The Skidmore Brood

And so starts 2012

2012-01-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

So much for posting something every week. I'll keep trying.

Picking up where I left off - Christmas day. One of the good things about being a public accountant is that I don't have to work on or usually near major holidays; specifically, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. On the flip side, I cannot take any breaks/holidays from mid January through the end of April, but it is a very good trade - I'd much rather work presidents' day than Christmas day. So, consistent with prior years, I took the entire week after Christmas off and a day or two the week after that. We took that opportunity to do a few home upgrades (paint Isaac's room), do some organizing, goal setting and some relaxing. The week is far enough in the past that I have forgotten many of the details. What I do remember is that it was very nice to be home for several weeks in a row with no travel.

Sadly, that has come to an end. I write this from a hotel room in Evanston, Wyoming. The travel season has begun. For the third year in a row I celebrated my birthday in this small town. This year I enjoyed a sub par Chinese dinner, watched some CNN, played some Words With Friends and fell asleep in my hotel room with the TV on. Knowing well in advance that this is where I would be this week, we celebrated my birthday with a dinner at my parents' home on Sunday night with my brother Allen's family and Clint Burgess' family. It was nice, the kids always have a great time with their cousins. Sam was very excited to give me the gift that he helped mom pick out. He couldn't wait for me to open it and was quite unable to keep it a secret. He told me that he wouldn't tell me what my present was, but minutes later he revealed that it was a movie, but he then stipulated that he wouldn't tell me which one, but that he knew that I would be so happy with it. Just that week I had begun to plagiarize portions of the Indiana Jones movies during story time. So, I put two and two together. We opened it on Saturday night and had a movie night with the two older boys. They asked questions throughout the entire movie: "What's Indiana doing dad?", "Why is that bad guy trying to get him dad?", "Why are the eating monkey brains dad?" and so on and so on. Funny kids. They are a blast.

And so starts 2012.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

I'll return back to update the advent daily Christmas events from where I left off later, but for now I want to document the highlights and some elect details from the days leading up to and the actual day of Christmas. Technically Christmas day isn't quite over, but since it is really all about the kids, essentially it is because they are now asleep.

What made Christmas 2011 unique, probably the most significant detail was the fact that Amanda's parents drove up from Pocatello a few days prior and were here for the whole event. This was even more significant because, as far as I know, they have never spent a Christmas outside of Pocatello, where all their immediate family (with the sole exception of Amanda) and a large portion of their extended family reside. I hope they enjoyed themselves - they wouldn't say anything if they didn't, so we may never know.

Christmas Eve
This is the third year that we have celebrated a Christmas in Spokane as residents of Spokane. In each of the previous two years we spent Christmas eve with my parents and my brother's family (Allen and Shannan), including their 4 kids. Their family is much more particular about Christmas traditions than I am or Amanda is and they have quite a few more Christmas' under their belt, so in each of the past two years we have really just followed their lead; however, this year was much different. Because Amanda's parents were here, we decided to have our own Christmas eve "program" and dinner. I threw together a super basic turkey dinner, consisting of only turkey breast (roast), mashed potatoes and gravy, StoveTop Stuffing and store-bought rolls. After cleaning up we put forth our best attempt to act out Luke 2 (and a little from Matthew 2). Charlie selected the role of angel, Amanda was Mary and Sam was a wise man from the east. Grandpa Roger was pegged as a shepherd, Mister Incredible (Sam's Build-a-bear teddy bear) was the baby Jesus, I was the narrator/reader and Isaac simply roamed the stage. Using a rocking horse, a stuffed Aflac duck and an Eastern Eagle stuffed toy we set a manger scene. We employed several blankets, sheets, belts and other items to dress the boys up. They were quite excited. Knowing well in advance of his chosen role, Sam had prepared gold, frankincense and myrh to gift to the baby Jesus and a star, which he hung from the mantel using a long piece of Scotch tape. It took no more than 5 minutes to act it out, but the kids were absolutely great. Charlie smiled big as he repeated the words of the angel. Sam peacefully placed the three gifts on baby Jesus as he knelt in front of him. Whether any of it was internalized and the real meaning of Christmas understood, we will have to wait and see, but it was sure fun. We followed that up with a reading of 'T'was the Night Before Christmas', read by Grandpa Roger. We then opened one gift each, which is, has been and will always be a new pair of pajamas. For whatever reason, I think that Amanda and I thought that those things would take the remainder of the evening, however they did not. So, as Grandpa finished reading the closing words "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" the clock was barely showing 7pm. Too early to put them to bed, so we riffed it a bit and put in a movie - A Muppets Christmas Carol. We had convinced Sam that we should leave two creme puffs and a class of Root beer out for Santa rather than the traditional cookies and milk. This way Santa would remember our house and would look forward to coming back next year. Also, earlier in the day, on his own accord, Sam declared that he would not only leave out treats for Santa but that he would also leave Santa a note, thanking him for the presents. So after the movie ended we put out the treats and note and put the two older boys to bed (Isaac had gone down during the movie). We cracked the laundry room window and while I improvised yet another bedtime story Amanda jingled some bells from just outside the window, pretending the bells were from Santa's sleigh. The boys were quite excited and quickly fell asleep.

Christmas Day
We have settled into to the "tradition" of leaving the Santa gifts out - unwrapped - for each child. This year those gifts included the following:

For Sam - a 16" x 16" Lego sheet and a 3 in 1 Lego set

For Charlie - an apron (made by Amanda) and some cooking utensils - Charlie is our little helper in the kitchen. You cannot begin a baking project without Charlie pushing a chair up to join the fun.

For Isaac - a play grocery cart and a push toy

For all - a race car Trio set, put together by me the night before.

Given the floor plan of our home and the fact that the kids were sleeping in the master bedroom (Grandpa and Grandma were in Sam and Charlie's room), Amanda had the boys wait in the bathroom until the grandparents were awake before entering the living room to see what Santa brought. They didn't seem to mind as they were playing iPhone games. Finally the moment came, the kids ran in to see what Santa had brought. Although they loved their Santa gifts, they seemed much more excited to dig into the stockings. Charlie was very amusing to watch. He individually showed me, Amanda, Grandpa Roger and Grandma Maryanne each item that he pulled out of the stocking. It took him much more time to get through his stocking that it did Sam. After that we had a big breakfast, cleaned up and took off to attend sacrament meeting at my parents' ward (because it met at 11am and ours didn't meet until 1pm). We planned on waiting until after church to open all of the other presents, so once was returned home we opened presents. Trying to maintain any sense of order while a 3 and 5 year old worked through two very large stacks of gifts was quite difficult. This will probably be remembered as "the Lego" Christmas as there were several Lego sets and related gifts. Papa and DeeDee (my parents) joined us at about 2:30 with another stack of gifts. We had to pull the kids away from putting together the Lego sets to open the new wave of gifts. Thank goodness for grandparents, otherwise our children's loot would have been only a fraction of what actually was. Amanda gave me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in Russian and a season of DVDs of one of my favorite TV series. I gave her a new set of scriptures and a kitchen scale. I love that she gave me things that were not on my list (my mother-in-law requires a Christmas gift wish list from me each year, usually in mid-November, otherwise I wouldn't make a list). She gave me things that she knew I would enjoy and she exceeded any expectations.

We finished up the evening with dinner with both sets of grandparents. Beef stroganoff, a forever favorite. We visited a bit before Papa and DeeDee went on to Allen and Shannan's.

I sit here now feeling extremely blessed. Blessed to be surrounded by caring family members. Blessed financially. Blessed with healthy, happy children. Blessed with a loving wife. Blessed with a knowledge of and testimony of our Savour Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Tonight, as I lay sandwiched between Sam and Charlie as they dozed off to sleep, I felt so full of love for them. To a degree that I would have never thought I could have ever been capable. I guess fatherhood does that to you - expands and deepens ones ability to love another human being. Perhaps its part due to the season. Nonetheless, I adore my three boys. It was a blast to see them bask in the Christmas spirit and excitement and I look forward to many more.

The Magic of Christmas

2011-12-08T22:58:00.000-08:00

This is certainly a fun time of the year. This Christmas season is really the first season that one of our children seems to remember the previous Christmans and, consequently, has some expectations. Specifically, this child is Sam. He is 5 now and his memory is getting better. It probably also helps that we are doing Christmas in our home for the second straight year, so it looks and feels much like last year (Christmas 2009 was spent in Pocatello and we were staying in a hotel room). We are having fun with it and are trying to generate as much excitement and wonder as possible. The primary catalyst has been the advent calendar.

We were given an advent calendar by my sister-in-law a few years back. We tried it out last year but were not super dilligent and it really wasn't catching on, so we didn't get through the full 25 days. Total 180 this year. Each day the kids get up and pull out that days advent token and note. The note contains the description of the holiday-related activity that they get to do that day. It has been fun to see the light go on in Sam's mind. If we are not awake when he gets up, he will bring the note to us in bed to have us read it. So far this is what the first notes for the first 8 days have said:

Day 1 - "It's the first day of December, as you might know. So, tonight we'll start it off with a fun show. We'll make popcorn and have lots of fun, but first we must get all of our work done."

Day 2 - "Santa is busy and needs all your wishes. Get your list to him, but don't ask for fishes! Put it in an envelope and mail it out, so be on your best behavior and better not pout."

Day 3 - "It's Saturday, and time to pick out our tree. Let's pick out a big one and then you will see. Decorating with goldfish and legos will be all kinds of wrong. Let's put on the ornaments...it won't take long!"

Day 4 - "Today we'll go to church and we'll learn a lot. Hopefully, you won't have to sit on a pot. Then we'll help decorate another tree. Papa and DeeDee's house is where it will be."

Day 5 - "The trees are decorated and look so very cool. We did it ourselves without even a tool! Time to get your very own ornament today. Does that sound good, what do you say? You get to pick whatever you think. Hopefully, ou don't choose anything pink."

Day 6 - "We'll have some fun and do some crafts. It'll be lost of fun and we'll have some laughs. We'll be holly, jolly and merry. You make some Christmas trees, and I'll make a fairy.

Day 7 - "We've got some presents under the tree, but daddy needs one as you can see. Let's pick out some good ones and wrap them tight. I need all your help to get it just right.

Day 8 - "When it gets dark, and it's bedtime for the sun, we'll put on a movie and it'll be fun. Get on your pajamas and turn out the light. Sit very quietly and better not bite."

Amanda is bearing the brunt of this as I had to travel this past week and will travel agagin next week. Day one we popped popcorn, fried up some french fries and watched "A Muppets Christmas Carol". It was a huge hit. Picking out the Christmas tree was fun. We had debated the idea of going to a tree farm, hiking around until found the tree, cuting it down, lugging it back, yadda yadda; but, more efficient minds prevailed and we swung the minivan by a tree-kiosk in the parking lot of the former Alberstons and had it back to the house in 45 minutes. Isaac napped while Sam and Charlie helped us decorate. A few ornaments didn't survive the boys' enthusiasm, but the majority made it on the tree. I am excited about some of the other things coming up.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

Time for a quick recap of the events surrounding Thanksgiving 2011.

We stayed in Spokane for the week of Thanksgiving. Uncle George, who was the only out-of-Spokane Skidmore who came to town for the holiday, flew in on Tuesday night so we spent the vast majority of Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at Papa and DeeDee's house (Papa and DeeDee are the somewhat self-chosen grandparent names for my father and mother).

Someone let a bug into the house

We should have known something was up when Sam fell asleep at the foot of DeeDee's couch on Wednesday in the early evening. Up to that point I could have counted on one hand how many times Sam has fallen asleep while in the middle of something. To keep things simple and since we were coming back early the next day, we transferred the sleeping Sam to my parent's guest bedroom and took the rest of the kids home. At around 11pm, Isaac woke up crying, which in of itself, isn't strange; but this time the poor guy was covered in his own vomit. Between Amanda and me, we were up with him the rest of the night. The poor guy kept yaking even when there wasn't anything in him to yak. Sure enough, when we called the parents in the morning to see how Sam's night was, we were greeted with a similar report: violent, frequent vomiting. It was a tough way to start the holiday, but we were not alone. By the end of the weekend, the bug had gotten to a handful of other family members, usually knocking them out for a day or so.

The Uncle George Factor

Uncle George's presence, my older brother, adds a unique flavor to any family gathering. George has a rare combination of a truly gifted mind and a sincere desire to learn as much as he can. This probably isn't the time for a George Dee Skidmore bio, but a little background would help with illustrating what I mean. George has a PhD in physics. His focus coming out of school was nanotechnology, so I often describe him as a "nano-physicist", it sounds cooler than just "physicist". He received the inventor-of-the-year award in the state of Texas a few years back. He owns or contributed to the issuance of several patents. He is a very capable chef and he makes his own wine and cheese. And he is a skilled pianist. So George prepared a significant portion of the Thanksgiving meal, including the appetiser, which has become both somewhat of a tradition at holiday family meals and an experiment of form and presentation. This year's appetiser was titled "Cabbage Wreaths" (see picture) and consisted of several types of cabbage, prepared in different ways (boiled, cured, fried) and some other garnishments, including a beet shaped into a bow. Consistent with George's love of creating things from scratch, on Friday we pressed fresh apple cider from the apples picked from my father's trees. This is the second year that we have pressed cider at my parents house. After all was said and done, we generated 12.5 gallons of cider. The kids love to help in whatever way they can. The little kids like to throw the apple pieces into the device that shreds the apples and help to collect the juice from the press (however, they drink quite a bit of it as well in the process).

On Saturday night, George put on a 60-75 minute holiday piano concert which this year was hosted in my brother Allen's home on their newly acquired Steinway piano. This is the second year that George has put on such a concert on in Spokane; however, he has been doing this for several years at his home in Dallas.

Lastly, casual conversations with George around are vastly more interesting than your run of the mill type. First of all, they are much more factual as George will fact check, using his smart phone, as the conversation goes. There were several example of these throughout the week, one of which ended with my sister-in-law Shannan declaring "you are all a bunch of nerds" as she left the room after jolting awake after having dosed off during George's fairly technical explanation of three-way transistors and integrated circuits. I may not have adequately articulated it above, but George is never condescending or demeaning. I never feel dumb while I am around him. I am usually left feeling a new desire to know stuff and to better understand the world around me.

The Meal Itself

We (Amanda and I) provided a relish platter, pre-meal appetizer and Amanda's cheesecake, which has become a staple at Skidmore family holiday meals. As usual, we all went around the table telling what we were thankful for. Charlie was prompted by DeeDee to say that he was thankful for Papa and DeeDee's house and Sam volunteered on his own that he was thankful for starfish.

All in all a pleasant and memorable Thanksgiving. Happy to have spent it with family.

The Great Getaway of 2011

2011-11-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a two-week long business trip to the east coast. It was the last of the most recent string of out-of-town business trips and I am very happy to be home. There will be more out-of-town work in the future, but for now I get to enjoy a few weeks at home, including Thanksgiving week.

It was during this two-week east coast trip that Amanda and I took advantage of a Moss Adams company perk - for anybody that travels more than 75 nights a year, the company will pay for one round trip airfare for a spouse or significant other. We decided, months ago, that this past weekend would be the best opportunity to take advantage. We booked tickets for Amanda to fly out to Pittsburgh and made arrangements to have my parents watch Sam, Charlie and Isaac for three days (and three nights). Due to a medical issue, we had to make some last minute rearrangements and the three boys ended up staying with my brother's family - three days with their cousins, whom they absolutely adore. That was probably a better result. I don't think they missed us for even one minute, not even Isaac.

The weekend was great, exceeded my expectations. Other than a seating issue with a hostess at P.F. Changs, the weekend couldn't have been better. I had been over 2 years since we had spent a night away from our kids and the first since Isaac's arrival. Amanda needed a break; consequently, we did very little. The good thing about having a weekend away in Pittsburgh, as opposed to Paris, France or New York City, is that there really isn't a ton of stuff to do, comparatively. The Steelers were out of town, so the downtown area was quiet and uncrowded. We got a great hotel, right downtown, directly across from the two stadiums (Heinz field and PNC park) and within walking distance to almost everything downtown that was worth seeing. Although it was early November, the sun was out and the temperature hovered around 60 degrees. We slept in, took walks, did some shopping, overate at some great restaurants and had several, much needed, uninterrupted conversations. I was great to reconnect. We both became a bit sad as the departure time of Amanda's Monday morning flight neared, but reality could not be escaped.

We are very grateful for all those who made it possible for the getaway to happen: parents, sister-in-law, my employer, Delta, Marriott Hotels, the TSA. We are very blessed to be surrounded by family and friends. For the next getaway, I am not sure that Pittsburgh will be the first city on our list, but for the 2011 getaway, it was perfect.

It's been a while

2011-11-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling somewhat inspired by a fact that I recently learned about my mother. Apparently, for a period of time beginning shortly after parents were married (summer of '68, a year before Bryan Adams picked up his first real 6-string) my mother would write a weekly letter to her parents and in-laws. The key subject matter of the emails was the goings on of her family, with a significant focus on her children - my brothers and me. These letters were retained by my grandmother and are now being organized and bound in a book/binder by my mother. What a cool thing to have. The only thing that I have that is remotely similar to this are the letters that I sent to family during the two years that I spent as a missionary. Those missionary letters, coupled with a journal that I kept fairly well during that time, are priceless and I am happy that I have, at least, some of that period of time documented for future prosperity to enjoy. The thought that someone in the future (most likely a child or grandchild of mine) will want to spend their time reading about my life leaves me feeling kind of arrogant - often times even I find the details of my daily life quite unenlightening. However, I am very grateful that a life sketch, or mini autobiography was put together on my grandfather's (dad's dad) life. It has allowed me to learn about him in a way that I was not able to before. By the time I came of age, my grandparents had either already pass away or were well into their twilight years. The pictures are almost as fun as the text.

The thing is we don't communicate in even remotely the same way that our parents did (my parents are 70+). Letters were much more common. Long-distance calling was very costly and communication via computers didn't exist, in fact, during the time frame during which my mother was writing her letters, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs hadn't even begun to conceptualize the personal computer. Letters leave a great trail, are easy to document and retain. What is a good equivalent to that now? Personal emails? Text messages? Twitter postings? Facebook postings? I really don't think that I want my Facebook history to be used as my personal life history. Cell phones, VoIP, Skype and other facetime gadgets eliminate historical costs of long-distance calling, so we do that a bunch more, leaving less reason to write letters or email that would contain family history type communication that is retainable.

Long story short, I think that regular postings to a blog, like this one, could be a good way to communicate the goings on in the Skidmore family and, if retained, could serve as a make-shift family history. Consequently, I am going to make it a goal to post something weekly and I will encourage my wife to do the same (her excuse for not posting is that she is not a good writer, well neither am I, as evidenced above, but I am not going to let that be a deterrent). I suspect that I will look back at these years of my life with a great deal of fondness. Our boys are Sam, Charlie and Isaac are 5, 3 and 1, respectively. They are so much fun and are still so innocent and sweet, eager to learn, fascinated by new things and want to spend time with their dad. I hope that never changes, but I am sure that it will; but when the day comes when they begin to ask what they were like as kids, I hope to have some good answers for them and some documentation to back it up.

The Race

2010-05-26T21:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Chris and his brothers ran the Windermere Half Marathon. Of the five brothers, it was the first half marathon -- first race even -- for three of them. Chris was one of the three. He did amazingly well considering it was his first half marathon. He finished the race at 2 hours 17 minutes...and that's with straining a muscle around mile 4.

Sam and Charlie leaving the house to cheer daddy on.

Crossing the finish line.

Charlie posing with his Uncle Mike after the race.

All the brothers posing with their medals.

We had a great time having all the brothers in town. It was a fun and exhausting weekend and hopefully they'll do it again next year. I think Chris may have caught the bug as he's started training for the Pocatello Marathon in September. Wish him luck.

Playing Catch Up

2010-03-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been a while since I posted something new. Over four months. So, I guess this is my attempt at catching up on the happenings in the Skidmore household. Here goes nothing.

October

We celebrated Sam's 3rd birthday on October 13th. Our good friends the Melanchuks even drove over from Seattle to help us celebrate. Sam had a Bob the Builder party. I just happened to have a Super Saturday to attend that day, so Chris got stuck with all the decorations and set up. He did a great job.

Halloween also came and went. Sam was as you may have guessed Bob the Builder. Charlie was an elephant. And Chris claimed to be a "wealthy Mexican land owner." His words, not mine.

We were able to go trick-or-treating at Chris's office and then to our ward trunk-or-treat. We ended up using most of the candy the kids got at the office and the ward party to hand out to other kids. We were left with very little candy, so we think it worked out pretty well.

November
Thanksgiving happened. That's pretty much all I can say about that. We spent hours in the kitchen making food, ate it in 5 minutes, and felt stuffed for the rest of the day.

We did start potty training Sam that day. He is now officially potty trained. I know there are different motivational tools to use to get kids excited about the potty like a sticker chart and what not. None of those really did it for Sam. What got him was when we told him that when he went poo poo and pee pee in the toilet and then flushed it, it would go down the pipes, into the ocean and the fish and octopus would eat it. Yup that's what got him to go consistently. Whatever it takes. He now says funny things when he goes poo though. Things such as "mom let's look at my poo poo together" or "I went poo poo 'cause Jesus told me too." I love my child.

Earlier in the month, Chris and I took our first ever vacation away from the kids. We went on a Caribbean cruise. Ooh la la. Our stops included Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Caymans, and Cozumel.

It was very easy to tell the Europeans from the Americans. Speedos are just not a good look for anyone.

Haiti was okay. The people in the market were very aggressive when trying to get us to buy their stuff. It was kind of scary.

Jamaica was scary. I just didn't feel comfortable being there. Not sure why.

Caymans were awesome, other than when I got attacked by a wave and almost drowned, but I digress.

Cozumel was, well we didn't actually see Cozumel. We decided to take an excursion to the Mayan ruins in Tulum. The trip to Tulum started out with a torturous 40-minute boat ride to the mainland. The waters were so rough that the boat workers had to pass out barf bags to everyone. It's quite a site to see people passing their barf bags down the aisle to be thrown into the garbage. I managed to keep my breakfast down until the last 5 minutes of the trip. After that, it was very long bus ride to Tulum. It took about 3 hours to get there and we only spent about an hour and a half there. I think it was worth doing once, but I probably wouldn't do it again. The ruins were awesome though. I felt like we were seeing a part of Book of Mormon history.

December
We kicked off the Christmas season by going to the annual ward Christmas party. Of course Santa made a cameo. Sam did great sitting on his lap but was a bit shy. Charlie wanted nothing to do with the man in red.

We went to Pocatello this year for Christmas. We had our own little family Christmas at the hotel first, then Christmas with my family later in the day. We drove home to Spokane Christmas night and celebrated with Chris's family a couple of days later. Three Christmases...not too shabby. Of course, the boys got spoiled.

January & February
January and February have been survival months for us. Chris is in the thick of busy season and not home much. He was out of town every week starting the last week in January and then works most of the day on Saturday. But, we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sam became a Sunbeam this year. I can't believe it. A Sunbeam. A Sunbeam. He always comes out of class on Sunday saying something cute like "Mom, I have a spirit. Can you see it?"

He also started soccer and is taking a music class. (I think I signed him up mostly for my sanity.) He has done surprisingly well. It's been good prep for starting pre-school which he'll start in the fall. First a Sunbeam, next a pre-schooler. Where was I when he grew up so fast? Did I also mention that he can totally navigate the computer? I swear I'll be asking him for help when he's only 5.

Charlie also is now officially in the nursery. Hoorah! However, this means that I'm usually in the nursery....that whole separation anxiety thing. Him, not me. He also talks up a storm and repeats everything we say. I'm pretty sure he has a crush on Dora and Kai Lan and at any given time you can hear him saying "D, D, Dora." He loves to give kisses and hugs but he also knows how to put on a really good show thrashing about on the floor when he doesn't get his way. Gotta love the kid.

March
We decided two just wasn't enough, so we're adding another boy to our brood. He's due July 23, but based on my history, he'll be here sometime in August. Chris and I are very excited to be having another boy. My sister-in-law said we were just following the "Skidmore Probability Rule." 3 out of 4 of our kids will be boys. Chris has two brothers who both have 3 boys and 1 girl.

When we ask Sam what we should name his little brother, he gives us answers like Applebee or Garbage Can. They roll right off the tongue, don't they. At any rate, we are very happy and can't wait to meet our little Garbage Can.

As Biz Markie puts it, I'll see ya all later. Bye bye.

Happy Birthday Sam

2009-10-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Sam's third birthday. I can't believe he's already three years old. Where has the time gone? He's such a fun little guy and we are very lucky and thankful to have him as a part of our family. Since Chris is out of town this week, we are waiting until this weekend to celebrate Sam's big day. We are having a Bob the Builder birthday bash. ( I love alliteration.) Good times are going to be had. We did have a little shindig when we were in Pocatello, but I'll post about it all later.

Until then, happy birthday buddy. We love you.

Sam's Birth Day

The First Birthday

Celebrating his second with Uncle Mike and Aunt Jennie

Officially three years old

Puzzling or the Puzzle King

2009-09-25T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sam is really into puzzles. Really into puzzles. He just loves doing them and he's really good at them. He has puzzles that range from 12 pieces to 100 pieces and he can do them all...by himself. I love watching him put them together, seeing his little mind work. Lest you think I'm one of those mothers who thinks her child is a genius and can do no wrong, I can guarantee you I am not. I can say with certainty that he is very good at puzzles and probably a lot better at them than most kids his age. However, this is the same kid who likes to pee on his hands in the bathtub. It all evens out. Here are some highlights of things Sam has learned or said. Most of the "bad" stuff he learned from us, his parents, so what does that say?

A: Sam, what is Walmart?
S: Icky Gross
A: That's right. And what is Target?
S: Wicked awesome.

C: Where does food go when you put it into your mouth?
S: Down my belly and into my stinky diaper.

A: That pizza was crap
S: It wasn't crap, it was awesome.

A: Chris, that's because you're stupid.
S: Daddy's not stupid, he's funny.

C:(Listening to music in the car) Hey, let's rock out.
S: No daddy don't. It's dangerous to rock out.

C: Where are gonna go to school?
S: Hmmm, BY Woo.

C: Did you have a bad dream last night?
S: Yes
C: What was it about?
S: Eyeballs.

Chris's Mom: Let's get your shoes on so we can go outside.
S: I don't need shoes, I have my feet.

S: (After the opening hymn at church) That was a good song.

S: (Eating a breadstick in the car) I'm going to eat it...all...gone.

We've also done nice things, like telling him about the temple. We told him that you go there to get married and be baptized for dead people. The first time he saw the temple he said "I want to get married." Now he will just randomly start telling anyone that "we go to the temple to get married and baptize by proxy."

Oh, how I love my Sam.

The Ties That Bind

2009-09-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

The Skidmore family had our first (well, first for me anyway) family reunion. This was the first time the entire family has been together since Chris's parents returned from their mission in 2008. We stayed in a cabin in Hayden Lake and basically swam, skied, tubed, kayaked, floated....you get the point....the whole time.

Here are some of the highlights and the not-so-much of a highlight of the trip:

I like to refer to the cabin we stayed in as the "cabin that time forgot." It was really old and nothing had been updated since, well, ever. There was a huge flat screen tv though, so I guess that counts for something. My brother-in-law referred to the room Chris and I were sleeping in as the Suite. We all had a pretty good laugh about it since it was the furthest thing from it. I think the thing that classified it as a suite was the fact that we had our own bathroom, even if there was no shower.

The water had the nastiest smell. Not the lake water, but the water in the house. I couldn't be close to it when it was running. I had to hold my breath when I washed my hands because it gagged me that much. I spent a lot of time not washing dishes, so I guess it worked out for me huh?

Being that I'm terrified of the water and can't really swim, I didn't spend much time in it. I went for boat rides a few times and I even braved tubing, but that was the extent of my water adventures. I wasn't alone in my fears though. My three year old son is afraid of the water too so at least I had someone to keep me company.

Be prepared, there are a lot of pictures.

Proof that I actually got on the tube.

Mike and Charlie chillin'

The boys posing for a picture

Shane getting ready to go for a swim

George Dee cookin up some pizza. He was our chef for the week. All the meals were delish.

Mike and George Dee made homemade root beer for the event.

Capping the bottles.

George Dee and Sam painting his model plane.

Ryan taking a nap on the dock.

Charlie's ready for his first boat ride.

The gang enjoying some fresh homemade root beer (Mike, RiLee, George Dee, Jack, Max).

The adults playing Speed Scrabble. I was relieved to be playing with a teammate. That game stresses me out.

A view of our luxurious cabin.

Our view.

The kids just hanging out on the dock.

Charlie hanging out in the tube. He's really enjoying it.

The boys posing in the reunion tees that Mike designed and the shorts that DeeDee made for all the grandkids.

Sam walking down to the dock to throw rocks in the water.

A rare picture of Sam...you can actually see his face and he's smiling, kinda.

Max and Jack going for a ride.

Sam going for his first boat ride.

Chris going for his first ski ride of the day.

Hamming it up for the camera.

The kids decorated cookies that spelled their names. These letters are S-A-M. That spells Sam, in case you were wondering.

Doing some frosting.

Charlie's cookies.

Some more crafting...decorating visors. This was a big hit with all the kids.

Charlie showing off his visor and loving that Aunt Jennie is holding him.

Shane, Henry and Sam watching a movie.

Shannan and Shane taking a break after a long week. This picture says it all.

THE END

Where Has My Baby Gone?

2009-08-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

Charlie turned one on Friday. I can't believe my baby is one already. He's growing up too fast, but I'm sure every mother feels that way. I must admit I get baby fever every once in a while and think I want to hurry and have another one. It doesn't help that every woman in my ward who is of reproducing age is prego. But then I have days where both kids are crying and fighting and whining at my feet and suddenly I'm okay with having just two kids.

Anywho, here are some of Charlie's current stats.

He's walking. I guess technically one could say he started walking at 11 months, but does it really count if it's just a few steps here and there? He has improved a lot though and before long he's going to have some mad walking skills.

He has six teeth: four on top, two on bottom. His teeth are his best feature or maybe should I say his most distinguishing feature. The top two front teeth are big and have a huge gap in between. I've gotten used to them and think they are quite cute, but I completely understand why the world might not think so. Is it horrible to say that sometimes I think he has a face that only a mother could love?

He's scared of the water. That little fear is courtesy of his big brother pushing him around in the tub. Thanks Sam! Bath time wouldn't be the same without you.

He wants to do everything Sam is doing, which drives Sam crazy....which in turn drives me crazy.

He LOVES cars. This kid is all boy. He will sit and push cars around all day if I let him. He will even make vroom vroom noises.

He is a very cuddly kid...he just loves to cuddle. I love that he loves it. Also, he will give kisses. It's a wide open mouth kiss so be prepared if he tries to kiss you.

Anyway, onto the birthday festivities. We were in Seattle the day of his birthday, so there wasn't much celebration. However, Chris's brother Mike took us to lunch at Red Mill Burgers. I might add that the food was oh so good. I'm drooling just thinking about it. After that we headed over to St. Edward Park in Kenmore. This was the coolest playground ever. Sam ran around like a crazy man and pointed out all pictures of fish to me 15 times. Charlie, in typical fashion, did some snackin on the sand. Later that evening, we headed over to our friend's house for a barbecue. We had a good 'ol spread of hot dogs and chips. Let me just add that they were all-beef hot dogs and we had two types of chips. Jealous much? Les baked a cake for the occasion, which she didn't think was that great, but I must disagree. It was delish. They even got Charlie a present. It was some ball stack up toys. We whipped those suckers out Saturday and even though Charlie thinks they're pretty fun, (he gets all giggly when the balls roll around) I must confess that I had as much fun playing with them as Charlie did. Thanks Craig and Les.

Sunday was the "real" day of celebration, if you can even call it that. We had dinner and Chuck thought he was a big enough kid to eat a whole corn-on-the-cob.

Then we busted out the cake and presents. You know I made a chocolate cake for Sam and Charlie's first birthdays just so they get extra messy eating, and then we can all go "ooh aww, look at how cute he is." Everyone else got cupcakes.

At first he just sort of picked at it, but then Chris's dad gave him a few bites and he soon figured out that this was good stuff and just dug right in.

After a quick rinse in the tub, we opened presents. Sam is really into opening presents, so he got to do it. We got him a monster truck and a book about trucks. Chris' parents got him an outfit and a piano. Based on Sam and Charlie's reactions to the toys, I think they liked them. They both fought over the truck and Sam claimed it was his. He then threw the book in Charlie's face when Charlie was playing with the truck. All in all I'd say it was a successful evening, but I still can't believe I have a one year old. Sam will be three soon and then I think I really will be in shock.

The City of Fountains

2009-06-24T00:37:00.000-07:00

Chris's job entails a fair amount of travel. The niche he works with audits government-assisted telephone companies.....which means when he does travel, it's usually to someplace rural or at least not very urban. There is on occasion though that he does get to go bigger cities. Recently, he was sent to Kansas City. I had never been to KC or the Midwest for that matter, so I decided that the kids and I were going to tag along for the trip.

There are a few things about KC that caught my attention. First, fountains. Fountains, fountains everywhere. I guess that's why it's known as the city of fountains. I didn't know that before we stayed there. Second, Midwesterners are the nicest people. Ever. Everyone is just so pleasant and friendly. Third, oh my gosh the humidity. I felt like it was sticking to me. I don't know how to describe it, but it was just thick and almost suffocating. Fourth, there are frozen custard shops everywhere. I think it's one of my new loves. Fifth, they have the biggest Wal-mart I have ever seen. Not only that, but we went there at 11 at night and it was packed. (I did get a wicked awesome Missouri tee for only five bones, holla.) Lastly, maybe I'm just used to being in Seattle, but people there cross the street whenever they want and they don't use the sidewalk or wait for the signal to cross. It was so wierd to see that. I guess Seattlites are just very obedient people.

Anywho, here's the breakdown of the week.

Day 1 -- Sunday

We arrive. The two flights went very smoothly considering we had two kids with us. I discover the humidity and think I'm going to die, but we forge on. We checked into the super awesome Marriott downtown and have a great view 'cause we're on the 19th floor. Sam and I take a nap while Chris does some re-con work and finds some places for us to hang out. Later, we go to Legends which is sort of an outdoor shopping mall. And guess what, it has a fountain. Sam just ran around this thing and played until he was completely soaked. The bad news was that we still had to go to the grocery store and pick up some stuff, but Sam didn't have any clothes, so we put one of my tanks on him. He seriously looked like some backwoods white trash hick.
Day 2 -- Monday

One thing I should note here is that KC is a very family-friendly town and has lots of FREE stuff to do. I took Sam to the Crowne Center, which again is just another mall really. There was a Lego exhibit there, and I cannot believe some of the things that were built with Legos. They were all put together by this artist named Nathan Sawaya. Next, we went to a place called Kaleidoscope. It's a place for kids to go "create". There's painting and stickers and coloring. There are so many artsy things to do there. Unfortunately, Sam's not quite into that stuff yet, so it wasn't completely successful. However, there was a fountain across the street, so that's where we headed. Sam ran around like a crazy man. Charlie was okay being a spectator. One girl came up to me and informed me that the reason the tiles were yellow is because people peed on them. Thanks! I'll be sure to let me little boy run around barefoot a little more on the pee-stained tiles.
Day 3 -- Tuesday

We got to stay in all day. It was pouring sheets of rain with thunder and lighting that lit up the whole sky. I wasn't about to go anywhere. But, we did get to pay $15 for a pay-per-view movie. Lucky. (I had to do something to keep the kids entertained.) However, by the time Chris got back from work, the floods had let up and we went back to Legends and ate at the coolest dinosaur restaurant. Sam played in the fountain again, got soaked, yada yada yada.

Day 4 -- Wednesday

The boys and I headed to Science City. This place had three levels of stuff to do. I was even having a fun time looking at everything and exploring. Usually I'm looking at the clock wondering if we've been there long enough and wanting to leave. So a good time was had by all. Later that night, we headed over to Liberty to get a look at Liberty Jail, or at least the replica of it. It wasn't the most pleasant visit as the boys were very restless and the sister missionary who was giving the tour apparently thought that anything above a whisper would scare away the spirit. I don't think I heard a word she said, but at least we got to see it I guess.

Day 5 -- Thursday

The kids and I crossed the border over into Kansas and went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead. This place was amazing. First of all, it was totally free to get in. Second, there was so much to do. We spent well over two hours there and still didn't see everything. The first thing we did was feed the goats. Sam probably would have stayed there all day if I hadn't dragged him away. The best part of it though was that for only $1, you can feed a bottle to a baby goat. I think this was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Sam, again, had a blast. I think he was trying to make sure every single goat got a chance to eat because if a goat was sucking on the bottle for too long, he'd yank it out and find another goat to feed. Of all the time we spent in KC, this was my absolute favorite thing. That night we went out for some famous KC barbecue at Gates restaurant. Sooo good. Enough said.

Day 6 -- Friday

We went to a KC Royals game. We saw the first inning. The rest of the time was spent at the playground that was recently built there. It had miniature golf, batting cages, 40-yard dash, mini-baseball field, a play area, and yep you guessed it, a fountain. Sam was too little to do most of the stuff so he ran between the playground and getting soaked in the fountain. Chris has a friend who lives there, so he met up with us at the game and brought his kids, Cooper and Gunner, with him. After the game, there was a fireworks show. The kids, of course, just ate their popcorn and watched with astonishment. Charlie has yet to appreciate the coolness of pyrotechnics. At least he's been prepped for the Fourth of July.

Day 7 -- Saturday

We spent the day in Independence and visited the Mormon visitor's center there as well at the Community of Christ Temple or the RLDS Temple.

We also made a quick visit to the City Market, but most of the vendors were closing up shop by the time we got there. It was still fun to wander around anyway. Also, a short stop at the park so the boys could run around for a while.

That night we hopped a flight home to Spokane. The first flight was not so pleasant. It was crowded, cramped and we were all cranky. But, the second flight was great. Sam watched a movie that lasted most of the flight and Chuck was a happy smiling baby the entire time. I think we got very lucky, or our children are getting used to traveling

...And He's Single

2009-05-11T21:45:00.000-07:00

The stats are in ladies. Yes, I'm talking to you Amelia, Abby and Lily. You better strike now while the iron's hot 'cause this hunka hunka burnin love won't stay single for long.

If you like an average sized guy, you are in luck. Weighing in at a whopping 20lbs and 28 inches long, he's just the right size. And with an 18 1/2 in. head circumference, his head is proportionate to his body. No bobble heads here.

And just look at that profile ladies. It shows off how nicely rounded his cheeks are. Lots of pinchability on those suckers. Pinch away ladies, pinch away.

His pastimes include annoying his brother, pulling himself up on furniture and walking along it, perfecting his army crawl, babbling, clapping his hands, and as of late, crying himself to sleep. He's a mature man, with mature tastes. Finger foods is what pleases this guy. Baby food is so two months ago.

Sporting a fauxhawk and old man sideburns makes him simply irresistible. Catch him while you still have the chance.

2009-05-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Ummm....Hello?

I know it's been a while, but in my defense, I'm lazy. So, to the three readers I have, you should know I'm lazy and have very low expectations of me.

That being said, I thought I'd catch up on the last couple of months. It seems we've become quite the nomadic family traveling here and there and everywhere lately. (Maybe I should have used traveling as my excuse for not blogging?) Anyway, in March I took the boys to visit my family in Pocatello while Chris continued to trudge through busy season. He happened to be in North Dakota the same time all the flooding and evacuations were happening. Lucky. Sam got to spend some quality time with his cousin Carter, and it was awesome. It seemed almost every minute of every day was like WWE Smackdown with those two. One minute Sam would be sitting on top of Carter just pinning him down. The next minute Carter has Sam in a headlock. Despite their odd way of showing affection to one another, they did manage to have some good times together. We spent a lot of time at the mall, at Wal-Mart, and eating ice cream. It don't get any better than that.

Testing gravity

Naked Cooking

Four kids, one bath...not such a good idea

One of the "nice" moments before it turns ugly.

Perusing the aisles of Wally World

"wear my sunglasses at night, so I can, so I can...."

Chris flew from North Dakota to Pocatello and we drove back to Spokane together. We got caught in the worst snow storm. I didn't get any pictures, but if you close your eyes and picture white, that's what it was like. Luckily for us, we were in a caravan since everyone was going so slow. When we drive to and from Pocatello/Spokane, we usually do it in 3 segments. Pocatello to Dillon, MT; Dillon to Missoula; and Missoula to Spokane. Each segment takes about 3 hours. It took us 7 hours to get from Pocatello to Dillon. The funny thing is that when we got to Dillon, the weather cleared up and the roads were totally fine. So, like the fools we are, we decided to keep going. And the weather turned bad again. We ended up stopping in Butte to stay the night. Oh good times, good times. I wish I could do that all over again with two little kids.

Moving on.

Chris was scheduled to be on a client the first week of April in Eatonville, WA. The boys and I decided to tag along. It was a tiny town, about 20 minutes from Yelm, if anyone knows where that is. The whole "city" downtown area is about two blocks. We walked everywhere we went. It was so much fun though. The boys and I went to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and the Northwest Trek in Eatonville.

After spending a week at home, we headed off to our old stomping grounds of Seattle. Sniff. I miss it already. Anywho, we spent many a day at the parks, zoo, and the Interurban trail. We did go to a Sounders game and had a blast. The only thing I know about soccer is that they run a lot and hardly score, so it says a lot if I had a good time. We dragged Chris's brother and his wife with us too. Before the game though, had dinner at Ivars downtown. Sam was beside himself excited by all the birds. I think I managed to get a few bites of my food in before Sam fed it all to them.

I think that's it for now. We're home for two weeks and then off to Pocatello for a week. We are such jetsetters.

For Jill

2009-02-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law has been asking for family pictures, and I have yet to send her any. I'm working on getting an appointment for some professional pictures taken, but in the meantime, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Sam dressing up for the cold deep snow outside.

Posing for the camera.

Charlie eating carrots. This kid will eat anything!

Showing off his chubby legs. I love how fat they are.

Trying to get the camera.

Charlie just hanging out with his Uncle Mike.

Just trying to get those cute feet into his mouth.

I think Sam almost looks like that kid from A Christmas Story. Some people say he looks like Dennis the Menace.

This was taken on Christmas Eve. Sam decided to bring me every present from under the tree.

Opening presents on Christmas Day.

Gettin' Busy

2009-01-06T23:02:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over, the Skidmore family is entering into a period of time that is commonly referred to as the "Busy Season". I know what you're thinking, and I wish you were correct; unfortunately, it aint not that kind of gettin' busy.

Rather it's the time of year when I and my fellow CPAs retire to our nerderies only to emerge in late April, pale, malnurished, but no longer busy. It is the time of year when we call to action our 10-key skills and our spreadsheet skills and are forced to interact with other humans.

Some accountants refer to this time of year as the "harvest season", but those accountants are usually the accounting firm owners. For them this time is, in fact, the period of time when they bring in around 75% of their annual income. That is great for them, I am very happy for them. But for me and others like me, this is the time of year when our hourly rate gets dangerously close to that of minimum wage: we get paid the same, but work twice as much. This is the time of year when free time is sparce and usually reserved for laundry, paying bills, conjugal visits and other maintenance related tasks. This is the time of year when my caffeinated soda consumption spikes and shut-eye time dives. This is the time of year when my wife wonders (more often than she normally does), why she married a CPA.

We take some solice in that January is nearly over and only 3 months remain of this craziness. In the meantime we are going to try to pace ourselves and get through this busy season and, when we can, enjoy a few quite moments. Who knows...maybe in a few more years we can begin to call this time our harvest season, but until then its all about just getting busy.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

This is what is out of our window right now. I think it's close to two feet of snow. The snow on the deck comes up to my mid-thigh. I don't remember the last time I've seen weather like this. The really funny thing is that Chris is in Alaska right now. He had to go to Alaska of all places to get to better weather! He's supposed to come home tonight, but we'll see if he makes it. I'm completely unprepared for weather like this either. I'm used to the rainy winters of Seattle. Why did I ever complain about the rain? I need to buy some snow boots and gloves. If I can get out of our driveway, I'll have to do that.

Big Baby Buddha

2008-12-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today was a big day for Charlie. He had his 4-month check up which also means he had to have some shots. I was a nervous wreck because I thought for sure he'd cry and cry. On the contrary, he cried for just a few seconds and was done. So here are his stats:

Weight: 18lbs 2oz (+95%)

Height: 25in (50%)

Charlie is rolling over like crazy, drools all over, and loves putting anything in his mouth. I gave him a candy cane the other day to play with, and somehow he got the packaging off. He was going at that thing like there was no tomorrow. So, he's had his first taste of sugar, and me thinks he liiiikes it.

I can't decide if Charlie reminds me of a little Buddha or Jabba the Hut in this picture. I also love his little man boobs.

Fun For The Whole Family

2008-12-13T11:51:00.001-08:00

Sam always likes having someone play with him. He will literally grab shirt, pants or even a toe and say "play" or "play cars." He wants to include everyone during play time. This is especially true when it comes to playing with stickers. I know there are lots of types of therapy, such as physical therapy, retail therapy, and the ever popular shock therapy. For Sam, it seems to be sticker therapy and everyone gets to be the lucky recipients of his therapy. Hence the proof below.

Turkeys, Travel, and Tender Moments

2008-12-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

This year we traveled to my home state of Idaho for Thanksgiving. It has been six years since I've been with my family for Thanksgiving, so it was fun to be able to do that with them this year. Our travel started the Monday before Thanksgiving. Sam, Chuck and I flew on the "big plane" from Spokane to Boise all by ourselves. It was only a one-hour flight, but I was very anxious about it. The last time I flew alone with a child, Sam was 5 months old and had an allergic reaction. So, he screamed at the top of his lungs and scratched himself bloody for the last half hour of the flight, and I kept getting "the look" from people. This time was much better with only one small glitch. Our plane was a little puddle-jumper really so we had to walk out to the plane. When Sam saw it and heard the roar of the engines, he freaked out. He started crying and trying to go back inside. Imagine me trying to pick up a screaming fighting kid while the Chunk is strapped in the Bjorn and I have two bags hanging on my shoulder. It wasn't pretty. When we finally did get on the plane, Sam refused to sit down so I could buckle him in. It was actually quite funny because I had to literally knock his legs out from under him to get him to sit down. Ah the memories!

Luckily, it was smooth sailing from there on out. Sam played with his stickers for the hour long trip and Charlie slept. The 3-hour trip from Boise to Pocatello was even better as we all slept the whole way there.

When we got to Pocatello, we did a lot of hanging out. I loved it...you can't get more relaxed than that. My sister has a son, Carter, who is just 2 months younger than Sam. So, they had a great time playing together whether it was at the park, watching Wall-E, or sharing their food. They practically take care of themselves when they're together. We just have to check on them once in a while to make sure they're still alive. My sister also has an 8-month old daughter Avery. She is so tiny, and at only 4 months old, I'm sure Charlie could take her. He already outweighs her.

I decided to make a cherry pie for Thanksgiving this year. This was my first time ever making a "real" pie. Ok, so I bought the pie filling, but I did make the crust from scratch. I had no idea that it was so challenging to make pie crust. I think I may have used a few cuss words during the "rolling out the dough and putting it into the pie pan" process. Anywho, doesn't my pie look fabulous. Who wouldn't want to eat it? I especially love how the lattice isn't even laced properly. Unfortunately, the "pie" is the only Thankgsgiving picture I got, since I forgot to bring the camera to the main event.

On the last day of our visit, we drove down to Inkom to visit my grandparents. It was what I would call a bittersweet goodbye. My grandpa Dean has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. I can't describe what it feels like to say goodbye to someone and know it's the last time you will see them alive. I feel very fortunate though, that I had the opportunity to see him before he goes. Also, I'm grateful that he got to meet Sam and Charlie, even though they will never know him on a more personal level. Grandpa is 90 years old, but has always been very spry and active. I've never thought of him as "old" because he just never seemed like he was. Although I know in the grand scheme of things, it will only be a short time before I see him again, it's hard to see the eternal perspective with such limited vision.

Grandpa, I love you and will miss you with all my heart.

Big Christmas Tree

2008-11-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today we decided to take Sam and Charlie to River Park Square to see the "big Christmas tree." When we told Sam we were going to see it, he repeated "Christmas tree" the whole drive over. It was certainly a lot bigger than I expected it to be...four stories tall. Santa was there too, but we didn't even try to see if Sam would sit on his lap.

After oohing and aahing at the tree for a while, we decided to get lunch. Sam of course had french fries. It seems to be his favorite cuisine of choice these days. Whenever I ask him what he'd like for lunch or dinner, his answer is always french fries. Today I asked him what he wanted to wear for the day, and his answer was french fries. I don't know how it's even physically possible to wear french fries, but Sam is that devoted to them that he could probably find a way. Chris and Sam also had fun playing with their food. They stuck the fries in their mouths and pretended to be walruses. (I couldn't get a very good picture of Sam because he won't let me take a picture of him these days. Every time I try to take one, he turns away.) While I made some purchases, Chris let Sam run laps up and down the stroller/wheelchair ramps. He had a blast just running around and I'll be sad when the day comes that he won't be so easily entertained.

He was not happy to leave to say the least. Chris had to hold him back in the elevator as we were leaving. Both boys were completely exhausted by the end of the trip, so I count it as a successful trip!

As far Charlie goes, he is growing growing growing. He is jabbering and smiling all the time. He certainly seems to have a lot to say, and I always wonder what it is exactly that he is saying. He's been rolling from his belly to his back for a while now, but the other day he rolled from back to belly. He's only done it twice now, but I'm a happy momma and beaming with pride at all the amazing things my child can do. It's really funny to watch him try to roll over though because he's so fat he can't move that well. It'll also be a sad day when his baby fat goes away.

Regression

2008-11-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

I am sad to report that Sam has been transitioned back to his crib. He just wasn't catching onto sleeping in a big boy bed. It's been taking an hour to two hours to get him to sleep at night and that's with either me or Chris laying in bed with him. So, the solution was to put him back into the crib until he gets a little older. As you can tell from the pictures, he is very upset about it.

On the upside, Charlie is already learning the importance of good oral health.

Just for funsies....

And I thought I had bad hair days.

Trains, Planes and Automobiles...well no trains, yet.

2008-11-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

Its my turn to say a little something, do a little bloggin'.

Our move to Spokane brought many changes, one of which was a new job for me. This is a good job with a nice future; however, this job includes no small amount of travel--somewhere between 60 to 80 nights a year away from home. Friday I will board a plane and return to my family in Otis Orchards after having spent 11 of these 60 to 80 nights in chilly rural Pennsylvania. These 11 nights were consecutive, because the boss decided that it would be best not to return home over the weekend. Eleven days is a significant chunk of a two year old's life. When it is possible, Amanda will call me just before Sam's bedtime so that I can say goodnight. On those occasions, he will say "goodnight daddy" or "I love you, daddy" with relative ease. Eleven days ago, two word phrases were quite a task for him and most of the time they were barely discernible.

Apparently children grow up fast. It seems to me that I have heard older people say something similar to this. It saddens me a bit that I have missed the past 11 days of their lives, but such is the life that we chose. All of this "missing" should make for a nice reunion though.

Octoberfest

2008-11-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but in my defense, October was one crazy busy month. So, here we go.

Hello Goodbye
We packed our bags and said goodbye to Seattle. Spokane here we come! Trying to pack up a house and move across the state with two little kids is very hectic. But we did it. I was really sad to leave Seattle for a myriad of reasons, but I won't go into that right now. We decided to move in with Chris's parents to save some money until we could buy a house. I was worried about what it would be like living with them, but so far it has been great. It's nice to have someone to talk to when Chris isn't home. Sam loves his Papa and runs to him every time I try to do something horrible like change his diaper or make him take a nap. Sam and Charlie also have a set of cousins who live here and I'm glad they'll have the opportunity to get to know them. Sam adores his 5-year old cousin Eli or Ili as he would say. Eli has also been very good about taking care of Sam, so it's been fun to watch them bond. I think Sam has done amazingly well with the transition too. He's only hit Charlie a few times and pushed him off the couch twice, so he's making progress. When we moved, we put him into a big-boy bed and took away his pacifier. Those are some pretty huge adjustments for the little guy. Right now, we have to lay in his bed with him until he falls asleep, but we're hoping he'll figure it out soon. And now that he's in a big bed, he will wake up in the middle of the night and crawl into bed with us. It's pretty cute. We also put Charlie into the crib in his room so he's no longer in the Pack N Play in our room. He doesn't really care where he sleeps or where he is. As long as he's fed and has a clean diaper, he's happy. Chris spent the first few days here at home with me helping me get acquainted with the area. We went to Manito Park on the South Hill. It was a beautiful park and Sam loved chasing the ducks.

Sam's Birthday

Sam turned 2 years old on October 13. I just can't believe I have a 2 year old. Where did the time go. He has a cousin exactly one year older, so the weekend we moved our stuff, we had a family birthday party. My sis-in-law made some excavator cakes for the boys which were adorable. The next day, we celebrated his birthday back in Seattle with his Uncle Mike and Aunt Jennie. We went to a pizza place called Snoose Junction in Ballard. It was so much fun and I would highly recommend going if you have a chance. Sam loves hanging out with Mike and Jennie and we are going to miss them a lot.

Halloween Festivities
We decided to take Sam and Charlie to one of the local farms to pick out a pumpkin. I was really excited for Sam to go on the hay ride and pet the baby goats, but all he wanted to do was play on the slide. I realized that I can't expect him to be excited about the things I want him to be excited about. We all still had a lot of fun and that's what counts.

For Halloween, Sam was a skeleton and Charlie was a cowboy. First, we went Trick or Treating at Chris's work. Sam caught on a little too quickly with what was going on. He didn't really want to say trick or treat. He was all about business: get in, get the candy and move on. He did say thank you to most everyone, which was really sweet. However, Sam didn't get a nap that day and had a meltdown towards the end of the trick or treating. Later that night we went to our ward Trunk or Treat. Sam was more interested in looking at all the "scary" costumes than he was in getting candy at that point. We didn't complain. We all had a great time but were very exhausted by the end of the day.

Charlie

Charlie is getting so big. He'll be 3 months old on Saturday and I can't believe how quickly time goes by. He weighs about 16 pounds now and is the cutest little chunk. He's so much fun to have around and I don't think I could have asked for a better baby.

While Daddy's Away

2008-10-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

Chris has been in Las Vegas all week, so we've been keeping ourselves busy while he's been away. Here's what we've been up to.

Monday: We made Halloween treats -- pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies and monster cupcakes. We also had dinner with our friends, the Schmidts. They served delicious homemade chili and cornbread. Thanks for a great evening of yummy food and good company!
Tuesday: We went for a walk on the Interurban Trail and picked what was left of the blackberries and ate them all.

Later that evening...

Wednesday: We went with our good friends, the Andersons and the Schmidts (and a group of several other parents,) to the Locks. In the six years I've lived in Seattle, I'd never been there so I was very excited to go. Sam had a good time with all of the other kids running around.

I let Sam play with bubbles in his bath instead of the sink.

Thursday: We went to Bitterlake Park. It was pretty cold outside, so we had the whole park to ourselves. I think Sam's favorite part was going into the bathroom and yelling just so he could hear his voice echo.

Some of this, some of that

2008-10-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while. It's seems like the only time I have to blog is when the kids are sleeping. And when they're asleep, I'm asleep or doing other stuff around the house. But mostly, I sleep. I just thought I'd give some updates on everyone. I don't have any pictures to post unfortunately, since our camera broke and we only just got one this weekend. I promise I will post some soon though.

Charlie:

He is growing crazy fast. I can't believe he's almost 8 weeks old. Where did the time go? He smiles and coos all the time and is generally a very happy baby. Also, he has the cutest little dimple on his left cheek when he smiles. C is a great sleeper. He usually takes a long nap when Sam does, goes to bed only an hour or so after Sam, and wakes up around the same time as Sam. It seems they are pretty much on the same schedule. He's not sleeping through the night yet, but only wakes up once or twice, which I think is pretty great. He started rolling over at 6 weeks. I hope it's not a sign that he's going to be crawling and walking early. He weighs about 14 pounds and is the cutest little chuck I've ever seen. Chris jokes that Charlie is just like his dad because his belly fat hangs over the top of his pants. I still love both of 'em regardless.

Sam:

Sam has three favorite things right now: Wall-E, blackberries and bugs. Chris showed him a clip of Wall-E on the Internet one day and he has been hooked ever since. When he wakes up in the morning, he will point to the computer and say "Wall-E." He wants to watch it all the time. Chris took him to his very first movie a couple of weeks ago...it was Wall-E. Sam was a little freaked out at first, but he eventually loosened up and enjoyed the show. I found a Wall-E toothbrush at the store today, and Sam insisted on taking it to bed with him. I hope this will encourage him to want to brush his teeth more as it is a painful process to do with him.

He has also discovered the joy of blackberries. When we go for walks on the Interurban trail, he will spend a good portion of his time picking and eating them. It is one of his new favorite words to say too, although it sounds more like "blackbees." There are some blackberry bushes in the neighbor's yard that Sam can see out of his bedroom window. He spends a lot of time looking out his window, pointing and saying blackberries. One day he was doing this and Chris said "How cute, Sam thinks there are blackberries outside his window." I told him that Sam wasn't just a weird kid, but that there were in fact blackberries outside his window.

As of late, we have been doing a lot of bug hunting. It's mostly bees, worms and spiders. He loves to look at them but is not at all interested in touching them, especially worms. I think he's a little grossed out by the worms because he gets a disgusted look on his face when I try to get him to hold one. One day we were in the back yard digging up dirt looking for the slimy creatures. I finally found this puny little thing and tried to show Sam. He wasn't really interested and just kept pointing to his shoes which he had taken off. When I went to put his shoes back on him, there was a huge worm inside of one. I have no idea how it got there, but that's what Sam was trying to show me. We went walking one day and I told him to look for the bees. When he couldn't find any, he just kept saying "Bees, where are you?"

He is doing incredibly well with Charlie. He loves to give C hugs and kisses, but he can be a little rough with him sometimes because he doesn't really know any better. He's also talking up a storm these days. Most of it we can't understand, but it's very cute to listen to.

Chris and Amanda:

Chris started his new job at the end of August. He's liking it so far and says he's working with a good group of people. He's actually on a job here in Seattle auditing work papers by employees of KPMG, his old stomping grounds. Weird, huh? He's been having fun working downtown again and enjoying lunch at The Met on occasion.

I'm just trying to survive having two kids. I'm still trying to figure out how to be a mom to two, but it's getting better. Some days are better than others. Getting the kids out every day does wonders for my sanity. Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn too. I don't know if I could live without this miracle invention. There are days when Charlie has spent the majority of his time in it.

We are also getting ready for our big move to Spokane. I've been putting off packing for as long as I can for a few reasons. 1. I'm a procrastinator. 2. I hate packing. 3. It makes me sad and reminds me that we are leaving. Although I have loved living in Seattle for the past 6 years, and I'm sad to say goodbye, I know moving is the right thing. It's a time for fresh starts and new beginnings.

So, I guess that's what's been going with us for the past few weeks.

Charlie's Birth

2008-08-21T15:25:00.001-07:00

Charlie's due date was Thursday, July 31st. I knew that there was no way he'd be born that day or even close to that day. I was 11 days late with Sam and my mother was about two weeks late with all of her children. I was prepared for this even though it didn't make me feel any better.

However, my doctor promised me that she wouldn't let me go more than a week past my due date. She said she'd schedule me for an induction the Thursday after I was due. I was grateful for this because I was so miserable and having an end date in sight made it more manageable. My due date came and went with no sign of labor at all. That next Tuesday I went to my doctor's appointment only to be told that she couldn't get me scheduled for an induction on Thursday or Friday. I almost started crying right then but I somehow managed to hold back the tears until I got in the car. Doc told me though, that one of the other doctors in the office might be able to induce me on Sunday. But it was a big if. The one positive that I took away from my appointment was that I was 3cm dilated and over 60% effaced. My doctor told me that she's put me at the "top of her list." She said she'd do everything in her power to get me scheduled.

Fast forward to next Thursday. My doctor calls me in the morning to tell me she managed to get me scheduled for induction on Saturday. I was beside myself happy. I only had to be pregnant for 2 more days. Hallelujah! Later in the afternoon I got a call from the hospital. The nurse said she could get me in at 3pm if I still wanted to be induced that day. Of course I did! So, I ended up being induced on Thursday anyway. I found out later that they were short on nursing staff so that's why they originally couldn't get me in. The only reason they were able to get me in on Thursday was because the head nurse ended up calling another nurse into work just to get me induced.

Chris and I arrived at the hospital at 3pm. I had to go through all the routine stuff first: filling out paper work, getting an IV, strapping on the fetal heart monitor, peeing in a cup, the usual. Finally, at 4:30pm, the doctor put in prostaglandin to get contractions started. I started having contractions before she was even done. At about 6pm, the doctor checked me and I was dilated between a 4-5. She decided to start me on the Pitocin. At this point, the contractions were still very manageable and not too painful. Chris and I walked around for a while, but it was getting to the point where I couldn't walk through the contractions anymore. They were still manageable though. At 8:30pm, the contractions started getting pretty painful, so I opted to get an epidural. The doctor again checked me at this point and I was dilated to 7cm and 80% effaced. This was great news to hear. I was only dilated to 3cm after 24 hours of labor with Sam. I finally got the epidural at 9:30pm and decided to rest for a while. Just before 11pm, the doctor decided she wanted to put an internal fetal heart monitor on the baby because they weren't getting a good reading with the one on my stomach. However, when the doctor went to put it on, she said we didn't need it because I was fully dilated. It was time to push! She wanted to do a "practice" push with me to see how "well" I pushed. She told me to push while she counted to 10. At 5 she frantically told me to "stop, stop stop! The baby's head is starting to crown!" After getting everything ready to go, the real pushing began. I pushed twice while my doctor counted to 10. The third time she was only going to count to 5 but stopped at 3 because the baby was out! I think I pushed for less than 5 minutes. I only pushed 20 minutes with Sam and I thought that was a fast delivery, but Charlie had him beat.

When he came out, the nurses and doctor kept commenting on how "big" Charlie was. Chris and I were shocked when they told us he weighed 10 pounds. I knew he'd big, but I didn't know he'd be that big. He was so chubby looking though that I started calling him my chunky monkey. At first Chris and I both thought that he looked nothing like Sam. But that soon changed. Here are some pictures of Sam and Charlie at just a day old. Can you tell who is who?

It's been two weeks now since he was born, and I don't think I could have asked for a better baby. He's a good nurser and great sleeper. I usually only have to get up once a night to feed him. He's started having some fussy times at night, but it usually starts between 8 or 9pm and only lasts for an hour. The latest he's gone to bed is around midnight so I'm not staying up all hours of the night. He likes sleeping in his Pack N Play which was not the case with Sam. Sam wanted to be right next to me or Chris when he was asleep.

Sam adores Charlie too. He is constantly giving him hugs and kisses, patting his head or stomach and making sure he has his pacifier. He hasn't learned how to be gentle yet though so sometimes he hurts Charlie if he "loves" him too hard. It's very cute to watch though.

The New Dude to the Brood

2008-08-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

I don't have much time to write, as I have been sent by my wife on an errand to gather various things from home and return to the hospital. One of my assignments was to post to the blog that Amanda had the baby last night at 11:05pm - just 55 minutes shy of being born on 8-8-08. His name is Charles Dean Skidmore. He weighed in at 10 pounds even and 21 inches long. Both child and mom are happy and healthy and enjoying some R&R, while dad runs errands. We went in at 3pm expecting a full day event, only to see things progress quite rapidly. Below is a picture or two for your enjoyment. I will not say too much so that Amanda can post all the gorey details later.

The Father's Perspective

2008-08-05T01:28:00.000-07:00

Apparently we are going to have a second child at some point in the very near future. Amanda has been telling me this for over 9 months now. There is plenty of evidence indicating that this is the case; however, I am beginning to doubt the accuracy of my good wife's claims. Some of the evidential matter is as follows:

There is a brand new top-of-the-line Graco child swing blocking my access to the living room closet.
There have been several purchases on the debit card at stores called "Motherhood Maternity" and "Babies-R-Us".
A number of people have delivered non-commercial frozen dinners to us, which now occupy the space once dedicated to my microwavable corn dogs.
My parents are asleep in our guest bedroom.
Amanda has been cleaning the house constantly and reorganizing things that appeared to me to already be organized.
Lately, Amanda has been wearing my clothes as pajamas.

But here I sit, at 2am on August 5th with only the aforementioned evidence and no baby. Five days have passed since the promised date. This all seems vaguely familiar. If it is true, with my luck it will happen tonight - the night I stay up past 2.

The real truth is that I am beside-myself excited to add another little boy to our family. I feel like it's the Friday before the opening weekend of College Football. Along with the excitement, I'm also feeling intimidated, anxious, and a little scared. This kid better be a tough little guy, because his older brother has yet to grasp the concept of gentleness. Also, since we are planning on naming him Charles, I'm going to call him Chuck - and you must be both physically and mentally tough to grow up with the name Chuck.

The evidence continues to mount, so we hope to have good news for you soon. Wish us luck.

Baby Update

2008-07-31T22:40:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a quick update on the baby news. Today is my official due date, and not shockingly, there is no sign that he is going to show up any time soon. I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday and I'm dilated 1cm and 50% effaced. I've been that since about 36 weeks. A little disappointing that I haven't progressed much, but I'm trying to stay positive. At least I have 1 less centimeter to dilate. I also have a non-stress test scheduled for Monday and another doctor's appointment on Tuesday. The doc told me that if I don't go into labor by then, she will schedule me for induction on Thursday. Normally, I would be very against being induced. I had to have Pitocin with Sam, although I wasn't induced, and it was a horrible experience. However, the last several months have been very difficult for me, so I welcome the opportunity to have this baby as soon as possible. And if it's by induction, so be it. Plus, it's nice to know that I have an actual end date in sight. Sam was 11 days late and I am more than happy not to have to repeat that. Here are a couple of pictures of me in my final stages of pregnancy. I'm not sure how I look, but I feel like a bloated whale.

The Light at The End of The Tunnel

2008-07-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

I have officially one week until my due date. It's wonderful to know that there is an end in sight. Bless my doctor too, because she told me she'd only let me go a week overdue if I don't go into labor on my own. Sam was almost two weeks late. There are days when I wish the baby were here already though...sometimes I wish he would have come 2 weeks ago. By the end of a pregnancy you feel like you've been pregnant forever, and you don't remember what it was like to not be that way. I'm pretty sure most pregnant women feel this way. At least I'm not an elephant. (I'm only as big as one.) They're pregnant for 2 years. That's what I've heard anyway. I'm tired of this big belly getting in the way of everything. Plus, I don't know what my feet look like anymore. I'll have to ask Chris to give me a description.

However, right now, (and probably only in this moment) I'm glad for the time I have left until my due date. I want to enjoy my little family of three as long as I can before we become a family of four. Plus, anybody who knows me knows that I am a compulsive list maker. I have a 2-page list of everything that needs to be cleaned in the house before baby C arrives. I've got the "nesting" urge, but I don't quite seem to have the energy to get any of it done. I think it is very important that the walls get wiped down and the hall closet gets organized before I go into labor. (Just a testament of how neurotic a pregnant woman can be...but then again, maybe it's just me.)

My biggest concern though is just having two kids. Sure, it'll be fine when Chris is home because then we can each man a kid. But when I'm alone, it's two against one. I worry about things like going to the grocery store or the post office. It already takes 5 minutes just to get Sam in and out of the car to make a 30-second drop off to the dry-cleaners. Is it going to take 10 minutes now? I need the advice and wisdom of all mothers of two (or more) on how to manage these seemingly simple tasks. Any mother who can do this is Super Woman in my book. But I ask you, am I worrying for no reason? Is it going to be much easier than I'm anticipating or will it be as scary as I think? I usually run to my two best friends, Ben and Jerry...once, twice, sometimes three times a day for comfort. But it seems the comfort they give me doesn't last long and I usually end up feeling worse after consulting them.

In the end though, I'm excited to meet this little guy and can't wait to add him to the family. I'm sure the challenges and worries will be nothing compared to the joy baby C will bring to our lives.
I have to get going now...Ben and Jerry are calling.

Knocking Down Barriers

2008-07-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

To our 3 or 4 regular readers, we apologize for the blogging hiatus. The hard drive in our relatively young computer died a horrible death and the computer has been in the shop. Roughly $250 dollars later, we are back in business but not without a few casualties (pictures and files).

During the past few computer-less weeks, a few things have changed.

Sam is now able to climb onto chairs, which means that tables and some shelves are no longer safe zones for objects that we do not want to fall into Sam's hands. It used to be that the only things that he could climb up onto were the Lay-Z-Boy chair and the couch, which was great because the couch backed up to the front window where he could watch the neighbor's dog, random birds, and cars as they go by. This new ability has significantly complicated our lives. The kitchen table, the computer desk, kitchen counters, and dressers are just a few of the once secure spaces that are now accessable to our high energy 21-month old. Where do we now put drinks? Food? Important papers? Keys? Cell phones? It also leaves us asking the question: "what's next?" We are probably only weeks away from him gaining the ability to open doors and climb out of his crib. What's to stop him then from leaving the house and speeding down the street.

On the topic of speeding, nowadays if Sam is going somewhere, he is most likely running to his destination. He reminds me of the young Forrest Gump. He loves to run. Most of the time when he is running he will completely relax his jaw and make an "ah" noise, which generates a motor-like sound. It's quite endearing.

Also, he is now just slightly taller than the kitchen table and the master bed foot board, both of which have nasty corners. So, if he is not climbing up onto the table or bed his is likely running by them. When he gets overly excited or tired, his head will occasionally come in contact with the corners as he runs by. So we have dealt with a few more bruises and bumps lately. As a result, we have softened the corners using some old socks and duct tape.

Even though we have a few new challenges, we sure do love our little guy and are very excited to meet his younger brother.

by the way, the below lawn mowing accident resulted in $280 worth of repairs...the most expensive chore I've ever done.

The Dangers of Yard Work

2008-06-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you hit a rock mowing the lawn and your car is nearby...

Windows are overrated anyway, right?

The Itchy Little Kid

2008-06-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Do any of you have allergies, food or other? Do any of you have children with allergies? We took Sam to an allergist fairly early in his life (7 months) because he clearly had a problem (severe eczema and constant itching, as shown above). The original diagnosis was that our little guy was allergic to tree nuts, dairy, wheat, egg whites, and flax seed - whatever that is. We made immediate changes to Amanda's diet because, at that point, Sam was still getting most of his nurishment through breastfeeding. The changes were almost immediate.

Over the past year or so, we have become a bit more lax in what we feed him. He is a very picky eater and needs to be tricked into eating new things. Some of the things that we can always count on him eating are cheese, fig newtons, crackers, potato chips, and bread. Most of the time he does not react to the dairy, wheat, and egg which are included in the ingredients of the aforementioned favorite foods; however, every once in a while he does react in the form of a rash or an itch fit.

Fastforward to today. Today he reacted to something by itching himself bloody. The poor kid. He typically itches his hands, elbows, and legs with this hands and he rubs his feet together to scratch that itch. We try to keep socks on his feet to limit his access, however he is a pro at getting the socks off.

I'm not sure what the moral of this story is, but it is clear that we will need to wash the sheets.

Signing on the Bottom Line

2008-06-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

Is it okay for men to blog? My wife assures me that it is and that it shouldn't be included with activities such as watching "Americas Next Top Model", doing the laundry or anything like that.

So here I go.

My father worked for the same company for over 30 years. He had a very nice engraved gold-rimmed champagne glass to prove it...until it fell victim to my pre-teen clumsiness. They told us in high school that our generation (generation X?) would change jobs at least 5 times before we would retire. Well guess I am two-fifths of the way to retirement because this past Friday I signed an offer letter committing us to change jobs in August. If I continue to change jobs at this rate (once every 23 months), I should qualify for retirement in just over 6 years. If only our savings account would allow it. We accepted a position in the Spokane office of Moss Adams, LLP - a public accounting firm. We think that this one should stick for a while, so maybe I'll never get to that 5th job change. As long as we are talking generational issues, they say that the next generation ("the millennials" or "generation Y") should expect to change jobs 12 to 20 times before retiring at 75 years of age. That doesn't sound like any fun at all.

So we have been stewing on this decision of a month or so now and it has been causing Amanda some unwanted anxiety. She is 7-months pregnant. Those of you who have experienced the human gestation period know that the emotional state of pregnant woman is fragile enough already; consequently, additional stress and/or deviations from the normal routine can leave a mark. Needless to say, both Amanda and I are relieved that we somehow found the guts to make a decision. Now we can focus on preparing for the arrival of the second dude to our brood.

Our actual move to Spokane will depend on who we can find to rent our house. It could be as early as September 1 to as late as late October. Know anybody looking to rent in the Seattle area? I'll make 'em a good deal, maybe even throw in free cable. Plenty of free parking and the neighbors are only somewhat intrusive.

They say that the only thing constant is change, and so it goes in the Skidmore home.

I've got to run, "The Gillmore Girls" starts in just a few minutes.

Highlights from the week...

2008-06-07T14:41:00.001-07:00

It's not so much that we did anything very exciting or even blog-worthy, but there were a few interesting things that I thought were funny, interesting, or even just plain annoying that happened this week.

After watching the Wiggles with Sam on Monday, I've had the lyrics "toot toot chugga chugga big red car" stuck in my head all week. It didn't help either that when I mentioned this to Chris, he started singing the song for me, only changing the words to "toot toot chugga chugga big blue Nissan."
One morning Sam had a poopy diaper, but in this case he somehow defied the law of physics and pooped out the side of his bum as most of the poop was on the side of his diaper and down his entire leg.
In reference to #2, I took Sam to the bathroom to clean him off, and as I pulled off his diaper a big piece of poop came out the bottom his pajamas and landed on the rug. As I was cleaning this mess up, Sam decided it wasn't enough to poop on the rug, so he peed all over it too.
Sam and I decided to visit Chris at work and have lunch with him. Chris was running a little behind and was in a meeting with several co-workers. The blinds were open in the board room, and Sam could see his dad. So, he decided to pound on the windows and door until they let him in. Once he was in and securely positioned on Chris's lap, Sam decided to freak out and cry at the top of his lungs. He wanted out of that room. I told Chris that he probably realized what his life would be like if he became an accountant. Chris didn't find it very amusing.
I took Sam to Barnes & Noble to play with the train station they have in the children's section. Sam played for 5 minutes and decided it was time to pull every book out of it's place. After he finally found a place to settle down on the floor and look at some books, I joined him on the floor. After another few short minutes, Sam again decided it was time to move on. He jolted back to the train station and left me on the floor. I stupidly/naively used a book shelf to help hoist myself up. In the process of doing this, I broke the shelf and the books came tumbling down. I felt so fortunate that there were so many people there to witness my humiliation. I know they were just thinking "What did that poor shelf ever do to her to deserve such treatment?" Sam and I left shortly after.
Sam does not like to sit still for a diaper change. Usually it consists of laying him down long enough to get his diaper off. Then I have to chase him down again to put his diaper back on. This last time was no exception. He decided that after he jolted, he was going to look at one of his books. I think he likes to read in the nude personally. I sat there just long enough to watch him pee all over his book. I know better now for next time.

This is my life with a toddler.

Starbucks...

2008-06-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

I love hot chocolate from Starbucks. When I was working, I used to spend my lunch hours there enjoying it's rich chocolaty goodness and reading whatever book I was into at the time. I went there the other day, with Sam in tow, (thank goodness for drive-thrus) because I was cold and a hot chocolate sounded too good to resist. This is the dialogue between me and the barista.

Me: "I'd like a tall, non-fat, no whip hot chocolate."

Barista: "You want a tall, non-fat, no-whip Mocha?"

Me: "No...a tall, non-fat, no whip hot chocolate."

Barista: "Well, that's different!"

Me: "Uh-huh."

Now, I know hot chocolate and mocha sound nothing alike, so I'm pretty sure the barista didn't mishear me, but instead was correcting me on what she thought I wanted. After all, who goes to Starbucks and orders a non-coffee drink?

This little experience made me realize that even something as small as ordering hot chocolate instead of coffee is noticed by "the world." Then again, maybe it's just because I live in Seattle. Either way, we (Mormons) certainly are a peculiar people.

Our First Attempt

2008-06-01T21:20:00.001-07:00

Hi....My name is Amanda and I'm a blogaholic. From what I understand, the first step to overcome a problem is to admit I have a problem.

Unbeknownst to all of you, for several months, I have been perusing yours and others blogs. At times it has caused me to feel a bit voyeristic. So, to ease my conscience, I have decided to put myself out there in blog format.

We (me and my husband) will try our best to make your time spent on our blog worthwhile and rewarding. Enjoy!