Chad

Chad is awesome. He fixed my brick slab disaster and insulated our water heater. And he makes cute babies.

That is all.

Lights

Ryan and I are trying to ready our house for this Farley Family Christmas, and we've run into a snag. We bought Christmas lights to hang on the front of our house, and now we can't figure out how to hang them. At its tallest, the house is roughly 30 feet tall, and our ladder goes to 17 feet. Every square inch of the roof is downwardly slanted at a dangerous angle to the point that Ryan got up on the only accessible portion of the roof via our ladder, and he almost couldn't get back down. We had to reposition the ladder and anchor it against a bush. Adena told us that Chad recommended using a chicken ladder (and that does appear to be the proper name for it), but if you looked long and hard at our roof you would understand why there's no way that's going to work. You can't even get up on the awning over the door and stand up enough to try to hook a 12-18 foot ladder over the closer of the two tall points, and nevermind trying to hook it over the taller of the two. I got home from picking up Lara today and looked across the street, and some guys were doing roofy things on the house across and down the street which is cookie-cuttered with the same cutter that ours is. They had a ladder that must have been 50 feet tall positioned from the ground at an angle all the way up past the top of the roof, and when they would climb up it, no one dared actually attempt to climb on the roof. They just hung onto the ladder and sprayed leaves out of the gutters with a long leaf blower, or whatever it was they were doing. There's no way to get from the accessible part of the roof to the top of it to anchor yourself. So unless we can find someone who has a 50-foot ladder or else come up with a new type of brainstorm, I'm afraid we may not be using our awesome lights. Sad day.

Why the Air Force Sucks.

So we're not moving to Boston. Again. Adam got new orders today, and we'll be staying in lovely Ohio for 2 1/2 to 3 more years. Apparently the organization that sponsored him to come to AFIT will be leaving Boston and coming here in a year, and since this is the org. that he owes a year and a half to, he can't just switch jobs and stay there. Needless to say, I am extremely bummed. The only upside is that we will probably buy a house while we are here and I will probably get a piano :)

Sadie has started sucking her thumb. It makes me a little apprehensive, but it's so dang cute I can't stop her. She tries so hard to get it in her mouth, then she sucks on it with her other fingers covering her face.

I finally broke down and bought some of those ugg-looking weird tan boots. Hate on it all you want, but my little Aldo shoes aren't keeping the snow from my toes. It has already snowed several times, and my hands are cracked and bleeding from the dry cold. Don't you guys want to visit?

Those are all of the thoughts I have. I came on here to rant about this new development, but I just don't have it in me anymore.

Sadie says hi!!

Why My Husband Rocks

Me: Is that MY Coke on the table?
Chad:Yes, and I'll go grab it while YOU (handing me the laptop which is opened up on a page full of awesome hats) search for a hat that you want to buy.
Me: *big grin*
(after some time of searching)
Me: Definitely this one.
(we discuss why my choice of hat is a good choice in hats)
Me: So... is the price OK?
Chad: Um, you just gave birth to our baby girl. I THINK I can stretch it just this once.

I'll take pictures once I get it.

Agony

So, it is now, in the wee hours of the morning of my official due date that I ask myself the usual questions; "Will it be today?" "Why does my stomach hurt and yet I'm not in actual labor?" "How LONG am I going to be in labor?" and, most importantly, "Will you PUH-LEEZ get your head out of my HIPS, child?!"

So, no, no baby yet. I have spent the last few days shopping my arse off for various things. For starters, we got a new couch, so, hooray for that. No more shlumpy futon! I also FINALLY found a pair of shoes that'll go over Orion's fat feet (besides Robeez). He is wearing a size 7!!! Can you believe that? It's the same size Sage is wearing. Crazy, no? He's going to be one giant-sized adult, or so it would seem. Not really a whole lot going on besides the waiting element. I really hope this happens within the next few days, though. I've hit that I'm-so-done-with-being-pregnant-right-now phase of pregnancy. So, everybody think baby thoughts for me today. I'm ready. Also, it's way late for me to be up if I'm planning on doing any burthin'. G'night!

Gift Ideas

Let's start fresh. Put your gift ideas here.

The Christmas List is here!

Okay, I have drawn names for the Christmas gift-giving extravaganza. Here is the list:

Caryn has Adam, Shannon has Anna, Adena has Ryan, Anna has Adena, Ryan has Chad, Adam has Caryn, Chad has Shannon.

It would be helpful if everyone put a wish list on the blog - for me and for each other. I always enjoy getting them anyway because of our particular sense of humor, so we can share it and have fun with it.

BRACES!!!!

That's ONE SEXY SMILE!!!!!!

Memories, Part 3

I was laughing out loud about this gem of a memory the other day, and had Chad laughing pretty hard about it too.

It all began with summer V.B.S. Somehow Shannon and I, being the ultimate Thespians that we are/were, got sucked into doing a video: a video about how to “save” a person: a video about how to save a person the right way, and how to do it the wrong way.

You know the one… but because the story is just so worth telling…

The scene starts out on a back porch. A very, very southern Shannon, decked out in jean overalls, and a very very southern man, (Ron Stoffel? Sp?) who I am guessing was supposed to be her brother, are having a discussion. If I recall correctly the talk was simply about needing to bring someone to Jesus, and soon!

Then I came along.

I must have been in the seventh grade. I don’t remember what I was wearing, but I came walking up with an empty basket, and proceeded to introduce myself. The dialogue went something like this;

Me: HI! Mah name’s Penelope and I just moved in down the street. Anywho, I was just tryin’ to bake me some pies and I ran outta eggs. Ya’ll got enny eggs I could borra?

(Shannon and Ron look excitedly at each other)

Shannon: Eggs? We got ourselves a COOOORNUCOPIA Uh EGGS!

This is the part where Shannon and Ron “hog-tied” me and shoved the Romans road in my face. I then proceeded to yell, in an act of desperation, “YES! I BUH-LEEVE! I AM A SINNER! I WANNA BE SAVED!” and so on.

The other part of the video (that, by the way, was how NOT to save a person, just in case you didn’t catch it) was pretty lame in comparison. And I never really lived that one down for as long as I was a member of FBCME. ESPECIALLY by Tom, who loved to show the video every few years or so, just for me, I think.

At the premier of the video, I seem to remember Shannon hiding under some article of clothing, and me crying. And they were not happy tears, that’s fer darn sure.

Guess Who's Pregnant...

Nope, not me. :) My sister-in-law, Shanna, is 5-1/2 weeks pregnant and she just called to tell me that she had an ultrasound today and it's TWINS!! Can you believe it? Crazy insane. She's going to have 4 kids and need a minivan soon!! It took me a couple seconds for it to sink in. So I can't wait to see what their genders are to see if we can buy them matching outfits.

In other news, um... well nothing exciting. Lara is learning all kinds of nursery rhymes lately. She just picks up stuff like that. And Julian can say "ba-ba" and wave his hand bye-bye. And I SWEAR he said bath yesterday when I was stripping him for one, but I can't get him to do it again. He's not into impressing Mommy.

Cheers:)

Snot, Sadie, and Sesame Street

As in, Sesame Street is babysitting Asher right now. Asher is a giant ball of snot...it's so disgusting. I'm trying not to get sick myself, and also to keep Sadie from the evil germs. (I can't get that sentence to sound right, sorry) And Adam's parents are coming tomorrow...they don't know what they are getting themselves into. Actually, after 6 kids, they probably do.

Anyway, this was my morning (starting at 2am, if that can be considered morning). Sadie is such a good baby, she only cries when she needs something and is so good natured and wonderful. For the last week or so she's only been getting up once at night to eat. But she woke up screaming at 2 this morning, and since it's about a million degrees below zero in our room, I thought she was probably freezing as well as hungry. Then I realized that her nose was almost completely boogered shut, so I brought her downstairs for an intense session with the saline spray and bulb syringe (or, in Megan's vernacular, the booger snatcher). After I finally got all the snot out, I took her upstairs to feed her, and she was gulping down her formula when I heard a seal barking in the next room...really it was Asher and he sounded like he was dying. So when I didn't hear Adam get up to get him, I finished feeding Sadie, put her back to bed, and then went to check on Asher, who was sleeping peacefully (albeit snottily). Then I couldn't fall back to sleep, because I was afraid one of them was going to stop breathing, of course. Then Sadie woke up again at 6:45, and I made Adam go feed her (he never hears her wake up, even though she's feet from him). Then, she woke up at 8 or so, screaming again, and I looked and she was almost completely un-swaddled, because Adam hasn't mastered swaddling, and as I said before it was about a million degrees below zero so I figured she was freezing and I brought her into bed with me. She slept for about an hour, then woke up screaming to eat, so I brought her downstairs to feed her, and then I heard Asher crying in his room, for whatever reason. So I fed her for a little longer, then took a break to get him and change him and wipe the globs of snot off of his face (seriously, globs) and bring him downstairs, where I resumed feeding Sadie. Then Asher started crying for his "guk", which is milk to him, and I couldn't get it, so I just waited and let him cry for a bit. Oh, and the phone rang. I finished feeding her, got his guk, changed her diaper, and fed Asher. Then I got to pee.

So, all that to say that I still haven't mastered mornings. I'm doing fine with everything else, I've made several trips without Adam and been fine, I feel competent with everything else. But I just can't figure out how to do mornings. But I'm sure I'll get it someday...maybe by the time Asher's 10 or so.

Well, the delightful stench of poo is permeating the air, so I'd best go take care of that. Oh, and Sadie just started crying...right as Elmo's World started...coincidence? I think not. I just wanted to update you all on my fabulous life!!

Life In the Cool-de-Sac

So, I feel overwhelmingly sad about a puppy that doesn’t belong to me. It all started about three days ago when I realized that my across-the-street neighbor had left her puppy chained to the porch with NO FOOD OR WATER for two days. I was heartbroken for the little thing. So, I went over and checked him out. He was absolutely covered with fleas, his coat was coarse, and he was pretty thin (besides the puffy puppy belly). So, I gave him some food and water and decided that if she didn’t come back the next day, I’d just take him in until she came back home.

Here’s the thing about this woman. She is a single mom, expecting her second baby, and she gets her daughter on the weekends from her mother, who primarily raises her. I am pretty sure she brought the dog home for her daughter. I am also fairly certain she’s just not very sharp and has no clue how to take care of an animal (they just recently had a cat run away from them.) So, when I did end up taking the dog home the next day, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and simply suspect that something awful had happened to her and she just didn’t think to get someone to care for the dog. I gave him a flea bath, picked some fleas off, gave him ANOTHER flea bath, put flea medication on him, fed him, gave him water, and for the last THREE days started house training him. It was apparent she had done nothing in that direction. STILL, I kept telling myself that there had to be some sort of reasonable explanation for that kind of neglect. I left a note on her door letting her know where he was and that she could come get him when she got home and that I hoped she was alright.

Today, Chad treated me to a facial and massage at a really nice spa, and it was fan-tas-tic. I also went out, did a little shopping and bought the boys some new Robeez (did I mention I am obsessed with those shoes? Well, I am). When I came home, the puppy was gone. Naturally, I assumed she had finally come home and I was anxious to find out what had happened. First of all, according to Chad, the puppy wouldn’t go to her. Chad had to physically hand him over. Then, they talked for a few minutes, and it went something like this (there was another woman there who had given her a ride home);

Chad: So, is everything OK?
Woman: Oh yeah, my ex [read: Baby Daddy] was harassing me and I just had to get away so I’ve been staying at my mom’s the last five days
Chad: Well, we took him in, and got all his fleas off, and gave him flea medicine… and, you know, he didn’t have any food… or water…
Woman: *Total blank stare*

After that, Chad did everything (else) he could to hint that what she had done is typically considered neglect. It all went over her head. Her friend seemed to think that it wasn’t a big deal either. It was like neither of them considered that food and water were necessity for any other beings than themselves. She also seemed to have NO consideration for the fact that we were providing for her dog. Now, of course we don’t need any kind of compensation for a little food and dog stuff that we had lying around anyway. It was mostly a matter of consideration. If she had asked us to watch the thing for a few days, I wouldn’t have minded… but there was just… nothing. I am still baffled by all of this. Chad said that he’s going to be a little more straightforward with her. He simply wasn’t interested in getting her friend involved. So, now the dog is back with its rightful owner and I feel sick about it. At least I know he’ll be flea free for a month. *sigh* I just hope some kind of good comes out of this. I haven’t seen the puppy chained up outside since she’s been home, so I guess that’s a good sign. Ugh. Me and my crazy neighbors.

STOP! Baby Time...

Well, I guess it’s time we talk about the BIG news around here, so...

YAY FOR BABY SADIE!! Born September 12, weighing a hearty 8lbs 2oz and CUTE. AS. A. BUTTON!! Yes, we’re very happy to welcome this little squishy baby into the family brigade. Oh, and early congratulations to mom for getting 7 (come November, anyhow) grandkids in an astonishing 3 years!! You’ve handled it well. :)

Not much going on here. I am just getting pregnanter and envying Shannon’s no longer pregnant status. Sage and Orion are doing well. Sage likes to lift up my shirt slightly, say “Baby?” and give my belly a little kiss. Orion likes to pat my belly and giggle at himself about it. Anyhow, I will leave this post short and direct all attention on our beloved sister. I will hopefully be able to post more soon. But until then, I will just keep batting at these mosquitos who are letting me know- quite rudely buzzing in my ears- that they are unhappy with my decision to put on bug spray. Yay for using the laptop on the front porch.

"No Subject" is pretty fitting for this one

Hey, I know haven't posted in a while...*shrug*. So, here goes!
I wanted to let everyone know what was going on in my life. I just started school. I'm in two choirs: Women's and Madrigals. I'm also taking a voice lesson. American History, World Religions, and Chemistry are also classes in which I am currently enrolled. I am employed at Panera Bread and am payed far too little. I can't seem to make my sentence structures vary to make this a little more interesting, so I guess you'll all just have to deal with it...*another shrug*.
Really, I'm doing alright. The application for UCF's nursing school comes out in October, so I'm going to be pretty stressed out when that time rolls around. I'm going to apply to other schools, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do. So it should be interesting to see how everything turns out.
Well, I guess that's everything right now. Word.

(I'm feeling lots of pressure to put a picture of myself on my profile.)

Okay I know I JUST posted, but I thought I'd tell a funny little story.

Lara wanted to watch a movie a little bit ago, and I told her no. And she said "but I wanna watch a movie." And I said "but, no." And she said, "But I wanna watch a movie, mommy." And I said, "But I said NO." And this continued for a bit, and then I told her, "You know what, I want a million dollars. And she said, "A milyin drawers?" And I said, "That's right, and I'll make a deal with you. If you give me a million dollars, I'll let you watch a movie." So she brightened up and said, "Okay!!" and went running off to look for a meelin drawers, and then came walking slowly around the corner carrying a bucket of spackle. "Is this a milyinn dolers?"

Why, no. But I got a pretty good giggle out of it.:)

For Paloma

Since no one else decided to participate in the Paloma tag, I thought I'd jump in. ( I gave you all a chance!!) I guess I'm still a blogging newbie because I've never heard of a meme, or a tag, but I think I'm picking up from the contextual clues that I'm supposed to answer that list of questions. So here goes::

A. Attached or single? Married 6 years, 6 months, 9 days, 20 hours.

B. Best friend? I'd have to say Rochelle, although Ryan and I are pretty tight..

C. Cake or pie? Cookies-n-Cream ice cream from Blue Bell.

D. Day of choice? Sunday (3 hrs of free babysitting!)

E. Essential item? Car keys. Elusive. I've been keeping them in my car. :) (IN the garage)

F. Favorite color? Azure

G. Gummy bears or worms? Ick.

H. Hometown? Fort Walton Beach, FL

I. Indulgence? Frappucinos

J. January or July? January!!

K. Kids? Two. One of each flavor.

L. Life isn’t complete without? The fam

M. Marriage date? February 9

N. Number of brothers & sisters? 3 sistas

O. Oranges or apples? Cherries

P. Phobias? My teeth falling out. I'm gonna have to go with Paloma on this one. (So you must have those dreams, too)

Q. Quotes? "Do what you can with what you have where you are."

R. Reasons to smile? Watching my kids laugh at each other.

S. Season of choice? Autumn

T. Tag seven peeps! Um... no.

U. Unknown fact about me? I'm really addicted to coffee now-- and became so during my last pregnancy. No wonder that kid has so much energy.

V. Vegetable? Artichoke and asparagus, yes, and yellow squash cooked with onions, salt and butter. MMMMMMM

W. Worst habits? Throwing my clothes on the floor. And being a laundry procrastinator.

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Well, they had to use an "X' word I guess. I'm going with "xylophone."

Y. Your favorite food? Probably extra sharp Vermont cheddar cheese.

Z. Zodiac sign? Taurus the bull.

Here is a cute pic of my babies bathing. Gotta love the naked pics. :)

Personal Favorite- A Negligence of Crawdads

Here's a link to a post that is just too funny not to share (it'll help make sense of my title, so read it now)!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHANNON!!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday, dear Shannon,
Happy Birthday to you!

We called but you weren't home, so we hope you got the message!

Happy 28th!

Love ya, Mom and Anna!

Just call me a Jet-Setter!

Okay, so here's my itinerary for the next few months.

In September (10th thru 17th), I will be going to Ohio for a week for Shannon's baby.
In October (10th thru 14th), I will be going to California for a long weekend to a reunion with my sisters and brother as a surprise for Erin's birthday (don't say anything; it's a surprise!).
Then also in October (probably the last weekend) I'm supposed to be going on a retreat to a log cabin with the older singles group for a long weekend, although that has not been confirmed yet.
Then in November (around Thanksgiving) I will probably be going to Adena's for her new baby.

It's going to be a lot of travelling, but I'm looking forward to it.

The grand finale will be having everybody here for Christmas! I'm looking forward to seeing all my siblings this year as well as all my children and grandchildren! God is good!

I only wish I had more money so I could enjoy these trips without that burden, but I'm still going; I know I won't have these opportunities again any time soon.

Lightning from heaven

SOOOO. Our house got struck by lightning on Thursday and we've been without internet/phone/cable. I also dropped our cell phone in a glass of water (excellent timing, I thought) so even our one cell phone was acting funny. The cable guy came today and fixed it. It took him 4 hours. He had to replace our modem and our cable box and rerun the underground cable line. Now our television audio input cables are shot, as is our PC (although we didn't use it anyway), one telephone, one of the garage door openers, the microwave, the kids' bedroom light and fan switches, the switches in the monkey bathroom, and goodness knows what else. The same storm that sent that lightning also created a hole in our side yard right next to the retaining wall. The surface area is probably 3 feet by 1 foot, and the dirt just sank right in. It kind of makes me wonder if the whole house isn't built on a sinkhole.

Life is, needless to say, a little hectic right now. I have to go buy a new wireless router (also destroyed by the storm) tomorrow so Ryan and I can finish our work. I mean I guess it could have been a lot worse.

To end on a happy note: Julian is practically crawling now! He's actually moving forward several shimmies at a time instead of backward. At least something is going right around here!:)

Caryn

Red, Yellow, Blue, and AKU!

So, I’ve been trying to take time each day to sit down and have “lessons” with Sage. Right now we’re working on colors. My idea is to introduce the primaries and then go from there. So, here’s my plan; I take oil pastel crayons and we color together and talk about the colors. Then, when he gets the primaries, I start mixing the colors together and introduce other hues in that way. Clever, no? It’s also a good excuse to get our hands a little messy together. J

I tried it a few days ago and it went fairly well except for when I drew a picture of Samurai Jack and Aku. It was all downhill from there. He did not want to talk about anything else. “A-KUUUU!! Gah-dee-gah JACK!” Maybe from now on I’ll just stick with shapes or something. Hehe.

Naptime Music

I am compiling a list of songs to play while the boys are taking their afternoon nap. It seems like that time of the days is just begging for some acoustic-ish, soft melodies. Well, I’ve decided to fill that void. This is the list I have so far, although I know it could stand some more stuff, and I would love some suggestions - things I haven’t really heard before and all. Also, I haven’t arranged the songs perfectly yet. Chad has a knack for that sort of thing so I’ll leave it to him. ALSO, a few of the songs may or may not stay on the list- I haven’t fully decided, which is why I need help!


Fields of Gold- Eva Cassidy
El Shaddai- Amy Grant (probably the ONLY song of hers that I like anymore)
Nightingale- Norah Jones
The Nearness of You- Ella and Louis
They Say it’s Spring- Erin McKeown
Nothin’- Chris Rice
Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)- John Lennon
Something in the Way She Moves- James Taylor
Ab’s song- Iron and Wine
More Than Words- Extreme (I dunno about this one)
Lullaby- Billy Joel

Yeah, so, suggestions. Bring ‘em on!

Blowing a Virtual Raspberry

If it were up to those people who make up the “how to be pregnant the right way” rules, I would not eat anything that I really like, and I would live in empire waisted shirts. Well, I say, PHOOEY to all that!! I will too eat sushi and soft cheese and deli meat and tuna and all the gosh darn fruit that I gosh darn want!!! And I will find some other article of clothing that doesn’t tie into a bow in the back. Not that I’m anti-bows or anti-empire waists, but sometimes when I look in my closet for something stylish/comfortable, I feel like I am left with a choice of one, the other, or a combination of the two. Also, I think it’s safe to say that when it comes to clothing at this point in pregnancy, wearing clothes sucks in general. Nothing fits right. Grrr.

Anyway, this is a message to any silly headed know-it-all who wants to tell me that everything I eat could potentially kill me. I don’t have a food taster. I’ll just have to take my chances, and I just spent much too long trying to find something to wear around the house. So poo on you!

(end of rant)

Captain Destructo Strikes Again

Lara has left her twos behind. She no longer kicks, screams, punches and scratches when she doesn't get her way. She has moved on. Now she is 3. Her new phase is characterized by destruction. Every day for the last week we have had some major mishap. Today she cut a big chunk of her own yellow tresses off of the top of her head. I think her new nickname will be Spike. Yesterday she grabbed hold of a pencil and wrote all over the walls which were newly cleaned of crayon (that Magic Eraser is really awesome!). Last week she found a bottle of yellow acrylic paint, opened it in her room during "naptime", and poured it all over the floor, fingerpainting her limbs a lovely shade of maize. It was reminiscent of the jaundice during the first days of her life. Still haven't gotten it out of the rug. She broke the pull strings on the blinds in her room, and I have no idea how to fix them. I have removed and washed her sheets at least twice in the last week because she got marker all over them (thanks to Grampa Chris for the ultra-washable Crayolas! They seriously washed right out). She also colored her arms blue the other morning while I wasn't looking. (Also came right off in the bath- the water turned instantly blue). I keep thinking I've removed the problem, but she keeps finding things in places I didn't look. Now the door to our room has been locked, and it will remain so, and everything potentially destructive will go in there until she is 18.

We are putting her in preschool 2 days a week starting in September. I figure the tuition should make up for the cost of the household items she won't break during those hours in the morning.

Where The BLOG Have I Been?

Oh, here and there, but not so much here… apparently.

Just a quick update, things are going well. Orion is giving his best shot at walking, but believe me, I am in no hurry to have to keep up with two runners. We can save that hilarity for when I have to WADDLE after two runners. Sage is attempting more phrases, the big one right now being, “I DI-IT!” (I DID IT!). The other gem is definitely “Geh-Gi-Go?” (Where’d it go?). We use that one for lost binkies (will I ever be able to wean him? I don’t know), among other things. We have a crab apple tree right next door to us and our neighbor has given us permission to take some. Well, it’s a bit high up for easy grabbing, but generally the ones that fall down are good for eating which makes Sage the happiest kid alive. He loves ‘em. Yechk, says I. I am still in the beginning stages of potty training. It’s pretty frustrating. I just can’t seem to time things right, and Sage ALWAYS pees as soon as he gets in the bathtub. (The cheerios thing doesn’t really interest him, by the way. Everyone and their mom has told me to try it.) I’ve even tried putting him in the tub, and then taking him out to set him on the potty. No luck. *sigh* I’m sure he’ll be a happy little potty-training graduate soon enough.

Here’s a fun story. Once a week/every two weeks, Chad gets together with a friend for an early morning breakfast which they jokingly call their “midnight snack.” This guy has to be at work super early, and it’s hard for he and Chad to hang out so, at FOUR a.m. they will meet up at I.H.O.P or some other ungodly place that is open at that time and have breakfast.

So, it had been a month since their last midnight snack and Chad forgot to tell me that he was going. So, I woke up in the morning at 4:30 and Chad was not there. I got up to see if he was asleep on the futon. Nope. Boy’s room? Nope. Went for a walk after having a bad dream? Still nope. The car. Was. Gone. My brain looked something like this:

Whereishewhywouldhetakethecareat430amdidhejustneedtogetawaywhydidntheleavemeaNOTE
whenwasheplanningoncomingbackohgoodlordIwishhewouldhaveleftmeaNOTEmaybeIshouldjust
gobacktosleepNOIcantwhydontIjustcallhim….yeah….OK.

The phone conversation went something like this:

Chad: What are you doing awake?
Me: What are you doing GONE? (it was at this point that I realized that I MAY have let my early-morning-half-conscious state get the better of me)
Chad: It’s midnight snack. Troy’s about to leave so I’ll be home soon. Love you!
Me: *stutter* Oh. Right. I forg…I’ll see you soon... loveyoutoo.

He was afraid that I was about to accuse him of trying to “pick up loose women.” Nah, that thought didn’t really cross my mind (maybe for the nanoest of nano seconds, but those don’t count). Usually, tired+confused+without husband or note of husband’s whereabouts= panic attack. But I’m OK now. So is Chad. The last thing he asked me before we both fell asleep was “can I still get into my side of the bed?” Haha!

Perhaps I’ll write a more meaningful post in the days to come, as I had initially meant to. For now, tired+delicious sleepy rainy weather= I have nothing very intelligent to say.

Insulin, Shminsulin

I just wanted to say that I finally heard back about my glucose test, and it was negative. No gestational diabetes this time!!! YAY!!! (Caryn, because I know you are wondering, my number was 103)

That is all. At least that I have time for right now.

Enchanted

We just rented the movie Enchanted, and I knew nothing other than it had a girl running around in a giant princess dress and that everyone said it was funny. So we sat down to watch it, and it started with an animated parody sequence of a compilation of every one of the Disney princess movies we all love, and I am telling you the truth, I did not stop laughing for the duration of the movie. That is easily one of the best movies ever made. Amy Adams does such a friggin' awesome job portraying a Disney princess wannabe, and I have to confess-- I saw a little of my 18-year-old self in her.
Possibly my favorite line in the movie: The queen's assistant has just watched the bit of soap opera on television and realizes that he dislikes himself, and he asks the prince, "Do you like yourself?" And James Marsden (who is by the way also awesome in the flick) ponders for a sec, looks up and says, "What's not to like?" Pause, and then Big Goofy Grin and back to watching the TV.
Lara even loves it. She is such a girl- have I mentioned that?- that she gets all embarrased at the gushy love parts and hides her face and cuddles up next to me giggling. She's NOT EVEN 3. This just goes to show that no matter how much we want to blame our goofy tween behavior on pop culture, it's totally ingrained in us from birth.
Two thumbs up for Enchanted.

Happy heart, Sad heart

I had a dream last night that mom and dad somehow had another baby, and that they named (I assumed him) John. Mom was telling me about it and I was asking her about how they even got back together, and then I was making fun of her for such a boring name, and she said that they were going to name all future children after Jim Carrey's movie characters, starting with the first movie he was ever in. Then she said "she" in reference to the baby, so John was a girl. Weird. But I looked, and his character's name was Bobby in his first movie. So they were wrong.

Well I just wanted to open with that rousing story. We are leaving for Wisconsin today, supposedly in about 3 1/2 hours but Adam's not up yet and not packed, so I doubt that. In case you didn't know, we had to reroute our trip to Florida (big sad face :( ) to go up there because we found out that Adam's dad has to have open heart surgery next month to repair a valve that's not working right. He has a mitral valve prolapse. So, we decided to go visit them because we don't know when we'll see them next because we don't know if he'll be able to come when Sadie is born. And just to see him before surgery.

Speaking of Sadie, hers is the happy heart! (Adam's dad's was the sad one, if you didn't pick up on that) I had a fetal echocardiogram yesterday because apparently heart defects are one of the risks with this medication, and it was perfect! Her little heart was just abeating, nothing wrong with it. The doctor and ultrasound tech might be getting it on on the side, they were pretty friendly with each other. So anyway, Sadie's looking good. She kicks a LOT. And I don't like it.

Asher's doing well, he's hitting those twos just a little early. He is generally good still, but he loves to scream for no reason and hit and pull hair. Not too much, only when I am in his face telling him to stop something. But I think he's still better than most kids I see. I can't stand the screaming though, it's so piercing. We got him a toddler bed and I got all of this cute dinosaur bedding/room deco to do his room in, and he's definitely not all about the bed. He wouldn't even get on it at first, he would whine and get off really quickly when I put him on it, so I took the mattress off and put it on the floor and he played on it, then tried to climb on the slats of the bed, so I put it back on, and now he'll get on and bounce and yell and then get back off. Any ideas on how to get him to stay/sleep in there would be much appreciated.

And in other news, I went to get some new bras and I had to get a 38D!!!! I'm usually a 36B. Sad, sad. And I got my hair cut. And Tim Russert died yesterday. Very sad.

Summary of life

I'm almost finished with the main section of my medical transcription course and will start my internship soon. All I have left are the last 18 or so transcriptions left in the advanced section, and I just cannot get them done fast enough-- I am very happy about it. I am the first from my class to finish. Everyone else is on the 12 month course, but I'll have finished in about 7 months. WOO HOO.

Ryan is becoming quite the social butterfly lately. He has been mountain biking with Rochelle's husband Stephen, hanging out with Justin the worship leader from church, and going to the gym, the pool, and running. I'm so proud.:)

Ryan's sister, her babydaddy, daughter, and son are coming Saturday and we are all going to go to the Aquarium and all the places I've been wanting to visit but haven't gotten around to. So the next time any of you are in town, we can all go together to whichever of these places I found most amusing.

Poor Julian got 3 shots today, and had his little boy parts tinkered with by the doctor. I won't go into detail on a public forum, but it was painful for him and he cried and then fell asleep almost immediately. He's such a happy little guy, it was just plain mean to have to watch. :(

Lara won't wear anything but dresses. If I force her to put on shorts, I hear about it all day. Her birthday is coming up, and as she does not need any more toys, I may just get her some more dresses. She is a Girly-girl.

It just doesn't want to rain here. It was doing really well until last month, and then it just stopped. These huge clouds went over us today. The Doppler said there was rain and the weather channel said "rain shower in Douglasville." But not one drop. I am angry for my poor fruit trees, which are growing as well as they can in a drought, but I think it'll be awhile before I see any apples and cherries. It makes me sad.

And that about sums up life around here. Anyone else care to give us a similar brief description?

Oh, and thanks Shannon-- those are some cute clothes. :) Although he weighs over 19 pounds now and I don't know how much longer he'll be able to wear them. At least we have all the baby boy clothes together though, for Adena when she pops out another male child ;)

Lorenzo's Oil

Does anyone remember the movie Lorenzo’s Oil. Well I was plunking around on Wikipedia and got curious about what was happening with the real Lorenzo Odone. Turns out he died only a few days ago. You can read the article here. He ended up living 20 years longer than doctors had initially told him, but he still was incapable of doing much besides moving his fingers and blinking to communicate (I believe he also had the aide of a computer). Anyhow, I thought that was interesting.

WE HAVE CATS!!

Really, it's true. If you remember, there has been a black cat that has lived in the street gutter for a very long time. Well, it turns out that cat is a female and she decided to have her kittens in the space underneath my shed! There are 4 kittens; 2 black, and 2 tabby-colored. I think they are weaned because they look half-grown, but they are really adorable.
I first realized that we had cats on Tuesday. I was looking out the window at the kitchen sink when I saw all 4 of them out playing and the mother cat was just laying sunning herself as the kittens played around her. My yard seems to be the local hangout for the neighborhood cats, but that was when I realized that the occasional cat I saw in our yard was a little more than that!
Anna wants to befriend them, but they are wild and only run if we come near. We have put water out for them and I gave them some chicken and they seemed to appreciate it, but they are just too wild to be caught, which is fine with me since I am allergic anyway. I guess outdoor cats is the closest I'll come to having cats at all.

Hoping for a Scholarship

Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know that my audition for the choir/voice scholarship went well, and I was invited back to the first placement in June. Woohoo! I don't know if that means I got the scholarship or not, but if I did I would have several thousand dollars to save for when I actually go to a big college (hopefully UCF).
I would also like to say that the audition was extremely uncomfortable. When I walked into the room, I was expecting to be greeted and then immediately asked who I was, what I planned on doing, etc. This was not the case. I walked into the recital hall, and all I got was a small hello from one of the ten judges, which were all staring down at their folders throughout my entire audition. I was then asked if I needed someone to play my songs for me, and I said, "No, I have my own tracks to sing to." Then, there was this weird pause as I was putting my books and cds down, and I very akwardly asked, "So, do I just sing my first song," to which the answer was "Yeah, go ahead" (this being the same judge that had been the only one to greet me). So, I sang through most of the song, and I was stopped before I could finish. This is where the questions started, but they were not at all like I had imagined them to be. The first question was, "So, where do you go to school? Do you go to Choctaw?" I replied, "No, I graduated high school, and I have been going to OWC for a year now." Another akward pause. "So, why didn't you come to us last year?" was the next question to be asked. I think that I had an out of body experience at this point, and I was looking at my physical self as the head of it completely blew off from the rest of the body. Then, I pulled myself back together and very casually answered, "Oh, I was just trying to get some required classes out of the way for my intended major." Then, the worst question of all was asked. "Oh, what's your intended major." Oh crap. "Nursing" was my feeble reply. Yet another akward pause. "So, the second song, then?" "Yeah, go ahead." So, I sang maybe half of my second piece, and then I was stopped again. "Alright, thank you for coming today. You are invited back to the first placement on June 20. You'll get a letter in the mail." "Okay, thanks!" "You have a beautiful voice." This is where all the judges actually joined in and agreed that I, in fact, had a beautiful voice.

The First Checkup and BLOOOOOOD

So I finally had my first prenatal today. It went well. I had my blood drawn and it was not bad at all. I didn't even panic when Emily said, "Yeah, let's take care of that TODAY." Actually, I think I'm going to do a few more of the small blood draws just to keep up with my iron level.

Actually, this pregnancy is going to go a little differently than the last two. Emily and her midwifery parter, Julie, are sharing patients and so I will go back and forth between the two of them for my prenatals and they will both be at my labor (more than likely. I think Emily would be broken-hearted if she, for some reason, couldn't make it. I know 'cuz she told me so :) ). So, I'm curious about this Julie woman. I have a feeling she might be a little more pushy than Emily is about taking supplements and such. Emily is really cool about letting me do things my own way and if she has advice, she's very gentle about giving it. I don't know about Julie. From the few times I've met her she's seemed really nice, but... well, I just don't know yet. It'll probably be fine, I'm just picky when it comes to who's taking care of me. I think if I hate Julie I can just tell Emily and would just be able to just see her. For now, I know it helps Emily out and so I'll give it a try. Like I said, I'm probably worried/annoyed for no good reason.

So, getting blood drawn today reminded me of getting blood drawn at the hospital when I was a kid. It happened sometime around my lymphnoid-could-it-be-cancer(?) scare when I was 7. For whatever reason Daddy had to take me and I'm pretty sure Mom gave me a death warning not to act terribly and scream like I did when she was around (eventually, I learned [read: was threatened with my life] to "scream in my mouth"). So, Daddy and I went into this area where a bunch of guys in their BDUs were getting shots and whatnot. I sat down (and apparently looked pathetically terrified) next to a soldier getting a shot/blood drawn. He must've seen how scared I was, so he reassured me that he "always [cried] during a shot." They stuck the needle in, and he then proceeded to "boo hoo." But he was "very good" and didn't move or squirm while he was getting poked. Then he wiped his tears and reassured me once again that it was OK to cry.

Well, I bought it. Hook, line, sinker and all that. I was fully convinced that this ripped man in army boots was truly upset and hurt when he had to get his shots. So I felt very brave. The memory is vivid enough in my mind that when I look back I can remember his face and see how much he was hamming it up all to give a pitiful little girl some comfort.

So, all that was to say that today, I was very brave. And I didn't even cry.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

I want to be the first to wish each of you (except Anna) a very

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I am very proud of all of you (including Anna) and I love you very much! I look forward to seeing you when you come to visit, so come visit!

(And, yes, Shannon, I know the road goes both ways, but it's hard for me to get enough time off to visit all of you.)

Summertime, and the Livin' is Easy!

I'm finally done with school!! Yayyyyyyy!!!! I just took my last final yesterday, and I am done until August. People have been asking me if I'm taking summer classes, and whenever they do, I just laugh and give them a meaningful look that says, "No thanks! I'd rather eat poo!" All I'm doing now is finding a job so that I can make money and not have to bum any off of Mom.
Also, I am trying out for the OWC Madrigals choir next friday, so hopefully that works out.

Hope to see you guys in the next few months!

Dreams

I had a dream last night. Ryan was crying when I walked into some room, and he had a really hard time telling me something, so it took him a long time to spit it out: He said that Adena had died. He kept "sobbing" and I finally believed him, although I couldn't quite grasp to gravity of the situation. Finally I asked, "How did she die?" and he told me, "She died because she never flossed." I was so confused, trying to understand how not flossing would kill somebody, when out from behind a door popped Adena, dressed in a bath towel. "Ha-ha, gotcha!" she said, and Ryan began to laugh.

And frankly, I'm still angry about it. Adena (and Ryan), don't ever do that to me again!

Caryn

Man's arms pinned

Hiya. I was just watching CNN headline news and a story came on about a man whose arms got pinned in a machine and who called 911 with his toes. As it turns out, it happened in Mary Esther, and Ryan Christensen, Fort Walton Beach High School class of '97, who apparently works for the Fire Department now, appeared explaining the story. I just saw someone I haven't seen in over 10 years on national news. STRANGE.

Okay, that was all I had to say.

It's Today! Yay!

Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY
Happy Birthday to ME!!!

In honor of my birthday, I decided to actually eat the fatty part of the bacon this morning.

As I watch Elmo on Sesame Street singing inanely "weather, weather, weather, weather, wea-ea-ea-ea-ther," with Lara sitting next to me helping me eat bacon, and the baby sitting in my lap because he WON'T be put down, I reflect on turning 29. It's the official last year of my youth. My next birthday, I will be an Adult. My skin will start to sag, I'll start putting on weight, and my spine will begin deteriorating. I may need dentures soon.

On the flip side, I am a little ahead of the game. I have 2 kids and I'm married. We have a house in the suburbs and Ryan is gainfully employed. I feel like I've met my quota. I don't have anything pressing I need to get done between now and then.

So here comes 30. And I say, bring it on.

And Shannon-- you're next. :)

I Need Pink Clothes

Not for me, for the baby, sillies. I had my big ultrasound, and it is indeed still a girl! She didn't grow a penis since we last saw her, so we are happy :) So you will now have a new neice or granddaughter, come Sept.

We had a lot of fun with the Giles' here, but I am too tired to elaborate.

That is all.

I Want School to be Over!!!

Okay, so I am really posting this for Adena more than anyone else, but I have a test on the day we are leaving. So, I am going to go in to school that day at 8AM to test, and then we can leave. It will only take about an hour, so we won't be really off schedule. I just can't take the test at any other time because it is a lab test, and that means that my teacher is going to have the rats and hearts that we dissected laying out with pins in them so that we can name the parts that have been speared. That's all I had to say. There's no more bad news.

I can't wait to see everyone (Caryn)!!!!

Mir-Waukee-Wis-a-con-a-sin

I confess I really like Wisconsin. We just got back from there yesterday. But the real fun was flying on an airplane with 2 kids.

Lara was very excited about flying, so when we got on the airplane and the engine started up, she squealed, "We're flying!!" To which I replied, amid rumbles of laughter from the other passengers, "Not yet. We're still driving." Then the plane lurched backward to pull out from the gangplank and she screamed, "We're flying!" More chuckles. I said, "Not yet. In a minute." We drove to the end of the runway, parked for a minute, and then pulled about 5 feet forward, and she yelled, "We're flying!" "Nope," said I, "but we will soon." Then the captain came on over the loudspeaker to announce that we were 11th in line for takeoff and would be off in about 12 minutes, and Lara, the whole time he was talking, kept yelling, "Could you turn that off? Turn it off!! It's too loud! Mommy, turn it off!" I couldn't explain that I had no control over the volume. I guess it was enough buildup that she was completely beside herself when the plane did actually take off, and squealed with delight even over the noise coming from Julian who was by this time screaming with anger because I couldn't walk around with him. I think the passengers were gritting their teeth and preparing for a rough ride when we finally pulled up and were in flight, Julian fell promptly asleep, and Lara settled down to watch a movie on the laptop. But there were about 25 minutes of pure tense fear that we would be lynched by those aboard the airplane.

Julian decided the second night we were there that he didn't want to sleep through the night. He woke up every hour throughout the night to nurse, and didn't want to go to anyone else. I was a walking zombie the next day, and he just wouldn't give it up. Then his nose became runny, and I discovered that he had caught a cold, poor kid. He had a boogery nose. Lara's first cold came during our last trip to Milwaukee. Weird. Anyway, by the time we left, as much as we enjoy the company of Ryan's dad and Nata and Isabelle and Babushka (Nata's mom), it was very much time to leave, just to get kids back to their own space. They both slept very well last night and are much the happier today, though Julian's cold hasn't healed all the way yet.

Which brings me to my point: I'm thinking seriously that I am not going to the wedding. I don't think I can handle both my children in a car for 18 hours and I don't want to make them miserable hopping from place to place. I also don't want Julian catching any more colds. Sorry to disappoint. I really want to go, I just don't want to go without Ryan. And he wouldn't want to even if he could, after the stress of having them both yesterday.

Just So You Know...

I am going to Greg's wedding! I bought my ticket today, so Asher and I will be there with you guys. Yay!

Good Morning, Crazy Person!

This is what happened at 8:00 this morning:

Telephone: Ring, ring
Me: Hello?
Older Lady: Hi, is this the (insert name here) residence?
Me: No, I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number.
Older Lady: Really? Are you sure this isn't the (insert name here) residence?
Me: Um, yes.
Older Lady: Is this 320-9933?
Me: No, it's 320--9993.
Older Lady: Oh! I'm sorry! Thank you!
End conversation.

Did she really not think that I knew whose residence it was? Did she think I was lying? Or was she afraid that it made her a crazy person for getting it wrong? Ah well, c'est la vie.

Asher had his speech therapy evaluation yesterday. He had had his physical one last week, and he's behind but doesn't need therapy. He did get some inserts for his shoes because he's completely flat footed and it's affecting how he walks. He also doesn't need speech therapy, which after the questions she asked I thought for sure he would since I said no to basically everything, but she just said he's a little behind but only come back when he turns 2 and is still not doing well.

I had an appt. today, it was a waste of time. The baby is fine, he couldn't tell me any better what the gender is, so we are still going on the assumption that it's a girl. They moved my due date back to Sept. 18, blah. Then I had to take the glucose test early, which was a blast. Luckily Adam came and could corral Asher.

We went to PA last week to visit LaShae and Bethany and their families. LaShae is a darn cute pregnant lady, and Bethany's son Ami is adorable. He and Asher were best buds by the time we left. It was a really fun trip, I also got to see Adam Loucks and my Adam got to meet all of these people that he hears so much about.

Well, there's my update. I don't have the energy or brain power to think of a good April Fool's Day joke. So just assume everything I told you is true.

A Must See

No, seriously, stop what you're doing (eh.. sort of) and go to this website. It's a bit of an addictive read, but hugely entertaining!

UPDATE!!
ok, try this link instead... http://www.christandpopculture.com/asides/stuff-christians-like/

Movin' on up!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I actually made my own basil pesto tonight! I made it with shrimp and rice, and it was STUPENDOUS! I also wanted to let everyone know that I think it's very unpleasant to stand over a sink for two hours deshelling and deveining shrimp... but the outcome is the most important part...meh. Uh, I think that's all I got for right now...


So, I was attacked by ninjas today...

No Gobble Gobble For Us.

So, as you've seen from the recent pictures I've sent, Chad has become quite the Robin Hood; shooting arrows into the backs of other arrows and whatnot. You also may know by now that he intends to be a hunter. He wants to shoot deer in our back yard and feed his family. The arrangement goes something like this:

-Chad will shoot a deer and take care of the butcher arrangements (I imagine he will hire someone for this)

-I will cook, and try not to think about that sweet bambi face. I have made it quite clear that I want to see nothing until it is wrapped in paper or plastic. This is one of very few "princess complexes" that I possess

Well, this past week he got his chance at a practice shot. He came home for lunch, had a quick cat nap, woke up, kissed me goodbye, walked out the door, walked back in the door, and whispered sweetly in my ear, "There is a turkey pecking at the bumper of my truck." I got up, looked, and sure enough, there it was, pecking away. I think it saw its reflection in the chrome and was getting a little hostile at his identity theft. A moment later Chad saw another one at the end of our cul-de-sac.

My first thought was, "Wow, what are wild turkeys doing in our front yard?!" My second thought, (which was spoken out loud) was , "KILL IT!" I mean, I wanted me some turkey. So, being the wonderful husband Chad is, he started making a decision between his pistol and the bow and arrow. The pistol? In city limits? With our neighbors very close across the street from us? Yeah, he went with the bow.

So, he stepped out into the street so as to have a better shot at the thing. Aim, fire... all I saw were wings flapping, feathers going everywhere, and then Chad shaking his head. I stepped out of the house. After surmising the meaning of my quizzical gaze, he said, "the arrow bounced off the turkey."

I still have no idea how this is possible. Bounced off? I mean, I am not calling Chad a liar by any means, but if that's so, then that's probably not a turkey we want to be eating. Unless I slow cook it for five days straight.

The thing wasn't injured. It just went clucking angrily into the woods (an interesting note; this is the first time I've ever heard turkey sounds, and it definitely sounded more clucky than gobble-y). Chad tried to shoot again but it flapped out of harm's way as he fired. Ah well.

Actually, it's probably for the best that we did not have an early Thanksgiving dinner. I mean, what on earth would we have done with the thing once it was shot? Does a turkey need to be "de-peed?" I also am not willing to pluck feathers. The dog, however; was more than delighted to chase a few stray feathers around the yard. There were plenty of those to go around.

Post Partum Fat is PHAT!

Here’s another gem from www.femina.reformedblogs.com. Remember the “Nancy Wilson” quote I posted yesterday? Well, this is one of her daughters who just had twins in December.

“... I remembered a note my husband left on the breakfast table two years ago, when Easter fell about 2 weeks after the birth of our second daughter Daphne. I believe it was entitled “A note to my wife Easter morning before she even goes near the closet,” or something romantic like that.

But the point he made in it was one that I am appreciating again this year. It was basically that there is no more appropriate way to celebrate Easter than to be in a body that has been taken all apart on behalf of another. So do it cheerfully. Look at your babies and laugh at the new life and don’t become absorbed in the old death. This is the good stuff - all the extra weight included.”

By the way, the whole post (I think it’s the first one on the page presently) is great and you should read it. The end.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, everyone! This morning e feasted on pancakes and bacon. We didn't quite make it to church this morning, however; we were all over at Granny and Grandaddy's until almost modnight doing laundry and I was not about to find out how grumpy my boys could be at church, haha! Anyhow, hope you all aren't being evil pagans like me. Maybe next year we'll be even more pagan and actually do an easter egg hunt! Actually, I just read an interesting little factoid about Easter eggs at www.femina.reformedblogs.com. Nancy Wilson says,

"And as far as the eggs go, my daughter learned while she’s been in England that this tradition has a very practical beginning after all. Since the people didn’t eat eggs during Lent, and because the hens kept right on laying anyway, they had a big surplus of eggs by Easter. So, being keen on finding a good use for so many extra eggs, they turned it into a party and colored the eggs and hid them to delight the children. Children are still delighted by such things, and I say, let them be! What could our good God possibly object to if we want to boil, color, and hide eggs for our children? I never met a child who didn’t adore it!"

that I will provide for you on this blessed day. Have a good one!

9 (-5) stories. J.D. Salinger, anyone?

Guilty, guilty, guilty. That’s all I can say for myself, really. Why have I not written in forever? Nothing but sloth, I tell you. There. Glad I got that off my chest.

Well, I don’t have any big news or anything, but I figured I’d give at least an update via short stories.

I was talking to Shannon today about how particular Sage is; about his clothes, and about his cleanliness especially. If his shoelace is untied, it needs to be tied. Right. Now. It’s pretty interesting, as we all know that this is not in the slightest how Chad and I are. I mean, if my shoe lace is untied, I try and act like I don’t know it so as to avoid stooping down. If Sage’s sleeve has shimmied up his arm, it must be pulled back down into place immediately.

The cleanliness thing just about drives me insane, and here’s why; I wanted something outside that Sage could play in/on that’s in my sight while I do garden work. If he goes into the backyard, it makes me nervous because of how steep and rocky the hill into our yard is. Not to mention the woods behind our house. He has tried sneaking into them a few times. SO, Chad built the kid a sandbox. Nothing too fancy, but in the end it cost $120 for lumber and tarp and bags of sand. I was pretty excited about it, thinking that Sage would dive right in and have a blast. But no. What did this child of mine do when I stuck him in the box o’ joy? Oh, he cried. He cried hard, and he cried good. In trying to show him that the sand was harmless, I took him out of the box and ran my fingers through it. He said, “Gross,” (or “Gro” if you’re going to get technical). Eventually I got his interest peaked when I placed his construction trucks in the thing and showed him how they can push and dump sand. He played for a few minutes but is still wasn’t enough to really keep him busy. *sigh* I don’t really know what to do. Hopefully Orion will like it and Sage will get over his need for perpetually clean hands in time.

In other news, we found out that our soil is way too rocky to start a good garden in it this year. There’s a way to cultivate soil, but it takes a few years. So, I think we might be doing Square Foot Gardening. Nancy is doing it and has a guide book for the process so I think I might look into it. Trying to hoe up that yard was ridonculous

I think that’s about all I can come up with. Life right now is mostly spring cleaning and house getting together-ing. We stained cabinets yesterday and let the boys watch movies while we did so. We’re hoping to start getting our basement finished so that we can knock off that awful addition on the back of the house and build the boys a more suitable bedroom. I asked chad if he could build me a laundry shoot since the washer and dryer would go downstairs. He said he would like to build a dumbwaiter, which seems like a lot more fun, but then I immediately imagined Sage in place of “Kevin” in Home Alone shooting G.I. Joes from the dumbwaiter into the basement with a b.b. gun. OK, maybe I would actually think that was funny, but I would have to act all grownuplike. Whatever that means.

Cannibals

So, why do my children like to to bite mommy? Julian doesn't have any teeth yet. He's 3 months old. And he has already created a terrible wound that has to have a couple days of no nursing to heal properly. I think he just sucks really hard or something, but I have 2 cuts, on the top and bottom!! I assume you all remember the Lara bite incident, but she was 7 months old already...

I started doing Pilates yesterday (we'll see how long this lasts) because I need to do something, and I can do this while Lara is awake because she does it with me. Man is it funny. We lie on our backs in front of the TV and follow Ellen (Lara knows her name) as she stretches and works us, and Lara attempts it all with me. If I can ever get the video camera CD installed on this computer, I'll tape it for you and post it somewhere. It'd be a good watch. :)

I bought a bag of gutted, scaled, but otherwise whole tilapia at Sam's and pulled three of them out to thaw this morning. I put them in a bin in the sink with warm water and showed Lara. Her first reaction was, "mommy, the fish are tired." Then she said, "mommy, those fish are sad." I thought honesty was the best policy, so I risked it all and said, "no, sweetie, those fish are dead and we are going to eat them for dinner." Her response: "Yeah! We're gonna eat them!" I would have thought that all her viewings of Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid would have sensitized her to the plight of the fish... evidently not.

Incidentally, she found them quite tasty.

Big News, Baby

I had an ultrasound today for the nuchal translucency test, and even though I am only about 12 weeks, she said that she would be able to tell me with 90-95% certainty what the gender is. So here we go....the Farley boy spell is broken! We're having a girl!! Woo hoo! Now, I'm not going to start buying any pink just yet, but I am really excited. I think Adam is even more excited, he really wanted a girl. Anyway, yay!

It gots to be quick, but I thought you'd all like to know that mapquest now contains our address.

Lara has now had all writing utensils taken from her since she hid a bunch of crayons in one of her purses, put them in her room, and during nap pulled them out and drew pretty letters all over the wall. I'm glad I have some extra paint!! (Adena reincarnate - ? hmm... ;)

Julian is grabbing at things now. He tries to get them in his mouth, too, but with less success.

Megan

Well, I just talked to Megan. If you didn't know (which you probably didn't), she is in Texas because she found out on Sunday that her dad was hospitalized with double pneumonia and they were only giving him a 50/50 chance. She called today and let me know that he died yesterday! I was so shocked. But the big problem is her insane family and their complete inability to handle anything. I know she is prone to exaggeration, but I really don't think she is this time because I have met her family and seen how crazy they are. She basically is having to take care of all of the financial issues and everything, and her family just keeps giving her crap and being impossible. Her dad lived with her uncle, and he just keeps on telling her that they need to get his money, they need to get into his accounts and get it done. She said he had even taken money out of his wallet while he was in the hospital! And no one is being any help, you know how crazy her mom is. Anyway, she sounds like she's having a really hard time, she hasn't had the chance to mourn at all because of all of this. Please keep her in your prayers.

I'm stealing this from Anna's facebook page. One of her friend's sent her this video and I can only love it. Better better better, AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgrrQwLdME8

Dang Hippies

I was listening to a live performance on the radio the other day. It was some folkish guitarist whom I had never heard of. His music was OK, good enough to not change the station anyway. As with most radio interviews/performances, he was giving description and reason and inspiration behind each song he played. He had one of those “yeah, man… totally” kind of voices: very mellow with some smoker gravel. He began talking about a song called “Love is the solution,” which had been inspired by an acquaintance of his who stated, “You know, you people (referring to music artists and other artsy war protestors, I presume) are always ranting about everything that’s wrong and are never offering any solutions!” I thought that was a valid question. Although I am not happy about being in a war and I have a lot of questions as to whether or not we should even be in war and what not, I certainly have no solution to end it, and it probably has to do with my unfortunate lack of knowledge in the area.

Anyhow, the song that he played was…. Eh… you know, like most anti-war songs, which is to say, not very good. And when I say “not very good,” I mean that many seem like they were written quickly and furiously, lacking a good bit of musical and lyrical commitment. I couldn’t manage to find the lyrics to this particular tune. I don’t think the guy is well known at all, but mostly the song was a list he had compiled of all the things and people we are supposed to love that will consequently end all hate and war: drunkards, criminals, foreigners, etc. During the first half of the song I just sort of rolled my eyes and thought, “Yeah, that’s the kind of response a person would expect when they ask a solution from the artsy anti-war person.” So, I just kind of listened, waiting for it to be over when one particular lyric hit me. It was added in such a fashion as to REALLY drive the point. The tempo slowed some and the lyrics were drawn out, as if to say, “this is the kicker, folks. Pay attention.”

“…love the sinner, LLLLUUUUUVVV the sin… love is the solution”

Well I was just plain bothered. Even outside of what we know about sin in the Christian realm of thought, that idea is just plain ridiculous. I can imagine watching a news report of a bank robber and searching my heart for some form of empathy. I could maybe visualize some kind of sad, abused and dirt poor existence that would drive a man to resort to stealing, and in that way come to find a love for a redeemable soul, “A sinner such as I,” if you will. I CANNOT imagine watching the same news reel and thinking, “I love robbery.”

At this point I am trying to figure out a way to expound on how a person could love a sin, and I am stumped. Maybe it’s because sin as an idea isn’t very tangible. It is only brought to life through action, at which point I can only think of specific sins. If we are truly “loving” sin, like gossip, theft, envy, etc; how on earth is that part of any solution? The people who are loving sin, are the ones doing the sinning and causing all that grief and strife and what have you. Loving them is what we ought to do. But loving their sin is no good end of war solution.

Maybe what this guy was really about was anarchy, because that’s the only sense I can make of that dim-witted phrase.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

We had a pretty good snowstorm here and I took Asher in it, all bundled up like the kid in A Christmas Story. He couldn't really walk on his own, only a few steps before he fell over, but he sure loved it. He didn't want to come in. Go look at the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21780284@N02/

Yes, that was an order.

I went to the neurologist yesterday and he is going to have my blood checked every 4-6 weeks, and I had blood drawn yesterday for the first check. It didn't hurt at all, and was really quick, but it left a big bruise and it hurts now. Wierd. But he really seems to know what's up so hopefully things will go better this time.

I think Asher is saying "quack quack". He has a little duck (I think you gave it to him, mom) that quacks when you press it's stomach, and he says "gehck gehck" (or something equally accurate). And he is starting to say Hello, and sort of says I love you (ah luh...ooooo). Who knows what's the deal with this kid.

Something in the trees...

It's story-sharing time.

A couple days ago I walked into Lara's room after her "nap" to find all the pieces to all of her puzzles on the floor, most of the toys from her toy box outside of it, books on and under the bed, the blankets in a pile on top of the bed, and the playdoh from at least 5 different tubs taken out, squished into a massive multicolored dohball, smashed onto the sheets and broken into many, many bits. So a few changes were in order, and words to the wise among you: don't leave more than 2 puzzles in reach of your two-year-old; DON'T ever leave play-doh in a box on top of his dresser, even if he's never messed with it before; and if you hear noises from his door during nap, go check on him.

She likes to make up people to talk about, or maybe she is talking about things I am not familiar with, but she recently decided an entity living outside the house was in the trees afraid of the cats, and that we needed to be nice to it. However, she was calling this entity the "f**ker." I think she must have meant something else, but that's what it sounded like. I kept asking her to repeat herself, but I never could figure out what she was saying- it just sounded like the repetition of a bit of profanity!! So we decided to just discourage such talk without making a big deal out of it, and she seems to have forgotten about the "f**ker." Hopefully for good. :)

She loves the baby, and she wants to play with him, but she wants to rub her face (and hair) all over his head, which does nothing but make him fuss. I really can't wait till he's a little older and can at least sort of play with her-- maybe when he can sit up, or crawl! Maybe he'll crawl early and start fighting back.

Good times.
Caryn

Post-Valentine's Day Pigabration

So, you know how grocery stores will put all holiday items on sale the day after whatever holiday has passed? Well, today the singles had a spaghetti fundraiser to pay the thousands (oh yes, I mean thousands) of dollars needed to accomodate Jeff Slaughter, and we had everything together for the meal except for a dessert. So my friend, Katie, and I thought that we would just go ahead and go to Food World and raid the bakery section there. The minute we step through the door, though, we see these two tables with Valentine's Day cookies stacked on top with a sign that reads, "everything 50% off marked price." Yeah, we definitely served Valentine's Day sweets in all of their pink-frosted goodness at a spaghetti fundraiser.

And a very, merry post-Valentine's Day to you!

I just wanted to say....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Hugs to all!!

Love, Mom :)

My Boring Life

Well, it snowed here last night (and today). Supposedly we were going to get 6-8 inches, but it looks like about one to me. I am currently trying to avoid the kid who walks around the neighborhood asking if we want him to shovel the driveway for $15.

I had my first OB appt. yesterday. We got to see the baby, they did a little ultrasound. He is CUTE. Well really he's a little blobby thing, but still cute. His arms were up by his head, and while we were watching he moved his little head to the side. And the dr. who examined me was from Niceville, she graduated from NHS in 1996. How weird is that. I know that a pelvic exam isn't generally the best time for small talk, but we had a good time.

I think you guys knew that Daddy was here a couple of weeks ago. I got to go to the Air Force Museum. Woo hoo. I swear, the smell of those old airplanes gives me a massive headache. Other than that we didn't do much, Adam and Daddy went to the museum alone on Saturday and spent the whole day there (I only had to survive 4 hours one afternoon). I felt bad for Daddy, I was pretty boring because I felt so sick all the time (and still do). But he was a champ and changed Asher's poopy diapers for me (he poops at 10:00 am, on the dot, every day). What a nice guy.

I also wanted to show you guys a couple of blogs that our cousins have...Bill(y) Farley is apparently in Italy for the semester and he and his girlfriend (she's there too) have a blog, it's pretty interesting. http://jessbillflorence.blogspot.com/ And Paloma has one too but I can't find it right now, so I'll get back to you with it.

There. My boring life. Eat it up.

Feelin' Blue

I don't know which of us read the Wrinkle In Time series, but, I thought I should let you know that Medeline L'engle Died this last September. I didn't even know about it until I "Wikipedia'd' her. It was sad.

Memberies

You know, it's sad, but the only truly outrageous happenings from our collective childhood I can think of are about me. Not as good fodder for sibling online chat, I admit, but I'd like to share a couple memories...

Me, arguing with a clown at somebody's birthday party in Panama. He was so annoyed that I was giving away all his little magic tricks that he played a little trick on me, the end result of which was that water, purportedly pee, came rushing down all over my hands in an embarrassing manner in front of a whole slew of kids.

Me, playing with Miss Debbie's pet alligator, which chomped on my finger and wouldn't let go. And after that grueling experience, I got yelled at by mom!! Unbelievable...

Me, stopping on the side of road at the end of Brewer Circle and kicking Shannon out of the car for not wanting to listen to Christian radio.

Me, rear-ending someone while I was driving to Bruner Middle School looking for either Adena or Anna (I don't remember which). One of you was walking on the side of the road, and I was looking for you, and the guy in front of me just stopped and I slammed right into him. Then I peeled out, took off and threw my french fries at him to throw him off my course, and he pulled out his Taser and shot it at the back bumper of to Roller Skate but it bounced off and hit the kid next to the car and an ambulance had to be called and the kid almost died and still has electrically-induced delusions and is on Zoloft...
(Okay, only the 1st 2 sentences were true. I wuz jus' trying to spice up my boring life a bit.)

Julian is singing my song.

Lovies!!
Caryn

Memories

Sorry I haven’t been around. The boys and I (and once again, not Chad… how does he DO it?!) have come down with a cold; and this one is NASTY. Chad did everything yesterday, except for nursing Orion, of course. He changed diapers, went grocery shopping… the man even made me some chicken soup. It even tasted good! What a guy! Sage has been down with this thing for 4-5 days now. It’s so sad. This is the longest I’ve ever seen him sick. Orion is not doing so hot either. He can’t keep solid foods down, so right now I am only nursing him. He is also sleeping a whole lot, which is good, but he wakes up frequently because his nose is stuffy and he’s got a low-grade fever. Me? Well, I drank a butt-load of water and juice and Chad made sure I took every pill imaginable. Vitamins C and D, my daily, this yeast stuff (a whole other story entirely), some herbal bronchial support thing, and… I’ll even admit it, last night I took *gasp* Ibuprophen. Yes, it’s true. Today I am feeling much better, though my nose is all red and it’d be really great if I were capable of sleeping during the day. Right now all we’re hoping is that Chad doesn’t have to go through it, and that it will finally end for the rest of us. Ugh.

Onto other things…I’m starting my own little mini-series of posts. I will call them “memories”(I know, I know, my creative mind powers know how to cook up a good title). If any of you would like to write your own list, that’s great! I’ll do a jig in your honor.

The other day a bunch of random memories came into my head and made me laugh out loud. Here they are!

Caryn pinning me down and slapping me in the face (after I had intentionally
pushed her buttons to see if she could actually get mad. Well, just so you know,
she can.)

(hehehe)

A common line that Shannon used
that NEVER failed to make me laugh (even when I didn’t want it
to)

Shannon:*BUUUUURRRRRRRP!*
Me: Pig
Shannon: oink oink, baby!


A conversation that I overheard the evening after
St. Patty’s day.
Anna: Mom, today one of my friends at school pinched me
because she said my shirt was teel and not green.
Mom: SHA! It’s still GREEN!
That’s so stupid!
Anna: I KNOW!!
Mom: She PINCHED YOU?
Anna: YEAH!! She
said my shirt wasn’t GREEN!
Mom: That’s so stupid
Anna: I know. My shirt
is GREEN!

We are an oppressed people.

You did NOT just say that!!

Okay, so I thought I'd share another work story.
Our regional manager came to visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, and since his birthday is February 4th, we decided to get a cake for his birthday for while he was here (since he won't be here then and, hey, any excuse for a party!). So we called him in to the break room on Wednesday and surprised him with the cake and sang 'Happy Birthday' to him. Then Joann told him that since it was his birthday, he had to cut the cake. His response? "Oh, no, that's women's work". We could not believe it! She and I both said "You did NOT just say that!" at the same time! I was amazed because this guy holds a major position in the company and you would think that in this day and age of 'political correctness', he would know better than to say something like that! I thought it was funny because it really showed his true colors. I suppose I should get upset, but frankly, I don't care enough to. But for his sake, if someone filed a complaint about that comment, he could get in serious trouble! So the moral of the story is 'chauvenism is not dead; it is alive and well in the South'!

Julian's head

I think Julian is adorable. He looks like a perfect, healthy baby to me-- he's not too fat or too skinny, and he smiles a lot and coos. BUT: his head is really small. It's like under the 5th percentile, no kidding. The rest of him is around the 50th. They say that big heads in the first year are associated with intelligence. I suppose he's got 10 months to make up the difference, but it doesn't seem like it's moving too fast. At least Shannon can take Asher to speech therapy, if for nothing else than to allay her fears. Ain't nothing they can do about a small head.

Lara, on the other hand, was enormous from about 6 weeks on. All I did was worry about her being overweight her whole life, and frankly I still am concerned because she doesn't eat the healthiest diet, she wants sweets way to often, she will get into and eat butter all by itself, and we live a rather sedentary lifestyle (my fault, certainly). Kids who are overweight when they are 3 are much more likely to be overweight later in life. So I have a genuine concern about her, because she needs to eat healthy foods and get exercise if she wants to be healthy.

I guess my point is that the medical world comes up with new and innovative ways to rate our children on a scale of 1 to 100. The result is usually needless worry. The fact is that, because I am concerned about her caloric intake, Lara will probably fare well; and Julian will most likely be fine regardless of whether or not his head makes it into the 80th percentile. Asher will be able to speak inteligibly one day (very few adults can't), and Orion will grow to be a Harvard grad even though his big brother tried to bash him on the head with garden shears ;). I understand Shannon's concern, and mom probably had similar worries when we were all little. So everyone, including myself, just CHILL OUT.

Especially Anna. And tell that boyfriend that if he wants to be the next Mr. Farley, he'd better start wearing Men's jeans. That kind of fluff doesn't go over well up in the northeast. (JK)

On a different thread, this Medical Transcription course I am taking is turning out to be very informative. I had no idea I had such bad grammar. Apparently there are all sorts of rules governing the use of commas that I had never heard of. I still don't understand them all.

To end on an upbeat note, Julian sometimes will be sitting in his swing or carseat on the verge of falling asleep and will let a BIG one rip, and then will JUMP out of his skin like someone intentionally scared the poopy out of him. It's hilarious.

Gotta love job applicants

Okay, so I decided to share this story from work. We are in need of a new dispatcher, so I placed an ad in the paper. I got over 200 applications online and only about 15 met the qualifications of the ad I placed. It was ridiculous! I left it to Bob (our current dispatcher) to sort thru and find someone because I simply didn't have time. After setting up 10 interviews and having only 3 applicants show up (?), he finally settled on one to hire and offered her the job. This was while I was off, so she had to wait till I got back to do her background checks, which consists of an MVR check, a criminal background check, and a drug test. I got the ID's I needed and gave her the drug screen form.
About 2 hours later, I got a call from the drug screen company. Apparently, when she went there, she gave them a sample, but it was not warm. According to the tech who called me, in order for her sample to be that temperature, she would have to be dead! The applicant was still there, but refused to do another sample because she said she had to 'get out of a domestic violence situation' and had to get a uhaul truck to get her stuff and she couldn't pee anymore and she couldn't wait around to drink water and go again, etc., etc. I told her that if she didn't, I couldn't accept having her come again the next day. She said she absolutely could not wait. I told the tech that if she didn't give another sample then, I couldn't accept it. I then hung up and thought that was the end of it. But no, then the lab tech called me back and proceeded for about 5 minutes to tell me her position and why she couldn't accept the sample, all of which I already knew and was in full agreement with! Right after I hung up with her, the applicant called me back and tried for about another 5 minutes to explain her situation! I told her I was sorry, but that I had no other choice. She was ticked, but that really isn't my problem. So, needless to say, we still don't have a second dispatcher!
Oh, and by the way, her other background checks came back clean! Go figure!
Another fun day at work! So this is my boring life.
Aren't you glad I posted this?

Asher Asher Bo Basher

Well, I just got back from the doctor about Asher and his lack of speech. I had to fill out this questionnare and he said that he is doing fine with gross and fine motor skills, but with speech and problem solving and communication, not exactly where he should be. So he's going to see a speech therapist and the developmental therapist at the hospital. I am not as bummed as I was when they first told me he might have to...I think the fact that he is now walking makes it ok. At first I didn't think I would take him to the therapists, but now I figure it can't hurt, it can only help. He really doesn't say anything, just mama and dada and even those are sketchy. So, hopefully they can help. Adam's dad had to have speech therapy as a kid (which would have been really nice to know when the doctor asked me if there was a family history of it).

But anyway, he's finally walking!! Something clicked for him during the Patriots game on Sunday and he figured out that he can stand up from the ground, and since then he has just gradually been tearing it up more and more. He's doing really well, he still crawls occasionally, but he's close to only walking. It's so cute :) Except when he falls and cracks his head on things.

In other news, still pregnant, and still feel like crap. Asher gets to watch 2 hours of PBS in the morning while I lay on the couch trying not to puke. So he watches Sesame Street and It's a Big, Big World. Adena, I don't know if you have seen that, but the main character, Snook, is what Chad would be if he were a giant stuffed something. Go here and click on the character all the way on the left at the bottom and just listen to him: http://pbskids.org/bigbigworld/home.html. The song at the end of the show is really nice, too.

I'm Boring

So, there's not a whole lot going on right now. The dog is adjusting well (except I think he has asthma or something), the boys are good (except Sage is most definitely almost two), and Chad still has work (until the end of this week, and we are crossing our fingers for more work).

OK, so I guess a lot is going on, but I don't know how to make one post out of any of that stuff. I have been trying to keep myself busy these past several days. I am really ready to knock this last 15 pounds off my butt so that I can start wearing my clothes again. I started doing a little work our routine in the morning, and when it gets a little warmer, I'll tack on some walking to that routine.

So Sage has figured out a whole lot in the past few weeks, and for that, I will make a list

1. He now likes to sword fight. He will grab an available stick, or- in one instance, a swirly straw with a duck on top- and will strike it at you, going "AH!" with every merciless blow.

2. He can climb out of his high chair onto the kitchen table. Now nothing is safe.

3. He does not know how to share with Orion. Moreoever, he doesn't really want to. Any advice on how to teach sharing to a 21-month-old would be greatly appreciated. Right now, it's "Sage, give that back to your brother... no.... der.... *spank.*

4. He has developed a taste for P.B.J sandwiches. Yipee!

5. If he sees someone playing with something, he wants it, just because they have it.

6. He likes to "help" me with laundry. I hand-washed a few of the kids' clothes yesterday and he kept handing me articlesof clothing to put in the water.

7. He hugs me when I'm sad.


So, it's not so bad in the end. I do enjoy my boys, although I often find myself thinking "Yeah, I'm all done being a mom right now." The other day, at our chiropractor's office, we were waiting behind a family of 12 kids. Oh, and they have three others that don't live at home. It was a blast. All of the kids were so great! The oldest was probably 18 and the youngest was three. All of them helped each other out, the room was not in the slightest bit noisy, and they just seemed like all around great kids. On top of everything else, the mom did not look the least bit frazzled and she was really great to talk to. So, I now have hope that this phase will not last forever. Although I don't want to be pregnant SOON, I still like the idea of a big family.

To quote Shannon, "This post is about nothing. I just wanted to post." Hopefully this actually WILL post. If this computer had a face, I would punch it. SO SLOW!

Anna and Mom. Your turn. Anna, call me and I will direct you step by step. Then you can teach mom.

Protect Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself

So, Adam was watching or reading this story about a woman who was raped and murdered after a guy broke into her house (or rather, walked in, as she didn't have the door locked). Of course Adam gets all paranoid and asks me what kind of device I would like to have around to keep myself and Asher safe (we do keep our doors locked, by the way). A gun, a taser, mace, etc. I know that we should have something...right now our weapon is a large wooden sword (used for ninjutsu practice) that is kept under the bed. It could really put the hurt on, but I doubt that I would be able to effectively use it against someone much larger and stronger than me. A gun sounds like a good idea, but then I kind of wonder if, in a situation like that, I would have the time or mental awareness to get the gun, unlock it, load it, and fire it. It would probably be very intimidating to an intruder just to see me holding it, but Adam isn't exactly comfortable having a gun in the house with kids because he had a friend in high school who killed another friend on accident while playing around with a loaded gun. Apparently there really are people stupid enough to do that. Anyway, a taser or mace also sound like a good idea. I don't really know though. What do you guys think?

In other news, this morning sickness is killing me. Asher watched about 2 hours of PBS this morning while I was lying on the couch trying not to throw up. Poor neglected child.

Oh and a question...the place where our names are listed on the left side, why do they keep changing places? And why are some bold and some not? Does this indicate when another person is signed in, or who posted last, or what?

mini-post

I just watched a weather channel video online, and Jim Cantore was "on location" in Atlanta's Piedmont Park covering the couple inches of snow we've had fall. He must be itching for travel, since we haven't had any good hurricanes lately.
BTW, as it turns out, he lives in Marietta- just north of us!

Family Visits

I don't know if anyone else has paid enough attention to note that I have had some member of my or Ryan's family in town almost constantly since a couple weeks before Julian was born. This week, since Shannon left, it's just been little ol' me... and for pete's sake, I can't get anything done!! My house is a complete disaster (yes, even worse than it was when you were here, Shannon). Any or all of you are invited to come back and hold Julian while I make dinner and clean. :)

Ryan's dad is coming tomorrow. He's never been here before, and we're a little nervous, because they are rather wealthy and live in a very nice, big house in Milwaukee (pronounced Mil-ee-wah-kay) where it snows in November and candy grows on trees. (And he's bringing the snow down with him, the kindly man, because it's supposed to accumulate up to 3 inches tomorrow!! I just can't get enough of that stuff!! This is why we left Florida.) Anyhoo, we're nervous because he's rather high-society and we don't know how to entertain him. Fortunately, since it will be snowing, the city should probably shut down, so we'll have a good excuse to not go anywhere. I'm excited to see him (you would all like him, he is rather Irvine-esque in smarts, and very easy to get along with) but it's probably good that he's only coming for 2 days. This will be our trial run for future visits.

Shannon, I bought one of those strollers that you bought while you were here. I really like it actually- for 15 bucks it's a pretty good deal, and it does maneuver well. I brought it with Lara in it, and held Julian in his car seat, to the dermatologist's office today to get my stitches out (Oh, I don't have cancer by the way, everyone). There's got to be a better way to tote a baby and a preschooler around. I was pushing the stroller with one hand (alternating between the left and right handles), which of course kept going the wrong way, and trying to carry Julian in the other. When we got back out to the car, Lara decided she'd had enough of the stroller and tried to get out, only she was buckled in and the stroller was right on the edge of the sidewalk next to the parking lot. I.e. it was a step up from the parking lot- you had to step down to get from the 'walk to the 'lot. I feel like I'm overexplaining here. Anyway she arches her back like she's about to throw a fit, kicks the ground and knocks herself and the stroller flat onto the parking lot, face first, right in front of a little old lady with a walker. So the little old lady made her way slowly by as I picked up Lara and tried to muster up some compassion for her, fighting the temptation to yell at her for her insolence. As usual, she was unscathed.

Adena, congratulations on being not pregnant. I hope this not-pregnancy lasts a good long time:)

You know, after a couple years of blog posts, we should get them printed out in Diary form and have them for future generations to laugh at. This is much better than trying to keep track of a diary:)

Just a few Notes

Shannon- I am sorry to say that I will not be sharing this pregnancy with you. OK, that's a lie.... I'm not sorry about it at all.

Anna and Mom- I know you two don't "just talk," but, seriously, think of something. Tell us a funny story (I happen to know about something particularly funny involving Anna convincing Shawnzy to buy a certain type of pair of pants) So... Talk.

Also, I'm not pregnant. Did I mention that already...?


(WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Oh, last note, underneath the place where you type a post, there's a little bar that says "labels for this post," Kind of a neat feauture, you basically just label your post and that category will appear on the blog. In the future if you want to add something to a category, you just click "show all" and you can do it. But feel free to add a new category at any time. I have labeled this one "Random."

That is all.