Looth Tooth

"This is amazing."

"I think this is one of the happiest days of my life."

No, Christmas didn't come early in our house.

Liam had just finished dinner, and I thought I saw food stuck in his teeth. After a closer look, we found Liam's first loose tooth. He hadn't noticed at all, despite it being nearly horizontal.

Now I can't get him to take his finger out of his mouth. And of course I had to take a picture to document the occasion. But not to be outdone, Sara insisted on posing for her own open-mouthed photo.

Guess we'll have to give the Tooth Fairy fair warning that she'll need to visit here soon. What is the going rate for your first tooth, anyhow?

Little Tornado

I may say this again and again, but I still can't get over how different two children in the same family can be. Same parents. Same genes. Yet completely different little people.

Today I've been posting outgrown toys and baby items on craigslist to sell, or putting them into boxes for goodwill or consignment. And I have this little tornado following me throughout the house, emptying every box I fill.


If anything goes missing in our house, we know Sara's just found a new home for it. We check in our shoes now before we put them on, and don't blink when we discover the potato masher in the bathtub.


Liam wasn't too happy tonight when he discovered how she's "helped" with his homework by coloring all over it. I explained that his teacher would know that Sara helped, and we could still read his spelling homework through the scribbles. Now we've put it high up on the fridge so she can't reach it. Hopefully she doesn't scoot a chair over to reclaim it.


It's usually better after Liam gets home from school, because then they entertain each other. Although that can also lead to an even bigger mess. They're currently tossing bean bags around the living room with a shovel, and Sara's sitting in a dump truck inside a cardboard box. When she's not hauling around a big empty water bottle and trying on my shoes.


Yep, she keeps life entertaining. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Dancing Fool

I know. My blogging is not exactly up to date. But to try to make it up to you, here's a video of my favorite littlest dancer shaking her groove thing for you all.

Sara's New Toy

I love it when my kids find creative, inexpensive ways to entertain themselves. Sara's favorite toys are rarely ones you'd find at the toy store, but more often something from a kitchen cupboard or somewhere else I thought was just out of reach.

Here's how I found her the other day...

Another Good Point...

Liam hangs out with me in the morning as I'm getting ready for work. It's one of the rare times he gets me to himself, and he likes to be a helper by getting things for me, like my jewelry. And in the meantime we chat about life. Here's a recent morning conversation...

Him: Mommy, why do you curl your hair every morning?

Me: I like my hair curly, and I think it looks nicer that way.

Him: But it's not curly anymore by the end of the day, so really, why bother?

He's going to make someone a great husband someday...

Mini Donuts, Moowiches & Motocross

Yesterday was John's birthday, and the only day he could make it to the Lynden Fair, so we geared up for a long day. I'd taken the kids on Tuesday and Sara had two full-blown screaming fits in the course of a couple hours, and if you've heard her scream you know how fun that can be.

We visited the animal barns and the local tractor display. Then we actually found a (mostly) healthy, non-greasy lunch of pulled beef sandwiches & fresh corn on the cob. John and Liam headed for the rides, while I took Sara to the farming community area for some less noisy fun. Sara could have spent the whole day coloring & digging in the "potato patch".

Then John called, wound up because he'd lost Liam's ride pass. I had handed it to him at lunch, so he and Liam were re-tracing their steps to see where they'd dropped it. They made it to where Sara was playing and John was fully frazzled. I left him with the kids, to go see if anyone had turned it in where we'd had lunch. Imagine my surprise when I found the ticket still sitting on our table - no one had snatched it up in the half hour it'd been sitting out in plain view (it was neon pink and hard to miss!). Only in Lynden.

I'd planned on taking a break to head to my mom's for a nap for Sara, so I grabbed her a (somewhat healthy) snack of chocolate covered strawberries on a stick, for the walk back to the car. We made it just outside the Fair gates and she was sound asleep. So guess who got to watch the hypnotist show uninterrupted?

After she woke up we hung out with the animals a bit more, Sara drank most of my iced chai tea, then we met up with the boys. We took the kids to John's parents house, then got to go out to a grown-up meal at a restaurant without a playground, without anyone wearing a bib or spilling a drink. And then I made the ultimate sacrifice, to prove my love for my wonderful husband: I went to a motocross event at the Fair. Love you, honey!

And now we're paying for it with two tired, cranky kids. But still wouldn't change a thing.

Well, He Has a Point...

Overheard this morning at the Swedberg house, in the hustle & bustle to get to church on time...

Me: Liam, that's not dressy enough for church. (He was wearing a basketball t-shirt with words all over it, and too-small athletic shorts.) Please put on the clothes I laid out for you last night.

Him: (with significant whine in his voice) But I want to wear this. When do I get to pick out my own clothes?

Me: (not in the mood to argue, as I still had to get Sara dressed & fed) When you have your own house.

Him: But this shirt won't fit me when I'm that big!