growing up fast

Sloane is TOO much. I have been SO attachment parenting good about holding her for 95% of her day and her life and she's been in a sling and I keep thinking 'at least she won't learn to crawl or walk because she never gets any practice nor has any reason to. Alas, she has been scooting in a not-true-crawl for some time now and then, out of no where, she suddenly can truck across a room in a proper crawl AND use her walker (any child-size chair will do in a pinch) to walk about the house. When she plods around it's as if she's stomping all over my feelings with no regard for my wishes that she remain a babe-in-arms for at least another year! Humph!
So, it's baby gates and constantly pulling her out of the kitchen cabinets, she stands and the armoire and takes out all her toys, she's pulling the books off the shelves...ugh. Yesterday marked a milestone: she knocked down the block castle Billie was working on. I know it's generally thought that babies impact the older sibling (how much can they impact when all they do is sleep and nurse for 3 months?) but up until this point she's just been there for them to cuddle and sing when the feeling takes them. Most of the time they are totally involved in their games or have their nose in a book and Sloane is just along for the ride- she's on their schedule, going in the sling or the backpack to their playgrounds. But now she's knocking down their castle...soon the grabbing will begin...and i think i've got to get ready for a whole new dynamic.
boxes of choclate do make me feel better- and i enjoy carrot cake a great deal.
and letterboxing is the coolest new thing ever. some random people hide a tupperware that contains a stamp, stamppad and a small notebook in the forest, along a trail. Then they post some cryptic directions on the internet (12 paces East of the quadruple tree) and we go round filling up our own little notebook with all the stamps we find. I've whittled a Solley5 stamp from an eraser and we've found 2 out of 3 on our first excursion (spotted one black snake as well)! We're addicted- it's a nice day of hiking for Bill and I (and Sloane gets a nap in the backpack) and the kids are motivated to keep walking through the woods in search of a treasure at the end of the clues.
More to write about unschoolers and meeting their free-spirited Moms and cape-clad children in the next post.

just pictures

It's a double blog day- because here's some more pictures- the house is getting together!!!


 

got skills?

Guess what we did two days ago? We learned to knit! I'm putting together an art closet with all sorts of activities so the kids can look it over and see what's enticing. Amoung the new items are some knitting looms and we just sat down for a couple hours and taught ourselves to knit. It was too cute. We made one little hat for Billie's baby 'Lola' and one little bag for batman. In other news Sloane is still unbelievably darling and people go WILD when they see her (just random strangers).



 

projects

We've been busy here- when we're not painting we're doing homeschool stuff and when we're not doing that - we're reading Captain Underpants books which the kids INSISTED we get from the library (which is awesome and we go 3 times a week) because Jackson saw an ad for that in one of his comic books. So...we're reading that and A Little Princess is collecting dust on Billie's nightstand. But when we're NOT reading Captain Underpants which is actually SO funny and all about oppressive teachers vying to crush any imaginative spirit in their classroom and general silliness. So...when we're not doing those things- we're putting on face paint and dressing up or the kids found this old building set and created these amazing inventions and you should just hear the list of the things these things are capable of. Jackson's system is a weather controller. Here is Sloane looking dubious about her sister's new face design- "a unicorn on each cheek and fancy swirls with glitter and really swirly all around the rest of my face."
This is how life used to be...but without friends- I miss you Tiff, Lucia, Nina, Jill, Emily, Megan, and the rest of you...
It's not the same hanging out with my friends that are cool (too cool to read blogs so that's why i can write about them here) who have pictures of boys bare bottoms on their cell phones and balk at the idea of riding in my mini-van. I remember being 19- sort of.

finding purpose

Okay, so i'm setting up house and it seems pretty self-centered (even by Billie's standards) to be spending every single second of my time setting up our new house. As if clean dishes and rug placement has anything to do with anything at the end of the day. And it's making me crazy so I found the SUPEREST website. it's volunteermatch.org everyone go there RIGHT NOW and figure out where you can sign up and do something that matters. By the way- i'm saying this to those of you who aren't a teacher at a school for kids who live in a less-than-perfect environment like my cousin Laura. Like, if you feel good after you cleaned behind the dryer...i'm calling you out...that's TOO much time that could be spend doint something cool like working for the center for multicultural human services like i'm going to do. how perfect is that? because i'm all freaked out at the super stores myself and i've taught english in Japan and would be so good at helping someone with their 7th grade homework or a job application so, that's what i'm doing. This is going to be something i do with the kids along so they get an idea of how people help eachother because i'm sure we'll be learning at least as much as we're teaching!! i'm SO excited. screw the laundry!

stuff's here!

our house is now an explosion of stuff- the movers came and i feel really bad spending any time at all on the computer when i could be sorting through some of the 3000 books we have. SERIOUSLY. but we've got paint on the walls, our own couch, our armoire that's only slightly cracked and so it's beginning to feel like our own place. it'll be a while before we can get around to anything cosmetic- right now it's just fixing the damaged stuff and making things livable....but we'll get there...one day. i just thought i should write and let you know we're still alive. billie, jackson and sloane are still rolling along with everything and being super great. painting is something i hadn't ever done in a sling before (there are still some mom hurdles even i, a mom of three, haven't crossed) but now i've painted a house while holding a baby. having my professional painter/ step-dad here has been the BEST thing ever because he knows all about primers and methods and repairs that need done before painting. will write more when i have just one room put away and set up!

stuff

all better...

okay, that last post was too sad. i'm getting much better. boppi is here and we're all having fun, things are happening and i'm determined not to turn into the yuppie life we are living...just because we're all in the perfect suburbia house, with khakis and jogging strollers, the kitchen sink window and white teeth...it's not like we've got a tire swing or anything...oh wait, Bill did install one a couple days ago.
seriously, i was thinking about it and all of a sudden it hit me. this was SIMPLE LIVING. (my recently sought after philosophy on life). Not much furniture, not much to do. No schedule- wake up, do yoga, kids play, eat breakfast, take a walk, quiet time, reading, call from bill, gardening, la de da. be careful what you wish for. It was living simply. i'm sure there's a time when i'll regret not enjoying this more but for now i'm wondering when soccer starts and how i can step myself into hippie mom crowds with diverse opinions and where to sign the kids up for karate.
here's a few pictures of cute Sloane and her teeth (4!)...coming at you...to bring us all out of the depths of despair from my last post. Also- don't read Hello, I must be going...i just finished it and it's really sad. REALLY sad. but with some comical bits.
but one that got me thinking was White Guys. i read that last week.

getting it together

i know i haven't written in a while but i didn't want to bore you with my social break-downs and culture shock issues. so, i'm just back from the grocery store and i'm FINALLY getting the hang of it. This was a whole dilemma: the super frou-frou gourmet food was too overwhelming and i'd come home with lots of olives because they looked so nice with the display...greens and blacks and excotic regions of the world all represented...i'd come home with mounds of peaches and there'd be nothing for dinner. 'The ghetto grocery store will be more manageable' I decided. But there's lines and poor people and I can't find the tomatoes in the balsamic vinegar falovring i like....and there's STILL too many sections- are refried beans under 'hispanic' or canned veggies? Ack! Each time I'd be there with the 3 kids, people smiling at me because Sloane is in a sling and has a hair fountain on top of her head and I just couldn't make any decisions. But this morning I applied for the 'member' card, i took the time to read the prices, i bought two for one and 12 yogurt for $6 deals (that's when it's so good to have a big family- what family of 3 could get 12 yogurts?) and i came away with what i needed! Hooray!
if you're reading this and thinking...hmm...things were a lot more interesting when they lived overseas....you're right.
we are so ORDINARY. Bill goes to work for 8 hours a day, his actual driving time from door to door clocks in at 11minutes. It's flex-time so if he wants to go late, he can stay late and vice versa. He's home most days by 4:30pm. We can still meet for lunch. The people he works with are cool and smart and he's got a flashy title. There is a window right over the kitchen sink so when I'm in there fixing up some olives on a plate for dinner with fresh off the vine tomatoes from the neighbors yard, I see his not too old car pull up and he gets out, in khakis, a button up plaid shirt, with one of those around the neck shoelace key holder/ID card things with glasses and nice shoes and I just think this must be how normal feels. He's been at his corner office with windows all day and I've been here and at the grocery store, Making forts in the backyard, learning the States and reading for our morning homeschool routine and feeding Sloane baby food at least 6 times a day because she is an EATER. So, if you're still reading at this point: take a little check of how you feel and that will give you a sense of how boring my life is. But mentally i keep things exciting with worries of becoming friends with yuppies and reading about 3 fiction books a week. By the way go get: Hello, I must be going from your library right now. It is SO funny.
Like here's something I could write: we got our new dining room table yesterday.
but that is SO LAME- who wants to read about that?
I'm going back outside to play soccer with the kids.

starting over..again

well, we made the drive. the first day was great- kids were better than ever and our little van was pulling the u-haul like a champ. (i know, i know- what DID happen to living simply? honestly, the biggest and heaviest items were my cousins and she's picking them up...hopefully very soon!) we stayed the night at a hotel and had a super time swimming in the pool there, had a terrible last day of driving and finally collapsed when we arrived here at our new house. Which Bill and I are both a little hesistant to call 'our' house as we keep calling it "Nanna's" house...and it still feels like that quite a bit with Nanna here and the house filled with her things. But that's okay, some men are coming to haul them all away, up and down the stairs and later, some more men will be here to move in our own stuff up and down the stairs and then it will feel like 'ours'. i hope!
I think Bill is glad all this work is to be done by other men; his back has had enough of doing his own moving for a while! I'm glad to have the "strongest man in Yokosuka" as my husband.
Don't get me wrong- we've had so much fun with Nanna and Auntie Di and Pho and all our favorite things. Today is just sad because it's Nanna Pat's very last day in America and we will be sad to see her go so far away. If things do work out for us to live overseas again maybe we'll be somewhere closer in the future. Overall we're gearing up for another change and adjustment for the kids and us: a new job, new neighborhood, new traffic, old cat, new food (peaches!), new friends, new (old) house, new huge backyard! Here we go...wish us luck!

We're outa here!

Well, our time in the midwest is at an end. This week we took the kids to a spray park, played around the farm and had a great time. I know the kids will miss their Nannou and Boppie. I on the other hand have had idle hands for too long and am ready to get back to work. I'll start work for ATT on Monday. As you can see, our u-haul is loaded to the hilt. Who would have ever guessed that we could leave here with so much crap!

mid summer joys and blues

I was just laying down with a sleeping Sloane, reading my old copy of Why the Caged Bird Sings that Mom had around the house while the kids are playing in the living room and here's a little glimpse into our days. I can hear voices escalating until Billie pronounces Jackson "the meanest boy I've ever met! ...in my WHOLE life!!" Running feet through the house searching every room for me (Bill and Boppy are out and Mom's at work). I pull the covers up and stay quiet until they are yanked off my head and Billie is talking at the speed of light. "Mom, i really need you to handle this because Jackson completely just grabbed the circle/thing off of my spinner dinner and that was so MEAN and i really need your help!!" Sloane's eyes open a little and close again. "okay Billie, I'll be there in 2 minutes. Let me just make sure Sloane can sleep" "What?" (Billie has had a pretty serious loss in hearing since getting over a summer cold and we're waiting and hoping that clears up soon.) I repeat in a louder voice. "Thanks Mom." Two minutes later when I walk in the room Jackson, upon seeing me, reaches for the circle thing and hands it straight to his sister. We have a talk about grabbing and now I'm here. Also on my mind at the moment is that warm baby has to be the best feeling ever. When they're in their feety jammies and snuggled up...it's irresistable.
So, it's been a while. Let me see. Bill ALMOST conquered the mountain just after turning 30 but altitude sickness hit and it wasn't to be. Of course, the trip was still a fun one for he and his sister Meg who did make it all the way to the tippy top. There's some amazing pictures looking down on all those other mountains and i think they're both glad they had an idea and actually made it all happen.
Jackson had his pop rock experience today- his choice of the quarter candy sold at the main street soda shop. You can choose any flavor of syrup to be added to your coke and the smallest size is just an old fashioned (pre-starbucks) plain white styrofoam coffee cup for just 20cents. It's SO cute in Minonk.
My cousin Katie and her hubby had a little boy two days ago and I got to see them in the hospital and be here for that- never been around for a family newborn before. Landon is ADORABLE and i'm slowly coming around to this whole new place to be. I am not totally over Okinawa- it's like a high school break-up because i miss all the good things and i can't remember anything bad. Except the kids didn't know what peaches were and we didn't get sweet corn on the cob. I try to console myself with this when I get all slyvia plath.
I keep thinking of things to blog and then when I sit down to write I forget them all and write about nothing.
More soon.

30 is OLD

Just saying Bill Solley, Angie Solley, Angie Davison, Angi Solley so that people can search the blogs and find us.
Here's us going out to eat for Bill's 30th birthday!!!! Mom took care of the big kids at home, Sloane joined us, and we returned to the site of our Wedding rehwrsal dinner. We've also been going to church at our wedding church so it's memories all over. How grown up we are in these last 6 years! Just to show you how grown up we are...here is our new mini-van(eating gyros) . Now if that's not adult i don't know what is. (obviously adultness is a little lame). At least the kids are fun.

Happy Birthday Jackson

Jackson is 4! What big kids i have. We had little monsters all over and we had to destroy them by eating them or hitting them with a lightsaber (monster pinata) and we played monster tag. We were the superheros of the century! Jackson is pictured here in his Kabuto underoos. Kabuto is one of the masked riders...Hibiki's friend.
Bill has accepted a job with AT&T, being computer support for them. After a long process of interviews, emails, calls and thought time with several companies and positions we found one that meets our needs just right! Commute was a super factor. Of course nothing is totally final until it's final but we're all set to move to VA and start work just 13 minutes from our house! Bill rules. And
Nanna Pat arrived just in time to celebrate Jackson's birthday, make a cake and be there for the festivities.
Bill is on his way to climbing the mountain. He got into Seattle last night and we have to hope his sore back doesn't hold him back. (Not that he would ever consider admitting that his back was too sore to climb a mountain!!!) So what i really mean is that we should all just hope that he doesn't do some sort of serious damage to his back!
So much to write...but i'm off to have the fun rather than writing about it: there's bubble blowing going on outside right now!
 

at the zoo

we are recovering (i'm amazed at the healing capacities of kids) well and having SO much fun in Minonk with cousins everywhere. I'm sure we meet more everytime we leave the house- people know you at the grocery store, at the restaurants and even the car salesman we bought our new (new to us) van today had a connection in Minonk. I love this! Bill and i can't help but get sucked into the comfort of it all. here we are at the zoo with my cousin tracy and little cousin 1 yr old zac. the kids are not ones to miss a costume oppertunity and are pictured here as bee keeper and diver. we've also been biking and swimming in the plastic pool in the front yard with cousins Levi and Logan Schmillen. We just had a big family reunion yesterday and got to catch up with a lot of folks we haven't seen in a while. Well, i've got more to write but someone's crying for me!


 

that's what i get!

Just because i was whining that things couldn't get any worse. Yesterday, after the parade and quiet time Bill and Nannou took the kids back to the parade scene to play on bouncys and ride a little half-barrel train ( a tractor pulling a dozen mini carts of horizontal, big, empty barrels with wheels on them behind). Sloane and I stayed home asleep. After 100s of rides all day the train dumped over when Billie and Jackson were on their second ride and kids were scraped up all over the place. Billie had a big-enough knot on her head to warrent a trip to the ER. We declined the ambulance ride (it would just scare her more and she wasn't bleeding too much, she was happy just to be in my arms and being told stories to divert her attention) a couple other kids who needed it more took the ambulance ride, though. She's SUPERFINE and happy as a clam, running around as we watched a super fireworks display from our enormous front yard (it's really the country..folks) last night. She was the BEST little patient at the friendly Emergency Room. Here's when i realize how great our kids are- because we are always (after every restaurant meal and plane ride) getting compliments on how well-behaved our kids are. I do let them choose whatever they want to wear and they can jump on the beds all they want but we are STRICT about politeness and obeying. But sometimes I forget to notice just how really good they are. Billie didn't cry a bit when they cleaned her wounds and tried her best to be strong- she's SUCH a great little girl. Here's her picture. We took her directly to wal-mart after the ER and let her pick out a dozen things I'd never normally let her have. See?!! Even mean old me just caves into good ol' Americana buying happiness sometimes!!!
So, Jackson has a scrape on his cheek and Billie bonked her head, scraped up her arm and face a good bit. We were worried about a concussion but after a good nights sleep- that is technically still happening (12 hours and counting for Bill, Billie, and Jackson) and waking her every 2 hours to check on her coherency...all is well.
Who knew i'd have so much to write about when our travels were finished?
I'll post pictures when Bill wakes up and finds the photocard plugin for the laptop.

that's what i get!

Just because i was whining that things couldn't get any worse. Yesterday, after the parade and quiet time Bill and Nannou took the kids back to the parade scene to play on bouncys and ride a little half-barrel train ( a tractor pulling a dozen mini carts of horizontal, big, empty barrels with wheels on them behind). Sloane and I stayed home asleep. After 100s of rides all day the train dumped over when Billie and Jackson were on their second ride and kids were scraped up all over the place. Billie had a big-enough knot on her head to warrent a trip to the ER. We declined the ambulance ride (it would just scare her more and she wasn't bleeding too much, she was happy just to be in my arms and being told stories to divert her attention) a couple other kids who needed it more took the ambulance ride, though. She's SUPERFINE and happy as a clam, running around as we watched a super fireworks display from our enormous front yard (it's really the country..folks) last night. She was the BEST little patient at the friendly Emergency Room. Here's when i realize how great our kids are- because we are always (after every restaurant meal and plane ride) getting compliments on how well-behaved our kids are. I do let them choose whatever they want to wear and they can jump on the beds all they want but we are STRICT about politeness and obeying. But sometimes I forget to notice just how really good they are. Billie didn't cry a bit when they cleaned her wounds and tried her best to be strong- she's SUCH a great little girl. Here's her picture. We took her directly to wal-mart after the ER and let her pick out a dozen things I'd never normally let her have. See?!! Even mean old me just caves into good ol' Americana buying happiness sometimes!!!
So, Jackson has a scrape on his cheek and Billie bonked her head, scraped up her arm and face a good bit. We were worried about a concussion but after a good nights sleep- that is technically still happening (12 hours and counting for Bill, Billie, and Jackson) and waking her every 2 hours to check on her coherency...all is well.
Who knew i'd have so much to write about when our travels were finished?
Here's Bean at the hospital, Jackson's scratch, Sloane on the piano and our new morning routine...daily presents from Nannou and Boppy after a breakfast that usually involves chocolate...oh man!