Self Portrait: April

Hot Mess Express

So the reality of our winter months has been this:

One week: Hudson sick

One week: Tucker sick

One week: Josh sick

One week: Heather on her period.

Repeat.

Hudson was sick while on our vacation and was such a trooper! And then we come home and his ears are all messed up. (Update: Audiologist appointment next week) Tucker and Josh are both very sick right now. Hudson can't hear a thing. And I have lost my voice.

I want my beach back.

Two weeks ago today.

Today.

Vacation Wrap Up: Words

Nothing like a back in reality to remind us of how sweet vacation can be! During our vacation a bunch of my future clients were born and this week has been a super busy spell of "catch up". Plus the usual unexpected trips to the pediatrician and necessary grocery runs to make the days just fly. So, here I am sitting at computer on a quiet Saturday afternoon (after 5 hours of yard work!) to recap with words our vacation in the lovely Sanibel, Florida.

There are 10 things I wish to remember...

1. Walks on the beach with my Sweetie. Nothing like having a willing set of grandparents with you on vacation. This trip was to acknowledge Josh's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Because of their attendance, Josh and I were afforded a couple of walks alone on the beach. Sanibel is ranked as one of the top shelling beaches in the world and it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes to see why people develop the "Sanibel Stoop"  from bending over constantly to investigate the gorgeous shells underneath your feet. Josh, as always, makes everything more fun.

2. Farmer's Market. My friend Jenny told me not to miss the Sunday Sanibel Farmer's Market. It was, to say the least, probably my single favorite thing I did. My mother-in-law and I had to make two trips to the car because we could not carry all of the amazing fruits, vegetables, seafood, cheese, olives, pickles, and etc. we gathered there. Everything looked amazing (purple sweet peppers?!?!) and was delicious. I will dream about that guacamole for months to come. I can NOT believe I did not take my camera.

3. Dale reading to Hudson. According to Little Man, Bapa Dale reading to him was part of our vacation. I, of course, have such a special spot for grandpa's doting, so I just loved watching Hudson crawl up on Dale's lap to listen to Mater's Tales. I also was extremely amused at how each story took a two hour tour through lessons about car parts, driving, and other assorted information that only a grandpa can provide to a captive 4 year old. 

4. Pusher Man. We rented bikes for our stay. Tucker rode behind Josh in a traditional baby seat. Hudson was my partner in a new trail-a-bike called WeeHoo. As a bike rider, Hudson is fantastic. As one who is anxious to get to the next stop, he is a SLAVE DRIVER. Confident I am that I can not describe the CONSTANT barage of "Go Faster! Keep it up! Don't stop now Mama! Faster! Pedal!! Go! Go! Go! Why are you coasting now? I don't want to be a rotten coconut, Mama. Keep going!!!!" that came from my bike co-companion. It was 85 degrees every day. And muggy. And he is lucky I did not feed him to an alligator. (see #10) We rode over 40 miles in one week. Wee Hoo indeed.

5. Curly. Tucker had given himself a special task in Florida. It was to return every single shell back to the water. He did a very poor job, but he was an absolute joy to watch. And those curls! Gosh, I miss 'em!

6. Beach trips. One afternoon I was able to take both boys to the beach all by myself. I am so used to toting those little guys all over central Indiana by myself; it was fun to do it in a completely new place. Also, on two separate occasions, I was able to take each boy alone to the beach with me. Those were special memories for me just to keep with own heart.

7. Planes, trains, escalators, and rental cars. Both boys were great plane riders like I mentioned in my previous post. They both loved all the new motorized moments that they were introduced to. Tucker loves planes and surprisingly Hudson remembered what he called beach advertising planes two years ago..."Airplane! With a Message!"

8. Sunrise, sunset. On our last flight home, from Atlanta to Indiana, the sun was starting to set. And from the air, we witnessed the most gorgeous sunset ever (Like top ten of my life). And Hudson, so cutely, looked up at me and said, "It's a Lion King sun!" If you have seen that cartoon movie that will mean something to you, and it was very sweet to me. We both think the first 6 minutes of Lion King are awesome (yes, we have talked about this!( and frequently sing (in our interpretation of midwestern Zulu) those first couple of lines of the song.

9. Sunset with pizza. A much less pretty, but still very favorite memory of our trip was our pizza feast on the beach watching the sunset. That was a great dinner idea and we had so much fun. Especially Mr. T who played on the shoreline for about two hours.

10. Close encounters. We say more wildlife in our one week away than we have seen in months here. The abundance of seabirds, pelicans, and sandpipers was to be expected. The drive through the wildlife reserve also helped. However, on our last morning, after our 3.5 mile bike ride to breakfast, we decided to take a ride through a 1.5 mile loop at the local park. We saw TWO alligators just chillin' within a stone's throw of our trail. (one was on the trail which t-boned into ours) Overall, that is really cool. However, in the moment, with your beloved on your bike and your fearless husband repeatedly checking out the creature with your other beloved on that bike, it was a bit unnerving.

Tucker's other mother

In crowded restaurants, populated beaches, and occupied airport gate waiting areas when I am completely watching him if Tucker walks away from my immediate side, his other mother, Hudson, bellows out an alarm warning system, "BABY ON THE LOOSE!!!" Every time the same words. Every time the same strangers' stares. Every time the same embarrassment. 

I am naturally annoyed because Tucker is never more than 6 feet from me, but also because when you say, "Baby on the loose," not to mention scream it, I picture some little child with belts of ammo criss cross his or her body, bandana on, tattoos visible, wandering crazily in the path of a moving train. Not my little Tucker, whose smile behind his paci, lets me know that he is just testing to see how far I will let him go.

Or I imagine my own little Tucker looking just like he does here after a day on the beach, airing out his bum, and most definitely a "baby on the loose."

Flight formalities

On my tombstone, they can add to my life's successes: I flew with two children on a plane. And it was awesome! We are HOME from our amazing vacation (blog to follow) but I am still reeling about how wonderful the flying experience was! I do not know why I was so worried. My little men did just great.
Naturally, I have about 100 new opinions about traveling with kids, but the long and the short of it was: easy-peasy; I would do it again in an instant to AVOID the constant spring break traffic that has clogged my local interstate for the past FOUR weeks!

So, anyway, back to my airway evaluation: I have LONG thought that one of the troubles of traveling with kids is the car seat itself. They are confining. They are uncomfortable. My kids sleep in them all bowed over and look so pitiful. Safety, schmafety. I love hearing stories of families in the 70s piling up the backseat footwells with stacks of newspapers so their kids could make a bed out of the entire backseat! Unbuckeled! Awesome! Enter: the reality that on a plane these things are not needed. Both kids loved the ability to be more comfortable, choose whose lap to sit on, and so on. Man! do I wish I lived back when carseats were not the law.

On our second flight to get home, Hudson and Tucker were cuddled together on one seat, watching Cars, and loving every minute of their pretzel and ginger ale buffet. Yes, technology is a necessary partner in our flights of happiness, but we were able to survive those times when we were not allowed to use them alas they interrupt the completely unrelated technology that the pilot was using to fly the plane. Am I the only one who finds this to be total crap? Seriously? Someone's Kindle might make us fly accidentally to Canada or something.

I have to admit a total mamarrazi fail here. Despite this being Hudson, age 4, and Tucker, age 1, first airplane rides, I completely did not think to take a better picture of them both than the one seen here. Actually, I took only 3 pictures total while at the airport/on the plane. I guess I was being serious about being on vacation. 

Now, I have a couple of complaints to address and I will go from least serious (to me) to the most stressing. First of all, as a mother I am not allowed to bring any peanut snacks of any kind to Hudson's classroom because for those allergic, just the dust of peanuts can be lethal. Please someone explain to me how airlines are still allowed to serve them in basically airtight tubes in the sky?

Next, the suggestion that all airplanes "have a changing station" in the bathroom is a lie. No they do not as I noted on flight #3 and if they do, as Josh noted on flight #1 and #2, they are about a 6 inch wide plastic piece over an open toilet. For real, airplane designers, throw parents a bone. 

Finally, and this is worthy of a whole blogful of belly-achin': I am completely unnerved that on THREE separate flights, TWO full checks of security, not ONE person asked if I was the parent of or asked to see any documentation to allow me to fly with the children I had with me. Maybe I am the only one who is freakishly obsessed by child abductions, but PLEASE just ask my kid if I am his mommy or take a peak at those birth certificates I brought with me. It would make me feel much more "secure" if you would. Thanks!

All in all: good times. Uploading 579 pictures now. Next blog: bring popcorn!

Funny Friday

Hudson walks past me the other day with white chalky Easter candy on his face. I stop him, "Hudson, come here. You have something on your face."

He comes over, looks me dead in the eye and says, "Is it a whisker?"

I try not to laugh.
"Um, no. It is not a whisker."
Hudson: "Well, if it is black, it is a whisker."
Me: "Well, it is white and it is candy."

He's a Hughes

This might be one of my favorite pictures of Tucker ever. He definitely is sportin' the Hughes curls and looks a like a little Grandpa H here. (Just with more hair)

Guest Blogger: One from Josh

First off, I want to say thank you to my beautiful bride.  Thank you for having this blog.  There is nothing that cheers me up more on a crummy day at work than to take a short break and find something new posted here.  And thank you for giving me the stage to share something with our friends and family here.

OK, now a warning for the rest of you.  I’m not going to be very good at this.  For one thing, it’s probably going to be long.  There are a couple of reasons for that.  I’m not a very good writer or communicator (“Hi, I’m Josh, and I’m an engineer”) and I’m a “painter”, not a “pointer” (for those who read The Seven Love Languages in your pre-wedding marriage counseling, you’ll get that).

But I wanted to share.  I don’t necessarily have a specific point, which is nothing new, but I’ve learned a few things as a father that I’d like to share.  The original inspiration for doing this was that Hudson went with me to the AMA Supercross race at Lucas Oil Stadium the other night, and we’ll get to that, but it may be a winding road to get there.

Thing #1 I’ve learned: parenting is hard.  The hardest thing I’ve ever done.  But boy, is it worth it.  It certainly starts out being a major strain on a marriage, but I think if you do it right, it ends up bringing you closer to your spouse.  Heather and I share such a strong bond in our love of our kids.  I’m thankful that we were fortunate enough to have a few years of marriage before we had kids.  We built a solid foundation on which to raise our family.  I would love Heather whether we had the two cutest little boys in the world or not.  But when I see one of them light up when she gets home from her latest photography session or when we worry together over the latest fever or what to do about one of them beating the stuff out of the other, my heart swells.  I thank God every day that I have this beautiful woman to share my life with.  And I have so much respect and admiration for any single parent who is doing their best to try to provide the love and discipline that a child needs without a committed spouse’s partnership.

OK, Supercross.  Going to the annual Supercross race in Indianapolis has become a traditional boy’s night.  Hudson has started watching the races on TV with me, and this year, we decided he was old enough to go along.  If you’ve never seen a Supercross race on TV, it’s worth checking out.  20 riders starting side-by-side head for the same spot in the first turn, then jump, bounce, and race their way around a football-field-size track at high speed.  The pre-race show is worth the price of admission by itself.  Turn out all the lights in the stadium, fire up a laser light show, shoot off some fireworks, and let the racers do a few tricks on their bikes under the spotlight.  Hudson loved every bit of it.

Thing #2 I’ve learned: always be on the lookout for “teachable” moments.  I’m not very good at this, either.  My friend Chris is.  Chris had recently shared a story of an ordinary comment from his son that, because of the questions Chris asked, he was able to turn it into a teachable moment.  There was one that stood out to me in the Supercross race.  One of the riders had led the entire main event in the 250cc class (this is the “junior” class for the guys who are getting a trial run to see if they’re ready for the big-boy 450cc class).  He was leading with less than half a lap to go in the 15-lap main event and he crashed on his own.  He ended up finishing 6^th.  Hudson is too young to grasp the concept of some of this, but I was thinking about what I would talk about with him if he were a couple of years older.  How would he handle himself in that situation?  Would he be able to accept the blame?  Why did that happen?  Had that racer not prepared well enough?  What is the correct response?  What do you say to your team that works on the bike when you get back to the pit area?  I can’t say that I would handle myself very well in that situation, but hopefully, this could be an opportunity to teach Hudson about humility, accepting responsibility for your mistakes, preparation, and responding to adversity with determination and hard work.

Thing #3 I’ve learned: I LOVE sharing my hobbies with my kids.  It was a lot more work and a lot more money and a lot more FUN to take Hudson with me to the Supercross race than it would have been to just go and be one of the guys.  I beamed with pride when he worked up the nerve to ask my friend Jesse for some of his bacon dip (this is what we will eat in heaven, I am convinced) at the pre-race dinner at the Oaken Barrel, and even said “please” and “thank you”.  I loved all his questions.  I loved that he was into watching the races.  I loved that he wanted to take pictures of what was going on (combining Mama’s and Dada’s interests; that’s cool!).  I loved that the seats got screwed up and he sat on my lap ALL NIGHT.  Best Supercross ever.  I’m normally not too disappointed when James Stewart messes up and loses a race that Ryan Villopoto goes on to win, but when Stewart messed up this time, Hudson looked up at me and said “that’s who I wanted to win”, it broke my heart.

Since I’ve procrastinated long enough on writing this, we’ve also made it to another boy’s tradition: the Columbus, Indiana Racer’s Reunion.  I have some friends involved in organizing this neat event, and I’ve been going for several years now.  Since Hudson and then Tucker were born, this has been a Daddy and the boy(s) event.  Tucker is at a tough age to take to something like this.  Hudson was a gem.  It’s tough.  Poor Tucker wanted to touch, climb in, drool on everything in site.  It’s one thing when he’s going to drool on my friend Derek, or Donald Davidson, the historian at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  It’s another when he wants to drool on a priceless antique race car.  Needless to say, a couple of boys got their day made by some very friendly folks who invited me to allow the boys to sit in their old quarter midgets. 

This is another annual tradition that has become much sweeter by sharing it with my little buddies.  We just won’t make the stop at Denny’s a repeat.  Seriously, I love Denny’s, but that was just gross.  I felt fortunate that none of us got violently ill after that.  Maybe there’s a reason I’ve really only been there at 2:00 a.m.  You have to have some impaired judgment to think that’s a good idea.

So that’s about it for my first and probably last foray into blogging.  I told you it would be long.  If you hung in there with me until the bitter end, thanks for reading.  We all owe Heather a big thank you because I now know what a pain it is to make time to do this.  Sweetie, I appreciate it!