What a life.

So, if you ever want to know just how big your son is getting, go to school and look at the GIRLS. Holy Cow. I kept saying "Are THOSE girls in 6th grade??" We made a journey to the middle school today for some roller coaster fun. For science, all the 6th graders (divided into groups of 4) worked on this roller coaster project. They had to design and decorate blah blah blah. They had a great time, and they all showed off the stuff today in the gym. How fun is this?? On Monday, the day before the last day of school, all the 6th graders are boarding buses and going to Seattle to some water roller coaster park for a field trip. ALL day, from like 7 am-7 pm. They call when they get back to the school. Hunter is way excited. Not to mention his friend, Ethan, from Houston is in town. What a life :)
Hayden at his school, in front of the penguin display. (Penguins=school mascot) He wanted his picture taken. Typical Hayden. He had a pretty great day too. My twin, Molly, has twin boys. And THEY CAME OVER TO PLAY. Have I told you today, that I love having a basement playroom!!?? They really were good kids.
We were just making the rounds today. Later in the afternoon, Hannah had a something something museum day in her class. We got to go in and she showed us a bunch of cool things she has been working on. Among them, she read us a creative writing story, she showed us her map of Cheesy Cheese Cheese (fictional town she made up-she has a thing for cheese apparently) AND this power point on Canada. Hello?? When did she start making power point presentations? Crazy. It was great, too. Way to go Hannah.
I took a bunch of pictures of Hopey. None of them were very good. She kept running over to me. She has the cutest little plaid skirt on that matches this shirt, I wanted to bite her all day.


I have forgotten just how much I like to plant stuff. It just wasn't any fun to plant anything outside in Houston...heat+mosquitoes+fire ants=misery outside :) I now have a fun porch that I wanted to hang something from. I planted two of these planters pictured above.

Have you ever smelled freesia? LOVE them. Planted some today right by my little table outside on the front porch. I will be planting some jasmine maybe tomorrow out in the flower bed. Funny thing...I went to Home Depot to get jasmine and some stuff for the planters. I got so excited about my planters...I forgot to buy the jasmine. GRRRR :) Ahhh jasmine. Another heavenly scent. My Grandma Jones had jasmine outside her front door when she lived in CA, and I still think of her when I smell it. I had jasmine planted outside my front door in TX. Loved walking by that stuff, EVERY single day.

Kind of a sad little picture of my succulent plants. But they make me smile. I don't know why I think they are so cool, but I do. I have put them right behind my kitchen sink, but that doesn't make for such a pretty picture, so I moved them...still not so good, but you get the picture-literally. Now I can stare at them while I do dishes.

I bought two diffusers today, and my whole house smells divine. I am a very smell oriented person I think. Anyway, this one tuberose and gardenia, yummy!!! The one in my kitchen is passion fruit and papaya. Equally as delicious. Can I just say, that Father's Day can't get here fast enough, that cake has been on my brain all week long. I will post pictures, I promise.

"Baby!!"

It's been awhile, but today Hope and I sat down and looked through old pictures on Picasa. I used to do it all the time, but then moving happened and it was just too darn sad. Hope loved looking at the pictures. "Nannah!!!!" "Daddy!!" "Papa!!!" She called herself "Baby". She hadn't called herself anything yet. I kept trying to get her to say "Hope" but she wouldn't. "Baby". Speaking of babies, Hope LOVES to play with her dollies. She is constantly carrying one around. She has several that she likes. But she likes them naked. She even likes the American Girl Bitty Baby and the twins. We tried to dress the Bitty Baby up like her on Sunday, they looked so cute! But no way! The picture of Hope with the hat was taken today. She pooped through her cute Gymboree pants, and you'll have to excuse the yogurt ALL over her, and the hat????...but that's my girl!! She LOVES her "Da Da" slippers. Hunter just walked in the door, so I'm off!

Oh MY!

All I'm saying is, I'm glad it's Father's Day this Sunday...and Scott likes Reese's, because now I have an excuse to make this! Thanks Bakerella! I like her thinking, too. She takes the recipe and then doubles the amount of Reese's! Oh yeah! Yummy!

How to live with 100 things.

I just read a very interesting article called How to Live With 100 Things. Do go read it. This guy, Dave Bruno, has gotten rid of all jeans except 3 pairs. He is debating going down to 2! His method is WAY too extreme for me, but I do find it all very interesting.

**"Stuff starts to overwhelm you," says Dave Bruno, 37, an online entrepreneur who looked around his San Diego home one day last summer and realized how much his family's belongings were weighing him down. Thus began what he calls the 100 Thing Challenge. (Apparently, Bruno is so averse to excess he can't refer to 100 things in the plural.) In a country where clutter has given rise not only to professional organizers but also to professional organizers with their own reality series (TLC's Clean Sweep), Bruno's online musings about his slow and steady purge have developed something of a cult following online, inspiring others to launch their own countdown to clutter-free living.**

They also quote that Peter Walsh guy from Clean Sweep. I have seen him on Oprah too. Again, way too extreme for me, but it does have me thinking about how I can do better in this area. What do you think? Could you live with 100 personnel possessions?

Saturday is a special day

I am my father's daughter. Saturday mornings (usually unless there is something special going on) is our day to get ready for Sunday...I mean Saturday is our day to clean/pick-up the house. It's 11:30 ish, and it's done. Everybody helped and it's clean and smelling good. We even got the garbages cleaned. I love having older kids that I can boss around-well that doesn't sound very nice-I mean I love having older kids that can really HELP out. It is so refreshing. They worked their booties off, AND I'm feeling so generous, I'm going to give them all a buck. I know I know...big spender!! :)

In other exciting news...Scott found the Titanic book! It was in a box of some of Hunter's "stuff" in the top of his closet. Hayden has been carrying it around like a long lost friend.

I also needed to clear something up...the other day I posted Hunter beat Scott at ping-pong. While that is true technically, Hunter did have some cushion points. I didn't want to artificially inflate anyone's head :)

I'm off to go run. The hills are a killer here, so I will need a good soak when I'm done. Why didn't I like the bath before? I do not know. Truth be told...if I am real gross, I do still shower first :) Old habits.

My little fella

Hayden asked me yesterday if I had ever heard of that place Sylvanex. I asked if he meant Sylvan Learning Centers? Yeah, that's it. What about Sylvanex (that place will forever be Sylvanex now) I asked him. He got a big smile and said he thinks he needs to go there because he doesn't know what 100+100 is. Well, he does. He just knows how to "get me". They do make Sylvanex look mighty fun, now don't they? haha

Hayden has had a fascination with the Titanic for as long as I can remember. Funny, that's one of my obsessions too. Maybe that's why I didn't have a problem spending $20 for this super cool pop up book for him at the book fair in Texas before we moved. *sigh* This book was one of the treasures we deemed worthy of getting packed into suitcases to be brought out with us when we first moved here. Hayden said to me last night..."Mom, have you seen my Titanic book?" NO! When was the last time you remember seeing it? "I haven't seen it since we moved into our house." GRRRRRR. If there is one thing I hate (let's be real, I hate lots of things) it's looking for lost stuff. Maybe I'm not the most patient person in the world. But seriously, I'd rather have something break than just not be able to find it. The unknown of where it might be. Did we leave it at the townhouse? Certainly not. Did you happen to leave it someplace? Heck no, I don't let them take books out!! But then where the heck is it. It's a big old book! I have driven myself (and Scott) crazy looking for this book. It has become an obsession...just like the Titanic itself. I even went down into the basement and dug through all our suitcases. No luck. Deep breath Heather, deep breath.

But I did it anyway!

First of all, not to brag or anything...but I beat Hunter this morning in ping-pong. It was late start for him today, so we had a little extra time. He might not have been playing his "A" game, but I sure was :)

I love as the kids are getting older, and doing more jobs around the house, they are truly "getting" it. One of the jobs that rotates is the vacuuming. On Saturday, it was Hunter's turn to vacuum the house. One of the things that you do BEFORE you vacuum, is pick up all the little stuff. You know all the crap, right? Hunter says to me, "Mom, do you ever feel like it's just not worth picking up all the stuff and vacuuming? It's just going to get messy again in a few minutes!" EXACTLY!

Along the same lines, have any of you seen that paper towel commercial...I think it's got a punch line of "but you did it anyway" or something like it. I've tried to find it...but I can't even remember the exact quote or the brand. But I remember I liked it. It goes through this woman's day, showing you all the things that we all do, and we all think twice about but we do it anyway. Like giving your pre-scholar a real glass of milk (not a sippy) because they want a cup, and they spill it all over. Hope loves rice. Rice is such a pain to clean up (all over the floor and in her highchair) but I give it to her a lot to eat (same with oatmeal) because she loves it! But every time it's the same, big mess. That's okay, I just wait for it to dry and it sweeps up pretty easy, the key is being patient and letting it dry...otherwise...sticky mess. Hunter was given the task of sweeping last night. As he was cleaning up the mess, he asked me why I keep giving Hope rice when I know she will just keep making a mess with it? I answered because she likes it, she eats it, and it keeps her good and quiet for a looong time :) Worth the extra clean-up. I could go on, but you get the point. I'm sure you all have your own, "but I did it anyway" moments.

I am so thankful to have smart little kids who try their best at school. At Prune Hill Elementary, the 3rd grade had this Battle of the Books thing (for lack of a better word) Anyway, at the start of the trimester, the kids were given a list of 8 books they were to read (if they chose to participate). Hannah was all over it. She loves to read. So, at the end of the set time (few months), all the kids were given a test to take. Hannah scored one of the highest in her class (comprehension questions about each book). So, she got to go (along with 4 others from her class) to the Battle of the Books Competition today. There were 5 teams and her team got 2nd. The 1st and 2nd place team were in a tie at the end so they had a tie breaker. The other team was faster! But anyway, the whole reason for this explanation is this...I was sitting next to a woman (who goes to our church+they have moved and are switching schools) but she was saying how her daughter was struggling. How she can't get her child to read, and how the teachers have talked about holding her back. So sad. Again, I'm just thankful for little ones that have quick minds that try their best!!

blog worthy

A strange and wonderful thing happened the other day...something that will NOT happen again for many many moons...I saw the bottom of EVERY single laundry basket in this house...on one day. That's right, you read it correctly, I was 100% caught up on ALL laundry for one day. Ahhh. Well, not even for a day...for a few hours, until bedtime. But it felt gooood.

Hunter is the new ping pong champ at our house!!

I have started "making" Hunter and Hannah practice the piano again. I have been pretty hit or miss since we moved into the house. But not anymore. Practice practice practice. Hunter has been practicing his clarinet so, he has been musical. He is down there playing the Children's Hymns right now and doing so good. Dare I say better than 3 months ago? How can that be...without practice. He thinks it's all the clarinet practicing. Funny.

We have been in this house for 6 weeks (or something close) already. Really, it seems longer. To me anyway. Everybody was talking about how fast the time has flown by, but to me, it's been a LOOOOONG 6 weeks, full of growing for me. The further into this experience I go, the happier I am. The happier I am to be happy. I still mourn my "old life", but I had it good in TX. Still hating my hair, but that will grow out! My twin called today to see if I wanted to go to dinner and a movie. It's the fancy type of restaurant/movie all rolled into one. I couldn't be more excited. Movie with no kids! Ahhhh!! And big comfy leather chairs. Can't wait!

This ward (church) is very social. Lots of parties going on. We went to Sam's 40th birthday party on Saturday and had fun. They are also very into karaoke. Since I don't drink alcohol, I need to loosen up a bit. I haven't taken hold of the microphone, but just wait! When I do...there will be some bleeding ear drums. ha. They'll just need to turn my microphone waaay down. I didn't know there were so many karaoke type games out there. I think we have now played at least half of them. Scott is a champ, everybody loves his falsetto. He is famous now. :)

Oh, and other good news...Hunter just beat Scott at ping pong!! First time ever. Cause for celebration! Nobody has beat Scott at ping pong!!!

**update-Scott has done something to his back, and I'm afraid it's a "man sized" back ache. You do remember that video I posted, right...about the man cold. I can only say this because he said it first, and laughed. I hate bad backs!!

Phew, busy day!

The other day my friend Jennifer and I were talking...on the phone because she is in TX and I am in WA :( but anyway...we were laughing about a comment that someone made to her. Jennifer asked this woman to do something...or other... I can't remember the details, but the woman's response was something like, "I can't do that it's my busy day...it's the day I have playgroup in the morning, this then that, then so and so has gymnastics. (Fill in italicized words with a real errand or name.) The woman laughed after she said it, because phew, busy day!! And she was so stressed about it. I don't know, maybe we thought it was funny because sometimes, I (we) get all worked up over the errands I have to run...the day to day running of the household. It's not like I have too much that is truly stressful in life. Phew I had one of those busy days. Walmart, Target, then Costco. Only to come home and put it all away. Then get my food sealer out and seal up 2- 5 lbs bags of cheese, and 8 lbs of hamburger! Phew busy day :) I'm ready to take a little napper, but too late, Hunter just got home from school. (first day no track after school)

**Don't read this next part if you don't want to/haven't seen the Lost finale yet. What did you think of the Lost Season Finale?? Hunter is down there watching it now. (asking me a million questions, so I need to cut this short"ish" so he doesn't wake Hope. The blinds, BTW, are heaven. She has been sleeping in until after 7!! Anyway, back to Lost...Scott and I finished it last night. This west coast TV viewing is killing me. Lost didn't even START until 9 PM. But really...John Locke?? Do you really think Jin is dead? It was a good one, no? How can we wait until next January?

Inquiring minds want to know...

So, the apple really does not fall far from the tree. I have read my sisters' comments from my previous post and had to laugh. When I wrote Hayden's question, I really didn't give it much thought. Well, I didn't give it much thought in that "wow, that does sound like a question I might ask". Now that I think of it, yeah it does.

I guess I have always been a little intrigued with the ordinary. The ordinary that nobody really thinks about that is. For example, when I was little, Mom and Dad help me out here...maybe even younger than Hayden, I asked the now famous question during a Family Home Evening..."who has more blood, a whale or a shark?" Or this one that Hayley speaks of "what will happen to Robert?" Now the Robert question was asked by a much older Heather, I was just married in fact (so still a baby really :) But we had just been to a family reunion, and my Mom's cousin, Robert was there. Robert is retarded, and was living at home with his aged parents. I wanted to know what would happen to him, when his parents died. I may or may not have asked questions that were very nearly the same...over and over. I wasn't getting satisfactory answers. Scott and Hayley have seen to it, that I never forget "Robert". AND if there is one thing I can't stand, it's NOT getting my questions answered. That's why, when my kids ask questions about eating boy or girl chickens I must find out!! I hate to be told at Walmart, for instance, that they don't know where the toothpicks are. GO ASK SOMEONE THEN!!!

I already posted today, but apparently I have more to say...so here it is...

I had a minute before my spinning class this morning, and Hopey wanted some snuggle time. I didn't have anything pressing to do, so I parked in on the couch and held her. With the remote in hand, I turned on the evening news with Charles Gibson....from last evening. I do enjoy the evening news. Yet another sign I must be getting older...as if buying and enjoying a bench to sit on and put on my shoes was not enough. ha.

But anyway, does anyone else freak out anymore when they watch the evening news? I sure do. The gas prices that keep climbing are just the tip! Those same gas prices that have not even reached their highest peaks. I can't stand it. The worry. I'm really not joking either. I might talk a lot about this with poor Scott too :) I can't help it. I hate how we are so dependent on foreign oil. Here is another question for you...why do we pay a nation average of about$3.95, when in the Netherlands they pays $12, and in Saudi Arabia they are paying like $.25? It's all tied in to global demand, right? Aren't we all part of the same globe? Just wondering?

Oh, and I can't decide who I'm going to vote for. I don't know who we will be better off with. The problem is, I don't love either candidate. I am one of those 9/10 people that think our country is heading in the wrong direction. I know President Bush is not totally to blame. I'm not that naive to think all our problems can be blamed on him, but still. Something has got to give. What about the housing mess? I just bought and sold a house, so I might be a little bit more in tune with that whole mess, but still.

Hopey needs some more snuggle time. It's past her nap time by 51 minutes. BUT, the blindman called and said he'd be here in an hour or less...that was 45 minutes ago. So, she is awake, and needing me. OOOOH he just got here.

It can't already be Wednesday...here is my weekend wrap-up!!

Okay, so I have a random question...actually Hayden does. We were eating some left-over chicken yesterday at lunch, when he asked, "Mom are chickens and roosters the same animal?" Well, I think the chicken is the overall name of the bird, and then you have a hen-girl and rooster-boy. Am I right so far?? Well, then he asked if we eat the rooster or the hen. I THINK we eat the hen, but I don't know for sure. Do we eat both? I am a city girl all the way around, I guess. You see, I over think things way too much...if we only eat the hen, we must have WAY more roosters around than hens. Maybe it just doesn't matter. I don't know!!

We had a super-fabulous weekend. My talk went great, and I was SO SO SO happy to be done with it!! We got lots of pictures hung, and some misc. boxes cleared/thrown away. The garage got cleared out, so now both cars are parked inside. It's these kinds of things that make me so happy. I love my house. My mom asked me if the kids were keeping their stuff put away?? Why yes, they are. Here's why. In this house, everything has a place. We really had out grown our old house many moons ago, and things tended to pile up. Not a good thing for this Momma.

On Monday we invited 5 other families over for a little BBQ. The guest list was made up of the people that had been super nice to us when we first moved here. Several dinner/ dessert invites. One family offered to bring Hunter home from track the week we moved in, and the husband came over one night and helped Scott put together Hunter's Ikea bed. Good people. This is a good entertaining house. With that whole bonus room downstairs...you pretty much didn't even hear all the kids. It was NIIIICE!!

We got a new outside table/chair/bench set that I like. Here's a picture. I got 2 benches and 2 chairs. One bench is going on the porch out front-unless we need it for some party action in the back. I didn't get an umbrella (not really needed yet..if ever we shall see- just another thing to move and mess with anyway) I put a big pot of hydrangeas on the table and think they are so beautiful. I love those flowers. I got some for myself as a pre-Mothers Day gift :) The weather has been beautiful here, and we ate outside last night. The kids were so excited, you'd have thought we went to a restaurant. Outdoor dining is a bonus here. You've gotta like that!

And here is the little bench/shoe stacker from Ikea we got for the laundry room. It's nice to have a place to sit and put on your shoes. Who would have known I was an old lady haha.

It's finished, now I must sleep!

I just finished putting the finishing touches on my talk. Ahhh, that feels good.

Good thing too, because tomorrow I have big plans. Like...putting some pictures up on the wall. I got this one blown up to 20x30. It's been framed sitting on the floor, in front of the wall it will be going on. Scott was gone again this week, and Hope would sit there and point to "Daddy, Daddy Daddy". She missed him, like we all did.

He was home ONE Wednesday in like 6 weeks or something...I know this because Wednesdays are garbage days. And I have taken the garbage out every time. It's been a long month of travel, but it will now slow down. Or so he says.

Sarah took these pictures, I have blogged about them before, but I love this shot she took. And it made me realize I want to grow my hair out again. Dumb lady at the "Sorelle" day spa did a crappy job last time. It was another girl (first one moved to another salon... perfect, grrrr) She kept talking about how "uneven my hair was". It looked fine to me. Well, not after she was done. Now, it really IS uneven. Scott swears he can't tell. I can't believe I haven't blogged about this. But, my twin at church (Molly) agrees with me, it's not even. I'm waiting a few weeks until it grows some, and then I'll go to another person. Dumb lady from Sorelle is not touching my hair again!!

Seriously, I have a twin. We have the same hair-cut and color. People think I'm her, and she is me all of the time. From the lady at Target, to some man at the baseball field. It's rather funny.

I just realized this post is a little bit like If You Give a Pig a Pancake (Hope's new favorite book). I must go get some beauty sleep, because like I said before, I have big plans for tomorrow, putting the picture up is just one of many.

Who's going to win Idol?

I know terrible picture, I'm standing upstairs to take it, if she sees me she gets up immediately. So, I miss that shot time and time again. But this is how I find her all the time, almost asleep on the bottom step. Why the bottom step? She gets up way too early. I think she gets up with the sun (her blinds have been ordered forever ago-they should be here soon).

I'm so ready for this long day to be over. I can't wait to go watch Idol. I can't tell who is going to win. First pick-David Cook, but I like Archuleta too, so...I'll be happy either way. What I really want to do is get into my pj's, but I'm still waiting for 1 person's bloody camp forms. I'm telling you...these people are driving me nuts!! :)

10 things I know today

1) Hayden can make really good barfing sounds off the deck. **fake sounds

2) Hope and Hayden like peanut butter on the spoon almost as much as me.

3) I am not looking forward to talking on Sunday in church and collecting forms/money at church is the worst. I told people forms were due Sunday, I just got my last one in today. GRRRRR. Happy thought happy thoughs.

4) The best pair of shoes I have EVER bought Hayden have been his Keen's. Hannah has a pair too that I like, too. But for Hayden...best shoes ever! He has had them for like 10 months and they still look great! I guess his foot hasn't grown so much this year, or else I bought them super big!!

5) I do a lot of laundry...and sometimes I wonder if it's really all dirty. I think some (if not all) of my kids would rather "postpone" putting away their clothes by putting them in the hamper. We are working on that one. They put away all their clean laundry, so I don't really get it, maybe I just have super "clean" kids. Yeah right.

6) Hayden can play a mean game of WAR, and Hunter can beat anybody and everybody at chess.

7) Hannah can sure clean her room up GOOD...when she wants to! :)

8) 6:15 is too early for Hope to wake up in the morning. She is so tired right now, she is falling asleep on the bottom stair. She must wait a few more minutes, we have to take Hayden to PM Kindergarten.

9) I hate half day kindergarten.

10) Homemade frosting is way better than frosting in a tub.

11) I need a boob job! **that was your extra bonus thing**

How classy are we?

So, I love the view from my kitchen window. It's love-r-ly. I did not want to cover these windows because I LOVED the light and the view, blah blah blah. Until today. At about 5 o'clock to be specific. It got really bright (and hot) standing there at my love-r-ly kitchen window with the sun beating in-it was hot today...90*. I guess I'll have to cover them after all. It really is too bad, because it's just from about 5-8ish (and only when it's hot and sunny) that the sun is a problem. But I felt like I needed to wear my new sun hat while making dinner. It got so hot and beaming tonight at dinner, my wonderful husband worked some MacGyver magic...and came up with this. Oh yeah. :)

And in other exciting news...

My tulips on the dining room table just made me extra happy today.

Hayley, now you can see Hopey's tattoo. Not really a tattoo, it's a birth mark, but Hayley couldn't remember it.
This should have been my first clue she didn't feel good, how often does the baby just sit there and look at fireplace??

I killed my first mosquito here. Good news, it was only one and it's now dead. BUT I thought there weren't mosquitoes here??? I'm hoping it was a random trick of nature...

It is a BEAUTIFUL day today. When I took Hayden to school it was 76*, just lovely! It's supposed to get up to 90* tomorrow and/or Saturday...I don't know, I'll believe it when I see it.

See that cute little pink shirt Hope has on in the photo above? She got dry erase marker on it. Don't worry, said marker has already been thrown away. The rules are, if Hope can get it and she does...it's the owners fault. Sorry Hannah. It's the second time she has gotten it!!! Does anyone know of any "tricks" in getting out dry erase marker? I read on the internet Murphy's Oil Soap, but haven't tried it yet. Biz doesn't work, I already tried that on the last shirt!

Hayden, Hope and I stayed home today and I still haven't showered. I went braless until 12, then I had to put that bad boy on to take him to school. I still don't even have on "the makeup". I love days like this. Hope doesn't feel well. Once I found her almost asleep on the bottom stair. She moved, so I couldn't get her picture. When we got in from taking Hayden to school, she immediately put her head down on the same stair. You know the baby doesn't feel good when she does that. Poor girl. I think she has a fever...

Hayden I and did get to play war though (cards), and he had plenty of time to play playdough. Notice the mohawk?? We even played baseball and took a walk in "the woods" across the street from our house. Like I mentioned Hope doesn't feel well, so she was along for the ride.

Well, I'm off to go beautify. Hunter has his third to last track meet today. And I'm getting my hair cut tonight. Can't show up looking like a schmuck!!

Did you know...

it's National Bike-to-Work Week? Neither did I, but apparently it is. Remember now, when we moved out here, we were going to get another house. Well, that other house was SO close to Scott's work he bought a new bike (said with a smile because he now has a road bike AND a comfy ride-to work bike/mountain bike and I have NO bikes haha). Well being Bike-to-Work Week and all, he broke it out. You should see this one hill he has to ride up! Way to go Scott. He took his lunch today, and I'm going to drive around in the Toyota. Oooooh we are so saving some $$ on gas!!


Little Hope in the pantry is driving me nuts!! My pantry WAS so organized. Like Sleeping With the Enemy organized, but no longer. She knows that I have moved all the good treats up to higher ground. "Snack!!" (that's what she is saying) What I need to do is find some kind of a latch to keep her out.

Table info

The table came from World Market aka Cost Plus. It's the Chemia table, and I do love it. I actually got the chairs pictured above, but they go in with the Sourav dining room table (also from Cost Plus).

Darn it!

I got asked to speak at Church over Memorial Day weekend. I said yes, then Scott and I were talking and decided to go away after all to Bend, OR. Then we discovered all the hotels were full for that weekend. So, I'm back to giving my talk! Bummer. :)

Here is a picture of the kitchen. The rest of the house really was not up for photos. It was a looong Mother's Day weekend. The house was clean on Saturday, but you know...

Here is a picture of the family room off the kitchen. Nothing on the walls yet! You can see some stuff stacked to the side.

Here are a couple of planters that I filled up a few weeks ago.

Ahhh, now that's better

Yesterday was a busy day. It started right at 6 am getting showered and then downstairs by 6:30 to take the trash out. The recycling people are here at like 6:35. They have caught me in my PJ"S the last two weeks . Normally, I'd put it out the night before, but I've have so much stuff I don't want any little critters getting into it and making a huge mess. (and BTW, Scott hasn't been here ONE Wednesday since we moved in...can that be true? I think so!) But anyway...it was pretty much non-stop all day. I finally went to get my WA license and license plates. I got the license but made a little discovery, neither car is in my name!! That's not good, what's up with that I asked Scott ASAP. Oh, well, that just means he has to get his booty over there and do it. Yesterday, was Activity Days. We went to the Camas Fire Department. I must admit one of the firefighters/paramedics was very cute. Sorry Scott, but he was :)

So, that's not all, but I won't bore you with anymore. The POINT here is what I did after the day. I took a bath in my new jacuzzi tub! I ordered some sesame oil, geranium and lavender essential oils to make myself this little oil/lotion. So, perfect recipe for a lovely evening after kids go to bed and husband is out of town= 2 cups Epsom salt, 4 drops lavender essential oil and one big bath tub of water. Soak...for a long time, until you start to prune. Then slather on the geranium/lavender infused sesame oil. Then wrap yourself in a big terry clothe robe and socks and go watch some American Idol. It was heaven. My book is calling to me now in fact. Today, not so busy :)

Just keeping it real dog

Okay, so I tried to sign up to cancel some (probably not all) of my junk mail, and I'll be honest it's kind of a pain. I went first to that GreenDimes website, and they have some options where they do it, but they charge you for it. Uh no. I'm kind of cheap I guess, I'll just do it. I think I did it, but it wasn't all that user friendly. We shall see. It probably didn't help that Hope was awake and fussing on my lap when I tried. She is taking her nap now, maybe I will try today.

Also, Hayden tried to break out the moon sand the other day, and I must admit I had a little fit. No gritty sand on my new table and floors, thank you very much. I still let him play...just outside on the picnic table :)

Hayden said a naughty word today, and I asked him where he heard that, and he said from me. It made me kind of sad, and I must do better!!! I'm not a truck driver, but sometimes...this blog is called Confessions of a Redhead. And I'm not perfect, but I am trying.

Oh AND I talked with this one lady about book club. She is a photographer, and I called her to take pictures of my kids. She really is a super nice/cool person. She runs and does triathlons. So, I'm not dissing (is that how you spell that word??) her, but...she is the one that was telling me (at Enrichment) she really likes Jodi Piccoult. Cool. I liked 19 Minutes. She mentioned today that Jodi is a bit edgy for her. That, at one point, the Relief Society Prez before the current one, wanted to "okay" the book choices for the LDS book club. Okay okay okay, not for me. I'd go to discuss a book, but I don't want to spear head THAT. I'm not interested in an "Enrichment" night book club. I'm currently reading the Other Boleyn Girl...I loved Middlesex, East of Eden (a favorite of mine) has a prostitute for a main character for goodness sake. I will wait on the whole "starting my own book club" thing. Wait until I know more people. Maybe exclusive is good. :)

With all that in mind, I invited Hayden's little friend Dean and his Mom over to play and have some herbal tea next week. She invited me to coffee a few weeks ago, I told her I didn't drink coffee, but I'd love to have some herbal tea. I couldn't go when she wanted anyway. I'm sure she is wondering. ;)

Junk mail and MORE junk mail-enough already!!

I'm still loving that book Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano. READ IT!! So, something I have noticed now that I'm recycling like a maniac...I don't have to change my garbage out for DAYS, like every 3-4 days. It doesn't really stink either, because most food goes to the compost pile. I know TMI, but...just so you know and all. :) Something I have noticed in the mixed paper pile of the recycling is we get an obnoxious amount of junk mail. According to Sophie...seven reason to eliminate junk mail:
1. It wastes 28 billion gallons of water for paper processing each year.
2. Most junk mailers use inks with high concentrations of heavy metal like zinc and magnesium in addition to high-gloss UV varnishes, which are difficult to recycle.
3. The result is more than 4 million tons of paper waste each year.
4. It costs $320 million of taxpayers' money to dispose of unsolicited mail each year.
5. It costs $550 million to transport junk mail every year.
6.Landfill space is getting to the point that it disfigures rural areas and pollutes groundwater.
7. We each get about forty pounds of junk mail a year-more than a tree's worth of paper per family.

So, if you are like me and sick of getting SO MUCH junk mail, realize you can do something about it. She lists a few web sites that you can contact to cut down on the junk mail. I'm going to do it, if you want to as well, here they are: www.greendimes.com, www.junkbusters.com, www.exuberance.com.

Naked old people

This next comment might not be very nice of me, but so be it...I can't stand it anymore. I am sick of seeing naked old ladies!! There I said it, but let me explain. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I go to the gym a little later than I would prefer. 10 am. Hayden likes to go to Kid Fit, and it starts at 10. That's cool, spinning starts at 10 too. But here is the problem. There is a group of elderly people that work out at my gym, they belong to the Silver Sneakers club. They have special classes in one of the studios and special swimming classes for them(all ending at about 9:45). They really are very cute, dressed! The problem is, they are very comfortable all naked. Naked is fine. But these guys are naked, wet, not very flexible, and very comfortable with BEING naked. I am a very private naked person, especially at the gym. There is this one largish lady in particular, that sits, NAKED on a bench...there might be a towel down there, but I can't be certain, and I'm not looking too close!! Anyway, she sits naked on the bench (like I already mentioned). I have seen her ask people to help her get her bra on! I'm not certain what I would say or do if that "opportunity" arose for me. So, I'm already sort of freaky about those benches at the gym, I always have been...this just makes matter worse for me!! If you are a naked bench sitter at the gym, you should be ashamed of yourself. Please, change your ways :)

Moving on...I love"d" my book club. I moved so I'm no longer attending said book club. I want to start up a new one here. I was asking around at Enrichment last night if there is a book club. I guess there used to be one, but nobody wanted to head it up and it fizzled. There is ONE book club that still meets, that is super exclusive. I don't even know who attends. OHHH. How I hate super exclusive book clubs. I was talking to this one girl and asked her about book club. She said she'd go to a book club as long as we don't pick super snotty books and we are not super exclusive. The next lady I talked to, asked me if I had ever heard of Jodi Piccoult. Oh boy. I like Jodi, but...come on...let's not build our whole book club on her!! Sarah and I started a book club back in TX 10 years ago, and it was easy. At the time, everybody was new (just moving in to the ward). I'm not so sure about here though, it doesn't seem so easy. So, I don't want to read trash, but I don't want people to think we are all about super snotty books either. I want people to stretch, but I don't want to scare people off. Maybe I should wait a little while and not be the "new girl trying to change everything up". What do you think?

Gorgeously Green

I have officially unpacked every single box...that I can. haha Let me explain...Scott was out of town last week, and he was gone for two days this week. I have done most (aka all) of the unpacking in the house. I like it that way, I am not complaining. BUT I have reached a point that until we move everything left IN the garage OUT and organize it and set up shelves and such I can't do anymore. Then there is all the other stuff, extra books and electronics that can't be parted with that need to be put/shoved in the basement area. The thing I do need to do is go through baby/kid clothes and get real on what I should be keeping and giving/throwing away. I'm big into the this/that today. :) We also need to make another trip to the IKEA and purchase another book shelf and maybe some kind of toy shelf. I'm using our large square shelf (that used to be the toy shelf) in my loft/office (there it is again). I do have a great big walk in closet to put all the toys, but I do need some more shelving in there. We have ENTIRELY too many toys!! The other day Hayden told me he was bored...he really just wanted to play the WII and had a brain fart on something else to do. But I paused, and told him to get his little bottom upstairs OR downstairs and starting PLAYING with some darn toys!! There, that felt better.



The last two weeks I have had an obnoxious amount of garbage out at the curb on garbage day. I'm feeling a little bad. I got rid of a baby bath tub, an infant car seat and a microwave that was missing the glass plate inside. The microwave has been with us since we got married, lost in our attic in Texas. I dumped it. I should have taken it to a special recycling spot, and I feel a little guilty. I have been a very good recycler though too. I smoothed out and recycled MOST not all of the packing paper that was used. Talk about a lot of paper. But I am loving the whole recycling thing. I had all three of my bins full last week and then this week too. And I'm filling up my little composter bin again, too. I can't believe all the food scraps. I am composting napkins and paper towel now too. I'll let you know how that goes :) I know, I know stay tuned haha.



Now that I'm on the whole "green" thing now, I want to tell you about this great book I'm reading. Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano. Sophie was on Oprah the other week (along with Julia Roberts, you might have seen it). I like this book, because it's all about some little things we can all do, now. Without being too granola or eco-nerdish. Check it out at the library, OR buy it at Target for under $14. Oh, and I haven't been to the DMV yet, I want to get new plates for my car too, but I need paper work on our cars to do that. Guess where that paper work is...in the garage!! SCOTT where are you??

Chip

Can you see it? It's her left front tooth. I think the dentist could fix that pretty easy, NO?? I'm taking her in later this week, or early next. I need to get to the DMV. Did I tell you Officer Friendly pulled me over last week...BECAUSE I had out of state plates. THAT's it!! He said I had a month...I had only been in the house for 1 week. Whatever dude. But I'm such a rule follower, I'm going to get it done. Every time a copper passes now, I get nervous! haha

Hope

AKA Hopey, Hopers, Soap, and now Chip and Chippy. Last night we were getting ready to go for a walk...I was still in the garage and Hope ran ahead of me. I came out and she was in the street. Safe street/cul-da-sac so don't worry about THAT...but anyway I called her back to me. She is a good girl and she came...running. She tripped, fell and chipped her tooth!!!!!!!!!!!! It's not that bad, I know that, but still, she chipped her tooth, right at my feet. I feel bad. I guess I may or may not talked a lot about her chipped tooth on the walk. Scott may or may not have gotten a little sick of hearing it. Don't forget I may or may not be a little compulsive.

Speaking of compulsive, my house is really coming together. But it's not totally unpacked, so I must keep working!! The garage is still boxy, the loft has a bunch of extra boxed up books and electronics. We could outfit the new street in computer gear...it wouldn't all work, but hey we've got the goods! Geez, we have text books that "some people" can't get rid of. Who knows when you'll want to brush up on Marketing 101 :) Hunter has actually discovered some cool Japanese books, and thinks he is teaching himself the language. You've GOT to love kids. And he found Scott's coin collection from when Scott was about his age. He came up WAY too late last night (after I thought he was already asleep) and very excited, and told us we had a 1938 nickel that was worth 18 million dollars!!!! Nope, that's just how many they made little dude. haha.

We had a great visit with Holly and family. It's actually Connor that calls Hope Soap. Pretty darn cute little kids, all of them. They had fun together that's for sure. All my kids want Aunt Holly and Uncle Kevin to move here. Why not?? Poor Holly didn't get home until like midnight last night, thanks for coming Holly!! Love you. Hey, I did make those mint brownies last night and ate one after lunch, and thought of you. If I could I'd send you one :)

Things will calm down...

Things will calm down...I just know they will. My life has been unpacking and putting things away. Nothing too exciting around here, just busy busy doing manual labor. I keep thinking I should strap a heart rate monitor on. Lifting boxes and going up and down stairs is strenuous work.

Holly and family arrived yesterday, so we are cooking up a few fun things. What stinks is, now with 1/2 day kindergarten, it really cuts the day in half. But we will sacrifice a Hope nap today to hit the stores. Scott made it home from Japan this morning (one day early!!) and we are heading out to get a new kitchen table/chairs and dining table/buffet at Whole Market aka Cost Plus. I was all set on a Pottery Barn table, BUT then I walked in there and the same table was there for a fraction of the cost!! Gotta love saving $$.

Anyway the natives are getting restless, must be snack time.

I'm back...

I'm here!! I haven't died...I just moved. We LOVE this house. Boxes are getting put away. All the major rooms are pretty much assembled. My Mom and Dad came to help un-pack and boy did they help. They got here Thursday night late and left Saturday at about 1:30 pm, but you wouldn't believe all the work I got out of them...for being old and all. Teasing. They were beyond helpful!! Amazing. The garage is FULL of empty boxes. More later. Church day, and this Momma needs to get ready...in different clothes!! :) haha

Moving day is almost here.

We close this afternoon! It was set for 2 pm and Scott just called to tell me they had to change it to 3:30. That was supposed to be the time I went to FIG, but the Primary Pres. will help out today. Sorry, I've got my priorities! Like, moving into my new house. We'll have the keys after that, so we'll start digging out of this townhouse. You'd be surprised at how "moved in" we are here. It seems that our 11 suitcases full of stuff has grown. But who cares, I'm not complaining. We'll get our new kitchen table all set up...maybe tonight. I'm going to be without my DISH for the first time in...15 years?? Maybe 13, but a long time. We can't have a DSL line in this house, (and I'm not using dial up!!) so instead of paying lots extra to have both...we are just going for cable. I can't wait to see my fridge again, and my washer and dryer, ohhh and my clothes!! Yeah! Oh yeah, and a phone. We were both a little surprised to open the cell phone bill...it seems that I have talked on my cell phone A LOT this last month and a half. You see, when I moved here I had thousands of roll over minutes. I never thought that we (I) would use them...all. Well, I did. Plus some :). Scott, being the good husband he is, didn't say a word, he got himself down to the store and got us some more minutes (at least for this month) AND unlimited long distance on the home phone, oh yeah. Smart smart man. Movers come tomorrow morning. We've got lots to unpack this weekend, did I tell you Scott has to go to Japan on Sunday?? For a week?? Remember, we were supposed to close on this past Monday. Oh well, still not complaining :)

the man cold!

What's on Your List?

Oh it feels so good to feel happy again. It's not like I haven't been happy for the last couple of months...but I have kind of been in a ...fog, I guess. I had found myself feeling more bored, unproductive, mentally unchallenged lately. I think those are my depressed feelings. I'm kind of dumb about the whole depressed thing, I don't really realize that's how I feel, until I'm pulling out of it. And then it's like OHHHHH. Plus, I think it's really just a twinge. But they have been there, right at the surface for a couple of months now. I feel it clearing every single day and it does feel good. I'm starting to think about all the things I want to start doing again, or do in the first place. This whole moving thing was hard. It wasn't so much the moving...packing up and stuff, but the whole change your life all around kind of thing. It has been a good thing though, clean out your life, and take stock of what's important to you.

I was in one of those aha moods this morning. I was in my bed, reading my current issue of Body+Soul. I think I might be sharing with you some other things from that mag soon, but today I was liking this article "What's on Your List?" The article talks about achieving our life desires. It says how we should write down our "dreams, desires, intentions". You know sitting down and free writing about what we want to do in this life. ..."making the most of the life you've got-and not wasting time about it...".In the writing down of our dreams, desires, and intentions it will help motivate us to actually achieve them.

This really goes along perfectly with Elder Ballards talk Daughters of God, well at least to me. If our wells aren't full, then we can't go filling others' wells.

Here is a sampling of a few things on my list:
go to the temple more!
read my scriptures everyday
start a new book club
learn to play the cello
go to Italy
spend some time really figuring out my new camera and photo shop
be more creative again, scrap booking, crafts, I used to enjoy all that, but don't do much of it anymore-find a new friend that enjoys all that
go to Egypt (I have always had a fascination with Egypt and mummies)
I'm excited to have my "stuff" back, but I really have enjoyed living with less clutter...live a simpler life!!

My list goes on, but I'll stop now. Go grab a pencil and paper and jot down your own list!

If it stays pretty like this, I get to wear my new dress tomorrow!

What a day! The weather has been perfect here for 2 days now. Today it got up to 75*-too bad I only brought two short sleeved shirts. I wore the other one yesterday (tomorrow is supposed to be another nice one-I guess I'll be doing some wash again tonight!) We all slept in today even Hopey. I woke up at 5:30 and-just-layed there. Read a little. (I'm reading Atonement right and I'm so loving it. I tried to read it several years ago and just wasn't into it- I knew I wanted to give it another go, and I did and I'm really liking it.) Then fell back asleep until almost 7:45!!

After breakfast, we loaded 4 kids, 1 jogging stroller, 3 bikes, and 2 parents into the Suburban and went to LaCamas Lake. Scott and I ran while the kids rode their bikes. It was the perfect combo. I pushed Hope and off we went. The kids loved it, because they could all get off their bikes and explore while Scott and I kept plowing forward. I think we ran about 5 miles. It was perfect running weather. Ahhhhh. Have I told you lately I love the hills here? To run with scenery is something else too. Scott said he felt like he was in Yellowstone, I don't know if I'd go THAT far, but it was very pretty.

Later we went to a cool primary activity at church. It was a great activity and the kids were having a great time. I guess I was having too much fun chatting, because just as I was thinking we better get the heck out of here before we have to help clean up...Scott went off to help...clean-up. Dang. I was talking to this lady and her husband was helping too, so we had a laugh there. Too many years in Primary and bishopric I guess.

We headed back to Twilight for dinner and then to the fun movie theater with the little cry room. I wasn't even that hungry (we went early before the movie), but I said I wanted salad tonight to go along with the pizza. Scott made the mistake of saying we only needed one menu. I was like....huh??? So, I go over and look briefly at the one menu to cast my vote on salad and pizza. I say briefly because I thought it said $4.95 for a salad that feeds 4 people. Uh no. I was feeling so good when this big salad arrives, what a deal I though. Uh no again. I don't really know WHAT it said, because my macho husband :) I'm kidding he really is not "so macho". But anyway, whatever it did say... we paid $4.95x4 salads. Not a big deal if we didn't leave like half the salad in the bowl. I'm not afraid/or embarrassed to doggie bag food home, but not salad, gross! Oh well. It was still super fabulous. And we discovered they have a whole armoire full of games to play...for the kids of course. We saw Nim's Island. The kids liked it. I thought it was a good kids flick...think Home Alone meets that Family Robinson tree house at Disneyland.

We walked through our now empty house. I met a neighbor. She lives a few houses down and teaches "fitness" classes at 24 hour and Balley's. Cool. We got smart and brought the DVD player for the kids to watch while we look. It's easier to imagine where our stuff will go now that the other stuff is gone. Only 5 days to go.

Anyway, I'm off this computer to go do some Yoga stretches. I need to stretch out good so I can walk tomorrow. Bad back here. Not that it's flaring up...no no, I just need to keep it happy is all.

Updates

So, it isn't even Wednesday. Well, we close Wednesday, but we don't MOVE in until...Thursday. At least I know. Disappointed?? Yes. But, now I can plaaaan. I just consumed a weeks worth of fat grams. A good hamburger, fries and a chocolate milkshake at Top Burger, this little place in downtown Camas. Hunter has heard a lot about it, and has been dieing to try it. So, we did. It was well worth the splurge!! Now we are off to Ikea. I'll let you know what we buy. We are getting this cool loft bed/desk for for Hunter's new room. Gotta go.

"Who's head is going to roll?"

Is what I asked when Scott told me yesterday that there is a chance we won't close on the house until Wednesday. Luckily, he was in Reno when he told me...over the phone ;). Seriously though, we find out this afternoon if we close Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Has nobody learned, I'm not that flexible. (Although, I have been learning lately.) The original date was Tuesday. We got all excited when we were told it might as early as Monday. That was somebody's first mistake. Don't tell me earlier, unless you are sure!! All we are waiting on is this stupid home appraisal. WHY was that not done before...they had, what, like 3 weeks!!! Grrrr. Now we are down to the wire. I know in the greater scheme of things what is ONE more day?? To me, a lot!!

Why is it that things that work just fine for everyone else break for me?

I'm not so sure what that child had been eating, but it must have been good. Just wanted to show you the toothless smile. His hair HAS been cut since this picture, thank heavens!!

I went to plug in my new sonic humidifier last night...and it wouldn't mist. I was soooo annoyed. Because, I had found "stuff" in places where there shouldn't have been "stuff". My little fella here, Hayden is curious. Yes in deed he is curious. He likes to see how things work. He likes to take things apart. I know that about him. And he never fails to disappoint. So, last night, I was pretty frustrated with him. Lucky for him, he had already gone to bed, or else I'm afraid I would have taken away the gift card he got for his birthday (to pay for another). I know I'm so mean...but I had told him to LEAVE IT ALONE so many times :)!!

So anyway, I woke up feeling kinder toward my little scientist, and decided to take it back to Wal-mart. I had to get another (more expensive GRRRR) model because my now broken one was the last in the store. I brought that bad boy home...and it wouldn't mist!! Now I'm wondering if in deed it WAS Hayden's fault or if I am just completely clueless! How hard can it be? Both times I have had Scott inspect to make sure, I wasn't "missing" something.

But here is the thing...I just have bad luck. All things mechanical break down for me. I'm still waiting for my new hard drive to fix my old (good) computer. And darn it, if I wasn't such a one tracker. We have been to three stores looking for humidifiers. Places are sold out. I don't want a warm mist. And I don't want a SpongeBob one. Hope and I are going to hit the Walgreens as soon as she wakes up. I'm now on a mission.

I've always said that toys, highchairs, books that made it through 2 other kids always break for this guy. He is just hard on things, maybe we are more alike than I realized!

On the other hand, we move into our new house on Tuesday! You could say I am excited :)

"We aren't having more Asian food are we??"

Hunter, when did you get so PC? Hunter asked what we were having for dinner. I don't know if you remember this, but I love "Chinese" food and Hunter does not. Any time were are having any sort of stir fry...anything in the "Chinese" family of foods, I get creative and think of other names to call it. Because if it's "Chinese" anything he starts to complain. (He used to love it, but got violently sick on Pei Wei Diner a couple years ago, and it ruined it for him.) Anyway, I start describing what's in the dinner, watching what I say, and He says, "We aren't having more Asian food are we?" It just made me smile to see how PC he is, without even trying.

Click here for this recipe. It was good. My kids (yes even Hunter, I think I'm winning him back on the whole Asian food thing) all liked it, especially the meat. They gobbled it up, the sauce on top was great! Next time I make it, I'm adding more carrots. I do think the cooking time is off, however. Watch the veggies so they don't burn. Also, at the end of the recommended cooking time, the veggies were done, but the meat wasn't. I simply took the veggies out, put the meat on another baking sheet, and let the meat cook for a few more minutes until it was done. I'm a sucker for pea pods, yum!

Some people are just never happy...

That of course would NOT be me. (ha) Anyway. Remember, I just left Houston, TX. The place where some people liked to complain about the humidity. I honestly, really kind of liked the humidity. I'm really not joking either. I hated the feeling when I'd go to Utah, or less humid places, and feel the moisture just sucked up out of me. I would (maaaybe) complain...just maybe for a second or two, when in the middle of the summer it was like 100% humidity AND over 100*. You know, when you get out of the shower, and no matter what you do, your hair does not dry?

Two things come to mind. First, when the baby has a cold (in Houston mind you, where it is already very humid outside!) and they tell you to put a humidifier in her room. Very rarely did I see the wisdom there. Anymore humidity in the air, and we were going to create our very own thunderstorm right in the child's bedroom. And then second, this person shall go nameless to protect their identity, but they know who they are :). I'd walk into "said person's home" and she would have her HUMIDIFIER on full blast-for no apparent reason (at least that I can remember). I would always just giggle to myself, and think, "I don't think that is needed!"

But here I am, wanting, craving a little humidity in my life. It's plenty humid here-outside. But you turn the heater on...and all the humidity is gone. Today, I will head out to the Wal-mart and purchase a humidifier. I tried to do it the old fashioned way...boil water on the stove. Until, I started a fire, yesterday. Yes, ladies (and gentlemen) a fire. I had come in from the garage, and I must have created a little stir, and a receipt touched the electric burner (I do hate electric burners!) All of a sudden, Hunter and Hayden are yelling "FIRE, FIRE!" I yelled, "SCOTT!!" But luckily, the little receipt burned up and that was it. And that was it for my homemade humidity.

movie night!

Scott and I saw Leatherheads tonight. Cute movie. Literally. With George Clooney, how can you go wrong? I don't think it will win an Oscar, but it was highly entertaining! You know what else looks good?

And...

Speaking of Sarah Jessica Parker...have you smelled her newest perfume, Covet? It's quite Lovely. I really do need some of that.

Hunter would say, "that was random!"

Hunter loves to say how random things are. Like, if somebody says something, kind of out of the ordinary, he'll say "that's random". I think he would say this next post is...random.

First, before we left today, I felt the need to wash the windows of my car. I like a clean car, vacuumed, washed, picked up. We don't have a hose here in the apartment, so my car hasn't had a really good bath in a long time. I have done little spit baths, like today. I get a washcloth out and do the best I can. We were pretty much loaded up ready to rock and roll this morning, and I felt the need to clean off the car. I felt much better.

Second, if I do say so myself...I rock. Here's why: I'm totally getting around this city and I'm feeling pretty comfortable about it. One of my sisters...who shall remain nameless...once kind of made fun of me when I lived in Houston, about how I didn't really know the city very well. I have decided it wasn't me, it was the city. Houston was just confusing, and not very...driver friendly. You had freeways that went in loops, not straight lines. Yesterday, I was chatting with someone in line for the IMax (am I Marleen's daughter or what?) and she was saying how Portland is a "big little city". Yup, I would agree.



Today, we went to the zoo. Great fun! It's such a nice zoo. All my kids and people I talked to (sister and friend) wanted me to compare it to Houston. It's about as nice, just different. It's kind of like the San Diego Zoo (best zoo IN the world) in that it's all about the hills. I went for a run this morning and about half way through the day, I was thinking that was a wasted step. No need. I walked the zoo today. But my goodness, the polar bear is one huge bear. I don't know if I have ever been that close to a polar bear before. They are HUGE! Have you seen Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth? Poor polar bears!


They also had these BIG old black bears in their enclosure, that seemed oh so close. Wasn't there a story somewhere about someone getting mauled by a bear at a zoo? Or am I making that one up? Either way, that bear was very close. There was this deep ditch thing between us, but still. It still doesn't top the time in Houston when we went to Brazos Bend State Park. I think I blogged about it, way back when. But you walk amongst the alligators. No joke. My Mom still marvels that we (specifically her) did that. If you ever get a chance...that's one park worth visiting.



But what I wanted to share with you about the zoo was this. I like how this move has brought my children closer together. They have been hanging out together, playing together, making forts, and well, yes, fighting too. Hayden was getting tired and Hunter put him on his back for a ride. Hope wanted out of the stroller and Hannah took her hand and started walking with her. It's nice too, that they are getting older and can be left alone. Hope pooped at lunch today (sorry, she did) and I needed to change her. It was nice to leave everybody at the table and go change her. NOT having to haul everybody and everything into the small bathroom.



We were all pooped when we got home. I think I might have caught one Oprah since we moved here. I MISS MY DVR! But anyway, the kids were vegging on the couch downstairs, and Hope and I ran upstairs to catch Ops. It was quite the show today, no question there. It was about this man, that is pregnant. It's all over the People magazine, so check it out if you wish. Anyway. I was farting around on the computer and clicked on one of the links on my sister Holly's blog. All Us Christensen's. I so enjoyed her post. She talks about nobody can do "it" all perfectly all the time. She says you either clean your house, make gourmet meals, or you are your child's personnel play date for the day. But you can't do all three. SO true. For the last couple of days, I have been the personnel play date Mom. With burst of clean house Mom. Not enough bursts, mind you, the bathrooms here are not so good. Gourmet meals...no, but I did make a tuna noodle casserole! In fact my 15 minutes of cooking said tuna noodle casserole/blogging are almost up...(Daddy came home and took everybody outside to ride their bikes ahhhh peace) I'm out of here!

a trip to the OMSI

We took a fun trip to the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) today. (thanks for the recomendation, Jamie!) It's a great science museum with lots of hands on things for the kids (and their Mother). We did all kinds of cool science experiments in the Physics Lab and then also in the Chemistry Lab. We even got to put on goggles (no pictures, sorry) There is a whole floor devoted to the pre-scholars too. Hope and Hayden LOVED it. (Shhh don't tell anybody, but so did Hunter and Hannah :) If you come visit me, I promise to take you there.

I picked up a couple cool quotes today:

"Young children are more scientist than anything else." Herbert Zinn-20th century scientist

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." Pablo Picasso

Tomorrow?? The zoo.

Who do you think is getting voted off American Idol tonight? Oh, and as a little side note, I don't know if I'm THE last person in the world to see Becoming Jane, or not, but if there is somebody out there who hasn't seen it, RENT it. It was great! It was so right up my alley last night! Loved it!

Spring Break-day two

Forget toys, Hope likes laundry, the basket, and our suitcases!

This week is spring break, probably the latest spring break in the country, but...it's a good time for us. Since the move, the kids will basically have an extra month of school. Texas schools get out mid May, WA schools get out mid June! Yesterday, was a nice day. Lazy morning, trip to the gym, then...shopping a new mall. For some crazy reason, all kids (except maybe Hope) like to go to the mall. Especially, if we are just roaming around. You know, going into all stores: Claire's, Sharper Image, Dick's Sporting Goods, See's Candy, Rocky Mountain Candy Apple and the Lego Store. You know, the fun stuff. The good thing is, I'm checking out all my favs too, mixed in.

Oh yeah, yesterday, I took a wrong turn. It was quickly corrected, but for a minute we were on the wrong road. Hunter knew I was stressed, he says "I'll say a prayer." The next thing I know he says, "there is the Temple, Mom!" Sure enough, there it was, beautiful.

Today?? I'm going to go for a run in just a minute. Then we will hit the road, see what's calling to us today. Shoot, it's not even 9 o'clock yet, and we have gotten this townhouse picked up already. The kids do want to hike up Beacon Rock again, and they want to go to the ocean. I'm not sure if I'm up for that alone. It's about a 2 hour drive...hmmm if only Lori or Jennifer were here. I know they'd be up for a road trip!!

I did get a letter back from Vancouver Radiology the other day. My test results are normal. It doesn't say in the letter why the lymph node showed up in the first place, only that the test came back normal. Thank heavens!!