Sitka Sound

While in Sitka I took a bike ride all alone to this beautiful spot in Sitka. Here is a short video of the beautiful sights and sounds of the Sitka Sound.

Porter's jetplane

Christmas wishes came true this year, Santa brought Porter a jetplane and Bodhi a horse. We didn't open any more presents for hours after these toys were opened! Here's a picture of Porter with a chocolate smile and a video of Bodhi riding his horse for the first time.
When we opened the rest, we got things from all over the world, a very diverse, ethnic Christmas. From Auntie Kristen we got things from Laos, Singapore, Burma, Bali and Vietnam - from Auntie Alberta we got things from Honduras and Peru, from Grandma Courtney from India, from Grandma Gail- Australia. We love everything!

Cheers - from tired Mrs. Klaus

Bodhi's Christmas horse

Bodhi Bear in Sitka

Playground shelter commercial

Say hello to your dishwasher!

My friend Kate just recently changed my life, without meaning to. She just sat at my kitchen counter raving about how much she likes and uses her dishwasher while our kid played on a play date. It saves water, it sterilizes everything and she doesn't have to do dishes! I was just listening and nodding along until I had a brief moment of clarity. I have a dishwasher and I don't use it.I was spending 2 hours a day washing, stacking, drying and putting away. I felt as if I had a ball and chain yanking back to the sink if I got too far away.
Then I went over to Kate's house and ended up staying quite a while. Charlie, her husband, was pulling crab pots, so we drank and talked and Kate made sloppy joes. Long story short, Charlie got home and cleaned up the entire kitchen until it was spic and span. Then he just pushed the button on the dish washer, said tada and that was it, it started gurgling and cleaning. I was completely sold. Every night since then, (well maybe not every night) I've loaded the dishwasher and freed myself. I am reading more, have more time for homework, more time to spend with the kids. I also freed up energy so I could closely analyze other things I was doing that were unnecessary and time consuming. I started getting rid of my old shoes and clothes I don't wear. I was so popular down at the homeless shelter they started swarming my trunk when I would pull up and help me carry the boxes in. My husbands old shirts from the 80's, shoes that were cute but had lost their magic, childrens clothes. When I leave there, I feel the weight of years removed. Space in the garage is being freed up. I found money while purging as I always do when I start to clear away the old.
This experience has made me lighter in body and spirit. I have started to dance with scarves as my exercise every morning. My two favorite songs to dance to right now are LOVE by Nat King Cole and Santa Baby by Ertha Kitt. The kids dance with me too.
We went to the park and I used the playground like an obstacle course and I wore this long purple hat that fell down to my knees. You must be playful in the hat. The hat demands it. You cannot be taken seriously. Well, all this movement and dancing and running and extra time gave me more energy.
I worked on the garage some more and added a huge, happy purple rug to our dressing area. We have to have a dressing area because we need proper gear for 4 people for rain, sleet, snow, raining sideways, snowing sideways, freezing, below freezing, freezing sideways... you get the idea. You need to have jackets for all these conditions, hats, mittens, scarves and emergency supplies in your car of extra clothes in case all the ones you are wearing get wet. This is Alaska and you must be prepared for anything. I organized it so well that we are like the Jetsons in the morning. Just gliding through the garage grabbing all the things we will need for the day. I am so much happier...
All of these transformational changes came from making just one adjustment in my life and letting the rest fall into place. So thank you Kate for introducing me to my dishwasher!

The incredibly sane mad eagle man

I walked past the little gnome hunched over, carrying a cane and mumbling like a mad man until he looked right at me and the most sane words I'd ever heard began pouring out of him, "you're hair is so beautiful, long and blonde like that, and your purple vest, so perfect for the royalty that you are, a queen in purple, yes, when God was done with you he just kissed his fingers and said voila, my work is done here (here he demonstrated this dramatically) God bless you and thank you."
I was standing in an empty playground getting footage of a wet, soggy public play area for a short political satire I was working on for a class. I turned the camera on the little man half way through his speech so I could replay it over and over again later if I wanted. I was wearing a cute purple down vest, and he appreciated it. He was my new best friend. He helped me with my filming and I made him the star of my movie. He impersonated an eagle so well, he said that eagles answer him.
Please see my work in progress to the right.... I will be doing a voice over that says(read like a dramatic movie trailer ad...
Juneau Alaska
A rainforest
with empty playrounds
children have no shelter
Cause CBJ (City and Bureau of Juneau) won't pay
Where are the children?
CBJ, won't let them play

Wedding, whipped cream and Iron Maidens

FRIDAY- 11/16/07
8:00 a.m.
I'm walking around my clean kitchen. Floors mopped, clutter cleared, every dish clean and put away, counters wiped down with organic lemon verbena cleaner. Laundry done, house picked up, floors vacuumed. I thought to myself, I would love a cup of coffee right now. A little ding from the coffeepot signals that a fresh pot is ready. I'd programmed it the night before, and for the first time ever, I'd guessed the right time to brew it. I'm organized, on top of the world. Mulling over our weekend plans: play date, wedding rehearsal, wedding, co-worker roast, Iron Maidens concert. No problem...
9:45 a.m.
Play date arrives, Ivy, Shannon, Porter and Bodhi are running around the house screaming and laughing. Tiffany and I are chatting, drinking coffee. (When they leave later, Porter says to Ivy, "I love you", she says "I love you too!" then Porter said, "come back later and we can take a nap together!")
10:45 a.m.
My editor and his wife Megan show up. She's due with her first child and ready to have it any second. She grills me on birth and "did they come on their due date?" I told her when I was 6 days overdue I was outside yelling at the full moon to throw me a bone. "Enjoy these last few days of sleep and each other" I said. I gave them some baby things.
11:45 a.m.
I'm in class discussing the media's influence on war and propaganda, how we should just call the media what it is now. Corporate influenced and imbalanced.
5:45 p.m., Wedding rehearsal
I'm trying to keep my kids well behaved while we're at the wedding rehearsal. The flower girl is perfect, my kids are fighting over who gets to carry the pillow. At one point I thought the lovely satin ribbon was going to be ripped off. The pillow turned into a ball, and they ran down the aisle and tackled each other. The father of the groom shushed Bodhi at one point. I was under incredible stress. The rehearsal dinner was an hour late because the restaurant forgot about the order completely. My kids were starving so the church ladies and I raided the church refrigerator and came up with tortilla chips and cheese. Bodhi was in rare form. All the stimulation and excitement had him bouncing off the walls. He was very focused on the beautiful flowered silk skirt the mother of the groom was wearing. She was at the buffet dishing up when Bodhi decided he wanted to immerse himself in her skirt. He dove head first into her butt, planted himself and started swishing her skirt from right to left with both hands. He alternated this with poking the flowers and saying "this one's bwoken". She was very surprised and was giggling and saying "ooh! Ooh! over and over while trying to balance her plate of food and I tried to pull him away. All I could seem to grab was his sweater. After that no one sat with us. Every single person sat at a separate table. Then Gene and the boys went in the hallway leaving me all alone at a huge table, hungry and exhausted. One of the church ladies came and sat with me. "Abandoned I see" she looked sadly at me. We'd bonded while we raided the church kitchen earlier. I'd told her nightmare stories from my Los Angeles host helper days. Good parties gone bad. She had jet black hair that sprouted spiky and crazily in all directions and seemed to be lifted up, suspended abnormally high above her neck. I couldn't be sure if it was a wig. I looked at her between bites of tofu broccoli and lamented "I guess that's what happens to families with small children" shrugging my shoulders to convey over-dramatically how hardened I'd become since having kids. In a world that doesn't want kids to be kids. They hadn't intended to sit as far from me as possible, it just sort of happened in all the chaos. Hunched and glaring at the other table, I'd lost my way. I'd gone from the top of the world, to a private pity party with a church lady in just 12 hours.
10:30 p.m. The Iron Maidens
After waiting for Iron Maidens to show up and play since 10:00, (they were late due to their plane being delayed and losing all their guitars somewhere between Fairbanks and Juneau) the band finally arrived and said they wanted to meet me before the show. I'd written an article in our paper about them which they loved. Backstage we talked and took photos together. They gave me their signed CD. Aja, the lead singer, took me aside and said, "thanks for the ink", with a wink. The girls and I went downtown after the show, listening to Iron Maiden's cd and banging our heads in the car, then danced to Brown Haven, the brewery band. My babysitter was sound asleep on the couch when we got home....

SATURDAY 11/19/07 The Wedding Day
8:00 a.m.
Blur, blur... kids in bath, ironing clothes, picking out an outfit, helping Gene pick out one blur blur...
11 a.m.
At the church, high alert, wedding's late, kids on fire... flower girl, then boys, just like we planned...flower girl who'd been perfect during rehearsal while my boys misbehaved is caving and yelling "mama, mama" refusing to walk down the aisle without her mother. My boys, alone, walk side by side perfectly, (Bodhi won the pillow by reasoning that Porter had done it before). They tried to pass the paralyzed flower girl in the princess dress...
1:00 p.m.
Reception, announcement of the wedding party, sitting with Kim and Becky, eating, spilling, lemonade....first dance, Mike and Jennifer danced to Kermit the Frog singing Rainbow Connection, they were so cute. I sang along under my breath because I sang it in a second grade assembly and never forgot it. Highlight? The wedding planner took me aside as we were leaving, "I don't normally say this to women but you have incredibly nice legs! They are beautiful!" Must be tbe 4 inch strappy sandles I wore that my sister gave me even though the temperature was in the low 40's.
6:15 p.m. The Roast
Friends of Korry Keeker gather at the Alaskan Bar to say goodbye. A large banner saying "get the F*&%^ out Keeker" is hanging across the stage, put up while he was in the bathroom. He' s going to Chicago to follow love. He's wearing a fur coat and orange bandana, looking like a pimp daddy. He's obviously had a few drinks, permanently smiling. People begin to take the stage and slam him and his writing. Julie, Korry and I had been working on getting our "Three's Company" radio show together, a dream that will never be realized now. Korry told Julie that he wanted whipped cream, wax paper and people dancing on the bar for his going away party. The wax paper and bar dancing never happened but we arrived with whipped cream cans hidden in Gene's jacket. Julie and I took the stage and emptied them on him, he's helpless to fight back but manages to get it all over me as well.

SUNDAY 11/18/07 The aftermath
10:30 a.m.
Just waking up (Gene let me sleep in) the immaculate house just two days before is now strewn with toddler wedding clothes. Once pressed ties crumpled. I step on Bodhi's red velvet vest wedged partway under the kitchen cabinet while pouring a cup of coffee. Hardened play dough pieces and abandoned toast crusts are everywhere. Porter, asleep on the couch, sits up and throws up all over the couch, then announces he's never drinking pink lemonade again. I had a flash of him sucking down glass after glass at the wedding reception. Gene gets the extractor out (he loves using the extractor) cleaning all the cushions. I'm washing my purple shirt that's covered with whipped cream having a delicious cup of coffee.

New cars and naps

I'm exhausted and exhilarated all at the same time. We just bought a new car and we couldn't be more thrilled.
All the worries we had about the other car were just swept away like smelly salmon carcasses. The rattling in the engine, the mysterious leak that continually filled my trunk with water, breeding some horrible mold we were inhaling daily. The trunk hydraulics were long gone so when loading and unloading groceries, I had to lift what felt like a 200 pound piece of metal, then find the long piece of wood we were using to prop it open. If the wood were to somehow fall, the trunk would land on my body probably killing me instantly. This made grocery shopping an unpleasant and dangerous errand. No one works on Saab's in my town and my last mechanic, Fred, turned me away last time I tried to throw money at him to fix my car. "No, I won't work on your car anymore - too much headache!"
When the rattling could be heard from a block away, I took it back to the mechanic who refused me. He peered at me through his little window when I pulled up, shook his head at me and started yelling something in German to his partner. I went in, head bowed, and said I knew he wasn't going to work on it, but I said "would you just listen to the noise and tell me anything?" I was desperate. He looked at me down his nose past his thick glasses, "another Saab story..." He obliged.
His diagnosis? "I'm sorry to tell you this, but that is a bearing loose in your engine. At any moment, the car will just stop working, for good. Drive it quietly to the dealership and trade it in right away." That made me feel a little uncomfortable considering it has already started snowing and I cart around 2 and 3-year-olds in Alaska.
I took the car home, emptied it out, (no small task) vacuumed it and cleaned the seats. I waited til dark so the imperfections wouldn't show and drove to the dealership.
When the sales manager wanted to drive my Saab with me to assess the value, I blasted the radio, the fan and then talked a mile a minute about all the great features the car had. Heated seats, leather, power sunroof, blah blah blah. As the engine rattle grew greater, I talked louder until I was at a manic pitch. Finally he simply said, "what's that noise in the engine?" My shoulders sank, and I just whispered - "I don't know." I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window - liar! I thought. It's for the kids I rationalized.
Once I picked a new car out, I negotiated a deal then sent for my husband. "What are we buying?" he said. A 2008 Subaru Forester I said, silver. We both new it was perfect and we feel like new people. Grownups really. And they say money can't buy happiness.... I need a nap.

Glacier glacier what do you see....

I see a big boy standing in front of me....
We all went to the glacier today. Bodhi said he dreamed that we all went together and then there we were! The boys picked up sticks and pretended to fish for salmon. We walked through sticky silt and green puffy plants and Porter walked through a large rock river bed all by himself. He tested each rock to see if it was stable. When he made it across he said TADA! I did it all by myself." The glacier had obviously receded since we were last there.
We went home and they took a three hour nap. Then papa went outside to work on our hottub platform. Porter insisted on helping him even though it was really cold. I made spaghetti and set the table with small bowls for Porter and Bodhi and big plates for papa and Lucky. Porter came in and said, "Mom, I need a big plate tonight because I'm a big boy." Walking on rocks, helping dig in the yard. I had to agree and gave him a big plate.

Pillow talk and grape juice obsessions

One of our favorite pasttimes is lying in bed and talking. Yesterday Bodhi woke up and told me about his dream. "I had a dream that Mama and Papa and Porter and Bodhi... we all went to the glacier and saw salmon and sea otters and whales... it was sooooo pretty!"
We also had some unwelcome pillow talk in the middle of the night after a long Halloween night. We went to a storytelling at the museum that was very un-kid friendly. Her story was boring even to the adults and the story-teller was totally un animated. They had a big table full of cookies and brownies which Porter and Bodhi kept sneaking off too. I caught them trying to pull all the M&M's out of the cookies. Then we went to the mall which was a ZOO! It was pouring raining outside so it seemed everyone was there. We had a hard time keeping track of the kids so it was a little stressful. Then we went to dinner with our neighbors and friends Becky and Kim to Mi Casa mexican restaurant. The entire cast of Wizard of OZ sat at the table next to us with the cutest baby lion. Then we went home to trick or treat in the neighborhood as the rain subsided slightly. After a particularly scary house with a pirate and a coffin prop with a skeleton and scary music they wanted to go home. I begged them to go on (I wanted to meet some of my neighbors) so I enticed them with more candy. Porter said, "mom, I have tons of candy already" (he apparantly doesn't know what tons of candy is because his bag had a measly 20 pieces in it.) I dragged them to one more house, then we went home. In the middle of the night, Porter woke up screaming for grape juice. He repeated it over and over again and I kept saying no. (grape juice at 2 a.m.? no way Jose.) It was a nightmare and it seemed like he was possessed. I guess that's what you get when you eat tortilla chips and candy for dinner!
Today we had our first parent teacher conference. They had nothing but rave reviews for Porter. He is brilliant, end of story.

The Indian Prince

Today we had a Halloween parade at preschool. The kids looked so cute, they had a little movie theatre set up where they showed "Where the Wild Things Are" which is one of Porter's favorite books. He likes me to read it to him when he's in a certain mood. "Show me something mean!" he says. Then I put away the bunny books and I bring out Max and the monsters. It doesn't happen very often but it's so adorable when he does.
Today each child had to stand up and announce what they were at school as they sat in a circle. He didn't see me come in and it was his turn. He stood up and said, "I'm an Indian Prince" very matter-of-factly. He walked around the pumpkins looking so beautiful I couldn't believe it.

Halloween roses

We got a pumpkin, carved it, and two days later it was moldy, and melting on our counter. I carried it outside where I was going to gingerly place it on the ground when it started to completely collapse and I had to drop it quite suddenly and it smashed into a million pieces on the ground. It was raining and I looked to the window where the boys were watching my every move faces pressed against the glass. They were confused. I went back inside and they said "what happened to the pumpkin mom?" I searched my brain for an answer and every explanation seemed too long. They were something like this: You see the shipping takes so long to Juneau that most fruit and vegetables are on the verge of being moldy when they arrive. Then, your father insists on keeping the thermostat set at 70 so things melt quickly....I looked at their quizzical faces and just cut to the chase and said "it died." They seemed satisfied with that and have told anyone that will listen that our pumpkin died. But isn't that what Halloween is about? Skeletons, ghosts...

I went to the store and decided to start a new tradition, a dozen orange Halloween roses to remember and honor people that have died, since Halloween is the day that the veil is lifted between life and death. A rose for each person. I will tell a story to someone that remembers their life. This rose is for my grandmothers Alice and Margaret. I will tell stories to the boys about their great grandmothers they will never meet, but that a part of them lives on in me.
Happy Halloween Alice and Margaret

India

Grandma just went to India and rode camels and elephants. She slept under the stars in the desert, stayed in an ashram and sang with monks. Then she sent us an amazing care package from India that we just got today! Tomorrow is a parade for Halloween and I think we're going as Indian royalty.

Playdough playdough everywhere

The big thing around our house right now is PLAYDOUGH. It's really fun, and it is a pain in the butt to get out of the carpet. I posted a couple pictures.

Playdough Playdate

Friday, Porter had a play date with a girl from his preschool class that he can't stop talking about. Ivy. He insisted on dressing himself in his nicest button up shirt. Ivy walked inside and he ran up and gave her a full body bear hug. She announced that she was "looking pretty for him." He just laughed, not getting it.
He giggled and wanted to show her everything in his house. I bought tons of playdough and playdough toys because they both like playdough a lot. Then we carved a pumpkin. Ivy modeled good eating by asking to eat oranges and strawberries. Porter was coming off two weeks of being sick and hadn't been eating. He started eating because Ivy was! It was great. Bodhi just observed his brother acting a little goofy and had a knowing smile...

The University

This morning started with pancakes, eggs and Gene frantically getting ready for his flight to Kake, Alaska. He's a big native rock star being flown in to play for one night. I took the boys to the pool, to the University (they want to go in my classroom), and to the Sandpiper for dinner.
Porter drew his first "F" on the chalkboard. we walked onto the dock, saw the totem pole and went home. We saw two glaciers today so we feel pretty lucky to be living here in Alaska.

The watsu massage

We have a new family ritual. We go to the pool every Sunday night then go out to dinner as a family. There is something so wonderful and cleansing about going to the pool together and then eating together when we are all in a good mood and super clean.
The boys are so happy at the pool. Gene floats around the shallow end with the boys, relieving stress and getting ready for his busy week ahead. I practice my diving board dives. Every night I add a dive or element that I've lost since my college diving days. I got my back layout rotation back this week and last week I got my inward dive back. My goal is 16 dives including the dreaded half and full twists. I also dread the reverse somersault I will eventually attempt again.
This week, I supported Gene while he floated on his back and tried to recreate a watsu massage I had while 8 months pregnant on the cliffs at the Hana Maui. He really got into it. Then he shocked me by returning the favor. A watsu massage in the kiddie pool in Juneau. I felt like we were at a Ritz Carlton when he was done. Wonderful.

The Football game

While I studied on Sunday, my husband watched the boys and football. This morning there was a rousing football game happening at the house before breakfast. A little tattered yellow foam ball with chunks missing was the football and they wore socks on their hands to help with diving touchdowns and tackles. Normally they wear one of papa's baseball caps on backward as helmets. I lectured them on the fact that this was only to be played at home with people who know they are playing. Do not play anywhere else I sternly said trying to keep a straight face. "Okay" they said. "Throw the ball Bodhi, throw the ball!" He threw it then they ran and tackled it and slid together laughing hysterically. All I can say is Aye yi yi! I smell trouble.
Too see clips of the game, see links on right side of page.

The Dime

Bodhi ate a dime the night before we went on vacation in San Diego. I've never been so worried. I imagined it getting stuck somewhere in his body. I made the mistake of Googling "dime, baby, eat" and got myself so freaked out by the stories and images, I couldn't sleep. I thought about taking him to the airport and using a wand scanner over his body to see what they found. My uncle is an emergency doctor in La Jolla and he just kept calling to see if Bodhi "made change yet." Nobody was taking this seriously enough. My husband had to carry around plastic gloves to inspect every ounce of poop to see if it passed. This was particularly embarresing in public places. The fifth day arrived. After five days it is strongly suggested that you take the child into the emergency room for more aggressive dime removal techniques. Tensions were high and we chose the Wild Animal Park for our entertainment that day. I was with Porter on the merry-go-round, my mom and Bodhi were eating popcorn or something. That's when my husband found the dime. He was so excited and so relieved he started yelling for me to come over where he was, waving his plastic gloves and the diaper saying "I found it, I found it." I was ecstatic and joined in his enthusiasm while passer-by's walked slowly by.

Mom, I'm happy

I was getting the boys dressed this morning and Porter said, "Mom, I'm happy" and then Bodhi chimed in "I'm happy too mom!" I said "wonderful because it is my goal in life to make sure that you are happy!" I hadn't realized that before really. All my decisions about them are all made with the intention that they grow up to be happy, confident, strong, healthy, and light-hearted men capable of loving and being loved.

I made them some oatmeal and pulled out a new toy for them to play with, a big box of legos handed down from cousin Bruce. The got so excited! Later Porter said that he loved being here in our house. Success.

Then they dressed up in their polar fleece, (today was the first day of frost) and went to play outside in the sun on the grass. Bodhi pushed Porter all over the lawn in the tricycle. Porter just pointed to where he wanted Bodhi to push him and he said, "o.k."

La Jolla cove

I brought my kids to La Jolla Cove last year. My good friend Kathleen took a few great pictures of us at the magic hour. I have so many wonderful memories on the grassy cliffs that lead down to the sheltered beach that was my summer playground. I wouldn't come out of the water for hours. Snorkeling, snacking, sunbathing. Ocean swimming was my passion. Someday I wish for the four of us to run crashing into the water, laughing and splashing in the sun. I want to stroll the shores with ice cream cones at sunset. Blessed be.