Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Joel's Birthday. Every mom says this, but I can't believe it was 1 year ago that I was in the hospital getting to know this little guy. Wow! This picture was taken at 3 months.


Here he is with his first bite of cake!

Speaking of cake, here is his cake! No one ever told me that when your kid gets diagnosed with a food allergy, that not only will you be making HIS birthday cake from scratch, but his sibling's cake along with every other family member!!! We had a Baby Einstein theme, so this is the cat (or maybe it is a tiger?) from the Baby Einstein pictures. I was worried that it didn't look like a cat, but more of a bear, but I think the whiskers make it very cat-like. I used a pan that is a panda bear, but depending on the way you decorate you could make it a giraffe, pig, dog or cat.

I don't particularly like to bake. Decorating cakes makes me a frazzled stress case. But every year I give in to the mommy urge and make a cute birthday cake. I was out of control for Micah's 2nd birthday and made TWO cakes, a dinosaur and an elmo cake. Last year I made one cake; a giraffe. I did make another, but it was a sheet cake and I threw on some Dora cake toppers.

I'm getting tired of presents!

Part of the peanut gallery!

We also prayed over Joel and asked for guidance in raising him. I have also reflected on the meaning of Joel's name "Yahweh is God". What a powerful statement. Not any other man or thing, but the LORD. My prayer is that he will know Him and testify of his namesake.

Will they, won't they?

So the moment I've been waiting for all summer is finally here.

The season premier of "The Office".

(I'll duck now while you throw pillows at me)

Does Pam get married? Does Jim go to New Zealand? Is Dwight still crazy? What new insanities does Michael pull next?

So much anticipation!

Disclaimer

Just a disclaimer about Disneyland. Did you know that $63 only allows Disney to just about break even on operating costs per guest?? They only make money on merchandise and food. For years they lost money on the admission price. A used to be in finance at the parks.

That's the price to operate the Happiest Place on Earth!

Doing the Shamu Slam

We're back from California! We had a wonderful time visiting friends, The Mouse and The Whale. Micah can now successfully do the "Shamu Slam" as well as sing "Its a Small World". Fun times!! We even met Mickey at his house, so now that question is answered, "Where does Mickey live?"

We had so many friends to visit, from my Biola friends, his Biola friends, our Biola friends, Disney friends, Calvary friends, and UCI friends. Throw in 2 days at Disney and 1 day at Seaworld. YIKES! A week was not long enough! It was so great to reconnect, talk and catch up. It was also so fun to see how big all the kiddos have become. Micah had a blast between all the playmates and theme parks. Micah is at just the right age for Disneyland. Everything was real to him. The Tiki Room was on his list, so we went there first thing. As the birds were singing he leaned over and asked "Where were the flowers that croon?" HA! Another must-see was Mickey mouse. He wouldn't stop talking about it so we headed to Toon Town shortly after tiki room. The cutest thing was him wearing his golden mickey ears all day long. He normally will not wear any hats.

Micah is also tall enough for every single ride at Disneyland except for Indiana Jones! This includes Splash, Thunder and Space Mountain! I couldn't believe it, not that we took him on those, we would have one very scared 3 year old! I did take him on one of my favorites, the rapids ride at DCA (that's Disney California Adventure) aka "the circle boats". He loved it! We even braved Pirates with him so we could see the new overhaul they did to include Jack Sparrow.

The fireworks were outstanding. Those of you near S. Cal; its worth the $ to see the fireworks while you can during the 50th. Awesome. Okay, well I don't know if its worth the $63 ticket price; FOR ONE PERSON; but you could probably watch them for free from downtown disney. Talk about sticker shock. After not paying for a one day pass for umm, maybe 15 years, wow have the prices gone up. Fortunately we were able to call some disney friends for day 2 admittance.

I just realized that I haven't mentioned Seaworld at all! After going to Disney for 2 days I guess that just overshadows it! Micah LOVED it and there were alot of unusual fish there. Like we saw one fish that has no eyes. It lives in some caves in New Mexico so its pitch black in there anyway. We also got to touch batrays and sting rays.

As much fun as we had, we are glad we moved to Seattle. Its much prettier here, although we loved being able to drive fast on real freeways with 7-8 lanes on each side. We are also glad to be back. We were so exhausted that on Sunday afternoon we all slept for 3 hours! Micah slept for almost 4 !!

3-Day post is up

Scroll down and you will see my 3-day post .

So... the big news was revealed and I feel like I could just about hear a pin drop. Aren't you all excited that my husband was ALMOST ON NATIONAL TV??
=)

The Big Secret Revealed

So I'm a little worried about all the hype bursting the balloon out of the secret. Karen, unbeknowst to me started a little rumor on her site that I supposedly had some great news to share. I did not. Then a week later I ended up having some cool news to share but I couldn't. Until today.

Are you ready? Drum roll please....

Aaron was in Hollywood yesterday as an extra for the TV show, The Office! Sadly, he didn't end up on camera, but he did get a picture with John Krasinski (Jim), met Rainn Wilson (Dwight) and Steve Carrell (Michael). The plot of the show was they were holding a paper convention where Michael and Dwight go and try to get as much swag as they can. (Susan: swag is free stuff) The producers invited real companies to come and man the booths.

It was really hard for me to keep my mouth shut, as that is my favorite TV show. Somehow I did it!

FYI--I'm still working on my 3-Day Walk post. I started it and probably 2/3 of the way done.

3-Day

For those of you who are new to reading my blog: My Mom died on February 8, 2006 from metastatic breast cancer. That night I decided to participate in The Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk. I wanted to do something bold and challenge myself as well as raise money to find a cure for breast cancer. I had no idea what I was about to experience. It turned out to be very therapeutic for me.

This is a LONG post. Mostly this is for me to remember the experience. Thank you so much to those who donated, I couldn't have done it without you! I was able to raise over $4000 for breast cancer research!

Day1:
Opening Ceremonies were held at Marymoor Park in Redmond. We had to be there at 5:45, yikes! I loaded my gear onto the gear truck and met our team, "Thanks for the Mammaries". There were many awesome team names like: Warming Hut Hotties, Save the Ta-Ta's, Heart and Soul, Walkers for Knockers, Breast Friends, and Beyond the Breast. Think of a euphemism for boob and there was a team with a name. Here is a team photo:
Opening Ceremonies were very emotional. The head of the 3 Day Walk talked about the reasons why people chose to do the walk. "There is a man here who is walking with his 2nd wife. There is a daughter here walking for her mom who didn't survive her fight." I don't remember much of what she said after that because I was looking for tissues. Then they let us go 2-3 at a time so that it was a staggered start and so that there woudn't be a mass stampede of 3000 people. Here is what I looked like during the walk:
We walked through Redmond up to Kirkland and wound up at Juanita Beach Park for lunch. Along the way there are pit stops every 2-3 miles with porta-potties, water, gatorade, snacks, and medical. Every pit stop has a theme; one was un-BEE-lievable, another western complete with photo op. Lunch was themed and so were the sweep vehicles. Sweep vehicles picked up people along the route who couldn't walk for various reasons. After lunch we made a big loop through Kenmore and parts of Bothell. Some friends from church cheered us on at the 2nd cheering station in Kirkland. We then made it to Big Finn Hill park where we camped for the night. It was a mobile city! They had medical tents, mobile kitchen, dining tent, shower trucks, porta potties, and sinks. They provided 2-person tents for us to set up. It was tent city!

At night they even had entertainment. The first night was karaoke and the 2nd nite was a disco band. One gal made it through days 1 and 2 unscathed then twisted her ankle at disco night! What a bummer! I tried to take part in festivities but I was such a zombie having woken up both days at 5 am or so. Not to mention walking 20 miles each day.

Day 2: This day we made a loop from Kirkland up to Woodinville over into Bothell and through Kenmore, up Simonds Hill, which was killer. It wasn't that steep, just long; 1.5 miles up hill at the end of the day. And it was 85 degrees. And I had a huge blister on my toe. And I had tendonitis in my left big toe. But, as signs often pointed out along the way; "Blisters hurt less than chemo." Wow, that kept me going!


Here are some of my walking buddies on Day 2 in Woodinville (from left ) Sunny, Jenn, April, Michelle, Denise, her son Bryce and us. We're at a cheering station at our favorite spot, Starbucks!
We are now coming up on lunch and Micah was standing on the side cheering all the walkers on. Then he ran up to me and gave me a big hug. The best!!

We camped the same place on day 2. At camp that night I had a chance to sign the remembrance tent; we could sign a tent like the ones we camped in. There was also a book where you could write why you were walking. Again, very emotional. There was a picture of a 3 Day walker from 2005 who had died this year.

Day 3:
We woke early to break down camp. I think my now I was just numb from the lack of sleep. We left camp and headed west to Shoreline and then south into Seattle. It was a beautiful walk with gorgeous houses and views of Lake Washington.





Closing Ceremonies: all the walkers walk in together, with the walkers who have survived breast cancer walk in last. All of us saluted the survivors by holding up one of our shoes.

This was a great experience. I enjoyed challenging myself and seeing what I was capable of doing. I found out I'm capable of alot! Having a goal really helped me focus on working out and walking. The best thing that came out of the experience was all the friendships that I formed--something I was not expecting. People who have been touched by breast cancer in their life and could relate to what I am going through in grief. People who haven't been touched by breast cancer but just wanted to make a difference. Great, quality people--friendships that I wouldn't have made otherwise.
View of Lake Washington from Sand Point neighborhood in Seattle. (near the U)

And, last but not least, this one's for Tim: www.gotripoffs.com

I'm BAAACK!

I'm back from the 3-Day walk, and it was an amazing experience. Once I've downloaded all the pictures I will post them and give more details of the weekend. Thanks to everyone out there, I was able to raise over $4000 for breast cancer research! Thank you!! Oh, and yes I made it every single inch of the walk! 60 miles!

Here are some pictures of Cowboy Micah:

Unexpected Visitor!

We had a semi-unexpected vistor last week. We were thrilled to see Wendy and take her to lunch. It was great to see her and talk with her about her job.





Micah and Joel in their "boat".

Joel does this new thing where he tries to smile for the camera. I think it looks kind of like a horse trying to smile, but its cute, none the less!

Deception Pass

We went camping last weekend at Deception Pass with our church group. We had a great time and the weather was wonderful. We even got to go hiking. Micah walked the whole way, I was so proud of him. It was about 1 1/2-2 miles, but it was straight up hill for half of it. We had a big group camping site which is nice because we were the only ones there and there is nobody else around. You also don't have to worry about cars and the kids. Great place the kids to roam and explore.

Joel didn't sleep well for a variety of reasons and Aaron ended up driving him around again. Sigh. We'll make a camper out of him yet! Hopefully next year will be easier camping with him. It was hard because he is crawling and does not like to be held for too long. Finally I just gave in and let him get filthy dirty crawling around in the dirt. Just had to be careful about rocks and bark in mouth!

The above picture is of Deception Pass, which is really a bridge. The first explorers thought the area was a mountain pass between two hills on a peninsula. Turned out it is an island not a peninsula.

Joel's Room

I finally finished Joel's room. Just in time for his 1st birthday. Yippee!
Here are some pictures:





A friend of mine painted the surf scene on the wall. I used the same bedding that I had for Micah, but my aunt made a new crib sheets and a valance.






























My mom and I made the chair pad cover.

















My friend also painted the "honu" on the wall. She copied the turtles from the valance. Need I say she is very talented? See the surfboard on the shelf? that's actually a clock! (Fred Meyer strikes again.) If you look to the left, Jodi you can see the cork board!










OOPS! Well I said the room was done, but as you can see there is a big blank spot. Fortunately I have an idea for the spot.

I actually DO have something to tell you

Karen was right. I actually do have big news, but I only found out today. Are you a prophet or something?

But, as she did say, I am sworn to secrecy. I will be able to tell you in a few weeks or days. Speculate if you wish but I will neither confirm or deny said guesses.

Now, on to Karen. She has held some elaborate hoaxes in her day. Ask her about how her children were conceived. Or is is that TMI?

Tim on KROQ

For those of you who know Tim: he will be on KROQ tomorrow morning at 7am. If you don't live in SCal you can stream it at their website.

He's decided he is not taking his shoes off anymore for airport screeners because of this article.

Here is Tim's reasoning:

No More. Today news came out that sending shoes through an airport x-ray machine tells the security officials virtually NOTHING. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-08-14-xrays-airports_x.htm?csp=34 It serves ZERO purpose other than to give people the impression that all precautions are being made (even if they are meaningless). I’ve had enough of this inconvenience. Now that TSA confirms that it’s all a silly game I’ve decided I’m not playing anymore.

I will no longer voluntarily take my shoes off to walk through airport screening. If the good men and women with the TSA want to make me step aside so they can wave a wand over me, they are more than welcome to, but I’m leaving my shoes on. If in that process they want to force me to take my shoes off and are willing to carry my smelly tennies around and send them through the x-ray machine themselves, they are again more than welcome to. But I’m not doing it for them. I’ve been personally screened before. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t take all that much time and you’re not in trouble.

“That’s just stupid”, you may be thinking. Why put up with 5 minutes of hassle when all you have to do is take 30 seconds to take your shoes off? Two reasons:

1) Principle. If they think I’m such a threat because I happen to be wearing shoes (heaven forbid), then I’m calling their bluff and demanding they do something REAL to make sure I’m not dangerous.

2) Strategy. If even 10% of the people on each of my flights take the same stand, they will not be able to fund the man-power it will take to screen us all. Eventually they’ll give up on making us take off our shoes because they already know it does NOTHING. I know it’s a stretch but I’m willing to bet that even a government agency, in the long run, is not willing to blow their entire budget for something they know is meaningless. Eventually the airlines will not appreciate the back up at the airports either and will apply their own high dollar pressure on the TSA to help us along.

For sure, I don’t want to take it out on the gate workers at the airport, I understand they are doing their job. I’ll be polite and cooperative and won’t argue with them. If they request me to take my shoes off, I will in turn politely suggest that they personally screen me. I hope you’ll think about joining me. This idea isn’t at all original to me, other people are saying the same thing. At the very least, pass on the word.

Theoretically, I agree. Practically will I do this? No. He's not travelling with 2 small children. A stroller. A diaper bag. A computer . Food and drink for small children. I'm already going to have to endure close scrutiny because I will have *gasp* liquid benedryl and epi-pens. Anything I can do to get by faster in the short run is good for me. The security check is harrowing enough without putting myself through the pat-down.

I've been outed

Well, I guess Karen outed me. Thanks alot.

eight-zero-zero

You may remember that we bought an alarm clock to help us keep Micah in bed until 7:00, or as he puts it; seven-zero-zero. Last night he asked if he could get up at eight-zero-zero instead. Ummm... sure! This morning he got up at 6:15 to go to the bathroom, then I put him back to bed and told him he had to stay in bed until 7:00. Micah said, "No! Its, eight-zero-zero". Sure enough, he got up at 8:00.

I guess I'm glad he hasn't quite figured out the order of numbers.

Heaven Help Me!

I thought it was innocent enough.

Yesterday I wore a skirt. When Micah saw me in it he said "wow.. Mommy you look pretty!" He's done that before when I have worn dresses or skirts. So sweet.

Today after swim lessons we were in the locker room changing. He was watching some older girls (age 5-6) get their hair done. He looks and me and says slowly, " Momma, they are pretty," with a tone of astonishment and wonder.

He's 3 1/2 ! He's still my baby. All I could think of was what it would be like at 16!

I didn't think we'd be out of the girls locker room and into the family bathroom quite so soon.

Thanks!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was very meaningful to me this year as I was not looking forward to my birthday without my mom.

In the morning, Micah and Aaron decorated the downstairs with Happy Birthday streamers. Micah also picked out yellow roses for me. Aaron said Micah was insistent on buying flowers for Mommy.

Micah picked out a cute photo collage/frame for me. Its hard to explain, but it will look great when I get the pictures in it. Aaron bought me a radio/cd player that mounts under the kitchen cabinet. Yay! I told him I wanted one several months ago and he remembered!

One of the best parts was going to McDonalds for dinner. No dishes! No cooking! {Aaron had already taken me out to a very nice dinner on Saturday night without kids--in his defense}

Disgusting

Did I keep you in suspense enough? =)

Here it is:
This morning I cleaned the kids toilet with one of those disposable toilet brushes. I usually throw away the cleaning part instead of flushing it so that it won't clog the toilet. For some reason that I can' t remember I left it on the plastic handle part and set it in the trash can. I think I was going to clean the other toilet, but at the moment I had to go dry off Micah from the shower in our bathroom. {you may see where this is going}

Joel was crawling around upstairs, playing in his room, or so I thought. After I dried off Micah, he goes running in to see Joel. Micah starts shrieking, "LOOK AT JOEL, MOMMA, LOOK AT WHAT HE IS EATING, GET HIM, GET HIM!!" I run in the bathroom to see him chomping on, you guess it, the toilet brush. EWWWWWWWW!!!!

I washed his mouth out with a washcloth with toothpaste on it. I thought about soap briefly but realized that would hurt him more.

Happy Birthday to me.

Disgusting

I have a really disgusting story to tell you, but I don't think I have the stomach for it yet. But I feel as though I must tell you.

Check back later

Would you like $20 with your Amoxicillin?

I have a new obsession.

Obtaining free gift cards from pharmacies.

A few weekends ago I was flipping through the Target ad and I found a coupon for a $10 gift card when you filled a new or transferred prescription. I did need to buy a birthday gift and I had been wanting to get some more epi-pens for Micah. (we have wonderful RX insurance) Made a phone call and off I went to get prescription and free birthday gift.

This got me thinking so I went home and flipped through more ads and I found more coupons! I found one for Rite Aid...tranferred Micah's antibiotics presciption and bingo! Free diapers! I had a sinus infection last week...what did I think about while in the doctor's office? Free groceries from QFC. (Never mind the excruciating pain and bloody snot)

In total I have received $60 in gift cards just for filling prescriptions. . . something I would have done anyway. I have a coupon sitting in my purse for another $30 giftcard. One of the kids is bound to get an ear infection soon, right?

Note: I have not abused my insurance and re-filled medications I have not needed. End Disclaimer.