Saving for a Rocky Beach

It's been awhile since I've last posted anything; however, we've been very busy around here. Craig was in Minnesota last week for a few days and the boys and I stayed home and prepared to host Grandma Jansen's Birthday party. We were homebound because of the extreme cold temperatures, which left us lots of time to take down Christmas decorations and do crafts. We have dedicated our front window to decorations for the season, so we made hearts and wrote what we loved on them. My favorite heart from Travis reads "chips and salsa," while Treyton's reads "climbing." Whenever we ask Travis where he would like to go to eat, or what he is hungry for, his typical response is El Mezcal for chips and salsa. Even at home he loves to eat them. I love that he loves them so much to include them on a heart for our love collection.

So it was cold this week. We kept busy with the window project as well as other projects around the house. I am helping Travis expand his crafting skills to include Mod Podge. We had a blast putting pieces of tissue paper on small baby food jars. We made some with red and white for Valentine's Day and we made a white one with flowers for Great Grandma Jansen's birthday gift. I think we'll do more of these in the future as Travis has to work on cutting out the paper and then he has to take his time in getting the paper on the jar. I'm not totally insane as I was in charge of the Mod Podge... but it was still a fun project.

Since we were hosting a large gathering this weekend we decided to make a HUGE birthday sign for Great Grandma J. Our sign was probably 15 feet long and we decorated the whole thing with colors. It was a long project one morning before lunch, but it was fun to have both boys involved with it. Treyton was happy that he got to use the colors and make a mess on the paper. Travis was excited that the sign was so big and we were going to hang it on the wall.

For the past couple weeks Travis has been telling me that he is saving his money to go to a Rocky Beach. He saw a picture of a rockier beach on his Leappad and now he wants to go to one. The one day it was super cold outside (I think the high for the day was 1) but the sun was shining. It was shining through our office window and onto our living room floor. Many days Travis and I will lay in the sun and pretend we are on a beach. We'll describe the waves and all the things we are going to build on the beach. We'll have snacks, too, and we'll just warm ourselves in the sun and have a great time. We've been doing this for a LONG time. I love our beach mornings and I hope that one day I can go with him to a rocky beach somewhere... and maybe find a spot where we can lay and take in the sun for real!

Swimming!



Travis started taking swimming lessons when he was two and each lesson seemed to be a struggle. We might take one "scoop" forward, and a lot of "scoops" back. It was a bit discouraging to be the mom or dad in the pool with the SCREAMING kid who could have led anyone to believe the water in the pool was molten lava. He could bring me to tears IN the pool and I surely shed tears at home when I wasn't being 'watched' by the other parents and their overly excited and happy-to-be-in-the-water kids. He would cling to us so tight at times it could be hard to get any scoops or kicks out of him without causing bodily harm to ourselves!

I remember people at the pool telling me it would be "okay". That my kid would soon love the water and he would stop crying at the thought of lessons. I believed them. I believed them when he was crying or when he was seeming to somewhat enjoy himself. I started bribing him with fruit snacks (a special treat!) or money to get an ice cream cone after class. I didn't like that I was bribing him to do something that I just felt he should want to do; however, I do think the bribing spiced up the swimming lessons. By the end of our last lessons (summer of '11) we were getting him to jump into the pool to us without screaming or being dragged in to complete his turn. BIG accomplishment.

Then the fall of 2011 was upon us and our family was BUSY. Craig was travelling for work like it was his job (I guess it WAS his job...) and I had taken a part-time teaching position with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. I taught two nights a week, he was gone about every other week and we had our normal things going on. I decided to opt out of lessons for the fall. When I enrolled both boys for lessons this winter I put Travis in the Super Tots I program and he had his first lesson this week (we missed Week 1 due to the Rose Bowl -- darn Badgers had to go and lose...). Travis did FABULOUS! He listened to the teachers very well and did as he was told. Craig and I know that if we had been in the water with him he would have freaked out and claimed he just wasn't going to blow bubbles. The teacher told him to blow bubbles and he did it -- reluctantly... but he did it. We were surprised/impressed and I think a little annoyed that he so easily did for them what we had worked so hard for him to do for us. At least he was putting his face towards the water! He just did a wonderful job and we are so glad he is in the water on his own. Whew.

Treyton started lessons this week as well and we had a feeling he was going to be a different case than Travis. Treyton has always loved the water. He loves taking baths and he loves to splash. He isn't afraid to put his head towards the water and he would get jealous of Travis in the water at the pool without him at a young age. We. Were. RIGHT. Treyton is a fish. If he could be more than a fish I think he would be. HE LOVES SWIMMING! The only time he was crying was when he was supposed to sit on the side of the pool and practice kicking -- he would rather be in the water. He was laughing those big belly laughs and scooping his hands. He would kick his feet with excitement and was elated to be in the water. His favorite thing to do was blow bubbles and he put his face in the water multiple times. He did blow bubbles at the beginning and then he started to drink the water. Gross. He was having so much fun and I felt so relaxed and happy with him in the water. What a difference between the two boys. I think Craig and I will be fighting to see who gets to take Treyton in the water to swim!

I took a video of the boys on swimming day. Travis was voluntarily telling Treyton about swimming, so I asked him to stop and grabbed the camera to get his explanation on film. Enjoy!

Turtle Man

So over the holidays my family was introduced to "Turtle Man" via my younger siblings. He has a featured show on TV and he catches a variety of animals and rodents humanely (usually using his bare hands) and then releases them into the wild. He has a couple cat calls he yells off and in general is a loveable goon.

The boys were rather impressed with Turtle Man and they mimicked him with their Uncle Drew around Nana and Grandpa's house. Treyton would yelp like him and Travis would just run around crazy like him. Today we were playing in the living room. I was helping Treyton build blocks and Travis was running circles around the couch when all of a sudden Travis screams "I'm Turtle Man!" and he grabbed Craig's Badger quilt and threw it over Treyton's head and wrestled him to the ground all before I could do anything about it. Hilarious and a little disturbing at the same time. Guess I should have been prepared for that one as he was also being Turtle Man in the bathtub and catching the wind-up toys with his bare hands and a cup.

I love my life :)

A Blog for the New Year

My big resolution for 2012 (and hopefully all years following) is to keep a journal of things that happen with the Dreikosen family. I initially said I was going to handwrite my journal because it had more meaning if it was handwritten. That is great in theory -- and I DO prefer a handwritten journal, card or even note over a typed one -- however; I feel that I would not be successful if I limited my journaling to only handwritten entries.

I decided to start this blog for my children. While I love to scrapbook and write notes in their baby books, the truth of the matter is, scrapbooking ends up being a big chore that feels like a lot more work than fun. I love, love, love the finished product. I love to rub my fingers over the raised decorative sayings and pictures and I like seeing my random handwriting covering the pages -- but it all goes back to the fact that I would be less successful at keeping up with my intentions if it isn't convenient. So, a blog it is.

While my children are what prompted me to start blogging, I know this blog will be used for my own ramblings as well. I used to journal (yes, the old handwritten type) all the time when I was younger. I think it really helped me to get my feelings out. I even named my journal. Her name was Bekki. I thought I was so creative in changing the spelling of her name from the traditional "Becky". What a rebel rouser I was!

I don't think I am going to start out my blog by actively recruiting people I don't know to read my blog. Truth is I don't have a very compelling story to share. I wasn't born into a terrible situation, I had a fairly normal childhood and I don't have any major issues right now that make my stories that "interesting" to the common reader. I am not complaining about not fitting into an unwanted situation to make for a good story -- just stating the facts. I am a full-time stay-at-home mother who watches two boys, ages 3 and 15 months. In the next month we'll add our neighbor girl Madelyn to the mix a couple days a week. While there are great stories to be shared and moments to be recorded, I don't know that my blog would prove worthwhile to the masses. If you have stumbled upon the site and enjoy reading it and can take a little something from each post I am happy. If you are family (and God knows there are plenty of you!) I hope you can feel even more connected to our family via this blog.... that is when you find this blog...

My first small story for the day revolves around Treyton's 15 month appointment. He weighed in at 22 lbs 11 oz and was 30.5 inches long. His head circumference is 47.7 cm. This puts him in the 23rd, 29th and 65th percentiles respectively. It is so hard to believe he is this big! He outweighed Travis by 1 1/2 pounds at this age, but is still a healthy weight. He was running around the waiting room saying "touchdown" (the boys wore their Rodgers Packer jerseys) and spent most of his free time dumping out and picking up crayons. He had to get three shots, and wasn't impressed with that; however, he cheered right up when he got a sticker. The wonder of a sticker.

I called the Marathon County Foster Care coordinator to request some information. I have always had this desire to help people. I cannot help but WANT to help people. It might sound like I am boasting, but I feel I am one of the most generous people I know. I have thought about fostering for a LONG time now. It started in 2005 when we ran into a Foster Care coordinator in Decatur, AL. She was explaining situations to me and recommended we look into fostering. Craig has always talked me out of becoming a foster parent by reiterating how difficult it would be for me to place a child back into a situation that is less than ideal. While I do understand where he is coming from, this is a feeling I just can't shake. I guess you could say my heart is sometimes much bigger than my brain. Not saying Craig doesn't have a heart -- he is one of the most loving, caring and dedicated husbands and fathers I know.... but he is the very rational one with the strong head on his shoulders. I am the big hearted one with a good head on my shoulders, but my heart is much more persistent. SO, I requested information. It doesn't mean I'm taking the training and becoming a foster parent (I do need Craig on my side to make this work anyways) -- but I am hoping the additional requested information will further confirm or deny my feelings towards becoming a foster parent.

Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom is super challenging. Okay -- more than sometimes.... a lot of the time.... One of my biggest challenges is the lack of adult social interaction. It isn't that I always need someone to "talk" to, but rather I need a way in which to express my feelings and just get things off my chest. Travis, my three-year-old, is now getting too big to talk to the way I would before. I used to babble to him about anything and he would nod and agree with me when I wanted him to. He would also disagree if that was my desired response. Now he has entered the wonderful stage of questioning pretty much everything I say. Yes -- the "why" stage. I admit there are times I avoid talking with him to avoid answering the questions that will inevitably come up. Mom of the year.

I hope that in the days and weeks to come I am able to better figure out how to navigate my way through this site and how to be a better blogger. I would like to add pictures, videos and capture moments on here that will be available to my children in the future. I would like my husband to be able to read this as well and be proud of us and what we've created. I am so very glad I have started this.