Just in Case You Were Wondering...

1.  Giant cardboard flowers are fabulous for hiding your belly in pictures (and look cute too)!   I think I'm going to start carrying one with me in my purse.

2.  Learning about the Civil War can actually be really fun.  We went to a Civil War day at a nearby historic farm and had a fabulous time.  Ellie, in particular, was so excited that she dressed the part and was thrilled when the organizers invited her back to be a volunteer next year.  My favorite part was seeing a real cotton plant (seriously...it was really cool).  

3.  Matching clothes are cute even when you're a teenager.  Well past the age of being able to pick out my kids' clothes, the other day my girls made me smile when they intentionally dressed to match each other...

It made me think back to the day, that doesn't seem all that long ago, when they looked like this...


4.  I miss those days.     ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑  ↑


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Mother's Day Top 5 (and a Bottom 1)

I can't let this week go by without doing a little recap on Mother's Day.  The older the kids have gotten, the less I expect for Mother's Day, but the more they continue to impress me.  Gone are the little clay pinchpots from art class and in their place are other, more meaningful gifts--gifts of kindness, creativity, and service.  I sure love these kids!

Here's a look at my Mother's Day Top 5:

5.  Cute handmade cards-- Although you could tell he was pleased with the poem and picture, Adam apologized to me that the bird didn't really look like a real chickadee (as referenced in the poem).  I also really like how he thought to cross out "from" and change it to "love".   :)

4.  A gorgeous homemade bracelet from Adam--who must have reassured me ten times during the day that he was not the only boy who made their mom jewelry at his friend's house.  

3.  My very own one-of-a-kind Mother's Day coupon book from Ellie--which included such coupons as quiet time,  a mommy-daughter date, game night, and story time.  

2.  Emma made Lemon-Roasted Chicken and Vegetables for dinner and Cami made breadsticks and chocolate cookies--it was absolutely awesome eating homemade food that I did not cook myself.  

1.  Kids (particularly one) who willingly posed for a picture with me.   Even if his motives were socially driven (so he could put it on Instagram) and he felt the random need to tackle me to the couch before letting anyone pull out the camera, I was  still grateful for a rare smiling shot of the two of us.  

Now if I could just figure out how to freeze time.  I'm not sure I like this growing up and leaving the house stuff that is soon upon us.


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BOTTOM 1

#1 And what Mother's Day would be complete without a major appliance breaking?  My dishwasher has burned out its third motor in five years.  :(


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OTHER MOTHER'S DAY TRADITIONS (that I didn't take pictures of)

Breakfast in bed--Glen made a fabulous breakfast of crepes, eggs, and fresh fruit!
Planting flowers in the yard--mostly it was the flowers for our deck with a few for around the mailbox.

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Meet Rocky (Pets: Part 2)

 In 2009, a friend of a friend offered to let us adopt their already neutered and house-trained pug-beagle mix before they took him to the pound.  My kids had been begging for a dog for years before that and although I already knew that I was not a dog lover, I let the rest of the family persuade me into giving him a try.  The dog previously called Oliver, was quickly renamed the much cooler sounding name, "Rocky," by the kids.  He was about one-year-old and although quite cute, was also quite a handful.  

You see, although I had had two brief stints as a dog owner in my childhood, nobody had yet cued me into the Dog Statement of Belief.  What?  You've never heard of the Dog Statement of Belief?  Well I have it on good authority that it goes something like this:      

"We claim the privilege of rolling in poo, pulling things out of the trash, chewing up leather shoes, and barking at any and all people, animals, and vehicles that come within sight of our house.  If there is anything stinky, meaty, or in any ways gross, we seek after these things." 

Apparently most people already know all about dog's beliefs and have either come to an acceptance about them in exchange for their cheerful companionship or have decided that they don't want anything to do with them.  Although by nature I fall squarely into the latter category, over the past few years Rocky and I have come to a reluctant peace with each other.

While I may not love all of his antics, I've grown to appreciate his presence during the day and his eager willingness to accompany me on a walk.  I find it sweet when he snuggles up next to anyone who sits on "his" couch and mostly I love that the kids adore him.   And on really good days  when he hasn't acted too crazily (not very often),  I even occasionally find myself wondering what kind of dog we might get next.

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More about Rocky:  

Rocky's favorites

• Likes to sleep snuggled next to Ellie
• Is attracted to dirty underwear and socks and will chew them to bits if given the opportunity
• loves going on walks
• loves to chase squirrels, but never even comes close to catching them
• is very sweet with the kids

Things that annoy us about Rocky

• Although the owner and dog are very friendly, Rocky hates the greyhound that lives around the corner from us, and goes embarrassingly crazy whenever we cross paths.
• Barks....a lot!

Other pets owned: 

• hermit crab
• 1 gerbil and a devil-gerbil, Fui and Lucy
• a couple of fish

Blogging Telegram Style

Telegram #1  <stop>

Good news   <stop>

Spencer healthy  <stop>

12 months <stop>

Yay  <stop>

Clinic Stats:  Weight=71.9 kg , WBC=6.29 ,  Hgb=16.1 , Platelets=146 ,  ANC=3950  <stop>


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PS #1  Sorry for the lack of eloquence.  My brain was simply too tired for words and  I didn't want to hold back the good news for another day.  :)

PS  #2 Sorry about the video that didn't work.  I"ll try it again in another blogpost.  

Motherhood

When the doctor placed Spencer into my arms for the first time, I remember marveling at his tiny little  features.  He had dark hair like mine and brown eyes almost the exact same color as Glen's.  I was young--barely 22 and still in college when he was born--but our youthfulness did not stop us from harboring big dreams for our firstborn.  There was no doubt in our minds that our tiny little son was destined to become a strong, faithful, warm, caring, athletic, hard-working, mama-loving, responsible, God-fearing CEO someday.   

Eighteen years later and I look back to those days when I snuggled that hungry little newborn close to my breast for the first time, both of us fumbling with fatigue and inexperience,  with a sort of longing for the simplicity and singleness of heart we shared.   I never could have imagined then, the exquisite joy and the heart-wrenching aches that motherhood would one day bring.  
 
I look back at some of the heartaches I've faced as a mother--a child who seems bent on being prickly to everyone and everything, a little one with physical challenges that have the potential to hold her back both physically and academically, and a son who has already literally battled for his life --and sometimes I wish I could go back to me as that young mother tickling her firstborn under the chin and tell her to hang on.

Hang on to the joy and embrace it with every part of your soul.   You'll need those joys to fill your soul with enough light to pull you through the dark moments of your life.    Don't get so caught up in the duties of motherhood that you forget the very people who have made you a mother.  Dishes and emails can wait.   Take the time to listen, notice, and embrace them right here and right now.

It's worth it.



Happy Mother's Day  to all of you and especially my own dear mother, who instilled in us kids a sense of what is really important in life.  Love you, Mom!


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Deck: Before and After

Remember Glen's horrible incident from last fall?

The one where he lived through his own Wile E Coyote episode when he stepped on a loose board on the deck and it flipped up, smacking him in the face, and required 7 stitches to fix.

Well, Glen is pleased to announce that the offending board is not only gone, but was recently chopped to a pile of rubble along with the rest of the crumbling deck.

We went from boards that were weathered, loose, and discolored...

to beautiful, smooth, and strong.



The old deck from a distance....


and the NEW DECK!!!!


Styling it after our neighbor's deck we added the pergola into the corner to be our little garden paradise...

We hung flowers and bird feeders....

and put in a birdbath...


It hasn't been there long, but already our deck and little pergola garden have brought us little spots of happiness into our day.   I love peeking out the window when I cook and we all love to arrange our chairs during mealtimes to be able to see the bright and cheerful colors of the flowers and to admire the new birds it seems to be attracting.  We keep our bird id book on the table with us  and after a week  we've already seen three new species that we'd never seen before (rose breasted grosbeak, common flicker, and we think a yellow-bellied sapsucker).

Oh, and it's also nice to be able to walk on the deck again without fearing that someone might end up in the emergency room again.

  Now we've got that big item off our to-do list....

only 19,353,391 more to go.

Family History: Pets Part 1

I recently read a fascinating article from the NY Times about how valuable it is for kids to be familiar with their family's stories--stories from their own childhood and stories from their parents' and grandparents' pasts.  It was found that people who were familiar with their family history were more likely to feel connected and a part of something "bigger" and as such had higher self-esteem and were more resilient when hard times hit their lives.

After reading the article I felt comfortable that through this blog my children were getting a good glimpse at our lives from 2007 on, but I wondered how I could do better at capturing some of the stories from before that.  Because I'm a person who likes routine,  I've decided to devote a blogpost every Thursday to delving into our pasts.  It's likely that I won't use as many pictures in these posts, but I hope in sharing these stories that they will get an even better glimpse of where they came from and who they are.  I will be using a writing prompt each week and will cover a wide variety of topics.

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I was born into a family of pet haters.  It's not that we are cruel to animals or don't love other people's animals, but more that they just seemed like one thing too many to take care of in a bustling house filled with eight busy kids.  Twice we tried dog ownership and twice it was a dismal failure.

The first time was when I was about ten and my dad surprised us by bringing home a puppy.   We named him "Cinnamon-Sugar" and thought he was great fun to chase around the yard.   Too bad my mom was not in on the surprise and was not happy about the new member of the household.  A couple of days later, in a very puppy-like moment, Cinnamon excitedly greeted a neighbor kid and in process scratched him on the face.   My mom panicked and dragged us all back inside as quickly as she could.

Next thing I knew the police were pounding at the door and my mom had locked us in a bedroom and told us not to make a peep.  She had no desire to talk to the police about the dog's crime and she figured if we just hid, they'd have to come back later when my dad was home from work.  I actually have no idea how the issue with the neighbor was resolved, but suffice it to say that Cinnamon didn't last the week at our house.

The next time we tried dog ownership, we were in our house in Andover.   A family friend was moving and had given us their two trained Pomeranians (I think that's what they were).    We were older, had a bigger yard, and the dogs were actually very sweet.  Oddly I don't remember their names, but I do remember that they used to spend most of the day under my dad's desk.  We took good care of them and made sure they had everything they needed, except for love and cuddles.  Most of us Crains are not the touchy-feely type and it just never occurred to us to sit on the couch and snuggle up with the dogs.  Eventually after I had graduated and left for college, one of them was hit by a car, which when I think of our dead-end street in almost rural Minnesota, seems like it had to have been quite the careless driver.   Shortly thereafter my family moved to Russia and gave the remaining dog to a loving family.  We heard that it was a good fit and they were quite happy together.

After that they recognized that dogs were not for them.  They now own a cat, Tux, who spends most of his time outdoors.  Other than when we come to visit with Glen and Cami's cat allergies, it's a perfect fit for them.  

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Mom, Dad, and siblings:  Feel free to chime in on this post and let me know where my memory is faulty.  

  Stay tuned for Pets Part 2--- my adult experience with pets. 

Running in the Lead

When I was in ninth grade a friend talked me into joining the junior high cross country team with her. I had never participated in a sport before (the joys of being an oldest child) and thought it might be a fun way to stay in shape.  Haha.  Fun wasn't quite the word for it.   I slogged my way through that season and vowed never, ever to run again unless someone was chasing me.

During the next summer, however,  the high school cross country coach contacted me and encouraged me to run for the high school team.  I'm not sure if it was a problem of selective memory or me just enjoying feeling wanted, but somehow I agreed to do it.

In the next three years I never rose above being a middle-of-the-pack runner, but somewhere along the way I grew to love running.   I loved the people on the team, I loved the exhilaration of finishing a race, and I loved the time it gave me to think.  My senior year, I was elected to be captain of both the cross country team and the distance team in track-and-field.  It was an honor for me and I wish I had more pictures of that time of my life, because I look as exhausted as humanly possible in the one picture I could find.  (I am with my friend Mia)

I never did run competitively after high school, but I have since used running as the main way to keep in shape during my adult life.   Although it is clear from looking at the extra pudge that has made its home around my middle, that I have not been running as often as I should lately, I am pleased that my family seems to have caught the running bug from me as well.    Not only did I introduce Glen to running, which has led him to run 4 marathons and several triathlons, but my kids also seem to enjoy it.  Cami runs on her high school cross country and winter track teams and Emma and Adam participate in their elementary school running program.   Ellie's not quite old enough for it yet, but she's already let me know that she's excited to join next year as well.

A couple of times a year one of the schools my children attend will host a race.  In the fall, it's the elementary school.  In the spring, it's their high school.  My kids insist on running in both.  The high school race was about a week ago.    Ellie and Adam opted to run in the one-mile fun run, a high spirited race that winds around the school grounds and ends with a lap around the track.   Here they are taking off at the starting line...

Adam got a cramp in the middle and ended up finishing at 8:29, which although a tad slower than last year's time, is still considerably faster than I could run a mile these days.
 

Ellie, as you can remember, has a broken ankle. I tried with every last ounce of my motherly persuasion to convince her that she should sit this year's race out and rest her foot instead.  She, being the stubborn Goold that she is,  would have nothing to do with it though and attempted to run anyway.  It was a very long mile filled mostly with walking, but she persevered the entire mile and even managed to cross the finish line in a hobbling sort of run.   Sadly, instead of being glad that she finished,  she ended up disappointed with her "almost last place finish".  I was quick to remind her though that she was first place in the broken ankle division.


 After the fun run, we went to cheer on Cami and Emma in the 5K.  Emma was nervous about not having a running partner, but she did fabulously without one and ended up very pleased with her 29:40 time (a PR for her).

Cami didn't set any PR's, but still managed to finish respectably...

And  look cute while doing it...

I'm so proud of my little speedsters...

Now it's my turn to follow their lead and lace up my running shoes too!

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Happy Sinko de Mayo!

 I kept hearing people say that today was Sinko de Mayo.

I like mayo enough, but couldn't quite figure out why everyone devote an entire day to celebrating it.
I suggested having mayo sandwiches for dinner along with a mayo smoothie, but Glen wanted nothing to do with it and instead made us a traditional British dinner, like the kind he ate on his mission.  We ate roast beef (completely mad-cow free), mashed potatoes, yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts, and Emma even made a beautiful trifle for dessert.


 It was delicious, but at the end of the day I felt a tad jilted that we didn't get to properly celebrate, so we did the next best thing I could think of...

It was a tad anticlimatic, but at least  you can never say we don't know how to have a good time around here!



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A Man

I'm not sure how it happened that this kid....

suddenly grew taller than me, started shaving, and actually had the gall to turn eighteen the same week I turned forty...

but on Tuesday he did.

He wasn't going to be home much on his birthday, so I kidnapped he and Cami out of school, met Glen, and took them out for a special birthday lunch at the Buffalo Wing Factory.

Later on we all went to his lacrosse game.  It was the final home game of the season and as part of it, they honored all of the seniors on the team.   I escorted him onto the field and  they announced for the whole world to hear that he has decided to attend James Madison University this fall!!!!   (yay!  he is going to be close to home!)

Here he is with his fellow seniors.  

They didn't win and he didn't get as much playing time as he hoped for in his final home game, but it was a good game nonetheless and we loved watching him gain strength and endurance as he played this season.  He's come a long way since this time last year!

After the game we enjoyed a late-night bit of DQ ice cream cake (a favorite of  Spence's) and crashed into bed.  We will properly celebrate his birthday (with traditional birthday crepes and gifts) this weekend!

We are proud of Spencer and look forward to the bright future that lay before him as he starts his days as a JMU duke!     Happy 18th birthday Spence!!!!!



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