Wiggly Willie and President Carter

Midway through pulling together pictures for this post I realized that it probably belonged not on Chasing Roots, but on our family blog. I still wanted to share the pictures here though, so I began writing a short disclaimer to precede the body of the post.

That short disclaimer quickly became anything but short…it became Monday's post about the gradual shift in focus here at Chasing Roots. Long-winded is the name of my game.

So here is the original post. It has almost nothing to do with life in Texas and everything to do with my sweet boy and his adorable mini-me.

I've written many times about the relationship my sister, Sara, and I have worked hard to foster between our daughters, neither of whom will ever have a sister of their own and both of whom want and need a sister.

I've never written about the relationship between our sons.

While the gap between Will and Carter's ages will one day seem insignificant, right now those six years represent a lifetime, at least in Will's eyes. Will plays soccer, Carter picks up the ball and wanders off. Will soars higher and higher on the tire swing, Carter walks directly into the path of the swinging tire. Will builds elaborate Lego structures, Carter eats Legos. As much as Sara and I want our boys to grow close, we weren't counting on them making any progress until they were much older.

But as is often the case, we were wrong. (I'm pretty sure that as parents we don't get to be right until our kids reach at least 25 years of age. Then we get to be right all the time.) Our boys showed us that right now is as good a time as any.

Will asked if Sara and I would buy him and Carter a matching outfit. Finding outfits that come in both size seven and size 18 months is no easy task, so when Sara came across these mint green shirts and orange shorts she bought them immediately.

Will and his mini-me (they look related, don't they?) enjoying 
one of the few snacks that neither of them is allergic to.

Sara and I had no idea that Will and Carter owned a second matching outfit. Will could barely contain his excitement when Sara dressed Carter in his Bucky Badger shirt on the same day Will chose to wear his Bucky Badger shirt.

Carter looks less excited.

Will taught attempted to teach Carter how to play soccer, baseball, and disc golf. They stuck close to one another on the playground. Cozied up in Grandpa's recliner, they read books together, and when Carter tired of reading his own board books, Will read him the comics.

Carter didn't find Garfield all that captivating.

One afternoon at the splash pad, Will "got a chill" (the groundwater in Wisconsin is COLD) and I suggested he lie down on the sun-soaked pavement to warm up. Carter found Will's behavior fascinating, and stood next to Will - seemingly trying to figure out how to participate himself - for a long time (by toddler standards). Eventually Carter sat down on the cement, but to save his life he could not figure out how to lie down next to Will; he made a full circle around Will, scooting on his bottom, before he pleaded for help and we lent him a hand. I absolutely love the look on Carter's face when he finally joined Will on the ground...Carter clearly never understood why Will was doing what he was doing, but he knew he wanted to do it too.

Occasionally I need to remind myself that when it comes to my kids developing and strengthening relationships with their cousins who live far from Texas, it's not just about the girls. These four kiddos will need each other someday, and it's our - the parents/aunts/uncles - job to make sure that when that day comes, they'll step up to the plate.

Both literally and figuratively looking 

up to his big cousin. Oh, my heart.

Blurred Lines

The last time I saw my mom she commented that Chasing Roots included fewer posts about adjusting to life in Texas than it once did, and she's absolutely right. When I first started this blog, I called it "A Midwestern Girl in Cowboy Country" and my posts focused almost entirely on how life in Texas differed from life in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan (where I spent nearly all of my first 31 years). I had plenty to write about back then, as I encountered new and different people, places, animals, and weather almost every day.

But as is almost always the case, before long the unfamiliar became…less unfamiliar. (Relatively speaking, of course - regardless of how long we live in Texas I know I won't get used finding a lizard in my laundry basket or running the air conditioner while hanging lights on the Christmas tree.) When I no longer looked twice at the cowboy sauntering through the mall or the "SECEDE" bumper sticker on a Ford F350, and I no longer cringed when the Target employee threw a "yes, ma'am" my way or my kiddos worked "y'all" into a sentence, I knew it was time for my blog to evolve.

Chasing Roots replaced Midwestern Girl two years into our Texas adventure, and while this new website focused less on differences and more on experiences, I still tended toward Texas-specific content.

Click here to read the full story of how Chasing Roots came into existence.

Today, two years after the creation of Chasing Roots, the lines between "life in Texas" and "life with kids" have blurred and as a result, I find myself posting more and more content here that I would have at one point considered more appropriate for our family blog. I can no longer determine where pics of my kids running through the sprinkler in November (an activity available only to those of us living in Texas but pics of which include only my kids) should go.

If you visit Chasing Roots regularly, or even if you only visit Chasing Roots periodically but have popped in with some regularity since the Midwestern Girl days, I imagine you've noticed this shift in content. I hope you like - or at least don't dislike - the change, because I think it's here to stay.

Dare I say (write) it?

In many ways, my family now fits in here in Texas.

And it feels only natural for my family's lives to fit into my Texas blog.

There's a lot more maroon in our closets than ever before...

High Five for Friday (9.5.14)

1. We survived the first two weeks of the new school year! Will has had absolutely no trouble getting out the door on time in the mornings; continues to enjoy computers, math, PE, recess, and hot lunch; seems to gotten the hang of switching classes; and LOVES his teacher. Having never made a single comment - positive or negative - about any teacher, ever, Will came home on the first day of school and, with no prompting whatsoever, declared his teacher "awesome". I can also tell that Will likes having his little sister at "his" school, if for no other reason than it makes him feel important to pick her up at the end of the day.

Hallie's actual days of school have gone relatively smoothly. She shed a few tears here and there, but with gentle encouragement she pulled herself together when she needed to do so. She's "making new friends but keeping the old" (three of her friends attend our elementary school but none are in her class), learning the kindergarten routine, and enjoying - not surprisingly - music, art, and playing in the kitchen during center time. Hallie's mornings, on the other hand… She's not unhappy about going to school, but she's unhappy with me for…well…for simply existing, from what I can tell. All this kicking, screaming, talking back, and timeouts make me want to stick a #2 pencil in my eye.

Will's favorite kindergarten center was the computers, and when he asked Hallie which games she'd played on the computers during center time (she has the same teacher as Will did), she replied, "what computers?" They're mighty different, those two.

2. Will graduated from a green belt to a purple belt in Tae Kwon Do last Friday night. He worked particularly hard for this belt, having to learn quite a few new moves and memorize the second half of the green belt form in five weeks (instead of eight weeks, because of our summer travels), and he nailed it.

3. On October 18th my SIL and her fiancé will say "I do". Tom and I, along with both Will and Hallie, are looking forward to celebrating their love and standing up in their wedding as the Matron of Honor, a groomsman, the ring bearer, and last but certainly not least, the flower girl.

Earlier this week my SIL sent me pictures of Hallie's flower girl dress…and it's STUNNING.

The pink sash will be replaced by this hand-made, crystal- and pearl-encrusted belt, and in her hair (which will be up to show off the bow on the back of the dress) Hallie will wear a crystal tiara.

I never had the privilege of standing up for a family member or friend as a flower girl, but watching Hallie do so for her aunt is turning out to be just as exciting.

4. The Hawkeyes won. The Aggies won. The Wolverines won. The Huskers won. The Packers won. The Lions won. Only my Badgers lost. Not too shabby of a sports weekend for the four Ferri!

5. Happiness Highlights:

I made these for my mantle and can't wait to display
them among my Halloween decorations!

Sometimes, when they think I'm
not looking, they hold hands.

Will won me this beautiful ring at Wings & More.

One more belt in its "forever home".

Happy Friday, friends!

"Texas is So Hot it Pulls Out Your Breath"

While searching our family blog for stories about Will and Hallie's relationship for my first day of school post, I came across this conversation between Will and me. We hadn't yet relocated to Texas, but we had made the decision to move and shared that decision with Will. We'd also shared with Will that Texas would, in many ways, look and feel different than Michigan, and that in all likelihood the first difference he would notice would be the warmer temperatures.

One of us was more than ready for warmer temperatures.

We spent the Christmas before our move playing in the snow and bundled up against freezing temperatures in Illinois, so when we finally climbed out of the car in Texas in January, Will declared the weather "summer-like". He then went on to make one of his first "scientific" discoveries in a roundabout way.

Will: Whew! Texas is so hot that it pulls out your breath. 
Erin: What? Oh, do you mean that the heat in Texas takes your breath away?
Will: Um, I guess. (skips away) 

A few minutes later...

Will: (skips back) So, when do you get it back?
Erin: Get what back?
Will: Your breath!
Erin: Where did your breath go? 
Will: The hot took it away, remember?
Erin: Oh, right. When do you think you get it back?
Will: I think we get it back when we go to Grandma and Grandpa's where it's cold. We get our breath back when it gets cold.

10 minutes later (yep, it took me 10 minutes - the synapses must not have been firing correctly that afternoon) it registered with me that Will had just realized that breath can only be seen in cold weather.

My snow baby.

Will has reached the age at which he no longer makes hysterical, grandiose statements or asks crazy, out-of-the-blue questions like toddlers and preschoolers do. (Click here, here, here, here, and here to read a few of my favorite "Will-isms" from his younger years. Yes, I have a lot of favorites.) It was such a delight to come across one I'd forgotten about, especially one that offered a little insight into what was going through his mind as we prepared for our new life in Texas!

I Had the Best of Intentions

At the beginning of this summer I wrote about how although we had enjoyed certain aspects of our Summer Bucket Lists in years past (2012, 2013), this year we planned to "go it alone", without a fancy-schmancy, Pinterest-inspired guide to summer fun.

Don't get me wrong...I live for lists. Lists of errands I need to run, projects to tackle around the house, and appointments to schedule. Lists of what I've already written about and what I still want to write about. Lists for the PTO and 2nd grade and kindergarten and "professor's wife" responsibilities/commitments. Lists for Target, the grocery store, and the mall. I love the feeling of crossing off tasks I accomplish. But with our Summer Bucket Lists - lists that should have been about having a good time, enjoying each other's company, and learning new things - I couldn't appreciate the checkmarks and colorful stars representing our trips to the zoo, the sandcastles we'd built, the science projects we'd attempted, the books we'd read, the berries we'd picked, and the pies we'd baked because I was so focused on all the kids and I hadn't done yet.

This decision was the right one for us. I needed less schedule and more flexibility in our days, and by skipping the Summer Bucket List I got what I needed.

But I also needed a way to encourage creative and cooperative play (in other words, squelch boredom, or at least squelch complaints about boredom, and fighting), and I attempted to satiate this need with my jar system.

The jar system DID NOT go well.

The "We Were Fighting" jar? In June, Will and Hallie didn't even bicker and we never used the jar. In August, Will and Hallie fought every single minute of every single day and instead of using the jar I climbed under the covers on my bed and prayed for school to start before I lost hold of my sanity.

A perfect example of the change in their behavior over the summer…In June 

they played in the rain together for more than an hour, splashing each other and 

battling with noodles and laughing hysterically (below). In August this same style 

of play lasted all of 45 seconds. Will hit Hallie with a noodle and she cried…then 

Hallie bit Will's noodle and he cried.

The "I'm Bored" jar? Will and Hallie were really, truly bored a grand total of twice this summer.

The "I've Been Good" jar? Will and Hallie were really, truly good a grand total of twice this summer.

Ok, Will and Hallie behaved themselves more than twice. Maybe like four times.

All kidding aside, this system just wasn't right for us. Despite the fact that the jars sat on the kitchen counter, I almost never remembered they existed in the moments I needed them. I didn't like the randomness of choosing a sibling activity out of the "fighting" jar or a job out of the "bored" jar, because the instructions on the cards didn't always fit with the circumstances that brought us to the jars in the first place. I didn't like the specifics of choosing a special activity/outing/treat out of the "good" jar, because again, the reward didn't always work with what we already had planned for the day.

I have always had the best of intentions when creating checklists and chore charts and reward systems for the kids, but I'm just now realizing that with the exception of Will's potty training chart (cleverly titled, if I do say so myself, "Poops and Pees for Chuck E. Cheese"), NONE of them have ever really worked in our house.

I foresee occasional checklists and contracts (I fully intend to implement "earn screen time" to-do lists and social media/cell phone contracts when the time comes) in our future, but from this point on our summers will be list- and jar-free. Except for my Target list, of course…I couldn't survive without that one.

High Five for Friday (8.29.14)

1. On Monday morning Tom and I walked Will and Hallie all the way to their classrooms, as is customary on the first day of school.

On Tuesday morning I planned to walk Will and Hallie up to the front door of the building, but when we reached the crossing guard they both stopped, turned around to face me, and asked if they could go on alone. When I paused, fully prepared to allow them this freedom but taking a moment to compose myself, Will added, "I'll make sure she gets to her classroom, Mom. I promise." I nodded in the affirmative and they walked away, hand in hand.

2. The four Ferri were nominated (Will and me more than once) to complete the ice bucket challenge, and over the course of the last week we all took a turn under the freezing cold water.

Will and I completed the challenge at our gym, where 40+ of us gathered in support of one of our own. Here's a video a friend of mine took that day (I'm front left and wearing yellow, and Will's front right and wearing maroon):

Here's the news footage - yep, we made it on the news - of that same challenge:

And finally, here's a video of Tom's challenge:

Hallie flat-out refused to dump icy water on her own head or allow anyone else to dump icy water on her head - she's not much for cold, that one, what with her 1% body fat - but she agreed to handle Tom's ice water for him. As it turned out, she ended up dumping at least a third of the water meant for his head on her own legs, so she got a bit of a chill anyway.

Both Will and I have been challenged again, so there's a chance we'll be dumping more buckets of water and making another donation next week!

3. FOOTBALL SEASON HAS STARTED! That is all.

4. Last Sunday Tom didn't go to work for the first time since…well, since as long as I can remember. He always works on Sundays, even if just from our office at home. He worked the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the Sunday after Christmas, on both Mother's Day and Father's Day, and in the car on the Sundays we spent driving to and from Wisconsin. But this Sunday, we all four went to the movies (we saw and enjoyed Earth to Echo), played games, worked on a puzzle, made dinner, and watched cartoons. As Will would say, AWESOME POSSUM. (Thank you, The Lego Movie, for that phrase.)

5. In case you missed this letter - specifically meant for moms of kindergarteners, but applicable in many ways to parents of kids hitting any kind of milestone year/grade - click on over and give it a read. You deserve to hear this writer's message.

Oh wait, grab a few tissues first.

Happy Friday, friends!

It's Good to Have Goals

After I take a week off (and by "taking a week off", I mean catching up on laundry, tackling massive shopping lists at the grocery store and Target, and finally ending my writing hiatus on our family blog), I plan to spend a few days organizing my fall schedule. Though I anticipate a great deal of week-to-week tweaking, my hope is that looking at life through the lens of a semester-long calendar and more coordinated commitments will allow me the additional time I need to expand the reach of Chasing Roots around the interwebs. Will it work? Right now I'd say the odds are about 50/50.

In the meantime, here are a few of my August contributions. Getting just these three posts out…well, it's remarkable I wrote anything at all in August, given the chaos surrounding me 24 hours a day.

Red Cross

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Back to School for College Students
If you’re heading off to school this fall (or if you're sending your teenager off to school this fall), check out these tips to help you become and stay healthy, wealthy, and wise during your years as a college student!

Sometimes Simpler is Better
I found this particular graphic perfect for explaining blood donation to my kiddos. Much simpler than using 10 pints of water, red food coloring, matchbox cards, and a Red Cross testing facility built out of Legos…


MomsEveryday

Secret School Supply List
Check out this post about the extra "school supplies" - we're not talking about markers and crayons here - I recommend picking up to help make the transition from summer vacation to a new school year a smoother one. The new school year is already underway where I live, but it's not too late to pass this list along to family members and friends for whom the summer hasn't yet come to an end!


In Case You Missed It

Bad Habits are Hard to Break
MomsEveryday picked up this piece about how my tendency to write about the weather - and perhaps complain about the heat - began long before we moved to Texas.

Girls Can't Grill
MomsEveryday also picked up this piece about how I handled Hallie's recent declaration that "girls can't grill!"