Birth - School - Work - Death

Hey folks,

Much to report.

Veronica has started walking and sometimes she thinks she is talking. We are full bore into school, work, and study.

I hope you all have a great Halloween, if you do that sort of thing.

And if you don't I hope you have a Happy Friday the 31st!!!

Forecast for the next three months. . .

Partly cloudy with a chance of rain.

The most. . .

The most dangerous place in the world is between a mother and her children.

Time Space Continuum Disrupted

I ran four miles today without going four miles.

Unpublishable

In a recent project requirement for my online parenting course, the instructor asked a big question: "What are the core values of your family?" Once I was able to answer that question, I was to create a Coat of Arms with the symbols that best represent us.
My family is not uncommon in the fact that we believe strongly in unity and balance; that is, we constantly look to each other in regard to the individual decisions we make and how we manifest those decisions. It is true that if the core is strong, than it is not such a difficult task to walk confidently throughout each day and work together to achieve our goals. A Celtic symbol for unity and balance is four circles touching that are united by a fifth circle. This is the first symbol on our Coat of Arms.


Additionally, there is an emphasis in our family on the acceptance of other cultures. As Seattle residents, we constantly interact with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds. This is not to say that we adopt their traditions and such; it is that we accept them for who they are and we enjoy the diversity. The Japanese kanji symbol for acceptance would be on my family's Coat of Arms, as well.

Holiday Wish

My holiday wish is for my family and friends to know how much I love them and truly hope from the bottom of my heart that their holidays are joyful.

I would like to invite you all to write notes to Veronica for a future date so she can read them and know what her first Christmas season was like.

So please deliver any special messages to Veronica so that her first holiday season will be something she can revisit when she is older.

{please just post them in the comment section}

Morning Surprise at the New Apartment

a few surprises at the new appt. Josh eating some candy and Liam biking in his undies.

THE TERM "GRATITUDE" JUST DOESN'T QUITE COVER IT

Truly, without the incredible actions of Chris, Angie, Shelly, Rich, Owen, Camilla, Tara, Lee, Christian, Suzy, Lara and countless others, there is no way we would have made it. Birthing a ten-pound baby and then moving too soon afterward would have been disastrous. I'm afraid to think of where we'd be without you all. We love you from the bottom of our hearts.
Happy Thanksgiving.

15 YEARS

I wonder what Todd, Maria and Heidi would think of their new little niece.

HELP!!! You Know I need Somebody

So we are gearing up for the big move which must take place on the 18th of Nov.

What we need help with are the:

- packing of boxes
- holding of the baby
- laughing at the funny stuff we should have sent to a thrift store years ago
- aligning things in the appt to be moved easily

Times when assistance will be most appreciated:

- Weekdays from 10:00 am till 2:00 pm

Call us if you have any questions.

We will gladly provide refreshing drinks, grub, and banter whilst packing is done.

Thanks!!!

P.S. We also appreciate everyone that is looking for a 2+ bedroom for less than $1,000-1,100 per month with a washer dryer in the unit. (dogs welcome too). We prefer the north end of Seattle as Liam's school and NSCC are in the North end. THX<~!

If you see something, please let us know.

Veronica's Debut

Veronica Ruth was born to us on Sept 27th in a textbook perfect homebirth.

We are delighted to welcome this amazing baby to our world,

Are you tired of waiting for this baby to be born?
Cuz I am!
So now bring me some krispy kremes! Please?!?

The Whole World is going to explode and all that will be left are a handful of moth carcasses

Liam started the 1st grade the other day. He loves school. He is always so excited to be dropped off in front of the building at five or ten til nine every morning. Around three hundred students fill the halls every day at school and even more are wanting to enroll there. There's always a waiting list for this particular public elementary school. My pregnant brain fails me at the moment as I try to recall the name of the math program they've decided to utilize there, but just know that anyone who has a predilection for numbers may have a better tool to go higher up the learning ladder at this school. Cool, huh? Well, the intense, highly expectant atmosphere here brings its own share of drawbacks. The newbies who have not been recently exposed to a sense of pressure similar to the one at DB will likely flail about for as long as it takes for them to get with the program. Kids with talents and abilities that are recognized by any particular staff member at DB will likely receive much encouragement (i.e. pressure) throughout the course of their tenure. And, if flaws are recognized, unlimited amounts of pressure will be applied to the student until said flaws are either eradicated or the student woefully seeks alternative schools (therefore, usually less expectations from educators and the like). Obviously, there's no way the whole situation is as black and white as I just described it, but based on observation at other elementary schools, I can safely say DB seeks to teach those who would grow to be the more successful in society. Or I'm just a crazy mom talking. So, here's the latest: Liam came out of school the other day with basically just a strong desire to leave and get in the car and zone out in a bit of childhood innocent play. The physical ed guy approached us as we tried to leave. He proceeded to inform me of the day's earlier events, which consisted of Liam on the playground happily playing with a ball and then having some older students ruthlessly steal the ball from him. There were no more balls left in the big bin. Liam basically went off in a corner and cried for the remainder of the time, like fifteen minutes. Any genius who was in charge of the activities would attempt to solve the situation by either retrieving the ball or at the very least comforting the offended child. Oh, but not today. In his eyes, a six-year-old should be able to muster the courage to go up to the much older students and get the ball back. But not my weak little six-year-old. Instead, he opts to go off and cry in a corner because he enjoys the nagging headache you get after crying for so long. Yup, that's my Liam. When this guy had the audacity to tell Liam to "use his words" (rather than crying) in front of me, therefore embarrassing and shaming him in front of his mother, I was very disappointed. I have to wonder, is this school really so great after all?
Meanwhile, the apartment we have lived in for close to five years is being turned into a condo. That means, we either buy it or move out. Since monthly mortgage payments would be more than double what the rent payments are, we have to move. By Halloween. "V" will be around a month old. Lovely, huh? So, for the remainder of our tenancy, we get to listen to the constant ruthless noise of work crews updating and gutting forty-eight apartments, and angry tenants who have to move and don't care what trash they leave behind, including piles of dog turds in the middle of the stairwell you have to use to get to your car in the underground garage which is slowly but surely accommodating less and less vehicles. Ah, these are the joys of not be able to purchase a fixer-upper dwelling in the land of expensive homes called Seattle. In an attempt to make sense of my title to this post, the workmen recently upset a moth nest near my apt, apparently, and when the weather is so warm that I have to have the deck door open, they come in. They inevitably die. Liam wonders at first if they bite.
Veronica will be here any day now, and we are well prepared. I've had the summer to get things in order. Did you know the consumer world is designed for little girls? I'm incredibly heavy but mostly just eager to meet her, as is everyone who calls or contacts me in some form or another every day or every other day. I must have a reputation for not contacting people when I've birthed a baby girl.
I am constantly bombarded by complete strangers in the store or wherever. "When are you due?" "Is it twins?" "Is it a boy or a girl?" I understand they are well meaning, but I've started dreading their torment. Last night at Target, a lady asked me if I was having twins. I had to refrain from saying: "No, they're triplets! And their names are going to be Eeny, Meeny and Mind-your-own-business!!!!!!" Do you think she would have gotten the point? I think most people (who've not had children) don't really understand just how large your belly gets by late pregnancy, probably because by this point most women don't go out in public. . .just so they can avoid well-meaning jerks.

Liam coughed

. . .and my baby got the hiccups. She startles and gets the hiccups. I drink something and she gets the hiccups. I go too long without eating and (you guessed it) she gets the hiccups. The poor thing! I hope she's not uncomfortable when that happens. If so, there's nothing I can do to help her!

The Most Selfish Act

Up until recently, I was sure the most selfish act a person could commit was suicide. Well, I stand corrected. It has got to be the act of eating out at Judy Fu's "Snappy Dragon." I mean, the food they serve is so delicious that it seems rather limiting to call it food. The word cannot possibly do the incredible edibles available there justice. It should be called something more like starscape cloudbursts of bliss. Whoever encouraged Judy to open her first restaurant all those years ago should be awarded the medal for Most Brilliant Person in the Universe. So, thank you, Lee, for opening my eyes to what people are truly capable of. I shall die a happy woman (a long, long time from now! Hopefully a long enough time to enjoy at least 70,000 more meals at Judy Fu's!)

Trip to Utah and Arizona

A Day to Remember!

So here is the first photo of the little girl inside my belly. I am 20 weeks pregnant (halfway there). We are expecting our little girl to be here sometime around September 24th.

Love to you all, The Lindsley trio. . . . no the Lindsley quartet.

I spoke out of turn. REALLY out of turn. My guts are so uncomfortable and my body is upside-down with nausea, so thanks to that, I am no fun to be around and really not able to celebrate at all, so likely I'll invite my friends to a birthday dinner when I'm back to my old self again. Just a matter of weeks, they say. Look at it this way: perhaps the weather will be better by early to mid-March.

My mom gave birth to two boys and four girls. She said she knew the boys were boys because she was sick a lot. The girls were easier and she didn't feel yucky until her final girl pregnancy, which was with me, because she developed complications (probably because I was #6). Well, if any of that stuff got passed to me, well then I'm having a girl. I had to double-check the results. I don't really feel pregnant. I definitely don't have morning sickness. With Liam, I did.

This one speaks for itself.

Here is Liam on New Year's Eve at Alki beach. He, like other children there, enjoys a good balancing challenge. 

I completed Fall quarter a little over a week ago and looked up my transcripts online. . . 4.0 gpa! Yup, worked my butt off and getting ready to start Winter quarter as a full-timer in a week. Meanwhile, our trip to UT for these holidays is now officially regrettably cancelled and we are thinking a trip down over spring break is going to have to happen. Scott can probably get a few days off without any problem. He is scheduled tomorrow. We were going to go to UT the day after tomorrow, but a couple of hectic days rushing around seeing everyone just isn't feasible right now. Santa gave Liam a scientific experiment set among a few other things. Owen and Camilla gave him an erasable-marker board/easel and Angie and Chris gave him a cool little analog watch that he wears all the time except for when he is needing to wash up. What a responsible watch owner! Thanks Santa, Chris, Angie, Owen and Camilla!

This is a picture Scott took yesterday. I HAD to show it off. 

I am ashamed I actually doubted my little man! He is of course just fine in school now. The first day of anything is hard. The second day I picked him up and he smiled and the teacher smiled and I knew everything was okay. Mrs. M said the children just have an adjustment period. That's understandable!

The weather was cold this morning- like 50 degrees and foggy. It felt like school mornings should feel. Perhaps this is because I had alot of school mornings like that in my own childhood, or maybe when I thought of Liam's mornings being like that so often that it just fit. Either way, we're settling into a comfortable routine and Liam is delightful in his manner as he gets himself ready for school. He's so independent!

It's so quiet here.

It's hard to imagine the days when I wished for peace. What the hell was I thinking? Children provide a sponteneity and excitement that is otherwise absent; anyone who says differently is selling something. I know. . I know. You're thinking, what is she saying? The kid is gone, let's watch rated R movies and PAR-TAY!! I should be doing the things that I've been restricted from for five bloody years. But I've been doing this for so long that now I don't know how to behave differently.

I'm gonna' go now, clean the house. It's so nice to have a clean house for the weekend.

It is almost unbearable, this desperation to know whether my little one is okay or not. How must mothers of the kidnapped feel?

I picked up Liam after school and his teacher was there with him in the front of the school. I asked her how it went and she said he had to be issued a warning! He, apparently, doesn't understand (yet) that you can't talk while the teacher is talking. I talked to Liam about his behavior and I hope he'll soon get with the program. After work, Scott tried to explain to Liam the importance of obedience in school. It's entirely possible we went overboard with the explanations. Either way, Liam was glad to be back in school this morning. I'm on pins and needles. I hope he doesn't manage to land himself another warning. I suppose all of this gives new meaning to the phrase "You'll keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you!"

I went to orientation yesterday. I was in a room full of (mostly) 18 year olds. All I can say is I really, really hope I wasn't that obnoxious when I was that age.

Well, that's it. Liam started school today. I find it ironic that even as my first and only graduates to the next phase of his life, I have regressed to the emotional equivalent of a three-year-old.

That said, Liam handled himself like a gentleman in tweed. He is such a sweet boy. As the students entered the classroom, he only wanted to sit and read. This inspired his new teacher (Mrs. Mercure, or "Mrs. M") to comment on his independence. There's no doubt he knows what he likes. He was happy to be there; when it came time for the parents to say good-bye, he looked up at us and said he loved us. It's the first of many, many times he'll hear the words "See you after school!"

Meanwhile, I am about get registered for my classes. I'll attend a new student orientation this afternoon. I'm SO excited.

I love having a blog. I just don't appreciate the blog enough. Ha! I haven't been here it two months and, other than having a child to care for, an office job, a cleaning job, new student syndrome and four pets, I don't have any valid excuse for not having posted in so long.

One of my favorite people in the whole wide world is finally here, in my bloody town, and it seems too good to be true. That's right, folks, Shelly has made it over the border!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! After a long, sordid, ridiculous battle with the powers-that-be, she now lives in Seattle with her loving, supportive, patient husband Rich. All's I can say is LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!! Liam practically worships the ground she walks on. Smart kid! He knows what's good for him.

Speaking of Liam (do I ever speak of anything else?), school starts next Wednesday. He's seen his class room a few times and proudly exclaims to those who ask- "I'm going to school at Daniel Bagley" (with a BIG emphasis on the "AG" in Bagley). My li'l Leemster is growin' up, sniffle. . . sniffle. . .

Meanwhile, I took the placement tests today and scored embarrassingly low in Math and 99 in writing/reading. I hope I haven't chosen the wrong course of study. . .
School at North Seattle doesn't start until Sept.25. This, for me, is alot like waiting for a baby to be born and the expectant mother is in the final week. I'm going out of my mind. I've got to think of things to do in the meantime. I thought of finding a new apartment because it is such a big task to move.

I just read this really good book called "Kindred" by Octavia Butler. It is about a black woman in 1976 who passes out and wakes up in 1815 Maryland, during slavery. I highly recommend this book. I read it in two days, and ask anyone, I am a slow reader.

I have begun wearing contacts in the last few weeks. It was hard to break the habit of pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose! And now I have peripheral vision. Oh, and I haven't ever really seen the world too clearly while running, so now I can actually concentrate on other things besides trying to decipher where my foot should land.

I don't have to drive out to Bellevue once a week to go to the Libertarian office anymore! We got a location on Lake City Way in Seattle. We're moving in tomorrow, so I better go and eat some dinner. Okay, that didn't make sense. I'm just hungry.

For some reason or another, Scott is extremely adept at taking care of people in vulnerable situations. In the physical therapy department, he checks the patients in and out and he continues to tell me about some of them. How tough it must be to watch them struggle to make it to their regular appointments over and over and over, especially since there are those with conditions that make it difficult to move about. His is usually the first face they see and they hopefully know how lucky they are.

What a guy Scott is! And what an ideal job!

Today we head off to Portland. I must begin running around like a chicken with no head. I'm convinced that, even if the trip promises great fun, it is exhausting to pack! Regardless,I plan to go for a run in the next little bit. Otherwise it'll be hard to remain still with my arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

"ARE YOU OKAY UNDER THE HOOD?"

Liam is enrolled in two-times weekly swimming lessons and his instructor, Erin, brings out the very best in him. Additionally, Liam has pretty much mastered his training-wheel bike, which means we can go for long walks with the dog and Liam has a great time on his bike while Joshie gets a nose-full. He is not at all afraid to try new things, as his confidence is up exactly where it should be!

Over the weekend, we tackled Pride Fest with gusto as we manned our Libertarian outreach booth and collected 1,000 signatures to get our US Senate candidate, Bruce Guthrie, on the ballot in November. It was fun! It's pretty neat to see how many people are Libertarian-minded a little or a lot.

This weekend, July 1-2, we will be down in Portland for the Libertarian National Convention. We are official delegates, which means we get to vote on issues within the party!

Last week, after we sold the Saturn, our black Quantum broke down, so we were without a car for a few days. Thanks to the King County Metro Transit System and our very generous friends, we were able to go to and fro and continue our hectic lifestyle to a limited degree. Man, what great people we know! Needless to say, there was a bit of wild merriment as I drove out of the Volkswagen repair shop near Aurora and 140th in the running-smoothly-as-can-be freedom-is-again-mine VW yesterday. While it is normal for Scott to take the bus to work anyway, it is not very easy for me to go without wheels for too darn long. I was coo-coo for cocoa puffs for a while there. Just ask the leprechauns on my window sill.

By the way, the car runs great and the guys who handled us absolutely know what they're doing. I highly recommend Bug Aid. They even gave Liam and I a ride to get our car!

Well, summertime is fun. I am looking forward to the Lake City Farmer's Market tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon. I'll likely take Liam over there every Thursday with atleast five or ten dollars on me so I can keep plenty of fruits and veggies on hand for everybody, including Lucy!!!

READY, SET. . .SELL!

I kid you not, Scott posted our Saturn on Craig's List lastnight at 10:30 p.m. and we sold the car today by 3:30 p.m.

We won't have any seller's remorse thanks to Scott not giving in when the buyer tried to get him to go down (too low) on the price. He was firm and the guy still bought it. It's a fixer-upper for his teenage son.