So much to do so little time

I realized today that I haven't blogged in awhile and I really wanted to be better about blogging. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to write about so this is just going to be free form Erin thoughts. I won't feel bad if you stop reading now. . .

OK, still here?!

Why is it that at Christmas time there is so much to do and so little time? Like take the lights on the house - you have to put them up when it's light outside and by the time you get home from work it's dark, so you have to take a weekend day to do it. Then there's the tree. You have to go pick one out, trim it and get it in the stand and keep it watered. This is normally the domain of the man of the house. After a couple of days of relaxing you can put on the lights (again the man's domain) and decorate it. Of course you have to decorate the house too. And the kids are old enough to want to help, which creates it's own stress (broken glass ornaments anyone?). Well, we've got all that done and then there's the Christmas shopping. I tried to do as much online this year as possible. I also took a day off of work because it's easier to shop in the middle of the week than during the crowded weekends. After you buy the presents then you have to wrap them all. Before kids I took a great deal of time picking the perfect gift for everyone and wrapping in the most beautiful way possible. Now I grab the first thing I see and if you're lucky you might get a press on bow. Time management is a bitch.

And my favorite thing to do and the most dreaded is the christmas cookie extravaganza. I've discovered this year that I must do this with my mom. I can't do it alone and no one else can work with me when I'm in the cookie zone. This year I set up all the ingredients on one half of the island. Mom measured the dry stuff, I measured the wet stuff. I then had the mixer on the counter next to the island. We'd get one dough done and put it in a ziploc bag with the cooking instructions on it (so I didn't have to break out the cookbook again) and move on to the next dough. I figured I'd cook the cookies during the week, but then it would take every night, so I decided to start cooking them after we finished cleaning up from dough making. We made chocolate crinkles, snickerdoodles, gingersnaps, hazelnut rounds, peanut blossoms, and gingerbread cutouts. The kids helped with decorating the gingerbread cutouts and it actually was fun and I didn't stress about it. So from noon on Sunday until 7:00 that night I made Christmas cookies. And it was the least stressful year ever. Go figure.

Wow, it looks like I did have something to say after all. Now all I have to do is finish the laundry and start packing the kids for the trip to KC for Christmas. Oh and I want to give a shout out to President Obama for giving me four hours of leave on Christmas Eve. I was scraping leave days together to have enough for our vacation. Now there are no worries. Can't wait for vacation to start so I can sit back and relax and not be responsible and have a ton of babysitters and see my nephew Jaxon for the first time and hang out with my in-laws whom I love and hopefully play in the snow and I could keep going but I'll stop now so you can take a breath from this super long run on sentence.

Oh I also noticed that I haven't uploaded photos in a while, so here's some Christmas photos of the kids. Most were taken after visiting Santa. Santa gave them the candy canes and the deer antlers. Enjoy!

I hope your holiday season is as stressLESS as possible!!!!

Brianna

I think Brianna skipped the terrible twos and is now in the torturous threes. She is a pistol, a handful, spirited, um . . . a pain in the behind. Here are just a few examples:

We were at Bed, Bath, and Beyond today. Liam was walking along minding his own business when Brianna just goes up to him and pinches his arm.

That afternoon she had hit me with a plastic golf club. When I told her to stop, she just smiled and hit me again.

Her favorite object to torture is her brother. She hits, pushes, kicks, and pinches him.

We do time outs, which work while she's in the time out and lasts about an hour after she gets out. We take things away and she throws a temper tantrum - typically throwing herself on the ground and crying and screaming (occasionally she throws things during these tantrums too).

No means do it again to her. And she'll scream at the top of her lungs if you tell her anything she doesn't want to hear. She's always been a bit of a spit fire, but now she has moments of complete unruliness.

The worst part is that when she knows she's doing something wrong, she looks up at you with her beautiful big eyes and just smiles the sweetest smile ever.

Now, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. She's not like this all the time, actually most of the time she's very sweet. It's just those times when she's not sweet, she's down right sour.

Some of the sweet things she does:

She loves to run her fingers through Liam's hair while they are watching cartoons.

She loves to help out in the kitchen

She is a very good back rubber/scratcher

She loves to take care of Liam and pretend he is a baby

She sings and dances in the cutest/sweetest way

She grabs the sides of your face when she wants to give you a big smooch

Random Updates

Just some random thoughts/things that have happened recently.

1. Liam has added to his alien story. As usual in the car on the way home I received the following information: On Liam's planet the aliens are born in eggs, but they don't call them eggs. They call them meggs because on his home planet they really like to rhyme. He was talking about leaving when he went back to being an alien. I asked if he would leave me and if he wouldn't love me anymore. He said he'd always love me and I'd always be his people mommy even if I wasn't an alien.

2. Greg took Brianna to one of his favorite Japanese places. They had a kids menu, so he ordered Brianna a beef teriyaki bento box. He also got a bento box. Evidently the only difference was that the kids don't get wasbi and pickled ginger, instead they get a lollipop - otherwise it was the same amount of food just less expensive. Brianna ate all her soup, her salad, most of the rice, and the beef. She also has my habit of making yum and mmmmm sounds when she eats something she really likes. Oh and did I mention she used kiddy chopsticks for the whole meal. The waitress commented to Greg that Brianna did really well considering it was her first time using them. She also gave Greg two sets to bring home, so Brianna could continue to practice.

3. We ran to REI today at lunch to pick up Liam's birthday present - a new bike. He's outgrown his old one. Hopefully he likes it. I can't believe he's going to be six on Sunday. We doing his birthday party at Jump-N-Around again this year because it was such a hit last year and I just can't bring myself to go to Chuck E Cheese ever again, no matter how much he and Brianna want to go.

4. I've been a supervisor for a little over a month and I think I'm finally at the point where I'm not stressing about every little thing. I can't believe how much of my time is now taken up in meetings and in coordinating things. I hardly have time to walk down the hall and talk to my friends anymore. But I have to say, I'm really enjoying the new responsibilities. Let's just hope I don't screw up anything too dramatically. : )

5. Where did this year fly off to? Last thing I remember we were celebrating the 4th of July. Now I'm trying to research charter and private schools. It's hard to trust the public education system in a state that is bankrupt.

6. Des Lynn is spending the night tonight, so that her parents can go out and celebrate Dan's (her daddy) birthday. I put the girls to bed a little after 8:00 - we went potty, brushed our teeth, and read two stories. Last time I went back to check on them, they were still up playing. But at least they are being quite and staying in Brianna's room. Whoops I think I just jinxed things - I can hear giggles and Greg talking to them. So this is going to have to be the end of this post.

I'll try to post on Sunday after Liam's birthday party, if I can get the pictures downloaded that quickly.

A Good Weekend

We had a really good weekend.

Saturday:

1. Had a 9:30 hair appointment, which is always a nice kid free, relaxing time.

2. Got home and got the kids ready to go to the End of Soccer Season Pizza Party. It was a really good time. Took my laptop to show a slide show of the scrapbook that I had made for everyone. I used the Polaroid My Memories Suite software. Unfortunately, I didn't get it together in enough time to be able to hand them out at the party. One of the moms made cupcakes for everyone. And unexpectedly everyone had gotten together to give Greg a gift for being a great coach.

Oh I almost forgot the best part of the party. Brianna was able to get her spiny dress completely off before I was able to get to her. Luckily everyone understood and started telling me their stories of when their kids went through the naked phase. It was still embarrassing though.

3. After the party it was time for the closing ceremony at Porter Youth Center. The coaches sat on the gym floor with their teams. Each coach went up and announced their players. Each player got a medal and a certificate with the team picture on it. Brianna wanted to sit with her brother and at one point almost got her dress off again, in front of everyone. I got to her before she was able to. Liam loves his medal. He slept with it and wouldn't let it go until we left the house today.

4. After the ceremony, my parents took the kids over to their house. Greg and I went to Mission Ranch for our anniversary dinner. It was terrific. The only problem was that I was exhausted from chasing Brianna all day and keeping her clothed. Because Greg was the coach and everyone wanted to talk to him, he didn't really have much time to help out with Brianna. So we didn't stay out too late. We picked the kids up (and neither one had had a nap) and they were both asleep by the time we got home at 8:30. I was asleep soon after.

Sunday:

5. Sunday, Greg had homework to do. He let me sleep in until 8:30 (he got to sleep in on Sat). Then I made cinnamon muffins. Got myself and the kids dressed, then took them out so Greg would have some time to do homework. We went to the Party Store to pick up invites for Liam's birthday (oh I also reserved Jump N Around the day before for Liam's birthday). He wants an Army party, so it's going to be camouflage everything.

6. We still had some time before the movie started, so I took them to Target. And as usual I went a little crazy. We got stuff we didn't need, but I just love that store. Of course it was difficult keeping Brianna in control.

7. Finally it was time to go to the movie. We saw Astro Boy. Brianna had almost fallen asleep on the car ride to the theater. We all went potty (very important because Brianna always sits on my lap at the movies). Got snacks - popcorn, m&m's, water for the kids, and diet soda for me. Then we found our seats. Brianna was a little fussy because she was tired, but stayed awake for the whole movie. It was a good movie.

8. When we got home after the movie (around 3:30), we put in a video in our bedroom and the kids watched it, while I started on dinner. I made homemade fettuccine which took some time. I made Alfredo sauce for the grown ups and cheese sauce for the kids. I made garlic bread too. For dessert, I made chocolate mousse in plastic wine goblets (that I got at the party store earlier). It was a super yummy dinner. But I was exhausted afterwards. Luckily Greg gave the kids a bath and now they are sitting watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, while I blog.

It was a good weekend, lots of fun, but I didn't get a whole lot done. I guess I'll be doing laundry during the week (urg, I hate doing that - the clothes always end up wrinkly).

Hope everyone else had a great weekend too!

The Imagination of a 5 Year Old

This week Liam has been periodically telling us little details of his alien life while driving to and from school. It started with my mom on Monday. On Tuesday night she asked me if Liam told me about how he's an alien. He had. Here's what mom and I have pieced together.

Liam is a good alien, but there are bad aliens on his planet. They all had to leave their planet. I think because the bad aliens took over. He was on the Moon for 60 days before he came to Earth. He decided to be born to me. His face is just a mask. I asked him what his alien face looks like and he said matter of fact, "I don't know. I've never seen it, mom." (like I'm the biggest idiot in the world for asking that question.)

He's gone into great detail about how long he was on the Moon and stuff, but of course I can't remember everything now. I do good to ask an intelligent question during rush hour and while Brianna is trying to talk over him. But I thought this was funny, creative enough to share.

Maybe he'll be a writer some day.

My Husband

I've been taking Greg for granted as you tend to do after almost eight years of marriage. (Wow, eight years) In my efforts to improve my Karma, I've been trying not to do this as much (I'm still a work in progress). In that vein and in no particular order, here are some of the wonderful things about Greg.

1. I literally can not tell you how many parent's have come up to me to tell me what a great soccer coach Greg is and how he is so good with the kids. All the kids love him and I don't mean just a little bit. He's silly with them and he's a good teacher without taking all the fun out of the game. He's fair and he always can point out at least one good thing every team member did at every game or practice. He's encouraging without being demanding. These are little kids (4 & 5 year olds). Some of the other coaches are . . . how do I put this nicely . . . serious about the game. Not to say that Greg isn't competitive, but it seems to be only with adults. When I see him interacting with these kids, it reminds me of one of the reasons I married him.

2. My mom and I took the kids up to Valley Fair mall (about an hours drive away). It's always exhausting when we take them shopping with us. They lose interest pretty quickly and you have to be creative with the bribes to get them to behave when you're not in a 'fun' store. Needless to say, we're always exhausted at the end of these trips and the kids get a nap on the way home. This particular weekend, I had a ton of laundry to do because Brianna didn't have any more clean underwear and Liam was getting pretty low too. The house was also a disaster area. I walk into the house around 5:00 and my wonderful husband had cleaned the kitchen and family room. He also washed and dried all the kids clothes. I just had to fold and put away. It was like the house was bathed in a beautiful light with angels singing. He even took care of dinner because I just couldn't do it.

3. This morning as we were getting ready we told Liam that he couldn't wear his Clonetrooper mask or take his blaster. He had a total meltdown. He asked if his teacher told us those were the rules and how they were stupid rules. I wanted to scream, "Just deal with it!" because I have no patience in the morning. Greg explained calmly that this was a good thing because it means that Liam gets to dress up as two different things. He could be the Clonetrooper for Halloween and he could pick something else for school. Liam perked right up and decided to be a pirate. Of course his pirate costume was from two years ago and the pants don't fit. So he put on some black sweatpants, his pirate shirt that went to the middle of his forearm, his eye patch, and I put a pirate tattoo on him (that Greg found somewhere in the house) and some black eyeliner for a mustache & beard. Again, Greg saved the day with his calm and level headedness in the morning.

I would absolutely be a horrible mother without Greg (especially in the morning)!

I'm Not a PC Anymore

Just got a MacBook Pro yesterday. Now I'm sitting on the couch blogging while Brianna watches the Monsters vs Alien Halloween special. It's pretty sweet. Hopefully this will mean that I'll blog more.

And the Mac is so easy. I'm basically figuring everything out without any help - well I did read the little getting started book, but that's it so far.

I haven't done any photos or video on it yet, but I hear from friends that it's pretty sweet and again easy and it's all part of the package. No need to buy separate software.

Well, I'm off to play around on my new laptop some more. Later

Moments

Today I had a few extra minutes, so I checked out the family blogs. On the Cronin Family blog, Janelle had posted some wonderful pictures of four generations of Cronins. There was Granny (Greg’s grandmother), Diana, Janelle, and little Jaxon (although I don’t think I’ll be able to call him little for long). It made me smile and think, “I remember when we did that” and then it hit me. . . We didn't do it with four generations. My Gram never got to meet my children and the tears started. At work on my lunch hour, I’m sitting at my desk trying to keep it together. It’s been 11 years since she died and there are moments when it hits me like her funeral was yesterday.

She’s not the only loved one I’ve lost. I went to more funerals before the age of 25 than I care to count. Both my dad’s parents died before I graduated high school. My crazy uncle with cancer died. My great-uncle, who I thought was my grandpa when I was little because all my cousins called him grandpa, died not that long after my Gram. But none of those deaths can still bring me to tears.

When I was growing up and my dad would go TDY or before we got housing when we moved back to Monterey for my dad to take yet another language class, we’d live with my Gram. The only big holidays that we had were typically at my Gram’s house – otherwise it was just the three of us (mom, dad and me). But at Gram’s there’d be all my uncles and once they started getting married, their wives. And it was always fun!

I have so many funny memories:

*When I was little everyone would get me to sneak up on Gram and tickle her feet while she was watching TV and setting her hair in curlers and dippity doo. She’d always scream and everyone would always laugh.

*Once one of the boys (and it might have been my dad) had a bright idea to burn cardboard boxes in the fireplace to get rid of them. The house filled with smoke and the fire department arrived. I wanted to see what was going on, but Gram took me to the back bedroom and wouldn’t let me come out. I was not happy at the time, but now I see how she was protecting me or maybe just keeping me out of the way.

*Gram taught me to play cribbage and pinochle. She was always ready to play cards.

*The most terrifying and funny memory was when my mom and I were living at Gram’s house and dad had just gotten back into town. That night I slept in a roll away bed in Gram’s room. I was afraid of the dark. Gram snored really loudly. She also called out letters to Pat Sajack like she was on Wheel of Fortune. I finally mustered up enough courage to get out of the bed and head to my parent’s room. I put my hand on the door knob and a voice booms, “Erin get back in bed now!” I ran to my bed and pulled the covers up and didn’t move. Literally I didn’t move all night. I fell asleep eventually, but the next morning my muscles were so sore because I held perfectly still. Looking back it’s funny, but at the time I’m surprised I didn’t wet myself.

*When I got to be a teenager and still had no idea what I was talking about, I liked to bring up sex questions or other embarrassing topics at dinner. It was so much fun to see the look on Gram’s face and the redness on my dad’s face. I don’t think either one of them ever realized I did it just to get a reaction out of them.

Once my dad retired and we settled in Monterey, we spent even more time with Gram. My mom and Gram, were close, much like I’m very close with my mom. The three of us would do stuff together all the time. We’d play cards. We’d go to movies. We’d have lunch and talk. To this day it pisses me off to no end to see three generations at lunch and the two youngest generations are on their cell phones. They have no idea what they are missing. Once in college when I was trying to avoid writing a paper, I wrote a poem for Gram. I’m not really a poet or anything, but it just came out of me. I had to express these feelings to her. I’m so glad I did. I know she always knew how much I loved her and how much she meant to me.

I just wish Greg and the kids had gotten to meet her, but I talk about her quite a bit, so they can get to know her vicariously through my stories and she will live on.

Random Gram things:

*You're full of malarkey

*Shyzter - she was trying to say shit in German but never pronounced it right

*She would go around signing the Tennessee Waltz when my mom was a kid and both mom and I think of her when we hear that song

*She would sing Mare's Eat Oats to me when I was a kid

*She was smart as a whip and could beat everyone at Wheel of Fortune

*She was a Liberian at McGraw Hill

*She had six boys and two girls (one she was forced to give up for adoption to her brother and we knew nothing about it until after she died. So my mom has a cousin sister)

*She had rules about how to hang tinsel on the Christmas tree - one strand at a time.

*She was a great cook until she got old and then everything became bland

*She always made time for me and made me feel special

Funny

Last night on the way home Brianna and Liam were fighting over Baby Jaxon. Brianna thinks that Baby Jaxon is her cousin. Liam thinks he's his cousin. I tried to explain that he is both their cousins. Then Brianna screams, "NOOOOO! MY BABY JAXON!"

Then I told Liam to let Brianna have Baby Jaxon (because we don't just call him Jaxon) and he could have Kolby. But noooo, he was enjoying tormenting his little sister. He said, "She can have Cousin Kolby and I get Cousin Baby Jaxon."

Again another shriek out of Brianna.

I finally got Liam to agree to let Brianna have Baby Jaxon and he got Kolby and they could switch later. So he told Brianna she got Jaxon and he got Kolby and all was well and quite in the car.

I didn't have the energy to explain that they can't own their cousins, that they are individual people and not toys.

My goal before Christmas is to get Brianna to understand that you can't treat real babies the way you treat your baby dolls.

Getting Better

Yesterday we had the first rain storm of the session. Mike and Jenn left at a good time. It was rainy, cold, and windy. The wind is what really gets us around here. The kids and I counted tree branches that had fallen on the way to my parents for dinner. It was Tuesday, our day to mooch a free dinner. Greg decided to head home and get some laundry done and have some alone time.

The kids and I left to go home at 7:30 pm. It was dark and still raining and windy. As usual Liam feel asleep on the way home. Typically, I unload all the crap from the car and take it into the house before getting the kids in the house, but I open their doors so I can hear Brianna talking. Last night, I kept the doors closed and had a huge load to haul in; Ashley sent a bag of stuff for me into work with Joaquin, Mom had given me a bag of the kids stuff, two kids umbrellas, my purse. My hands are full and I go to open the door. It's locked. I ring the doorbell . . . twice. No answer from Greg. I have to get to my purse and fish my keys out. I'm cursing Greg under my breath as the wind and rain are beating on my back. I drop all the crap on the floor and go back out to get Brianna. I get her in and tell her to go find Daddy. I then go back out in the wind and rain to get Liam. He's just a dead weight. As I get him to the front door, Greg appears and asks if I need help. I think I gave him one of those looks. You know the one - "Where the hell were you five minutes ago. I've got it covered now."

At this point you might be wondering about the title of this post. Hold on it's coming.

I close the door forcefully and Greg says, "What's wrong?"
I think, "Really?! You're going to ask me what's wrong?"
Instead I say, "The door was locked and I'm soaking wet and I rang the door bell twice."
He then says, "Sorry. I was in the bathroom."
I say while stomping away, "I've got to get these wet clothes off."

Here it comes:

As I walk back to the bedroom to change my clothes, I realize that I'm not really mad at Greg for the door being locked. I'm really just mad and stressed from the drive home. I go back into the living room and explain to Greg.

"I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. On the way home, I had someone right on my ass and was behind someone driving 20 mph under the speed limit - with the kids in the car. So I was just stressed out from the drive home."

So there it is. I realized what was really bothering me and that I was taking it out on my poor husband, who just wanted to use the bathroom in peace. Not only did I realize what the issue was, but I also apologized to Greg. Huge step for me and my Karma.

I'm really trying to be better about this and I'm noticing it's making both Greg and I happier.

Now why is it that we abuse the ones we love the most?!

Karma

I was reading a blog post about a Karma Project that an ordinary woman was embarking upon. Now she’s not one of those New Age types, she’s just a regular person like you and I trying to better herself through the use of Buddhist principles. This inspired me because I truly believe in Karma and reincarnation. I think in each life you are given some lessons to learn and if you don’t learn them the first time, then you get another life to figure it out. When you/your soul has learned everything and you’ve gotten all you can out of your physical lives, then you finally get to move onto the next plain of existence (Nirvina, Heaven, Whatever you want to call it). If you don’t spend your physical life trying to learn these lessons or if you do great harm, then your next life will be worse than your current life. Personally I like this version of hell better than the Christian one, mostly because you really are held accountable for your actions and just can’t ask for forgiveness. Have you ever had to deal with the person that is really good about saying they are sorry about whatever they did to you, but they don’t ever change their behavior. After a while you have to wonder how sorry they really are, but I digress. (And for my Christian friends, I do understand that God has a better ability than I to tell if someone is truly asking for forgiveness with an open heart)

Being inspired and believing one of my lessons for this life is to learn to be patient with everyone, I decided to try to follow this woman’s model to increase my good Karma and decrease my bad Karma. The model is basically this: Keep a tally on a piece of paper, putting a check mark in the negative category whenever I:

· Killed a bug (Buddhist teachings include not eating animals, but that’s not going to happen so this is as close as I’m coming to caring for all creatures)
· Said or emailed something sarcastic, negative, or mean to someone
· Lost my temper (even if no one knows I’ve lost it)
· Talked about someone behind his or her back
· Gossiped
· Lied (easy one to follow)
· Stole something (again an easy one to refrain from)

And putting a check mark in the positive category whenever I:

· Did something nice for someone
· Complimented someone (I often think these things and don’t say them to the person)
· Did not act in malice when I really wanted to
· Successfully transformed anger into compassion (much harder than it sounds)

As you can see from the list, some are going to be much, much harder than others. I’ve been doing this for two weeks, but only really being good about it in the car. In the car? You say. Yes, I have a very big problem with thinking evil thoughts while in the car. I don’t have patience for other drivers on the road, etc. Basically I have road rage, which since having children has gotten better (or at least while they are in the car). So my drives into work lately have gone something like this.

Damn, this guy in front of me is driving slow. I can’t wait to get to Davis, so I can pass him. Now wait Erin! The fact that he’s going 5 mph under the speed limit and you’re stuck behind him may be saving you from getting in an accident that’s going to happen up ahead and the universe is saving you from that.

Son of a bitch, that woman almost hit me when she sped up to merge in front of me. What the hell? Now she’s going to make me miss the green light because she’s doing her make-up in the mirror and didn’t notice it turned green. I wish I had that laser vaporizer thing to just get rid of her ass. Oh that’s not good, my Karma just went in the toilet. Okay, think of something. Think! Uhh, maybe it makes her nervous to be behind an SUV because she can’t see around it (don’t worry that your car is a very small SUV) and so she just had to get in front. It’s very smart of her to only do her makeup at stop lights, since I’ve been behind women putting on makeup at 45 mph.

The first day I was working on my driving Karma, I did really good. I was pretty relaxed too and only 3 minutes later to work than normal. I had a morning appointment that day (blood work, urg), which is important to know because of the parking situation at work. Because I come in at 7:00, I typically get a good spot on the side of the building which is close. By 8:00 all those spots are gone. I got back from my appointment at 8:15ish and actually saw someone leaving that parking lot after not finding a spot. Before I turn into MY parking lot, I see my spot I had earlier and it’s still empty. What are the chances? This never happens. Oh my gosh, it’s my good driving Karma at work and almost immediately. It surely was a sign from the universe that I was on the right path.

Even with that immediate result, it’s been a tough couple of weeks trying to keep up the good Karma. I’m definitely going to keep trying because it can only help me in the long run.

I was severely tested on Monday and I didn’t do well at all. I completely lost my temper and let it effect my interaction with another person, who had nothing to do with the situation I was angry about. I’ll blog about that in more detail later. I think I’m going to try to do a Karma update on this blog every Friday. I know it’s not really related to updating you on the latest cute thing the kids have done, but I do think it relates to the fact that I should be a better mother and wife for doing this.

Wish me mindfulness!

Swimming – Nature vs Nurture

Greg signed the kids up for swim lessons this summer. The first two week session the kids did before we went on our 4th of July vacation. They both ‘graduated’ with a ribbon at level 2. We spent a lot of time in the pool during our vacation and Brianna took to it quickly. She was jumping to Greg or Grandma in the water either doing a cannon ball or Nestea plunge. She had no fear. Liam did much better this summer, he could ‘walk’ around in the shallow end and loved the water gun fights with everyone, but still didn’t like getting his head/face wet.

The kids just finished the last two weeks of swim class. Brianna can now float for 10 seconds on her back by herself. She can float on her front for 5 seconds by herself. She can put her hands over her head in the streamline position and kick – basically swimming very slowly either on her back or front without help. She has near perfect form for a 3 year old. She just has a natural point to her toes and kick. And she always has a huge smile on her face while she’s in the water. Liam floated on his back by himself for 1 or 2 seconds. As soon as he felt the instructor’s hands move he would tense up and pull into a ball causing him to start to sink. He won’t even put his face in the water to be able to float on his front. He does use a kick board and can kick the length of the pool as long as the instructor is right there. They again got ribbons for completing the class. Brianna ‘graduated’ at level 4 and Liam at level 2.

I can’t tell you how many people commented to either Greg or I about how well Brianna was doing and how fast she was progressing. Even the head instructor said Brianna was progressing faster than anyone she’d ever seen at her age. Greg and I think she’s going to be an Olympic swimmer or diver and we’re going to keep nurturing her love of the water. Liam will continue to take lessons until he can swim for safety reasons, but it’s not his talent. He’s going to be starting soccer soon, which Greg tells me Liam has a natural talent for – evidently he’s got really good ball control. It might have something to do with the fact that Greg loves to play soccer with Liam, so he gets a lot of practice. But Greg is the expert in this area and if he says that Liam has a natural soccer talent then who am I to say otherwise.

So while Brianna got the Boyd family love of the water, Liam got the Hogan healthy fear of the water. My dad was telling me at one of the swim classes how he never liked to swim and was no good at it, so it’s genetic and Liam just got the short end of the stick from us (Dad and I). Oh well, he can be the next David Beckham, while Brianna is the next . . . uhm Dana Torres, Greg Louganis?

By the way, Olympic positions for warm towel hander outer and crazed family member with signs have already been taken by Brianna’s aunts.

P.S. I'll post photos once I figure out how to get them from my blackberry onto my computer.

Dear Paul – You are so NOT inspiring

Every day for the past month and a half I have been receiving an email from Paul with the subject: Christ Fulfills All … After about a week, the emails started to go into my Spam folder, but I still have to go in there and empty that folder. It’s annoying and it’s been going on for so long, that evil thoughts have started entering my mind.

(By the way, did anyone but me wonder what All Christ Fulfills. It’s kind of a fun fill in the blank game. Christ Fulfills All Buckets of Water. Christ Fulfills All Politicians Dreams. Don’t try to understand how my brain works. I gave up years ago out of frustration.)

Now back to my story.

Those that know me well can imagine the graphic nature of these thoughts, but many of my family members and a lot of my dear friends are God fearing/loving Christians and very good people. Before writing this blog entry the idea did cross my mind that one of my family members signed me up to receive these daily inspirationals with good intentions and hopes that I might see The Light. They don’t realize that’s just not going to happen -- too much pagan blood flowing through my veins perhaps (although that means it’s flowing through some of their veins as well). Then I got worried that maybe my dear, sweet husband signed me up (horror of horrors), but that thought quickly left my head. He knows it’s a lost cause (although I am a little nervous about him deciding to read my blog for the first time and this is the post he sees). Before I get to my evil thoughts, I really don’t intend to offend anyone, especially the people that love me and will be praying for my immortal soul if they are brave enough to continue reading.


Okay are you ready? Take another second for one more prayer.





Now back to Paul (and not my Uncle Paul, who I originally thought the email came from before I looked at the subject line) and the evil thoughts swirling through my head. The thoughts started out fairly mundane (well for me at least) – I wanted to email him back everyday with some satanic quote, but I would have no idea where to find those types of things. Then they progressively got worse as my annoyance level went up – I wanted to send him emails with pictures of goat sacrifices or perhaps human sacrifices – that would really freak him out (wait a second that would totally freak me out). And finally ended with some God Father like scenes of Paul waking up to animal heads in his bed and 666 scrawled in blood on his alarm clock (no I don’t know why I think 666 on an alarm clock is funny except if I saw that on mine I would think I was really late).

Of course these are just thoughts and I would never, ever act on them especially because I have no idea how to contact Paul because his return email address is hidden. Oh and he’s probably not even a real person, but some virus lurking waiting for me to click the link on Psalms 23 or whatever.

Yes, I’m aware that I’m going to Hell and you know how much I love heat.

As an aside, my friend, I’ll call him M, once told me the funniest story, which I’m going to screw up somewhat because it’s been over 10 years since I heard it and we all know how I like to ...uhm change stories unknowingly (seals on kayaks anyone?). He was tired of the bible thumpers coming to his door, so one day he had enough and the girl was telling him how Christ could save him, etc. He looked her straight in the eye and said he didn’t need Christ because he had Satan and he could call up demons to come and take her soul, so she better tell her friends to stop dropping by his place because he didn’t need saving. I think she might have cried or screamed or something and I think he felt slightly bad about it after he stopped laughing.

See I just think these horrible thoughts I don’t actually act on them, so I’m not so bad right?! What? I’m still going to Hell? Damn it!

Sacrifices aka Stupidity

(NOTE: I am not a playwrite, so have no idea if I’m using this style correctly. Don’t judge.)

Act 1:
The scene: The Hogan kitchen on family dinner Tuesday night
Players: Grandpa Hogan (aka Popi), who would do anything for his grandchildren as quickly as possible. Brianna Boyd the adorable, but demanding three year old. Me, the mom who sacrifices her own comfort without thinking to ensure safety for her daughter.

Brianna sees container of cherries sitting on the counter. She asks Popi politely for one. He immediately hands her a cherry.

Me (as I start toward Brianna): “Do those have pits in them?”

I grab it away as Popi says, “Uh, I guess so.”

Brianna (screaming): “Mine! Mine cherry!”

I’m grabbing a knife out of the drawer and a bowl out of the cabinet as I say to Brianna, “Yes, I’m just going to take the pit out of it so you don’t choke. Just a minute.”

Brianna starts crying and is literally trying to climb up my leg as I stand at the sink cutting the cherry and dripping juice the color of blood into the sink. I drop the cherry pieces into the bowl and quickly run some water on my hands and where the blood juice has dripped into the sink. I’m thinking she’s going to make a huge bloody mess when eating the cherry. I quickly hand her the bowl as her tears subside. She looks down into the bowl and sets it on the kitchen table not eating a bite. URG!

Act 2:
The scene: The Hogan living room.
Players: Grandma Hogan, the wise matriarch. Liam Boyd the adorable and sensitive five year old. Me, the idiot.

I sit on the couch watching cartoons with Liam. I rub my eyes occasionally. Then the itching becomes intense.

Liam (looking over at me): “Mommy what’s wrong with your eyes?”

Me: “They’re just a little itchy.”

But I lie. They are incredibly itchy and I can’t seem to keep myself from rubbing them. And then it hits me. . . . .

That damn cherry! I didn’t wash my hands with soap after cutting up that DAMN cherry that Brianna didn’t even eat! URGGGGGGG.

Me (calmly): “Mom do you have any Claritin?”

The thoughts are running through my head: “Benadryl will work quicker, but then I won’t be able to drive the kids home because I’ll be too sleepy. Well, I could call Greg and have him drive us all home. But then what would we do about the car situation. I could ask my parents to drive us home - one of them driving my car and the other following in one of their cars. No that’s ridiculous. I’ll just take a Claritin and hope my eyes don’t swell completely shut. It feels like my eyes are barely open now. I really should be helping mom make dinner, but damn my eyes itch. Stop rubbing the eyes. No really stop it now. It’s only going to make it worse. I can’t believe I was so stupid, I know I have to wash my hands after cutting fruit. URG, it itches so bad. Just one more rub. I really hope mom can fix this for me. Please let the 24 hour Claritin kick in quickly, if they even have any. My eyes feel freaking huge and itchy. I hate cherries!”

Mom (from the bathroom): “Here’s some Claritin.”

I go into the bathroom to retrieve the little (hopefully miracle) pill and look at my eyes. I look like a boxer that didn’t do so well in the fight. Or maybe I just look slightly Asian with slits for eyes. I decide I must take a picture and share with the world how completely stupid I am and funny looking too. If this wasn’t happening to me it would be hysterical. I take the pill.

Liam (sitting in Popi’s chair): “Mommy are you okay?”

Me (tiredly rubbing eyes): “My allergies are bothering me right now, but I took some medicine and I will be fine in a little while.”

We all sit down to eat dinner and there are no cherries in sight.

Epilogue: I get the kids home safely with barely opened eyes. Liam falls asleep on the way home. As soon as I walk in the door I tell Greg I’m taking a Benadryl and going to bed, good luck with Brianna. I give him a short version of the story as he shakes his head at me as if to say, “You know better than to forget to wash your hands you silly girl.” I wake up the next morning after going to bed at 8:30 and sleeping like a log (and having some strange dreams about being chained in a room with people I can’t see coming and going and no one is helping me get unchained, not that I really want them to though) and find that my eyes are still slightly swollen. Not prize fighter swollen, just swollen enough that every time I blink I feel like my eyes are too big for my sockets.

So remember to always, always, always use SOAP and water after handling fruit you silly girl!

Proud (and thankful) to be an American

I read on CNN.com this morning that yesterday Michael Jackson’s death crashed a bunch of web sites for a time. Evidently the world wide web was brought to it’s knees by the King of Pop. And this just didn’t happen in the U.S. of A but all over the world.

This made me ponder the human race as I sometimes do. Everyone is so curious about MJ’s death and they want to know instantly when he died, how he died. And just to be clear I’m one of those people too. Yet, how many people were as interested in the protests in Iran and the death of Neda, the icon for those protests, or the genocide in Darfur that still continues. Why are we not as hungry for information on other more “important” global stories? Is it too painful to think about? Do we just feel helpless? Is it just to taxing on our brains to understand all the political, social, and other issues? Is it too far away to worry about?

For me personally, it’s very depressing to think about Iran and Darfur. I do feel somewhat helpless. I read the stories of people being killed for protesting their government and of women being systematically raped while their children look on and it’s absolutely horrifying. I turn away from that much pain and senselessness. It makes me so thankful that I was born an American in a time when someone else had already fought for my right to vote and fought for my civil rights and all the other freedoms that I enjoy. I am so thankful that I can sit back and be lazy and take these things for granted and mostly that I can surf the net to find out useless information about celebrities in a very voyeuristic way.

Brianna's Rainbow Birthday Cake

After having a stomach virus this week and being down for the count for a little over three days, we postponed Brianna's birthday party. But I started feeling much better Friday night and decided to have my parents come over and do just a family party. I had already decided to do a rainbow cake after Amanda made some rainbow cupcakes that came out looking so cute. Originally, we were going to do a princess tea party and I was going to make the cake in the shape of a teapot. That didn't happen, but you can see the progression of the cake in the pictures above (again thank Amanda for giving me the idea to take pictures through the whole process).

All the pictures will be on Snapfish soon. Brianna enjoyed licking the frosting off the spatula. She got some fun gifts. The biggest being a new outside climbing/slide thing. She also really liked the shopping cart we got her and was pushing all her other gifts around in it and making sure Liam didn't touch any of it. It was a low key birthday, but fun. When asked she'll tell you she's three now, which she wasn't doing earlier in the week when we would ask how old she was going to be. I guess even at three girls don't like to be older than they really are or tell you their age.

Now I can start thinking about our 4th of July vacation. YEAH!

Random Thoughts

Brianna had her first haircut (photos will be posted at a later date). She had been asking for a haircut for two weeks, so I finally took her. At first I was just going to get it trimmed, but then thought about how much food she gets in her hair and how it’s always falling in her face, so we decided on a bob cut with bangs. Instantly she looked two years older. Even after having two kids, I’m amazed at how fast they grow up. It’s just not right!

I got to hang out with some old friends at my best friend’s (Dr. Irene Avila) PhD graduation at ASU. We went down to Phoenix for a long weekend. It was perfect. I had so much fun. The kids were great. Greg and I were so proud of them and the whole weekend was entertaining. It was hot (over 100 every day) but wonderful. We also got to spend time with my Aunt Sue and cousin Kendra and her family. Liam and Brianna had so much fun with all the kids, their toys, and trampoline. I’m so proud of Irene. We graduated from college together back in 1995 or was it 1996, I can’t remember. Anyway, she was focused and there was nothing that was going to stop her from getting her PhD. She is truly amazing and tenacious and I feel honored to count her as a friend.

Greg’s had two business trips in the past month. So for two separate weeks, I’ve been a single parent. The first week he was gone was the worst. The kids just weren’t having a good week and I had no one to tag team with. It was exhausting. This past week (Greg flies home tonight) was so much better. I don’t know if it’s because I was relaxed from our mini-vacation in Phoenix or what, but I liked the kids much better this week and things went much more smoothly – even with Brianna having to stay home one day due to a fever (she’s fine now). Anyway, I feel bad that it takes Greg being gone for a week before I realize how much I depend on him – especially in the mornings when I’m not at my best. And props to all the single parents out there – more power to you!

This long Memorial Day weekend I plan on finishing the garage. We’ve slowly been putting all the stuff in the POD back into the new garage cabinets, but we still have half a POD to go. If I get nothing else done this weekend, I will get the POD emptied, so we don’t have to pay for another month of rental on it. Then I’ll be able to focus on having a party to show off the new, improved Boyd household.

I have so much to do besides just finishing the garage. I need to clean our house - Get our lives organized, since summer is coming and the kids will be on a new schedule – Plan Brianna’s 3rd Birthday party – Plan a BBQ/see the new improvements party – Upload photo’s from Easter to present – Figure out how to carve out time for Greg and I alone – make more time to spend with my friends – Go through all the crap in our bedroom and do some purging. Do you see the theme here – TIME MANAGEMENT. Something I’m not all that good at or I’m perfect at it. It’s really weird. I can set up a schedule and stick to it like nobody’s business for a couple of weeks and then it all goes to hell and I somehow lose the time to do anything. I’m still looking for the balance between all my competing sides (work, friends, family, husband, self). I LOVE being a team leader now, but I really hate that I had to give up my 30 hour work week.

I miss having all the time in the world to have crazy, philosophical discussions about bizarre things or important things or whatever. Just to sit around and talk to your friends about why the world is the way it is and how to make it a better place. It’s like time keeps speeding up and I can’t slow it down no matter what I try to do.

I’m having a little bit of a mid-life crisis because I’ll be turning 40 in October. 40! I feel like I’m still 28 (expect for the drinking thing). My dear friends and family keep reminding me that my 30’s were so full – I got married, bought a house, and had two children. I accomplished a whole heck of a lot in my 30s. Maybe that’s why they sped by so fast. I was so busy living my life that I didn’t stop and notice. Someone recently told me that every night before she goes to bed she writes in her journal all the things for which she is grateful. She said in the beginning it was sometimes hard to come up with something, but now she spends a lot of time writing because there is just so much to be grateful for. I think I need to start doing this. I really do have so much in my life, such a great life, and I just need to take a few minutes everyday to appreciate it more thoroughly – not just be a thought in the back of my mind. I need to be fully aware and cognizant of all the gifts I’ve been given – a patient husband, fun kids, a supportive family, good friends, etc. etc.

Easter Bunny Almost Caught!

Wow, this weekend was fun and there is so much to tell. Was it Virginia Wolf who wrote in a free association style? I can’t remember - high school English class was so long ago. Anyway, that was meant as a warning. Here we go.

After five years, Liam has become an eggcellent Easter egg decorator (yes, I’m just too punny). He’s learned how to gently place the eggs in the dye without splashing and how to wait to take them out, let them sit on a paper towel to dry a little and then place in the egg carton. Brianna on the other hand likes to see how big of a splash she can create when she drops the eggs into the dye. She also likes to crack the eggs by dropping them on the table. I wish I would have gotten pictures of her holding the egg at about eye level and then letting it go. This brought her much joy and I quickly would wipe up the spillage. We colored three dozen eggs. In the past the adults would get to help color eggs too, but this year not so much. My Dad helped Brianna and my Mom helped Liam. I did a few eggs, but I don’t think Greg got to do any. So for Liam’s last egg, we dipped it in every color which is what Greg does with at least one egg every year. Liam loved the espeariment (experiment – not a flavor of gum) and I loved that we were carrying on a family tradition that Greg started years ago before we had kids (Yes, I made everyone color eggs every Easter before we had kids. What can I say? I love egg salad sandwiches.). Oh and I got smart this year and the kids colored eggs in their undies. No stained shirts or pants to have to worry about. Brianna does have a colorful speckled chest though.

We also made cupcakes. I’m currently doing Weight Watchers at work and have been doing very well – consistently losing weight (not much, but every half pound counts). So in order to prepare for Easter and the chocolate fest that can ensue, my friend, Ashley, and I decided we’d get the kids more little toys and less chocolate. I also decided to try something different for my tradition of lemon cupcakes with green colored coconut. I came up with the idea to make lemon angel food cupcakes. I found a recipe on-line and it turns out that it’s only 2 points per cupcake (sorry for the Weight Watchers speak). They actually turned out really good, although I was the only one that ate them. I originally was going to make whipped cream to “ice” them. When I did that, you totally lost the delicate lemon flavor. So I ended up making a glaze of lemon juice and powered sugar and just drizzled a little over the top with a fork. Well, Liam is all about baking and he told me in no uncertain terms that he doesn’t like lemon cupcakes and he “needed” to make some chocolate cupcakes. So we did that and I did pretty well not eating much of the batter. I then used the whipped cream I had made to frost the chocolate cupcakes. Brianna loved this because she thinks whipped cream is ice cream. She kept asking for more ice cream. Oh and they both helped make the cupcakes. Liam put the butter in the bowl. Brianna put the water and eggs in the bowl. Liam turned on the mixer. Liam got to lick the scraper/spatula. Brianna got to lick the beater. Both had chocolate faces. Much fun.

Autumn had recently told me about the hams they have at Costco and so we bought one. Last weekend I cooked it and it was delicious. Since we still had leftovers this weekend, I decided to make scalloped potatoes for Easter Linner (you know that meal around 3pm that replaces lunch and dinner). It turned out great by the way. Autumn’s suggestions/helpful advice are always spot on. Anyway, we also made deviled eggs and egg salad. I found out that my daughter LOVES eggs. She ate her egg she got at school on Friday as soon as we got home. When she colored an egg pink on Saturday, she wouldn’t let it go until I peeled it for her and she promptly ate it. Then on Sunday she ate another egg before we had a chance to turn it into egg salad or devil it.

The plan was to hide the eggs in our backyard once my parents came over and could distract the kids. Well, I had recently gotten out of the shower when I heard the door bell ring. I quickly got dressed and entered the backyard from the sliding glass door in our bedroom. Oh and I had grabbed the eggs out of the fridge and taken them back to our room when I went back for my shower. I thought I was a genius to use this time because the kids would still think I was in the shower. Unfortunately, I don’t think Greg was in on the plan and my mom thought I would come out before hiding eggs. I’m trying to quietly and quickly hide eggs and every time I hear the kids, I try to duck back into the bedroom. In case you don’t know, we have a glass door in the family room that opens to the backyard and it just has a lace curtain over it. I guess Liam saw me at some point and started getting excited because he saw the Easter bunny. This of course caused the other adults to shepherd the kids out to the front of the house. I actually broke into a sweat and had to relax a little and brush my teeth before heading out of the bedroom to let the kids know I was ready. Later that day we all would just look at each other when Liam would start talking excitedly about how he saw the Easter Bunny and what big ears the bunny had, etc. etc. I’m a little self-conscious about my ears now, so next time you see me please don’t bring up their size and/or shape.

This year, we decided to hide the Easter baskets. Evidently this is a Boyd family tradition and the kids loved it. Have I mentioned Liam’s little British saying? He says, “Straight away” a lot. On Sunday morning Liam says as soon as he wakes up, “We need to find our baskets straight away!” It’s the cutest thing. I don’t know where he picked it up.

Brianna is such a mix of girly girl and tomboy. Sunday the weather was so nice that the kids had water play in the back yard. Brianna was hard charging and ended up falling and scraping up both of her knees - one bad enough that a regular Band-Aid wouldn’t cover it. I put a big bandage on it, which Greg promptly made fun of – something to the effect of putting a table cloth on her knee. She also was climbing all over in her dress with no fear. But in true girly fashion, she changed her clothes five times that day. Okay, I put her in two outfits – her Easter dress to look for eggs, then play clothes to play outside in. She picked out another dress, her swim suit, and later that night a different swim suit (which caused us to explain that when the sun is setting we don’t play out in the water).

We also were trying to find a good time to call Greg’s family to wish them a Happy Easter. This is always difficult. We have to take into account the time difference, but more importantly the child temperament scale. You would not believe how hard it is to get both kids awake and in a good enough mood to talk. Normally it’s one or the other and on really bad days they both go into melt down while we’re on the phone. Fortunately, we got both of them awake and they both talked on the phone for a few minutes. Unfortunately, Liam was starting to get tired which causes him to go into “crazy” conversations. He’ll tell you that you’re a food of some sort and how he’s going to eat you and then your eyeballs are fire or garbage or some other lovely thing.

This post is getting way too long and I still have to download pictures. I guess I’ll stop there then. I hope everyone had as much fun over Easter weekend as we did!

Big Girl Brianna

Brianna seems to have turned into a big girl overnight. Her hair is long enough to put into pigtails without falling out even when dancing (see photos). It seems like yesterday I didn't think she'd ever grow hair. She also finally got over her fear of climbing out of the crib, so we had to convert it into a toddler bed. She's very proud of herself for having a big girl bed, but of course now she has mobility at night. She doesn't stray far from the bedrooms though. She does, however, like to wake us up in the middle of the night banging on our bedroom door (which is now locked at night). Sometimes she'll go into Liam's room and pull his hair or scratch him until he wakes up. She hasn't gotten the idea that you sleep for 8 hours straight without play breaks. Anyway, enjoy the photos.

Liam’s Grand Adventure and Time with Brianna

So my parents decided to take Liam on a road trip for the second week of his spring break. It’s been five days now. They left on Saturday and will be back this coming Saturday or Sunday. They call every night to tell us what the adventure was that day. Sometimes Liam talks and talks and other times he just says Hi.

Before he left Greg and I had mixed feelings; excited for him, sad because we’d miss him, excited to have one on one time with Brianna, sad because we couldn’t be on vacation too, etc. So far it’s turning out well for all of us.

My dad sounds like he’s holding up very well. He had his last radiation treatment the Monday before they left. Liam has only had a few minor fits mostly due to being tired (as usual). The highlights, both from my mom and Liam, in no particular order:

Eating at a McDonalds that was in an old train car
Getting binoculars at Hoover Dam
Going from wearing shorts in the morning to climbing to an elevation where it was snowing Taking an old time train ride to a ‘cowboy town’ where robbers ran through the train and the Sheriff had to chase them. Evidently Liam talked up the Sheriff quite a bit afterwards.
Liam’s been getting a lot of treasure for his treasure chest. You know those bins of rocks/stones – he’s basically getting something every time they are in a place with one of those.
Finally getting to Sedona, Arizona (the destination) and not wanting to take a Jeep tour around because all the tour Jeeps were pink and Liam was not about to get in a pink Jeep. I guess Brianna’s future Barbie car is safe from him.
Today they are meeting up with Lanny, my maternal uncle, and going to the wild animal park. I can’t wait to get the call tonight and find out how that went.

While the three of them have been having fun on their road trip, Greg, Brianna, and I have been having fun too. We almost forgot how much easier it is to just have one child. Saturday, I had a hair appointment, so Greg took Brianna to Dennis the Menace Park. Then they went to Black Bear Diner for lunch. I actually got home before them and when they did get home Brianna went right down for her nap. The next day, Brianna and I had our day. First we went to Target to pick up a few things, then we went to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We finished our day out at My Museum, a kids interactive museum. She fell asleep on the way home, but when I put her in her crib to continue her nap, she must have woken up and climbed out of her crib and came out to get us. The climbing out of the crib happened again when we put her down that night. She finally has hit that point – she is no longer afraid of climbing out of the crib, so we’re going to have to turn it into a toddler bed this weekend. My baby will be officially gone – well maybe not entirely because she’s still not fully potty trained yet.

Oh and we had the most fun play date after work yesterday. Amanda and I picked up Des and Brianna from day care and went to this nice, new playground just a few blocks away. There is a big kid area and an under 5 yr old kid area. Brianna had absolutely no fear going up this arched ladder thing to the top of the big kid structure. At the highest point, with my hands up as high as they would go, I would only touch the bottom of her shoes. Once up at the top, she took the biggest corkscrew slide all the way back down and did it again and again and again. Des only went down that slide twice - the first time with fear on her face until it was over and then a big grin, the second time she flipped a little half way down and finished sidewise, kind of head down. I think it scared Amanda more than Des. Anyway, after playing for about an hour (it was windy and a little cold) we all headed over to Del Monte Shopping Center and had dinner at PF Chang’s. Brianna had three bowls of egg drop soup and three helpings of brown rice. I was completely shocked she ate so much because for the last few days she hasn’t been all that hungry. I don’t know if she’s getting ready to grow again or if she was just keeping up with Des. Des is a very good, adventurous eater. Brianna and I got home around 7:50, 20 minutes past her bedtime. She was so tired that after stories she wanted to lay right down and didn’t get out of her crib (as she had the previous three nights).

So Greg and I are really enjoying our time with Brianna. She’s really enjoying the undivided attention she’s getting from us. It’s made me realize that I’m going to have to work harder at giving her more attention when Liam comes home. I feel so sorry for all the second and third and beyond children out there. You really do get screwed on the parental attention scale.

Oh and one more thing, Brianna asks me every day on the way home, “Where Liam, Mommy?” She misses him and they have talked on the phone with each other a few times, which is just so cute.

Just a few more days left until we’re a family of four again.

Blogging in General

So as you can tell from my last post below, I wrote it in word and then cut and pasted it into the blog box. So there is some crazy carriage returns. Sorry I didn't check it before I posted it. I'm still having a heck of a time with getting the pictures where I want them and in the order I want them. Like below the first photo should really be the last one.


I've also noticed I say "So" a lot in my posts. What's up with that? I actually use to be a good writer. I'm just way out of practice I guess. Maybe if I blogged more, it would take care of it's self. But I'm sitting here almost falling asleep and I still want to upload my Jan & Feb pictures to Snapfish. But I think that's going to have to wait until another day. Not that there are that many pictures - Brianna being silly, the kids on the carousel at the mall on a rainy day, and the Sharks game.


Here are the pictures I promised of Greg's ankle. I didn't get any good ones of his stiches. But you get to see his book and the two small scars he now has on his ankle. His physical therapy is going great and he can now walk around the house without the boot, but still has to wear it anytime he's away from home.

OK, I'm going to sleep now. Talk at you later.

Liam's First Sharks Game

I finally did it. After years of debating when the right time would be,
I took Liam to a hockey game. I had gotten Greg three tickets to the
Sharks vs. the Thrashers for his birthday. I know, I know. It was as
much a gift for me as for him. But he's really hard to buy for and
likes events more than stuff.

Anyway, the game started at 1:00, so I wanted to be there no later than
12:30. We got up and got ready - All three of us in our Sharks jerseys
(Greg and Liam had gotten new jerseys for Christmas). We dropped
Brianna off with Grandma and Poppi and then headed to the game. It's an
hours drive and Liam did the typical are we there yet, when are we going
to be there, why is this taking so long. I decided to spend more and
park near the arena just in case Liam fell asleep and we'd have to carry
him. Greg is still in a 'boot' from his ankle surgery and while he can
get around, I didn't want him to have to carry Liam a long distance in a
crush of humanity. Turns out Liam was wide awake and didn't fall asleep
until we were half way to Marina.

We get inside, do a potty run, and find our seats. Liam is still
pinging with excitement. I actually felt sick to my stomach on the ride
up because I was so excited for him. Would he like the game? Would he
get bored one period in? Would I be able to enjoy the game?

He LOVED it. He's head was on a constant swivel taking everything in.
He couldn't wait to get the cotton candy we promised him. He loved the
lights. He was mesmerized by the shark head coming down onto the ice
(they keep it covered in a huge black cloth until right before the
players skate through it onto the ice). He just kept saying, "Look at
that. What's that?"

And then SJ Sharkie (the mascot, in case you couldn't figure it out)
came rappelling down from the rafters and Liam was hooked. He was
hooked before the game even started. It was one of those moments where
you're just so proud and your heart is screaming, "Yeah, that's my son!"
He loved when the players skated through the shark head with the glowing
red eyes. "See that? See that?"

So the game started. Liam enjoyed clapping along to the music and the
folks around us enjoyed him. No goals were scored during the first and
second periods, but there was a good fight. Which after I cheered it on
and felt kind of bad about it, I explained to Liam that fighting is only
ok in hockey and boxing. Greg just gave me one of his looks, like "Yeah
right, he's going to buy that after you just cheered on the guys
pummeling each other."

I can't remember what period it was but the cotton candy man was walking
up the stairs near us (we were in the middle of a row, down in the lower
bowl - section 109 for those of you in the know). Liam saw him and we
explained that he needed to raise his hand to get the guys attention.
He totally reminded me of that character from Welcome Back Kotter. He
was practically jumping out of his seat. The folks around us smiled. I
smiled. The cotton candy guy threw the bag at Liam. Greg passed his
money down the line. Liam was happy. We all were happy. The Sharks
hadn't scored yet.

We also had to keep telling Liam that he could be as loud as he wanted.
I had to keep screaming during the make some noise parts of the game
just to show him that it was okay to be loud inside. The Sharks went on
a power play. We showed Liam how to chomp. He did small little chomps
(not the big chomps he does at home), but I believe the first power play
he was still eating cotton candy. The Sharks scored the first goal. We
jumped up and cheered. Liam was looking up at us. We got him up out of
his seat. He couldn't see over all the adults around him. I offered to
pick him up. Greg offered to pick him up. He was happy to sit there
and watch all these adults acting crazy.

About half way through the third period I saw where the camera man was
and I started to get Liam to dance in his seat during stoppages in play
whenever the camera man was pointed our way. Then two rows in front of
us a man put his small child (1 yr?) standing on his lap and dancing
around. The camera man caught it. I looked up at the jumbotron. There
was Liam over the right shoulder of the kid dancing away and not knowing
why Mommy and Daddy were so excited. By the time we got him to look at
the jumbotron the image was gone and replaced by the players in the face
off circle. I was super excited. Greg made some crazy comment about me
painting our faces for the next game.

After the game was over, we headed down to the Sharks store. There was
a huge line. Liam waited patiently. He just had to get something for
himself and his sister (he's so thoughtful). He got her a little plush
SJ Sharkie. He got himself a small goalie stick and a rubber bracelet
(a boy's bracelet). He hasn't taken off the bracelet as of 6:30 this
morning. I remained strong and didn't buy anything for myself.

The Sharks won the game easily, but more importantly they won over
another fan. I can't wait for our next game in March. And maybe next
year we'll introduce Brianna to the Shark Tank.

Valentine's Day

So Greg and I sat down a few weeks ago and planned out our year, sort of. We decided that this was the year we'll turn the garage into a playroom/exercise room. The first step of this project was to empty the garage and take everything we didn't want/need to Goodwill. It took three or four trips with Greg's truck full to get rid of the stuff we realized we just weren't going to use anymore. Then everything we wanted to keep got put into a POD. If you don't know PODs, it's a 12 ft. storage container that they drop off in your driveway. You can either keep it or have them haul it to a storage facility. We're keeping it in the driveway, which means we can only fit one car in the driveway right now - not that you really care about that part.

Then the next step is to have cabinets installed to hold all the stuff we're keeping. I thought ahead and actually measured everything that wasn't of a standard size to fit on a regular shelf. We're going to put rubberized (and green - meaning recycled) flooring in the garage - like what they have on the floor of the Biggest Loser gym (Is it bad that I love to watch that show with a big glass of milk and M&Ms?).

For those of you in the Mid-West, most Californians don't use their garages for cars - at least not in this part of the state. We don't really get weather and we don't have basements, so the garage turns into the storage center of the house.

I'm very excited about having a cabinet to store all our purchases from Costco.

So all this info is just background for the point of this story. I was reading Cousin Ginny's post on Valentine's Day and it made me happy. I too have never been a fan of this holiday. So when I set up the POD delivery for a holiday weekend to give us enough time to get the garage cleaned out, I had no idea it was Valentine's Day. So Greg and I had the most romantic time going through all our junk and then being sore and achy that night, not to mention covered in dirt and cobwebs. I did, however, get to take a really nice bath which is a rare treat (of course my back was spasming, so I didn't really have a choice).

I hope you all had a productive Valentine's Day.

Out of the mouths of babes

Another real conversation with Liam in the car on the way home.

Liam, “Did you know who made this city?”
Me, “Who?”
Liam, “Heaven made our city and he made you and me and everyone.”
Me, “wow”
Liam, “Yeah and it was really hard and when he was done he was tired, so he took a little rest. And did you know that his best friend is Santa?”
Me, “That’s cool. I really like Santa.”
Liam, “Yeah. Mommy did you know Heaven’s short name?”
Me, “No, what’s Heaven nickname?”
Liam, “I like to call him Heav for short.”

At this point it takes all my concentration to make the left hand turn I’m in the process of while trying to stifle a laugh.

When I gain my composure, “Cool, dude.”
Liam, “yeah, Heav lives in the sky.”
Me, “uh huh.”

And that was the end of that conversation.

Oh and his new favorite saying that he got from Mrs. Hord is “Easy Peasy”. As in “That page was easy peasy mommy. Do I have to do another page of homework or can I take a chocolate milk break?” We have been lucky this week because the alpha friend is Leo the Lion – L. Since his name starts with L he already knows it, so all the English homework was easy peasy this week. He’s always really good with the math homework, so I finally got a week where I didn’t have to struggle with him to do his homework. I still think it’s crazy that Kindergarteners have homework though.

Oh and Brianna is going to be ahead of the game because she loves to watch Liam do his homework and is already really good at the letter sounds. More on her antics later.

Greg's Ankle Surgery

So some of you may know, Greg had ankle surgery today. He sprained his ankle last year and seems to continue to sprain it at least one a month (OK, so maybe not that often). He stopped ref'ing soccer and playing basketball at lunch because of it. We finally convinced him to see a specialist. After one delay because of the holidays and other family stuff, he finally had the surgery. They just basically went in and cleaned out the area and tightened the ligament. He's currently laying in bed snoring while I type this.

Here's my one annoyance. He was originally scheduled to have the surgery at 10:45 today. I moved all my meetings to the morning, so I could just take off work and take care of him in the afternoon. I had arranged for my mom to pick up the kids and bring them home and everything was planned and set. Then after I leave work yesterday, the surgery center calls him to tell him they need to move up the time to 6:30 am. What the heck? (that's a Liam saying he got from Dante) Now all my plans are foiled. What am I going to do? How are all four of us going to be able to be up and out of the house by 5:45? And what am I going to do with Liam until 8:00 when school starts? Can Greg just drive himself and then we'll get his truck later? I was freaking out, as I tend to do when plans don't go off as planned. Then I called my mom and as always (it's either her or Greg that figure something out to calm me down), she came up with the answer. Greg would drive himself over to my parent's house arriving at 6:10, then my Dad would drive him to the surgery center. I would take the kids to school at the regular time and go to work. I did have to take two extra hours of leave, but was able to attend all meetings I had set up. I actually had just finished my last meeting 15 minutes before they called me to come pick him up. Then after work, my mom picks up the kids and my dad drives Greg's truck to our house. My mom and dad leave in her car. The plan has worked so far. Still waiting for the kids and truck to arrive, but that won't be for another hour or so.

So after I get Greg home and situated. I run to Safeway to pick up his prescriptions and ice and twizzlers (a man recovering needs his twizzlers). I forget to put gas in the car. Come back home, get pills in Greg, get him more water, put ice in cooler. Head back out to pick up lunch. On the way stop for gas. Get food come home, we both eat. Set Greg up with a movie and an ice pack. Sit down at the computer. Go check on Greg and he's semi-conscious. Get him to bed. Download Christmas photos, update facebook & blog. OK now I'm done. I'm going to go sit in front of the TV and veg for a little bit before the kids get home.

Greg is fine by the way. He'll be on crutches for about three weeks. He'll be home alone tomorrow, so I hope I got enough movies and twizzlers to keep him occupied. (I'd take a picture of him sleeping right now or his wrapped up foot, but he'd not be happy with me, so use your imaginations. Instead I'll put a cute picture of he and Brianna blowing out his birthday candles)