Handerpants

I was recently given the best, most pee in your pants funny kind of gift. It was extra funny due to an inside joke but I have confidence it is funny enough on it's own merits to share. And I'm just gonna give you this caution: BEWARE. Once you see this product you are going to wonder how you ever lived without it. No, it's not the Snuggie, though this product would compliment one well. I present to you:

Handerpants- Underpants for your hands!!!

As you can see there are "hundreds of uses", namely Texting, Construction, Cooking, Cruising, The Elderly(???), and Night Blogging.

I can't believe I have engaged in so much night blogging without the safety and comfort of my Handerpants! tsk tsk on me.
Now I've discovered that Handerpants work wonders for "Night" Texting too!

Not to mention doing your hair,

Channel Surfing,

Warding off attacking Crocodilian,

Truly, the uses are endless! Do you know what is already awesome but becomes dazzling with Handerpants?....

Jazz hands!!!!!

Don't Sweat It

We have a sliver of a backyard with a 30 ft jungle covered wall on one side and the back side of our house on the other. Because of the house the backyard is shaded most of the day which creates a slightly cooler atmosphere for the kids to play in. That and the fact that I don't have to slather them from head to toe with Sunblock (The UV index in Taiwan is very high and very dangerous most days from May through August) makes this a fun place to play.
On this scalding midmorning I discovered my little crew of artists were giving the backyard a makeover. And yes, that is like a wool beanie Kohen is wearing, it's his favorite. He wasn't taking it off. Anyway, they painted away for literally hours. I checked on them often and had them keep hydrated, but I am telling you, in this heat there really is just nothing that helps if you have to be in it.
Sweat beading down their bright red faces doesn't seem to phase them, at least not enough to come in. And that my friends is where I draw the line. I go inside to bask in the glorious A/C and keep an eye on them from the window.

So what, you may wonder, does one do when they need to exercise in such a hot and humid place. Simple answer? SUFFER.

I have recently started running a bit- infrequently- because exercising in the best of conditions is not my fave, so add Dante's inferno and imagine where my attitude goes (here's a hint *flush*).

The humidity is the killer. I looked it up on Wikipedia ergo I'm pretty much an expert. Normally our bodies cool us off by sweating, right? Well, humidity essentially disables your body from sweating properly, making it difficult -if not impossible- for your body to cool you off like it should.

I came home from running the other night and told Nathan that never before had I been so tempted to tear my clothes off in a public setting before. Seriously! It felt like I was suffocating and every where that cloth was touching my skin felt like when you stand too close to the camp fire- I just wanted it off! Possibly my skin too. I mean when you feel like you are burning from the inside out, somethings got to give.

I have never been one to blush or have much of a flushed face from exertion, but check out what I look like after my non-impressive run + 6-8 min drive home in a highly air conditioned car:

I heart humidity.

Mind the Gap

Shortly after Ander turned 9 months he started walking. I guess it's only 3 months I feel ripped off from the immobility I could've still been enjoying, but the kid is bright and healthy so I shouldn't complain, nevertheless... Our house is not baby proofed, and thanks to Taiwan quirks/oversight/indifference we have an extra layer needed to secure our home.
Take the stairs for example. On the third story up there is a gaping, and I mean gaping opening in the railing. The above shot shows how if someone was as unlucky as this doll was- and fell through the gap, it's fully two stories down before you meet the hardwood floor.

This is typical in most houses we saw when house hunting. The railings would often be short, about the height of my hips, and then the spindles are spaced quite far apart. Most people I know buy netting that they tie across the spindles for safety. Thankfully our banister is higher and because of the glass there are fewer gaps to worry about. But what an impressive gap it is. Right now we have some temporary safety measures in place -velcro, is surprisingly strong. I had Kennedy hold Ander by the stairs to illustrate the problem clearly.
Besides the plethora of oddly placed plug ins right at a toddler's eye level, several dozen unforgiving wooden stairs, and plenty of bite sized toy parts/bugs hanging around, I guess there isn't too much to worry about.

(notice the Cheerio up on his ear, saving it for later)

Ander just turned 11 months old, he has now perfected his walking skills to the point that he practically runs from place to place. He still loses his balance a fair amount though but pops right back up without skipping a beat. I continually underestimate his abilities, he is learning so much faster than I give him credit for. I've had to take the knobs off of the oven, and push things further back on the table/counters because he has go-go gadget arms. He long since discovered the toilet- I found him the other day happily watching his handy work, a new roll of toilet paper soaking up fresh pee water in the toilet, clapping his hands all the while.

Here is a video to show a smidge of the walking...

And then a clip of Nathan trying to change Ander's clothes while the babe does an uncanny pig squeal impression, and I get busted at the end.

I know each child is different, but I don't remember wrestling with my other children like this until they were closer to 18 months?

Lastly, I have to say Ander is a happy, HAPPY boy* (*Unless you try to change his diaper or his clothes). He is pretty darn patient with his siblings "playing" with him and doesn't seem to get too upset when he can't figure something out, he just tries over and over until he succeeds. Who knows if his determination will remain so strong as he gets older, but for now it seems to serve him pretty well.

And did I mention he's a mama's boy? yeah, I love that part.

First Day of School 2010

At TAS they stagger the start day of the KA and Kindergarten students from the rest of the schools so Kennedy started school the day before her brother and sister. She is showing she is starting second grade here, though it ironically looks a lot like a classic Asian picture pose.
This was Kennedy's day two and Kohen and Aly's first day of school. Isn't Aly's first day of school outfit adorable?! Yeah, she starts a half hour after her siblings. Which, since the bus won't come up our hill, it makes for a lot of driving back and forth for us (8am, 8:30am, 1:30pm, 2:30pm) I might as well drive a taxi.
Kohen is starting Kindergarten. It is an all day program here and I hope he will adjust well to the curriculum. Nothing reminds me we are in Asia more than when I review what they are supposed to learn in a year. Like Kennedy's new teacher pointed out, here it is the "in" thing to be smart and do well in school. That is what is cool to these kids. Not sure Kohen is the bookworm type. Though I bet he could imagine and draw a cool one...
After much, much, MUCH indecision, debate and prayer we finally decided to put Aly in the Kindergarten A (like a pre-K) program at TAS. As soon as we made the decision and moved forward we knew we had made the right choice. I am so grateful when prayers are answered like that. Sometimes you have to move forward in faith before you get that reassurance, and it's always so hard to take those first steps.

Aly has been telling me that she misses me (literally just because she doesn't want me to feel bad) but also making sure I know she loves her new school. I really am going through Aly withdrawals. She is such a little comet- flying through life on fire.
I have to show the back of her hair, I love this do on her. It's easy, keeps her hair out of her face, stays in and it compliments her little face.
And a picture of these two because it makes me smile each time I see it. I don't think I noticed it that morning in all the chaos but I like that tie babe :)

And more on Ander to come... he. is. killing. me. Still want to just kiss those cheeks right off him though.

Sir Kohen's 6th Birthday

I was excited to enjoy Kohen enjoying his birthday this year. Then I came down with an ear infection and a sinus infection in my upper and lower sinuses. As all of you mom's out there know, there really is no such thing as a sick day- one of the biggest crimes against motherhood I say- and though Nathan did come home early the day before, I was really still struggling on Kohen's big day. I decided two main things had to happen for the day to work. First, I had to let go of about 30% of the decorating/playing/errand running I was going to do. Second I needed to grit my teeth and pushed through it.

It was worth it. I vacillated back and forth about whether or not to do a regular cake and stick a 6 on top or to do the dragon cake I had planned. At the very last second I went for it. Before you can see the picture please read the following.

DISCLAIMER: I could not find many of the suggested items for decorating the dragon. They do not exist in Taiwan. Wicked high humidity and frosting are not friends. In fact, they are enemies. I had to work quick. And lastly, I may have mentioned, I felt like crap. Thankfully, I made this cake expressly to impress my son and not my peers. I accomplished that, so what else matters right?

He was really into character for a while with his armor and the PB castle I got on clearance like 10 months ago (woot woot!) and his dragon cake. He made hilarious faces all night, it was classic.
This is the type of hug you get if you give Kohen a How To Train Your Dragon coloring book~

And the kind of face he makes when he is trying to show you his new lantern revealed something creepy- good chance of that at our house...
This puppet was a hit thanks to Nathan's antics with it. Kids think everything is funny. So good on the ol' self esteem, ha!
He blew out the candles and officially turned 6. Six years I have been blessed to have this child in my life.
See, I told you he loved the cake. It was worth all of the trouble, ten times over.

ps- We let the kids watch How To Train A Dragon for the first time for Kohen's birthday and they love it- how cute is that movie?!

Thrill Seeking

For Nathan and Taylor's July Birthdays Kysa and I surprised them by taking them up to Horshoebend area to a really cool Zip Line course. It was so much fun. A series of 6 different zip lines, one of them being the longest in the Northwest.
The last zip was a race (below), so I got a head start and then Nathan took off after me on a line running parallel to mine. In a classic move our camera fell out of his pocket shortly after take off - I saw it fall down, down, down. Our guide went part way down the hill and looked for about 10 minutes and unbelievably, found our camera. We were told people aren't usually so lucky. If you're wondering, Nathan still won our race. So maybe he's just lucky.
Non-interesting fact about me- I know, hard to believe there is such a thing- the day before I was leaving for college 11 years ago I was scheduled to go skydiving. It was canceled due to weather- and then off I went to college.

Fast forward to five years ago when all of our family went to watch my SIL Tara go skydiving for her birthday. My MIL Bonnie mentioned that she thought it would be cool to go some day too. Have I mentioned that she is a double amputee?
Present Day: So for her birthday this year all of her kids surprised her by taking her skydiving! We all showed up to cheer her on and Tara went with again and Taylor and Kysa were scheduled to go too. Bonnie and Tara were first. In case you were wondering she did not wear her prosthetic legs to skydive- apparently anything that could come off -be it shoe, watch, arm or leg- is best to leave safely on the ground. I think Bonnie was a little nervous to dive but Tara was the pro and apmped to go.
A few of the grandkids watching the plane take off, they all think their Grandma is so cool. She is.
Believe it or not there is a Grandma under those layers of grandchildren. Bonnie was engulfed in a scrum (that's for you Furni) of grandchildren the moment she landed. She thought the experience was amazing and she can't wait to go again.

So guess what else happened that day? Nathan and I spontaneously decided to go skydiving as well. I am still surprised we decided to go. I had literally rolled out of bed, threw on the last of my clean clothes - I didn't even have proper foot attire so a shout out to my niece Rylee for lending me her lace up shoes :)
Nathan and I flew up together with the guys we were jumping tandem with. The little Cessna plane certainly didn't instill much confidence in it's ability to get us safely up to 10,000 feet. It had all these bare wires showing and ripped upholstery on the only seat in the tin can, the pilots. I may or may not have had thoughts like, if this is the upkeep on the plane... what about the parachutes??? For whatever reason I still got in. It was a beautiful flight getting up to altitude- the Treasure Valley was gorgeous from above.

Before I knew it the door was open and I was free falling, trying to catch my breath. It was amazing. AMAZING!
Though I went out first Nathan had a smaller chute so he landed first. Look at that handsome face, thankfully still in one piece. He doesn't usually wear Daisy Dukes, but the harness rides up in a way you won't soon forget.
My take: Stepping out of the plane you have a few last thoughts seriously reviewing your sanity but in an instant you are free falling, a freight train in your ears, hardly able to catch a breath trying to take it all in even though you are on sensory overload- and then, too soon, a big jerk as the parachute explodes open and tears you away from the greedy grasp of gravity. And then quiet. The float to the ground was so calm after the free fall. It was a bit like what I imagined, actually. Except for the insane adrenaline rush. Hard to imagine that.
Don't judge. I warned you I didn't dress (read: shower) for the occasion.

I was happy I didn't die. I love my husband, I love my children, and most days, I love my life....

But I still loved skydiving.

**Statistically speaking there is more risk each time we get in our car than going skydiving. Like by a lot. (okay, that wasn't exactly "statistically speaking" but you get what I mean) I just wanted to say that for my friends/fam (*cough* DAD!) who think we were crazy. :)

Crashin @ the Crowley's

When we moved into Mike and Amber's house, it was another perfectly decorated and clean house with one major difference. It's kid proofed! Not to mention there were cousins plus the bonus of toys, a swing set, and even a bunny who -poor thing- would run for his life for about 20 minutes every morning in the backyard, trailing a gaggle of kids.

It was a bit crowded and loud at times, and my older two kept waking up their cousins every morning - my frustration was superseded only by their aunts, I am sure- and we did manage to pass around some lovely colds/coughs but otherwise things were fairly smooth considering. And we did have a few super sweet moments like this:

Michael and Kohen practicing their archery skills thanks to an outing with Uncle Mike to the sporting goods store.
Davis loved Kennedy and would climb up in her lap and want to be with her and pretty much had Kenna wrapped around his finger. It's hard not give a kid with such big beautiful blue eyes anything he wants! But don't be entirely fooled. This sweetheart is also a whirlwind of an 18ish month old. Just one of many examples, one morning I found him like this:
His big grin shows you he's not stressin- the sink is running and about to overflow as he marinates his pajama clad feet all while rotating 3 different toothbrushes through his mouth. Just another day with Davis, keepin the adults on their toes.

There's room for at least one more.

Another benefit of staying with Mike and Amber was that Amber would line up babysitters and we could all go out at night. That was actually a huge plus. This night we went to the Shakespeare Festival with Nathan's parents and siblings. It had been a hot day but turned into a beautiful night with great company.

Thanks again Crowley's for letting us move in this summer! We miss you guys already!

Wilcox Fun

We had a great time with my side of the family too. My parents recently moved about 5 hours north of Boise so my mom came down for a few weeks while we were in town. My sisters and my mom entertained the kids on more than one occasion. They took them to Rafiki one day and I have to say the place was amazing, I really wish we had something so nice, clean, open and air conditioned here in TianMu.

Another afternoon everyone met down by the river- no vans were involved- and we had a picnic lunch and a brave few played in the frigid river. Uncle Shayn was nice enough to get in and that enabled the kids to do the rope swing too which about gave me a heart attack but since nothing happened it's just "a fun memory". Enjoy.