SSA Revisited

Bright and early this morning, off to the SSA we went.  As a family.  A lovely little family outing.  Fuzzy kitties and brown paper packages, warm woolen mittens (or . . . um . . . light breezy t-shirts?) and all that jazz. La-di-da.  Hi-di-ho.

We pull onto the street where the building is located and Soren shoots out of his seat frantically yelling about needing to throw up.  Dan pulls over to some bushes and Soren hurtles himself out of the car just in time to lose his stomach over some lovely, unassuming So Cal shrubs.

Two+ hours, two dead iPhone batteries, one schooled SSA official (thanks Lawyer Dan), one stir-crazy toddler, and one super fussy baby later ... Oskar is legit.  He now rests comfortably on our defunct government's radar.  But hey, at least we'll get another thousand or so back for it.  Thanks little dude, rest assured it will go toward diapers, books, clothes, education, and your future mission.  :)

Note to self for next time:

Birth certificate and blessing certificate are most definitely enough documentation (along with current parental I.D.).  Ignore objections from clueless SSA officials to the contrary.  Make them check their own website.  Apply smug gloating face when they realize they are wrong and you are right.  Chalk it up to aforementioned defunct government.  Swear to yourself for the three millionth time that you will raise children that can help rescue our poor citizenry from inane government run-around and lines and lines and waiting, waiting, waiting.

You know how Babies 'R' Us has front row parking for pregnant mothers?  Well, government agencies should offer preferred services to mothers with children in tow.  I'm just sayin'.  I think everyone would be happier, not just mom.  :)

Until next baby, SSA!  Hasta la vista.

Lines, Lines, and More Lines

Crazy, crazy day today.

CR-AAA-ZY.

Oskar still doesn't have a social security number or card, so I piled up the boys to get that taken care of this morning.  Taxes, ya know?  It kind of helps if all our dependents can be recognized as such.  I called the social security number beforehand and took the time to make sure I had all the right documents.  As I was leaving my house, though, I decided to check my wallet to make sure I had my driver's license with me.  Sort of a pointless gesture since it's always, ALWAYS in my wallet.  But while checking this time, I noticed that my driver's license has been expired for ALMOST A YEAR!!

Yeah.  I'm on top of things.  Pffffth.

So, I drove on anyway, hoping I could throw my expired passport, expired driver's license, and social security card at them as proof of my maternal claim to Oskar.

No such luck.  I didn't even get far enough to take aim.  Apparently the peeps on the phone didn't give me accurate details and I was short one vital document.  Blah.  So, off to the doctor's office it was.  I had to have more proof of his identity since he was born at home.  Boo.

After the doctor we took a lunch break and then I tackled the matter of my uber-expired driver's license.  I set up an appointment for next week online, but then noticed their non-appointment wait time was pretty short.  I waited for Oskar to wake from his nap and took off for the DMV.

Ah, the DMV.

Let's just say their website was inaccurate.  BUT, it still wasn't too bad.  With my trusty iPhone to keep Karsten's rear glued to the stroller seat, we did okay.  Anders has an inability to keep his fingers off, oh, everything, but even he settled down shortly after we arrived.  It was a pleasant surprise.  But my hero-of-the-day was definitely Soren.  Soren was amazing.  He really wanted to be able to play on my phone when we got home, so he was on his best behavior the ENTIRE time.  I was so impressed.  He wasn't just obedient, he was also helpful and kind and happy.  It was awesome.  He even held Oskar for me when I had my picture taken for my new driver's license.  What a little stud.  I love him.  And I so appreciated his help today.

Social security office
Doctor's office
DMV

I know some of you awesome moms out there do more than this in one day.  Go more places.  Dropping off, picking up.  But it's not me. I'm a homebody. If I plan an outing, I plan ONE outing that usually only lasts for ONE morning or ONE afternoon.  This bouncing all over town was nuts for me.  Too much government run-around.  Too much traffic.  Too much climbing in and out of our car, buckling and unbuckling seat belts.

And tomorrow we get to head back to the social security office, again.  This time armed with that darned doctor's transcript and Dan's current driver's license as proof of parental claim on Oskar.

Wish us luck!

....................................

One of my *favorite* moments from today?  Finding this in Oskar's diaper:

Dude's facial expression says it all.  Poor guy met his doom today since neither Soren nor I were willing to rescue him.  Bye bye, little Lego guy guy.  So grateful you didn't choke my kid.

....................................

Oh, and somewhere amidst all this craziness I also managed to drop my phone, cracking its face.  Today was just a fuzzy little kitty of a day, I tell you what.

Remembering Lego Club

Dan and I signed Soren and Anders up for Lego Club this past Fall. They really, really enjoyed themselves, attending about once every other week, building with Legos, getting to know the other boys and working on their project. There were only six boys altogether, so they were a pretty tight-knit group.  The theme for the First Lego League presentation was Helping Seniors (elderly, not high schoolers) OR showing change over time.  Our boys decided to show how something has changed over time and they constructed three different computers to demonstrate: a huge 1960's computer, a 1980's desktop computer, and an iPhone (arguably a computer, right?!).  :D  On January 19th, we went to Legoland for the presentations and enjoyed seeing many displays from other groups and then taking off to explore the park. Definitely good times with Lego Club.  Thank you, Ms. Amy!

This kid was SO patient, following me around as I snapped a billion pictures.  He was probably so bored.

And here are all my Instagram pics from the day:

Soren's Baptism

Back in November our Soren Boy turned eight. Eight is a big deal in the LDS faith. Eight is the age of accountability, the point at which our sins count and the atonement matters much, much more as we work to be forgiven daily for our many shortcomings and weaknesses. Eight is when we are baptized and take upon us the name of Christ, promising to always remember Him and keep His commandments. In turn, we are recognized as an official member of His Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also at this time we receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the amazing blessing the Lord has granted us to always have His Spirit with us as we sojourn here on Earth, attempting to navigate the adversary's many pitfalls.

Soren was so, SO happy to be surrounded by familiar faces on this momentous occasion.  So many people love him and we are eternally grateful for the support shown him by so many loved ones.  We had my family members from Utah, Dan's family members from Arizona and Orange County, ward family members from our church congregation here in San Diego, our wonderful neighbors from across the street, and, in a first for many of us, we were even able to plug Uncle Daniel into the program by lugging in a laptop and revving up Skype.  It was so neat to have him there even though he was actually half way across the world and 10 or so hours ahead of us!

The day was beautiful and the Spirit was strong.  I was scooting around happily snapping pictures and staring, mystified, at my first-born all grown up.  I can't believe I have an eight-year-old!  Dan and I are so extremely proud of Soren for choosing to become a member of the Lord's Church and embark on the greatest adventure of service and love he will ever have on this earth.  And I am so eternally grateful for Dan's worthiness to hold the priesthood of the Lord and the respect he shows for this wonderful power.

We are so blessed.  So, so very blessed.  My heart is full as I write and think back on that day all wrapped up and packaged in love and joy.

Here are the kids checking out the baptismal font.

I love this sequence purely because of what Oskar is doing to Anders.  Ha ha ha!

Soren and Daddy sharing a laugh over something.

Uncle Daniel looking on from the laptop.

Hi, Uncle Daniel! (He even dressed up for the occasion - how sweet is that?!)

Our neighbors, Glen and Debbie, on the left.  Cranes and Allens (friends) behind.  Grandpa Ogden.

Lots of people love our SoSo!

Daddy and [some of] his boys.  Karsten was wandering who-knows-where.

I love, LOVE this picture.  We are not allowed to take pictures of the actual baptism out of respect for the sacred nature of the ceremony, but I was able to snap this last picture of Soren and his Daddy entering the baptismal font before I sat down.  I love that we have this tradition of inviting the children present to gather in front of the glass to witness the baptism of their friend.  This picture is so full of awe and wonder and love.

We love you, Soren, and we are so impressed with your testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  You are a strong force for good in this world that is desperate for good.  You shine so brightly and evil and darkness shrink before you.  You are an obedient son, a tender and loving brother, and a sensitive friend.  We are so proud of you.

Love, Mom and Dad

December Musings

December has proven to be right cozy this year and I am loving every minute of it. We've had some warmish days with beautiful breezes, blue skies, and billowy white clouds. And now we're experiencing true San Diego winter conditions with some chilly rain and dancing wind that sends the Christmas lights hung from the eves into fits of bobbing and swaying.  The mornings are cold, eliciting moans and groans as I hunker down under my covers, in denial that my baby could possibly need me at such an inopportune time.  I wear socks in the house now to warm my footcicles.

Things I love right now:

~ Getting packages frequently as we procrastinators finally get around to Christmas shopping. Online, of course. 

~ Opening my door to collect said packages and catching a whiff of a neighbor's wood fire stove emissions. Always reminds me of a mountain getaway, complete with surrounding pines and crunchy ground covering.

~ The relaxed pace of our daily lives. The big boys are getting into a routine and jumping right into their house and school work before I even get up in the morning!

~ Karsten's toothy grin with crinkled nose and disappearing rainbow eyes. As he is such a genial child, I see it often.

~ Dan's willingness to help me clean out five years of accumulated clutter and make our home a more inviting place to stay in longer.

~ Dan's patience with the lengthy duration of the aforementioned project thus far. (Hey, huge projects + kids ain't no cakewalk, folks!)

~ Christmas movie nights.

~ Playing games with Karsten.  He is SO good at Memory and Super Mind (pictured below) and applies his usual zest to executing both.  It's a joy to behold!

~ Oskar's cruising and curiosity (though I blame this for my stalling out on "the project"). He scoots his way around the house, pushing with his right toes and pulling with his left forearm. He is fast.

~ My new walking group that meets at a local park every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5am! I'm not usually a morning person, but I adore these women I walk with and look forward to each time. It's also nice to finally be doing something about my body's desperate need for activity and movement. Plus, we are collecting memories, like the time we came across a HUMONGOUS Black Widow spider making its way across our path; and the skinny man with the shaved head that stalks the park with a massive rock in one hand; and realizing that our walking time and days coincide perfectly with Brother Tom and Brother Jon's from our ward (congregation). We've only been at it two weeks and we've already walked in dense, disorienting fog that rests heavily on the world, hushing the regular hum of early morning critter activity and isolating any soul brave enough to push through it. And, the days after the fog lifted we were treated to breathtaking clarity, with stars twinkling down on us from the heavens and the shadow of the ocean winking along the horizon as we marveled from our unobstructed vantage point. People, getting up early rocks. You should try it some time.

~ Our awesome Christmas lights on our tree and around our house.  Mini LED dome lights, people.  It's the way to go.  PAAAARTAAAAAYYYY!  :D

~ Anders is reading.  He's really reading and he's getting it and he's a perfect testament to me that when a child is ready to learn and allowed to do so at his own pace, comprehension will occur in leaps and bounds with no loss of love for learning as tends to accompany premature, compulsory "education."  Knowing Anders' personality, it would have been (and still could be) super easy to crush his budding academic confidence.  He's the sort who needs lots of attention, encouragement, and praise.  Regardless of performance, I try to find things he's done well and focus on those or he is easily discouraged.

~ Soren is becoming a man.  I can see him see-sawing between the fun-loving, goofy kid with no inhibitions and this new young man who is accepting and even embracing responsibility around the house and with the family.  He is readily helpful and absolutely tries to make the best decisions.  He told me just yesterday morning, "Mom, I was washing my hands after I used the bathroom this morning and I thought to myself, 'Mom wants me to get started with school and chores right away. I don't really want to, but I think I should.'"  And off he went getting his stuff done while I was obliviously snoozing away with the baby.  I was so proud of him.

~ Adopting new family Christmas traditions like our Elf on the Shelf which Karsten named Pidgery.  And reading a Christmas story each evening before bed.  And there are a couple more that I just heard about at a really fun Relief Society dinner we had this week.  We are going to get a pure white stocking to hang next to ours for the baby Jesus each year.  In it, we will each place a "gift," or something we promise to be better at next year (written on a piece of paper).  We'll then read our previous gifts the following Christmas Eve.  I love this idea because it's another reminder of the true reason for the season and I think we need lots of reminders these days.  And the last one I want to adopt is to make our own white stuffed fabric snowballs to have a family "snowball" fight on Christmas morning.  Our entire Relief Society engaged in one at the dinner this week and it was SO FUN!  What a fantastic idea, especially for us "poor," snow-deprived Southern Californians.  :P

Things I'm not loving:

~ Dishes

~ Laundry

They are both vicious, vicious cycles that I have feelings of acute animosity toward because they simply REFUSE to go away when I ignore them!  Not to mention they wreak havoc on my poor (eczema-riddled) hands.  :(

~ Murder

~ Silly, obsolete protests (wear pants to church day)

Here are some more images from our December thus far:

The boys have been doing a lot of this lately.  BUT, I figure it's okay because they've also been doing a lot of this . . .

. . . and this . . .

Anders illustrating his daily journal entry.

We've also spent some quality time trying to imitate Karsten's facial expressions that we love so much.  Here's what we fondly refer to as "The Look":

Oskar's First Solid Food

Because he's almost six months, and because he still doesn't sleep through the night, and because he wants to nurse ALL THE TIME, we finally decided to introduce Oskar to his first solid food.  Avocados.  He did not love them.  But he did fine moving them around in his mouth, lunging for and gumming the spoon, drooling green, and gag-urgitating.  With about two mice-sized bites making it to his belly, I'd say this initial exploration into the world of solid foods was a resounding success.

At least he smiles a lot, anyway.