Freep makes the leap

Today marked the end of 7-day home delivery for the Detroit Free Press. Tomorrow, readers can grab a copy at drugstores and gas stations, read the e-edition or browse the website. It's a big change, and somewhat of a gamble, but necessary.

Here's a video from freep.com about the changes.

Little angel

Kelsey is still battling a stomach bug. This is day #3. She didn't
sleep too well last night; she kept waking and wanting to get "up,"
likely because she was thirsty. She's completely tuckered out on the
couch now.

Ha!

Last night, while picking a background for the blog, I couldn't remember Allison's blog address. I tried several different combinations before giving up. It had been a long day; I worked more than my usual freelance hours!

Now, I realize that I have chosen the exact background as Allison. Ha! Thanks much, Allison, for the idea and the background.

Ch-ch-changes

Well, you can't keep a website stagnant these days. Everyone expects change! So I'm unveiling a new design tonight.

Ken's cousin Allison has an adorable blog, and ever since I've been reading hers, I've wanted to add a background. Unfortunately, I don't often have time for such things as maintenance and redesigns. (Wow, that sounds just like my old job!)

Tonight, though, I took the plunge. I hope you like it!

Lil Kickers

Last week, Ryan began the Lil Kickers soccer program, which teaches the fundamentals of the sport in a fun, positive atmosphere. Kids can begin as young as 18 months and continue until they are 9.

We've been eager to sign up Ryan for an activity yet hesitant because we know we have many, many years ahead of us when we'll be balancing the busy lives of three children. (We constantly watch our neighbor on the go, shuttling her kids from one place to the next. It's exhausting!) Still, Ryan's sat through many of Brendan's activities and we believed he was ready for his own.

To make it even more fun, we asked Ryan's preschool friend Andrew to sign up for the same session. The result has been pure fun for both of them. The coaches are engaging, the activities are fun and the kids are loving it. Some photos from this week:

Ryan, with red cheeks and all.

Andrew (left) and Ryan, best buds.

Small, medium and large.

Our little cutie pies!

What's that?

Kelsey's vocabulary continues to grow, with new words and even some sentences added each day. It's always exciting to recognize her new words! Some of her latest:

• Up, which she uses most often when she wants up to wash her hands at the sink, something we seem to do all day long.
• No. A toddler favorite.
• Hot dog, which she picked up from Mo Willems' "The Pigeon Loves Things that Go!"
• I want some or I want that! She uses this quite often.
• Pablo, when talking to her miniature Pablo doll of the Backyardigan's fame.
• Lollipop
• Dance
• Cookie (I promise, we don't eat sugary treats all the time!)
• Walk, another favorite that I hear any time we attempt to leave the house or get out of the car. She wants to walk everywhere.
• Kankie, which is her word for "blankie." Funny, Brendan used to call his blankie "kind" but I don't recall Ryan ever having a different name for it.
• Shoes
• Socks

B's artwork

Brendan is our budding artist. He loves to draw. In fact, in school, he often forgets that writing workshop is about writing words. He'd rather spend his time drawing illustrations for his stories.

Sometimes, his drawings come from his imagination. Other times, he draws characters or objects from his world of toys and TV.

Recently, he was driven to draw pictures of characters on his Pokemon shirt. We were rather impressed with the results. First, he drew Ash, one of the more popular Pokemon trainers. (I pretend to know, but I don't really.) Next, he drew pictures of some of the Pokemon.

Take a look:

Ash, a Pokemon trainer

Three Pokemon

Brendan is taking an art class this week after school, where he'll learn how to draw cartoons. He's excited, if a bit nervous, but is mostly interested in what characters he'll be able to draw. We'll learn more this week.

The sun!

This weekend we saw the sun! Lots of it! Yes, this is totally worth the multiple exclamation points!!

Sun doesn't come around too often during the winter in Michigan. We're gradually seeing more and more of it these days. This weekend, we had very few clouds. The temperatures were in the 50s, which seven years ago I would have disregarded as a cool day. Now, it means everyone is outside all day, and some folks even wear shorts or leave the jackets inside!

We spent both afternoons playing outside, sometimes by ourselves and often with neighbors. The neighborhood really came alive. Saturday morning, Ryan participated in his first soccer practice. He's in a program called Lil' Kickers, in which the kids progress at varying levels from "practices" to easy, fun games. Ryan loved it and did such a great job. (He particularly enjoyed playing with his friend, Andrew.)

Saturday evening, my girlfriends and I hosted a baby shower for a friend at our house. It was nice to have the kids outside all day -- where messes are easily cleaned -- instead of in the house. The shower was beautiful and the girls had a great time.

This morning we hit Zach's for pancakes, the Plymouth Play Cafe for some indoor playground fun and then took a short walk through downtown Plymouth. Outside, we played soccer, football, rode bikes and scooters, and even played Legos and Rescue Heroes. How fun! The kids were exhausted and all fell asleep quickly.

Just hangin'

Ryan has days when he's more tolerant of his little sister. Today is
one of them. He invited her to sit next to him on the floor while they
watch "Wow Wow Wubbzy," their favorite show. As I type this, she's now
jumping on top of him. Well, it was nice while it lasted!

The Kelsey update

Miss Kelsey is feeling great since her injury on Sunday. She hasn't complained of any pain or soreness (in the primitive ways that a 20-month-old can). When we ask her if she's happy her arm is better, she shakes her head "yes."

For my part, I admit it's a struggle not to grab a toddler's arm! And by grab, I mean the way any mother must grab in order to keep her toddler from running away from her in a restaurant, at the school, in the parking lot. It's a gentle but firm grab, almost always relied on for safety. It's not the grab-the-kid-and-drag-em-by-the-arm grab that doesn't so sound loving.

And yet I must be careful, as nursemaid's elbow is likely to occur again. That's why Kelsey has been banned from any kind of "airplane" game for now. Here's hoping she'll respond to my words and requests and simply hold my hand.

R.I.P.?

It dawned on me, while reading Time magazine's survival guide for newspapers, that the editorial system that helped change and somewhat define my career and which I feel very close to, may be extinct in a couple of years if newspaper's indeed turn to online-only publishing. That pains me on so many levels. It's not even a dinosaur of a system!

Of course, my job has changed significantly in the past eight months, as I am home with the kids and dabbling in freelance work. Plus I am flexible enough (unlike some journalists) to change and learn new technology. But it still stinks.

Nursemaid's elbow

When Kelsey was born, Ken and I decided to make it our last visit to the U-M Hospital for a long time. (Not that we have complete control over this, but it's a wish nonetheless.) We've had two children born at U-M, and we stayed for six days when Brendan was sick at age 2 1/2. That's enough visits to a hospital for me.

Yesterday, however, changed our plans. Throughout Sunday afternoon, Kelsey cried. She cried during her nap. She cried when I picked her up. She just cried. At first, I thought it was a result of a cranky girl who was put down for her nap too late.

Then I noticed that her cry wasn't normal. She sounded as if she was in pain. So after her nap, I asked Ken to take a look at her arm. I had a feeling that maybe she had hurt it when we were getting out of the car after church. She wants to walk everywhere these days, and insisted on walking into the house, except she took off out of the garage toward the pouring rain. I grabbed her arm and swung her around, similar to what you might do while playing airplane or something.

We debated a bit about what to do. If we went to the ER, she'd surely be fine and they'd laugh at us. If we didn't go, she wouldn't sleep all night and would end up with a broken arm or something. A quick call to our neighbor, who happily agreed to take the boys, and the decision was made. Off to Ann Arbor.

Now the last (and only) time we went to the ER, we ended up at the hospital for six days. So we were, shall I say, a bit overprepared. We had packed everything under the sun, just in case. And when the pediatrics ER nurse greeted us and said the wait would be long, we were glad we did.

Luckily, though, about 30 minutes later, a physician came through the waiting room, calling for Kelsey. He declared this would be a "quick fix," which somewhat concerned and relieved me all at once. Because they were extremely busy, the doctors were grabbing patients with minor problems, giving them quick but thorough attention, and sending them home. Our doctor hoped we would fall into this category.

He pulled us into the hallway (no rooms available), grabbed a couple of chairs, and explained that Kelsey likely had nursemaid's elbow. Essentially, her elbow joints were out of place, the result of grabbing her arm. It happens to children under age 3, and once it happens, it can easily happen again.

The cure? Popping it back into place with a couple of simple moves. One symptom is that the elbow isn't tender, which Kelsey proved by not crying when the doctor touched her left elbow. So the doctor performed the quick move, Kelsey cried, and then we waited. Within five minutes, she was bending her elbow, a good sign and a major improvement. After another five minutes had passed, she was reaching with her arm over her head.

Success! The doctor had quickly prepared her discharge papers, and we were on our way home 75 minutes after we walked into the hospital! The best part was, we were able to get home in time for the boys to see their happy sister and tuck everyone into bed.

Yummy yum yum

What a nice surprise: As we drove home from church, we spied a bright
"Open" sign from within the windows of our favorite, local ice cream
joint, Dairy King. Of course we had to stop in!

UPDATE: It occurs to me that this may not seem like a big deal, unless you know that many of the local ice cream joints are seasonal in Michigan. They close for the winter, but are booming and very popular during the summer. Such is the case with Dairy King.

Growing vocab

Kelsey has been adding words to her vocabulary every day. Some of her latest additions:

• No, which she added today. She has had no problem getting her point across up until this point, mind you!
• Whitney, the name of our 8-year-old neighbor across the street. She says her name from the front window while watching the kids walk to school each morning.
• Baby, which she uses often to point out in pictures or to talk about her own baby doll.
• I toot. What do you expect? She has two older brothers!

However, it is more and more of her personality that shines through each day that amazes me. She is 100% girl, but so rough around the edges. A good mix, I think.

On Tuesday, Kelsey had her first dance class. Now, I wouldn't have dreamed of signing up the boys for a similar class at the same age. I learned very quickly that the boys couldn't sit still. It's a different story with girls. Kelsey sat and watched the other girls, who were all older, for the first 10 minutes. Then she came to me for some reassurance, so I joined her. She was quick to dance and jump around but was never wild or difficult. We had so much fun.

Today, she showed the girlie girl side as well. During dinner, she was dismissed early because she thought it was fun to throw her food instead of eat it. (Yes, good times, especially when Dad isn't home to help referee.) She promptly threw a tantrum. I moved her to the living room floor, where she could safely thrash around. The crying stopped suddenly, which I was relieved to hear until I realized that she had stopped to apply her fake lipstick from her purse. Then she resumed the crying! That was a first for the Healy house.

Baby

Kelsey is reading to her baby today!

60 and counting

We jetted off to Oklahoma nearly two weeks ago to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Her birthday day (rescheduled from the 17th so everyone could attend!) included a trip to the Shriner's Circus at the Oklahoma Fairgrounds, a Wii Bowling tournament and a special dinner at Ted's Cafe Escondido in Edmond.

The circus fun included seeing tigers (who didn't seem all too happy) jump through rings of fire, elephants dancing (which seemed a bit surreal), a motorcycle-riding man on a highwire, dogs doing all sorts of jumping tricks and various dance routines. I think the kids enjoyed it, though their enthusiasm dwindled with each dance.

Dinner proved to be a fun birthday celebration. We reserved a small, intimate party room at Ted's for the occasion. How nice. We could devote our attention to the festivities, while allowing the kids a little freedom in our own dining room. Aunt Amy and Aunt Jenn had activities for the kids (coloring, mostly) and decorated the table beautifully with vases of yellow roses and white hydrangeas. After dinner we enjoyed a Wade family favorite: Casa Linda Bakery cake.

(This bakery was just a few blocks from our old house in Dallas. We loved it. Don't expect grand displays or fancy websites. This is a true family-owned business that simply bakes great cakes. The best cakes.)

A beautiful setting

To commemorate such a special event, we decided to forego traditional birthday gifts. Instead, each of us created a scrapbook page for her, which we then assembled into a nice book. The result was perfect. You get a great glimpse of this wife, mom, grandmother and friend through these handmade pages.

Cousin Kylie, Kelsey and Aunt Amy

The Wade girls: Jenn, me, Mom and Amy.

The grandkids take a silly picture with the birthday grammy.

We're not nearly as silly! From left: Jenn, Kenny, Dad, Amy, Mom, Me and Ken.