Monday, January 28, 2008
"I'm the boss grandpa"
So, for a few months now, we've been leaving BR and MC home alone for short periods of time(much like Wayne and Ashley) and they've done really well so far, but I still feel the need to rehash with them all the do's and don'ts so they'll be safe. And I've learned with BR that he takes things very specifically and doesn't have a great knack at generalizing everything yet. He'll follow instructions to the "T" as long as he feels like they apply to a situation, but doesn't really extrapolate how they fit in with any other circumstance. Because of this I try to think of every possible scenario that might arise so that he can know how to handle it. Well, I forgot one this past week. My MIL and I decided to leave the kids home for a few minutes while we ran to the post office and a store. We left the kids doing their chores and plans to play the wii afterward. (Which they did!! Once again I'm reminded that they don't posses any of my genes...discipline?? when parents are gone?? the FIRST thing I would have done was turn on the TV or wii (if we'd had those back then)!!) We reminded them not to open the door for anybody, what to do in case of emergency, etc. etc. and we even taught them a new one that I hadn't thought of before,(thanks to the inspiration of Wayne's blog) we made sure MC knew what to do and who to call in case BR was hurt. Well about 20 minutes after we leave MIL gets a call from FIL (or Grandpa). He's just gotten home and the first words out of BR's mouth are, "Grandpa, I'm in charge." Lol. I guess grandpa doesn't rank high enough to relieve him of his "authority". :)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Everybody's happy!
I spent the whole day at my sister's house yesterday. There were many benefits for all in this arrangement.
1. I have a HUGE debt to repay to my sister for childcare that she provided my kids while we were in Europe. This made up one measely day, but hey 1 is better than none! :P
2. ML had finals to work on (due today...which he finished in record time, I might add) so it was better if he didn't have us around to distract him.
3. My sister and her husband wanted to go house shopping. They went out twice yesterday while I was there to provide babysitting. The second time they found a phenomenal deal on the house of their dreams! Yay for them!!!
4. Grandma and Grandpa didn't have to go crazy with five hyperactive kids all cooped up in our house all day. (I don't know if your kids get like this, but whenever my kids get with their cousins they ALL start bouncing off the walls and it's as if there are ten or fifteen kids instead of five...I remember being like that, I'd venture that maybe it's hereditary, but then....guess not.) :)
5. I got to work on scrapbooking for our adoption and use my sister's vast inventory of paper/stamps/ribbon/idea books/etc. as well as get feedback and ideas from her (when she could get down off her "I found the house of my dreams and it's a steal" high for a minute to actually give it some thought). I really got pretty far and I'm very excited about that! I only have a few finishing touches left to finish up and then I can get moving with the whole thing!! Yay!!
6. The kids got to spend ALL day with their cousins. And if you couldn't tell from some of the aforementioned benefits...they think that's about as great as an amusement park!! (We were asking them what they wanted to do on Martin Luther since the don't have school: #1 go to cousin's house. #2 go to indoor/outdoor amusement park "Boondocks")
7. BR had used his much beloved, hard earned allowance money to buy 2 legos last week. One for himself and one for his cousin. He was able to give his cousin the lego he'd bought for him. (He was really excited to give it to him, and proud of himself for being so generous, but honestly I had my doubts that he'd be able to resist opening it until he had a chance to give it to him.)
#5 is my very favorite bonus. But, I'm glad that the arrangement was so inclusively beneficial!
Camping with the treasured cousins
1. I have a HUGE debt to repay to my sister for childcare that she provided my kids while we were in Europe. This made up one measely day, but hey 1 is better than none! :P
2. ML had finals to work on (due today...which he finished in record time, I might add) so it was better if he didn't have us around to distract him.
3. My sister and her husband wanted to go house shopping. They went out twice yesterday while I was there to provide babysitting. The second time they found a phenomenal deal on the house of their dreams! Yay for them!!!
4. Grandma and Grandpa didn't have to go crazy with five hyperactive kids all cooped up in our house all day. (I don't know if your kids get like this, but whenever my kids get with their cousins they ALL start bouncing off the walls and it's as if there are ten or fifteen kids instead of five...I remember being like that, I'd venture that maybe it's hereditary, but then....guess not.) :)
5. I got to work on scrapbooking for our adoption and use my sister's vast inventory of paper/stamps/ribbon/idea books/etc. as well as get feedback and ideas from her (when she could get down off her "I found the house of my dreams and it's a steal" high for a minute to actually give it some thought). I really got pretty far and I'm very excited about that! I only have a few finishing touches left to finish up and then I can get moving with the whole thing!! Yay!!
6. The kids got to spend ALL day with their cousins. And if you couldn't tell from some of the aforementioned benefits...they think that's about as great as an amusement park!! (We were asking them what they wanted to do on Martin Luther since the don't have school: #1 go to cousin's house. #2 go to indoor/outdoor amusement park "Boondocks")
7. BR had used his much beloved, hard earned allowance money to buy 2 legos last week. One for himself and one for his cousin. He was able to give his cousin the lego he'd bought for him. (He was really excited to give it to him, and proud of himself for being so generous, but honestly I had my doubts that he'd be able to resist opening it until he had a chance to give it to him.)
#5 is my very favorite bonus. But, I'm glad that the arrangement was so inclusively beneficial!
Camping with the treasured cousins
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Progress on the Adoption App
To clear up all confusion: I was not adopted. :) And we ARE adopting. :)
On that note, here's our progress: We're on our way with the letter. ML has his personal interview tomorrow evening with our case worker. So now we need to put together two 8 & 1/2 by 11 scrapbook pages that show our family in a nutshell. These are the pictures we were thinking of using. It's kind of like a collage.
If any of you have any pictures of us that you think would be good, or know of any, we'd love to have them. :) Our pictures are mostly supposed to be of us as a couple and us all together as a family.
On that note, here's our progress: We're on our way with the letter. ML has his personal interview tomorrow evening with our case worker. So now we need to put together two 8 & 1/2 by 11 scrapbook pages that show our family in a nutshell. These are the pictures we were thinking of using. It's kind of like a collage.
If any of you have any pictures of us that you think would be good, or know of any, we'd love to have them. :) Our pictures are mostly supposed to be of us as a couple and us all together as a family.
Now taking votes on the Pictures to put on our Adoption Scrapbook Profile
"Quaint Italian Restaurant"
"ML and MC doing fireworks"
"The Fourth of July"
"Taking TRAX downtown to see the lights"
"Halloween"
"ML and MC driving the boat"
"ML and BR swimming in the lake"
"ML and MC playing in the park"
"Me and MC and my nephew in the pool"
"ML swimming with BR and neice"
"MC gettin’ down"
"Me, MC and nephew wading in the pool at PAWS bridal shower"
"Hiking on our Memorial camping trip"
"ML and BR in their sword fight"
"MC and BR exploring"
"Me and ML on Christmas 2006"
"Me and ML in a river"
"Me and ML on a 4-wheeling trip"
"Whole fam after the 4-wheeling trip"
"Me and ML on our camel ride in Egypt"
"Me and ML on the Isle of Capri"
"Whole fam in front of the house"
"ML and MC doing fireworks"
"The Fourth of July"
"Taking TRAX downtown to see the lights"
"Halloween"
"ML and MC driving the boat"
"ML and BR swimming in the lake"
"ML and MC playing in the park"
"Me and MC and my nephew in the pool"
"ML swimming with BR and neice"
"MC gettin’ down"
"Me, MC and nephew wading in the pool at PAWS bridal shower"
"Hiking on our Memorial camping trip"
"ML and BR in their sword fight"
"MC and BR exploring"
"Me and ML on Christmas 2006"
"Me and ML in a river"
"Me and ML on a 4-wheeling trip"
"Whole fam after the 4-wheeling trip"
"Me and ML on our camel ride in Egypt"
"Me and ML on the Isle of Capri"
"Whole fam in front of the house"
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I have angels watching over me!!!
There's no other explanation for it! Today as I took my kids to school the sun was shining and the day looked bright. I got home and ML hadn't left for work yet so he asked how the weather was. I told him bright and sunshiny. He almost left his coat home but I told him you never know what the day could bring. Well, how true those words were!!
About an hour after he left the wind started blowing like no other. Then, a little while after that, I look out the window because I could hear pelting outside. Snow had joined the wind. Well, between the cold wind, the warm streets, and the cold snow, the streets were virtually ice skating rinks. I had a dentist appointment at 12:30 (to check a crowned tooth that's been bothering me). I started out for it in my trusty little Saturn and soon realized how bad the roads were. I was driving with caution but as I was trying to turn at a stop light onto a major road (avg mph: 60) I began to slide sideways toward the truck who was turning in the next lane. We narrowly missed each other. I then travelled along (more nervous than before) and tried to avoid going too fast (though others around me certainly had no qualms about sailing along :P ). I approached the next stop light going about ten mph under the limit and the light changed to yellow so I tried to stop. I pressed as hard as I could on the brakes and it seemed to have no effect. I sailed right through the red light!! As I did, time seemed to slow down and I looked at all the people I was passing and thought what a miracle it was that nobody had started through the intersection yet. I saw at least half a dozen accidents in my 12 minute drive to the dentist. I'm still quite shaken up and amazed that I wasn't one of those accidents!
About an hour after he left the wind started blowing like no other. Then, a little while after that, I look out the window because I could hear pelting outside. Snow had joined the wind. Well, between the cold wind, the warm streets, and the cold snow, the streets were virtually ice skating rinks. I had a dentist appointment at 12:30 (to check a crowned tooth that's been bothering me). I started out for it in my trusty little Saturn and soon realized how bad the roads were. I was driving with caution but as I was trying to turn at a stop light onto a major road (avg mph: 60) I began to slide sideways toward the truck who was turning in the next lane. We narrowly missed each other. I then travelled along (more nervous than before) and tried to avoid going too fast (though others around me certainly had no qualms about sailing along :P ). I approached the next stop light going about ten mph under the limit and the light changed to yellow so I tried to stop. I pressed as hard as I could on the brakes and it seemed to have no effect. I sailed right through the red light!! As I did, time seemed to slow down and I looked at all the people I was passing and thought what a miracle it was that nobody had started through the intersection yet. I saw at least half a dozen accidents in my 12 minute drive to the dentist. I'm still quite shaken up and amazed that I wasn't one of those accidents!
Christmas is officially over at our house
On Saturday we finally got together as a family and tag teamed taking down everything Christmas. The kids did their own little projects while ML and I took turns working on the major stuff and picking out pictures to put in our adoption profile. It feels great to have that checked off the list, but on the other hand taking down all the fun lights/trees/decorations etc. always seems to leave our home feeling a little less warm and cozy to me. I made this comment to ML and so he starts singing, "I CRY THE DAY THAT I TAKE THE TREE DOWN...". lol (That song has never been one of my favorites.) :P
Book on CD Junkie
Since I love to read so much and I don't have time for that right now with my other activities and obligations (I don't really have that much going on I'm just a plodder I guess. Whoever, besides me, takes six hours in the kitchen at night?!?! I'm such slow cook!! That must be why, if I have to choose, I'd rather clean than cook...I'm not SO slow at that.) So I've been frequenting the public library to get my fix and coming away with stacks of books on CD at a time. They will only let me take ten at a time so I usually get all I can and then have BR get a few for me on his card. :) As it is I get strange looks from the librarians. :P When I get them home I download all the disks onto my ipod and then I can satisfy my craving to read while I'm driving around and especially while I'm cleaning houses.
These are some of my recent "reads":
These are some of my recent "reads":
I'm composing posts in my sleep
Last night I woke my self up thinking about something I wanted to write about on my blog!! But that usually happens when I stay up late putting any sort of thought into anything. Last night it was blogging that kept me up late and so it occupied my dreams. Saturday night ML and I stayed up late playing this card game (till past 3) and so that night/morning I dreamt that Ben and Mitchell were living cards in this game and it was very strange. Another night I stayed up playing a wii game with ML and so I dreamt that my arms were interchangeable like the wii remote accessories. :P Crazy overactive dreamer...I wish I could just sleep!! :)
Monday, January 14, 2008
Tagged: An easy and low thinking post (since my thinker is on hiatus)
A- Attached or single? Quite Attached!
B- Best friend? ML
C- Cake or pie? Mmmm. Depends on what kind of either and my mood. I enjoy warm homemade Apple pie with vanilla ice cream, blueberry sour cream pie (or BB cream cheese pie), pumpkin pie, homemade blackberry pie, coconut cream pie, you get the idea…then there’s cake…mostly cheesecake (and I have to agree with MIL Raspberry Lemon is probably the best…but again it’s hard to name all the ones I enjoy), but also chocolate cake, or pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting…I better stop. I’m really trying to be good and this isn’t helping!!
D- Day of Choice? FRIDAY!! It’s the last day I have to work and I know that I have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday ahead of me to enjoy as I please…well at least I can work on MY “To Do” list instead of somebody elses. :)
E- Essential Item? Ipod, dental floss, cell phone, lotion, lip gloss/chapstick…ok pretty much my purse.
F-Favorite color? Red, orange, yellow, green (I really love the fall!)
G- Gummy bears or worms? Bears, cinnamon
H- Hometown? South Jordan, I’ve really gone far!
I- Favorite Indulgence? Getting a massage, either at a spa or at home. :)
K- Kids? 2. BR (Who’s growing so fast I can’t believe it!! I keep looking at him and feeling shocked at how old he seems), and MC (Who’s also amazing me all of the time at the things she knows and how fast she seems to be growing up!!) :( Hoping for 3 this year. ;)
L- Life isn't complete without? My family, especially ML.
M- Marriage date? November 7
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 2 brothers, 6 sisters (unless you count Wanda, who’s my surrogate sister and considers us her family. She lived with us 8 years).
O- Oranges or apples? Both. I really love a crisp apple or a nice juicy, tangy orange at Christmas time!
P- Phobias or fears? Calling people on the phone. (I don’t really know when it started. I used to talk on the phone quite a bit in high school and my early years of college, but somewhere along there I decided I don’t care for it, especially me calling other people. It’s completely irrational!! I guess that’s why it’s a phobia. Y’all probably already know this but when I went to meet ML we’d never yet talked on the phone. My sister and I got to Wheat Ridge and it got to the point where I had to call him to arrange the details or go home. I nearly chose going home over making the call! My little sister (8 years my junior) told me that she was going to call him if I didn’t. I decided that I could bear my phobia of the phone more than the humiliation of my little sister doing it for me so I called. After I talked to him I almost chose going home as well because it just didn’t seem like he’d be somebody I’d like. :P I’m SO glad that I got over that one!! I’m happier every single day that I get to be with “My one and only”!!)
Q- Quote? “Trouble knocked on the door, but hearing laughter hurried away.” Benjamin Franklin
R- Reason to smile? A clean house. Little babies/toddlers.
S- Season of choice? Fall. (Spring is nice too…but it’s second best. Summer is too hot and winter is too snowy and cold…here anyway)
T- Tag three people who have to do this on their blog- Rob (maybe this will get him to acutally start his blog :P), Franzi, Allison
U- Unknown fact about me? When I was in 9th grade I noticed that the right side of my mouth was not going up when I’d smile, and then as I made faces at myself in the mirror I realized that my right eye wouldn’t close very well and my right eyebrow wouldn’t go up, and to the intense amusement to some of my friends, my right nostril wouldn’t flare up. My mom freaked out because she thought I was having a stroke, come to find out it was just a temporary case of Bells Palsey. So for about seven weeks my face looked a bit freakish. :)
V- Vegetable? Well this probably doesn’t count but I just LOVE a good, fresh salad!!
W- Worst habit? Overestimating what I can get done in any given amount of time and not feeding myself enough when I’m busy (which is always) so then my blood sugar gets low and I get grumpy (especially with my kids) :(
X- X-ray or ultrasound? Hmm I’ve had X-rays more than ultrasounds, but both for unpleasant things…I’d have to say ultrasounds are worse because you have to drink a whole bunch and then HOLD it while they press on your BLADDER and you think you’re going to die before they let you go relieve yourself! With an X-ray you just have to hold your breath for a second.
Y- Your favorite food? Is Chocolate a food? :p Well one of my favorite REAL foods is Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp (and many other Thai dishes) or Avocado Eggrolls…oh yeah!!
Z- Zodiac sign? Some say Capricorn and some say Sagittarius, who knows? who cares?
B- Best friend? ML
C- Cake or pie? Mmmm. Depends on what kind of either and my mood. I enjoy warm homemade Apple pie with vanilla ice cream, blueberry sour cream pie (or BB cream cheese pie), pumpkin pie, homemade blackberry pie, coconut cream pie, you get the idea…then there’s cake…mostly cheesecake (and I have to agree with MIL Raspberry Lemon is probably the best…but again it’s hard to name all the ones I enjoy), but also chocolate cake, or pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting…I better stop. I’m really trying to be good and this isn’t helping!!
D- Day of Choice? FRIDAY!! It’s the last day I have to work and I know that I have Saturday, Sunday, and Monday ahead of me to enjoy as I please…well at least I can work on MY “To Do” list instead of somebody elses. :)
E- Essential Item? Ipod, dental floss, cell phone, lotion, lip gloss/chapstick…ok pretty much my purse.
F-Favorite color? Red, orange, yellow, green (I really love the fall!)
G- Gummy bears or worms? Bears, cinnamon
H- Hometown? South Jordan, I’ve really gone far!
I- Favorite Indulgence? Getting a massage, either at a spa or at home. :)
K- Kids? 2. BR (Who’s growing so fast I can’t believe it!! I keep looking at him and feeling shocked at how old he seems), and MC (Who’s also amazing me all of the time at the things she knows and how fast she seems to be growing up!!) :( Hoping for 3 this year. ;)
L- Life isn't complete without? My family, especially ML.
M- Marriage date? November 7
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 2 brothers, 6 sisters (unless you count Wanda, who’s my surrogate sister and considers us her family. She lived with us 8 years).
O- Oranges or apples? Both. I really love a crisp apple or a nice juicy, tangy orange at Christmas time!
P- Phobias or fears? Calling people on the phone. (I don’t really know when it started. I used to talk on the phone quite a bit in high school and my early years of college, but somewhere along there I decided I don’t care for it, especially me calling other people. It’s completely irrational!! I guess that’s why it’s a phobia. Y’all probably already know this but when I went to meet ML we’d never yet talked on the phone. My sister and I got to Wheat Ridge and it got to the point where I had to call him to arrange the details or go home. I nearly chose going home over making the call! My little sister (8 years my junior) told me that she was going to call him if I didn’t. I decided that I could bear my phobia of the phone more than the humiliation of my little sister doing it for me so I called. After I talked to him I almost chose going home as well because it just didn’t seem like he’d be somebody I’d like. :P I’m SO glad that I got over that one!! I’m happier every single day that I get to be with “My one and only”!!)
Q- Quote? “Trouble knocked on the door, but hearing laughter hurried away.” Benjamin Franklin
R- Reason to smile? A clean house. Little babies/toddlers.
S- Season of choice? Fall. (Spring is nice too…but it’s second best. Summer is too hot and winter is too snowy and cold…here anyway)
T- Tag three people who have to do this on their blog- Rob (maybe this will get him to acutally start his blog :P), Franzi, Allison
U- Unknown fact about me? When I was in 9th grade I noticed that the right side of my mouth was not going up when I’d smile, and then as I made faces at myself in the mirror I realized that my right eye wouldn’t close very well and my right eyebrow wouldn’t go up, and to the intense amusement to some of my friends, my right nostril wouldn’t flare up. My mom freaked out because she thought I was having a stroke, come to find out it was just a temporary case of Bells Palsey. So for about seven weeks my face looked a bit freakish. :)
V- Vegetable? Well this probably doesn’t count but I just LOVE a good, fresh salad!!
W- Worst habit? Overestimating what I can get done in any given amount of time and not feeding myself enough when I’m busy (which is always) so then my blood sugar gets low and I get grumpy (especially with my kids) :(
X- X-ray or ultrasound? Hmm I’ve had X-rays more than ultrasounds, but both for unpleasant things…I’d have to say ultrasounds are worse because you have to drink a whole bunch and then HOLD it while they press on your BLADDER and you think you’re going to die before they let you go relieve yourself! With an X-ray you just have to hold your breath for a second.
Y- Your favorite food? Is Chocolate a food? :p Well one of my favorite REAL foods is Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp (and many other Thai dishes) or Avocado Eggrolls…oh yeah!!
Z- Zodiac sign? Some say Capricorn and some say Sagittarius, who knows? who cares?
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