Swim fun

So on Saturday, we wanted to try something novel, something we hadn't done before. What we didn't count on, however, is that almost ALL locals here in Minnesota have the "indoor fun for when the temps are in the single digits" already mapped out and ready-to-go. We definitely were not alone in our idea to head over to the Shoreview Community Center and use the indoor waterpark. It was pretty crowded, but we managed to get Sarah into a swim suit (no minor feat) and actually into the water! Well, not for long, but she did get wet, and she didn't throw up. That's a win-win in my book.

Normally, she gets so upset that she starts gagging and throwing up. I think she's fearful that we will force her to go down one of the big slides - something that has happened to her in the past (but not by us). There's such a fine line when it comes to kids with autism - if you don't ever push them, they'll never break out of their routine and try new things. But you don't want to push too hard and have a disaster on your hands. Always a balancing act, and today, it worked out fine.

Pizza for dinner afterward helped, too!

As expected, Madilyn had a wonderful time - it was her idea to go, and we actually did it. That plus the skiing made it an A+ day in her book!

Did I ever mention...

One thing that I need to document on this blog is the spectacular comment from my brother-in-law when he first visited my blog almost a year ago. I'd sent a link, so he didn't need to type in the address, and upon glancing at the blog, thought it was entitled "Life Without Gary".

That would be harsh, especially since Gary's still alive and we're still married, but the irony of my brother-in-law's misread is amusing...

Gary now uses this as a way to remember my chosen spelling of "gray" (rather than "grey") as just a mixed up version of his own name. *grin*

Madi on skis!

Well, after much pestering on her part, I finally took Madilyn out cross country skiing for the first time. We rented skis and skiied at Tamarack, which is less than a mile from our house. Madilyn was a trooper, and did the 1K practice loop twice. Not bad for someone who has never skiied before!

She pleaded to ski the same trail that I normally ski, but at her pace, it would be dark long before we got done. When she gets faster, it will definitely be fun to do together.

By the end of our (almost 2 hour!) ski session, my hands were so painfully frozen that I am now convinced that I need to buy stock in the company that makes those hand warmer packets. The last two times that I was out, I stuck one of those warmers in each of my ski gloves, and had no problems with my hands. Unfortunately, I had used the last packets earlier in the week, and didn't have any for my hands today. OUCH!! I'm definitely stocking up on those amazing little packets of warmth before my next outing...

Here's looking forward to future Madilyn/Mom ski adventures!

Two days in a row!

Amazing. A miracle.

It's Wednesday, and everyone is healthy. I got to go to class!! It was great. Not as intellectually stimulating as I would have hoped, but there weren't too many people there. Made some great doodles in my notebook, and pondered quite a bit on my own life. Won't bore you with those musings, though.

But even better - I went skiing today! And I skiied yesterday, too! This is a significant accomplishment, especially given that my friend and ski buddy, Kate is out of town, so I ended up going solo.

There's a peace in skiing solo, but, truth be told, it's more fun with a friend. Anyway, the park up the street (Tamarack) is reasonably safe - lots of people around, not in a remote location - so I worry less about meeting unsavory characters when I'm on my own. And, there's cell reception, so I could call if I got in trouble. (Most of the state parks don't have cell coverage).

Back to the skiing - yesterday was beautiful - the sun was shining, temps in the low teens. The trails were OK; icy in spots, but I'm not complaining. I ended up skiing without tracks for part of the route; the only people who had skiied since the last storm took the expert loop, and I wasn't going for that! So, I set the trail for the portion where the easy separates from the expert. I apologize to all who came after me for the erratic spacing, but hey...

Today was not as warm, and not as sunny, and the trails were more hacked up, but still not too bad. The tracks that I set actually didn't seem that bad, especially after quite a few more skiers had passed through. Best part of the day? I actually passed someone! I didn't see anyone when I started out, but a quarter mile in, I passed an older lady. The competitive side in me really liked that I was actually faster than someone else, even if she was probably in her 60's, and possibly recovering from a hip replacement (I don't actually know any of that...)

Below is a shot from today's ski adventure. So different from out west, where there's mountains, and evergreens... here we just have open prairie. The wind can really build up out there! Today I wore my balaclava, and if I had been wearing a backpack, could have been mistaken for a bank robber. Fashion parade, this is not!

All in all, a great day.

oh, and another thing

Another lesson that I learned today (much less profound, but important none the less) - never place a lit candle directly below the smoke detector. Amazing the things we do without thinking! Thank heaven that the rabbit didn't die of a heart attack. I would have had a hard time explaining that one to Madilyn.

Lesson learned

It was a typical Monday morning... couldn't find the will to get out of bed at 5 to exercise, so instead hit the snooze until 6:15. I tried to get Sarah up, but she, too, was bed-glued. After rushing around and finally getting her out the door at 7:30, I tried to talk Madilyn into walking to school with me this morning. I figured I could count that as a workout, right? No go.

So, I jumped on the Nordic Track and gave it my all for 20 minutes, quickly checked in with Wii Fit, then proceeded to try to get Madilyn moving. Although ultimately successful, I wasn't able to change or shower before driving her to school. Since I was already behind the wheel, I decided to head to the post office to buy the stamps that June Schmidt needed to mail the Relief Society birthday cards. I had promised to get them to her that day.

I called June from the post office, and told her I was on my way over to drop off the stamps. The roads were starting to get slippery, and all I wanted to do was get home, eat breakfast, and take a shower...

June was waiting near the door when I arrived, and invited me in. I declined, saying that I had to get going. "Why?" she asked.

"Oh, I have lots of things I need to get done, " I replied.

"Like what?" she asked. Now, for those of you who don't know June - she's an imposing woman in her mid 80's, an elder in her Indian tribe, twice widowed, hunts deer from a tree stand every fall, knows more about living life than I care to imagine, and basically doesn't take crap from anybody. I love her to death. Anyway, I had no good answer to her question, because "going home and taking a shower" seemed like a pretty lame response.

"Well, I haven't showered yet..." I began.

"I don't care about that. Come on in," she replied, firmly.

So, I came in, took off my snowy boots and padded upstairs in my bare feet (since I was in too much of a hurry to find socks before I left). She took the stamps from me, then proceeded to show me the afghan she was crocheting for one of her grandsons. We sat and chatted a bit, and she talked of many things, glad, I think, for a fresh set of ears. And it dawned on me that she didn't care that I was stinky and unwashed, wearing a stained t-shirt, no makeup in sight, with my hair pulled into a messy, greasy ponytail.

I ended up leaving sooner than probably either of us would have liked, because my car was blocking the driveway, and the missionaries (who live with her) needed to leave for an appointment. As I headed for the door, she grabbed me in a big, hard, hug and told me how glad she was that I came.

Tears came to my eyes as I realized that I too, was glad I had come, and had made the choice to come inside.

We embraced once more at the door, with promises made to stop by again soon. As I got in my car and pulled away, I realized that, as the Lord had told me before, June was often lonely. Just as I too, often felt earth-shakingly lonely. And I realized that, in order to solve our own problems, sometimes the Lord just needs us to get up and do His work, and it doesn't matter one bit if you're a stinky, hungry, scary-looking mess. Because He can work with that. And almost always, when you're done, you find that your problems don't look quite the same as they did when you started.

Apple-ized

I really want a MacBook. I'm just sayin, 'case anyone's got a spare $2K they're not usin'.

Heading for the cloud...

I have been trying since I first got my iPhone to enter all my contact
information into google, so that I can access it from anywhere,
including my phone. (fear not - all confidential info goes into
splashID). Anyway, this is easier said than done! I spent two solid
hours on it tonight, and have only made it to the M's.

I really didn't think I knew that many people!

... but not again

Well, it's Wednesday, and so, of course, I have a sick child. At least this time* there is really no question, as Madilyn started throwing up around 5:45 am, which was followed by problems at the other end about an hour later.

So much for class followed by more skiing today. And of course, the weather is wonderful. Sigh. Watch out for the pieces of shattered hopes as you leave... they'll cut you. Sorry, I'm feeling dark and full of self-pity today.

------------------

*those who have followed my life this school year know that I decided to take a religion class at church on Wednesday mornings, taught by one of the university institute instructors. Feeling an acute need for some intellectual conversation on meaningful topics, I thought this was a perfect fit. God, apparently, doesn't agree, since my household has been struck by illness 12 out of the 19 times that class has been held. I would think that attending a religion class would be considered a righteous desire, but apparently, there is something else here I need to learn...

Skiing again!

Today was a WONDERFUL day! Kate and I grabbed our skis and headed up to Wm. O'Brien State Park for some xc skiing. The weather was great, and the views from the trail were fabulous. It had gotten warm and foggy the day before, then froze overnight, so everything had a beautiful covering of frost.

Why, you ask, didn't you take any pictures to include with your post? Well, when we left, I wasn't in the greatest mood, and didn't really feel like talking. Kate, great friend that she is, accepted this without complaint. I told her to go ahead and lead, rather than ski beside me.

Mistake. The woman has been going easy on me. Although I was able to keep up with her, her pace is definitely faster than mine. She sincerely mentioned that she was having a hard time getting moving that day, for which I was grateful, since I couldn't have kept up with her if she was feeling chipper!

In spite of what her kids think, she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head, so she didn't see me struggling, and of course, I am far too proud to not try and keep up. So, I kept quiet and slogged on. At first I kept thinking about being a flabby 43 year old out-of-shape housewife, making a fool of herself... but then I realized... at least I'm out doing something! Then, my quest seemed a little more valiant. Although humbling, it was actually quite a fun workout.

So that's why no pictures. I was too busy sweating. Seriously. I had the soaked-through coat to prove it.

YES! Back again tomorrow!

Trip to China

So, below is an example of the type of communication I have with my husband when he is out of the country. A man of few words, no? (Note: this is actually the longer of the two emails that I received from him during his trip. The first was a blank message with the subject line "Made it to china".)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gary Poulsen <ggpoulsen@gmail.com>
Date: Thu,Jan 14, 2010 at 7:27 PM
Subject: Boarding flight 9:50am
To: Laura Poulsen <lmpoulsen@gmail.com>

Flight looks good, bought slippers for Sarah and glass globe like snow globe for madi.

Madilyn had asked for a snow globe, so I figured he was on track with
that one, but I was very worried because I pictured embroidered
Chinese slippers for Sarah, and thought... what is he thinking?? She
hates wearing slippers!

Well, he was a hit when he got home, because these were the gifts he brought:

Super cool glass globe that spins on its base. Madilyn had asked for a snow globe with the great wall of China in it (?? where do they come up with these ideas??) and this is pretty near perfect. Madilyn was unconcerned about the lack of snow; I thought it looked classier this way.

Panda slippers! Sarah, the girl who hates wearing things on her feet, wears these things constantly. She rocks the panda slippers.

Funny of the day

Wonder if the same can happen with laughing, which I did upon seeing this...

On my skis again - finally!

So in December it finally snowed enough for some cross country skiing around here, and so I promptly left town for two weeks for the holidays. During that time, I was tortured by my BFF's constant posts on Facebook about her skiing adventures with her family. Fueled by envy, I came back to town, determined to strap on the skis and head out... only to be faced with bone-chilling temperatures. Even I am not crazy enough to ski when it's -20 outside.

But today! Finally! I (unintentionally) tore my way-too-dedicated-to-her-studies friend Kate away from her books by declaring that I was going skiing solo. In retrospect, I should have known that she was too much of a worrier to let me go alone, but I guess I was a bit stir-crazy... Anyway, she introduced me to a new local place, Pine Point Park Reserve.

Trails were great, and we had an awesome time! It does bother me a bit that she is able to talk non-stop while we ski, while I struggle to keep my breathing even, but hopefully by the end of the season I will have gotten in better shape, and our treks will be a workout for both of us. For now, I'm grateful that she considers me good company.

Here's us before the final downhill. I must say that there were a couple of downhills where I gained enough speed and momentum to solidify my resolve to NEVER go downhill skiing. If I ended up on my posterior in a snowbank at such low speeds, I can only imagine the horrific snowball I'd make on an actual slope. I'm sticking with the Nordic, thank you.

Word of the day: Drap

Coined by Sarah, "drap" is an expression of frustration derived from "drat" (when Mom is in a fairly good mood) and "crap" (when Mom is rapidly losing control).

First known usage: Mom backing her car down an exceptionally narrow shovelled driveway and zigging when she should have zagged. Mom stayed silent, but a loud "DRAP!" issued from the backseat upon low-speed impact with the snowbank.

Disclaimer: No Saabs were harmed during the creation of this word.

Costco: Hot and melty

I was leaving Costco tonight when I spied something that literally took my breath away - a smoking hot, cherry red 2010 Camaro parked by the Member Services desk. (For those of you unfamiliar with Costco, they have agreements with dealerships through which members can get new vehicle discounts, and so often have a car parked inside advertising their program.)

I've long had a soft spot for Camaros, but with this incarnation...oh wow. Chevy knocked it out of the park. Although I am ten times more likely to actually purchase a Chevy Volt, when I saw this beauty my insides melted and I immediately visualized speeding along, sun shining, windows down, wind whipping my hair, with Nickelback's "Far Away" blasting from the stereo. Pure heaven. There must be Camaros in heaven, right?

But reality intervened, my feet kept moving, and I soon found myself out in the dark, icy, 10 degree parking lot, trying to stuff all my kid-related purchases into the back of my too-small Saab. I can't even imagine how a Camaro could fit into my life, but what a nice dream. Sigh.



(and yes, I really am that car-obsessed. I grew up in Detroit. It's more than just transportation.)

Normal??

Well, today I had a visit with my physical therapist. After taking my measurements, she announced "Hey! You're normal!", after which we both had a hearty laugh, because even though I only see her a few times a month, she knows that I am anything but.

Actually, what she meant was that my crooked hips and tweaked torso have actually come back into (almost) alignment. I do feel better, and now know what to do when I start to get all (physically) out-of-whack. The mental part, well, I'm on my own.

So, she's sent me on my way with ab exercises to strengthen my almost-non-existent ab muscles, so that my freakishly-strong back muscles don't get so worn out from doing all the work.

Although I'm glad that I'm done, I'm going to miss her - she's an awesome physical therapist, not to mention an amazing and funny person. I suspect we would have become friends if we had met outside of therapy... or then again, maybe she just has wicked good people skills. Either way, I enjoyed getting to know her.

Anyway, YAY for me for untwisting myself during the last 7 months!!

Why I Blog

Just for the record, I keep this blog not because I expect people to read it, but because I am SO terrible at remembering things, and want to exercise my writing muscles. Sometimes it helps to be forced to organize your thoughts, and other times it's good to just get something off your chest, even if no one ever reads it.

A blog has the added benefit of documenting long stretches of non-blog-worthy time. When I sit down to write and have nothing to say, it does push me into actually living life, and doing something to write about. Sometimes.

I hope that if anything ever happens to me, my kids can use this to see that yes, their mother actually did have a life, and hopefully, it made a difference.

Song(s) of the week

I received lots of iTunes cash for Christmas (thank you!!) and have some great new playlists. The song I currently can't get out of my head is Bring Me to Life by Evanescence. It's not a current song (released in '03) but it was recommended by a friend and I'm glad I checked it out!

Close seconds:
Right Here by Staind (slightly newer '06)
Into the Night by Santana/Chad Kroeger (whoo '07! I'm getting more current!)

Not kidding

This is not a joke - I sat down at my computer and checked the weather. Here are the current stats; it's 9:05 am and the sun is out.

Saint Paul, MN

-20°F (yes, that's a minus sign!!)
Current: Sunny
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 67%

Sun 7° | -10°
Mon 9° | -8°
Tue 9° | -4°

I am literally too afraid to check the wind chill reading.

edit: ok, I noticed that the wind is listed as 0 mph, so I guess that there's not really a wind chill.

Sledding Fun

Since Santa brought the girls new sleds for Christmas, we had to go and try them out. We headed out on New Year's day, and because of the temperature (6) and negative wind chills, we had the hill to ourselves for most of the time. A middle-aged woman and her beagle did join us for a while, and gave us a new twist on dog-sledding - she held the dog on her lap while going down the hill in a saucer sled. It didn't end well, but both left with only their pride injured...

Here are some pics from the adventure. Sorry we didn't get one of the dog sled...

Madilyn and her new inflatable sled. It lasted for 3 runs before tearing beyond hope of repair.

Sarah, always watching. She doesn't participate in all the craziness. Later she headed off to a nearby playground, and got her workout swinging on the swings.

First run for Madilyn on the snow wedge. Both survived without injury. :-)

Dad trying to beat Mom's distance record. (He did, darn it.)

Hot chocolate time!

Fun family time!