Weekends Away



As I write this I am looking out the sliding glass door in our living room and keep seeing the dogs run by, and Thing Two run by, hose in hand.  I have to laugh and feel bad for the dogs at the same time, there isn't really a whole lot of hiding places in our yard from Thing Two and a hose, thankfully we have a place they can hide not far from here.

My folks live about an hour outside of town up in the mountains on a river, the scenery is beautiful, but it is good for other reasons too. This place allows us to let the Things and dogs experience things they wouldn't have the chance to as easily here in town.  Generally the animals and the kids have the run of the back area of the house along with a river to explore and plenty of other amusements.  I am always amazed how long the Things can go without telling me they are bored when we are up there.  The dogs spend thier days playing in the river, running in the property and lazing under the deck out of the heat. Up there the dogs and kids seem to find things to do, imaginations to distract them, and adventures to have.

The space lets the dogs escape the kids a lot easier, and lets the kids do stuff I would never let them do here.  The most current example of kid freedom is Thing Twos sling shot obsession. I am not sure if it was Popi purchasing him a sling shot or the sling shot in Angry Birds, but Thing Two is obsessed. We have gotten him a few targets and remind him not to shoot people or animals and off he goes. I hear nothing but sling shot pings for hours some times.  Thing One has a crafting itch that can be a bit messy, but at my parents she can indulge throughly because my mom has a designated craft space. Thing One has free run of all the supplies and paints, and my mom is infinetly patient letting her go to it, and then helps her clean up.  Both these activities could be tough at our house, I would never feel comfortable with Thing Two playing with a sling shot in our yard and we don't have a ccraft specific area where Thing One can craft out of the way and uninterrupted. 

The best part about this little home away from home, besides it being really close, is the river and surrounding land.  The river is currently running a bit high, but the Things were able to go float this weekend. It is a short float, about an hour, but perfect for the Things.  They easily get bored as it is not a raft but a float and the hour gives them a chance to look at their surroundings and torture each other with splashing just enough.  The river when running slower also provides a great place for exploring.  Fish, muscles and frogs are frequent visitors to the plastic buckets we have around.  Usually by late summer the river is low enough that life jackets aren't really required when jsut exploring and the kids can walk all the way across without having to swim a stoke.  They also have the constant concern and companionship of my parents dog Liza, a large over protective Newfoundland dog.  Last summer on a little bank of sand near the house Thing One found what she called a butterfly wing grave yard. I have no idea what occured with these butterflies, but there were a ton of wings Thing One promptly scooped up a bunch and was crafting with them by nightfall.  Also a joy to Thing One is the high rushes in the watershed section of the poperty. The grass is so high Thing One can plunge in and be lost in it all. This freedom to explore relativly unincumbered by adults is what I totally appreciate about going up there.  I am as always a worried about them, but I know  exploring is an important part of growing up and the occationally injury of river dunk are as important as the classroom sometimes.

Raising Thinkers, that still have trust

We constantly talk in the house about what people tell us, what we see on TV, and what it all means to us on a day to day level. Do the people on the cereal commercial really tell us the truth? Do our friends really know the answer to that? Are you telling someone accurate information, facts verses just what you think it true?

Raising a thinker and a questioner that can ask questions and be skeptical, but still show trust and respect can be a really tough line to walk. Sometimes it is the kid who sets the path to questioning; Thing Two questions a lot and is very skeptical about what anyone says. Teaching him to question and ask for the background information, but not come off as disrespectful or rude can be difficult. Reminding him that most people are not telling him falsehoods intentionally and that if you question it in a way that isn’t respectful people can become frustrated has been a challenge. Telling him that sometimes it is better to come back home and ask the questions instead of asking the questions of the adult they are suppose to be showing respect to is always an option. On the other side, Thing One trusts people and doesn’t tend to question as much what people say, she will frequently believe or pretend to believe because she finds it easier. With her the focus is on having the confidence to ask the questions and know the difference believing the information you are told and asking a questions to verify that information. Insert, it is not nice to roll your eyes in front of an adult if you think they are full of it. To me it is really important to raise thinkers, thinkers that don’t just believe what they are told, but also trust people and are respectful to the adults around them.

How did we start the Things off with questioning and looking at things with a critical eye, commercials. Commercials are a great way to talk about what information is coming into their lives on a daily basis and what may or may not be true. Just because the kids on the commercial fly up into the air after they ate that thing, does that mean you will? Just because that toy made a perfect spiral and looped through the hoop does that mean it will do it when you play with it? These first questions and discussions formed a great foundation to talk about other information coming into their lives. When a friend at daycare tells you that someone is going to burn down your school because it was vandalized (true situation), is that true, how do they know that, what makes that information accurate? As the Things have gotten older we have encouraged them to check the facts when we can, but have also balanced that with the idea of information from a trusted source. There are people that consistently give you accurate information, and you can trust them and should. When sources are friends or people we don’t always believe ask some questions; can you look up the thing that was stated and what does it say, do you believe what is said and why do you believe it.

We explained some time back that the Internet was really a lot of people talking, just in type, and that they can say anything. Just because something is written down doesn’t mean it’s true. Trying to explain the concept that people and sometimes writing isn’t the facts of a situation can be difficult. At this point we are really explaining it in the way of fiction verses a nonfiction book. A book that is fiction is just a good story, but probably not a lot of facts. A nonfiction book is facts, and most of the time those facts can be found in other books that are referenced in the back.

This is still a growing concept in our house and we are just starting to talk about the ideas that sometimes the facts are bent to explain a particular reason or purposes, but these concepts still have a long way to go. I assume we will not stop any of these discussions any time soon and that the Things will continue to try and develop a strong bull shit meter and ask questions in a way that is appreciative of the people around them. Don’t think some of this hasn’t already bit me in the butt though, I get questioned more than I would like and have spent time checking a fact on the Internet when I wasn’t sure. I like that they question and hope we are teaching them to continue to question, as tough as it sometimes can be.

Hanging in Boise...

During the week our house revolves around just getting everything done, and making sure everyone gets to where they need to go. Though we spend time together the more relaxed quality time is the time we have on the weekends. We also tend not to travel out of town too much on three day weekends, too many others have the same idea. What do we do then on those long weekends? Enjoy where we live. There are so many great things to do and places to go here in Boise that we can always find something.

A friend recently started a travel blog, Tundra Rat Travel Blog, and I am getting to Boise before he does. UPDATE: He beat me to it and just posted his Boise post a few hours ago, it is great and I highly recommend it. I am sure if and when he does Boise though it will be a little more adult centric, and this more family oriented travel notes on Boise, Idaho.

THE SITES

There are tons of things to do in Boise, especially in the summer. 

If you are in town on a Saturday between April and October, Capital City Public Market in Downtown Boise is always a must attend. There is great fresh produce and flowers, along with amazing food booths, local wine, and craft booths. The great thing about Market is it encapsulates so much of Boise into one location. 

There are plenty of parks, and I covered that in an earlier post but it deserves a mention here, especially since four other great things are located in the parks. Julia Davis park is one of the largest in Boise and contains the Idaho History Museum, Boise Art Museum, and Zoo Boise.  The Zoo, though small is enjoyable,  and the giraffe slide is an all time favorite of every kid that has ever been.  In the summer Zoo Boise has a butterflies in Bloom exhibit, it is a true treat to get to see all the butterflies. Zoo Boise is a member of the AZA reciprocal program, so if you are a member at your home town zoo you may get free admission into Zoo Boise.  The Boise Art Museum is another treat, currently the exhibit is about shoes and both the Things are anxious to visit it. There is a great kids museum experience in the back of the zoo out of the way that the Things always beg to go play in.  The Boise Art Museum hosts an amazing open air art fair every year in early Septemper, Art in the Park, there is a great mix of fine art and craft vendors.  The Idaho State History Museum is another good museum, a particular treat is the History Comes to Life exhibit they do. Once a year, with the help of tons of volunteers there are games, people in period clothes, live demonstrations and the dioramas upstairs come to life.  A few other parks that can save you on a hot day are Hill Park and Settlers Park, they have super fun water play areas that kids are drawn to from the moment they see all that water spraying all over the place.

The Discovery Center of Idaho is located near Anne Morrison park, a long block from Julia Davis. The Discovery Center is a kids science museum, for you Bay Area folks think the Exploritorium, there are tons of hands-on exhibits and staff around to answer those pesky questions us parents can't.  They also are members of the ASTC Reciprocal Museum group, so check to see if your local membership covers admissions here.  The current exhibit is Gyrations and The Things spent about an hour just in the front room playing and trying out all the different exhibits.

The Idaho Botanical Garden, the Old Penitentiary, and the Birds of Prey Center are other great places to visit.  All these places do wonderful events throughout the year and have plenty of helpful volunteers around year round to answer questions and help with anything. The Botanical Garden and Old Pen are right near each other at the north east part of town.  The Birds of Prey is located a ways out south of Boise.  I have to say the Birds of Prey is an amazing place and definitely worth the drive out there.  If you can try to catch a concert at the Botanical Garden, it can be a great adult escape on a kid heavy day. 

Bown Crossing is another section of town to visit. Located in East Boise and home to Powell's Sweet Shoppe, this is a fun everyone can be a kid candy store.  The Bown area has a great outside market on Sundays in the summer, one of my favorite vendors there is Funky Monkez, they make unusual creative sock monkeys, there is also a great Etsy group that is usually there.
One last thing I always recommend if you are here in the summer is Idaho Shakespeare Festival.  This is an outdoor amphitheater that is a great place to bring dinner and a drink of choice and sit and see a great show while the sun sets. We tend to go as a date night, but they do have family nights throughout the season.  There is a cafe on site, but I find a picnic so much more fun. Make sure to get grass seats, the first rows are all grass and you can rent low chairs to watch the show with.  The Hubs favorite part of any show is the green show put on my the Fool Squad about a 1/2 hour before any show starts. 
A cruise by Boise State University to see the blue field is a must for any football fan.  Being in town in the fall or winter, I would defiantly recommend trying to catch a game, football and either men's or women's basketball.

THE FOOD

People make assumptions a lot of the time when they first see Boise or when they are in route. That Boise is this small town with nothing real interesting and that the food will be meat and potatoes with out a lot of deviation.  They are wrong, Boise has a great food scene.

We are breakfast people particularly when we travel, so when we 'staycation' there is at least one breakfast morning.  Goldy's is a downtown institution and there is a reason, they make great food with good atmophere, but Jo Mama's and The Griddle are two other great breakfast places with lots of variety and very family friendly. 

The current downtown favorite of The Things for lunch is Boise Fry Company.  It is a place where you order your burger on the side, and pick from a variety or potatoes, including purple.  They have tons of different types of ketchup like dips and speciality salts. For those that don't eat meat, there's a quinoa salad.

The Market has tons of food vendors with varied cultures. There are crepes, vegetarian sambuca, and my personal favorite a pizza place that has gluten free pizza crust. 

There are a few local old school drive ins that always are a treat, Fancy Freeze and the West Side Drive in.  West Side has a lot on the menu besides the classic fair and Fancy Freeze specialized in great soft serve ice cream treats, the Boston milkshake is a treat I was crazy about during pregnancy with Thing One. 

A few other Boise favorites that the kiddos love, Stan's and Donnie Macs.  Stan's is off Vista and is a hot dog and burger place that makes great custard and has a sauce called Bronco Sauce that makes a hot dog so much more.  Donnie Macs is a trailer park theme where you can eat in a car on a lift and the kids can have spagettios in a can with Cheetos. 

For slightly less kid centric fair that is still kick back Bardenay and Red Feather are always great. Bardenay makes their own rum and has lots of drink options to check out, my favorite is the iguana bana.  Red Feather  has great drinks and does a lot of small plate items, we really like when they have the risotto.

Delsa's has amazing homemade ice cream that is a definite stop when you are up on the bench.

Now that I am hungry and anxious to go explore we are off.  This just covered a few basics about Boise, fun stuff to do and food ideas. There is great music, tons of events and always things going on in the outlying communities. If you come to visit I hope you enjoy yourself and see how great the city is, for those that live in it and those that visit.

Fireworks are fun right??

Let me be honest, I don't like fireworks. Ok, I hate them.


To me fireworks are loud, dangerous, messy, and make the animals crazy. It isn't that I don't enjoy watching fireworks, from plenty far away.

I always assumed this was a me thing, something had happened to me as a kid or maybe it was just some oddity. We found out last year it isn't just a me thing, Thing Two is none too in love with them either. This is way out of character for him and it seems like he was trying really hard to like them and be ok with it all and he just couldn't go there.

We found this out last year when a good buddy of his in the neighborhood and their family came over to do fireworks. Initially it was all ok for Thing Two, he enjoyed the sparklers and the smaller fireworks were fine. As more people in the area started setting off their fireworks, of the illegal launching variety, he became noticeably nervous. He jumped into the back of the truck and unless prodded did not really move from the back of the truck bed for most of the rest of the time. I don't want him to fear them, but I am not the right person to convince him of this. Eventually he did enjoy himself and wants to do them again this year and I assume with time he will get better, but I see that deep distrust of them I have and wonder if long term he will enjoy the fourth.

The kids have heard me complain about my general dislike of fireworks and the fourth of July for years. A few years ago when it was really dry and the illegals were flying, sparks got into our yard. As a stupid college kid, I watched a tree catch fire from a bottle rocket. I have a really easy startle reflex which could be part of my issue and the issue Thing Two has, he always seems very taken aback when a firework goes off that he isn't directly looking at. The Things have heard this for years, but Thing One has never been phased by fireworks; big, small, inside the neighborhood, or out, it all seems good to her; it is just me and Thing Two that get a little jumpy a few days before and after.

It isn't that I don't like or am not impressed by fireworks in a display, I really like watching them. The noise can be a bit much if I am really close to a fireworks display, but generally I truly enjoy a large professional display. It is the home idiot I have issue with, and the easy access to said illegal fireworks in Idaho that makes the whole issue worse. In Idaho, you can buy illegal fireworks, but you have to sign a waiver that you won't set them off......REALLY .....REALLY. My concern is that there are a bunch of high schoolers getting their 18 year old friends to buy them and setting them off throughout the neighborhood for DAYS before and after. At 18 I would not have trusted myself with a match, let alone something bigger than an M80. Every year the police say they will crack down on the firework problem and every year there are always bigger fish to fry. I don't think the police should spend the night monitoring firework setting off neighborhoods. If something is illegal it shouldnt' be sold. I don't see pot sold in the grocery store with a waiver the buyer has to sign saying they won't smoke it, why should we do this with fireworks.

Happy fourth, I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but were playing with water and if fireworks are bought they will be small and legal so that we will all be less likely to blow a finger off.

Braces

When Thing One showed up 8 weeks early, and had surgery and all that accompanied that I assumed as I took her out of the NICU that most of the over head of that was behind us when I walked out the door. I was so wrong and though I expected a few things here and there, sometimes it seems like Thing One just got the wrong end of the stick. Do not get me wrong, things could be a lot worse, but sometimes I just wish she could be carefree and not have to constantly be working on this thing or that.

We have been on a journey with Thing One’s mouth for a little over a year now and though it seems to be progressing as it is suppose to we have hit a pretty big milestone. She got braces last week and yes, she is only 8. When she was 4 we were told she had a cross bite and if it didn’t resolve we would need to see an orthodontist, earlier than most, “What the heck does that mean?” I know I have great responses to these things.

At 7 the dentist told us it was time for Thing One to see an orthodontist, things were not resolving and her mouth was small which would start becoming a problem when adult teeth started coming in. This seemed somewhat logical and I figured that checking in with an ortho would be advised, I didn’t expect what happened next. There is an ortho right next to her school and she had been there on a field trip and I figured if we were going to be seeing these folks a lot just as well they are close. One morning early, another thing I love about the ortho 7 am appointments, we toddled off not quite realizing what was in store.

Thing One was ushered in the back for a full mouth x-ray and a physical assessment of her teeth. She was amenable and with her cute little self all went well, after she was done we were ushered into an office. We were told that yes indeed she had a cross bite that needed to be fixed soon as possible; the palate is malleable for only so long. The thing we didn’t expect to hear was that her lower jaw had shrunk due to teeth extraction a few years earlier and her jaw over all was way too small, approximately 3 adult teeth for every one spot. We got all the information, I talked with the Hubs on the phone and a decision was made. We would start the process then and there of fixing her teeth. She got molds for upper and lower expanders and we started talking cost. When they said ‘phase one’, I asked if we would be buying the ortho a boat or just a trailer for the boat. They said they didn’t know overall, but phase one would cost X, the goal would be to put the expanders on get as much space as possible and get the cross bite fixed, put braces on after that to get the adult teeth that came in during the expander phase organized and then pull it all off and see. “See what?” I asked. See how the rest of her teeth come in and where things will need to be fixed. There was no way around it; we would be doing braces twice.

Over the last year we have been using the expanders to resolve the cross bite and fix the lower jaw issue. We quickly saw results and Thing One has a lot of space and not a lot of teeth. I understood about 3 months ago that braces had to be coming soon, there was so much space her teeth were starting to turn in, and she barely needed to floss since she could shove her tooth brush bristles between her teeth. I pushed for braces to go on during summer so we wouldn’t be strained with school at the same time. Now we go to last week where in an hour time frame they slapped on 8 brackets, 4 top and bottom, put a wire through and used the expander rings in the back to attach the wire, and presto braces. Thing Ones teeth hurt when they touch, I had forgotten that sensation, but generally she is doing really well. She was disappointed that the expander on top didn’t come out, but they explained it had to stay in to keep her mouth in position. She quickly decided braces were not cool and no fun, which means getting them back on when she is older will be a treat. Thing One though seems to take it all in stride and has again adjusted to the way her world is for the time being. Thankfully a boy at daycare told her, he thought she looked cute in them, that always takes the sting off a little.

Comic Book Kids

At some point in my childhood I got hooked on comics, I loved them then and I love them now. When I was 7 and 8 I would not consider myself a reader, I struggled. Being able to read wasn’t the only problem, it was understanding what I read, and being able to express it back in some articulate manner that I struggled with also. I didn’t have the problem with comic books though; Snoopy and Archie were my friends. Thing One seems to have the same issue and is dealing with it in much the same way I did, comic books. Thing Two, is Thing Two and he has gravitated toward the juvenile graphic novel section of the library since we first started going.

School has just let out, but in the last weeks I have become pretty flexible about the choices the Things are making in regard to reading. Both are allowed to read in silence, and they don’t have to choose books at their reading level. So what are they reading? In the last three weeks the books have all been of a comic or graphic novel nature. Thing One has read Babymouse, Lunch Lady, Get Fuzzy, and the graphic novel version of Beauty and the Beast. Thing Two has chosen to read Spiderman, Eek and Aak, Gus Beezer, and the X-men. Both kids love comic books, the pictures, the stories, the whole thing; and really who am I to complain, they are reading. Thing One can recall the stories she reads which she can’t always do with 'word only' books and she is also able to say specific lines in the comics, so I know she is actually reading them. Thing Two gets his adventurous side met in a way the Henry and Mudge just aren’t providing right now with the comics he chooses. For right now comic books are what works and whatever works is a go in this house, and I am all about reading comics when I can be.

Due to the fact the Things are 6 and 8 I initially worried about finding comics that appealed to them and at the same time weren’t overly violent or too sexualized. The Things would have tired quickly of Archie and Veronica, but comics have come a long way and have varied interests, reading levels and maturity levels.  Our local library has a great collection of kids graphic novels and comics and a separate section for the teens and adults. There seem to be a lot of options that are kids friendly and are still really fun. The Gus Beezer books will always be a favorite, especially since it introduced 4 year old Thing Two to his heroes X-Men and Spiderman. Thing One thankfully discovered Babymouse and Amelia Rules, totally better options than the Hannah Montana books. Defiantly it is harder to find that book that Thing One really relates too. With news of a new book coming out from Action Lab called Princeless, I am hopefully that yet another book will speak to her.

I read comic books and I eventually transitioned to ‘REAL’ books, but I still read comic books. I like comics, the pictures, the stories; there is something in comic books that I can’t seem to find in other books. I really hope the Things develop the same love, then I can mooch their comics when they buy them.

SUPER BIG SPECIAL THANKS TO MY BUDDY DAVE DWONCH AND ACTION LAB LETTING ME USE THE PICS OF THIER COMICS..............

Xbox, iPad and Video Games..oh my

As I write this Thing Two is playing Angry Birds on the iPad and Thing One is messing about on the computer in the office.

I swore we would never digitally expose our children to the world; no video games and not too much TV for my monkeys. This is one of the many things that I have totally gone back on. The kids play video games on the weekend.  There is still no screen time on week nights Monday thru Thursday, but there are exceptions, when Thing Two has to wait for One at an activity is a classic one.

The Kinect just about saved us this winter.  In the winter on those days that are cold, wet and we don't want to head out of the house, the Kinect lets the kids jump around and get crazy without making me crazy.  Both Things enjoy playing the Kinect games and I really like the requirement of them to move, it burns that restlessness that winter sometimes can bring.  The Kinectimals is the perfect thing for Thing One, she loves interacting with the animals and the activities really help her work on her focus and balance.  The Kinect also lets me work out when I can't get to the gym, Fitness Evo and Zumba always keep me moving, and I can do it in my PJs.

Thing Two is slowly but surely becoming a gamer, he plays Castle Crashers and he and I are both working on learning Portal 2; Thing One is developing her own screen interests.  There are times when I get frustrated because all Thing One wants to do at a particular time is play Angry Birds or Plants and Zombies.  The up side though, we have a like hobby. I enjoy gaming, though nothing that I can't drop and pick back up quickly, Thing One will stick with a game will he owns it. Over half the apps on the iPad are there because the Things asked for them.  Both kids play video games, but at this point not so much that I have an issue with it. Thing One is more particular with what she enjoys playing. She wants a game to very easy and intuitive, no practice really required.  The great thing about some of the games and apps we have though is that they are teaching her something as she goes. Thing One has stopped asking us to read her what the game is saying, she has to read and interpret it and this is good practice for Her. For now I feel like video games are good for us as a whole and worth the time.

Thing One and Two are both developing computer interests and the games are just a entry into the world of technology as a whole, and hopefully we will keep having some gamer family time, mixed in with all the outside rambling adventures we usually have.