Sunday, August 30, 2009

Oh the Fear.

In the year 2000 my family headed to Mexico.  We played a ton of Monopoly, ate a million burgers grilled on the new George Foreman grill, ate the famous Mexican Jumping Bean Pancake….pancake with peanut butter, peaches, cottage cheese and syrup (famous as in invented by my dad).  We were all a little nervous, glad we had Greg and Eric to speak Spanish for us, and drove down on Christmas Eve. 

There was one particular part of the house we stayed in that deserves mentioning.  When you first walked into the house there was a bedroom off to the left, walk down the hall and you would find a window leading to an outdoor garden area, continue walking and you would find another bedroom.  The bedrooms were linked together by a bathroom.  The next part is where things get odd…  The shower between the bedrooms had one wall that was actually a window.  A window that you could see from the hall looking into the garden area.  So you see, if you stood in the hall and looked into the window, you would see the garden area and at the end of the garden area you would see into the shower.

For a family that is very private, this was very scary.  Before each shower the person would announce they were going to shower and with fear in their eyes, confirm with each person that they would not come back into the hall and see them shower.  HA HA HA.  We had many lectures from those that married into that family.  We were laughed at.  We were questioned as to who was actually going to do that.  It didn’t matter, we worried for 6 days straight.  I think we are all scarred for life after that experience.

We had a great time minus the see through shower.

And now I leave this post with a picture.   A picture that documents our time in Mexico.  A picture that reminds me we look better in the year 2009.

Mexico

The Fair

We had fun at the fair yesterday.
1. We learned about different kinds of beef.
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2. We saw a lot of chickens and Owen decided after seeing them that he Loved the fair.
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3. We saw a strange furry cow.
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4. We took this picture by an ordinary cow.
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5. We watched fireworks. (I think Owen is posing in this picture).
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6. And took this picture:
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7. And Steve taught me that the difference between humans and animals is that we notice when someone poops on us.
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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Some of the Reasons

Greg needs a post. A post devoted entirely to him. A post that reminds him why I love him. A post that says I love him.

I do. I love him.

I love the chicken tacos he always makes me.

I love that he rarely complains about the two kids in our bed.

I love that he brushes Owen’s teeth every night.

I love that he lets me do the finances.

I love that he trusts my decisions.

I love that he is friends with my brother.

I love that he knows how excited I was to have Angie back from her trip.

I love that he bought me a pink sheep blanket for Christmas.

I love that he knows to wash at least a few things with the baseball uniform.

I love that he makes a turkey sandwich almost everyday for work.

I love that the fridge consists of a million type of mustards.

I love that he is always on the look out for a good seasoning.

I love that he grills my dad a steak before he eats his own dinner.

I think I love his love for baseball (not so sure on this one yet).

I love that he teaches Owen about sports.

I love the way he takes care of Ivy.

I love it all. The good stuff. The bad stuff.

Our anniversary of 6 years was all but forgotten by our 1 day old baby.

I thought it, but I never got to tell him thank you for loving me and I never got to tell him that I will love him forever.

I will. I love you.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Same Age

   .Peaceful2P8224765good times  P8224772

Here they both are at  7 weeks + a few days.

Well Children

I took the kids in for their well child visits.  Owen’s 4 year old check-up and Ivy’s one month check-up.

Owen is in the 90th percentile for height and 88th for weight.  He knows his letters and some numbers, he can spell and write his name, he can do simple math, he eats like a 4 year old (hates chicken and all vegetables and cotton candy (he thinks it tastes like hair), loves nuggets (yes chicken) and macaroni & cheese), he is good to his mom (I was informed yesterday that he loves me so much that it is even more than pizza and even more than breadsticks.  I was also told that I am a little skinnier than his dad but that I am still cute) and he loves his dad (although he says he loves his mom a little more).  He started telling jokes the other day…. what kind of cell phone does a turtle use? a shell phone.  and they go on…. what kind of cell phone does a bat use? a wing phone.  he made that one up.  He loves his sister and welcomes her to family everyday “WELCOME to THE FAMILY BABY!”.  

And without question, he is odd:

He had an eye test at the doctor.  I have no idea why, but this is how he read the eye chart:

                                             P8124672 Two eyes first and then alternating eyes.   P8124674                                          P8124673

Ivy is in the 25th percentile for height and 50th for weight.  She is strong and loves to stand, she likes to be up to see what is going on and loves to lift her head, her eating is simple, she likes milk.  She is sleeping through the night with waking up occasionally to eat once.   She won’t sleep in the cradle only in the bed (who knew that all I needed to buy was a $25.00 bed rail to prevent her from rolling off the bed).  She loves to smile and she is tolerant to Owen’s affection.

I adore them both.  They bring such joy in my life!

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Hmmm..

This is what happens when you give a 4 year old your camera:

P8124693  P8124682P8124681  P8124684P8124683  P8124687P8124686  P8124689  P8124688P8124690  P8124691 P8124678

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE:

THE FAMILY PORTRAIT:

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Amusing

The day started like this:

J: "Good morning O!, How did you sleep?"
O: "I am too busy to talk to you right now and say good morning, I have to go and see if the chickens laid any eggs."
J: "Oh, ok, I will be here when you aren't so busy."

And then he turned around and blew me a little kiss, and then, as he reached for the door he turned back around and looked at me. He turned around, came over to where I was and hugged me.

O: "Actually, I have enough time to say good morning and hug you."

And then the day had this in the middle:
O: "Mom, why did my finger bleed".
J: " Because you cut it on something sharp and you have blood inside your body. Everyone has blood to make their bodies work and to help them stay alive."
O: "Mom, how am I still alive if my blood came out"

And this:
O: "Mom, I went outside to look for the egg and the chicken was sitting on it, I said, "Move chicken", he didn't so I reached under it and grabbed the egg. He tried to peck me so I took the egg and ran away".

And this:
J: "Owen, I can't wait until Noni comes back, I miss my sister."
O: "Huns", he says (Huns being short for Honey and he calls me that all day), "Huns, don't worry, she will be back in no time. Just don't think about it and she will be back, just don't even think about it."

And of course this:
O: "Huns, would you like me to make you some dinner?" he says as he pets my face.
J: "No, I am ok, but thank you anyway."
O: "It is okay Huns, I will make you a salad if you want"

And then this:
O: "DADDY! I DON'T WANT THAT CHEESE, IT IS NOT BIG ENOUGH!!!", screams Owen to Greg. And then in his sweetest voice, he looks at me and says, "It is ok Huns, I am not yelling at you, I am just yelling at my dad."

And it ended with this:
O: "Mom, is it time to snuggle for bed? I love when I get to snuggle with my mom."

Today was a good day.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Where to Start?

There is so much to do. Clean. Change cat box. Catch up on work. Put away laundry. Free up more time on the DVR. Spend time with Greg. Sleep. I don't know where to start. There is only one thing to do: BLOG.
Ivy: She is 5 weeks and 2 days. It is amazing how fast time goes by when the baby is here. She is a good baby and just like her brother, she enjoys to be held (all the time, in fact, she is sleeping on my legs as I type). She is smiling a lot and has been for 2 weeks. She sleeps soundly at night as long as she is snuggled in the bed with the rest of us. Greg, then Owen, then me, then her, there we all are. If we have decided anything about our future purchases, it is that a king size bed is in the works. Rather than removing the children, we will just buy a bigger bed. Not sure how we go from 4 in the bed back to 2 in the bed but before long, I wouldn't be surprised if 4 in the bed becomes 3 in the bed as Greg continues to eye Owen's very empty bed.



Owen:
He turned 4 yesterday. Nothing but trouble here. He is still a wild child. I am curious if his voice got louder after Ivy was born or if my ears became more sensitive. There is so much to say about Owen, about the things we have done and the things he has said, but in the spirit of needing some sleep, just a few will make it today. 1) Greg's new nickname of the week - Dadwell. and 2) My dad took us on a mini-trip this past weekend. On our way there Owen asked: "Mom, are we going to the Great Wall of Fudge?". I looked at Greg and asked, "Did he just say the Great Wall of Fudge?". Greg replied, "I think he did". In a confused state, I responded to Owen, "No, we are going to the Great Wolf Lodge." And as I said it out loud, I realized it does sound like Great Wall of Fudge. The Great Wolf Lodge (indoor waterpark/hotel) was fun, but can you imagine how exciting it would be to go to the Great Wall of Fudge? Mmmm.

His birthday party on Saturday was fun, his birthday yesterday not so much as we made a trip to the doctor to rule out an ear infection for him. However, by the evening, he was feeling a little better, and enough so that he could sing Happy Birthday to himself with the rest of us.





Greg:

He has discovered he does not have sea legs. Greg was most excited for the Tuesday salmon fishing trip down in Long Beach. As I slept soundly, I got word back through a text from Angie that Greg was the first to puke in the open water as the fishing boat made its way further from shore and out into the ocean. I think Dadwell will stick with river fishing (for a complete rundown of the boat trip, see Angie's blog).

Me:
Life has felt a little crazy for the last 5 weeks and 2 days, but now that the guests have all returned home and the worst heatwave ever in the state is over, I am ready for some sense of normal. While I am still not sure what that is, I do know this: I am ready to put Owen to bed at a reasonable time, rather than 11:00 (or often later). I am ready to assure Owen eats something good for him, rather than picking up fries and a frosty one time too many and I am ready to start participating fully in my yoga class.

In summary: Ivy is so sweet, the bed is crowded, Owen makes me laugh, Greg is not boating in the ocean, I am going to take care of the kids and do yoga. (oh, and practice taking self-portraits without cutting the children's face out of the picture).

LIFE IS GOOD.