jellyfish art gallery

James loves to color. He really gets into it (see video). Today he decided he wanted to make a "gallery," so he drew these three pictures of jellyfish for his debut. What talent. Look out Picasso!

"Big HUGE Jellyfish with the Eyes Under the Blood"

"Colorful Jellyfish Spider"

"Spider Jellyfish"

"you never know what I'm gonna say"

Today James reminded me that I never know what he's going to say. And I have to agree with him. He says some pretty kooky things. I like to collect his quotes and read over them once in a while--they're good for a chuckle. Here are some of my favorite James quotes from the past few months.


"Mom, that Kit Kat made my slobber taste like chocolate!"

"Mom, you forgot my green vegetable!"

"Mom, look what I can see inside my hand with the binoculars: I see blood, and bones, and fire, and squirrels!"

"Wanna smell my breath?"

"Hey Addy, mine are even HUMONGOUSER!"

"When I grow up I want to be a doctor and a runner. And a basketball player. And an astronaut. And a scuba driver. And I want to be a race car racer. Does all that take a lot of school like Daddy?"

James wearing his bat mask and a couple of holstered "weapons" that I suppose all bats need?

"Today I told a girl at school I had a bloody nose last night and she said, 'Oh.'"

"No, Mom, YOU have to go to time out and never come out!"

"Grandma Holly, there's a T-Rex in your bathroom! Don't worry, it's just a kid you love."

"Is heaven by church? Why don't I ever see Heavenly Father there if it's his house?"

"Is Jesus going to resurrect the bad guys?"

"Are there only yucky toys in Spirit Prison?"

"I smell something stinky. Grandma, did you get kinda sweaty in the night?"

"Guess what? My daddy doesn't say excuse me when he toots."

"Uncle Boy, when I count to 10, you get out [of the tent], kay?

"You never know what Grandma Lou is gonna wear." (Oh yeah? Look at you, buddy!)

James in an outfit he picked out himself. Let no one call him boring.

"I want to have this [magazine] forever and everywhere!"

"I think we should send Addy to live with another family who doesn't have a little brother."

"Mom, you're GIGANTIC!"

And my new favorite:

"Mom, even when I hate you I still love you."

monkey see, monkey do

After our last potty training experience, I vowed I would wait as long as possible to train the next one. I would much rather change a diaper than deal with dirty Underoos, spots on the carpet, yucky pants at the grocery store (I'm still dealing with that with Cree!). I don't care if I have to hold him back a year in preschool--I am not putting myself through that again! It was that bad. But the other day I was changing Addy's diaper, and while I had it off he started saying, "Potty! Potty!" So I let him go in and sit on his potty chair while I disposed of the stinky pants.


When I went in to collect him, he was standing proudly in front of it with a huge grin on his face, staring into the bowl. I also noticed a small wet spot on the rug in front of him. Could it be? Upon inspection I found the potty did in fact have a little tinkle in it! WHAT? When did this monkey figure this out?! The little boys' guard was not on the potty (who knew I'd actually need it yet?), so half of it missed and landed on the rug. But still, he had peed in the potty! We both did a little potty dance and a few high-fives. James came running in to see what all the excitement was about. "Good job, Addy!" he said, and joined us in the potty dance. I think James sat on that potty every day for a year and half before actually doing anything in it. I guess there's something to say for having a big brother to show you the ropes. Of course he's not even two yet, so I'm not going to get ahead of myself. But I am pretty proud of him. Way to go, Monkey!

reading, writing, and 'rithmetic

Today was James' first day of school at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Preschool. Last week we went to the school to meet his teacher, Ms. Nilson. James quietly studied her book collection, finally discovering the lone dinosaur book that he KNEW would be there, while Ms. Nilson gave me the run-down on the show & tell and snack day rules. In the car on the way home I asked him, "Are you excited to go to school next week?" To which he replied, "Yeah, but my heart feels a little bit nervous." That made my heart feel a little bit like sobbing.

Since the school doesn't allow backpacks, we got to decorate a canvas bag with a dinosaur and a spider. The spider HAD to be brown. The dino, green. But before he could paint, he had to make sure that stencil wasn't going to move. I tried to be patient while he taped every possible edge of that thing. He wanted it to be perfect (sound like anyone else we know in this family?). Half a roll of tape later, he started his masterpiece. He sponged the paintbrush so lightly I thought it would take all night to fill in those stencils. But I cannot describe the pride on the kid's face when it was finished. Let's just hope he takes all his homework that seriously.

When it was time to get dressed for school, I asked him what he wanted to wear. Bad idea. I take it for granted that 3-year-olds don't have any sense of temperature. He immediately responded that he wanted to wear the blue shirt with the white eagle on it. I didn't even know which shirt this was--I could only assume it was one of the awesome hand-me-downs from Mr. Mase that we had been through earlier in the week (Peen is the best sister-in-law ever--and she has great taste in kids clothes!). But when we found it, as cute as it was, I knew it was too hot to wear it. "James, it's going to be like 80° today. Why don't you wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and save this for a colder day next week?" "But Mom," he said, "I just think that would look good on someone else. This shirt would look good on me today." Are you kidding me? Okay Mr. GQ. Go crazy. I was able to put a stop to the black shoes he wanted to wear with the blue shirt, but he insisted on the pants. After class his teacher told me he was such a sweet boy, but I might want to dress him a little cooler tomorrow. Yeah, don't tell me--tell Ralph Lauren here.

It was no surprise that when I dropped him off at the door he ran in and didn't look back. I stood there a minute with Addy in my arms and felt a little surprised that I wasn't sobbing. I managed to snap one quick pic and I was outta there. Because by the time I got to the car I was ready to start sobbing. I strapped Addy into his car seat and he promptly asked, "Where's James?" That did it. (Sob, sob, sob!) I told Addy, "James is at school." "Oh," he replied. Then two seconds later, "Where's James?" (sob, sob) This repeated several times until we arrived at the park for playgroup. It was Addy's first without his big brother, and I have to tell you he looked a little lost for a while. (sob) He just kind of stood there on the playground and watched the other kids. But as soon as Katy arrived he snapped out of it and ran to meet her. I think he had a great time following her around for the next hour and a half (that's as close to playing as they get). So cute.
When we picked him up at 2:00, James was beaming. He talked non-stop on the way home, and for about two hours after that. He LOVED school. He sang a song about a hippo and Jesus (?), played with Little People and a vacuum that went click, click click! and made a Fruit Loop necklace. Ms. Nilson took his fingers out of his mouth one time and he didn't even put them back in, and a girl asked him if he had a cold, to which he answered "yes." Riley brought the snack today and his show & tell was a monster truck that went up on two wheels "like a pop-a-wheely," and they had "scissors that don't even cut you but they can cut Play Dough." Amazing. This was my favorite description of the day:

James: "Mom, I made some friends today!"
Me: "You did? Oh good! What were their names?"
James: "Mmm, I don't know. I only made them in my imagination. But there's a boy named Christian in my class!"
Me: "Oh really? Did you say, 'That's my dad's name, too!'"
James: "No, but I did in my imagination."
Me: "You mean you didn't say it out loud?"
James: "No, I just said it in my head. Maybe I will say it to him tomorrow."

(sob, sob) So tender. This kid is more like me than I realized.

(To all the Sybrowskys, doesn't he look like a little Cree in this picture?)

So all sobbing aside, this was a pretty great day (no really, I only cried for a second once I got in the car), and I think it's the start of a pretty great year. I know James is going to eat up every minute of semi-scholastic activity he can get. And I'm going to take full advantage of being able to go grocery shopping with only one kid.

end of summer blues

We're lamenting the end of summer at our house. After an unusually rainy August, we're feeling a bit jipped in the sunshine department. We're not ready to go back under cloud cover! We did have a gorgeous first week of September though, and we celebrated by going to the beach, playing at the park, hiking at Discovery Park, and attending our ward's annual Corn Fest dinner.

blackberry bramble

It's blackberry season in the Great Northwest! The summers are gorgeous here-- they're the reason people endure the rain and clouds the rest of the year. But the best part of the season I've found is when we can take our buckets and fill them full of fresh, sweet-tart, FREE blackberries. We have these wild bushes coming over our back fence and lining the driveway. They're also at the end of our street, behind the bus stop on our corner, along our running trail, and just about everywhere else you look (James likes to point them out constantly while we're running as if it's the first time we've seen them). James loves them and can hardly wait until they've been washed. Adam likes to pick them, but when I offer him one he turns his head away and smiles. We try not to eat them too fast, but they don't last long. Perfect on my morning cereal, in salads, and I even had apple-blackberry crisp the other night--divine! While they are free, you do have to bear a few thorns and even spiders. But seriously, even for an arachnophobe like me, they're worth it. I've been waiting all summer for these last two weeks. I think we'll get a few more in the next week, and then it's farewell until next year. Today I picked as many as I could get my fingers on to freeze. I've already promised my parents some buttermilk pie with vanilla ice cream and warm blackberry sauce when they come for Thanksgiving. If you want a bite you'll just have to schedule a visit with us. Sorry. Those are the rules. But I will share my recipes with you below, just in case you're lucky enough to get your hands on a few of these little delights. YUM!

Warm Blackberry Sauce
(created from scratch by my dad the chef)

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
3 tsp. cornstarch
2 c. or more fresh blackberries, washed

In a saucepan, stir sugar, water, & cornstarch until begins to dissolve. Cook until starts to boil. Add berries & stir, boiling until it thickens. Serve immediately over vanilla ice cream and buttermilk pie!



Buttermilk Pie

1/2 c. softened margarine
2 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 - 9 inch deep pie crust

In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugar. Beat in flour and salt. Blend in eggs. Stir in the buttermilk and vanilla. Pour mixture in the pie shell in a 9-inch pie plate. Preheat over to 400° for 15 minutes, then turn down to 325°. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until filling is set. Top with warm blackberry sauce and vanilla ice cream!

maybe it's a dad thing

Christian says my last post was an inappropriate use of this blog because it was not a story about the boys. Here's a bonus quote to make up for it.

Christian: "When you adopt a cavalier attitude toward your possessions they tend to deteriorate more rapidly than they otherwise would. Wouldn't you agree?"

James: "I would agree."

Need a translation? Seriously, sometimes Christian talks to our kids like they're colleagues instead of toddlers. The funny thing is that James goes along with it. So this conversation stemmed from James' pleadings to take his animal magazine along to the pharmacy tonight. We've had several experiences lately where James has taken a toy or book with him and it has been somehow ruined, which we thought we had wisely used as teaching moments regarding the proper care of belongings. But alas, he continues to beg to take things with us to the park, the pool, the pharmacy. Until Christian convinced him tonight through this one sentence. Unbelievable.

in the majority (if only for a moment)

Sybrowsky Quote of the Week: "Everyone has to STOP TALKING!" ~James, after three days of Mom and her friends talking non-stop

I am constantly the minority in my own home. The boys have me seriously outnumbered, and sometimes I just need another girl around! And I finally got my chance. This weekend was the First Annual Flashdancers Girls Retreat in Seattle. We've vowed to visit each other, sans kids and husbands, every year at one of our homes. Mindy, Cortney, and Heather were all able to make it to Seattle this year (we missed you Debbie, Amanda, and Heather!) for a weekend of talking, eating, talking, shopping, talking, sightseeing, and talking! Seriously, there was never, NEVER, a lull in the conversation. It drove James and Christian a little batty I think. So thank you to my boys for putting up with my girls for a few days. I love you for it.


This is us in Friday Harbor in the San Juans. It was cool and rainy (boo!), but we had ice cream anyway!





And here we are with one of Seattle's famous pigs. This one was a fish. You have to admit, we're still pretty cute for a bunch of 30-year-old moms with 11 and 1/2 kids between us!


I love these girls. They are really my sisters, and I am amazed that when we get together it seems like we were never apart. I love the way we are so much the same, yet so incredibly different. So much in our lives has changed since high school, but in some ways it feels like we're still 17! We have all had vastly different college, marriage, and child-rearing experiences, and when we come together it is amazing the knowledge and wisdom you can find in that room, however unsolicited you may find it. Seriously, we should write a book together. Maybe one day. Add it to the list!

Our little tea party at Elizabeth & Alexander's Tea Room
(with Heather's cute sister-in-law who lives in Puyallup).

Our signature pose. . .

The classic Seattle shot!

Quotables:
*Of course you do.
*Add it to the list!
*When I was in New York. . .
*Oh, I have a N.S. story!
*That's their choice!
*I'm sorry. . . (begin any sentence here)

"I love us!"