Yuletides

Merry Christmas! We had a more professional family picture taken, but Brian was having fun with the cropping feature of Picasa and "accidentally" cropped me out. But I think the lighting in this picture is kind of cool. It is actually a historic picture because all three of my daughters' hair is done.


Here is Gwen on Christmas morning, modeling some of her stocking stuffers. Notice the layered necklaces. Since this picture was taken Gwen has also started to wear Ruby's necklace she got in her stocking, so with three necklaces she is starting to resemble Mr. T with all that bling. Also notice, at Christmas in our house, pants are optional.

Here is Ruby with her stocking stuffers that Gwen will soon sneakily accumulate into her own jewelry collection. The clothes and jewelry wars are already beginning.

Merry Christmas everyone! This may be the closest thing you get to a Christmas card this year, so we love you and miss you, and hope you're enjoying the Holidays!

I'm a Monterrey Eagle!!!

I have lots of reasons to celebrate! For one, my last day of student teaching was yesterday! The next and exponentially more important because of the financial implications--I have a job starting on Monday!!! Woo-hoo. I am now a 2nd grade teacher at Monterrey Elementary School!

Funny Girls

The girls have been cracking me up lately. Like Ruby, lately she'll find two of a toy or animal, the bigger one is the mommy, and the smaller one is the baby. Well the other day she found two baby dolls, one was bigger than the other and she said "This is the mama baby..."

We were watching Noggin and there is a character named Moose A. Moose, and a particular segment features "business mouse," a little mouse who wears a suit and carries a briefcase. Gwen said "We don't have business mice in Carlsbad." (I guess business mice only live in metropolitan areas)

Brian told me he was loading Gwen into the van the other day and she started to say something, but had a hard time getting the words out from giggling so much. Finally through the fits of laughter she said, "Don't forget your purse Dad."

A few nights ago, Ruby woke up screaming in the middle of the night. I ran in and she had thrown up all over her crib (that did NOT crack me up). I washed her sheets and "hokie" (blanket), and cleaned her up in the bathtub. After much cuddling (Me, Ruby, and the bucket), I went to lay Ruby into her bed. She said "No mommy, yucky." And I explained to her that I washed everything and it was all clean, then she said "gakes Mommy, gakes" (that means Thanks Mommy, Thanks). I said "I love you Ruby." Ruby said "I yuv you too Mom." It never ceases to amaze me how those words can make everything alright after the most disgustingly nasty of nights.

The pictures are just some fun ones, the playground is at Monterrey School.

Shameless Comment Seeking

And the winners are . . . Kathleen and Kristin! Wow, you guys know me so well, my own mother told me she wasn't sure which ones were false. But you were right, I don't even really eat sunflower seeds (though I did do the chipmunk cheek thing once or twice when I played softball in the 8th and 9th grade ), and I definitely do not even like "Earth Girls are Easy," although truthfully, it was my favorite movie when I was about 10 years old.

I have really been wanting some comments (I get this strange sense of rejection when I don't get them, it's like this irrational feeling of web-nerdiness overtakes me), so I am posting this picture of Captain Blueberry. Any guess as to who it is? Let's hope he's not too upset with me for using his image for comments.

Wow he's dreamy!

6 Quirks Tag

I forgot that I got "tagged" for this game where I have to list 6 quirks about myself. Well, I've decided to make things more interesting. I will list 6 quirks: 4 will be true, 2 will be made up. You, my dearest friends and family, will have to guess which are made up. Here goes:

1. While Papa Murphy's Hawaiian style pizza is my absolute favorite, I believe that Papa Murphy's Pepperoni pizza is hardly worth eating.

2. I like to put a whole bunch of sunflower seeds in my mouth, and one by one, crack'em open, eat the seed, and store the empty shell in the other side of my cheek. Mid-way through the seeds, I look like a little chipmunk.

3. My drive-thru voice is as loud as my stranded-in-the-bathroom-with-no-toilet-paper voice.

4. I am infamous for putting a virtually-empty milk carton back in the fridge.

5. I hate the words "flesh," and "nourish."

6. My secret favorite movie is "Earth Girls are Easy."

Okay, make your guesses. I tag: Maria B., Maria C., Priscilla, Brittney, Audrey and Elise.

Poetry

There have been some poems that I have heard throughout my life that have stuck with me. The first was a little rhyme I learned in the third grade. My teacher, Mrs. Lizotte, posted it by her door. I would see it every day as I entered the classroom:

Good, better, best,
never let it rest,
till the good gets better,
and the better gets best!

I took that on as my personal motto for many years, and thought of it often when I felt like giving up. Those of you who have tasted anything I've cooked know that I don't quite live by that philosophy anymore.

Another poem I think of often is a poem I had to memorize by Robert Frost.

Whose woods these are,
I think I know,
His house is in the village though,
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow,
My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake,
These woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Those last two lines, it's almost like they haunt me. Those late nights when my list of things to do is still a mile long, I hear those lines mercilessly repeat in my mind, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.

And the last poem I remember has left a profound imprint upon my life, as will be apparent to all who read it.

Crowded Bathtub
by Shel Silverstein

There's too many kids in this tub,
There are too many elbows to scrub,
I just washed a behind,
That I'm sure wasn't mine,
There's too many kids in this tub.

(All these poems have been typed from memory, and probably aren't correctly laid out, and are copyrighted not to be dispersed to large groups for profit so I won't get sued.)

More Birthday Pictures

Gwen woke up and put her clothes on. She walked out of her room and said "Huh, my clothes still fit!" I guess she was expecting that since she was a year older, she would now be too big for her britches.

Ruby's unconventional way of eating a cupcake.

Who would've thought a little girl named "Dempsey," (After the Manassah Mauler boxer Jack Dempsey), would have turned out to be such a beauty.

Happy, Happy, Birthday

We celebrated Gwen's Birthday. This was her cupcake-cake. I'm not too talented with frosting(well decorating-wise, I'm am good at eating it), but I am awesome at printing stuff off of the computer.

Emma, Gwen, and Cort opening presents.

Gwen with her fairy wings and fairy skirt.

Ruby with her balloon she swiped from the party being held next to us.
(Note: Thank you to Krystle for the pics, without her, the camera probably would have sat on the picnic table all night).

Off She Goes

Gwen had her much anticipated first day of school on Monday (September 15). She attends preschool Monday through Thursday, 8 am to 2 p.m. That is a long, long time (good thing I'm too busy working to cry about it). I was quite worried that she would have a hard time since she has never been to preschool before, but she had no problem. Gwen walked into the classroom, started playing, gave Brian a goodbye hug and that was that. On her first day, she learned about not talking to "dangers." She already has a best friend in her class named Tiara.

Many of you inquired about Rocko. He is alive and well and I think he is enjoying his new buddy.

Bathtub Pooper: A Cinquain

Bathtub Pooper
adorable, unassuming
splashing, laughing, horrifying,
banned from the bathtub,
Dempsey

Sweet Potatoes, Salsa, and Chowder

Ruby took it upon herself to feed Dempsey her Sweet Potatoes. She actually did a pretty good job.

Brian made some delicious salsa, it is the first time he has ever made it and it is awesome. Of course I have come to expect this kind of culinary excellence from him because of his track record.

A while back, I caught Gwen putting honey on tortilla chips. I witheld my initial reaction of disgust and said "Wow Gwen, that is SO great that you are trying new things, I'm really proud of you!" Which turned out to be a good thing to say, because I wanted her to try Brian's salsa and I said, "Remember how you are trying new things." And so she tried it, and she promptly spit it out.

Poor Dempsey happened to be crawling under Gwen's chair when the spitting out occurred.

We've spoken of Sweet Potatoes, Salsa, and lastly, here is Chowder. This is our new dog. He is a Boston Terrier/Pug mix. (Chowder---Boston, get it?) I think he is a tinge ugly, and Brian thinks he is cute. Which is quite alarming, since Brian also thinks that I am cute.

The Chop Job

In just a few unsupervised minutes, Ruby's hair went from this:


To this:

At the hands of who else but:

When I walked into the house, returning from student teaching, and saw the aftermath of the orange safety scissors that were supposed to make wonderful crafts; I cried, no, I sobbed and wept and wailed. But luckily, we took Ruby to a very talented hairdresser who transformed Ruby's crypt-keeper look into this:

Yer not from 'round here, are ya?

I was at Wal-Mart very late one night, (yes, all of the strange and interesting things in our life seem to happen at Wal-Mart, we really are hicks). Anyway, so I was there really late one night to get some medicine, and in front of me in line was a group of teenagers. The strange thing about these teenagers is that they were all really, extremely fashionable. They looked as if they came straight from an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog photo shoot. I found myself trying really hard not to stare at them and I just kept thinking "Where are they from?!" I almost asked them, because I was sure they couldn't be from our little hick town, I was sure they were from Orange County, CA or the like.

I didn't ask them, I should have asked them, this story would probably be a lot better if I had.

But anyway, I was reflecting on that moment the next day and it reminded me of when I was a young, trendy, ridiculously good looking college kid driving home to Richland WA from Provo UT. On the way home I stopped at the Wendys in Twin Falls ID. When I went inside the Wendys it seemed like everybody stopped eating and stared at me! I couldn't figure out why--now I know, and anyone reading this who is from a small and/or rural town knows too. It's the "Yer not from 'round here, are ya?" stare. Either that or I had a big booger hanging out of my nose.

Woo-hoo Happy Fourth of July!!!

So yeah, a little late, but here are some pictures from the Fourth.

Gwen and Ruby holding hands coming out of the pancake breakfast at church.

Brian, Gwen and Ruby posing outside the church.

Brian and the girls walking to the parade. We made little festive wands for the girls to wave at the parade, I was so excited for them to wave them in excitement as the floats passed . . . Well, Gwen and Ruby stood back a good safe distance from the curb studying the floats with furrowed brows while their mommy stood like an overly enthusiastic goofball waving the wands.

Girls in their red, white, and blue.

The Takedown at Wal*Mart

Wal-Mart is a particularly menacing place lately. You think, how can Wal-Mart get more menacing? Here in Carlsbad they have only been utilizing about three checkers maximum at all hours of the day. Waiting forty five minutes to purchase your goods is no longer an exaggeration of weary shoppers, it is now the spot-on truth.



So anyway, Brian had just gotten through one of the offending forty-five minute waits. Anger curdled inside of him as his Wal-mart tolerance is low to begin with. As Brian was leaving the store he couldn't help but notice a young man walking out the door with a flat-panel TV hoisted on his shoulder. "Wait Sir!" creaked the feeble elderly greeter. This was the perfect opportunity for Brian to expel some built-up Wal-mart angst.



So off Brian went with his cart, pushing a heavy basket full of food and our three-year-old daughter Gwen, he resembled a Jamaican bobsledder. Adrenalin pumping through his veins. Flip-flops pounding into the black top. Blazing through the parking lot after the not-so-bright thief (what kind of thief has his getaway car and driver PARKED in the parking lot?).



"I'm Scared!" yelled Gwen who was buckled in the child's seat.



"No Gwen, It's FUN! We're getting a bad guy!"



Brian finally caught up to the thief and clipped him in the heels. A young man saw what was going on and arrived at the heel clipping just in time to catch the TV. The thief ran to the getaway car empty-handed, and as the getaway car backed out of its space for a speedy escape (sarcasm), I believe someone got the license plate number.



Brian the the other man had to wait a few minutes before any Wal-mart employees came out. When they did come out to retrieve the television, there was not so much as a thank you. But maybe Brian should be thanking them, he hasn't seen that much action since he hurled a screwdriver at his brother and it stuck in Colin's arm.

The Weather

We connect to each other in a myriad of ways. We email, facebook, text, or maybe call. If you are like me, you are pretty pathetic at all of these, but you have a little square on your homepage that tells you what the weather is like in all the cities that your loved ones are from. For some reason, just knowing what it might feel like if they walked out their door, or what it may look like outside their window helps you feel closer to them.

So welcome to my blog, I hope it helps you feel closer to us!