Author: Pam Kocke

NOLA mom of identical triplets. Talent Acquisition at Automattic. Enjoy reading and photography and sewing and bookbinding.

Facing a fear (i.e., what have I gotten myself into?)

Like most people, I have a fear of public speaking. I mean, it’s not the same kind of fear like my one of cockroaches. Cockroaches have a way of sneaking up on you. Or flying in your face. ::shudder:: But public speaking is generally something you have to opt in to.

I submitted a speaker proposal for WordCamp Dayton, thinking, okay, this is a perfect place to get started. There will be friendly faces in the crowd (I don’t just mean people in Ohio are friendly, but also several coworkers will be there) and it won’t be a massively sized one. I have had an idea for a talk ever since we had a public speaking learnup at work last year, so I decided to bite the bullet and just go for it.

And it got accepted and now I have to stand up in front of, I don’t know, at least dozens of people, I guess, and talk about Making Blogging a Habit.

If you’re reading this and you have been blogging for a while, I’d love to hear how you’ve managed to keep it up. Please, I have a speech to write now!

Monday morning things

I wanted to blog about a few things that don’t really merit a post of their own.

I baked a king cake!

I’ve been wanting to try this for a while, and finally got around to it this weekend. I used the recipe in this blog post. [Please ignore the line, “(Pronounced Nawlins in case you don’t want to sound like a fool)” because that is absolutely, 100% untrue. Please don’t ever say “Nawlins” in my presence.]

The only changes I’d make next time are:

1. Three strands instead of two. It was very puffy. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there was definitely a higher ratio of bread: filling than I’d prefer.

2. Get a real baby, not a LEGO minifigure that I sterilized. Though it made for a hilarious photo. I crack myself up.

You're going to put me WHERE?
You’re going to put me WHERE?

3. Get the colored sugar to sprinkle on top. I colored the icing instead, but sugar would be prettier sprinkled on top of the icing (not in lieu of.)

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I was really happy with how it came out, though. So yum! And P was really happy to get the “baby.”

Hair product recommendation

Saturday night, I went with some friends to a walking parade, Chewbacchus. I think you can imagine what the theme was. I looked all over the house for the Princess Leia wig I had at one point, but then I remembered that I have long dark brown hair. No wig needed, just a Pinterest tutorial!

Worked like a charm, and I was so enamored with the bun-making technique, that I went and bought a hair donut thingy yesterday from Ulta.

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Oliver’s writing

Oliver had his writing journal from English class in his backpack and HOLY COW it was a treasure trove of cute. I can’t wait to get my hands on Miles’s and Linus’s. My favorite entry was the one that said, “Today I will inoy my dad.”

Oliver, school, and Mardi Gras

Yesterday was a big day. It was Oliver’s class’s last day at the zoo as well as the school’s mascot unveiling and their Mardi Gras parade.

The kids (dressed as animals for the parade later that day) gave presentations about things they’d learned in the last four weeks at the zoo. Oliver discussed endangered animals and something else. Reptiles?

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Oliver pontificating on endangered animals.

After the presentations, we went to the zoo auditorium to watch the movie they make at the end of their 4 week session. Looks impressive up on the big screen, eh?

The drama!!!
It’s a French film, so obviously subtitled.

After the film, there was a potluck and then we headed to school for the big mascot unveiling and the parade.

The kids had voted for which mascot they wanted, and so there was much excitement in the air as they unveiled…

What’s in the box?
Let’s open it up!
It’s the…
Loup Garou!

So here’s the problem with the kids going to a French school. Now I’m going to have to say “Loup Garou” a bunch of times over the next eleven years. Maybe can we agree the non-French-speaking amongst us can just call him the Werewolf?

In any case, he was pretty awesome. Very Teen Wolf.

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The kids were really excited. Hey, has anyone seen Mr. Chip? Oh, just wondering.

Next up, the parade!

Ollie and his BFF
My favorite butterfly.
Linus’s class made superhero costumes.
Another view.
Super excited about the parade
Millie throws.
Only in New Orleans?
The parents also got way into it.

So.

I guess this means the boys probably aren’t going to try my favorite recipes anytime soon.

Sonic had an epic adventure, apparently

In their quest to make movies as goofy as Uncle Evan, Miles and Linus filmed a story about Sonic and some other hedgehogs. It’s kind of violent, but at least the actors are stuffed, so they don’t get hurt too badly. I’ll admit, the plot goes over my head a little bit, maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough.

I’m trying to get as many views on this video as possible, just to give the boys a little thrill. So grab the closest kid and watch this piece of movie history (and a tour of my messy house, thanks boys.)

Screenshot 2015-01-28 07.58.14

Seven year stats

Took the boys to the pediatrician for their yearly well visit yesterday.

Their 7 year stats:

Linus: 49.6 lbs (50th); 49″ tall (50-75th)
Oliver: 47.8 lbs (25-50th); 48.7″ tall (50-75th)
Miles: 51.2 lbs (50th); 48.8″ tall (50-75th)

Compared to six years:

Linus: 47.8 lbs (50th); 45.8″ tall (50th)
Oliver: 44.8 lbs (50th); 45.8″ tall (50th)
Miles: 50 lbs (50-75th); 46.3″ tall (50th)

They think it’s fun to get their arms squeezed.

Weirdos.

More pics.

After the appointment, Linus told me he really had a great time. I asked Linus later why he enjoyed the visit so much, and at first he answered, “because we got to leave school for a while.” But I’d like to think it was also because he’s interested in science. Or maybe because we have a wonderful pediatrician. Who knows.

I’m surprised at how little the boys grew. Just like I posted in last year’s update, I really expected that they’d have grown more than two inches. Everyone says how tall they’ve gotten, but only two inches? That doesn’t seem like a lot.

On the other hand, their weights only went up by a few pounds at most, so maybe they just look lankier. (It takes them a year to put on two pounds. I can do it in like two weeks. /brag.)

Anyway, no complaints. Everyone’s healthy. The doctor gave me a few suggestions on dealing with anxiety and pickiness, but she wasn’t concerned. All normal stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some things.

Just booked George a ticket to the UK for this summer! Yeah, I’m going with him, but I used frequent flier miles for his ticket, and I’m just kind of keeping an eye on ticket prices for a few days before I book mine. There’s plenty of availability on all of the flights, but egads they’re pricey. I remember back in the olden days when a round trip ticket was under $800. I mean, yeah, it was more than a decade ago, but still.

We’re going to be spending half of our time in the Lake District in the outrageously picturesque village (is it a village? Or a town? I’m going to call it a village no matter what) of Keswick. I mean, come on…

The rest of the time will be spent in London. I cannot wait to go back. Just want to wander the streets and soak it all in. And find a bottle of Winter Pimm’s. I wonder if that will be impossible in June? Hmm.

Speaking of travel, I’m going to Las Vegas for a few days at the end of February for Kristina’s 40th. Woo hoo!

In other news…um, no other news, really. Here are some pictures I took with my phone yesterday.

Monkeys.
Bike training.
Monkey
Pretty leaves
Monkey
Me ‘n’ baby Jasper

Oh yeah, baby Jasper. I took some pictures of him for my friend Megan, even though I’m a little mad at him for being born two days late (is it too much to ask that he be born on my birthday? Ann Frances cooperated but nooooo he had to have is OWN birthday.) But he’s cute so I’ll forgive him.

I’m just going to post this one of him. Mardi Gras baby!

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Oh yeah, one more thing. Today, January 20 is not only marks seven years since the boys’ due date, but also 40 since mine. Random.

Marvelous.

Last night I took the boys to see the Marvel Universe Live! show. When I was offered the tickets (because, disclaimer: I was given the tickets, but all opinions are mine in this post), I wasn’t sure the boys would be too into it, since they’d largely left their superhero phase behind. (I mean, despite the fact that Oliver was Hulk for Halloween last year.)

But when I told them two days prior to the show that we were going, they pretty much lost their shit. They were so excited. That excitement didn’t wear off, either, as you can see.

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Before the show, we were given access to a special pre-party for bloggers where the boys got to take photos in the superheroes’ gear. Pretty cool.

We also got to load up on snacks and stay out of the cold for a while, which was nice.

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After the pre-party, we got our seats and I very reluctantly paid a fortune for popcorn and cotton candy. It kills me to think of it, but at least my tickets were free. But still. How do these people sleep at night? Okay. Get over it, Pam.

The show itself was actually very cool. The special effects were great (there was real fire!) and the boys were literally on the edge of their seats. I wish I could have gotten a picture of that. I have to say, Spiderman was my favorite – he was a gymnast or something, and was really fun to watch.

Ironman!
Totally engrossed.
Me Hulk.
The show.

As soon as the show was over, the boys were begging to go again. So if your kids are into superheroes at all and this show is coming to your area, I would definitely recommend it.