My mom wrote to me on Friday, asking me what was up. She hadn't heard from me in a while. Oh? Is time slipping away from me once again? I suppose it is. Sorry...
I haven't had a lot of interesting things to talk about, and I've let myself get caught up in a lovely anime series called "Nodame Cantabile" for the past week (english subtitles only, lol, my brain has been chattering in mostly-made-up Japanese, complete with foreign voice inflections). My free time during the day isn't the kind I can really blog well with: Alex is all about grabbing my hands away from the keyboard and mouse when he's awake, and when he's asleep, I'm trying to work on reading lessons and play big-kid stuff with Jacob and Melinda. So, I apologize for my lack of blogging. I've definitely been going in waves of blogging and not blogging lately. Wish I could get myself back into a regular habit again.
I'm sure you're all curious about what's going on with Jesse's job. We are, too. We're really sick of being in limbo, not knowing what's going to happen, or when, or how.... Jesse seems to think that *something* needs to happen, one way or another, within a matter of a few weeks. He says either his company will run out of money, or will get a purchase offer, or will manage to somehow wrangle some extra funding from investors. But there's certainly not enough money to keep things afloat as they are for more than a few weeks. In the meantime, Jesse's getting in touch with as many recruiters as he can (his boss/co-worker type people seem to think this is the best way to find a job, and we haven't had any luck with what we *were* doing....). Hopefully we'll know what the next step in our lives will be before long. Limbo isn't fun.
So, I'll give you an update of life through the wonder of Facebook Friday. On Sunday. And maybe one of these days soon I'll finish blogging about our trip to Colorado, share videos, and all that fun jazz. You'll just have to wait and be surprised (along with myself) about when I get in the mood to do it!! :)
Saturday, July 11
9:47am
Becky is going for breakfast and window shopping at IKEA.
6:27pm
Becky wonders what happened to all those thunderstorms promised in the forecast. The lawns around here are starting to look dismally brown. :(
(See? So boring that I'm Facebooking about the weather.)
Sunday, July 12
8:53pm
Becky is mad at T-mobile. Suddenly both our phones are not getting ANY reception in our home, all day long. And I have to wait a *minimum* of 72 hours for them to check the condition of equipment and towers to see if there's a problem. In the meantime, I can only make and take calls if I'm about 100 feet away from my apartment building.
Monday, July 13
9:46am
Becky left a bunch of folded laundry on the front room floor last night, with a note for Melinda: "Put away" (complete with a picture of laundry and an arrow going to an open dresser drawer). Turns out she LOVED getting the note, and had all the laundry put away before anyone else got out of bed. And she's demanding a note for tomorrow! Ack! What chore to give her next?!?
>>> Additional comments based on feedback/comments left by others:
I haven't thought of something for tomorrow yet. The reason I came up with this idea is because I was folding laundry just before bed. I sat there, surrounded by nothing but children's clothing, and I said out loud, "I wonder if I just left these here, if Melinda would put them away in the morning?"
She often helps put the laundry away without complaint, and she's always up before the rest of us. I didn't want to risk wake the kids up by putting their things away, but I thought it was also likely that they'd quickly make a mess of things without any direction. So, I wrote a note. Since she's just learning to read still, I kept it simple and added the picture.
Now I just have to come up with something else. But she doesn't really like picking up, so I'm not sure she'd follow directions to pick up the toy room. Oddly enough, though, I KNOW she'd scrub the toilets if I put that on a note. I'd rather not have her in there without supervision, though. Maybe washing the patio door?
1:57pm
Becky just loves loves loves Keane's song, "Atlantic" from the Under The Iron Sea album.
>>> I just added it to my playlist, if you want to listen to it! It's waaaaay down at the bottom of the page, first song. Especially listen to about minute marker 2:30, where the song changes pace and tune a bit, it's just sooo beautiful.
Tuesday, July 14
11:00am
Becky had another note ready for Melinda this morning. Asked her to sort the shoe closet. She wasn't as much of a self-starter this time (it *was* a more complicated note). Once I explained it more to her, she dug right in. And now I can see the floor of my shoe closet again, and all those old/worn-out/not-fitting things -and winter things!- are finally put away. :)
>>> She did need help understanding the goal. But once I explained better, she was awesome at organizing piles of shoes, scarves, hats, winter coats (lol, I'm so awful at putting things away each season!), and so on, so I could jump in and put it all away easily.
11:26am
Becky has a working cell phone signal in her apartment again. <insert grumbling about how it took a full two days.>
3:14pm
Becky just lost another perfectly good glass to Alex's habit of tossing things over the baby gate into the kitchen. Ceramic tile seems nice and all, but I've had more broken dishes in the last year than I have in the entire 9 years before that.
Wednesday, July 15
1:03pm
Becky has a bad afternoon ahead. Alex only took a half-hour nap, thanks to driving home at naptime. He doesn't transfer well. And when I finally got him settled in bed, someone outside woke him up, and he was beyond "fixing" at that point. Sigh. Here's to hoping the ice cream truck comes by today.
>>> it didn't. :(
4:59pm
Becky notes that there actually *is* something worse than a 15-month-old who can push around chairs to get into things he otherwise shouldn't. It's called a 15-month-old who can climb to the top of a bunk bed.
>>> Dead serious. He can now climb the bunk bed ladder. I'm so cursed with physically-inclined babies.
Thursday, July 16
6:14pm
The weather page says it feels like 93 degrees outside right now. And I still haven't turned on the A/C.... though I'm beginning to be sorely tempted. Still, I'm patting myself on the back. :)
>>> It's managed to hover right around 81 degrees indoors, which isn't terrible. We've somehow managed to slowly adjust our bodies to the summer heat, for the first time in the almost-6 years we've lived here. I've never managed to keep the A/C off in July before, but I've gone several weeks without it, now!
>>> Depressing to realize it only cut our electric bill for the past month by about $20.
Friday, July 17
1:52pm
Becky is frustrated. Alex has had three *terrible* napping days in a row.
Saturday, July 18
10:45pm
Becky is finished preparing for her lesson on Charity tomorrow morning at church. :)
>>> Lesson (which was on Charity) went well!! :) Guess who was in church that Sunday? Elder Neil Andersen, of the Quorum of the Twelve. He's got 2 daughters in our ward. His wife was in Relief Society while I taught. Yikes? Actually, it didn't add to my nervousness at all. I just hope I didn't embarrass myself. ;) And having Elder Andersen there made for a really interesting Gospel Doctrine class, too, as his daughter was teaching and invited him to present a big chunk of the lesson, which was on Priesthood Keys. He is a really friendly, down-to-earth speaker. But when he recalled the time when he was recently called to the Quorum of the Twelve, and thus given keys appropriate to his calling, he was moved to tears. I have never heard our chapel so silent and reverent as when Elder Andersen stood in silence, taking a few moments to try and recover his emotions. You have to remember that our ward is so large that our Gospel Doctrine class is held in the chapel, and has the attendance equivalent to many other wards' sacrament meeting. It was quite a large group, and it was *silent* as he stood there. It was humbling, and moving. I'm thankful for men like him who put so much of their hearts into leading our church under God's direction.
Sunday, July 19
3:03pm
Becky has been having lots of fun with a 2-week free Photoshop class at jessicasprague.com. Sad that it's over! But I've learned so many neat tricks!
>>> I'll have to share some of my class projects on the blog soon! Also... I signed up for another class, which starts next month. It was just too fun (and, dare I say, useful?), and I was given a discount code... squeee!
11:58pm
Becky loved this music video. :)
(Coldplay's "Strawberry Swing", which is a fun song on it's own... set to sidewalk chalk "animation". Amazing!)
Monday, July 20
9:12am
Becky needs to drive over to the elementary school today. Even though I called and asked for registration papers mailed to me about a week and a half ago, still nothing has come. Should have taken a few days at most.
Tuesday, July 21
2:22pm
Becky is glad that it's unusually cool for July. It makes outdoor play so much more enjoyable when it's overcast and low 70's!
4:48pm
Becky had to dash outside to turn off the car alarm after Alex stole my keys from the top of the bookcase and pressed the panic button. When I got back inside, Alex was in tears. Guess he got scared. Me, I'm glad I didn't step on any glass in my hurry, since I had no shoes on. Have I mentioned before that I hate car alarms as a general rule?
6:36pm
Becky thinks she could probably feed 5 starving African children with just the amount of food Alex throws on the floor from his high chair every day. That is, if they don't mind eating floor-food.
Wednesday, July 22
9:19am
Becky is still trying to process two unusual images from my dreams last night: Jesse with amputated arms nearly up to his elbows, which was sad but didn't impact our general happiness; and Jacob as a young tree (complete with face?!) who was losing his bark, then falling over, then being prepared for death. Why is it, by the way, that if I ever dream of a child dying, it's always Jacob? That's starting to worry me!!!
1:10pm
Becky notes that ever since Alex pressed the van's key fob panic button the first time yesterday (yes, there was a 2nd time, sigh), he has been screaming in absolute hysterics any time he hears the following withing ear shot: a car horn (every time someone remotely locks their car), a large truck with squeaky brakes, a large rumble-y garbage truck, or even moving/rental trucks that beep repeatedly when backing up. Yay.
>>> He has since stopped freaking out at every single car. But now thunder is making him act the same way.
3:35pm
Becky got Melinda's brand-new, hot pink lunch box in the mail. She's so excited!
Thursday, July 23
9:35am
Becky started the day off with a bang- gotta love those morning thunderstorms that bring a lot of heavy rain!
1:38pm
Becky needs to learn how to sew children's underwear. Not satisfied with what I can find in stores, both for too-tight elastic and either boring colors or annoying characters. And not quite willing to pay the price for other people's handmade underwear.
>>> Looking at this pattern on etsy.com.
Saturday, July 25
12:41am (still felt like Friday night to me!)
Becky went out on a date with the hubby to see Harry Potter, got the curious baby back to sleep, stuffed her face with ice cream, and hopes there might be some semblance of sleeping in tomorrow morning. Doubt it, but it never hurts to hope. ;)
>>> Now owes our lovely babysitter cookies, as she refused payment since her job was so easy while we were out! She and Melinda played some games for an hour, Melinda went to bed without any trouble, and Jacob and Alex both stayed asleep the whole time we were gone.
4:36pm (the *real* Saturday!)
Becky is so so so hot. Finally caved into the A/C today. Most of July without it!
Sunday, July 26
3:10pm
Becky is a little overwhelmed with how much Melinda ONLY wants pink things these days. Pink lunchbox, pink jacket, pink shoes, pink pants, pink shirts.... ugh. My eyes are going to hurt. Pink is not one of my favorite colors.
>>> (I went internet shopping for some school stuff. Yay for Land's End backpacks being on sale, and their overstocks section. But booooooo for so much pink that I couldn't talk Melinda out of! She almost refused the cheap purple courdoroys just because of their color!!)
And there we are, all caught up again.
Things I didn't mention on Facebook: Melinda came down with a day-long fever back on Tuesday. We had gone over to play with a friend, spent an absolutely lovely day outside, and by the time we drove home, she was complaining of a headache. A older neighbor girl at our friend's house was letting the younger kids go "repelling" from the lower tree branches, and Melinda hit her head at some point. Couldn't have been hard, because she wasn't even upset. But she thought it was from that incident that she was getting a headache. I gave her some medicine around 12:30, and by 3ish, she still wans't feeling better, and I suggested she go and lay down to rest. She was wrapped in a blanket when I checked on her. At 5pm, we were about to head out the door, and she was still acting a little off, and when I felt her, I could tell she had a fever. We stayed home (took off all those shoes I had just gotten on everyone's feet!!), and she went back to lay down again. 10 minutes later, I went to check on her, and she was asleep. Shocker! She woke up around 7pm, burning up and in her typical delerious/frantic fever state. Since her head was still hurting, I gave her more medicine, and we started on bedtime. She was feeling more chipper by the time Jesse got home at 7:30ish, but still a little warm. Her fever was gone by the end of the next day. And then Alex came down with a fever in the early morning hours of Saturday. He woke up around 3am or so to nurse, and he was pretty hot. So we didn't do a whole lot on Saturday. And he still had a fever when he went to bed Saturday night, as well, so we didn't go to church. Jesse took Melinda and Jacob. Saturday night was really terrible, too. I think the fever + teething got to him, and I swear he was awake and screaming more than he was asleep. I'll be happy if we don't repeat that experience tonight. Ugh. He's fever-free now. Hoping Jacob, myself, and Jesse don't get it. Fevers in the heat of summer just aren't cool.
Showing posts with label Memes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memes. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Facebook Friday...late
Changing routine somehow makes me forget what day of the week I'm on. Obviously, I missed Facebook Friday on Friday. Again. So here we are on Saturday, and I'll get you up to speed before I end up with another month-long Facebook Friday post! ;)
Friday, July 3rd
11:06pm
Becky wonders if she should wake up Jesse so he can move from the couch to the bed.
(He had been snoozing on the couch in front of the TV for over an hour!)
Saturday, July 4th
1:24pm
Becky wanted to do so many fun things today, but with our only vehicle having a radiator problem, we're only driving if absolutely necessary until after it goes to the mechanic on Monday. So, no pancake breakfast at the church, no parade at Towson, no driving to the trail to go for a nice long bike ride, and maybe not even fireworks, if we can't see them from our hill.
10:09pm
Becky took a 2 mile (total) hike to the grocery store and back (with Jesse setting the pace... ugh!!), made meatballs/carrots/crusty bread for dinner, and enjoyed spying fireworks from the hill across from our parking lot. We also set off a few fireworks of our own, but one of the fountain ones was VERY noisy and scared Alex half to death, poor guy.
Monday, July 6th
11:26am
Becky got a call from Jesse, who is at the mechanic with our van: The radiator is split. Will cost ~ $500 to replace it. The water pump is also on it's way out, but Jesse knows how to replace those, and will do it during his surplus of free time this week and save some money.
Tuesday, July 7th
11:53am
Becky went for a nice fast-paced walk on the NCR trail with the whole family today. Still, the fresh air wasn't enough to squeeze the cranky attitude out of Jacob. Next up is lunch and grocery shopping.
11:24pm
Becky has too much to do this week. Can I just take a vacation from life? Maybe hide in a hole and read some books instead of dealing with things that need to get done?
Wednesday, July 8th
8:13pm
Becky got lots of stuff to support Alex's tooth health today: Xylitol, glycerin-free gel for brushing with; xylitol "mints" to take multiple times a day; vitamin D supplement; minerals to add to water; Also got news that he's on Dental insurance now, so calling the dentist is on my to-do list.
(He now has an appointment for Tuesday, but they may not be able to do much more than take a peek, since they normally only see children starting at 3 years old. But at least we'll have an idea of what we're dealing with?)
Thursday, July 9th
2:28pm
Becky called the elementary school to get registration papers for Melinda. It seems beyond unreal that she's going to be in school so soon!
8:07pm
Jesse got a call and has at least 2 more weeks of work pretty much guaranteed. Yay? Can't say I haven't enjoyed having him home this week.
10:39pm
Becky got the munchies and sent Jesse out for some fried food, after which we'll dive back into our Gilmore Girls-athon. Aren't we exciting?? ;)
Friday, July 10th
6:35pm
Becky had a lovely day out with the whole family down at the temple. ♥
(Jesse and I took turns going in and doing initiatories while the other took care of the kids. It was such a HOT day outside! So glad to have a wonderful visitor's center to take advantage of. And so glad we went, it had been too long, and it was such an uplifting activity.)
Friday, July 3rd
11:06pm
Becky wonders if she should wake up Jesse so he can move from the couch to the bed.
(He had been snoozing on the couch in front of the TV for over an hour!)
Saturday, July 4th
1:24pm
Becky wanted to do so many fun things today, but with our only vehicle having a radiator problem, we're only driving if absolutely necessary until after it goes to the mechanic on Monday. So, no pancake breakfast at the church, no parade at Towson, no driving to the trail to go for a nice long bike ride, and maybe not even fireworks, if we can't see them from our hill.
10:09pm
Becky took a 2 mile (total) hike to the grocery store and back (with Jesse setting the pace... ugh!!), made meatballs/carrots/crusty bread for dinner, and enjoyed spying fireworks from the hill across from our parking lot. We also set off a few fireworks of our own, but one of the fountain ones was VERY noisy and scared Alex half to death, poor guy.
Monday, July 6th
11:26am
Becky got a call from Jesse, who is at the mechanic with our van: The radiator is split. Will cost ~ $500 to replace it. The water pump is also on it's way out, but Jesse knows how to replace those, and will do it during his surplus of free time this week and save some money.
Tuesday, July 7th
11:53am
Becky went for a nice fast-paced walk on the NCR trail with the whole family today. Still, the fresh air wasn't enough to squeeze the cranky attitude out of Jacob. Next up is lunch and grocery shopping.
11:24pm
Becky has too much to do this week. Can I just take a vacation from life? Maybe hide in a hole and read some books instead of dealing with things that need to get done?
Wednesday, July 8th
8:13pm
Becky got lots of stuff to support Alex's tooth health today: Xylitol, glycerin-free gel for brushing with; xylitol "mints" to take multiple times a day; vitamin D supplement; minerals to add to water; Also got news that he's on Dental insurance now, so calling the dentist is on my to-do list.
(He now has an appointment for Tuesday, but they may not be able to do much more than take a peek, since they normally only see children starting at 3 years old. But at least we'll have an idea of what we're dealing with?)
Thursday, July 9th
2:28pm
Becky called the elementary school to get registration papers for Melinda. It seems beyond unreal that she's going to be in school so soon!
8:07pm
Jesse got a call and has at least 2 more weeks of work pretty much guaranteed. Yay? Can't say I haven't enjoyed having him home this week.
10:39pm
Becky got the munchies and sent Jesse out for some fried food, after which we'll dive back into our Gilmore Girls-athon. Aren't we exciting?? ;)
Friday, July 10th
6:35pm
Becky had a lovely day out with the whole family down at the temple. ♥
(Jesse and I took turns going in and doing initiatories while the other took care of the kids. It was such a HOT day outside! So glad to have a wonderful visitor's center to take advantage of. And so glad we went, it had been too long, and it was such an uplifting activity.)
Friday, July 3, 2009
Facebook Friday
Isn't this exciting? I have about a whole month's worth of Facebook status updates to share with you!!!
Uhh, maybe I should say "YIKES!" instead of exciting???
Saturday, June 6th
12:10am
Yay, it's my birthday!! Now I just have to get to bed so I can be awake for it during the actual daytime... :)
4:17pm
Becky's day is going reasonably well. Too bad I've had to fold laundry , and a certain little girl is choosing to throw fits every 2 seconds, and my free Coldstone ice cream got kicked all over my jeans by the baby. Otherwise, I'm in a good mood, Jesse's doing a lot of chores and cooking for me, and it's SUNNY, thank goodness!
Sunday, June 7th
3:21pm (from my iPod)
Becky appears to have a dead computer. It won't even boot up in safe mode.
>> Jesse, 4:51pm << we got it running....finally booted in safe with CMD and then a restart got it running.
9:26pm
Becky prepared and very much enjoyed a white vegetable lasagna for dinner tonight. And then went bike riding - Melinda is officially graduated to riding with no training wheels!! What a smooth transition she made, she was amazing tonight!
Monday, June 8th
10:44am
Becky is happy for beautiful weather.
>> 1:58pm Well, I might just take my happy comment back, because running errands made me feel like I was going to melt. But inside I feel nice and comfortable.
7:34pm
Becky is glad that if the car decided to overheat, it at least did it at the best time possible. No kids in the car, a nearby exit off the freeway, and a husband at home just a phone call away to explain step-by-step how to locate the radiator cap. Also glad that said awesome husband managed to have no less than THREE giant bottles of coolant sitting in the car, saving me a walk to a gas station.
Tuesday, June 9th
4:41pm
Becky is too hot. Ordering pizza. I'm such a wuss.
6:05pm
Becky loooooooves a good thunderstorm!!
(I even have pictures and a video to share eventually!)
Wednesday, June 10th
11:13am
Jacob's first dentist appointment: Check! Lookin' good! Find Hawaiian clothes at Goodwill for family reunion Luau party: Check! Eat ice cream before lunchtime: Check!!
1:31pm
Becky appears to be putting of getting the house ready for vacation by one more day. Typical me, save it all for the last minute.
3:39pm
Becky is *trying* to pick up the front room before I start dinner, but the computer is so darn distracting!! If only a thunderstorm would roll by and knock out my power, THEN I'd get some cleaning done! Oh, but then I wouldn't have fans or A/C. Hmmm. Maybe I should just exercise more will power.
4:30pm
Clean front room: Check! Trim Alex's hair: Check! (Poor kid needs someone to donate hair cutting lessons to his mommy....)
11:29pm
Becky doesn't know why Alex went to bed 2 hours late tonight. No logical reason, and he was happy as a clam.
Thursday, June 11th
9:26am
On the agenda: Pay bills, clean playroom, sparkle-clean kitchen, finish laundry, start packing, go to swim class, finish packing, and sleep. Bright and early to the airport tomorrow....
9:47am
I am now extremely ticked off. Just went to start a load of laundry, and discovered that all my water is turned off. They're repairing pipes somewhere, and they don't know when it will be back on. HELLOOOOOOO. I have laundry and dishes to do before I leave in the morning!!!!! GRRRRRRAAAAWWRRR
12:46pm
Lunchtime. Switching the car with Jesse and taking all 3 kids and 3 full laundry baskets to the laundromat. Yay. .... Wish I could take back my laundry procrastination yesterday.
4:34pm
Was able to narrowly avoid the laundromat- checked the water once more before heading out the door, and it was back on! Took Jesse back to work anyway, in case they turned the water off and we needed to do the laundromat still. But it's stayed on all afternoon, and the laundry's almost done, along with most of the rest of the chores. Yay!
10:12pm
Becky is definitely not going to get enough sleep tonight. Gotta get up before the sun in the morning to get to the airport, and I haven't even finished packing yet. But I'm sooooo excited for Colorado! ♥
(From the 12th through the 22nd, all statuses are posted while I'm in Colorado, on Mountain time, but the posting time is still in Eastern. So, think 2 hours early for everything. 9am= I really posted at 7am, 10pm=I really posted at 8pm, etc.)
Friday, June 12th
5:04pm (from my iPod)
Becky got three hours of sleep, hopped on a plane, held a wiggly kid for 4 hours, and then crashed on the couch in beautiful Colorado.
Saturday, June 13th
9:02am (from my iPod)
Becky is not a fan of young toddlers transferring their 8am wake time to a 6am Mountain wake time. Especially after yesterday's lack of sleep followed by an 11:30pm mountain bedtime. Zzzzzzzzzzz.
6:51pm
Becky loves watching the kids play with their cousins. Jacob just yelled to one, "Come with me! You're my friend, you're my cousin!!"
Tuesday, June 16th
11:21pm (from my iPod)
Becky notes that her entire family would prefer to stay in Colorado rather than go home in six days, despite the daily T-storms. And today I made my own beaded necklace... That was so cool! I think I have to do it again.
Note about that status: My mother-in-law Nedra, and sister-in-law, Rachel, have a TON of beading supplies and their own (fairly new) Etsy shop here, where they sell their creations. They also sell them in person at craft shows. They invited all of the women (and a couple of the older cousins) to try it out and make their own stuff for the cost of the materials. So I spent $10 total on these two necklaces and one that Melinda picked beads for (hers is entirely random, but she loves it!). The first one I made with my red and white dress in mind, and it works fantastically with it! The second one I made because the first one was so fun/addicting... And I thought it would be pretty to put pinks and purples together with a little pop of green-blue. Turns out that necklace goes with a million different shirts I have! :)
Wednesday, June 17th
4:32pm (from my iPod)
Becky was in lawn-mowing heaven this afternoon. Ahhh... Nothing like the look of clean lines on green grass.
Note: I'll talk about that more in one of my Colorado blog posts.
10:10pm (from my iPod)
Becky is totally wiped out. Lawn work all morning, often with Alex strapped to my back, followed by two hours at the pool. If you hear some snoring, it just might be me all the way from Colorado.
Thursday, June 18th
7:18pm (from my iPod)
Becky supposes that bad days are inevitable even on vacation. Sigh. Here's to a better tomorrow.
Friday, June 19th
10:12pm (from my iPod)
Becky apparently missed out on the most awesome swimming pool ever, today. But when one kid took a nice long nap and the other two ended up falling asleep on the couch, I think we made a good decision by staying home.
Saturday, June 20th
1:24pm (from my iPod)
Becky is getting ready for a picnic, playground time, and canoeing on the lake. Fun!
7:21pm (from my iPod)
Becky keeps trying to remember "Today is a gift". But despite the fun, I'm still completely bummed that I have to go back home tomorrow. Wish I could stay in Colorado forever.
(Back to normal time, now...)
Tuesday, June 23rd
1:10am
Becky is home. Fridge & cupboards are essentially empty, there are 3 loads of laundry (despite doing 2 on vacay), booster seat got mixed up w/ relatives at the last minute, nobody slept on the plane, each kid had a bit of a meltdown at home with getting into bed, and we had to turn on the A/C at midnight because we felt so hot and sticky. I'm going to bed.
1:30pm
Becky is completely unpacked in record time, and has already started 2 loads of laundry. Usually it takes me a couple weeks. ;) Yay me!! Look what sleeping in until 10am can do for a travelin' gal!
3:01pm
Becky enjoyed over an hour of **all three** kids napping.
>>> after various shocked comments:
It's not so impressive when you remember that we got home at almost midnight, and didn't get them into bed until after that (and several meltdowns). Melinda woke up before Jesse got out of bed for work... so, yeah, not enough sleep. They HAD to have naps.
3:28pm
Obviously, the naps for Melinda and Jacob were not enough to make up for a midnight bedtime and a 7am wake time. They are both melting down, and I'm getting frustrated. Where's all the cousin/aunt/uncle/grandma/grandpa distractions when you need them? :(
11:00pm
Becky is hoping tomorrow goes much, much, much better than today did.
Wednesday, June 24th
2:50pm
Becky is doing great with laundry and kitchen upkeep, but keeps putting off the restocking-the-groceries part of getting back from vacation.
Thursday, June 25th
1:57pm
Becky made an impulsive decision and ran out to buy a couple giant popsicles and and ice cream bar when the ice cream truck rolled by, blaring it's music. Hey, I'm hot, and I actually had cash on hand. And now the kids are blissfully occupied while I finish up my grocery list. ;)
11:42pm
Becky is starting to feel that slightly-sore feeling in the back of my mouth up near my nose, like I'm about to come down with something. Sigh. Hope some extra vitamins and such will help, because I don't know if I can tolerate my typical hot tea in this weather.
Friday, June 26th
9:36am
Becky is definitely not feeling good. So far it's all in my head... but even my neck is a bit achey/stiff feeling. Loading up on vitamin C, garlic, and tea with honey... (The tea actually feels very good, even in the hot weather.)
12:20pm
Becky told Jacob, "I love you so much!". Jacob replied, "I love you more much!" And then I said, "I love you most much!" and he agreed that he loved me "most much", too. .... Little boys are awesome. ♥
9:03pm
Jesse came home early from work today with bad news. The purchase deal fell through for his company. There's another company still considering, but in the meantime, after next week, everyone has been told not to come in to work for 2 weeks. And nobody can say whether they'll come back at all or not. They'll figure that out later, I guess. .... ... I knew I should have stayed in Colorado. ;)
Monday, June 29th
12:00pm
Becky thinks today is a beautiful day. And it helps that the floors are vacuumed and the kitchen is clean and the laundry isn't piling up. I've somehow managed to stay mostly organized in the week I've been home from vacation!
3:53pm
Becky just logged 45 minutes on the Wii Fit. After a break of 179 days. :-\
Tuesday, June 30th
1:51pm
Becky pushed 2 kids on a stroller for over an hour at a fast-as-possible pace while Melinda sped ahead on her bike. If only I had my own bike and kid trailer! Or even a double jogging stroller would have helped. Melinda had to stop and wait for me to catch up so often!
10:08pm
Becky just helped Jesse apply for a job out in Louisville, CO that sounded absolutely perfect for his background. Have to keep reminding myself that even if *I* think he's perfect for it, doesn't mean they automatically will. But here's to hoping!
Wednesday, July 1st
11:33am
Alex was playing on the porch, fell over, and whacked/scraped his forehead on the concrete. My poor baby's face is covered in a giant red splotch. It could have been worse, but it sure isn't pretty. :(
2:50pm
Becky did 45 min on the Wii Fit again. Three days in a row of exercising! *pats herself on the back* But when will the soreness stop? Oh, I ache so much from the first session!
Thursday, July 2nd
10:19am
Becky dreamed last night that she was back in band, eager to play clarinet after many years, but of all the large handful of reeds I had, not a single one was unbroken.
3:55pm
Jesse's done with work for this week and the next week, if not more. But for now, we're enjoying his early time off, and he took the older two kids out to ride bikes while Alex and I enjoy some quiet time.
5:16pm
Becky is feeling a bit overwhelmed by mommy guilt.
>>> 7:10pm
The irrational kind set in by everything going badly at once. But it's mostly focused on Alex having some issues with his teeth that really need to get looked at, but we don't even have him on our dental insurance yet. Also, I realized it's not fully mommy guilt. It's also a lot of panic setting in about everything else going downhill in our life right now. Job, car, bills, that sort of thing. Panic came out of nowhere... I was fine with it up till this afternoon...
Friday, July 3rd
10:30am
Becky is hoping Jesse can figure out the current car issue. Radiator emptying completely in a 10 minute drive. Hopefully it's just a broken hose or something....
>>> 11:08am
Looking more like the whole radiator, since water is pretty much pouring off the frame underneath the radiator after being filled. We've decided to take it to a well-respected mechanic on Monday. They think they can fix it for $300-400, and take less than a day doing it. Sounds better than buying a radiator for almost $200 when we can't say for *sure* that this is the problem, and chance wasting both time and money while Jesse's income is on the line.
(Yay for our only car being completely crappy. I really was hoping Jesse's company would be purchased and we'd be shopping for a new van right now. That hope sure was blown out of the water. We're stuck fixing a car we hate, instead.)
12:30pm
Becky does not have a text messaging plan. Each text message sent costs $.20. Each message received also costs $.20. So when the baby grabs your phone and somehow manages to send two blank messages in quick succession to your husband who shares a family plan with you, he just cost you $.80. For nothing.
Uhh, maybe I should say "YIKES!" instead of exciting???
Saturday, June 6th
12:10am
Yay, it's my birthday!! Now I just have to get to bed so I can be awake for it during the actual daytime... :)
4:17pm
Becky's day is going reasonably well. Too bad I've had to fold laundry , and a certain little girl is choosing to throw fits every 2 seconds, and my free Coldstone ice cream got kicked all over my jeans by the baby. Otherwise, I'm in a good mood, Jesse's doing a lot of chores and cooking for me, and it's SUNNY, thank goodness!
Sunday, June 7th
3:21pm (from my iPod)
Becky appears to have a dead computer. It won't even boot up in safe mode.
>> Jesse, 4:51pm << we got it running....finally booted in safe with CMD and then a restart got it running.
9:26pm
Becky prepared and very much enjoyed a white vegetable lasagna for dinner tonight. And then went bike riding - Melinda is officially graduated to riding with no training wheels!! What a smooth transition she made, she was amazing tonight!
Monday, June 8th
10:44am
Becky is happy for beautiful weather.
>> 1:58pm Well, I might just take my happy comment back, because running errands made me feel like I was going to melt. But inside I feel nice and comfortable.
7:34pm
Becky is glad that if the car decided to overheat, it at least did it at the best time possible. No kids in the car, a nearby exit off the freeway, and a husband at home just a phone call away to explain step-by-step how to locate the radiator cap. Also glad that said awesome husband managed to have no less than THREE giant bottles of coolant sitting in the car, saving me a walk to a gas station.
Tuesday, June 9th
4:41pm
Becky is too hot. Ordering pizza. I'm such a wuss.
6:05pm
Becky loooooooves a good thunderstorm!!
(I even have pictures and a video to share eventually!)
Wednesday, June 10th
11:13am
Jacob's first dentist appointment: Check! Lookin' good! Find Hawaiian clothes at Goodwill for family reunion Luau party: Check! Eat ice cream before lunchtime: Check!!
1:31pm
Becky appears to be putting of getting the house ready for vacation by one more day. Typical me, save it all for the last minute.
3:39pm
Becky is *trying* to pick up the front room before I start dinner, but the computer is so darn distracting!! If only a thunderstorm would roll by and knock out my power, THEN I'd get some cleaning done! Oh, but then I wouldn't have fans or A/C. Hmmm. Maybe I should just exercise more will power.
4:30pm
Clean front room: Check! Trim Alex's hair: Check! (Poor kid needs someone to donate hair cutting lessons to his mommy....)
11:29pm
Becky doesn't know why Alex went to bed 2 hours late tonight. No logical reason, and he was happy as a clam.
Thursday, June 11th
9:26am
On the agenda: Pay bills, clean playroom, sparkle-clean kitchen, finish laundry, start packing, go to swim class, finish packing, and sleep. Bright and early to the airport tomorrow....
9:47am
I am now extremely ticked off. Just went to start a load of laundry, and discovered that all my water is turned off. They're repairing pipes somewhere, and they don't know when it will be back on. HELLOOOOOOO. I have laundry and dishes to do before I leave in the morning!!!!! GRRRRRRAAAAWWRRR
12:46pm
Lunchtime. Switching the car with Jesse and taking all 3 kids and 3 full laundry baskets to the laundromat. Yay. .... Wish I could take back my laundry procrastination yesterday.
4:34pm
Was able to narrowly avoid the laundromat- checked the water once more before heading out the door, and it was back on! Took Jesse back to work anyway, in case they turned the water off and we needed to do the laundromat still. But it's stayed on all afternoon, and the laundry's almost done, along with most of the rest of the chores. Yay!
10:12pm
Becky is definitely not going to get enough sleep tonight. Gotta get up before the sun in the morning to get to the airport, and I haven't even finished packing yet. But I'm sooooo excited for Colorado! ♥
(From the 12th through the 22nd, all statuses are posted while I'm in Colorado, on Mountain time, but the posting time is still in Eastern. So, think 2 hours early for everything. 9am= I really posted at 7am, 10pm=I really posted at 8pm, etc.)
Friday, June 12th
5:04pm (from my iPod)
Becky got three hours of sleep, hopped on a plane, held a wiggly kid for 4 hours, and then crashed on the couch in beautiful Colorado.
Saturday, June 13th
9:02am (from my iPod)
Becky is not a fan of young toddlers transferring their 8am wake time to a 6am Mountain wake time. Especially after yesterday's lack of sleep followed by an 11:30pm mountain bedtime. Zzzzzzzzzzz.
6:51pm
Becky loves watching the kids play with their cousins. Jacob just yelled to one, "Come with me! You're my friend, you're my cousin!!"
Tuesday, June 16th
11:21pm (from my iPod)
Becky notes that her entire family would prefer to stay in Colorado rather than go home in six days, despite the daily T-storms. And today I made my own beaded necklace... That was so cool! I think I have to do it again.
Note about that status: My mother-in-law Nedra, and sister-in-law, Rachel, have a TON of beading supplies and their own (fairly new) Etsy shop here, where they sell their creations. They also sell them in person at craft shows. They invited all of the women (and a couple of the older cousins) to try it out and make their own stuff for the cost of the materials. So I spent $10 total on these two necklaces and one that Melinda picked beads for (hers is entirely random, but she loves it!). The first one I made with my red and white dress in mind, and it works fantastically with it! The second one I made because the first one was so fun/addicting... And I thought it would be pretty to put pinks and purples together with a little pop of green-blue. Turns out that necklace goes with a million different shirts I have! :)
Wednesday, June 17th
4:32pm (from my iPod)
Becky was in lawn-mowing heaven this afternoon. Ahhh... Nothing like the look of clean lines on green grass.
Note: I'll talk about that more in one of my Colorado blog posts.
10:10pm (from my iPod)
Becky is totally wiped out. Lawn work all morning, often with Alex strapped to my back, followed by two hours at the pool. If you hear some snoring, it just might be me all the way from Colorado.
Thursday, June 18th
7:18pm (from my iPod)
Becky supposes that bad days are inevitable even on vacation. Sigh. Here's to a better tomorrow.
Friday, June 19th
10:12pm (from my iPod)
Becky apparently missed out on the most awesome swimming pool ever, today. But when one kid took a nice long nap and the other two ended up falling asleep on the couch, I think we made a good decision by staying home.
Saturday, June 20th
1:24pm (from my iPod)
Becky is getting ready for a picnic, playground time, and canoeing on the lake. Fun!
7:21pm (from my iPod)
Becky keeps trying to remember "Today is a gift". But despite the fun, I'm still completely bummed that I have to go back home tomorrow. Wish I could stay in Colorado forever.
(Back to normal time, now...)
Tuesday, June 23rd
1:10am
Becky is home. Fridge & cupboards are essentially empty, there are 3 loads of laundry (despite doing 2 on vacay), booster seat got mixed up w/ relatives at the last minute, nobody slept on the plane, each kid had a bit of a meltdown at home with getting into bed, and we had to turn on the A/C at midnight because we felt so hot and sticky. I'm going to bed.
1:30pm
Becky is completely unpacked in record time, and has already started 2 loads of laundry. Usually it takes me a couple weeks. ;) Yay me!! Look what sleeping in until 10am can do for a travelin' gal!
3:01pm
Becky enjoyed over an hour of **all three** kids napping.
>>> after various shocked comments:
It's not so impressive when you remember that we got home at almost midnight, and didn't get them into bed until after that (and several meltdowns). Melinda woke up before Jesse got out of bed for work... so, yeah, not enough sleep. They HAD to have naps.
3:28pm
Obviously, the naps for Melinda and Jacob were not enough to make up for a midnight bedtime and a 7am wake time. They are both melting down, and I'm getting frustrated. Where's all the cousin/aunt/uncle/grandma/grandpa distractions when you need them? :(
11:00pm
Becky is hoping tomorrow goes much, much, much better than today did.
Wednesday, June 24th
2:50pm
Becky is doing great with laundry and kitchen upkeep, but keeps putting off the restocking-the-groceries part of getting back from vacation.
Thursday, June 25th
1:57pm
Becky made an impulsive decision and ran out to buy a couple giant popsicles and and ice cream bar when the ice cream truck rolled by, blaring it's music. Hey, I'm hot, and I actually had cash on hand. And now the kids are blissfully occupied while I finish up my grocery list. ;)
11:42pm
Becky is starting to feel that slightly-sore feeling in the back of my mouth up near my nose, like I'm about to come down with something. Sigh. Hope some extra vitamins and such will help, because I don't know if I can tolerate my typical hot tea in this weather.
Friday, June 26th
9:36am
Becky is definitely not feeling good. So far it's all in my head... but even my neck is a bit achey/stiff feeling. Loading up on vitamin C, garlic, and tea with honey... (The tea actually feels very good, even in the hot weather.)
12:20pm
Becky told Jacob, "I love you so much!". Jacob replied, "I love you more much!" And then I said, "I love you most much!" and he agreed that he loved me "most much", too. .... Little boys are awesome. ♥
9:03pm
Jesse came home early from work today with bad news. The purchase deal fell through for his company. There's another company still considering, but in the meantime, after next week, everyone has been told not to come in to work for 2 weeks. And nobody can say whether they'll come back at all or not. They'll figure that out later, I guess. .... ... I knew I should have stayed in Colorado. ;)
Monday, June 29th
12:00pm
Becky thinks today is a beautiful day. And it helps that the floors are vacuumed and the kitchen is clean and the laundry isn't piling up. I've somehow managed to stay mostly organized in the week I've been home from vacation!
3:53pm
Becky just logged 45 minutes on the Wii Fit. After a break of 179 days. :-\
Tuesday, June 30th
1:51pm
Becky pushed 2 kids on a stroller for over an hour at a fast-as-possible pace while Melinda sped ahead on her bike. If only I had my own bike and kid trailer! Or even a double jogging stroller would have helped. Melinda had to stop and wait for me to catch up so often!
10:08pm
Becky just helped Jesse apply for a job out in Louisville, CO that sounded absolutely perfect for his background. Have to keep reminding myself that even if *I* think he's perfect for it, doesn't mean they automatically will. But here's to hoping!
Wednesday, July 1st
11:33am
Alex was playing on the porch, fell over, and whacked/scraped his forehead on the concrete. My poor baby's face is covered in a giant red splotch. It could have been worse, but it sure isn't pretty. :(
2:50pm
Becky did 45 min on the Wii Fit again. Three days in a row of exercising! *pats herself on the back* But when will the soreness stop? Oh, I ache so much from the first session!
Thursday, July 2nd
10:19am
Becky dreamed last night that she was back in band, eager to play clarinet after many years, but of all the large handful of reeds I had, not a single one was unbroken.
3:55pm
Jesse's done with work for this week and the next week, if not more. But for now, we're enjoying his early time off, and he took the older two kids out to ride bikes while Alex and I enjoy some quiet time.
5:16pm
Becky is feeling a bit overwhelmed by mommy guilt.
>>> 7:10pm
The irrational kind set in by everything going badly at once. But it's mostly focused on Alex having some issues with his teeth that really need to get looked at, but we don't even have him on our dental insurance yet. Also, I realized it's not fully mommy guilt. It's also a lot of panic setting in about everything else going downhill in our life right now. Job, car, bills, that sort of thing. Panic came out of nowhere... I was fine with it up till this afternoon...
Friday, July 3rd
10:30am
Becky is hoping Jesse can figure out the current car issue. Radiator emptying completely in a 10 minute drive. Hopefully it's just a broken hose or something....
>>> 11:08am
Looking more like the whole radiator, since water is pretty much pouring off the frame underneath the radiator after being filled. We've decided to take it to a well-respected mechanic on Monday. They think they can fix it for $300-400, and take less than a day doing it. Sounds better than buying a radiator for almost $200 when we can't say for *sure* that this is the problem, and chance wasting both time and money while Jesse's income is on the line.
(Yay for our only car being completely crappy. I really was hoping Jesse's company would be purchased and we'd be shopping for a new van right now. That hope sure was blown out of the water. We're stuck fixing a car we hate, instead.)
12:30pm
Becky does not have a text messaging plan. Each text message sent costs $.20. Each message received also costs $.20. So when the baby grabs your phone and somehow manages to send two blank messages in quick succession to your husband who shares a family plan with you, he just cost you $.80. For nothing.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Facebook Friday... on Sunday
Things got a little crazy at the end of the week, and 1) I forgot it was Friday (for Facebook Friday!) until it was about midnight and I was already heading to bed, and 2) I was busy preparing for my lesson in Relief Society today... so I was keeping "extra" activities to a minimum this past week. Blogging included.
The GOOD news is that now that my mind isn't 100% focused that direction, I will be able to find time to catch up on my blogging, finally. Well, that and finally getting around to sewing those baby blankets for my two sisters who are both expecting new baby girls to join their families ANY DAY NOW!!! (Sorry gals, there's no way you'll have them before your babies are born, I think...)
So anyway, here's a run-down of my week through Friday as seen through the eyes of Facebook status updates. Enjoy!
Uhhhh... wait a second... did I manage to forget TWO Facebook Fridays?!? Man, my brain has been slipping. My most recent Facebook Friday ended up on May 1st. That was SO two weeks ago!!! I guess I have even more updates to share than I thought!!
Saturday, May 2nd
2:25pm
Becky's kids graduated from levels 1 and 2 swim classes this morning, and they'll be starting levels 2 and 3 next week! Alex and I will be joining in for a Mommy & Me class this time around. Hopefully by the time summer is in full swing, everyone will be nice and comfortable in the pool!!
6:35pm
Becky attended the Towsontown Spring Festival. Tried my first (!!) funnel cake. Verdict is: LOVE IT. Must find a recipe to make them at home!! Also, kids LOVED the pony rides. Jacob's grin was just to die for. Melinda, true to herself, mostly just wanted them to go faster.
Monday, May 4th
11:22am
Becky is making the menu for the week and getting the list ready for grocery shopping.
4:15pm
Becky got groceries. And got alllllll wet, too. Thanks, rain. Feel free to let up any time now, k? We're ready for some sunshine around here!
11:56pm
Becky wasted way too much time laughing my head off with Jesse, watching videos like this one on YouTube. (But laughter is good for you, right? So it can't be a *complete* waste...)
"Cars on Ice" video compilation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxWefWbvTrE
Tuesday, May 5th
10:12am
Becky is not especially thrilled that Alex is climbing EVERYTHING these days. He's getting into everything, all the time!!
11:06pm
Becky wonders if her 5yo daughter is the only one out there who absolutely freaks out and gets hysterical (not in a good way) when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Well, half-wakes up. Her body is up, but her brain sure isn't. Thinking I'll be banning pre-bed drinks from now on.
Wednesday, May 6th
12:00pm
Becky just made funnel cakes. Awesome!!!
http://www.kiddio.org/2009/05/easy-peasy-funnel-cakes.html
2:36pm
Becky got productive for once, and cleaned the kitchen, front room and playroom all in one fell swoop. Melinda even pitched in, yay! Room to move now... feels much better!
3:34pm
Becky briefly wondered if "Missing USB Cable" disease was contagious, but then found the cord as soon as she thought about posting it on Facebook.
4:16pm
We like our babies rear-facing as long as possible, it's the safest way! Also check out the blog post here, which has videos comparing rear-/front-facing crash safety tests.
AAP recommends rear-facing car seats until age 2:
http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/30/4/12-a
Thursday, May 7th
9:21am
Becky is totally zonked. Alex decided 5:00-6:45am was witching hour. And, of course, I went to bed late. And then landscaping came promptly at 8:30am and woke him back up.
9:10pm
Becky had a lot of fun at swim class with Alex tonight. He took right to it, got dunked under and everything! Melinda is doing *awesome* in level 3, working on gliding underwater and propelling herself. Jacob goofed off and wouldn't listen to his teacher... but he seemed a little braver, at least!
Friday, May 8th
12:47pm
Alex (mostly) sleeps in a pack 'n play in the master bedroom, next to our bed. Yesterday he figured out how to climb out. At 13 months old. Now I can't even contain him and try to snooze a little longer when he decides to wake up at 6:30am. *sob*
3:59pm
Becky has to admit that she both *loves* the Sync flavor of Vitamin Water, and the bonus of getting free music. Spend $1.00 for the Vitamin Water, get $1.49 to spend at the Amazon Music store? Heck yes!!
Saturday, May 9th
12:30am (that's just after midnight "Friday night"...)
Becky is resisting bed for no good reason. Which is really dumb when I was up early, had a long day, and expect to be woken up early again in the morning. Quiet nights are too alluring.
11:08am
Becky and Jesse are having friends over for a Guitar Hero/Mario Kart party. And the kids from both families can entertain each other. Yay for fun!
6:35pm
Jesse spilled a whole jar of pickle juice all over the rug under the dinner table. Happy to let him clean it up himself. In the meantime, we'll see if baking soda will get the smell out if it sits overnight...
[Note: It did! Just have to take the time to steam out the small amount of remaining crusted baking soda that wouldn't come off the rug with just vacuum.]
Sunday, May 10th
1:05pm
Becky is off to take a Mother's Day nap. Mmmmm.
Monday, May 11th
10:18am
Becky feels like shopping but has no car today. :(
4:08pm[after grabbing the car from Jesse when he came home for lunch, and driving him back to work, then making a fairly un-needed trip to Target...]
Becky might have to break down and admit an addiction to Lindt's Lindor dark chocolate truffles soon.
9:06pm
Becky and the family went out to the buffet for dinner tonight. I got a kick out of the items Alex demanded (yes, demanded!!) most: #1- kidney beans; #2- steamed carrots; #3- broccoli & cheese soup. A whole big ol' plate of choices, and he'd get mad if he ran out of beans!!
Tuesday, May 12th
10:25am
Becky cooked a hot breakfast two days in a row. Go me!
1:16pm
Becky wishes she had some nearby walking options that didn't include busy roads or apartment complex parking lots.
[It was a *beautiful* day, and I wanted to get out, but I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy about our walkable options. But I sucked it up and we went across the street to a nice little playground, anyway, and had a lovely time.]
3:16pm
Bliss is: Sun on your face, wind through your hair, momentary weightlessness, watching the world bob gently up and down-- Swinging on a swingset. It's not only for the kids!
Wednesday, May 13th
9:53am
Becky would rather be doing *anything* besides grocery list-making and shopping on a gorgeous day like today.
[Yup, it was another nice day. And I still hate grocery shopping.]
1:03pm
Becky is now going to interrupt the children happily playing "Metroid" (ahh, how video games have pervaded our lives!) in order to do the dreaded shopping trip. Seems cruel to everyone involved.
[Sidenote: You should see the little Metroid-styled "guns" Jesse made out of used water bottles - so cool!]
Thursday, May 14th
11:05am
Becky has Jesse home from work today. They've moved everyone to 4-day work weeks, trying to stretch out the inevitable, I guess.... If someone purchases his company, then everything will be fine. In the mean time, we'll try to enjoy his extra day off per week!!
[And this is the root of my couldn't-remember-it-was-Friday problem, this week... Thursday totally felt like a Saturday!! I almost forgot about taking Melinda to preschool the next morning, too!]
4:28pm
Whether or not BPA has been proven dangerous, people should at very least be informed about how easily it is absorbed and retained in the human body. This new study illustrates exactly that. (And, as always, better safe than sorry, IMO! Especially with young kids, whose bodies are so much smaller and still developing!)
http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2009/05/14/new-study-shows-69-increase-in-bpa-levels-with-polycarbonate-bottle-use/
11:27pm
Becky is making good progress in preparing for Sunday's lesson... and even the sheer terror is starting to wear off. Not to say it might not make an ugly return at the last minute. But at least I'll have a presentable lesson!
Friday, May 15th
9:02am
Becky just might die from exposure to humidity. Currently 92%. And now not even the fog is sticking around to make it interesting.
2:56pm
Becky is sleeeeeeeepy.
4:57pm
Becky just waved goodbye to Jesse and Jacob, who are on their way out for a one-night Father/Son camp-out. Jacob's first ever, and he's so excited!
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10:51pm
Becky got a call from Jesse about 10 minutes ago, from within the tent at the camp-out. He's got a blinding headache and Jacob's pretty much bouncing off the tent walls (overstimulated?). He's up way too late. Poor Jesse. I talked him out of coming home, but I should have thought to send him with some ibuprofen just in case, on a hot/humid day like this. Once he gets working/sweating, he gets headaches easily. :(
Saturday, May 16th
12:23am [notice the midnight hour again...]
Becky is wondering how to turn 30 minutes of quotes and discussion questions into something more along the lines of only 10-15 minutes in order to allow time for actual discussion. I can't cut this stuff out, people!! I'm going to panic about this, especially since it's after midnight and I need to sleep instead of figuring it out right now. Ugh.
[That's what I get for timing the read-through for the first time right at midnight. Ugh.]
That's it for updates. Obviously I didn't update at all on Saturday... I was too busy going over my lesson a million times, trimming it everywhere possible, refining it, making notes.... It did go really well today, and I'm so happy and relieved. I never blogged about it, though I probably will, at some point - but this new calling in church had me (and in a way, still does have me) completely intimidated and scared out of my mind, even though I'm only supposed to teach once a month. I just don't picture myself as a good teacher, especially to a room full of women where I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest one in attendance. BUT, I'm happy to say that the Lord truly does qualify those who He calls. I couldn't have done it without His help, and the presence of the Spirit. A good Teacher Development teacher at our Sunday School class, and a good resource on the internet sure didn't hurt, either! :)
The GOOD news is that now that my mind isn't 100% focused that direction, I will be able to find time to catch up on my blogging, finally. Well, that and finally getting around to sewing those baby blankets for my two sisters who are both expecting new baby girls to join their families ANY DAY NOW!!! (Sorry gals, there's no way you'll have them before your babies are born, I think...)
So anyway, here's a run-down of my week through Friday as seen through the eyes of Facebook status updates. Enjoy!
Uhhhh... wait a second... did I manage to forget TWO Facebook Fridays?!? Man, my brain has been slipping. My most recent Facebook Friday ended up on May 1st. That was SO two weeks ago!!! I guess I have even more updates to share than I thought!!
Saturday, May 2nd
2:25pm
Becky's kids graduated from levels 1 and 2 swim classes this morning, and they'll be starting levels 2 and 3 next week! Alex and I will be joining in for a Mommy & Me class this time around. Hopefully by the time summer is in full swing, everyone will be nice and comfortable in the pool!!
6:35pm
Becky attended the Towsontown Spring Festival. Tried my first (!!) funnel cake. Verdict is: LOVE IT. Must find a recipe to make them at home!! Also, kids LOVED the pony rides. Jacob's grin was just to die for. Melinda, true to herself, mostly just wanted them to go faster.
Monday, May 4th
11:22am
Becky is making the menu for the week and getting the list ready for grocery shopping.
4:15pm
Becky got groceries. And got alllllll wet, too. Thanks, rain. Feel free to let up any time now, k? We're ready for some sunshine around here!
11:56pm
Becky wasted way too much time laughing my head off with Jesse, watching videos like this one on YouTube. (But laughter is good for you, right? So it can't be a *complete* waste...)
"Cars on Ice" video compilation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxWefWbvTrE
Tuesday, May 5th
10:12am
Becky is not especially thrilled that Alex is climbing EVERYTHING these days. He's getting into everything, all the time!!
11:06pm
Becky wonders if her 5yo daughter is the only one out there who absolutely freaks out and gets hysterical (not in a good way) when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Well, half-wakes up. Her body is up, but her brain sure isn't. Thinking I'll be banning pre-bed drinks from now on.
Wednesday, May 6th12:00pm
Becky just made funnel cakes. Awesome!!!
http://www.kiddio.org/2009/05/easy-peasy-funnel-cakes.html
2:36pm
Becky got productive for once, and cleaned the kitchen, front room and playroom all in one fell swoop. Melinda even pitched in, yay! Room to move now... feels much better!
3:34pm
Becky briefly wondered if "Missing USB Cable" disease was contagious, but then found the cord as soon as she thought about posting it on Facebook.
4:16pm
We like our babies rear-facing as long as possible, it's the safest way! Also check out the blog post here, which has videos comparing rear-/front-facing crash safety tests.
AAP recommends rear-facing car seats until age 2:
http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/30/4/12-a
Thursday, May 7th
9:21am
Becky is totally zonked. Alex decided 5:00-6:45am was witching hour. And, of course, I went to bed late. And then landscaping came promptly at 8:30am and woke him back up.
9:10pm
Becky had a lot of fun at swim class with Alex tonight. He took right to it, got dunked under and everything! Melinda is doing *awesome* in level 3, working on gliding underwater and propelling herself. Jacob goofed off and wouldn't listen to his teacher... but he seemed a little braver, at least!
Friday, May 8th
12:47pm
Alex (mostly) sleeps in a pack 'n play in the master bedroom, next to our bed. Yesterday he figured out how to climb out. At 13 months old. Now I can't even contain him and try to snooze a little longer when he decides to wake up at 6:30am. *sob*
3:59pm
Becky has to admit that she both *loves* the Sync flavor of Vitamin Water, and the bonus of getting free music. Spend $1.00 for the Vitamin Water, get $1.49 to spend at the Amazon Music store? Heck yes!!
Saturday, May 9th
12:30am (that's just after midnight "Friday night"...)
Becky is resisting bed for no good reason. Which is really dumb when I was up early, had a long day, and expect to be woken up early again in the morning. Quiet nights are too alluring.
11:08am
Becky and Jesse are having friends over for a Guitar Hero/Mario Kart party. And the kids from both families can entertain each other. Yay for fun!
6:35pm
Jesse spilled a whole jar of pickle juice all over the rug under the dinner table. Happy to let him clean it up himself. In the meantime, we'll see if baking soda will get the smell out if it sits overnight...
[Note: It did! Just have to take the time to steam out the small amount of remaining crusted baking soda that wouldn't come off the rug with just vacuum.]
Sunday, May 10th
1:05pm
Becky is off to take a Mother's Day nap. Mmmmm.
Monday, May 11th
10:18am
Becky feels like shopping but has no car today. :(
4:08pm[after grabbing the car from Jesse when he came home for lunch, and driving him back to work, then making a fairly un-needed trip to Target...]
Becky might have to break down and admit an addiction to Lindt's Lindor dark chocolate truffles soon.
9:06pm
Becky and the family went out to the buffet for dinner tonight. I got a kick out of the items Alex demanded (yes, demanded!!) most: #1- kidney beans; #2- steamed carrots; #3- broccoli & cheese soup. A whole big ol' plate of choices, and he'd get mad if he ran out of beans!!
Tuesday, May 12th
10:25am
Becky cooked a hot breakfast two days in a row. Go me!
1:16pm
Becky wishes she had some nearby walking options that didn't include busy roads or apartment complex parking lots.
[It was a *beautiful* day, and I wanted to get out, but I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy about our walkable options. But I sucked it up and we went across the street to a nice little playground, anyway, and had a lovely time.]
3:16pm
Bliss is: Sun on your face, wind through your hair, momentary weightlessness, watching the world bob gently up and down-- Swinging on a swingset. It's not only for the kids!
Wednesday, May 13th
9:53am
Becky would rather be doing *anything* besides grocery list-making and shopping on a gorgeous day like today.
[Yup, it was another nice day. And I still hate grocery shopping.]
1:03pm
Becky is now going to interrupt the children happily playing "Metroid" (ahh, how video games have pervaded our lives!) in order to do the dreaded shopping trip. Seems cruel to everyone involved.
[Sidenote: You should see the little Metroid-styled "guns" Jesse made out of used water bottles - so cool!]
Thursday, May 14th
11:05am
Becky has Jesse home from work today. They've moved everyone to 4-day work weeks, trying to stretch out the inevitable, I guess.... If someone purchases his company, then everything will be fine. In the mean time, we'll try to enjoy his extra day off per week!!
[And this is the root of my couldn't-remember-it-was-Friday problem, this week... Thursday totally felt like a Saturday!! I almost forgot about taking Melinda to preschool the next morning, too!]
4:28pm
Whether or not BPA has been proven dangerous, people should at very least be informed about how easily it is absorbed and retained in the human body. This new study illustrates exactly that. (And, as always, better safe than sorry, IMO! Especially with young kids, whose bodies are so much smaller and still developing!)
http://thesoftlandingbaby.com/2009/05/14/new-study-shows-69-increase-in-bpa-levels-with-polycarbonate-bottle-use/
11:27pm
Becky is making good progress in preparing for Sunday's lesson... and even the sheer terror is starting to wear off. Not to say it might not make an ugly return at the last minute. But at least I'll have a presentable lesson!
Friday, May 15th
9:02am
Becky just might die from exposure to humidity. Currently 92%. And now not even the fog is sticking around to make it interesting.
2:56pm
Becky is sleeeeeeeepy.
4:57pm
Becky just waved goodbye to Jesse and Jacob, who are on their way out for a one-night Father/Son camp-out. Jacob's first ever, and he's so excited!
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10:51pm
Becky got a call from Jesse about 10 minutes ago, from within the tent at the camp-out. He's got a blinding headache and Jacob's pretty much bouncing off the tent walls (overstimulated?). He's up way too late. Poor Jesse. I talked him out of coming home, but I should have thought to send him with some ibuprofen just in case, on a hot/humid day like this. Once he gets working/sweating, he gets headaches easily. :(
Saturday, May 16th
12:23am [notice the midnight hour again...]
Becky is wondering how to turn 30 minutes of quotes and discussion questions into something more along the lines of only 10-15 minutes in order to allow time for actual discussion. I can't cut this stuff out, people!! I'm going to panic about this, especially since it's after midnight and I need to sleep instead of figuring it out right now. Ugh.
[That's what I get for timing the read-through for the first time right at midnight. Ugh.]
That's it for updates. Obviously I didn't update at all on Saturday... I was too busy going over my lesson a million times, trimming it everywhere possible, refining it, making notes.... It did go really well today, and I'm so happy and relieved. I never blogged about it, though I probably will, at some point - but this new calling in church had me (and in a way, still does have me) completely intimidated and scared out of my mind, even though I'm only supposed to teach once a month. I just don't picture myself as a good teacher, especially to a room full of women where I'm pretty sure I'm the youngest one in attendance. BUT, I'm happy to say that the Lord truly does qualify those who He calls. I couldn't have done it without His help, and the presence of the Spirit. A good Teacher Development teacher at our Sunday School class, and a good resource on the internet sure didn't hurt, either! :)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Facebook Friday
I feel incredibly guilty about not having any real blog posts in a number of weeks now. Every time I sit down and think, "I'm going to blog today!", I remember how all my photos and videos are still sitting on my camera. And then how I'd have to upload them to the internet. And then link them and organize them on a post. And then type my typical book to go along with all of them. And I just .... ugh. I'm not up to it yet. I HOPE I will get around to blogging *something*, at least, very soon. But for now, you'll have to settle for this week's edition of Facebook Friday.
Saturday, April 25
9:38am
Becky was woken up much too early for a Saturday morning. By *Alex*, of all people- the one who usually sleeps latest, and the one who needs supervision. Whatever happened to sleeping in??
11:12am
Becky is taking the kids to swim class again. Alex is napping, and Jesse's staying home with him. Avoiding the situation of an over-tired screaming baby at all costs, today.
8:32pm
Becky is cracking up - Just overheard Jesse singing "More Than a Woman" to the kids for bedtime. What a goof!
Sunday, April 26
1:47pm
Becky is wearing shorts for the first time this year, and avoiding turning the A/C on. It's so hot outside- 89 degrees!!
Monday, April 27
11:04am
Becky is shaking like a leaf, but conquered one of her most major fears: A wasp in the house. 1st try resulted in me cowering on the floor, crying in anticipated fear. 2nd try, wasp got out of bucket/paper lid trap, and I ran out of the room screaming/slammed the door behind me. 3rd attempt, got the water sprayer out, and saturated the dang thing until it could hardly even crawl. Smashed it. Success!! But shaking still!!
4:40pm
Becky is melting. Turned on the A/C earlier to get it back down to 79 inside... Resisting temptation to turn it on again at the current temp of 82 is not going to last long, once I turn the oven on for dinner.
Tuesday, April 28
8:55am
Becky totally called the "twist" in last night's episode of Castle, a good 15-20 minutes before it even crossed the characters' minds. Yay me! I'm getting good at this crime show thing!
4:00pm
Becky can't find her swimsuit anywhere. But in my efforts to check every nook and cranny of my bedroom, it's now the cleanest and most organized it's been since we moved in 8 months ago.
6:39pm
Becky knew that the Baltimore area was plagued with water main breaks, but this one tops them all!! Busy downtown streets turned to rivers, tons of businesses closed. Insane.
http://www.wbaltv.com/video/19312007/index.html
9:05pm
Becky is voting for Adam Lambert. He amazes me *every* week!
11:03pm
Becky is soooooo thankful for the lovely mild breeze blowing in through the windows right now. Feels absolutely heavenly.
Wednesday, April 29
10:17am
Becky is thinking it's probably time to re-think my aversion to breakfast foods.
http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/2009/01/what-is-cereal-good-for.html
3:30pm
Becky's wedding anniversary is today! Thinking about what a pleasant 9 years it's been, even if we're not where we thought/hoped we'd be by now. ♥
6:56pm
Becky thinks Jacob is pretty cute when he gets super enthusiastic about eating "wacky tails", which is the name he came up with for asparagus all on his own. And then repeats "I like wacky tails!" about 20 or 30 times throughout dinner as he snarfs down as many as possible. ♥
10:16pm
Becky stood in line for 45 minutes for 31 cent/scoop ice cream at Baskin Robbins, but it was SO WORTH IT.
Thursday, April 30
12:47pm
Becky helped a friend pack for her move to Texas this morning. Now back home and scrounging up lunch for the kids and working on naptime for Alex.
8:53pm
Posting from an ipod at the mall. so cool!
12:00am
Becky had such a great time going out on a date with her husband. It's been too long, but it was a lot of fun. We got the entire outdoor patio at Cheesecake Factory to ourselves - everyone else was apparently more willing to deal with a long line than a chance of rain (which never happened). Good food, fun conversation, and window shopping afterward. ♥
Friday, May 1
9:30am
Becky wishes all her children slept in until 9am like Jacob does. Takes after his mommy- so not a morning person.
1:41pm
Becky thinks Maryland is absolutely gorgeous in springtime. So many various blossoms, and so abundant...
10:27pm
Becky had a long but fun evening, one-on-one with Jacob at the Mother-Son Fiesta. He enjoyed himself. Right up till the end when a bigger kid broke the pinata before he ever got a chance to whack it. Oh, how we waited for his turn eagerly, only for that disappointment. He was, however, happy about the candy he was able to gather.
Saturday, April 25
9:38am
Becky was woken up much too early for a Saturday morning. By *Alex*, of all people- the one who usually sleeps latest, and the one who needs supervision. Whatever happened to sleeping in??
11:12am
Becky is taking the kids to swim class again. Alex is napping, and Jesse's staying home with him. Avoiding the situation of an over-tired screaming baby at all costs, today.
8:32pm
Becky is cracking up - Just overheard Jesse singing "More Than a Woman" to the kids for bedtime. What a goof!
Sunday, April 26
1:47pm
Becky is wearing shorts for the first time this year, and avoiding turning the A/C on. It's so hot outside- 89 degrees!!
Monday, April 27
11:04am
Becky is shaking like a leaf, but conquered one of her most major fears: A wasp in the house. 1st try resulted in me cowering on the floor, crying in anticipated fear. 2nd try, wasp got out of bucket/paper lid trap, and I ran out of the room screaming/slammed the door behind me. 3rd attempt, got the water sprayer out, and saturated the dang thing until it could hardly even crawl. Smashed it. Success!! But shaking still!!
4:40pm
Becky is melting. Turned on the A/C earlier to get it back down to 79 inside... Resisting temptation to turn it on again at the current temp of 82 is not going to last long, once I turn the oven on for dinner.
Tuesday, April 28
8:55am
Becky totally called the "twist" in last night's episode of Castle, a good 15-20 minutes before it even crossed the characters' minds. Yay me! I'm getting good at this crime show thing!
4:00pm
Becky can't find her swimsuit anywhere. But in my efforts to check every nook and cranny of my bedroom, it's now the cleanest and most organized it's been since we moved in 8 months ago.
6:39pm
Becky knew that the Baltimore area was plagued with water main breaks, but this one tops them all!! Busy downtown streets turned to rivers, tons of businesses closed. Insane.
http://www.wbaltv.com/video/19312007/index.html
9:05pm
Becky is voting for Adam Lambert. He amazes me *every* week!
11:03pm
Becky is soooooo thankful for the lovely mild breeze blowing in through the windows right now. Feels absolutely heavenly.
Wednesday, April 29
10:17am
Becky is thinking it's probably time to re-think my aversion to breakfast foods.
http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/2009/01/what-is-cereal-good-for.html
3:30pm
Becky's wedding anniversary is today! Thinking about what a pleasant 9 years it's been, even if we're not where we thought/hoped we'd be by now. ♥
6:56pm
Becky thinks Jacob is pretty cute when he gets super enthusiastic about eating "wacky tails", which is the name he came up with for asparagus all on his own. And then repeats "I like wacky tails!" about 20 or 30 times throughout dinner as he snarfs down as many as possible. ♥
10:16pm
Becky stood in line for 45 minutes for 31 cent/scoop ice cream at Baskin Robbins, but it was SO WORTH IT.
Thursday, April 30
12:47pm
Becky helped a friend pack for her move to Texas this morning. Now back home and scrounging up lunch for the kids and working on naptime for Alex.
8:53pm
Posting from an ipod at the mall. so cool!
12:00am
Becky had such a great time going out on a date with her husband. It's been too long, but it was a lot of fun. We got the entire outdoor patio at Cheesecake Factory to ourselves - everyone else was apparently more willing to deal with a long line than a chance of rain (which never happened). Good food, fun conversation, and window shopping afterward. ♥
Friday, May 1
9:30am
Becky wishes all her children slept in until 9am like Jacob does. Takes after his mommy- so not a morning person.
1:41pm
Becky thinks Maryland is absolutely gorgeous in springtime. So many various blossoms, and so abundant...
10:27pm
Becky had a long but fun evening, one-on-one with Jacob at the Mother-Son Fiesta. He enjoyed himself. Right up till the end when a bigger kid broke the pinata before he ever got a chance to whack it. Oh, how we waited for his turn eagerly, only for that disappointment. He was, however, happy about the candy he was able to gather.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Facebook Friday
My friend Jenni just made up this new meme.... At least, it's her own idea, whether or not it exists out there on the 'net in some form or another. And I love it so much that I'm going to participate.
The idea is to share a synopsis of the week through the little mini-updates I've posted all week on Facebook. A lot of you don't follow me on Facebook, and I haven't been in the best frame of mind to deal with big long posts on my blog, so this is perfect! You can catch a little glimpse of what's been going on with me for the past week. :)
I'm going to start from last Friday. Feel free to join in, if you use Facebook, too!
Friday, April 17
1:03pm
Becky had two nights in a row with some major insomnia issues. Wonders if the kids would let her get away with a nap on such a gorgeous, sunny day. Hmmm. Not too likely.
6:58pm
Becky finally got a new hand-blender, and has been mixing up full meals for Alex to enjoy with us now that he's 1 year. He really loved blended-up Rachel's Pasta tonight, saying "aaaaaaahh" after every bite, asking for more!
Saturday, April 18
12:25pm
Becky got back from the kids' swim class and is getting some lunch ready. More sun today, in the 70's.... perfect Saturday, yay!
1:33pm
Becky is taking the family out to the NCR trail.
Sunday, April 19
5:30pm
Becky just woke up from a lovely, uninterrupted nap.
Monday, April 20
10:12am
Becky is listening to Karen Carpenter's "Rainy Days and Mondays"... But truly, this rainy Monday isn't affecting me as much as they usually do. I was just in the mood for the song. ;)
10:41am
Becky is doing ShrinkyDinks with the kids.
4:22pm
Becky is thinking about what to do if Jesse's car is declared totaled from the recent minor accident. Buy a cheap used car? Buy a much-needed recent-model van despite good job security? Go back to the life of single car living?? Get him a bike for work? Ugh. Not a happy thought process overall. Don't like being forced into these decisions.
Tuesday, April 21
11:15am
Becky needs to grocery shop but is once again having a hard time thinking up a meal plan for the coming week.
4:11pm
Becky just *loves* already-exhausting grocery trips when every potty-trained child just HAS to go potty at the most inopportune time. Sigh. At least it's over for another week!
10:47pm
Becky should probably go to bed now... but where's the fun in that?
Wednesday, April 22
12:19pm
Becky paid her library fine today. It was even worse than I thought. $.20 per book (NOT $.10), 26 books, 4 days overdue: $20.80. VERY expensive forgetfulness. I could kick myself a very long time over that....
8:26pm
Becky can't believe her husband never read Sideways Stories of Wayside School as a child!! Got a few giggles out of Melinda at bedtime while I was reading it, though! :)
Thursday, April 23
3:09pm
Becky wishes it were Friday. I'm beat.
5:09pm
Becky and the fam are walking down to try the new South American Grill instead of cooking dinner tonight. Yay for Brazilian food right down the street!
Update:
Well dang, it was oddly closed during their advertised business hours. No info available at their phone number, but I left a message at their email. I was very excited to eat there tonight, too.
Since we walked all the way down there, we decided to try a little Mexican/Salvadorian grill that we hadn't ever noticed. Looks like it was family run, food was authentic and very tasty. Loved it. If I had to settle for something after getting my hopes up for Brazilian, this was the thing to "settle" for. :)
Friday, April 24
2:13pm
Becky can't get Alex to take a nap at his regular time on the one day this week that it actually matters.
(Had to cancel plans with friends on this beautiful sunny day, since he took his nap SO much later than normal. This was the one thing I planned all week that depended on his nap happening normally. Not cool.)
4:47pm
Joy. Jesse's car has been officially totaled. For $600 in parts and $2000 estimated labor, just some dented body work and a busted headlight, and they're taking our car away. They're giving him a very "generous" $1400. Like that'll get us even close to a reliable a replacement. Looking at options. Ugh.
The idea is to share a synopsis of the week through the little mini-updates I've posted all week on Facebook. A lot of you don't follow me on Facebook, and I haven't been in the best frame of mind to deal with big long posts on my blog, so this is perfect! You can catch a little glimpse of what's been going on with me for the past week. :)
I'm going to start from last Friday. Feel free to join in, if you use Facebook, too!
Friday, April 17
1:03pm
Becky had two nights in a row with some major insomnia issues. Wonders if the kids would let her get away with a nap on such a gorgeous, sunny day. Hmmm. Not too likely.
6:58pm
Becky finally got a new hand-blender, and has been mixing up full meals for Alex to enjoy with us now that he's 1 year. He really loved blended-up Rachel's Pasta tonight, saying "aaaaaaahh" after every bite, asking for more!
Saturday, April 18
12:25pm
Becky got back from the kids' swim class and is getting some lunch ready. More sun today, in the 70's.... perfect Saturday, yay!
1:33pm
Becky is taking the family out to the NCR trail.
Sunday, April 19
5:30pm
Becky just woke up from a lovely, uninterrupted nap.
Monday, April 20
10:12am
Becky is listening to Karen Carpenter's "Rainy Days and Mondays"... But truly, this rainy Monday isn't affecting me as much as they usually do. I was just in the mood for the song. ;)
10:41am
Becky is doing ShrinkyDinks with the kids.
4:22pm
Becky is thinking about what to do if Jesse's car is declared totaled from the recent minor accident. Buy a cheap used car? Buy a much-needed recent-model van despite good job security? Go back to the life of single car living?? Get him a bike for work? Ugh. Not a happy thought process overall. Don't like being forced into these decisions.
Tuesday, April 21
11:15am
Becky needs to grocery shop but is once again having a hard time thinking up a meal plan for the coming week.
4:11pm
Becky just *loves* already-exhausting grocery trips when every potty-trained child just HAS to go potty at the most inopportune time. Sigh. At least it's over for another week!
10:47pm
Becky should probably go to bed now... but where's the fun in that?
Wednesday, April 22
12:19pm
Becky paid her library fine today. It was even worse than I thought. $.20 per book (NOT $.10), 26 books, 4 days overdue: $20.80. VERY expensive forgetfulness. I could kick myself a very long time over that....
8:26pm
Becky can't believe her husband never read Sideways Stories of Wayside School as a child!! Got a few giggles out of Melinda at bedtime while I was reading it, though! :)
Thursday, April 23
3:09pm
Becky wishes it were Friday. I'm beat.
5:09pm
Becky and the fam are walking down to try the new South American Grill instead of cooking dinner tonight. Yay for Brazilian food right down the street!
Update:
Well dang, it was oddly closed during their advertised business hours. No info available at their phone number, but I left a message at their email. I was very excited to eat there tonight, too.
Since we walked all the way down there, we decided to try a little Mexican/Salvadorian grill that we hadn't ever noticed. Looks like it was family run, food was authentic and very tasty. Loved it. If I had to settle for something after getting my hopes up for Brazilian, this was the thing to "settle" for. :)
Friday, April 24
2:13pm
Becky can't get Alex to take a nap at his regular time on the one day this week that it actually matters.
(Had to cancel plans with friends on this beautiful sunny day, since he took his nap SO much later than normal. This was the one thing I planned all week that depended on his nap happening normally. Not cool.)
4:47pm
Joy. Jesse's car has been officially totaled. For $600 in parts and $2000 estimated labor, just some dented body work and a busted headlight, and they're taking our car away. They're giving him a very "generous" $1400. Like that'll get us even close to a reliable a replacement. Looking at options. Ugh.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Randomness
You know, I think Mr. Sandman is out to get me. But not in a helpful way. Between Alex's crack-of-dawn antics yesterday morning/the night before last, and last night.... Boy oh boy, am I getting sleep deprived! What happened last night? I honestly have no clue. Donated blood in the evening, felt perfectly fine all night. But despite feeling very tired, heavy-eyed, and ready for sleep last night, I could not fall asleep!!! Finally, at 4am, I was starting to drift off (no thanks to my MP3 player's batteries, which had died around 3am, taking my relaxation music with it) - I could tell, because my brain was following a not-real storyline, and it was just barely starting to get that surreal feel to it.
And then Alex woke up. Yay. Well, he went back to sleep fairly easily, but it just prolonged my falling asleep. And of course, you know, the entire time I'm laying there, whacking Jesse every few minutes for daring to start snoring again (can't you see I'm trying to fall asleep over here?!?) I'm thinking how entirely unfair it is that I'm getting closer and closer to morning with no relief in sight, and this is the second night in a row that I'm not getting the sleep I need!! And there's no chance for naps today - we've got a playdate after lunch. And I have to get ready for hosting preschool at our house tomorrow. So, yeah. I'm super-duper happy today!! Or not. I actually feel like digging my eyeballs out, they're so tired.
Go to the 6th folder of your picture files and post the 6th picture.
....drumroll!!
My 6th picture folder happens to be 2008. And then I sort them by month within that, so there weren't any individual pictures. So I picked the 6th folder, which was June. And the 6th picture there is this slightly-blurry but oh so spring-worthy picture. I can't wait for spring!! (Holy moly, Melinda's hair was short!!)
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Alternatively, if I ignore the 6th folder part, and just go to my "internet" folder, where I store all sorts of random photos, the 6th photos is this one of Melinda and Jacob just before Halloween in 2005!
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This is a fun way to waste 5-10 minutes (or more if you actually want to be creative).
Make your band's album cover meme:
1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.
And here's my band's album!
***** ***** *****
***** ***** *****
And then Alex woke up. Yay. Well, he went back to sleep fairly easily, but it just prolonged my falling asleep. And of course, you know, the entire time I'm laying there, whacking Jesse every few minutes for daring to start snoring again (can't you see I'm trying to fall asleep over here?!?) I'm thinking how entirely unfair it is that I'm getting closer and closer to morning with no relief in sight, and this is the second night in a row that I'm not getting the sleep I need!! And there's no chance for naps today - we've got a playdate after lunch. And I have to get ready for hosting preschool at our house tomorrow. So, yeah. I'm super-duper happy today!! Or not. I actually feel like digging my eyeballs out, they're so tired.
***** ***** *****
Allyson over at Laughadaisy tagged me for a quick little picture meme:Go to the 6th folder of your picture files and post the 6th picture.
....drumroll!!
My 6th picture folder happens to be 2008. And then I sort them by month within that, so there weren't any individual pictures. So I picked the 6th folder, which was June. And the 6th picture there is this slightly-blurry but oh so spring-worthy picture. I can't wait for spring!! (Holy moly, Melinda's hair was short!!)
.jpg)
Alternatively, if I ignore the 6th folder part, and just go to my "internet" folder, where I store all sorts of random photos, the 6th photos is this one of Melinda and Jacob just before Halloween in 2005!
.jpg)
***** ***** *****
And here's another meme for you, that I found on Facebook:This is a fun way to waste 5-10 minutes (or more if you actually want to be creative).
Make your band's album cover meme:
1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.
3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.
And here's my band's album!
***** ***** *****
I'm thinking of making baby blankets for my two sisters, Melissa and Megan, who are both expecting their first baby girls in May. I've been eyeballing quite a lot of lovely, adorable, girly fabrics on Etsy. What do you think, you two? Any of these strike your fancy?? I'm wondering if I should even mention it (too late now!!). Because I've been oh so unreliable at finishing projects lately. But I should be able to handle some simple blocked blankets by May, right?? Here's what I'm looking at:
I also absolutely adore this bundle of fabrics.... but it's not so girly. :( I might have to buy it for myself....
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Uhhhh.... look what Alex just figured out how to do while I was typing this post....
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I have the best kids!! While that video was uploading, Jesse got home and we had lunch. And then I put Alex down for a nap. Just before Jesse left back for work, and after I left the room to rock Alex, Jesse told Melinda and Jacob to clean up the room for me. When I came out, they had put all their train tracks away, and folded all the blankets! *sniff* Way a make a tired mama so happy!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Six Things
I was tagged by Brighton Woman to do this six things meme.
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Ms. Brighton mentioned how she'd done a Six Things meme not too long ago, and took her list on a Holiday spin. I, too, have done several random things-related memes before... and since it is Christmas, I decided that I'll focus on Holiday things also. Why not? :)
1- I love colorful Christmas lights. They can be multi-color, or colored with a theme (like only red/green, even all blue, whatever!), but I MUCH prefer them to white lights. There's nothing that disappoints me more during Christmastime than driving down a road and seeing house after house after house sporting nothing but white lights. White lights on the edges of the roof, wrapped around columns, over the bushes, twisted through the trees... A great display of lots of lights, but there's no color!!! It's just wrong, people! Use the white lights to compliment the colors, okay? Throw some white icicle lights in with multi-colored bushes next time, will you?
2- I grew up in Western Washington. There were a lot of local Christmas tree farms. I do love the smell of fresh Christmas trees. Usually, my whole family- 6 kids in tow- would go out, walk around the field several times, and try to get everyone to agree on one perfect tree. That never works with 8 people, trust me. By the time we were all feeling frozen inside and out, and it was clear that there was now way that we were all going to agree anytime soon, my dad would bribe those of us who didn't agree with the majority. And he bribed us with a quarter. And you know? It worked. Boy, we were cheap!
3- Even though I love fresh Christmas trees - the smell, the feel, the event of picking one... I own an artificial tree, and use it every year now, since we've been married. The only exception was when we bought a condo in Colorado, and our Realtor gave us a tree as our little congratulations gift. I have to admit I love being able to just pull a tree out of a closet, set it up, and be done with it, instead of devoting an entire day to the process. And I love not watering it. And not vacuuming up dead needles all month long. But it sure isn't nice to touch or smell.
4- I really, really, really don't like The Forgottoen Carols. Does that make me a bad Mormon? Michael McLean's voice really grates against my nerves for some reason. Similar to (but not quite as bad as) fingernails on a chalkboard. Just can't stand it. Add to it that I think the songs are horribly cheesy, and well, I don't like it. At all.
5- I don't believe in Santa anymore, I promise. BUT, when I was 9 or 10 years old, living in Everett, WA, I remember feeling wide awake on Christmas Eve. I knew my parents were in the front room, only separated from me by a couple thin doors. I could hear them wrapping gifts. And they were blasting the Christmas music, too. And after all the noise started dying down, and I was finally feeling sleepy, I swear I heard jingle bells outside the bedroom window. Not at people-level... like, up in the sky. I thought for years that it HAD to be Santa's sleigh bells. Nothing else could explain it! And I didn't even really believe in Santa Claus at that age anymore! But my brain allowed no other explanation. I still don't deny what I heard... I just don't have an explanation anymore. ;) So I tell my kids that I heard Santa's bells one year when I was laying quietly in bed. And now Melinda is sad when she doesn't. Especially since watching the movie Polar Express, too.
6- I used to peek at presents. Even as a teenager. I know, I was so awful, wasn't I? I finally stopped once I got married, but I sure was tempted those first few years after breaking the habit. My parents were predictable and always stowed the gifts in the same place, with only a locked door to protect them. But it was easily unlocked, and their weekly nights out sure gave me ample opportunities. The good thing was that I usually peeked in the dark, so it was hard to tell what anything was. Especially if I was trying to leave no evidence. And also, when there's six kids in the house, and at least two others are also teenaged girls, you can't really tell what's going to be your present, anyway. So, I don't actually remember spoiling the surprise for myself. I might have on a couple occasions, but if I did, it wasn't bad enough to make an impression on me. Also, the lure of all the "Santa" presents was soooo tempting that I would actually set my alarm for something crazy like 4am, get out of bed, go peek at the living room where the tree was, see all the neat "big"/unwrapped Santa gifts, then quietly sneak back to bed. And then make sure everyone was out of bed by 7am to start unwrapping! No sleeping in on Christmas morning as long as I'm around, no sir! Oh wait... right, I'm the mom now, and now I do want to sleep in on Christmas. What a pay-back.
And there you have it, six Holiday things about me.
Now it's my turn to tag people. Remember - this doesn't have to be Holiday related. And you don't HAVE to play if you don't want to. You can ignore me completely, and I won't be offended.
1. My college (sorta-)roomie, Shannon Milliman, who I found through Facebook and only recently made me aware that she had a blog!
2. Emily at Dream Awake, who is an absolutely fun/wonderful person who I know through church.
3. My sister Jacy,
4. My sister Melissa,
5. My sister Megan,
6. And last (but definitely not least!) my sister Kaija. Whew, that's all of them!
Can I tag one more for good measure? I mean, do 4 sisters seriously count as 4 separate tags?? ;) Laughadaisy, I'd love to see you do a holiday six-things meme, if you have time/energy for it!
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.
Ms. Brighton mentioned how she'd done a Six Things meme not too long ago, and took her list on a Holiday spin. I, too, have done several random things-related memes before... and since it is Christmas, I decided that I'll focus on Holiday things also. Why not? :)
1- I love colorful Christmas lights. They can be multi-color, or colored with a theme (like only red/green, even all blue, whatever!), but I MUCH prefer them to white lights. There's nothing that disappoints me more during Christmastime than driving down a road and seeing house after house after house sporting nothing but white lights. White lights on the edges of the roof, wrapped around columns, over the bushes, twisted through the trees... A great display of lots of lights, but there's no color!!! It's just wrong, people! Use the white lights to compliment the colors, okay? Throw some white icicle lights in with multi-colored bushes next time, will you?
2- I grew up in Western Washington. There were a lot of local Christmas tree farms. I do love the smell of fresh Christmas trees. Usually, my whole family- 6 kids in tow- would go out, walk around the field several times, and try to get everyone to agree on one perfect tree. That never works with 8 people, trust me. By the time we were all feeling frozen inside and out, and it was clear that there was now way that we were all going to agree anytime soon, my dad would bribe those of us who didn't agree with the majority. And he bribed us with a quarter. And you know? It worked. Boy, we were cheap!
3- Even though I love fresh Christmas trees - the smell, the feel, the event of picking one... I own an artificial tree, and use it every year now, since we've been married. The only exception was when we bought a condo in Colorado, and our Realtor gave us a tree as our little congratulations gift. I have to admit I love being able to just pull a tree out of a closet, set it up, and be done with it, instead of devoting an entire day to the process. And I love not watering it. And not vacuuming up dead needles all month long. But it sure isn't nice to touch or smell.
4- I really, really, really don't like The Forgottoen Carols. Does that make me a bad Mormon? Michael McLean's voice really grates against my nerves for some reason. Similar to (but not quite as bad as) fingernails on a chalkboard. Just can't stand it. Add to it that I think the songs are horribly cheesy, and well, I don't like it. At all.
5- I don't believe in Santa anymore, I promise. BUT, when I was 9 or 10 years old, living in Everett, WA, I remember feeling wide awake on Christmas Eve. I knew my parents were in the front room, only separated from me by a couple thin doors. I could hear them wrapping gifts. And they were blasting the Christmas music, too. And after all the noise started dying down, and I was finally feeling sleepy, I swear I heard jingle bells outside the bedroom window. Not at people-level... like, up in the sky. I thought for years that it HAD to be Santa's sleigh bells. Nothing else could explain it! And I didn't even really believe in Santa Claus at that age anymore! But my brain allowed no other explanation. I still don't deny what I heard... I just don't have an explanation anymore. ;) So I tell my kids that I heard Santa's bells one year when I was laying quietly in bed. And now Melinda is sad when she doesn't. Especially since watching the movie Polar Express, too.
6- I used to peek at presents. Even as a teenager. I know, I was so awful, wasn't I? I finally stopped once I got married, but I sure was tempted those first few years after breaking the habit. My parents were predictable and always stowed the gifts in the same place, with only a locked door to protect them. But it was easily unlocked, and their weekly nights out sure gave me ample opportunities. The good thing was that I usually peeked in the dark, so it was hard to tell what anything was. Especially if I was trying to leave no evidence. And also, when there's six kids in the house, and at least two others are also teenaged girls, you can't really tell what's going to be your present, anyway. So, I don't actually remember spoiling the surprise for myself. I might have on a couple occasions, but if I did, it wasn't bad enough to make an impression on me. Also, the lure of all the "Santa" presents was soooo tempting that I would actually set my alarm for something crazy like 4am, get out of bed, go peek at the living room where the tree was, see all the neat "big"/unwrapped Santa gifts, then quietly sneak back to bed. And then make sure everyone was out of bed by 7am to start unwrapping! No sleeping in on Christmas morning as long as I'm around, no sir! Oh wait... right, I'm the mom now, and now I do want to sleep in on Christmas. What a pay-back.
And there you have it, six Holiday things about me.
Now it's my turn to tag people. Remember - this doesn't have to be Holiday related. And you don't HAVE to play if you don't want to. You can ignore me completely, and I won't be offended.
1. My college (sorta-)roomie, Shannon Milliman, who I found through Facebook and only recently made me aware that she had a blog!
2. Emily at Dream Awake, who is an absolutely fun/wonderful person who I know through church.
3. My sister Jacy,
4. My sister Melissa,
5. My sister Megan,
6. And last (but definitely not least!) my sister Kaija. Whew, that's all of them!
Can I tag one more for good measure? I mean, do 4 sisters seriously count as 4 separate tags?? ;) Laughadaisy, I'd love to see you do a holiday six-things meme, if you have time/energy for it!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Tagged
I got tagged for this meme over at Laughadaisy. :)
Here's the thing: This was actually incredibly difficult for me to write. I've been thinking about it for days! I'm in an odd spot in my life where I really feel like I'm almost just going through the motions of living, and haven't been putting much real thought behind my actions. So when presented with the task of explaining my joys, fears, goals, obsessions... well, I kind of got this blank look to my face and realized how extremely little I've been thinking along those lines. Almost like my thoughts have been essentially empty.
Who am I? What do I think about? What makes me tick? I used to be able to answer these questions without too much hesitation, but I've sort of lost myself over the last couple years, with the exception of random, rare moments. Or maybe I'm not so much lost, as I just don't remember very well because I'm just too darn busy going through the motions. I'd prefer to think of it that way, at least. At any rate, I had to think hard for this meme. And that's a good thing.
RULES:
Post these rules on your blog.
Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog.
Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names.
Here it is:
JOYS:
FEARS:
As always, please don't feel obligated to participate simply because I'm tagging you. If I have your email address, you've probably learned by now that I simply don't circulate forward types of emails. I've never liked the silly obligations that go along with them, and I don't want to put people in that situation. So if I tag you and you want to play along, please do. If you don't want to play, no need to, and you don't even have to give me an excuse. Okay? :) And if you weren't tagged, but want to play along, you can do that, too! But please leave me a comment so I know where to go read your answers, because I'd love to do that!
Here's the thing: This was actually incredibly difficult for me to write. I've been thinking about it for days! I'm in an odd spot in my life where I really feel like I'm almost just going through the motions of living, and haven't been putting much real thought behind my actions. So when presented with the task of explaining my joys, fears, goals, obsessions... well, I kind of got this blank look to my face and realized how extremely little I've been thinking along those lines. Almost like my thoughts have been essentially empty.
Who am I? What do I think about? What makes me tick? I used to be able to answer these questions without too much hesitation, but I've sort of lost myself over the last couple years, with the exception of random, rare moments. Or maybe I'm not so much lost, as I just don't remember very well because I'm just too darn busy going through the motions. I'd prefer to think of it that way, at least. At any rate, I had to think hard for this meme. And that's a good thing.
RULES:
Post these rules on your blog.
Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog.
Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names.
Here it is:
JOYS:
- I love watching my kids learn or experience something new for the first time. Anything from seeing a new animal, hearing a new sound, singing a new song, understanding a new concept.... I love it! It's so amazing to me. And sometimes, it also makes me feel just a teeeeny bit nuts. Like, sometimes we sit down to watch a movie that I used to watch all the time when I was a kid. Cinderella, for instance. The first time we watched that movie together, I was literally in tears and choking up... simply because this was their first time seeing it. I don't even love Cinderella all that much! It's just that it was something new that I thought they would love. And yesterday, we got a new music CD. New for me, even. As soon as the first song started playing, I was tearing up again, holding back happy sobs. I'm crazy, aren't I?
- I love the satisfaction of creating something. Cooking a delicious meal from scratch (something I couldn't always reliably do!). Sewing a blanket. Drawing a detailed picture. Playing music. Maybe I should explain that last one, as it doesn't normally fall under the "creating" category. No, I've never composed music. But I did play clarinet all through junior high and high school, and during my college years. I loved being a part of a band, and creating beautiful music. Sometimes I performed solo's. They were incredibly nerve-wracking for me, but I did absolutley love creating that music for other people to enjoy. And of course, for myself to enjoy. I also used to play piano, back when I had regular access to one, and I loved being able to play something from start to finish. And singing in the church choir also brought me immense satisfaction. But as I said at first, even just cooking a good meal or drawing an original picture are things that make me feel satisfied, and maybe even a little bit giddy.
- Drawing a bit from #2, music. I love beautiful music. I connect to it, part of my soul feels like it has a voice when I hear it. It could be classical, or hymns, or even silly kids music or upbeat rock 'n roll. I love all sorts of music, there's always something appropriate for my mood, and invariably I will find that something in whatever I'm listening to really "speaks" to me.
FEARS:
- Number one true fear in my life is speaking in public, and/or being the center of attention in a group setting. I can handle intimate groups of close friends or family, but make me stand up in front of a group of even children I don't know, and I start losing it. Voice gets shaky, palms get sweaty, train of thought goes kaput, nothing I say makes enough sense, I can't put sentences together right... I'm just a wreck. I absolutely hate speaking in front of a crowd. Just as bad is being the center of attention, in any situation. Wedding and wedding reception, anyone? Yeah, that's something I'm glad I only had to do once. Seriously.
- I hate any form of confrontation. I don't like to openly disagree with someone, even in the most innocent of situations. I don't like correcting someone, even when it's valid. It's about as bad as the public speaking thing. I have a hard time verbalizing my thoughts, I get the shaky voice and sweaty palms, etc. It leads me to keep my thoughts to myself most of the time. It's not quite so bad with family - for instance, I usually don't have an issue telling Jesse when he's losing touch with reality and needs to get a grip... but if it's something more sensitive, it takes me a lot of effort to gear up to blurting it out.
- I don't know what's wrong with me, but I really have a big issue with talking about my feelings. As a teenager in love, it often got reduced to expressing myself in a silly, playful voice. Luckily for me, that didn't scare away my boyfriends. But even after I was married, and still now, 8 years into a marriage, I still have a really, really hard time with it. If something has been bothering me and I know I need to talk about it, I honestly, truly spend a good 30-45 minutes running a constant stream of dialogue through my head trying to find the right words to say, rehearsing how I will say it, and trying to give myself courage to say it in a genuine manner, before I finally get it out of my head and use my voice to express it. And then it takes all of about 5 seconds to say it, with a single breath, and usually less than 2 sentences. And it's much less eloquent than I was planning on. And then I'm immediately embarrased by what I said. It's times like that when I just wish that I could give people a temporary ability to hear my thoughts, because it just never comes out right. Quite honestly, I'm afraid of ruining my relationships with the people I love because of my inability to express my feelings, good and bad alike. I just can't get them out there, and it's so frustrating! I can be completely genuine, honest, expressive, and even verbose when I can share my thoughts and feelings in writing (see this post for proof), but all of that vanishes when I try to be verbal.
- This will probably take the entirety of my life, but I want to improve my parenting. I have this whole set of ideals, and I fall short constantly. Bottom line, I want all (or at least most!) of my interactions with my children to be cheerful, calm, and loving. I want them to always think of me with love and appreciation, and never with resentment for the way I handle things.
- Short and simple, I want to improve my spirituality. Truly make it a huge part of myself.
- I want to learn how to forgive myself for my faults, and almost hand-in-hand with that thought, learn to stop procrastinating. If I would make improvements to myself as I think of them, instead of saying vaguely in my head that I'll work on it "someday", then I think I probably wouldn't be quite so hard on myself for my failings.
- I absolutely love new books. The smell, the crispness, the feeling of simply possessing them... love it!! I know it makes so much more sense to get books used, but I crave the newness. I've been buying books faster than I'm reading them, lately!
- I love all things dragon! Dragon art, stories with dragons, dragon sculptures, kids clothing with dragons.... Mmmm, all good stuff! My sisters-in-law got me an awesome gift one year - as much as I generally don't enjoy wearing jewelry, they got me a silver dragon charm pendant, and it's seriously one of my favorite gifts ever!
- This almost goes without saying, but I'm obsessed about checking my emails/blogs/forums. Even if I don't always participate in commenting and discussing, I always LOVE reading.
- I took fencing in college and excelled at it. I was better than the rest of the girls, and only one boy was better than I was- and he cheated a lot (not making that up!). Interestingly, Jesse also took fencing, but it was the semester after I went home from college. After we were first married, we sometimes tossed around the idea of buying fencing equipment so we could play each other, but it never happened - too much money, and we were poor. And now I'm completely out of shape and don't even remember the rules. But it was a fun time! I felt so powerful and disciplined.
- I don't mind my kids making a mess with art supplies, but I cannot stand trying to involve them in even simple cooking. It drives me absolutely crazy that they want to touch everything and help with everything, the control freak inside me just screams in terror. But Jesse does great with kids & cooking, so I leave that part to him.
- I've never had much of a desire at all to see and travel the world. I'm generally happy in my own four little walls. A trip around town, or a quick window-shopping jaunt, is often enough to satisfy my need to "get out". And yet, ever since I saw a nature special on TV, I'm absolutely dying to go to Fiordland, New Zealand. It seems so breathtaking. If ever I have enough money to take a vacation of my choice, and I can leave my kids behind (hey, maybe they'll even be out of the house...), my first and only choice would be to go to Fiordland and see Doubtful and Milford Sounds, and maybe even challenge myself with a 4-day long, demanding hike from the sounds through the mountains. I can't imagine how thrilling that would be - it's supposedly some of the finest scenery on earth. And from what I saw on TV, I can absolutely believe that.
As always, please don't feel obligated to participate simply because I'm tagging you. If I have your email address, you've probably learned by now that I simply don't circulate forward types of emails. I've never liked the silly obligations that go along with them, and I don't want to put people in that situation. So if I tag you and you want to play along, please do. If you don't want to play, no need to, and you don't even have to give me an excuse. Okay? :) And if you weren't tagged, but want to play along, you can do that, too! But please leave me a comment so I know where to go read your answers, because I'd love to do that!
- My sister Jacy
- My sister Melissa
- My sister Megan (who is just starting and could maybe use something to blog about!)
- My "cousin"(?) Melissa (sorry, I really can't figure out exactly what our relationship is, it's so extended! Melissa is also new to blogging, and I'm interested in her answers!)
- My friend and awesome blogger, Summer.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
3a.m. Ramblings
It's almost 3am and I'm still wide awake. I have to blame it on a couple things:
My sister Jacy tagged me to share 6 facts about myself or my spouse. Since that seems awfully close to another recent meme I participated in, Six Quirky Things About Me, I'm going to go with a more husband-driven approach. It seems appropriate, since he just got back home from New York, and his birthday is coming up in a few weeks, as well as Father's Day.
So, here we go. Six facts about my husband, Jesse.
Technically, I'm supposed to tag 6 more people. Jacy already tagged my other blogging sister, and I've picked on Summer every time I've been tagged so far, and Allyson from Laughadaisy is quitting blogging (so sad!!), and I'm just not sure how the majority of the rest of my friends with blogs feel about tags. Memes are somewhat like email forwards: either you love 'em, or you hate 'em! Since I can't think of 6 people (by a long shot!) that I'd feel comfortable tagging, I'll just pass on being specific this time around. But if this is a meme that any of my readers would like to participate in, please do! I'd love to learn more about you or your spouse.
I should probably head back to bed now, and see if I can get some sleep before Alex wakes up to nurse, and then the sun rises, and my morning starts. As it is, tomorrow will be... interesting... on such little sleep. ;)
- I took Excedrin Tension Headache medicine tonight. I swear it's the only medicine that not only takes care of my headaches, but does it in a matter of 15 minutes or less. It also has caffeine in it, and usually when I get headaches that are bad enough to cause me to medicate, it's in the evening. So that affects my bedtime, obviously.
- I ate a few handfuls of chocolate chips. Not only bad for losing weight, but it also added additional caffeine to my evening, which I didn't consider at the time when I collapsed under chocolate temptation.
My sister Jacy tagged me to share 6 facts about myself or my spouse. Since that seems awfully close to another recent meme I participated in, Six Quirky Things About Me, I'm going to go with a more husband-driven approach. It seems appropriate, since he just got back home from New York, and his birthday is coming up in a few weeks, as well as Father's Day.
So, here we go. Six facts about my husband, Jesse.
- When he was 1 year old, Jesse lost half of his thumb. His older sister shut a heavy window-seat lid on his thumb, and it came off right at the top knuckle. I can't even imagine how traumatizing that might have been for a 1-year-old, as well as for his mom. But aside from making certain gaming controls a little bit harder, he loves his stubby little thumb. It's great for scaring kids with a more "real" thumb-disappearing trick, and I have to say, it's also great for a nice solid pressure-point massage. He can really get a lot of pressure behind that one remaining knuckle. And people never notice it's missing until he points it out.
- When Jesse relates about his decision to become an engineer, he always tells about a time when he was about 6 years old. There was a broken glove box in one of his family's cars, and he asked his dad if he could try to fix it. He took the lock apart, found a spring inside that seemed broken, and realized he had seen a very similar spring before, in the type of pen with a button that you click at the top. He took apart a pen, grabbed the spring, and put it into the glove box lock. Put the glove box back together, and viola! Glove box is fixed. And he was only 6 years old! He's always loved to take things apart to see how they work, and then put them back together. Engineering is a natural evolution for him, really.
- Jesse was a pole-vaulter in High School. He went to State with his Track and Field team, had his pole-vaulting picture in the paper, and everything! I know for sure that he placed in State, but I can't remember what. I want to say it was either First or Second. He also had longer, shoulder-length hair and a scruffy goatee when he was in High School. It's quite a trip to look at those pictures of him in the newspaper... just a totally different version of him than I'm used to! He did try to grow out a goatee for me one year around Thanksgiving (so I could see what it looked like), but only lasted about a week and a half before the itching was driving him crazy.
- Jesse served an LDS mission in Brazil for two years. He was in the Salvador area, mostly in the very rural sections of his mission. He, like most missionaries you meet, loves to talk fondly about his many different experiences in the country. Still, I think the ones I hear most frequently involve the crazy things they did in their missionary apartments - like making trails of lighter fluid on the tile floors and lighting it on fire, or adopting a (wild!!) pet monkey, and the companion he had that could smell cockroaches if they were anywhere near him. And of course, the time he vomited his entire meal because of being overheated in the sun, after having gone a week without eating because of a stomach bug. It was so upsetting to him, he was so ready to stuff himself since he was feeling better, but his body just couldn't take it! Also, he and my brother-in-law, Steve (Jacy's husband), met each other on their missions. I remember calling my sister and telling her about Jesse soon after I had met him - while Steve was in the room - and I described his half-thumb, and suddenly Steve jumped into the conversation: "Does he have "clown hair," too?!?" I had to laugh, and said, "Yeah! He does!" (Jesse described it to me himself that way, when we started dating! If his hair starts getting long, the sides grow almost straight out and almost upwards near the crown of his head, giving it sort of a clownish shape.)
- Jesse loves to cuddle. I've always loved snuggling up with my husband, of course. But sometimes his love of hugs and cuddles makes things difficult, especially with young kids in the house. I often end up feeling "touched out" by the end of the day, between nursing, holding kids on my lap, and so on. And so I've got a history now of just not wanting to be touched at all once Jesse is home from work. Luckily, I haven't gotten to that point yet with child #3, which I hope will keep up. Because Jesse does love that physical closeness, and he's a wonderful man to be patient and understanding when I just can't bring myself to accommodate him. I remember even after we were first married and lived with Jesse's parents for a few months, he would often lay his head on his mom's lap or shoulder, which I found very endearing (I've always heard you can tell how a man will treat his wife based on how he interacts with his mother). And when we went couch-shopping for our first home, we tested each couch we liked, to make sure it was roomy enough to fit both of us for TV snuggle time.
- Jesse has a crazy memory. I swear he can remember every factoid he's ever heard, even if it was only once and long, long, long ago. He'll bring up the most random things in conversations, and talk about them like he's just an expert. He can watch a history show, or the type of show that shows how different things work, or read a book that describes something in detail, and so on, and he'll just have that knowledge he gained ingrained into his memory forever. Myself, family members, and friends are always astounded by what he can remember. And I'm sure it all influences his skill at Engineering. The more you know, and the better you can remember details, the easier it is to solve problems, right? (And yet, when it comes to remembering significant conversations from recent time, or the way a specific event happened in our lives, he always forgets the most important details.... Men! What can you do?? Though, I do have to give him credit - he tends to remember how my childbirths went, and our children's' baby stages much better than I do. I often ask him to recall details for me that I've long forgotten.)
Technically, I'm supposed to tag 6 more people. Jacy already tagged my other blogging sister, and I've picked on Summer every time I've been tagged so far, and Allyson from Laughadaisy is quitting blogging (so sad!!), and I'm just not sure how the majority of the rest of my friends with blogs feel about tags. Memes are somewhat like email forwards: either you love 'em, or you hate 'em! Since I can't think of 6 people (by a long shot!) that I'd feel comfortable tagging, I'll just pass on being specific this time around. But if this is a meme that any of my readers would like to participate in, please do! I'd love to learn more about you or your spouse.
I should probably head back to bed now, and see if I can get some sleep before Alex wakes up to nurse, and then the sun rises, and my morning starts. As it is, tomorrow will be... interesting... on such little sleep. ;)
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