Elf on the Shelf

Among the aspects of popular culture that we missed out on while we were abroad was the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition. For those of you who are in the dark like I was, the basic concept is that this elf hangs around your house and reports back to Santa on what behavior he observed in the house. To keep the elf top-of-mind for the kids, each morning the elf is found somewhere different in the house.

I have come to learn that this tradition is about as polarized as the ABC show, The Bachelor or Mitt Romney's candidacy. People either love it or hate it. Shelley was initially apprehensive about the idea since she has a phobia against Umpa Lumpas (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie), dwarfs, and clowns. However, she found an elf that was not creepy looking.

Andrew and Colin have really taken to the Christopher - this is the elf's name. Each morning they search the house looking for him. The picture above has some places where they have found him. More importantly, ever since Christopher arrived, Colin has been on his best behavior. We don't want to jinx it, but Colin has gone four days without a time out. This is huge. For the last several months, he has had more than four time outs a day.

Dad's Visit

My Dad visited us last week. He was in town for a work trip and luckily was able to stay with us a few days.

My dad's baby pictures and Andrew's baby pictures look very similar. We again saw the resemblance when Andrew found his Kangol hat to match my dad's hat.

My dad made Brazo de Reina and Porotos Granados while he was here. These two Chilean dishes brought back many memories of my high school days.

Death Marches

Parenting is like warfare. Tactics and strategies always need to be reevaluated and adjusted to fit the terrain and the opposing forces' strategies. The opposing force will always find new tools in their arsenal to conduct subversive activities. If you do not adapt, the enemy will overrun your position.

Shelley and I have struggled with finding the right approach to disciplining our children. We've tried positive reenforcement and rewards. We've tried bribing them with dessert, money, and toys. We've tried a variety of time outs in various places and lengths. Most of these approaches seem to work for a short time after being deployed; however, their effectiveness eventually diminishes. Once the approach is no longer effective, we are faced with having to return to the drawing board.

Our latest offensive is dubbed, "Operation Death March." How this works is that when our kids misbehave in public, in the car, or anywhere outside the house, they are required to walk home. Since being implemented last month, our kids have had to walk home from the library, church (3 out of the last 4 weeks), and the store. The kids arrive home exhausted. Before you run off to find the phone number for the Virginia's Social Services, I should clarify that Shelley or I accompany them on the walk home. We usually enjoy the exercise; however, when our kids hear the threat of a Death March, they usually stop kicking the seat in front of them, teasing their sibling, or doing whatever is getting them in trouble.

Angry Bird Birthday

Colin turned six-years old yesterday (Nov. 10th). We thought it appropriate that the theme of his birthday party be Angry Birds. Ever since we returned to the U.S., Colin (OK - and the rest of us too) has been addicted to the game. Additionally, the Angry Bird theme matches his personality - he is temperamental and destructive. Instead of being a result of our parenting, we like to blame his behavior on the steroids he is taking for his kidney disease.

Shelley came up with some good-looking, creative decorations for the birthday party. She decorated balloons as the different types of birds in the Angry Bird game. The cake and cup cakes were also decorated to look like pigs.

In addition to the small-scale Angry Bird game, we also made a life-size game with boxes, bouncy balls, and a home-made sling shot.

Outsmarted by a 6th Grader

Each day Gaby is required to practice the piano for at least 20 minutes. Just today, I was mentioning to Shelley how good Gaby sounds and that she had made considerable improvement. I especially empathize with her since I can remember how painful it was at her age to have the discipline to sit down and practice the piano.

A few minutes after I said this, I looked into the music room and noticed that even though I could still hear her practicing, Gaby was busy on her iTouch. Apparently, she had recorded herself on the electronic piano and had it playing on a loop. A recording of her practicing (from I don't know how many days ago) was playing.

I didn't know whether to congratulation her for her ingenuity or call her out on cutting corners. What, if any, punishment do you think is appropriate?

Happy Halloween

Yesterday I went trick-o-treating with the kids while Shelley stayed back to pass out candies to the neighborhood kids. Our neighborhood is the Halloween jackpot. We knocked doors on only three streets and came home with a bounty.

My queue for returning home was when the kids kept complaining that their bags were too heavy. In fact, at one point, Colin asked that since I refused to carry his bag, we could switch places. He would stay with the adults on the curb side and I could go up to the door and get candy for him.

When we arrived home, the kids emptied their bags onto the kitchen table. They were giddy with the amount of candy they received. Shelley and I were also excited as we looked over their shoulders and called dibs on the candies we wanted.

This year Shelley offered the kids the option of leaving their candy for the Switch Witch. This was the first time I have heard of the Switch Witch. Apparently, the Switch Witch will take all, but a handful, of the kid's candy and leaves behind a gift. Andrew and Colin took the offer and both received small Lego sets. I've heard that the Switch Witch eats the candies after the kids go to bed.

Shelley and the kids made these pumpkin jars.

Civil War Reenactment

This afternoon I took Gaby to a Civil War reenactment in Leesburg, VA. Several hundred volunteers reenacted the battle of Ball's Bluff on the same battlefield where it occurred exactly 150 years ago.

I have read books and seen several documentaries on the Civil War, but walking through a replica of an encampment with rows of white, A-framed tents, smelling camp fires, and seeing Civil War-era clothing and artifacts throughout the camp really made me feel like I had been transported to the 1860s.

The reenacted battle was also amazingly realistic. The organizers had recreated the battle in just about every way conceivable. There were all the actors from front-line privates to messenger to medics. Officers were yelling orders and trying to orchestrate a chaotic scene. The sound of canons and rifles being fired simultaneously was almost deafening. Also true to the actual event, in addition to the central battle being fought in an open field, scrimmages between Confederate and Union troops were being fought in the woods all around us.

Gaby was the perfect partner for this outing. Unlike her brothers, especially Colin, who would have been enamored with the battle and eager to get his hands on a gun and a uniform, Gaby realized that the men lying in the field represented actual people who died for a cause they believed in. She seemed to understand the tragedy, heroism, and higher purpose of the Civil War.

Hershey World

Last time we were on the East Coast, we visited Hershey, Pennsylvania. Ever since, our kids have been asking to return. We thought we'd get some mileage out of their desire to return, so for the last few months, we had the kids working on earning marbles to fill jars. We told them that once their jars filled up, we would reward them with a trip back to Hershey, PA. Their jars finally filled up so we made the trip this past weekend.

Hershey, the chocolate company, has a visitor's center with an amusement ride similar (yet on a smaller scale) to Disney's Small World ride. The ride takes you through the process of making chocolate bars - from harvesting the coca beans to packaging the chocolate bars. The ride has everything from singing cows to pools of liquid chocolate being mixed. The smell of chocolate is also blown in your direction throughout the ride.

The savvy marketing people of Hershey have the ride exit into a huge store. There you can find all sorts of chocolate bars and brands that you probably did not know existed. Andrew got a kick out of the five-pound chocolate bars; however, he did not have the $30 to buy it.

Shelley's cousin, Kasey, and her family live in Hershey, PA. We met up with them on Saturday for brunch. Afterwards, they accompanied us to the amusement park. It was fun catching up with them.

The kids really enjoyed the rides at the amusement park. Andrew surprised us by trying (perhaps not enjoying) his first roller coaster ride. Gaby was my trusted partner and tried even the fastest and most challenging roller coasters. After several of the rides that turned her upside down at speeds over 60 mph, her eyes were wide open and she was speechless, but she was proud of having the courage and stomach to ride them.

On the way home, I had the bright idea to make a detour through Lancaster, PA to find old, Amish covered bridges. I am convinced that in my past life I was a farmer. I enjoy driving through farmland, seeing cattle, rows of crops, and farm equipment working in fields. Driving through Amish farmlands, especially now during the fall, seemed like a good idea. However, I forgot to factor in that since Colin's kidney condition is currently relapsing, we had a restless, temperamental six-year old boy on steroids in the vehicle. He drove us all crazy. The drive was long and we were happy to get home and out of the car.

Cub Scout Den Leader

Shelley was asked (and surprisingly agreed) to be a Wolf Scout den leader. Last year while we lived in Jordan, I was Andrew's cub scout leader so I had a weekly ritual of gathering rowdy, smelly boys to teach them life lessons. Now, Shelley will have the privilege of corralling ten Wolf Scouts to have them repeat the cub scout law, promise, and the pledge of allegiance.

If the scouting program wants to encourage more women to volunteer in the scouting program, they need to rethink and redesign their uniform. As it is now, women have the choice of wearing the Fidel Castro-inspired green pants with a tan, button-down shirt: an exact replica of the one worn by the men. Their other option is an outfit designed in the 1940s reminiscent of airline stewardesses and military clerical workers of the day. Now that I've dug myself in a hole, Shelley does look good in her uniform (that was not sarcastic).

Apple Delight

Yesterday we visited an apple orchard in Northern Virginia with some friends from Jordan. When we arrived, we were given a map of the orchard. The map showed where each 0f the 15 varieties were located. We set out to find the green Granny Smith apples to use for baking. However, we didn't go far before the kids starting filling their bags with apples from the first trees they came across.

Like trick-or-treating, we went from one tree to another filling up our bags with goodies at each stop. The bags soon became to heavy for the kids. So, once Shelley and I found ourselves carrying all the bags, we decided to call it quits and head back to the cashier to pay for the apples. We ended up spending close to $35 dollars on apples (at $1.50/lb). The price wasn't a bargain, but given that we did not pay an admission fee, we felt it was worth the money to enjoy the great scenery and entertainment for our kids.

As expected, Shelley could not miss an opportunity to take a family picture. Surprisingly, all the kids were cooperative. Perhaps it was because they had each eaten about five apples.

Yesterday's activity was one of those experiences that makes us appreciate being back in the U.S. It was neat to be surrounded by fall colors, pumpkins, and an organized, well-kept orchard. We can now cross this activity off our list of uniquely American experiences we are trying to give our children before we return overseas.

Virginia is for Lovers

Here are the things we are loving about Virginia so far:

1. Our umbrellas - we had record breaking rain in September,

quite a change from Jordan!

2. Our neighborhood - we are "rocking the suburbs" and loving it.

3. The animals - we have deer, squirrels, birds, and turtles in our yard daily.

4. Shopping! Target, Walmart, Trader Joe's, etc!

5. Exploring the Smithsonian museums and DC monuments.

National Book Festival

We took the kids downtown to the National Book Festival last weekend. We have gone to this event before. It is neat to walk around and listen to talks by famous authors. They give away a lot of freebies. We usually end up spending most our time in the PBS tent and on the Magic School Bus.

Highlight for the kids: peeing in the port-a-potties

Highlight for Alex and me: free LionHouse fudge at the Utah table

Gaby's Birthday Party by GABY

My birthday was August 30th. On that same night, we had a party and dinner at our house in Virginia. It was so fun! I had an ice cream party.

I invited a few girls who live in our new neighborhood. We played one of my family's favorite games with powdered sugar and candy.

Mom was so proud of herself for making this cake.

After the party, we opened her presents. I think Andrew and Colin (especially Andrew) got a bit too excited. They tried on my new clothes!

Ford's Theater

One of the U.S. presidents I admire the most is Abraham Lincoln. I am impressed by his courage to endure the death of several of his children, persist despite several political defeats, confront depression, but also to lead the country through the most deadly and significant war in American history - the Civil War.

This weekend we visited Ford Theater with Rita and Dennis. They are visiting us for the weekend. A couple of facts I learned about Lincoln's assassination:

• John Wilkes Booth and his 9 co-conspirators had planned to assassinate the Secretary of State, General Grant, and several other high officials that same night. Although all plans were activated that same night in April, only Booth's attempt was successful.
• Booth was a famous actor and because of this he knew the layout of the theater and had in mind an escape route. He also knew exactly at what point of the play to fire his gun.
• Not only did Booth mortally shot the president, but he also stabbed a Major who was accompanying President Lincoln in the box.
• Booth was on the run for 12 days before he was caught and killed.
• President Lincoln was carried across the street to a boarding houses were he died 9 hours after the shooting.

On another note, we visited the American History Museum. By far, Andrew's favorite exhibit was the real C3PO costume that was used in six Star Wars movies.

Gaby, Shelley, and Rita enjoyed seeing the gowns of the First Ladies, especially Michelle Obama's dress which was recently added.

Fraudulent Teacher Remark?

For two years I worked issuing visas in Mexico. On a daily (almost hourly) basis, I encountered fraudulent documents and quickly learned how to detect them. Sometimes the alignment or font was slightly off. Other times, the serial number or the place of issuance was incorrect. Yet other times, the big picture did not make sense. For example, a 65 year-old grandmother would have a government-issued birth certificate for a one-year old child.

This training in the Consular Section made me suspicious of the homework (pictured above) Andrew brought home. It was immediately flagged. After a further interrogation at an undisclosed location and under the hot lights, Andrew admitted that the teacher's signature was not an original and that the smily face was perhaps forged.

Pharmaceutical Scam

Gaby has asthma and uses an inhaler. I have read a lot about the outrageous prices pharmaceuticals charge for drugs in the U.S. Below is a short quiz that brings home the point.

Quick Test: what is the difference between these two inhalers? The one on the right costs $6 and the one on the left cost $140 ($20 copay and $120 paid by our insurance company).

Possible Answer:

A. They contain different medicines. (INCORRECT: they are both Ventolin)

B. They were manufactured by different companies. (INCORRECT: the were both manufactured by Glaxo Wellcome)

C. They are different dosages. (INCORRECT: they both have 200 acutations)

D. They were bought in different countries. (CORRECT: the cheaper one was bought over the counter in Jordan and the more expensive one can only be bought with a perscription in the U.S.)

Boy Fights

Cross Country Road Trip

Earlier this month Shelley and I spent four days driving from Utah to Virginia. In case you are wondering, that is 32 hours or 2,200 miles of driving. We went in advance to empty our storage, furnish the house we are renting, register the kids in school, and all the other tasks that are difficult to get done with kids hanging on your leg.

Even though we love our three energetic children, it was a much more enjoyable drive without them. We were able to drive for long stretches, talk to each other (a rarity with kids around), and see sights throughout the country. Along the way we stopped at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. It is an amazing site - the pine forests and rock formations surrounding the monument are impressive. Even more impressive are the portraits of the four presidents carved into the mountain.

At Mount Rushmore we also experienced the Harley Davis sub culture. Coincidentally we arrived during the yearly "rally" that brings motorcyclists from around the country to South Dakota. We saw thousands of bikers, mainly baby boomers, dressed in black leather and with weathered faces. Even though they seemed to be enjoying themselves while hanging around the bars and loitering around their bikes, we much preferred our air conditioned ride in the mini van.

As we drove across the country, we were impressed by how many unique stops/sites there are along the way. Each town seems to be famous for something or have some claim to fame. Perhaps the most unique town along the way was Mitchell, South Dakota. I was initially adamant that it was not worth our time to stop and see the Corn Palace. However, as usual, Shelley got her way and we pulled off the highway. This little town in South Dakota has built a large meeting hall that each year is decorate with a different facade. The intricate artwork on the facade is made with the kernels (of every color), husks, and stocks from corn.