For all of my avid readers: We have made our blog private and moved the address. If you would like to continue following our families lives send me an email and I’ll send you a formal invitiation to view our private blog.
Thanks for reading!
hippodrome.
Posted in General with tags circus, flora and fauna, turtle on August 28, 2011 by MissyA definite perk to having a husband in a professional field is the RETREATS! Every year the American Council of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) holds a retreat in the wonderful town of Wisconsin Dells. I’ll post about The Dells later, this post is dedicated exclusively to the drive out there. Most short trips (about 45 min.) wouldn’t merit an entire post, however, this was a rather whimsical and somewhat magical drive.
Chase went up with a work colleague that morning so the kids and I drove separately and would meet Chase later that day. I got the kids packed into the car and we were on our way. We hadn’t gone far before we came across something on the side of the road.
Snapping turtles are an indigenous species of fauna in the area. Enoch hadn’t seen one before and I’ll admit that I felt a twinge of childish excitement myself, so we pulled over and snapped a picture.
We were smart about it though, I know how dangerous these guys are so I wouldn’t let either of us get too close. A state ranger came by and carried the turtle back into the brush. Turtles seek for higher ground when it’s time to lay their eggs, the road is a perfectly raised spot for that, but the hatch lings never survive.
So that was cool. I hadn’t changed the setting on our GPS when I punched in the address of the resort so we we went on a long drive through country roads. I certainly had no complaints, it was absolutely beautiful! And the best part of the whole day was the unexpected visit to the town of Baraboo.
I had been listening to the book Water For Elephants when I had long drives without kids in the car. I’ve now become inappropriately obsessed with the history of Depression-era circuses. As we turned the corner, coming into the town of Baraboo, I saw a small attraction sign on the side of the road reading “Circus World.” That’s interesting I said to myself, not giving it second thought. We drove closer into town. I noticed an old faded billboard with the image of a circus tent on it, subtly nestled along the skyline of the town. Another attraction sign came up with the words, “Open,” hanging under it. We sat at an intersection, right would take us to the curious attraction, straight would plot us to the resort town. “Hey Enoch, do you want to go to Circus World right now or should we go straight to the hotel?” The light had just turned green and the first few cars had rolled forward, “Um, I just want to go to Circus World,” he said casually. I swerved to the right, cutting someone off and turned to our fabulous destiny. 
The circus that comes to your mind, quick. Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus right? Turns out, that’s just the circus that survived the depression the best of them all. There were lots of different kinds of circuses at the time. They eventually were swallowed up by the big names when times got too lean.
Little did I know this visit would pique my interest in the era more than ever before. Enoch was very excited, but truthfully, this is exactly how I felt on the inside.
It was incredible. Vintage posters of acts, sideshows, spectacles, death defying tricks! 
Can’t say I could be proud to be the “Fattest Lady” sideshow.
Enoch’s always pretending to be animal anyway, this was right up his alley. We came into a building that exhibited all the glamour of the circus performers. Golden chariots, studded head-dresses, attire from exotic lands, etc. And in the corner were two racks packed with silk fabrics, glittering hems and sign encouraging visitors to try them on. I tried to get Enoch to dress up, he didn’t want to. My giddy heart couldn’t take it, the sequined sparkle was too much, they called to me!
Yea for Enoch being happy to use the camera!
“The circus performance will begin in the hippodrome in five minutes!” bellowed an announcer over the loud speakers outside. Families gathered and were shuffled into the doors like cattle. It was included in the admission and who, besides Chase (fear of clowns), WOULDN’T want to see the circus?!? The crowds gathering conjoured up an image of Callers standing outside the tent, “Come one come all! The greatest show on earth is about to begin! See the beautiful Heidi tame the lions and obey her every command! . . . ” I never lived in that time period, but I felt strangely nostalgic, if it were possible. We stayed for the show (no pics) and made it to the resort five hours later than planned. It was SO worth the delay! There were certainly NO pouty faces on this exertion.
We didn’t get to see nearly everything this visit. So, when you come to visit us (as we strongly encourage visitors) you can count on a trip to “Circus World.”
village.
Posted in General with tags community, fire truck, summer on August 27, 2011 by MissyOnce upon a time, there was a quiet little village. . .
How many stories have you heard as a child that begin with that phrase? What exactly is a village? According to Wikipedia, “The typical village was small, consisting of perhaps 5 to 30 families. Homes were situated together for sociability and defence, and land surrounding the living quarters was farmed.” 
It sounds so quaint. I picture a small community gathering to their homes for supper. As the sun sets people trickle back outside to wish the members of their village good night while on their evening stroll. Then as the sun dips below the horizon, faint candle glows flicker in the windows of the homes, dotting the countryside.
We live in a village. The modern definition of a “village” is less impressive now. In the state of Wisconsin, a village is always legally separate from the towns that it has been incorporated from. What this means, to me, is that our water doesn’t come from a well like the people who live in the Town.
It wasn’t until we found “the house for us” that we moved from our temporary dwelling. The move went quickly thanks to the dedicated people in our branch who all seemed very eager to have a new family move into the area. Thanks branch! We were tired of the endless unpacking and so decided to go for a bike ride down to the local elementary school. My hope was that Enoch would find kids he could play with there so I could have a moment’s peace from his endless badgering. We were in luck . . . very great luck.
It started out with Enoch finding an entire group of kids, his age ( maybe a little older ), in a summer activity group all playing at the elementary play ground. The councilors saw me keeping track of my second little one and assured me they’d help keep an eye on Enoch (who had already introduced himself and invited himself to play with all the children in the company ). That was swell, but then . . . the village fire department came. Every year they schedule, with the Summer Activities Group, a totally awesome SPRAY DOWN!
Yes, they staked down a tarp, set up the fire hose next to it and hosted a wicked Slip ‘n Slide. From the spout atop the truck they shot a turbulent stream of water several yards out. Enoch ran to me once he saw the water being pumped out. “Mom! Can I take my shirt off and play in the water?” I told him to knock himself out.
He did. Talk about being in the right place at the right time! We’ll be sure to make a date of the fire department Spray Down every year now.
I love our village.
fair.
Posted in General with tags fair, pout, Wisconsin on August 26, 2011 by Missy
In the book Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, the sheep describe what the fair is like to Templeton the rat. “A fair is a rat’s paradise. Everybody spills food at a fair. . . In the trampled grass of the infield you will find old discarded lunch boxes containing the foul remains of peanut butter sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, cracker crumbs, bits of doughnuts, and particles of cheese. . . you will find a veritable treasure of popcorn fragments, frozen custard dribblings, candied apples abondoned by tired children, sugar fluff crystals, salted almonds, popsicles, partially gnawed ice cream cones, and the wooden sticks of lolly-pops . . . a fair has enough disgusting left-over food to satisfy a whole army of rats.” We didn’t stay until all the people had left to find out weather this description was accurate, but it seems to be congruent with the very nature of the fair. Our neighboring town was having their summer fair and being new in the area we were eager to get out and do something fun. Enoch got a wrist band which made it possible for him to ride on all the 42″ rides all day as many times as he wanted. 
This made Enoch very excited (dry expression, kind of like the face above). Here is another image to add to the “Pouty Enoch Face” series that you will find over the next several post. Seriously, what does this kid need to make him happy? Apparently unlimited rides at the fair (finally being tall enough to ride some of them) and a mango slushy is NOT enough . . .
. . . at least he seemed happy when he was actually on a ride.
Tessa had a good time too, despite how hot the day was. This was not long after her seizure so I was a little over protective of her getting hot ( as I’m sure you could imagine). Chase calls this, “Only a face a mother could love.” She was very excited to be standing in the grass with her bear toes.
seizure.
Posted in General on August 25, 2011 by MissyThe housing situation was a struggle for us once we made it WI. Do we rent or do we buy? After the stress of wondering if we’d ever sell our house in Vermont we thought renting would be worth the expense. However, we couldn’t find anything that met our preferences within our price range. Chase struck up a deal with a fellow who had a house on the market and would be willing to rent it to us month-to-month if we’d be willing to keep it in showing condition. So, there we stayed for what ended up being only about three weeks. Little did we know that it would be in that house that Tess would give us the scare of our lives. . .
At the time Tessa had been in the process of breaking her gums, also known as “teething.” For those of you who have been parents, that’s all I need to say and you understand the sleepless nights, ornery personality and picky eating habits of the infant. for those of you who haven’t been parents: the infant exhibits picky eating habits develops an ornery personality and has many sleepless nights. Tessa had a fever all that day and had been a little more cuddly than usual. We owed it to teething. Here’s the story via journal entry:
I had been sleeping with the monitor turned down low but right next to me. I heard her[Tess] fuss a couple different times through the night but she had stopped on her own. At 2:20am I hear her cry getting more intense, or at least that’s how it registers to me in the middle of the night. I go down to her room and can hear a rhythmic grunt, almost like a gulping sound coming from inside her room. I reach into her Pack’n Play to rub her back and replace the pacifier. It’s too dark to see what’s happening. My first thought is, “She’s been crying so hard she’s just catching her breath.” But she isn’t responding to her pacifier, which she always does. As I come to my faculties I become aware that her body is awkwardly positioned on her side, unnaturally rigid and her hands are clenched in tight fists. I pick her up to rock her and immediately realize something is very wrong. I carry the jolting ten-month-old upstairs. I wake Chase up when I rush into the room. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” I say. Chase springs from the bed as if he’d been hiding under the covers waiting for his queue. I place the infant in his arms. I haven’t been to get a good look at her yet so I turn on the hallway light, thus avoiding the bright bedroom light. It’s what I feared. Her eyes are rolled back into her head and her body is convulsing. Tess was having a febrile seizure. She looked disfigured. Chase carries her into the light and her seizing seems to stop. Her eyes don’t respond to us for a long time afterwards. She screams for an hour as she becomes lucid again and only stops when she’s gulping down water from a bottle. Chase and I take turns holding Tess; wiping her down with cold rags and blowing on her head. It isn’t until the next morning that we take her to see the doctor.
Chase was a champion. He held her close and despite her crying, rocked and soothed her. Oh! the feeling of helplessness! I think I’ve said it before, but the night can be so dark at times. One feels alone; vulnerable because all the world sleeps around them. All I know is that life is not in our hands. Although I’ve learned that febrile seizures are common, don’t cause mental damage and are “terrifying to the parents but well tolerated by the child,” I thank my Heavenly Father for my little girl, my strong little girl. I thank Him for entrusting me with her and not reclaiming her early. I love my funny little pumpkin (“Stink-A-Stink” as Chase calls her). I love how much she loves Enoch. He can always make her smile and I know it’s ’cause she adores him.
Tessa is just fine. She slept a lot over the next couple days but quickly returned to her jovial self. So here are a few things to know about febrile seizures.
- They are quite common
- Although they look terrifying, they are well tolerated by the child
- There is no evidence that [febrile seizures] cause death, brain damage, epilepsy, mental retardation, a decrease in IQ, or learning difficulties.
- Typically occur between ages 6 months – 5 years old.
- There is a genetic component involved in who will have a seizure
- About a third of children who have had a febrile seizure will have another one with a fever in the future.
You can read more about febrile seizures and their frequency in children here.
PETERSEN: Vermont Chapter 
