Easter fun

Once again we spent Easter in Tahoe.  This year the weather was less threatening than last year but the biggest issue was that our Spring break was nowhere near Easter so making the drive to Yreka and back in a day's time or missing work/school seemed pointless.  The boys did enjoy going to the local egg hunt at the beach, finding fun goodies in their Easter baskets, and going to our church's service.  One of the most wonderful things about Easter was Ben's take on things.  Ben was already showing his doubt about whether or not the Easter Bunny is real. I told him the true Easter story and he said that it makes more sense for people to be happy about Jesus than a bunny.

This year's egg hunt at the beach had Ben and Sam in two different age groups so I spent the time running back and forth between the designated areas and feeling very lucky that I have wonderful friends in town who were happy to look out for the boys when I was going back and forth. 

As you can see from the photos, it was cold like it usually is in Tahoe for Easter, but we had no snow on the ground - though we did have flurries during the festivities.

Sam and Bella

Ready to go!



Ben and his very special friend, Lucy.



Ben in the chaos.



Sam on a mission.

Hello Easter Bunny!!!!

If only....

If only....
I remembered to take my camera everywhere we go.
the battery in my camera were always charged.
it didn't take so long to get photos uploaded.
I didn't spread myself so thin working, volunteering, and entertaining the kids.
I had a smart phone to capture moments as they are happening so I can post them immediately.
it didn't feel so overwhelming to catch up on the blogging I haven't done.

Snow Fest!

With all of the late-winter snow we got in March we tried to be outside to enjoy it as much as possible.  Brian found some kid-sized snowshoes for the boys and they took to it immediately.  I was out of commission for a good part of March following my car accident but did get a couple early morning outings with another mom to snowshoe on one of the local golf courses. 

The boys also got some "wicked powder" days in skiing at our local ski resort, Diamond Peak, with our sitter Jaime.  Both Ben and Sam have shown great improvement since the beginning of the season and are sure to be little shredders next season.  I, on the other hand, got a few days in skiing and am so far from skilled or graceful that it's embarrassing.  The one thing I can say is I have had fun even after not skiing for nearly 20 years!

The Many Faces of Sam

I've noticed that my last couple of posts have been pretty light on photos, specifically photos of the boys.  So here is a sampling of Sam in all his glory.  Sam loves to dress up and pretend to be someone else.  His most creative roles usually occur when Ben is at school - most likely because Ben often takes on the role of "cruise director" telling Sam what and how he should play.

Sam in his "Cuddle Boat."

Very proud of his LEGO football players.

"Cowboy Bandit" Sam.

Sam the giraffe.

"Underwater Diver Fireman"

Birthday Bash

A couple of weeks ago on March 13th, I celebrated my 34th birthday.  Last year we were wrapping up our trip to the Yucatan and Belize during my birthday and I was blessed with one of the most memorable celebrations ever complete with a performance from a Mayan dance group.  This year was wonderful as well but we celebrated much closer to home.

On Saturday the 12th we left the boys with one of the best sitters we know, Diana, for an overnight sleepover and we headed to Reno with our good friends/neighbors, Steve and Jackie.

We checked into the Peppermill hotel and casino and while Jackie and I changed into dressier clothes Brian and Steve started the night off with a beer at the Sportsbook.  From the Peppermill we headed to the El Dorado where we had dinner reservations and tickets to a show.  With a little time to kill before dinner we had a drink and people-watched in the casino.  We had a great, relaxing dinner at a steakhouse then headed to the showroom to watch "Buddy: the Buddy Holly Story."  It was a great show filled with talented performers who sang, danced, and played multiple instruments.  Of course I was familiar with some of Buddy Holly's music and knew the basic story of his untimely death.  What I didn't know was that Buddy, like my sweet husband, was born in Lubbock, Texas.  And Buddy Holly was only 19 when he hit it big with his music! 

After the show we headed back to the Peppermill and hung out in the casino some more.  Brian and I aren't accustomed to staying up late so it was a big night for us!  After doing our best and making it to 1:00 A.M. before heading back to our room we remembered that it was daylight savings and it was actually 2:00 A.M. with the new time.  Our short night was soon to be shorter with the hotel hallways never going to sleep!  People were coming and going on the stairs by our room all night, outside yelling, inside yelling, and generally causing a huge ruckus! 

The next morning we met up with Steve and Jackie for breakfast and found out that Jackie had heard all the noise the night before but Steve slept through it all! 

We headed back to Incline and the kids right around noon and I was greeted with big hugs and birthday wishes along with cupcakes the boys decorated with Diana.  The rest of the day was quiet and relaxing and the end to a great birthday weekend!

Ups and Downs

Here's the latest:

Up: Our toaster oven may not be breaking as I originally thought.
Down:  After making a new bread recipe yesterday in my KitchenAid mixer and using the same outlet where the toaster is plugged in the reset button was tripped again which indicates the problem is the outlet not the appliances.

Up:  I talked to the insurance adjuster last Thursday and was told the car would be ready for pickup on Friday.
Down:  The weather was so bad on Thursday night and Friday morning (let's just say feet of new snow and white-out conditions) that we have to delay getting the car until after the weekend. 

Down:  When Brian talked to the body shop to confirm that they could get our car to the local Subaru dealership to take care of a 45,000 mile service before we bring the car home, the body shop manager told him the car wasn't actually finished - 99% finished.  The manager said that due to the weather and nearly all the local highways being closed two small clips that hold in the tail light assembly had not yet arrived from Sacramento.
Up: The body shop already had the car to the dealership for the tune up because obviously they could rotate tires, change oil, and do all of the other necessary work without the tail lights on the one side of the car.

Up: My back has been feeling a lot better since the accident and I am now down to one chiropractor visit each week.  I have even been able to go skiing again! 
Down: Because of the terrible weather my yoga classes have been cancelled for the past two weeks!

Up: Everyone in our house has managed to avoid getting any of the variety of sicknesses that have been going around town - including strep throat, and the flu.
Down: Neither of the boys have been sleeping well at night which ultimately means that neither Brian or I have been sleeping well at night....we are hoping it's a phase.

Chaos update

It has now been nearly three weeks since my last post detailing the car accident I was in when another driver ran a red light and hit our Subaru.  So, here's the basic rundown of events since then...
On Thursday, March 3rd, the day after the accident I went to our family doctor and was checked out.  The good news is that there was no concern of any bone injury just strained muscles.  From there I took the damaged car to a body shop in Carson City recommended to us by the Subaru dealership.  I just happened to pick up my cell phone before heading out and had a message from the rental car company saying they had a car reserved for me and with what the insurance company was paying it would cover a mid-sized sedan...not what I was promised!!!  I immediately called back and explained the situation that I needed an all-wheel drive car to take the place of my wrecked Subaru and couldn't  take anything else.  The rental company representative basically told me that unless the insurance company called to change things that was all he could give me.  I called the insurance rep who had been working with me and proceeded to get her voicemail.  I left a message and began the wait.  When I arrived at the body shop I was greeted by a very nice man who assured me they would not only get the car fixed up but would also coordinate with the service department guy at the Subaru dealership to get our car serviced before we picked it up as we had to cancel the appointment we had previously scheduled.  When asked if the rental car company was coming over I had no answer.  I called the insurance rep again and got her voicemail again.  By this point the insurance adjuster had arrived at the shop to estimate the damages.  He heard that the rental car company did not assure me that I would have an all-wheel drive car and promptly called them and demanded that they give me what I had been promised and that he was authorizing it.  Thank goodness!!!  He then gave me his business card and told me to call with any questions I may have.
Once I had the rental car in my possession I took the opportunity to do a little grocery shopping on my own then headed home to Jaime and the boys.  I was exhausted and sore but happy to have one more step taken care of.
That evening I attended my monthly book club which happened to be at the home of my chiropractor and his wife.  All of my friends were very concerned with how I was feeling and it felt good to know that I have so many people in my life who care about me.  I was also lucky that my chiropractor's wife had his schedule at home and was able to add me to the next day's appointments so I could get adjusted and checked out more.
After a restless sleep I was ready to have my stiff body worked on.
To shorten the story I have been going to the chiropractor between 2 and 3 times a week since the accident.  Today was the first time that I walked into the building feeling no pain.  My spine still had quite a few places that it needed to be put back into place but I feel that I am back on the right path to feeling like myself again.
Slowly I have been able to add in my workouts including yoga and snowshoeing without feeling absolutely beat-up when I finish. 
Though we still don't have the car yet we do have new car seats for the boys and have even been reimbursed the cost.  I have been told the car will be ready at the end of the week.
It's going to take some time for all of us to really "heal."  I have noticed that Ben has been much more needy and clingy since the accident. He often doesn't want me to leave the house and will even follow me around the house while I do chores like laundry or simply go to get something from the pantry. He wakes more often at night and cries out for me needing me to lie down with him until he falls back to sleep. I am hoping that once we are back in our own car he will see things as getting back to normal and regain his independence and confidence.

On other notes:
We are still dealing with our obnoxious neighbors who continue to turn the wrong way down our icy driveway (remember back when I mentioned our garage door getting crunched?) but have now pulled the home owners' association into the mix to start issuing violations.  This is after at least two more near misses of cars hitting our building. 

Brian has also ordered a new garbage disposal for the kitchen and for now we are just dealing with the toaster oven only being able to toast.  I have also been able to get back to work in my kitchen and have had two successful weeks of cooking two new recipes for clients. 

Looking back now at the photos I don't see the massive damages I originally felt, which I guess is a good thing.

When it rains it pours

Before you read any more of this entry you first have to read the entry prior to this one titled, "If it's not broken..."

This morning our amazing sitter, Jaime, arrived at 9:30 to be with the boys and help me out so I could run errands and do all of the things that become three times more challenging with kids in tow.  The boys and Jaime settled in playing when I headed out the door at 10:00 AM to be gone for about an hour before returning so Sam and Jaime could got to TCF while Ben and I got a little "special time" before he had to be at preschool at 12:15. 

I felt good about the things I had accomplished in about 45 minutes and was heading home just before 11:00.  I pulled into the left-hand turn lane from the main drag in town (State Route 28 aka Tahoe Boulevard) and waited as the first car in line for the light to change to green.  When the light changed I started to turn only to be struck in the back passenger side of the car by a Toyota truck headed straight on the highway when he ran through the red light.  The good news is that I was alone and not hurt....the boys were safe at home with Jaime.  The bad news is that the back corner of our car, just behind the door where I take Sam in and out of the car, is completely crushed.  The taillights are smashed, the quarter panel is dented in, the bumper is ruined and the rear hatch-back door closes but not completely.  All I can think is what if Sam had been in his seat?

The guy who hit me immediately took the blame as we exchanged insurance information.  I called Brian at work to tell him what had happened and he suggested calling our local dispatch so a report could be filed.  With adrenaline surging through my body and my hands shaking I asked him to call for me.  The driver of the other vehicle and I opted to go into a nearby printing company to photo copy all of the necessary information and within minutes I saw an ambulance arrive outside.  It was quickly joined by a firetruck, two county sheriff's deputies, and two Nevada state troopers.  The paramedics questioned if we were okay - which we both were - and then the state trooper stepped in to have us fill out reports.  By this time it was 11:30.  I had already called Jaime who I figured was probably wondering where I was and she assured me she would make sure Ben was ready for school.  By the time I got home it was nearing noon so Jaime and I loaded the boys' seats into her car and took Ben to school. 

With great advice and support from friends at Ben's preschool and at our church I headed home and began the process of making claims with the insurance companies.  After over an hour and a half I have the appropriate info to the appropriate people and am waiting on a return phone call to set up a rental car for our family so we don't have to cancel our weekend travel plans to be with my family to celebrate my grandparents' birthdays.  Many people are surprised that we only have one car for our family...this also complicates things because we absolutely need a car to be able to carry on our daily lives - an all-wheel drive car so we aren't stuck in Tahoe with the winter weather full upon us.

For now I am resting and feeling some tightness in my lower back.  I have an appointment scheduled to see our local family doctor tomorrow morning and I have cancelled my weekly Meals By Maggie dinner for tomorrow to continue to recover and hopefully get a rental car.  I feel blessed to have Jaime here to help me today and tomorrow as she is always calm and positive and exactly what the boys and I need.

I will keep you posted.

If it's not broken....

I know what you're thinking...."Don't fix it."  Well around here the quote would more appropriately be, "If it's not broken, it probably doesn't belong to us."

But before I get into that we have to back up...as usual.

For a couple of years a handful of the homeowners in our building, including us, had been pushing to get our 40+ year-old building re-sided.  With one homeowner/HOA board member continually insisting that all we needed was a new coat of paint and several other homeowners never giving any input either way it was a big deal to FINALLY get a siding project going last fall.  Honestly it took the handful of us in favor to just keep pushing and for the difficult homeowner to see how much better the adjacent building looked after they got new siding to change his mind.  (He actually had his unit up for sale and finally agreed that he would never be able to sell if his place looked so much worse compared to the neighboring building.)  So, by the end of the fall we were all fixed up with Brian and I even having the siding crew redo the surface of our deck and our front stairs. 

In addition to the siding project we opted to have a storage room/pantry built into the empty space underneath our front stairs.  A local contractor took that job for us and after weeks of issues with permits and a general lack of follow-through with the contractor we FINALLY have a pantry space to store our dry goods and some other food items. 

So....each winter we usually have someone who is not very skilled in winter driving end up sliding into the large concrete bollard at the corner of our building.  We have signs posted that say, "No Left Turn When Icy" to encourage people from getting themselves into sticky situations on our icy and steep driveway.  Everyone who has lived in our complex knows the risks of our driveways in the winter but when our newest neighbors moved into their rented unit back in January we were in the middle of a dry spell so all the driveways were clear and safe.  So when we finally started getting some more snow a couple of weeks ago they were already accustomed to making a left turn right in front of our unit. 

At 3:43 A.M. on Wednesday, February 16th, Brian and I were both awakened by a loud sound and a shake.  By the time we put the pieces together that someone had hit the building and looked out the window all we saw were tire tracks in the snow leading down the steep driveway right to our garage door!  Brian saw the taillights of a vehicle pulling past the new neighbors' unit and out the complex.  Brian immediately went downstairs and put on his coat and boots to discover that our garage door (only three years old) was crushed inward.  He called the sheriff who arrived not much later and we went through the process of filing a report.  To make a very long story short(er) we were never able to get the license plate number of the vehicle that hit our door and no one in our neighbors' unit will admit to anything though we are certain that it was someone coming to pick up one of the residents to go to work.  We are now looking at paying our homeowners' insurance deductible of $500 on our own despite the guilt of someone else with the costs of the garage repairs being twice as much.

To add insult to injury it also seems that our toaster oven is now dying.  The toaster part is still working but whenever I turn on the oven portion it trips the reset button on the outlet where it is plugged in.  This really isn't that big of a deal but it is an inconvenience considering I am always warming things up for the boys in the toaster oven.

Within a couple of days of the toaster acting up I was washing dishes and flipped the switch on our garbage disposal to clean out the small food bits that were in the sink.  After a few seconds of running fine the motor started to sound funny and the smell that often accompanies overworked electrical motors began to emanate through the kitchen.  I unplugged the disposal immediately and added it to the list of things for our friend/handyman Paul to look at the next time he comes by.

Within the next 24 hours I was washing some laundry including some very icky underwear of Sam's (he is 98% potty-trained but is still reluctant to do his #2's in the potty) so I set the washer to a presoak cycle.  When I realized that the cycle didn't include spinning the dirty water out I changed cycles again to get a spin cycle then changed again to a regular wash cycle to get things finished up.  Somewhere in the process I must have caused a hose to backflow or something because there was then a small puddle on the laundry room floor.  I opted to keep the washer going and luckily it seems that it was a small incident with no flooding or other issues...thank goodness!

Back in early January our sitter accidentally dropped the glass coffee pot in the sink and broke it so Brian bought me a small French press so I could make my one cup of coffee fresh each morning.  Just this last weekend I was again washing dishes and the glass insert of my coffee press slipped from my hand and broke in the sink.  Really?!?!  Something else broken?  Brian was home to witness this and immediately picked up a pen and added "coffee press" to his list of things to take care of...he had a new one ordered on Amazon the very next day.

I admit these are all small things to worry about when so many other people have real issues to deal with but in our little home it seems like the little things can have major impacts.  So for now, wish us luck in fixing what's broken and avoiding anything more serious from happening.

Sick kids, Holiday spirit, and Winter roads

After having to cancel our Thanksgiving travel plans when Ben got sick I was worried again in the week and a half before Christmas when Sam developed a fever of over 103 degrees that persisted for three days.  He didn't seem to be unusually uncomfortable due to the fever but did develop a cough that wracked his little body.  I called our family doctor only to find that her office was closed but they immediately scheduled us with another local doctor who got Sam in that same day.  He was diagnosed with bronchitis and given antibiotics to clear things up.  I was relieved that it was something that could easily be treated and also have the antibiotics finished up before we joined the rest of the Browders in Modesto for Christmas.
Ben finished up 2010 with a holiday program at his preschool on December 17th.  He was excited to have not only me, Brian, and Sam in attendance to hear his songs but also our neighbors, Steve and Jackie.  The boys and I spent the morning running the never-ending errands before school then Sam and I dropped Ben off and went to Brian's office for a quick gift-exchange/lunch.  Sam and I headed out to do just a couple more errands and were surprised by the amount of snow that had fallen throughout the morning.  I had noticed how slick the roads were but felt fairly confident in our all-wheel-drive Subaru.  All I had to do was shift into the sport-shift mode and shift to a lower gear to slow myself down.  We opted to come home to pick something up (at this point I don't even remember what it was now) and started down the steep driveway between our building and the adjacent building.  The next thing I knew, a minivan driven by a neighbor in the building next to ours was speeding up the driveway basically pushing me to the side.  My car began to slide and though I managed to avoid hitting the newly-sided building I found my front passenger side tire stuck in a couple feet of snow inside the concrete-edged flower bed.  And the neighbor in the van?  He just drove away without looking back!  I immediately turned off the car and ran over to Steve and Jackie's for help.  Sam sat patiently in the car buckled into his car seat.  With Steve and a builder who was working on our new pantry both pushing while I rocked the car we managed to get it out.  I thanked them both profusely and retrieved whatever it was that I had come home for in the first place.  Then we were off again to do one more thing before getting Brian and heading to the preschool for the program.  By the time I got to Brian's office I was still shaken and also worried as the check engine light was on in the car and we were slated to leave town in just a couple of days for Christmas. 

Ben's program was as cute as can be though I have no photos as I forgot to grab my camera in the excitement of the morning.  When we finished with the program I had Brian take over driving and we immediately went by our local automotive shop and had the mechanic reset our speed sensors that had been triggered when the tires were spinning.  I was happy to get home to finish packing up Christmas gifts and suitcases and stay off the roads until absolutely necessary.

Far, Far Behind: Part 1

Our weather back in early December called for lots of inside activities as the snow fell, swirled, and piled up.  One of the things Brian and the boys had a great time doing was building with K'nex.  It seemed that if the boys requested something, Brian was able to build it - a helicopter, a fork lift. 

Looking through a window they built.



Lots of creations.



We also celebrated Sam's 3rd birthday (the day before his actual birthday) with a party at a local business called "Jump Man Jump" which is basically a huge warehouse filled with inflatable jumpers. Sam's playgroup, the Lake Tahoe Little Twigs, is a pretty big group with several kids who have birthdays between early November and early December. So, being the wise moms we are, five of us opted to have a joint party for our kids for all the playgroup members. We all had a great time bouncing and then having lunch and birthday cake. 

Sam on his way up the ladder for the big slide.

Sam and friend, Chloe, waiting in line for the slide.

Ben and preschool classmate, Lainey (big sister to Ellie - one of the birthday kids).





Trying to get five 3 year-olds to all blow out the candles was a little tricky!

A firestation tent from Nan and Teddy!!!

A Sam-I-Am puzzle from Ben.

Thanks for the helicopter Auntie Beth, Uncle Pete, and Kayla!

Chocolate cake with vanilla icing!

Christmas Snapshots