Christmas break is near. My students are getting wilder by the day and I'm ready to take a break from them and them from me. This last week we assessed how they were doing with some inequalities. I have one student, in particular, that struggles constantly and not because he isn't smart enough. He struggles because he just can't seem to sit still long enough to know what is going on. Unfortunately, this is his second year in my Algebra I class and this year is not looking much better than last. He is, however, a crack up when he's not pouting. My aide and I got quite a laugh when we came across his test. Here is the answer he gave for one of the problems. Now, granted, this is a challenge problem and not required for all students to master at this point but... well, take a look.
WOW! This looks a little like a 1960's batman TV series exclamation. "KA-POW! That math problem just kicked me in the face!" Aaahahaha... I do love my job.

As for other kids...

Annaka is hilarious when it comes to vegetables. She isn't afraid of much and loves bell peppers of any color. Last night, while we were hanging out around the fire watching some TV, she got into the refrigerator crisper and found a snack. This is the after snack picture.

This is a fairly common occurrence around this place. A couple weeks ago we caught her with a zucchini in her hand, a mouthful and a pretty disgusted look on her face. Sadly, the acquired morsel was not the intended cucumber she was looking for. However, I shouldn't mislead. Annaka has a weakness for candy as well. Just after Thankgiving dinner was finished I went into the pantry and grabbed the bag of chocolate truffles we bought at Costco for the occasion. No sooner had I come around the corner and held the bag up did Annaka leap from the couch and squeal. This kid has a serious love of chocolate. Caleb and I worked pretty hard to keep her to ONE truffle that night and left the bag on the counter top. The next morning we woke up and found this.

All those little wrappers are truffle wrappers. And, there were a few more on the counter! "Holy chocolate demolition, Batman!"

Toys, remotes, and the matching sock

I'm breaking all rules right now and posting a little late into the evening because I just don't feel ready for bed. Adelyn spent the weekend working on cutting a tooth and last night was pretty frustrating for Mom. I'm tired. She is now well fed and sleeping like a rock. I turned her over tonight to see if I could get her to nurse a little more (you know, top off the tank) but she was out cold. I even tried moving her lips like people will do with their dogs in an attempt to make their pet look like it is talking. I narrated as well. She didn't budge and I don't think I've had her sleep this hard in a while. So, I'm throwing caution into the wind and taking a moment to write a quick post. Plus, Annaka lost the remote to our TV so, here I am.

Life is pretty interesting with a nearly three year old in the house. There never seems to be a dull moment, as much as we try. Right next to where I'm sitting I have a portrait of Adelyn done by Annaka, a juice cup, a toothbrush, and two of Annaka's stuffed bears carefully wrapped in my exfoliating cloth and put to bed just under my computer desk. Yeah, she's an absolute handful but, a blessing in so many ways.

Ok, it's time to hit the hay. This momma is tired and blessed. A perfect combination to go to bed with. :)

Washington DC

I have a pretty fantastic job. Because of it, I have been able to travel a fair amount. So far, I have been to Seattle more than a handful of times, New Orleans, and now Washington DC. Not bad for 3 and 1/2 years of teaching. Here are a few pictures of the trip.




They caught us!




The capitol building.




In front of the constellation. A civil war era ship!




Changing of the guard at Arlington national cemetery.







WWII memorial






View from the Lincoln memorial.

Less Time = Cleaner House??

Yep, it is all there in the title. I am finding that having more domestic responsibility and less time means I keep the house cleaner. I am not sure when this hit. It was probably last night after returning home from Musikarten somewhere between keeping Adelyn occupied in her highchair, cleaning up the utility room, and pulling magnets from the inside of the washer (thank you my little Tasmanian Devil). When I am fully in charge of the house I cant seem to let things slide. Some how some ridiculous work ethic kicks in and things start getting done.

I will give a couple examples. There is an obvious need to have all bottles washed every night. Woe to you that doesnt have a clean bottle with which to feed your child. "Well that is easy enough" one might say. Of course, it is easy. My problem is that because I HAVE to wash the bottles I HAVE to wash everything. Then when all the dishes are clean. I have to clean the counters. And then there are crumbs on the floor. So I have to clean the floor. This translates into a kitchen that has been abnormally clean for the last five days straight. I am just glad I haven tried to start organizing anything.

Next lets look at the whole laundry issue. We use cloth diapers so it is imperative to was the diapers every other day. If I happen to forget then I have to use my wife's shirts and dresses as necessity calls. (Luckily for her I have yet to forget) Unlike the kitchen the laundry is a neat singularly packaged task. So I ask you, why do I do ALL the laundry? In five days I have done my own laundry (4 loads). I have done Annaka's laundry (3 loads). I have done diapers (3 loads). I have done Adelyn's laundry (1 load). I have done blankets/sheets/towels (2 loads). The answer is... something is WRONG with me!

Something is terribly terribly wrong with me. It may be that because of various mixture of drugs from my leg injury or it may be that I have simply lost my marbles. I cant recall hitting my head lately... but would I remember it? In any case the longer Naomi is gone the cleaner I seem to be keeping the house. Now you might reason that the absence of Naomi allows me to direct more attention away from her and to more domestic things. To this I say....well it is a thought (chuckle). I do know that nothing outside of the house is getting done. This is not horrible as I have already gotten the house ready for winter. So perhaps all is not lost after all.

In any case... I will visit the doctor soon and get this checked out. Hopefully it is not contagious.

Blessings

Ca

My deer know!

This morning after being woken up by the girls and realizing that I would have to wake up in about 15 minutes anyway started getting up and ready for the day. For some reason I had only one of our shades up. On my way past the window I glanced out and what do you know? Yea a nice looking 3-point buck walking up my road. Now it is currently out of season and wouldn't they seem to know it. I sat and watched as the 3-pointer nonchalantly walked past me munching on the frosted grass. I also noticed that there were two other deer along for the stroll as well. Turns out there is not only a 3-pointer but a little 2-pointer and a smaller 4-pointer. Apparently the deer are smarter than we thought. (I saw a single 2-pointer the day before as well.. broad daylight out in the middle of my field.)

Cheerio magic!

My typical day starts with getting Annaka ready to goto the babysitters. Since this last Friday I have taken on a second charge. With Naomi on vacation I now lovingly care for Adelyn as well. I will typically run around the house trying to keep both girls happy with breakfast, while preparing for work, making a lunch, and ensuring an overstuffed backpack full of items tailored to care for small children for approximately eight hours is properly plump. If this is a non-typical day then today was a non-non-typical day.

Our normal babysitter was not able to take the girls today. So on the schedule is our back up (the oh-so-wonderful Ratnali). With arrival time to be around 8:15 I took the girls to the office for a little while before taking them to her house. We had a nice little time playing around with the office golf balls. Annaka was also slowly working on her breakfast of Cheerios and blueberries. When it was about that time... off we went. I was starting to feel like a pack mule. I was carrying Adelyn in her snowsuit, wrapped in a blanket, the bulging backpack, and Annaka's juice and Cheerios. Once reaching the car something had to give because I had no way to get the car unlocked. I handed the juice to Annaka and placed the Cheerios and blueberries up on the top of the Highlander. I stuck it right at the end of the SUV, right in front of its spoiler. I also made a mental note "Caleb... do not forget those are there!...sincerely Caleb".

Annaka is placed her seat and buckled. Adelyn is placed in her seat and buckled. Caleb is placed in his seat and buckled. Off we go!... Ok we are there reverse the previous events. Adelyn is taken out of her seat along with the backpack. Annaka is unbuckled and gets out of her seat... Wait, am I missing something? Oh yeah, I need to get the Cheerios... OF THE BACK OF THE CAR.... OMG! Amazingly enough they were there! Even though we drove through town and mostly up hill, that little plastic Tupperware full of cheerios and blueberries was still there. Ah well, what an eventful morning.

Now I am at work. Man this coffee is good!

Knowing when to give it up and say "when" is an incredibly tough thing for me. I enjoy utilizing myself to the utmost. It's fun to learn new things and explore in a career that can be so impactful on our youth. I wouldn't put my blood sweat and tears into a job that I felt little passion for. But, it's times like these when I feel a strong pull back to my family from my job. This weekend will be tough. I am going to Washington DC Friday to learn and collaborate with some of the best math educators in the nation. I am terribly excited for my position and terribly overwhelmed with leaving my family behind for five days. Ugh... As a mother, you simply can't get those worst case scenarios out of your mind even though there really isn't grounds for it. "What if Adelyn runs out of milk or (gasp) starts to crawl while I'm away?" "Annaka is going to miss me and won't get her goodnight hug from me!" "What if my husband goes crazy and feeds the dog the milk, lets Annaka out the door to pee and Adelyn feeds herself by crawling to the dog bowl!?!?" (note: My husband is uber capable and fantastic... I simply know the insanity that can come with a toddler and infant all to yourself. Truth is it kinda takes two of us to make things smooth around this joint!) Even typing this gets my heart rate up. However, this will come and go. I will most likely have a fantastic conference, see our nation's capital and Annaka and Adelyn will get the best Daddy time they have ever had. But... Still... Moms, you understand my heartache. It's a test. We'll all survive and when I get home it will be awesome.

It is interesting to see how having kids can change so much about a person. One's perspective can be turned around or focused much like the view through a camera. Today, I found 1 Thessalonians 2:7.

"But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. ⁸ So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us."

Paul speaks to the church in Thessalonica so passionately. I have read this verse before. "yea, yea, yea, everyone love their kids." Now, it seems to resonate. Maybe, I kinda get it now. For a person to feel such joy and longing for some group of people who are connected only by Jesus Christ gives me chills. Maybe, I'm getting an idea of what Paul meant.

I never knew that I had an internal "it has been too quiet timer". This morning, way too early on a Sunday, I know that Annaka is awake. I can also tell Annaka is doing something she is not supposed to be. It is my wake up call. It is not the gentle beep beep beep of an ever intensifying alarm. It is the bed cover ripping, splash of awareness that pulls you instantly from that warm cocoon. After the whiplash and the aftermath of discipline I piece together the events like any good CSI. Annaka had gotten into one of my iridescent paints. In the end she had paint on a chair, the floor, her chest, her leg, and hands. She did also get some paint on her paper. In her painting preparation, as any good artist, she primed the palette with her colors. Granted it was a single color but half of the ten circles were primed with the paint ready for the creation of a master piece... or more mess. As it was, this meticulous preparation was her downfall. Getting the paint from the bottle to the palette resulted in paint all over her paint brush. Her paint brush then dribbled paint down the front of her chest. A dropped paint brush resulted in plenty of paint for the floor. Finally, rubbing a drip off her skin resulted in something on her hand that when rubbed together with her other hand spread the sparkle of the paint all over her palms. Sparkles everywhere. That meant sparkles for me and a groggy cleanup.

I had my second "it has been too quiet" moment of the day a few minutes ago. I was lounging on the couch when I heard the oh-so-quiet crinkle of a package. I figure I either have mice enjoying a meal or Annaka is getting into something in the pantry. I am instantly pulled from the couch, through the kitchen and utility room, to the pantry. What I see is Annaka rock climbing up to the top shelf of our pantry shelves. She has her back to me, thank God. If she had seen me she would have seen me stifle a smile and barely keep from laughing. Annaka had climbed up the selves one by one all the way to the very top. At the peak she dug through a box and tossed her treat to the ground. This is eye level for me. I watched as she slowly descended to the floor. At this point she finally notices me and nonchalantly picks up her snack. Being about bedtime I replaced sugar with a cucumber and a smile. Note to self.. this girl can climb!

The girls are asleep. This means it is time to ice the leg and get some sleep.

Pictures of the girls.

This last weekend the only thing I really accomplished besides cleaning the kitchen was taking these pictures. I had both of the girls for the weekend while Naomi was working on her Pro Certification. Enjoy!

This morning I took Annaka outside with me as I worked around the house. I started cleaning up the shop area of my garage. (I havent organized it since we moved in.) Our garage door was open so that Annaka could play outside and I could still keep track of her. She was quite content in her playing so I had to peek at what she was doing. What I found made me chuckle. Annaka had found scrap blocks and a couple smaller pieces of wood from the wood pile and turned them into her custom set of blocks. I had to go and get the camera. The first picture is of Annaka and her castle that she built. The other two are of the boat that she made after finishing her castle.

The game plan was to set ourselves up with a wonderful weekend of food and family and fun. With this weekend being the last time Haden and Lauren would be able to so easily visit from Spokane it seemed appropriate to make it special. Haden and Lauren will be moving off to Denver this Tuesday back to Lauren's home town. It is depressing to see them go and know we will not be able to visit as often as we would like. It has also started sinking in with Naomi that the Barkley kids have been spread out in the last year. It is sad to see two uncles and three aunts be far enough away that an afternoon dinner or even a couple day trip is near impossible.

With those depressing thoughts covered It was a joy to have H and L over. We were also happy that Haden was officially done with his job at Whitworth. With no job constraints and the chaos of living from boxes meant that visiting and staying with us made it easier for them to stay longer. Laundry, unpacked kitchen, and a semi-undestroyed living quarters for the win! (Though Annaka and Adelyn may have had just as much pull as those amenities) On a side note just glancing at the two girls and their pictures that I have on this paragraph... they are starting to really look like sisters.

On Friday night we stayed in to enjoy a nice home cooked Korean meal. Naomi made a wonderful spicy kimchee soup. It was delicious. Haden and Lauren were able to enjoy some football and see the girls. I know Annaka enjoys being visited by her aunt and uncle. She and Adelyn even were able to talk with uncle Will over Skype. Annaka got a kick out of it and Will was able to see Adelyn's huge, baby fat covered, legs.

On Saturday we crossed our fingers that grandma Wha-Sun would be able to join us. We were sadly disappointed to find out that she would be out on a fire until Sunday evening. (Flash backs to when April had only a couple days before leaving for college with Wha-Sun on a fire were swirling through our minds) We went all out on breakfast and after weighing our selves down with the typical American fare of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and golden brown biscuits we set off on enjoying our Saturday. We snuck in a trip to the local European bakery enjoying their bread and pastries before grandpa Bill arrived from Curlew. We also enjoyed a pleasant walk to get our mail. Oh... and a tiny tiny bit of football :D In the pictures above our princess Annaka has utilized one of moms skirts as a dress and Lauren is giving her lips a once over with her favorite lip gloss.

I also started up our dinner about noon. I had found a good recipe for ribs and was determined to give it a try. It was my first real attempt at cooking ribs but I had no fear! One of the pictures has Annaka helping me prep the babybacks on Friday evening with the dry rub. When all said and done and the time had arrived for the true test of the ribs... all looked well. They were cooked on time. The sauce was wonderful. The meat was tender. Caleb gets and A+ for finding the right recipe and executing it quite well.

We all enjoyed our weekend to say the least. Though in the end it was bitter sweet. Our prayers go with Haden and Lauren. We hope we will be visiting with you in Colorado soon.

The finished product.







This picture is all that was left of the ribs... Two lunches later those were gone as well.






Annaka being attacked by by Haden... the ribs were that good!







We ended the evening with a nice Canadian cake that Bill brought. It was good "it wasn't too sweet"!!

Like in my previous post Annaka decided she wanted me to lay down with her. How can you say no to "daddy... can you lay down wiff me for a widdle bit..... just a widdle bit?" I dont know many people that would be able to say no to such an adorable request... I know I failed. Annaka=WIN:Daddy=WIN :D

My daughter never ceases to amaze me. Annaka has taken to always wanting either Naomi or I to snuggle her in her bed while she goes to sleep. Every once in a while I will. Though I usually tell her "Only for a little while". She usually agrees and then snuggles up (one of my favorite parts). The humorous part is that in the process of snuggling she always takes her hand and latches onto the top of my shirt collar. Only then will she try to get comfortable and close her eyes. This can often mean quite a bit of tossing and turning for that perfect position... but she never lets go of my collar. She apparently has to know precisely when I will be trying to sneak out and go to bed myself. About the only way I have found to make it out of there when she is not quite asleep (without a lot of whimpering) is to kiss her little hand, remove it from my shirt and then give her forehead a kiss along with a "good night". For some reason that works well enough for her to finally accept the inevitable and drift off to sleep.


Leg Update: This last week I have started going to physical therapy to better the flexiblity in my ankle. My knee seems to have retained it flexibility and only has some minor swelling after any prolonged weight or movement. I can still feel the fibula click every once in a while but the Dr. said to not worry it will heal. This past weekend I was even able to mow the lawn fully, do all the trimming and other maintenance jobs. I even cut a small truck load of firewood on Sunday. The full heal with take some time I will no longer be a burden... definitely a plus.

So I have a broken leg. Three weeks in and I am walking around as well as many and just as fast as my sister Mandee (boy she walks slow). I have constant pain in my leg and most of this pain stems from the regions around the ankle, knee and break areas. The swelling has gone down and I am resuming some sort of normal life again.

Who would have thought that after three, relatively painful weeks, I would actually be walking around and getting back to work full time. It definitely was not me. Especially with a snapped Tibia and shattered Fibula. The doctor told Naomi after the surgery (the one where they installed my knew metal detector tester) that I would be up and walking in a week or so. Week two had me removing the metal staples from the incisions and the Dr. telling me to start walking on it! So here I am walking for about a week. The worst part probably is the lack of mobility with a close second being the pain.

Pain?? So what take some drugs. Well here is the problem with the drugs. My first batch consisted of Oxycodone.. pretty powerful stuff. It took away some of the pain. Here are the side effects. (Constipation, Nausea, Somnolence (drowsiness), Dizziness, Pruritus (Itching), Vomiting, Headache, Dry Mouth, Asthenia (Muscle weakening), and Sweating.) I probably had most of these at one point or another. I happily didnt have the Nausea or Vomiting but the itching and sweating was not so fun. After my one week doctor visit they changed me over to Hydrocodone. It seemed to work ok as well. The side effects are much much much better. I figure this will help me quite a bit. They also tell me I better start weening myself off the drugs as soon as I can. So they gave me better stuff and tell me to get off the stuff.. period. Ok!

So, on to the weening I go. I quickly found that Ibuprofen seems to work just as well as either of the more "powerful" drugs. What is the point of even taking these drugs. I get a constant ache from either. They never completely remove the pain in my leg (i mean stuff is moving around and healing still). I dont even want to think about going back to the Oxycodone. So what do I do? I found the secret!

Ice! Ice is the secret. With baseball I have been pretty familiar with the pain of icing limbs. It is just a necessary thing to maintain the health of an arm. So that comes in handy now. I cannot ease the ache with the drugs or even make it ache less. However, ice my leg for a few minutes and as soon as the troubled area gets cold I get a wonderful calm feeling that washes over me and I am pain free. I can use ice to completely remove every last bit of pain and replace it with a cold spot on my leg. Now that is what I call good stuff! So what do you think... drugs... or ice? I know which one I choose.

So at week three I take a little Ibuprofen here and there, a hydrocodone at night (or after working the leg pretty hard) and Ice any time I can get the coveted solidified h2o.

Walking around at week three. I wonder if I can get rid of my gimp limp by week 4? Wish me luck

Ca

I figure it was about time I put something on this blog that was not so gruesome. The last couple pertaining to my destroyed leg have some pretty nasty looking pictures.

Tonight I have a nice treat. We have a few pictures of Adelyn from the last couple weeks. She is growing incredibly fast. She is so amazingly different from Annaka yet they seem to have similarities as well. Adelyn has decided she doesn't like laying down anymore. She has decided that sitting and standing is the way to go. Many of the pictures are of her standing up in her ExerSaucer happy as a clam.

We also have a couple images of Annaka tossed in below. We decided to give her our older point and shoot canon camera. She loves taking pictures and has been doing so on a regular basis. Annaka has been tough the last couple weeks with dad out with a bad leg. She regressed a bit on her potty training and some of her behavior has slipped. That seems to be righting itself now that I am able to move around more and give her more of my attention. Her potty training is getting back up to snuff as well (thank goodness).

Enjoy!