Amber | Life Elevated Mom

Lord of the Flies

December 6, 2010 by Amber

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR DAD who is truly the most honorable, supportive, tolerant and kind man I know!!!

Picture: crab hunting with my brothers and Jamie in the Outer Banks last summer. Don’t judge them for their matching shirts.

Though I did.

============

It’s been a busy travel month for sure. Almost immediately after I left town on Friday, Jamie contracted Haddie’s bug and spent the weekend miserable in bed.

I started feeling it Saturday on Park City Mountain Resort’s slopes.

It wasn’t pretty for either of us, especially for me when I got stuck in Salt Lake City’s airport last night due to fog. This picture taken by my friend Barb when we FINALLY boarded a different airplane ’bout sums up how I was feeling.

She claimed she was going to sue Delta Airlines if I got her sick during our airport fiasco.

Usually when I return home from a trip, Jamie does an amazing job cleaning the house but I had low expectations this time around. I knew he was in survival mode and had to let the kids run wild watching movies and messing up the house while he rested.

For once, my expectations were met.

Thankfully, the kids were good sports and were great at entertaining themselves even though the house fell victim to their exploits. Or, as Jamie said,

“At first, they loved the total anarchy but after a while even that got old.”

Anyone want to guess how I’ll be spending my day?….

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie Tagged With: Dad

Tips for Surviving the Dreaded “Mommy Clique” (and share your own stories)

December 6, 2010 by Amber

Now that my kids have been in school for a few months, they are adjusting to an entirely new social hierarchy. Fortunately, they’re still young enough that friendship prerequisites center around if their peers are nice or if they have the same taste in clothes.

The latter was illustrated on the first day of school when my daughter Hadley met her new BFF: a girl who had the exact same pair of Twinkle Toes shoes.

In a few years, such trespasses will result in a cat fight.

But there is a murky side to the social hierarchy that is rarely discussed: the Mommy Clique. These are formed when moms are brought together while waiting for their children to emerge from school or in playgroups and at activities.

I’d like to think that moms are mutually-supportive and that is mostly the case. But often, there are deep-rooted undertones of judgment that, if not confronted, can result in a full-blown Mommy Clique.

And no one likes Mommy Mean Girls.

From my extensive six years as a mom, I have compiled a few ideas for banding together as moms. Because let’s face it: no one wants to feel like they’re the only kid in the junior high cafeteria who doesn’t have anyone with whom to sit.

Obviously, I still harbor deeply-rooted insecurities.

Do:

1) Start early. I was clueless to the whole Mommy Clique phenomenon when my kids were in preschool. I’d come, I’d go, I’d pick up my daughter and call it good. It wasn’t until the middle of the year I realized friendships were forming without me and I was that loner in the school cafeteria. Again.

2) Compliment. I am the queen of small talk (OK, any talk) but for the shy people out there, you can’t go wrong with a compliment. Praising a cute baby is a sure-fire “in.” Well, unless the baby is kind of ugly, in which case they’ll know you’re lying.

3) Reach out to the loners. Once you form friendships, it’s easy to stick with the same crowd. Try to include people standing by themselves including other moms, grandmas and fathers. My husband assures me dads have feelings, too.

I’ve also made some mistakes over the years.

Do not:

1) Judge. Moms come in different shapes, colors and backgrounds but we’re all in this together. You never know what you can learn from someone with whom you’d normally never associate.

2) Tease a mom you don’t know. Hypothetical scenario: Do not joke that she looks like an abominable snowman, even if she is dressed from head-to-toe in Michelin-Man-esque winter wear. Despite your sincere apology at your light-hearted attempt at humor, this offended mom will then ignore you the rest of the year. Hypothetically.

3) Think it’s too late to form friendships. Even if Mommy Cliques have already developed around you, stand nearby and offer constructive comments. If they’re a Mommy Clique worth knowing, they’ll embrace you in their group.

If not, nurse your wounds while watching Lindsey Lohan in Mean Girls as you down a gallon of Breyers’ Triple Chocolate Ice Cream.

This year, I vowed to make a concerted effort with developing new friendships. My daughter recently entered first grade and rides the bus home. As I waited with the other moms on the first day, I introduced myself as the “Newbie Mom at the Bus Stop” and met Kristen, a fellow rookie.

On day two, I spotted a mom whose son is in my daughter’s class. She introduced herself as Jamie and exclaimed, “You’re Amber Johnson! I love reading your articles in The Denver Post’s YourHub!”

Forget the Twinkle Toes shoes. I think I found my new bus-stop BFF.

Filed Under: Humor

The 12 hours before one of the most integral days in our lives…

December 2, 2010 by Amber

…you know, that one day when things just have to go smoothly and you’ve done everything you can to make it happen:

The kids are in school and you have your wonderful friends picking them up for play dates afterward.

The house is immaculate.

You’ve been working around-the-clock so as to ensure you can block off the entire day for this important event.

You go to bed early so as to be well-rested in the morning.

Then–

You get minimal sleep because your son (who has not had night terrors in months) chooses that very night to have a recurrence.

You hear an urgent meowing in the morning and find out your husband accidentally locked Fat Kitty in the spare room. And the poor thing relieved himself on your favorite laptop bag & framed picture.

Your daughter, who had the stomach flu on Tuesday but had made a full recovery on Wednesday, woke up with stomach pain. And then diarrhea. After multiple accidents, your husband attempts to give her some medicine (and made the mistake to try to teach her to swallow a pill for the first time), which resulted in a freaked-out daughter who refused to go to school and an even more hysterical mother who packed an extra change of clothes and booted her out the door.

Ever had one of those days?!

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor, Jamie

Pukefest 2010

December 1, 2010 by Amber

Did I mention just how busy I am?

Imagine how thrilled I was to receive a call from the school yesterday that Hadley had thrown up in her classroom.

Talk about a stigma. Peers remember stuff like that for a very long time.

Case in point: My childhood friends still call me “The Animal” for breaking my sixth-grade teacher Mr. Monroe’s glasses during soccer.

After I brought Hadley home from school, she walked into the house to find beloved Fat Kitty snuggling up to her blanket. She raced over, threw her arms around him and proceeded to vomit.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Fat Kitty move so fast.

A Fat Cat’s loyalties can only go so far.

Oh, and remember that gingerbread-house-making evening I was supposed to host for the young women at church? It obviously didn’t happen. I instead spent the day pumping her with liquids as she proceeded to throw everything up.

That Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash we gave her to sooth her tummy?

Here’s a little tip: RED POP stains.

The End.

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor

The sad, sad truth

November 30, 2010 by Amber

Hadley and Bode have been playing marvelously well lately.

Knock on ~~wood~~ an entire forest.

However, I’m not ignorant enough to think it won’t be long until their playtime turns back into this:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3iFhLdWjqc&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

A welcomed reprieve before the holiday storm

November 29, 2010 by Amber

I’ve been receiving oodles of emails asking about our cruise aboard the Norwegian Epic. Rest assured, it was an amazing vacation replete with sun, surf, sand and (of course) Murphy’s Law. When I can carve out more than a few minutes at a time, I’ll post all the sordid details.

But it won’t be this week.

I’m still playing catch-up and it doesn’t help that I am having the young women from church over tomorrow to make gingerbread houses, have meetings on Wednesday and an all-day commitment Thursday. Oh, and did I mention I’m flying to Park City on Friday for a Snowmamas summit over the weekend?

Oh yeah, and all that fun Christmas chaos.

Hence the reason for the lack of posting.

The kids’ six-day Thanksgiving vacation was a welcome reprieve. We watched movies, didn’t even get out of our PJs on Friday, went furniture shopping and invited some neighbors over for a pizza and movie night.

Last night, the kiddos and I got into the Christmas spirit. I dusted off the piano and we belted out carols, made gingerbread cookies, paper snowflakes and watched the 2010 Pumpkin Chunkin’ competition on the Discovery Science channel.

Because watching insane rednecks who built contraptions to catapult pumpkins hundreds of feet is never out of season.

A team of women won for the first time this year.

I’m not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed for my gender.

Haddie went back to school today and evidently was a bit rusty after the break. When I picked her up from the bus stop, our neighbor Gabe teasingly tattled,

“Hadley got off at the wrong bus stop today.”

Surely that couldn’t be the case. The girl has ridden the bus a hundred times so I looked to her for confirmation. She sheepishly grinned and tossed her BLOND hair.

Sometimes it frightens me just how alike we really are.

Filed Under: Hadley, holidays, Humor Tagged With: Utah

Colorado Many Ski Resort’s Events Make Me Happy to Be Home for the Holidays

November 29, 2010 by Amber

Colorado Skiing Makes Me Happy to be Home for the Holidays

Confession: I was moderately depressed last year when I was unable to spend Christmas with my family in Canada.

But let’s face it: there are worse things than spending Christmas in Colorado.

And so my family of four opted to start a new tradition: We went skiing the day before Christmas at Loveland Ski Area. It was fantastic for a few reasons:

* Colorado’s resorts are the very epitome of a winter wonderland.
* My children exerted all their pent-up “Santa’s coming” energies on the slopes. They were passed out by 8:30 p.m.
* Santa visited Loveland’s ski school and skied with the kids.

Note: My 5-year-old daughter made sure to give him a thorough interrogation that he, indeed, was just Santa’s helper because surely the true St. Nick would not be slacking off on Christmas Eve.

Our fantastic experience made me resolve to head to the hills more often. I asked Colorado Ski Country USA to help me with a snapshot of upcoming activities and deals that will delight skiers and non-skiers.

Arapahoe Basin

“A-Basin” was the first place I skied when I first moved to Colorado so it holds a special place in my heart. This season, I am most excited about the Black Mountain Lodge Full Moon Snowshoe Dinner Series that embraces cuisine from regions such as the Andes, Pyrenees and the Dolomites on January 19, February 19, March 19 and April 16.

Not-to-be-missed is their New Year’s Eve Dinner ($89/person) with gourmet food, big band sounds, dancing and party favors. After dinner, guests may snowshoe down the mountain or ride the chairlift to the base area. arapahoebasin.com

Copper Mountain

Santa is hanging out at Copper on December 18, 24 and 25 during High Alpine Holidays when the Village at Copper comes alive with a tree lighting at dusk, carolers, s’mores, photos with Santa and free gift wrap for Village purchases. On Christmas Eve, kids will love Copper’s spectacular Torchlight Parade that weaves down the mountain.

En Fuego (the resort’s holiday tradition) boasts street entertainers, bonfires, fire performers and fireworks to complete the evening. The festivities close with New Year’s Eve En Fuego, on December 31. CopperColorado.com.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Hands down, Crested Butte is my favorite mountain town and holiday events at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) are in abundance. Guaranteed, you will marvel at the ice sculptures in Rock on Ice, a professional ice-carving competition on display around the base area December 18-21.

Equally as impressive is the gingerbread house building competition with cash prizes December 21 through January 1 and the torchlight parade on December 24 and 31. Also be sure to check out CBMR’s Grandest Christmas Package that makes this an affordable option. skicb.com

SolVista Basin at Granby Ranch

I have fond memories of my daughter learning to ski (and doing her first face-plant) at SolVista, one of Colorado’s most family-friendly resorts. Santa will make a visit on December 24 and kids will love night skiing and tubing under holiday lights December 26 through 30 from 5-8 p.m.

There will be carolers singing by the fire, s’mores with a cup of hot chocolate and the grand finale to the weeklong celebration will be fireworks over Granby Ranch at dusk on New Year’s Eve. Best of all, prices are affordable: Night skiing is $10/person; tubing is $11/person; or a combo ticket is $18/person. SolVista.com.

Steamboat

I’ve vacationed in charming mountain hamlet Steamboat but never in the winter. Their impressive line-up has must-visit motivators including Santa Claus, the Sprint New Year’s Eve Torchlight Parade and Fireworks, and holiday s’mores and hot toddy-making classes in Gondola Square.

Oh, and did I mention holiday feasts at Hazie’s, Western BBQ, a sleigh ride to Ragnar’s and New Year’s Eve Kids Night Out ($75), which includes games, movies, gondola rides, dinner, snacks and watching the torchlight parade and fireworks. Steamboat.com.

Winter Park Resort

Winter Park Resort is offering an unsurpassed Christmas card photo opp: pose with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, the elves, and live reindeer the two weekends prior to Christmas. Christmas Eve has an abundance of activities including a torchlight parade that is followed by snowcats making a Christmas tree design and Santa skiing down and meeting the children at the bottom. winterparkresort.com.

Talk about a having a Merry Christmas….

Filed Under: Colorado, Family travel, skiing

The Happiest of Thanksgivings, Denver Style

November 26, 2010 by Amber

Any attempts to avoid the Thanksgiving frenzy were put to rest when Hadley requested we make pies (we opted for pumpkin and Dulce de Leche apple).

But when I appeased Hadley with her pies, I had to also cater to Bode and Jamie with our signature bacon-wrapped turkey.

Then I remembered Jamie’s favorite menu item: homemade rolls. Before I knew it, I was entrenched in a full-blown Thanksgiving meal that became a labor of love for these three blessed people.

I could not have been happier to do it.

But I did it my way by holding our feast on Wednesday night for the sole purpose of NOT having to spend the entire holiday in the kitchen. And you know what? It was my favorite Thanksgiving ever.

It started by Hadley making me breakfast in bed. We then snuggled up as a family in our king-sized bed to watch Chronicles of Narnia (a favorite after Bode’s inspired observations a couple of years ago).

We then devoured our Thanksgiving leftovers and hit the trail. The Turkey Trot trail, that is. It has been a tradition to drag our butterball butts on this hike for almost five years. I got a kick out of the accounts from my archives that started in 2005. Then came:

2006

2007

The kids in 2010.

My, what a difference a few years makes.

This was the first year both of the children did the steep hike on their own and I could not have been more proud. Though the sun was shining, the temperatures were below freezing but no one whined even once about the cold. Well, except for me.

In my defense, I was the only one without a jacket.

And then my new favorite family shot ever.

Well, minus the fact you can’t see Bode who was hidden in the shadows.

On the drive back, we blasted the heat and Christmas tunes. We devoured pies and hot chocolate at our house and upon the kids’ insistence, we setup our Christmas tree.

Every stage of my kids’ lives has been a blessing but I enjoy them more and more as they grow older. They are surpassing expectations, developing passions and giving me a glimpse of who they are becoming. As a mom, there is no greater joy.

Hadley is a delightful and hilarious kid but her spirited and stubborn disposition frustrates us to no end. On Thanksgiving, she simply shone. That morning as we snuggled in bed, we stretched our imaginations as we mulled over Imagine a Place, one of the most beautifully illustrated and lyrical children’s books I’ve ever seen.

Imagine a place…
…where castle and cloud
shift from square to square
and the world lies
in the winner’s hand.

That evening as Hadley and I decorated the tree, she acted so grownup as we talked about my childhood memories of Christmas in Canada. It was one of the first times I felt like I’ve truly had a discussion that connected with her on a deeper level. It made me so happy we are reaching a new stage where confidences can be shared.

She was as shocked as me.

“Gee, Mommy. I’m having a really good attitude today, aren’t I?”

It was quite the day for Thanksgiving miracles.

I hope you had a blessed one!

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Family, Hadley, hiking, holidays, Humor, Jamie, outdoors

Carnivore Confessions: To Meat or Not to Meat?

November 23, 2010 by Amber

For most people, the focal point of holiday meals is the meat. Thanksgiving is no exception with the hallowed turkey.

While I would not consider us huge meat eaters, there is no better smell for me than a burger or steak on the BBQ or a brisket in my husband’s smoker.

Last summer, I tweeted about this love affair and how, while I do not disparage vegetarians, I could never live that lifestyle during grilling season. A friend replied that grilled tofo and BOCA burgers are also delicious.

Ummmm, you just keep telling yourself that while you sink your teeth into that tofu turkey on Thanksgiving.

I occasionally eat veggie burgers but tofu ranks right up there with solicitors who contact us despite the fact we’re on the do-not-call list. If I were to give up meat completely, I would do just that. But there is no way I would resort to all those weird, artificial alternatives.

When I told Jamie about my friend’s grilled tofu suggestion, he proclaimed:

Biting into tofu is like biting into a void. It’s like mixing vegetables with Jell-o. Your mouth says you should be tasting savory meat. Instead, you get a big, slimy cube.

Dude could totally rival Jack Handy’s deep thoughts.

Haddie had a few deep thoughts of her own when she brought home this art project from school.

In case you need help translating, it reads:

He looks cool. He’s diying. Run! Away from it!

I love the turkey. He is nice and he’s diying.

I don’t see her becoming a vegetarian anytime soon.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor

The Scrooge of Thanksgivings Past

November 22, 2010 by Amber

Last week, I casually posted the following status update on Facebook:

Gotta admit I’m just not feeling the Thanksgiving love because we won’t have family here (and cooking a huge dinner for just us doesn’t appeal). Can a person still feel gratitude and order pizza?

I was 1) burned at the stake 2) invited to several people’s celebrations and 3) accused of being sneaky so I would get invited to said celebrations.

Believe me, subtly ain’t my style. I’m nothing if not direct.

Here’s the deal: I get why people love Thanksgiving. I mean, there are certain elements that are great: An attitude of gratitude. Spending time with family preparing and eating a big feast. Being united no matter what denomination or creed.

My disdain for football aside, it’s just never been a holiday I’ve embraced. In Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October and I haven’t been home to celebrate since I went away to college. My freshman year, my best friend Lori invited me to join her family and while lovely, I felt like a third wheel. From that point on, I declined all invitations and even volunteered three years in a row to serve Thanksgiving dinner at the local food bank.

And was turned town three years in a row.

Maybe that is the root of my Thanksgiving angst. Who gets rejected for helping the homeless?!

It just seems we’ve diluted the meaning of all our meaningful holidays. Thanksgiving has become less about thanks-giving and more about football and stuffing ourselves silly. Many Black Friday sales are no longer on Friday and have been bumped up to Thursday. I’ve been alarmed how few children know the story of the first Thanksgiving and we’ve been focusing on expressing our gratitude lately.

This year, it’s just my husband, kids and me. While we have many close friends in Denver, they will be spending the day with their families. For this reason, I’m perfectly happy to do our own form of celebration that doesn’t involve slaving in a kitchen all day but rather:

1) Hauling our butterball butts up the Turkey Trot trail at Mount Falcon.
2) Serving a low-maintenance meal I actually like (no offense to the leftover turkey lovers but it’s just not a favorite.)
3) Snuggling up to my beloved family for a movie marathon.
4) Napping.
5) Calling family and expressing our love for them.

For me, those are five things that will make me pretty darn grateful.

Filed Under: Family, Humor