Ha, Ha

I guess my lack of posts lately has caused ya'll to stop reading. (Yes, my Okie MIL is here right now!) So I guess I'd better get better at posting.

Here's a funny story. All the talk over at Susan's blog made me think of my own birthday coming up in August. I picked my Dad up from the airport last week when he returned from Hawaii. He told me that he sat next to a pregnant woman on the plane. I asked him how pregnant she was, and his reply? "She was about as pregnant as your mom was 32 years ago today."

Thanks, Dad, for rubbing it in.

Then he luckily pointed out that I can start rubbing it in that he will be the big 6-0 this year!

Off to Singapore

Aaron and Micah at the Mariners

Aaron left for Singapore Wednesday afternoon at 3pm. If my calculations are correct, he wasn't due to land in Singapore until noon today (Thursday). But, you know, 18 hours of flying on a plane with no children actually sounds enticing. Nothing to do except read, sleep or watch movies. There is the bad food, however.

Micah and Aaron enjoyed their first Mariner's baseball game together with just the two of them. We have a magnet chart for chores. If he fills up his chart then he gets to do a fun activity. We've gone to the Children's Museum (which has the ever-popular pretend grocery store) and to the zoo. This time his reward was a baseball game. He came home and announced that next he wants to see the football team and then the basketball team. Very sad to explain to him the impossibility of that at the moment.

Garage Sale

For some reason I wrote this last weekend, but never posted it.

The garage sale was today and I made $135. Quite a bit more than I expected. We sold all our big items. I even got a buck for Jodi's broken down umbrella stroller! The best part is that Microsoft matches gifts to charity, so I can double the amount of money. It was rainy this morning so I think that kept some people away. By noon the sun was out and more people came by.

Its strange what people will buy. We sold all of my mom's doiles. Who uses doiles anymore? I was very surprised. The cute Gymboree and Gap jumper dress? Unsold. Someone actually bought my parent's old green shell lamp. Its kind of like a chandelier--the shells hang down. Very 70's . I'm sorry I didn't take a picture. The giant spoon and fork didn't sell, however. (When I say giant, think 5 feet tall) I think we might have a use for those. Just be glad that none of you live near us during the Christmas season--except maybe Erin...hmmm... (insert evil laugh here: brr hhahhh ahhhhaaa)

Blogger is frustrating me!

I've about had it with blogger. Every time I complain about it Aaron tells me to move over to MSN spaces. When he saw I had started a blog on blogspot instead of MSN spaces he told me I was supposed to "support the family" or some such thing. Whenever I use Google instead of MSN search he has fits. Or he used to. Now he just shakes his head. I told him I would use MSN search when I could remember the address. Google is just so much easier to remember then search.msn.com or whatever it is. I think I'm developing the attention span of a 3 year old.

Anyway...this blog may be moving. Why is it that when I try to create a new post sometimes the tool bar comes up and sometimes it doesn't ? Then I saved a post as a draft. I came back to edit it later and it wasn't showing up. ARgh.

We're Back!

We went down to visit my aunt and uncle this past weekend in Danville, California. (East Bay area) Aaron volunteered to work at a trade show so we all went along to visit. It was nice to see them and get some sun. Unfortunately it was sunny here in Seattle as well, so we missed the good weather at home.
The kids did great on the way down. The way back was a different story. Micah didn't take a nap the whole time we were down there. He did okay with that since he's old enough now (3 1/2). Basically he still takes a nap because I force him and I need the break. (Not because he really needs it) But I digress. Joel didn't get good naps either and he definitely needs them. So by the trip home Joel was seriously sleep deprived. Our flight home was at 6:20 pm and Joel was so tired that he just screamed. He is usually such a calm, go-with-the-flow baby. Between no sleep and teething, I guess he had had it! After about 20 minutes he finally fell asleep and slept the whole way home. Fortunately the guy in front of us had two boys at home the same ages as our boys.

Does anyone watch The Office? Can you believe they kissed? I actually yelled at the TV, and I don't do this often. I think it is my new favorite show. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you see reruns this summer.

We're having a garage sale tomorrow. Why do I always thing having a garage sale is a good idea? They are always so much work to make $50. Not worth it. Sigh. I hope I actually make some money. We are raising funds for the 3 Day Walk, so maybe people will feel sorry for us and buy stuff. Oh and did I mention its forcast to rain tomorrow as well?

So, I want to take an informal poll. Aaron's trying to convince me to cash in frequent flyer miles and get a ticket to join him in Singapore next week. Since my mother-in-law is here, she would watch the kids. Its about a 20 hour trip, EACH WAY. That doesn't include the time change. I just can't see leaving the kids for so long and being so far away. What do you think?

Happy Mother's Day

Today I decided to focus on what I have instead of what I don't have.

I am thankful for my mother-in-law, Jocelyn. My Mom told me several times how lucky I was to have her. In fact just a few weeks before she died she told me that Jocelyn treated me like her own daughter. It was as if my Mom was assuring herself I was "taken care of". Since the day we married, Jocelyn has always treated me as her own daughter, and for that, I am thankful. (My FIL has always done that too, but that is a different holiday =) )

I also love how she interacts with my kids. She is a wonderful Grandma. When someone shows unconditional love to my kids, it makes me feel loved too. True love of a Grandma: setting up the "store" and playing shopping with Micah ad nauseum. She doesn't mind getting on the floor and playing with Micah and Joel.

She is a woman of God. Jocelyn teaches Precepts at her church. She introduced me to Precepts and I have deeply appreciated the class. I know that if she has an opinion about scriptures, she has studied the matter thoroughly. She doesn't talk off the top of her head. I value her wisdom and insight.

When she comes to visit, she cooks, does laundry, and has even cleaned the bathroom! It feels like a vacation when she comes to visit! Its great! Most importantly she entertains Micah at 6 am when he wakes up.

The best part is she is coming to visit next week! Yippee!

Happy Mother's Day, and I love you Jocelyn!!

I Got Nothing

Nothing going around here that you'd want to hear about. Sigh. Nothing but poop stories and I will save you from those. The life of a mother with babies. I feel like my life is nothing but dishes, diapers, baby food, laundry, Dora and leap pads.
And then there is Mother's Day coming up. Not looking forward to that.

God at Work

What a blessing it is when God allows you to be a blessing to someone else. Yesterday I was walking to the park with the kids. I was going to do an extra loop around the lake to get in more mileage, but kids and reality stepped in. So we were taking the direct route to the park. Now I know why. This allowed me to meet Nancy.

She was walking towards me and she had on a Breast Cancer 3 Day t-shirt on. I stopped her and asked her if she was participating this year and shared with her that I was as well. Turns out she lives close by and we exchanged numbers so we could train together! She shared she was having a bad day and I told her I was too (with Mother's Day coming up).

We walked together today and she told me that right before she met me she had told God that she wanted a sign that everything would be all right. Then she met me, and then she got a phone call resolving her problem. Wow!

Its always great to meet new friends and to see God at work!

Training update-- 60 miles or bust!

Just wanted to update everyone on training progress. (and to take a break from poop stories)

Last Saturday I walked 9.6 miles. It didn't seem too bad at the time. The next day my back ached because I hadn't stretched enough. I was also starting to get blisters on part of my foot. I think its time for new shoes... or at least some duct tape.

Did you know duct tape works better than mole skin for blisters? Add this to your list of uses for duct tape (besides holding cars together, Jodi). When we went snow shoeing this winter, I got some blisters because of the snow shoes pulling on my boots. Fortunately the park ranger was out at the hut and she doctored me up. She put duct tape on my foot and said that it works much better. She said all you need in your first aid kit is some bandages and duct tape!

So this week I've been much better about getting in at least 2-3 miles a day. Micah's usually good for one mile in the stroller maybe two if I'm lucky. Thank goodness the park is a mile away so we can walk there and back!

Oh and I finally got around to printing out the training schedule. (Does that count for something?)

I'm pretty slow these days...

This morning I had a discovery. Micah loves Finding Nemo. He's watched the movie several times and he just got a DVD that has it in a "read aloud" book format. A guy reads the story and it turns the pages. Needless to say he's been listening to it non stop. In the fish tank at the dentist's office, the "volcano" is called Aywannahackalugi. I just figured out today that its a play on words I want to hack a lugi. (no idea of the correct spelling) Geez I'm slow.

May 1st was a big day

3 milestones were reached yesterday:

There are now four mobile individuals living in our household! Granted, one of them can only get around on his belly. . . and can only go backwards at that . . . but hey, it gets him around! (We won't talk about the other one, who jumps around and also falls on his head alot....) This momentous occasion is exciting for us because its fun to see Joel progress to crawling. Micah skipped this stage, so we haven't seen it before.

Joel's 2nd tooth popped through finally. Hooray! Hopefully the 2am wakings will cease. (until the bottom teeth decide to make an appearance)

Lastly, Joel is eating crackers! I gave him little bits yesterday to see what he would do with them and he actually could pick them up using the "pincher" grab. He didn't choke, but chewed them up, (or "gummed" them up), I was so amazed. I guess I lose track of things with the 2nd one. I didn't think he'd be able to do that until 9 or 10 months.

Mommy also learned something yesterday. I was backing out of the garage when I remembered I hadn't put the stroller into the car. I put the car in neutral with the brake and run back in, throw the stroller into the car and try to open the driver's door. I say "try" because it was locked. With the car running. With 2 small children inside. While I stifle a panic attack I try all the doors. Locked. Then suddenly I remember that Aaron never takes his keys to the Sequoia with him. I run back inside (fortunately I hadn't locked the door from the garage to the house) and find his keys on the dresser. Thank the Lord!! Major disaster averted.

The funny thing is, the topic of keys is something we squabble over. He only takes the keys with him to the car he is driving. I always have all keys. So if we for some reason have to switch cars or, take one in to get work done, etc, he has to borrow my keys. I always tell him to just put the one extra key on his ring. I'm so glad he didn't do that yesterday! Its kind of like the movie Signs. Everything happens for a reason: thank you Jesus!
=)

Baby Got Book

You gotta listen to this . You just gotta. Make sure your hubbie hears it while you play it.