No Chickens allowed

With Halloween so close, I felt this post was appropriate…and far over due (only because it has taken me so long to get ahold of the pictures). Chicken costumes are expressly forbidden in our household! And, even though I have on more than one occasion found an adorable chicken costume and suggested it for one of the babies, I have quickly and assuredly been shot down. This long standing mandate comes from Cody and is attributed to a “traumatic  experience” as a tween. Personally, I find the whole thing rather comical (in fact, I cannot in words describe how hilarious I find the whole situation), but to give Cody his due, here is the story:

Cody, in 6th grade, was forced into wearing a chicken costume for Halloween, where they went to the local mall to go trick-or-treating. As his mother explains it, they only so many costumes that would fit a kid of his height and stature and they didn’t have the endless funds needed to purchase one of the “cool new costumes”. Understandable! Cody, on the other hand, instead of playing it up, was so nervous that he would run into his friends wearing a chicken costume that he had no fun the whole time. Understandable!

 

But, really, I look at these photos and see the cutest chicken boy ever!  And, I daresay, he may have been over-exaggerating how horrible the whole experience was for him, as evidenced by the second photo (or maybe it was the candy consoling his wounded pride).

Look at that face…just pitiful!

Personally, I say ‘Best in Show,’ and no matter how much he rants against it, of all of his costumes to date, the Chicken is by far my favorite!

Tieger Tales

Let’s just begin this post by say, “THANK GOODNESS!” Thank goodness nothing terrible happened.

 

With that said, here is my story. We went to visit my parents, Grandma and Grandpa Deer (as both sets of grandparents have the same last names, Rya assigned them nicknames when she was very young, Grandma and Grandpa Deer because they have deer constantly loitering on their front lawn). We had laid Tieg down to bed but not surprisingly we heard the pitter patter of little Tieger feet roaming the upstairs rather than sleeping. Being that this happens often I sometimes just let him be, hoping he will realize he is tired and put himself back to bed. Most times it doesn’t work, but every now and then we have a lucky night.

 

This, unfortunately was not one of those nights.

After conceding that he would not go to bed on his own, I headed upstairs after him. I hunted him down, finally finding him in my parents’ bathroom with a mischievous grin and a hand behind his back. Knowing something was up, I grabbed for whatever he was concealing behind his back. Shock is the only word to describe my feelings on discovering his toy was a SWORD! Yes, an actual metal, sharp and pointy, dangerous sword. (My dad is a collector of many things). Apparently this particular sword was hidden in a cane and tightly screwed in, which Tieg managed to find and remove. To make matters worse his sword play began on my parent’s water bed.

 

Now, as you know, nothing terrible happened. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Fortunately my dad had the foresight to put a cork on the end of the sword on the off chance a small, stealthy, incredibly smart and obviously stronger than they look grandchild would find it, manage to remove it without any adult supervision and begin playing swords for real.  No telling how long he had played with the sword, but fortunately I got up there when I did, it was probably only a matter of time before he would have figured out and eliminated the cork deterrent.

 

I know we’ll laugh someday, but this one still gives me nerves. So grateful he, the other kids, and the waterbed made it through unscathed.

Tieger Tales

For family night tonight, the topic was WORK. Our purpose was to impress upon the kids that work is necessary but that it can also be fun. As our object lesson we headed over to the car wash to have a little fun/work.

 

Tieg ran immediately for the large power sprayer when we got to the car wash. He kept squeezing the trigger and was disappointed when no water came out. While this continued, Rya went over and put quarters in the machine. Just as the first quarter slid down into the slot, Tieg once again pulled the trigger, only this time had a different result. The pressured water shot out of the spray gun, and Tieg weighing in at only 29 pounds, was no match for the force. He was completely lifted off the ground and sent flying into the car a foot away. It was a good thing the shock of that caused him to release the trigger or he probably would have gone farther.

 

Please understand that Tieg was not hurt, definitely stunned and a bit confused, but with no real damage. A moment later we, Tieg included, were all laughing. I even think it helped to drive home that work can be fun, in Tieg’s case maybe dangerous too, but definitely fun.

Tieger Tales

We went to Texas to visit the cousins. After our recent move to Oklahoma we were glad to take a break from the monotony of unpacking to play. We went to the New Braunfels public pool at Landa Park. This is one of the cooler public pools I have seen because in addition to an Olympic size lap pool and a zero depth kiddie pool complete with slide, they have a whole section where you play in the actual river water. The river section was down the hill and was equipped with a natural pool of river water, slides and a rope swing.

 

It was packed at the pool and we had the whole crew that day, so it was 10 kids (counting all the cousins) to 4 adults. The ratio was formidable. So we kept constant roving eyes to know all kids were safe.

After a couple hours, we decided to brave taking the kids to the rivered portion. Grandma Deer, however, stayed up top at the kiddie pool with Suri.

 

After a while down in the river pool, Tieg and I headed up to get Grandma Deer to join the rest of us. We climbed the stairs and found Grandma only to head back down the hill. It was at this point that Tieg decided to make a run for it. Literally! He took off running. This happens often, and I couldn’t run very well because I had Suri so I quickened my pace and kept  a close watch on where he was headed while shouting at him to “STOP.” He ran around the corner of the large bathroom facility, heading for the stairs to the river area.

 

It was at this point I dumped Suri into my mom’s arms and raced after him. Only a moment passed before I rounded the same corner, just  in time to see him sitting with a big grin in a golf cart about 10 feet away foot poised above the gas pedal. 

"This isn’t too bad… what little boy wouldn’t jump in and pretend to be driving… of course no one would leave the keys in the ignition for just anyone to go joy riding in,” was what you may be thinking. Yep, that’s what I was thinking also. WRONG! He put his foot to the pedal and little cart lurched towards me and a wooden pergola off to my left. My natural instinct (or stupidity) took over and I put my hand in front of me to stop the golf cart. Fortunately he was not tall enough to get the pedal down for full speed, and I was able grab him out of the cart before any real damage could be done. It was at this point that the girl working the snack bar under the said pergola (most assuredly the owner of the golf cart) got up realizing what just happened in front of her.

 

This could have been disastrous, and I am so grateful everyone/thing involved was safe. I have to admit it took me a day or two but now it just makes me chuckle.

Precious Memories in the wild

I have to admit that I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with camping. I mean, it is suppose to be a vacation, right; but with all it takes to go sometimes that fact is easy to forget. You spend days planning where to go, when to go, how long to stay, meals, activities, etc. But that is just the beginning. Then to actually leave the house takes a whole day of prepping, getting clothes and supplies, food and kids all into the car. Finally, you make it there and that’s when the fun starts, right?! Preparing the fire, the food, the campsite, pitching the tent, cooking the food, feeding the kids, cleaning the dishes, putting the food out of the way of prying animals, watching the kids constantly so they stay out of the fire, don’t throw rocks at each other, or fall into the river down the hill. Then you get the unique pleasure of sleeping on hard ground, sometimes with a rock massaging a bruise into your bones as you repeatedly tell your kids to go to sleep, well, with the exception of when in the middle of the night you have to put on shoes in the dark to trudge across the campgrounds by flashlight with one of the kids who urgently needs to go to the bathrooms which doubtless are infested little creepy crawlers. And, if that wasn’t fun enough, then you get to wake the moment the sun makes it less than dark and begin the process of cleaning and packing and keeping kids out of the fire and cooking and such all over again.

With all that griping, you may be wondering why I (and now perhaps why you) ever go camping. Well, I will enlighten you. It is for those moments when you think back or look back and know that you were there with the people most important to you doing what matters more than anything else—being together. You were there with the people that matter the most to you building deeper lasting relationships while working together, playing together, and getting dirty together. All this is done without the focus becoming addled by the all too common distractions of TVs and toys, work and school and other life responsibilities. You were making memories that can be looked back on with fondness without once thinking of all that went into making the experience happen.

When Rya went on her first campout with Cody, I had to write about it because it touched my heart. So it is with the same emotion that I share some pictures of Tieg on his first campouts.

 

 

1st Campout @ Devil’s den—September 2011

There is as much cinnamon roll on his face as there is mud. It is just hard to distinguish between the two.	He wore his mud with boyish pride.
Little sleep, sugary foods, constantly covered in dirt—he was in heaven.	The smile never left his face, I dare say even when he was sleeping.

 

 

1st Father/Son Campout in oklahoma—May 2013

	Tieg  was so excited to ride the ‘boats’ (which were canoes) that he stood without complaining in the longest line. And, despite Cody’s initial concern, he didn’t rock the boat, metaphorically or actually. It was a fun trip for both of them.
	He was bubbling with excitement the whole time. Boy’s night, this was a first that he would repeat again and again in a heartbeat.

 

So, I will continue camping despite my polarized feelings towards it, because there is no replacing the beauty that comes from the simple idea of sleeping on the ground, in the wild, with the people that matter most to me. And, there is no replacing the sweet memories that come from it for everyone involved.

Tieger Tales

Tieg has always been a more “hands-on-need-to-know-where-he-is-at-all-times-or there-may-be-trouble-afoot” kind of kid. Now, I realize that most of this stems from his natural curiosity and desire to be independent- which I never want to break because I know it will serve him well in the future. However, as any busy person can understand, sometimes I forget this fact and the aftermath creates a great story. And by great, I mean sometimes traumatizing, sometimes sweet, and sometimes hilarious (in the far future when the reality of it fades a bit). So as not to forget these little gems, I have decided I would journalize them.

 

This first one I daresay is my favorite. And, I write this not to tout my own greatness, but out of the mouth of babes, right?! We were driving to the park one afternoon and front the distant back seat I hear Tieg chanting something over and over. What is he chanting you say? Well I will tell you. In a somewhat sing-songy tone, he was repeating “My mom is cool, my mom is cool.”

 

I need to preface that I did not teach him this. I actually think he got it from some PBS show. But, to be honest, I don’t care where he got it from because coming from him, I really felt cool and more importantly LOVED! Since then this has happened every so often unsolicited and it has the same effect on me as the first time I heard him chanting. I know someday he may want to walk 10 feet away from me because he will be embarrassed by his mom, but I will always know that in his young life he thought I was cool.

Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself…

I will probably make myself feel even sillier about this for having written it down, but sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. The other day Rya, Tieg and I were at Jump Zone for a little friend’s birthday party. Generally when I go to these things I see several other moms that I recognize from some Dance or Swim class, playgroup, story-time, etc. that we have been in previously. This party was no exception. And, even though they were there for a totally different party, I saw several other moms I recognized. Not too much out of the ordinary.

 

After a bit of chasing Tieg around the maze of blowup slides, we headed to the water fountain to hydrate. Just as we turned the corner, I saw Cody walk in the door. We waved him down and he headed our way. Just behind him entered a dad carrying a cute little boy just older than Tieg. Now, recognizing a mom is no big shock but a dad, I don’t usually rub elbows with a whole lot of them. But, this guy looked SO FAMILIAR! I was racking my brain, and trying not to stare as I tried to pin him to a playgroup or class of some sort. He stopped a few paces away, seemingly waiting for the water fountain. I inadvertently stole a few more glances trying to place his face, irritated and a little embarrassed I couldn't figure out how I knew him.

 

My stolen glances must not have been as incognito as I thought, because he took a step towards us and said, “Hey, how’s it going?” I still hadn’t pinned him to a group. But, apparently he knew who I was. My brain scrambled in the last couple seconds I had to try to identify him, but to no avail. I decided to take the direct approach and admit my ignorance. “I know I know you, but I can’t remember from where…” He smiled just slightly and replied very coolly, “I’m your OB.”

 

Yes, that’s right. My OB-GYN. I didn’t recognize the man that birthed my son. Ohhh, you can imagine how I stumbled to make a satisfactory excuse for my oversight. I’m sure they were all fairly lame attempts. *HAHAHAH* (In my defense, it had been almost 2 years since I had seen him, and he wasn’t in his scrubs—see there’s some of those lame attempts).

 

Well, obviously, Cody got to witness my complete comical humiliation which would make for a good laugh session later. But, he quickly picked up the pieces of that slightly uncomfortable situation and very smoothly added, “Hey, well I guess we’ll be seeing you in a few weeks then,” (that won’t be awkward at all- haha). So, I vow, even though I didn’t recognize him as the man that birthed my second child, I won’t be so absent-minded when he births our 3rd.  (making his/her appearance in August)

 

I blame the whole thing on pregnancy brain.