go out and finish your meal afterwards? Even if you washed your hands fifteen times?? What about said items, could you touch them again before you got to REALLY sanitize them? What if you needed to, in order to get home?

I contemplated all of these questions, and more, in the mere second between my keys flying into the toilet bowl at Sweet Tomatoes(with remote electronic starter/opener attached) and my hand following after.

Fast Sunday, Fast prayers......

Ansel is becoming a real stand-up comedian in our household. He is always coming up with some witty comment about what people are currently talking about, usually loudly interrupting the person speaking (I guess a mom can't have everything). Today we happened to be talking about fasting, since it was fast Sunday. Ansel - as usual- was listening in, forming his own connections between words, and coming up with a spectacularly timed funny comment.

In our house, when a child turns 7, they get to fast one meal on fast Sunday. (We are using positive biasing here, ...see -- "get to" not "have to"-- aren't I so tricky?!!) Joe had to leave for choir around 8:45am this morning, but on his way out he reminded Calder of this privilege and said that we (meaning mom- since he was leaving) would help him think of a special purpose for his fast today, and he could then say his fast prayer. After Joe left, and while I was making breakfast (for Ansel and Kaelan), I started having this "fast" conversation with Calder. We talked about what he wanted to fast for and then I asked him if he remembered how to say a fast prayer. (Now, remember this was a serious conversation we were having here.) There was a pause, and then Ansel, who had been listening, chimed in with his newly formed, quick witted response.......

"I know how to say a fast prayer............ 'Our Dear Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen', that's how I say a fast prayer!!" (cue mom, cracking up wildly and ruining the serious moment) Oh the "punniness" of a five year old! You know he's good when a mom, jaded by the constant barrage of juvenile humor, guffaws uncontrollably at his joke!!

Ansel, you are my "punny" hero!!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike....

Today was the day. A day for learning new things. Joe learned how to plant blueberries, Cami learned how to occupy the attention of a pneumonia patient, and CALDER learned to ride a bike!! Yes, February 28, 2009, was a momentous day.

For a while now, our awesome neighbors/friends have been offering to let Calder have a bike that their son recently grew out of, complete with helmet. Poor Calder, in this day and age, not knowing how to ride a bike (or even have one) at the ripe old age of 7 is practically taboo.

Last night, Mike and Nathaniel brought over the bike offering for Calder. He was so excited! Mike is a bike guy, and even knows a lot about teaching kids how to ride bikes. He told us that it would only take a maximum of 10 minutes to teach Calder to ride a bike if we followed his instructions. He told us that he has taught many kids this way, and it only took 10 minutes for each one. Wow, that is pretty impressive, I thought. He is the kind of guy that you have a tendency to believe, so we took him up on his advice. Today Joe took Calder to the park to "teach" him to ride.

These were the instructions Mike gave us:

1- Put the seat all the way down so that the child's feet rest flat on the ground.

2- Next, take him to a place where there is a short grassy hill - grassy, for the "just in case" they fall they won't get hurt.(fortunately for us, we have a park that has this feature, not far from our house) He told us they won't fall though.

3- Instruct the child to position himself at the top of the hill, facing down, with feet on the ground.

4- Next, have the child lift his feet off the ground, and onto the pedals, and roll down the hill -don't pedal yet. Instruct them that if they feel like they are going to fall, just to put their feet down.

5- Do this about 10 times.

6- Next, tell them this time when they get to the bottom to start pedaling, again if they feel like they are going to fall, put their feet down.

7- Do this about 10 times, and by the end they will be riding a bike like a pro- Anywhere.

This is all it takes, according to what Mike has experienced teaching kids. (he also says don't EVER use training wheels it messes with their ability to learn to balance)



Well, We tried it. All I can say is ....... WOW!!! It really works. So amazing! Calder was even quicker than Mike said. He was balancing the first time down, Joe had to hold him back from pedaling right from the start. Within 2 minutes, Calder had had enough "teaching" and was begging to be let go so he could go ride on the paved path. Finally, he just stopped asking and took off onto the paved path, like a natural. It is so weird, like he already knew how to ride. Now he rides all over the place like he has been doing it for years, he even can go from a stopping position on level ground now. If you have a child of "bike" age, this is definitely the way to go, as far as teaching goes! I would HIGHLY recommend it!!



Here is our families newest bike rider in action:




Calder was happy to pose and ride for the camera, but finally he said "Mom, I am getting tired of this" I asked "you are tired of riding bikes?" and he said "No, of taking pictures.... Can't I just go ride my bike?!"

There you have it, a new skill, a new passion, and so much fun!

I am almost two...... Can you tell?

My name is Kaelan.
I am almost two.
(officially 22 months)

I am getting really good at the above attitude look, I practice everyday to achieve this.

I know words like "pee pee" and "poo poo", but don't really get how to get them out of my body and into the potty. (Actually, I am kind of oblivious when I pee on the floor, mom points it out right afterwards and says "pee pee". I look at it, and then at her, with a look on my face that says, "well now, how did it get there?")

My favorite word is "mine!" with an emphatic slap to my chest. Yes, I am the youngest..... how did you know?

I really like things to go my way, and can throw some FANTASTIC fits, if they don't. See picture below.
I am still teething. Right now I am getting my four eye teeth. OUCH! They hurt!

I am very curious. I get into and onto many things mom doesn't want me to! Hee Hee!! (you know, like cupboards, counters, shelves--that's where all the good stuff is, and she knows it!!)

I LOVE choo-choo trains, and you will often find me confiscating and wearing Ansel's, Thomas the Tank Engine, slippers. When mom and dad play "ticket to ride" (aka "the train game") on the computer, my ears perk up each time I hear the train whistle, and I come running, yelling "choo choo!"

I am obsessed with anything that has to do with Cars (the movie) and Lightning McQueen. I ask to watch "queen movie" constantly. I have become the proud owner of a Lightning McQueen hat, shoes, slippers, and many of the cars. This is the ONLY hat I will wear.... Mom cannot say "no" to my puppy dog look or my squeals of joy and shows of affection towards any Lightning McQueen merchandise I get my hands on. Yeah, she is a softy, and yes, I definitely have her wrapped around my finger. But she promises me that there will come a time that it won't work anymore. We shall see....



I really like my personal space. This comes with the territory of having Ansel for a brother. He loves me.... I KNOW already, now just back off! The following picture was taken right before I pushed Ansel off the bench. What can I say? He was in my personal space, which moves as I move. He just doesn't get it, I always have a 18 inch ring of personal space around me, regardless if I move closer to him or visa versa. The punishment is still the same.

They only person, other than my parents, that I will let get me out of my bed or carry me anywhere, is my brother Calder. He has parental rights. He is also the only brother I will name, when I need something. (partly because the other two names are a little more effort)

I love my "bip bee" aka my binky. Mom says that I can only have it at night, but I have ways of finding contraband binkies (especially ones under my bed!!). Mom says that I am getting a "binky bite" and she is worried. But, hey braces will fix that later on, why worry now??? I don't have a complex about my buck teeth, why should she?
I still take very long naps. My mom keeps telling me how wonderful that is, but how would I know how long I sleep? When you are asleep you are asleep...time doesn't matter. (still, mom loves my 4 hour naps)

I have a hair fettish. It's okay, I am big enough to admit it. I LOVE hair. Well, not just any hair... my own and my mom's. When mom holds me I will specifically request hair fondling privileges from her. It only takes one word..... "heah". I especially like it when she wears it in a pony tail, and will specifically search out the hair caught up in a pony tail holder. When I am tired, bored, watching a movie, sucking on my binky........and on and on, I play with my hair. (part of the reason hats are a "no, no")

I really like sticking things into other things. You know, pencils down vents, dvd's into players, balls down shirts, money into anything, gum into my mouth....... so that is why Grandma's gift of a piggy bank was such a big hit!! (mom hid it from me now because I was experimenting with anything and everything seeing what could fit in the tiny hole)
I will tell you one last thing about me. Remember when I told you that I liked cars? I didn't just mean the toy kind. I really like the REAL ones too. Frequently, I will exclaim "car, go" and run to the garage door. If I am lucky enough to be able to persuade my mom to take me somewhere, that's great, if not, I am happy just sitting in my carseat in the car for a few minutes.

Well, now you know a little bit more about me, and you didn't even have to observe up close in real life!!