After our extremely busy week last week, which included a lot of running around and very little time at home, I decided to take it easy for a few days this week. So Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all spent hanging around the house, not doing a whole lot of anything. However, this morning I woke up feeling a little guilty about my lack of production the past few days, so right after our morning routine I immediately dove into cleaning the house. The kids don't really mind cleaning days because it generally means that I allow them to watch a whole lot more T.V. than normal. I know this is probably not the best way of keeping them entertained for a couple hours, but hey, they are happy and I get my work done with few interruptions. And when all is said and done, the T.V. is turned off and we can spend the rest of the day playing. All I know is that it works. So, today was one of those days, and I just finished up cleaning the entire inside of the house and cleaned up a bit outside. Whew, now it's time to relax for awhile. I don't even have to cook dinner tonight because we are going out to dinner at the Outback . . . Alice Springs Chicken, here I come.
Brian and I decided to have one fun day and one work day this weekend, so on Saturday we are going to head over to Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, a water park only a few minutes from our house. At the recommendation of some friends, we bought annual passes for this park when we first moved here, and this will be our second time going. The great part is that we only have to go twice for the passes to pay for themselves, so far the kids have been free, and obviously here in Hawaii we can use the passes year round. Overall it's a really good deal and the kids have a blast. I'll let you know how it goes.
On Sunday we are going to tackle our yard. It is in desperate need of a mow, edging, and tons of weeding, especially in the back forty. The backyard where the kids play isn't too bad, but we have some landscaped areas that are up towards the mountain side, and those landscaped areas are so full of weeds that it's embarrassing to even look at. Needless to say, we haven't touched this area since we moved here, so it's time. Hopefully the kids will keep themselves entertained in the yard while we take on this enormous job.
On Monday Charley starts some new swimming lessons. Last time we tried lessons, back in November, they did not go well. The lessons were only once a week and she cried nearly the entire time every time and dreaded going back. Fortunately we caught the tail end of these lessons, so we only had to endure four sessions before the pain ended. Charley absolutely LOVES being in the water and enjoys trying to swim on her own, but for some reason she was not excited when forced to do these same activities with an instructor. We decided to try a different approach this time, per the recommendation of some of our friends. We put in her in some lessons that are a bit more intense, as they are held five days a week for two straight weeks instead of ten lessons spread out at once per week. We've heard that the gentleman that runs these lessons is awesome and can deal with the crying kids just fine. I guess he sort of uses a "tough love" approach, which is probably just what Charley needs. So keep your fingers crossed that it works. Hopefully we will have a little fish on our hands before we know it.
Guess that about covers the past few and next few days. I just send out a million pictures on Snapfish, so if you did not receive them and would like to, just drop me an email and I will send them your way. Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, the guest reservations are once again pouring in lately, so if you were thinking about heading our way any time soon, let me know!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Daily Dose
1. Charley woke up and came into our room in the middle of the night last night for the first time ever. Occasionally Zander will wake up crying during the night, and we usually just ignore it because he generally stops and falls back asleep within just a few minutes. Last night he had one of these short bouts of random crying, and shortly after he started, I heard Charley's door open. It woke me up with a jolt since it had never happened before and I didn't know what it was. Then I heard her little feet pattering down the hallway, so I immediately woke Brian up and told him Charley was out of bed. He of course was not concerned at all and mumbled something to the effect that she will just come in our room, but I was worried that it was too dark and she couldn't see or that something was wrong. But everything was fine, she was just a little scared, so she snuggled with Brian for awhile until she fell back asleep and then he took her back to her room. I'm hoping this is an isolated incident and not the beginning of a new habit. Many of my friends with kids have shared nightmare stories about having their children come in there room several times a night, for any little reason. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
2. Zander has turned into a little love bug, more than ever before. He is constantly hugging me, kissing me, and snuggling with me, and he looks for any excuse to do any one of these three things. He loves the "Barney song" because it includes lyrics about hugging and kissing, which he acts out every time we sing it. I think I am now receiving about fifty kisses VOLUNTARILY a day. If I had one wish right now, I would wish that I could freeze time so that I could get these hugs and kisses every day for the rest of my life. Why can't boys keeping lovin' on their momma forever?
3. We recently discovered that Charley LOVES to spoon. She has become the ultimate spooner, which is nice because it means I can get snuggles from her whenever I want instead of just when SHE wants. If I even mention the word "spoon" there she is snuggling up to me on the couch, tucking her body next to mine. If I had another wish right now, I would wish that I could freeze time so that I could sit and spoon with my daughter every day for the rest of my life. Why do kids need to grow up at all?
4. Last night we discovered that both kids love Ahi tuna. Neither one was the least bit concerned that they were eating fish (Charley called it "fish food"), and both of them ate it up like it was going out of style. Yet neither one of my kids will even touch potatoes, unless of course it is in the form of a french fry. But that's it . . . no mashed potatoes, baked potatoes fried potatoes. Nothing. Does anyone else find this all a bit weird?
2. Zander has turned into a little love bug, more than ever before. He is constantly hugging me, kissing me, and snuggling with me, and he looks for any excuse to do any one of these three things. He loves the "Barney song" because it includes lyrics about hugging and kissing, which he acts out every time we sing it. I think I am now receiving about fifty kisses VOLUNTARILY a day. If I had one wish right now, I would wish that I could freeze time so that I could get these hugs and kisses every day for the rest of my life. Why can't boys keeping lovin' on their momma forever?
3. We recently discovered that Charley LOVES to spoon. She has become the ultimate spooner, which is nice because it means I can get snuggles from her whenever I want instead of just when SHE wants. If I even mention the word "spoon" there she is snuggling up to me on the couch, tucking her body next to mine. If I had another wish right now, I would wish that I could freeze time so that I could sit and spoon with my daughter every day for the rest of my life. Why do kids need to grow up at all?
4. Last night we discovered that both kids love Ahi tuna. Neither one was the least bit concerned that they were eating fish (Charley called it "fish food"), and both of them ate it up like it was going out of style. Yet neither one of my kids will even touch potatoes, unless of course it is in the form of a french fry. But that's it . . . no mashed potatoes, baked potatoes fried potatoes. Nothing. Does anyone else find this all a bit weird?
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wrapping Up A Dadless Week
As Brian has been off frolicking in the snow at Lake Tahoe, we've tried to make the time fly by faster by keeping us all very busy . . . and I think we've successfully accomplished this goal.
Of course we've done all the regular stuff, like grocery shopping, Walmart browsing, playing at the park, stops at Starbucks, etc., but we manged to squeeze a few other fun things in there too. On Tuesday, after the Easter bunny meet-and-greet, I took Charley to her second dance lesson, and I would say this one went slightly better than the first. There were several (annoying) things I encouraged her not to do the second time around, like ignoring the teacher's instructions, coming and sitting in my lap, and refusing to return to the dance floor. To her credit, she didn't really do these same things, but found some new (annoying) things to do instead, like moaning "Mama, mama" (yes, like a baby would) across the dance floor at random times for no apparent reason, or insisting on a bathroom break even though it's only been 30 minutes since the last one, or wanting to play with the tempting yoga balls in the corner of the dance floor. We'll work on those things next week. The toughest part was keeping Zander entertained, which I usually do with little snacks that I keep in my bag, but I was immediately scolded by a staff member for having food in the waiting area of the dance studio. So I had to find other ways to keep him happy for 45 minutes, which was definitely challenging, especially since he wanted to join his sister on the dance floor. Yes, he's a booty shaker too. Let's all hope they didn't their Dad's dancing skills (or should I say lack there of?).
Yesterday we met up with a couple of fellow Coast Guard wives and their children at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center in downtown Honolulu, which was by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen for kids' entertainment. It was basically an entire building filled with what I call "imagination stations" where the kids could pretend to do just about anything. For example, there was a pretend veterinary clinic filled with stuffed animals and instruments where the kids could put on a veterinarian outfit and pretend to check on the animals. There was a fire station with a kid-sized fire truck and fireman outfits for them to wear, and upstairs from this area there was even a small room filled with cots and a fake fireman's pole that was obviously a pretend firehouse sleeping area. There was a library filled with books, soft comfy furniture, and a fake fireplace, with a cool tree fort reading area nearby. There was a post office, a bank, a police station, a grocery store, a mechanic's garage, an airplane, a boat, a tea party area, a garden, a bus, a Japanese home with a Japanese dinner set up, and a dress-up area fully equipped with all sorts of costumes. There was a display that looked like the inside of a mouth, and the kids could sit on the teeth. There was a display that demonstrated the inner-workings of a human heart. There was a giant bubble making machine that allowed the kids to create two foot bubbles. There was even an enclosed area that was completely soft and padded for little ones to crawl around, and inside this area were a bunch of soft toys, a little boat, and a fishing pond fully equipped with toy poles. And possibly the best part of the whole thing is that they have friendly workers floating around the entire joint, helping your kids when they need help, showing the kids how things work, and cleaning up your kids' mess when their done. It's the best $14 I've spent in a long time!
After we were done in the Discovery Center, we headed across the street to a nice little park, where we camped out and had a picnic lunch. The kids had an absolute blast. Charley got to hang out with her two buddies, Charlotte and Cormac, while us moms chased all our little ones around. We then all parted ways, and the kids and I headed up to Schofield Army Barracks to run a few errands. All in all, yesterday was a pretty fun day.
Today the kids and I met up with some new friends (that we met at playgroup) at our favorite beach. Both kids were much braver today that I've ever seen them before. Charley was wandering out to chest-high water, and Zander was just simply wandering out into the water by himself, which is amazing. Zander was cracking me up because he would saunter out to the water's edge, plop himself down, and start playing in the wet sand. All of the sudden a small wave would come up, never any higher than his waist, but he would be shocked nonetheless and starting moaning "Mama, mama, mama, mama" until the wave went away . . . and then he would be fine and start playing again. Then another wave would come up, and he would act surprised and start moaning again. This would go on for a good ten minutes, and he never quite figured out that the waves were on a continuous cycle because he continued to be surprised every time a wave appeared. They had a great time though, and of course neither one of them wanted to come home.
Tomorrow the kids and I will be joining Heather and her boys for an Easter egg hunt up at Schofield Army Barracks, so everyone is excited for that. On Sunday, after doing the whole Easter basket thing in the morning, the kids and I will be heading over to Heather's in the afternoon for an egg hunt in her yard, as well as Easter dinner. Unfortunately, Brian was not able to catch a flight back until Sunday evening, so he will be missing out on most of the festivities. As usual, I promise to take a million pictures and promise to post at least a few of them.
I hope that everyone enjoys this lovely weekend and has a Happy Easter!
Of course we've done all the regular stuff, like grocery shopping, Walmart browsing, playing at the park, stops at Starbucks, etc., but we manged to squeeze a few other fun things in there too. On Tuesday, after the Easter bunny meet-and-greet, I took Charley to her second dance lesson, and I would say this one went slightly better than the first. There were several (annoying) things I encouraged her not to do the second time around, like ignoring the teacher's instructions, coming and sitting in my lap, and refusing to return to the dance floor. To her credit, she didn't really do these same things, but found some new (annoying) things to do instead, like moaning "Mama, mama" (yes, like a baby would) across the dance floor at random times for no apparent reason, or insisting on a bathroom break even though it's only been 30 minutes since the last one, or wanting to play with the tempting yoga balls in the corner of the dance floor. We'll work on those things next week. The toughest part was keeping Zander entertained, which I usually do with little snacks that I keep in my bag, but I was immediately scolded by a staff member for having food in the waiting area of the dance studio. So I had to find other ways to keep him happy for 45 minutes, which was definitely challenging, especially since he wanted to join his sister on the dance floor. Yes, he's a booty shaker too. Let's all hope they didn't their Dad's dancing skills (or should I say lack there of?).
Yesterday we met up with a couple of fellow Coast Guard wives and their children at the Hawaii Children's Discovery Center in downtown Honolulu, which was by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen for kids' entertainment. It was basically an entire building filled with what I call "imagination stations" where the kids could pretend to do just about anything. For example, there was a pretend veterinary clinic filled with stuffed animals and instruments where the kids could put on a veterinarian outfit and pretend to check on the animals. There was a fire station with a kid-sized fire truck and fireman outfits for them to wear, and upstairs from this area there was even a small room filled with cots and a fake fireman's pole that was obviously a pretend firehouse sleeping area. There was a library filled with books, soft comfy furniture, and a fake fireplace, with a cool tree fort reading area nearby. There was a post office, a bank, a police station, a grocery store, a mechanic's garage, an airplane, a boat, a tea party area, a garden, a bus, a Japanese home with a Japanese dinner set up, and a dress-up area fully equipped with all sorts of costumes. There was a display that looked like the inside of a mouth, and the kids could sit on the teeth. There was a display that demonstrated the inner-workings of a human heart. There was a giant bubble making machine that allowed the kids to create two foot bubbles. There was even an enclosed area that was completely soft and padded for little ones to crawl around, and inside this area were a bunch of soft toys, a little boat, and a fishing pond fully equipped with toy poles. And possibly the best part of the whole thing is that they have friendly workers floating around the entire joint, helping your kids when they need help, showing the kids how things work, and cleaning up your kids' mess when their done. It's the best $14 I've spent in a long time!
After we were done in the Discovery Center, we headed across the street to a nice little park, where we camped out and had a picnic lunch. The kids had an absolute blast. Charley got to hang out with her two buddies, Charlotte and Cormac, while us moms chased all our little ones around. We then all parted ways, and the kids and I headed up to Schofield Army Barracks to run a few errands. All in all, yesterday was a pretty fun day.
Today the kids and I met up with some new friends (that we met at playgroup) at our favorite beach. Both kids were much braver today that I've ever seen them before. Charley was wandering out to chest-high water, and Zander was just simply wandering out into the water by himself, which is amazing. Zander was cracking me up because he would saunter out to the water's edge, plop himself down, and start playing in the wet sand. All of the sudden a small wave would come up, never any higher than his waist, but he would be shocked nonetheless and starting moaning "Mama, mama, mama, mama" until the wave went away . . . and then he would be fine and start playing again. Then another wave would come up, and he would act surprised and start moaning again. This would go on for a good ten minutes, and he never quite figured out that the waves were on a continuous cycle because he continued to be surprised every time a wave appeared. They had a great time though, and of course neither one of them wanted to come home.
Tomorrow the kids and I will be joining Heather and her boys for an Easter egg hunt up at Schofield Army Barracks, so everyone is excited for that. On Sunday, after doing the whole Easter basket thing in the morning, the kids and I will be heading over to Heather's in the afternoon for an egg hunt in her yard, as well as Easter dinner. Unfortunately, Brian was not able to catch a flight back until Sunday evening, so he will be missing out on most of the festivities. As usual, I promise to take a million pictures and promise to post at least a few of them.
I hope that everyone enjoys this lovely weekend and has a Happy Easter!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
My Favorite Quote EVER
"One of the most annoying things about having a parent who's a lawyer is that lawyers always think they can convince you to change your mind if they just show you enough evidence."
--Dutch (attorney who is now a stay-at-home-dad), author of the blog "Sweet Juniper!"
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The Seasons Are Changing
Charley completely shocked me today. We were at the Navy Exchange doing a little shopping, and I noticed that they had a picture area set up for the Easter bunny. I thought that the kids might enjoy waving at the bunny from a safe distance, so we milled around for a few minutes waiting for his arrival. Charley was SO excited when he finally showed up, and she immediately started begging to talk to the Easter bunny. I told her just to wave and say "hi", which she did several times, but she still wasn't satisfied. She wanted to TALK to the bunny. I glanced over at the picture line and noticed several children already in line dancing around excitedly waiting to see the bunny. At this point, I knew the only way that she was going tobe able to talk to the bunny (without making a bunch of other parents mad) was to stand in line and get a picture with him. I immediately had nightmarish flashback to just a few months ago . . .
And no, that is not a smile on Zander or Charley's face.
I asked Charley repeatedly if she was SURE she wanted to talk to the bunny, and she said she "really really really" did. I explained to her that she would have to sit on his lap, get her picture taken, and most importantly, she could not cry. She promised that she wouldn't be scared, but I was still skeptical. However, after accepting my fate, my mind then switched to typical Mommy mode, when I started thinking about how I had not dressed them up in Easter attire that day and wondering if their outfits were too lame for the picture. I looked at Zander and immediately noticed cowlicks sticking up everywhere, so I used the lovely method of spit and fingers to plaster them down to his head. I wiped the yogurt raisin remnants off his face, and made sure he didn't have any obvious boogers hanging out. That was as good as he was going to get. I glanced down at Charley, who was spinning around in circles and yelling, "Is it our turn, is it our turn, is it our turn?!?" Her hair was frizzing out in all directions, and every time I would try to flatten it down, she would spin around some more and the hair would fly out to where it was before. I gave up, and decided the pictures would just have to do, no matter how they turned out.
There were only a couple people in front of us, and at first the line moved rather quickly. But of course I got stuck right behind one of THOSE moms who acts like the bunny photo is being taken in a professional studio. . . not happy with the first five shots so she wants more taken, doesn't like how the picture is centered so can they please fix it on the computer, not sure whether she likes pose six or seven better, can they please show her close-ups of each one . . . I wanted to yell "come on already!" Those poor ladies running the camera and computer were trying to accommodate, but come on, they aren't professional photographers and that entire $17.94 that is being spent on the photo package is not worth all this hassle. I thought my kids were going to bust out of their seams they were so excited during this painful time of waiting. Charley was dancing and jumping around the entire time, squealing with impatience and delight. Zander was squirming in my arms during the entire wait, ready to sprint for either the door or the bunny, I couldn't tell which. But I didn't want them to go see the bunny until the absolute LAST MINUTE, when the picture ladies were ready to take the picture, because I had no idea what was going to happen. I didn't want one second of bravado followed by five minutes of shear terror.
Finally, after about ten minutes with psycho mom in front of me, they were ready to take our picture. I warned the ladies (like I did at Christmas time) just to take whatever picture they could, that I had no grand expectations of my kids and their expressions. At this point, I finally let the kids go see the bunny, and they both sprinted for him as if he would disappear if they weren't fast enough. Zander immediately ran up, dropped his head in the bunny's lap, and gave him a big kiss on his legs. And Charley was not far behind, ready to talk the bunny's ear off. I had my camera out and ready to take pictures, but it all happened so fast I didn't have a chance to take any. Charley, to my utter amazement, climbed right up in the bunny's lap and smiled, repeating the obligatory "cheese" over and over again. So I quickly shoved Zander into his lap while I had this small window of opportunity, and Zander was immediately annoyed that I would so such a thing. However, he never really cried, but rather just reached out and sadly said "Momma, momma, momma" over and over again, as if he was begging me not to abandon him with this strange furry creature. And the result? Not too bad I would say.
And no, that is not a smile on Zander or Charley's face.I asked Charley repeatedly if she was SURE she wanted to talk to the bunny, and she said she "really really really" did. I explained to her that she would have to sit on his lap, get her picture taken, and most importantly, she could not cry. She promised that she wouldn't be scared, but I was still skeptical. However, after accepting my fate, my mind then switched to typical Mommy mode, when I started thinking about how I had not dressed them up in Easter attire that day and wondering if their outfits were too lame for the picture. I looked at Zander and immediately noticed cowlicks sticking up everywhere, so I used the lovely method of spit and fingers to plaster them down to his head. I wiped the yogurt raisin remnants off his face, and made sure he didn't have any obvious boogers hanging out. That was as good as he was going to get. I glanced down at Charley, who was spinning around in circles and yelling, "Is it our turn, is it our turn, is it our turn?!?" Her hair was frizzing out in all directions, and every time I would try to flatten it down, she would spin around some more and the hair would fly out to where it was before. I gave up, and decided the pictures would just have to do, no matter how they turned out.
There were only a couple people in front of us, and at first the line moved rather quickly. But of course I got stuck right behind one of THOSE moms who acts like the bunny photo is being taken in a professional studio. . . not happy with the first five shots so she wants more taken, doesn't like how the picture is centered so can they please fix it on the computer, not sure whether she likes pose six or seven better, can they please show her close-ups of each one . . . I wanted to yell "come on already!" Those poor ladies running the camera and computer were trying to accommodate, but come on, they aren't professional photographers and that entire $17.94 that is being spent on the photo package is not worth all this hassle. I thought my kids were going to bust out of their seams they were so excited during this painful time of waiting. Charley was dancing and jumping around the entire time, squealing with impatience and delight. Zander was squirming in my arms during the entire wait, ready to sprint for either the door or the bunny, I couldn't tell which. But I didn't want them to go see the bunny until the absolute LAST MINUTE, when the picture ladies were ready to take the picture, because I had no idea what was going to happen. I didn't want one second of bravado followed by five minutes of shear terror.
Finally, after about ten minutes with psycho mom in front of me, they were ready to take our picture. I warned the ladies (like I did at Christmas time) just to take whatever picture they could, that I had no grand expectations of my kids and their expressions. At this point, I finally let the kids go see the bunny, and they both sprinted for him as if he would disappear if they weren't fast enough. Zander immediately ran up, dropped his head in the bunny's lap, and gave him a big kiss on his legs. And Charley was not far behind, ready to talk the bunny's ear off. I had my camera out and ready to take pictures, but it all happened so fast I didn't have a chance to take any. Charley, to my utter amazement, climbed right up in the bunny's lap and smiled, repeating the obligatory "cheese" over and over again. So I quickly shoved Zander into his lap while I had this small window of opportunity, and Zander was immediately annoyed that I would so such a thing. However, he never really cried, but rather just reached out and sadly said "Momma, momma, momma" over and over again, as if he was begging me not to abandon him with this strange furry creature. And the result? Not too bad I would say.
Monday, March 17, 2008
In Deep Trouble
Charley: "Mom, I want the cover closed on this stroller."
Danielle: "No Charley, leave it open because Zander does not like it closed."
Charley: "NNNOOOOO!!! I WANT IT CLOSED!!!"
Danielle: "Charley, you are THIS close to going in timeout when we get home. You better be nice for the rest of the night, or I'm going to call your Dad and tell him how naughty you've been tonight."
Charley: "Well, I'm gonna call SANTA and tell HIM how MEAN you have been tonight!!"
Danielle: "Oh yeah? And what is Santa going to do about it?"
Charley: "He will come down and SPANK you!!"
Danielle: "No Charley, leave it open because Zander does not like it closed."
Charley: "NNNOOOOO!!! I WANT IT CLOSED!!!"
Danielle: "Charley, you are THIS close to going in timeout when we get home. You better be nice for the rest of the night, or I'm going to call your Dad and tell him how naughty you've been tonight."
Charley: "Well, I'm gonna call SANTA and tell HIM how MEAN you have been tonight!!"
Danielle: "Oh yeah? And what is Santa going to do about it?"
Charley: "He will come down and SPANK you!!"
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Picture Post
Okay, this entry is primarily dedicated to catching up in the picture department, as promised.
This past Friday we took the kids out for their first-ever attempt at kite flying with their new parrot kite. They loved it, although Zander looks a bit distraught in the pictures since he could never seem to catch the kite.
After kite flying, we decided to make some Easter eggs since Brian was heading out of town the next day for his ski trip.
Yesterday the kids and I hit a beach we've never been to, on the other side of the island in Kailua. Here is our before picture.
I thought this was a cute pose since Zander has all that room to spread out, but he manages to curl up and smash himself sideways in his crib. What a goofball.
Here is a fun new apparatus that we inherited for free from some friends that were moving. This kids absolutely LOVE their tractor, and right now it works out great . . . Charley is the the main driver, while Zander catches a ride in the back. This works because Charley gets to be the boss, Zander is too little to reach the pedals at this point, and he gets to relax and catch a free ride. However, I dread the day that Zander wants to start driving.
This is Charley's last day with her best girlfriend on the island, Kylie. Brian has known Kylie's parents since his Academy days, so they go way back. It was time for them to move back to Georgia, so the girls got to spend a couple last days together.
These pictures demonstrate one of the kids' new evening rituals . . . meeting Dad after work out in the road as he pulls up in his Jeep. Every time they catch their first glimpse of him, they immediately start squealing and wait for him to stop the vehicle. When he does, they run towards him with open arms and climb up in the Jeep. He gets them settled in, and they each take turns "driving" in and out of the driveway.
Then they head out to get the mail. 
These are pictures I took at the Tiny Tots play group I take the kids to on Friday mornings at our local community center. Lots of kids to play with and lots of stuff to do!
This past Friday we took the kids out for their first-ever attempt at kite flying with their new parrot kite. They loved it, although Zander looks a bit distraught in the pictures since he could never seem to catch the kite. After kite flying, we decided to make some Easter eggs since Brian was heading out of town the next day for his ski trip. Yesterday the kids and I hit a beach we've never been to, on the other side of the island in Kailua. Here is our before picture.The sand was soft and the water was a beautiful aquamarine color.
Heather, her kids, and her dad met up with us at the beach.
Here's Charley eating a big wave, while Heather's dad kept an eye on things (he was our lifeguard in the water for the day).
Last, here is a picture of what my kids like to do best, read books.
So I think that about cathes up us on pictures. I hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Smith Family
As mentioned a couple times in the past few weeks, we recently had an awesome visit with our friends, the Smith family. Meet Kristin and Jason.
Here are all the kids hanging out.
We met the Smith's, oh a little more than four years ago when we were just young newlyweds. At the time I was going to law school at UW, Brian was stationed in Sacramento, and the Smith's were living in Portland, Oregon. However, we all met up in D.C. at the wedding of one of Brian's best buddies, Alex and his wife Adrianne, and we hit it off with the Smith's right away. We first met on Christmas Eve 2003/2004, and I swear to this day that was the best New Year's I've ever had (and I'm not even a fan of New Year's). To take you back to that wonderful time, here is a picture of me, Kristin, and her friend Amanda.
So, long story (which involved train rides in a strange city, a lot of bad dance moves, and a few drinks), we had a blast that night, and continued to enjoy the company of Kristin and Jason for the rest of the trip.
We met up again just over a year later,March of 2005 in Portland, Oregon, where me, Brian, and Charley (who was only three months old) were spending spring break. We had a chance to visit their beautiful home when they so graciously had us over for dinner, and we also had the chance to meet their first son, Braden. Things were definitely different that visit than the previous one, nontheless, we still had a great time hanging out with the Smith's.
So here we are three years later, and once again we were fortunate to meet up again when the Smith's decided to come to Oahu for a two week visit, with their two sons and other friends and family in tow. The first week they were here, we hung out at a beautiful home that they rented on the eastern side of the island. Here we all are hanging at the pool.
The next week we were able to meet up again, this time at another home that the Smith's rented on the North Shore.
Here are all the kids hanging out.
Charley and Conner, the Smith's youngest son, quickly hit it off and were soon best buds. They are only about four months apart in age, and they were inseparable every minute that they were together. All you with little boys out there, there is some stiff competition for winning Charley's heart.
On the last day that they were in town, the Smith family, Kristin's parents, and Jason's mom were so kind to take time to come visit our house, hang out for a nice lunch, and even squeezed an airstation tour into their schedule. Here is Brian giving the infamous tour.
Charley and Conner were like two peas in a pod.
So, we had a very nice visit with the lovely Smith family, and look forward to seeing them again in the near future. Word on the street is that Jason isn't going to last long without another Hawaii fix . . . but then again, that's the effect Hawaii can have on you. However, despite Hawaii's beauty, the Smith's have helped convince us to settle in Portland when Brian retires from the Coastguard. Oregon, here we come!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Busy Slacking
I know, I know, you wish I would talk less and post more pictures, right? I do have excuses, although I'm not sure they are good ones. First, I've been acting totally out of character and keep forgetting to take my camera to all recent significant events. For a psycho picture-taker like myself, this is a tough one to swallow. Second, my spare moments to blog lately have been few and far between, so when I DO get a chance to sit down and write something, I don't have a lot of extra time to go through the process of pulling the few pictures I have off the camera and loading them on to the blog. So you are probably now asking yourself, how can you be so busy all the time when you aren't even working these days?
Let's see, good question. I guess my first answer would be our recent run of visitors, which of course means that we get to do lots of fun stuff that we don't normally do, but also means that the other daily stuff gets put on hold for a little while, so now we are playing catch-up. Second, I'm trying very hard to make sure that I have the kids involved in as much stuff as possible so that we don't all go stir crazy sitting at home . . . play group, swim lessons, play dates, dance class, etc. Third, I try to be pretty diligent about keeping up with laundry, grocery shopping, and house cleaning on a weekly basis, because it always drives me nuts when I feel like there is stuff I need to do but I'm not doing it. Fourth, between Brian being out of town, then me being out of town, and now Brian heading out of town again in a few days, our tag team effort around the house has not been real fruitful. Fifth, I've officially vowed to change my ways and have been cooking a family dinner EVERY night (I know, amazing, don't have a heart attack Mom), and as most of you know, this takes a bit of time out of the day, unless it's a frozen pizza night of course. And last, let's face it, staying at home with the kids IS a busy job, which sometimes makes it tough to find extra time for other miscellaneous stuff like blogging. But I promise my friends, I promise to start putting up more pictures soon.
Okay, so now on to what's new in the Palm house. The kids finally recovered from their colds/ear infection stuff, but now Brian managed to catch the bug and poor little Charley has a staff infection on her tush. Thankfully Dr. Heather came to the rescue once more, so Charley is on her way to getting better. But for a couple days there, the poor thing couldn't even sit down because it hurt too much. On Saturday I got Charley registered for preschool next fall, which she is absolutely ecstatic about attending. I'm not sure she can stand to wait that long. On Saturday afternoon we went to our friend's son's birthday party, and the kids of course had a blast. On Sunday Brian had duty at work, so the kids and I spent the day cleaning the house, which was badly needed. We planned on spending Monday, Brian's day off, doing yard work, but we had to take our van in for a much needed brake replacement, and we also had to take Charley up to see Heather to check her infection . . . so by the time that was all said and done, most of the day was eaten up. Today the kids and I met several other Coast Guard moms and kids down at a beautiful beach with tons of tidepools, and the kids had a blast checking out this new spot. This afternoon I took Charley to her first-ever dance class, and overall I would say it went so-so. At first she was very excited, enthusiastic, and listened to the teacher. However, after the first drink break, Charley sort of lost interest, twiddled around, and quit paying attention to the teacher. But I'm not giving up yet. The teacher said that the biggest goal with three-year-olds is to simply teach them how to follow directions and pay attention, and that most struggle with this for awhile. So, we'll give it another shot next week. I think Charley's favorite part was the Starbucks run that we made afterwards and the turtle brownie that was involved. You know times have changed when kids cannot wait to go to Starbucks.
So that's it for now. Let's see, to sum it it up . . . busy as usual, with some fun stuff mixed in, need to put up more pictures . . . did I forget anything?
Let's see, good question. I guess my first answer would be our recent run of visitors, which of course means that we get to do lots of fun stuff that we don't normally do, but also means that the other daily stuff gets put on hold for a little while, so now we are playing catch-up. Second, I'm trying very hard to make sure that I have the kids involved in as much stuff as possible so that we don't all go stir crazy sitting at home . . . play group, swim lessons, play dates, dance class, etc. Third, I try to be pretty diligent about keeping up with laundry, grocery shopping, and house cleaning on a weekly basis, because it always drives me nuts when I feel like there is stuff I need to do but I'm not doing it. Fourth, between Brian being out of town, then me being out of town, and now Brian heading out of town again in a few days, our tag team effort around the house has not been real fruitful. Fifth, I've officially vowed to change my ways and have been cooking a family dinner EVERY night (I know, amazing, don't have a heart attack Mom), and as most of you know, this takes a bit of time out of the day, unless it's a frozen pizza night of course. And last, let's face it, staying at home with the kids IS a busy job, which sometimes makes it tough to find extra time for other miscellaneous stuff like blogging. But I promise my friends, I promise to start putting up more pictures soon.
Okay, so now on to what's new in the Palm house. The kids finally recovered from their colds/ear infection stuff, but now Brian managed to catch the bug and poor little Charley has a staff infection on her tush. Thankfully Dr. Heather came to the rescue once more, so Charley is on her way to getting better. But for a couple days there, the poor thing couldn't even sit down because it hurt too much. On Saturday I got Charley registered for preschool next fall, which she is absolutely ecstatic about attending. I'm not sure she can stand to wait that long. On Saturday afternoon we went to our friend's son's birthday party, and the kids of course had a blast. On Sunday Brian had duty at work, so the kids and I spent the day cleaning the house, which was badly needed. We planned on spending Monday, Brian's day off, doing yard work, but we had to take our van in for a much needed brake replacement, and we also had to take Charley up to see Heather to check her infection . . . so by the time that was all said and done, most of the day was eaten up. Today the kids and I met several other Coast Guard moms and kids down at a beautiful beach with tons of tidepools, and the kids had a blast checking out this new spot. This afternoon I took Charley to her first-ever dance class, and overall I would say it went so-so. At first she was very excited, enthusiastic, and listened to the teacher. However, after the first drink break, Charley sort of lost interest, twiddled around, and quit paying attention to the teacher. But I'm not giving up yet. The teacher said that the biggest goal with three-year-olds is to simply teach them how to follow directions and pay attention, and that most struggle with this for awhile. So, we'll give it another shot next week. I think Charley's favorite part was the Starbucks run that we made afterwards and the turtle brownie that was involved. You know times have changed when kids cannot wait to go to Starbucks.
So that's it for now. Let's see, to sum it it up . . . busy as usual, with some fun stuff mixed in, need to put up more pictures . . . did I forget anything?
Monday, March 10, 2008
All Grown Up
Charley: (yelling from the back seat of the car) "Mooommmm, Zander is talking like a baby!"
Danielle: "Well, that's because he is a baby."
Charley: "Ohhhh, yeaaaaa, Zander IS a baby!"
(a few seconds pass, and then a little voice from the back . . .)
Zander: "Baby NOT!"
Danielle: "What Zander? Your not a baby?"
Zander: "NO!!!"
Danielle: (to Brian with a little hint of sadness) "I guess we are officially out of babies."
Danielle: "Well, that's because he is a baby."
Charley: "Ohhhh, yeaaaaa, Zander IS a baby!"
(a few seconds pass, and then a little voice from the back . . .)
Zander: "Baby NOT!"
Danielle: "What Zander? Your not a baby?"
Zander: "NO!!!"
Danielle: (to Brian with a little hint of sadness) "I guess we are officially out of babies."
Friday, March 07, 2008
Blonde & Blind as a Bat
Alright, thanks to Amber's encouragement, I decided to post a Montana trip story that was the source of much laughter during my time there. However, my disclaimer is that I'm writing the story at Andrea's expense . . . sorry Andrea. You know I still love you. For those of you that don't know who Andrea is, Andrea has been one of my best friends since we were 14 years old. Andrea has stood by me through thick and thin, was a bridesmaid in my wedding, and is the Godmother to both of my children. This is a pretty typical Andrea event.
One morning during the trip, Andrea and I were getting ready at her house, while Amber was dropping her son off at her brother's house so that we could spend the day at Andrea's salon saving Amber from a mommy hair-do. So as we are getting ready, Andrea starts complaining to me how she just can't seem to visually focus on anything that morning, that her eyes were all blurry, and that it felt like she woke up with sand in her eyes. At this point she had not put her contacts in and was wearing her glasses, so I asked her if her glasses were new and if she had a new prescription in them. She said that they were in fact fairly new, so I suggested that maybe her prescription was off a bit, which would explain the blurriness and inability to focus. I then suggested that maybe she should put in her contacts and see if that helped things. So, she stuck her contacts in her eyes, but that did not seem to help things at all. She said that her eyes were still really hazy and felt like sandpaper, and we both agreed that this could possibly be explained by the fact that she had just had a baby and this may be a postpartum effect. She decided to call her eye doctor just for verification that this may be the problem.
Meanwhile, I started becoming sort of concerned about the fact that Andrea was planning on spending the afternoon cutting Amber's hair. I mean, Andrea already told me that I would probably have to drive because her vision was so fuzzy, so I got to thinking, is it really such a good idea that we allow her to come near Amber's head with a pair of scissors and a razor? While these thoughts are twirling through my brain, Andrea was able to get in touch with her eye doctor, who calmly explains to her that it is in fact quite common to experience dry eyes and blurriness after having a baby, and just to try some eye drops and give it some time. During this conversation, Andrea decides that she just can't stand to have her contacts in her eyes for one more second, so while on the phone she sticks her fingers in her left eye and pulls out her contact. She got this really weird expression on her face, and then she summons me over and points to her hand. There, lying in the palm of her hand, are two contacts. I'm a bit confused at first, until she reaches in her other eye to pull out its contents, and once again two contacts fall out. We both start laughing quietly, but we have to keep our laughter contained because she is STILL on the phone with her eye doctor, and she is certainly not going to admit to him that she had two sets of contacts in her eyes. So we stifle our laughter long enough for her to get off the phone, and then we lost it. I'm talking rolling on the floor, tears streaming down our face, gasping for air kind of laughter.
As it turns out, Andrea had forgotten the night before to take her contacts out before she went to bed . . . and the next morning she had forgotten that they were in and tried to wear her glasses on top of them . . . and she still continued to forget that they were in and stuck another pair of contacts on top of them. I still have a hard time understanding this because I am almost completely blind without my corrective lenses, so I could certainly never forget or be unaware that I am wearing my contacts. But I guess that Andrea is not quite as blind as I am, so maybe it's feasible one could forget . . . well, at least it's feasible that Andrea could forget. :) I'm just thankful that Andrea figured this all out before she went after Amber's hair. Otherwise, it might have ended up like this:
One morning during the trip, Andrea and I were getting ready at her house, while Amber was dropping her son off at her brother's house so that we could spend the day at Andrea's salon saving Amber from a mommy hair-do. So as we are getting ready, Andrea starts complaining to me how she just can't seem to visually focus on anything that morning, that her eyes were all blurry, and that it felt like she woke up with sand in her eyes. At this point she had not put her contacts in and was wearing her glasses, so I asked her if her glasses were new and if she had a new prescription in them. She said that they were in fact fairly new, so I suggested that maybe her prescription was off a bit, which would explain the blurriness and inability to focus. I then suggested that maybe she should put in her contacts and see if that helped things. So, she stuck her contacts in her eyes, but that did not seem to help things at all. She said that her eyes were still really hazy and felt like sandpaper, and we both agreed that this could possibly be explained by the fact that she had just had a baby and this may be a postpartum effect. She decided to call her eye doctor just for verification that this may be the problem.
Meanwhile, I started becoming sort of concerned about the fact that Andrea was planning on spending the afternoon cutting Amber's hair. I mean, Andrea already told me that I would probably have to drive because her vision was so fuzzy, so I got to thinking, is it really such a good idea that we allow her to come near Amber's head with a pair of scissors and a razor? While these thoughts are twirling through my brain, Andrea was able to get in touch with her eye doctor, who calmly explains to her that it is in fact quite common to experience dry eyes and blurriness after having a baby, and just to try some eye drops and give it some time. During this conversation, Andrea decides that she just can't stand to have her contacts in her eyes for one more second, so while on the phone she sticks her fingers in her left eye and pulls out her contact. She got this really weird expression on her face, and then she summons me over and points to her hand. There, lying in the palm of her hand, are two contacts. I'm a bit confused at first, until she reaches in her other eye to pull out its contents, and once again two contacts fall out. We both start laughing quietly, but we have to keep our laughter contained because she is STILL on the phone with her eye doctor, and she is certainly not going to admit to him that she had two sets of contacts in her eyes. So we stifle our laughter long enough for her to get off the phone, and then we lost it. I'm talking rolling on the floor, tears streaming down our face, gasping for air kind of laughter.
As it turns out, Andrea had forgotten the night before to take her contacts out before she went to bed . . . and the next morning she had forgotten that they were in and tried to wear her glasses on top of them . . . and she still continued to forget that they were in and stuck another pair of contacts on top of them. I still have a hard time understanding this because I am almost completely blind without my corrective lenses, so I could certainly never forget or be unaware that I am wearing my contacts. But I guess that Andrea is not quite as blind as I am, so maybe it's feasible one could forget . . . well, at least it's feasible that Andrea could forget. :) I'm just thankful that Andrea figured this all out before she went after Amber's hair. Otherwise, it might have ended up like this:
Team Effort
I am now living with two toddlers who I swear are conspiring with each other to test my patience and limits nearly every minute of the day. For once, they are cooperating and working on their "teamwork." Yeah, thanks Wonder Pets for giving them THAT idea.
For the past several months, it always seemed as if they were taking turns being the naughty toddler, as if they were having some sort of mercy on me so that I wouldn't go completely crazy. It was almost as if they were tag teaming with each other, taking turns in the wrestling ring against the evil Mommy. Charley would be sweet, helpful, and listen to most everything I had to say, while Zander would ignore nearly EVERY word I had to say, tell me "no" at least 100 times per day, throw random tantrums for mysterious reasons, and was constantly into everything to the point that I spent most of my day chasing him.
And then, like a light switch, one would turn off and the other would turn on. Charley would become whiny, not listen to anything I had to say, throw tantrums, and argue with everything, while Zander would revert back to being funny, happy, and would back off saying "no" for a few days. This has been the pattern for quite awhile now, which was definitely tolerable, and I was able to put up a pretty good fight.
But now, for some reason unbeknownst to me, my children have decided to enter the arena together and put up a pretty good stinkin' battle, two against one. As I'm sure most of you know, whoever coined the term "terrible two's" simply had not gotten to the three's yet. Three can be pretty bad at times, not only because they still want to test every limit, but they can use actual WORDS to fight their battles. And when you have a child like Charley who can already articulate herself better than any three year old should be allowed, it can be pretty painful. However, this is not to say that the two's aren't terrible either. They are still pretty tough at times, as the child begins to test every boundary that may or may not exist in his/her world, and throw huge tantrums when one small thing is not perfect in this world. So, with Charley being knee deep into the three's, and Zander quickly approaching the two's, the two warriors' worlds have collided, and I guess they decided to take on the evil monster, Mommy, together. And somehow, it just doesn't seem fair.
I know, I know, all of you who laughed when I told you that we were having our children only twenty months apart are VERY tempted to give me the 'ol "I told you so" line. But I now beg YOU for some mercy because my children don't seem to be giving me at the moment. Thankfully they are both just charming and cute enough for me to keep them around awhile and not ship them off to the farm up north (a/k/a Papa Dave and Grammy Charlotte's farm) where I would pick them, oh say, when they are about seven or eight years old.
For the past several months, it always seemed as if they were taking turns being the naughty toddler, as if they were having some sort of mercy on me so that I wouldn't go completely crazy. It was almost as if they were tag teaming with each other, taking turns in the wrestling ring against the evil Mommy. Charley would be sweet, helpful, and listen to most everything I had to say, while Zander would ignore nearly EVERY word I had to say, tell me "no" at least 100 times per day, throw random tantrums for mysterious reasons, and was constantly into everything to the point that I spent most of my day chasing him.
And then, like a light switch, one would turn off and the other would turn on. Charley would become whiny, not listen to anything I had to say, throw tantrums, and argue with everything, while Zander would revert back to being funny, happy, and would back off saying "no" for a few days. This has been the pattern for quite awhile now, which was definitely tolerable, and I was able to put up a pretty good fight.
But now, for some reason unbeknownst to me, my children have decided to enter the arena together and put up a pretty good stinkin' battle, two against one. As I'm sure most of you know, whoever coined the term "terrible two's" simply had not gotten to the three's yet. Three can be pretty bad at times, not only because they still want to test every limit, but they can use actual WORDS to fight their battles. And when you have a child like Charley who can already articulate herself better than any three year old should be allowed, it can be pretty painful. However, this is not to say that the two's aren't terrible either. They are still pretty tough at times, as the child begins to test every boundary that may or may not exist in his/her world, and throw huge tantrums when one small thing is not perfect in this world. So, with Charley being knee deep into the three's, and Zander quickly approaching the two's, the two warriors' worlds have collided, and I guess they decided to take on the evil monster, Mommy, together. And somehow, it just doesn't seem fair.
I know, I know, all of you who laughed when I told you that we were having our children only twenty months apart are VERY tempted to give me the 'ol "I told you so" line. But I now beg YOU for some mercy because my children don't seem to be giving me at the moment. Thankfully they are both just charming and cute enough for me to keep them around awhile and not ship them off to the farm up north (a/k/a Papa Dave and Grammy Charlotte's farm) where I would pick them, oh say, when they are about seven or eight years old.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Charley 1, Mom 0
Charley: "Mom, can I have some more chips now?"
Danielle: "No, I'm sorry but you need to eat the rest of your dinner before you can have more chips."
Charley: "But Mooommmm, I already ate my dinner!!! I ate my chips."
Danielle: "You need to eat the other part of your dinner, the enchilada."
Charley: "But Mooommm, I already had some enchilada!!!"
Danielle: "I know you ate one bite of enchilada, but you need to eat ALL your enchilada. Look at Zander's plate . . . ." (we all glance at Zander's empty plate) . . . . "When your plate looks like Zander's plate, you can have some more chips."
Charley: (thinking about this for a moment) "Oh yeah, a ROUND plate, and mine is round too . . . so YEEEAAAA, I can have some more chips!!!"
Brian: (nods and shoots Danielle the "I think she has you on that one" look)
Seriously, is there any doubt that Charley has a future as a lawyer?
Danielle: "No, I'm sorry but you need to eat the rest of your dinner before you can have more chips."
Charley: "But Mooommmm, I already ate my dinner!!! I ate my chips."
Danielle: "You need to eat the other part of your dinner, the enchilada."
Charley: "But Mooommm, I already had some enchilada!!!"
Danielle: "I know you ate one bite of enchilada, but you need to eat ALL your enchilada. Look at Zander's plate . . . ." (we all glance at Zander's empty plate) . . . . "When your plate looks like Zander's plate, you can have some more chips."
Charley: (thinking about this for a moment) "Oh yeah, a ROUND plate, and mine is round too . . . so YEEEAAAA, I can have some more chips!!!"
Brian: (nods and shoots Danielle the "I think she has you on that one" look)
Seriously, is there any doubt that Charley has a future as a lawyer?
Monday, March 03, 2008
This and That
Over the past month or so, as I have slowly been neglecting this blog, I have been formulating various topics in my brain that I want to eventually write about . . . our house, the kids, our visits with various people, my trip to Montana . . . but I'm to the point that I don't even know where to start.
So I'm going to start simple. Here is a brief run-down of some small things that have not been mentioned lately:
1. I bought a new dining room table that I've had my eye on for quite awhile at a VERY good price. Here is a picture of one that is similar . . . like this one, mine is two tone and counter height, but mine came with only six chairs. There is a hidden leaf built into the table underneath, so the table can be expanded to accommodate quite a few people. It's awesome. Thanks to my Costco connections (i.e. Heather's mom, Kathy), I got the very last one in the store at nearly half price . . . and it was already assembled, so Brian didn't even have to put it together. What a deal! But, I have to admit, Heather purchased the exact same table before I did, so now we have matching tables. I know, I'm a dork.
2. I sold our other dining room today, also for a VERY good price on Craigslist, and I just posted the ad yesterday. For those of you that are not familiar with Craigslist, it is an awesome way to buy and sell used items in your area for free. Just go to http://www.craigslist.com/. Over the past few months, I have used craigslist many times, as we have bought two strollers, a swing set, and a mower, and we've sold a mower and now the table. It's basically like putting an ad in the newspaper, but it doesn't cost a penny. So, Brian is going to be psyched to come home from work to a garage without a dining set. He HATES when I clutter up his garage
3. This weekend I'm going to get Charley signed up to start pre-school next year. Can you believe that Charley is old enough to start preschool? Where does time go?
4. Brian will be heading out in about two weeks for a guys' ski trip to Lake Tahoe. I can't wait to hear the stories. It just cracks me up because every year they go to bed earlier than the year before, drink less than the year before, whine more about how sore they are on day two, three, and four, and vow that somehow the next year is going to be different. I hate to be the one to tell you boys, but you are all just getting OLD!!!!
5. Our schedule is now free of guests, so you better make your reservation while you have the chance! I've heard some vague rumblings from various people about trips they would like to make out here, but nothing has been confirmed except for Christmas 2008, so start booking!
6. The kids' colds are slowly improving. Charley has been a good sport about letting us clean and dig around in her ear the past couple weeks, and I think it's finally starting to pay off. Zander still constantly has snot-rockets coming out of his nose, but I think we are on the tail end of that. But hey, this is the only time they have been sick since August (nice change for once), so we'll take it!
I guess that's about it for now. Yesterday I sent out four albums of Snapfish pictures to everyone, so if you didn't get them for some reason, drop me an email and I will resend them. Slowly but surely I will get caught up here.
So I'm going to start simple. Here is a brief run-down of some small things that have not been mentioned lately:
1. I bought a new dining room table that I've had my eye on for quite awhile at a VERY good price. Here is a picture of one that is similar . . . like this one, mine is two tone and counter height, but mine came with only six chairs. There is a hidden leaf built into the table underneath, so the table can be expanded to accommodate quite a few people. It's awesome. Thanks to my Costco connections (i.e. Heather's mom, Kathy), I got the very last one in the store at nearly half price . . . and it was already assembled, so Brian didn't even have to put it together. What a deal! But, I have to admit, Heather purchased the exact same table before I did, so now we have matching tables. I know, I'm a dork.
2. I sold our other dining room today, also for a VERY good price on Craigslist, and I just posted the ad yesterday. For those of you that are not familiar with Craigslist, it is an awesome way to buy and sell used items in your area for free. Just go to http://www.craigslist.com/. Over the past few months, I have used craigslist many times, as we have bought two strollers, a swing set, and a mower, and we've sold a mower and now the table. It's basically like putting an ad in the newspaper, but it doesn't cost a penny. So, Brian is going to be psyched to come home from work to a garage without a dining set. He HATES when I clutter up his garage
3. This weekend I'm going to get Charley signed up to start pre-school next year. Can you believe that Charley is old enough to start preschool? Where does time go?
4. Brian will be heading out in about two weeks for a guys' ski trip to Lake Tahoe. I can't wait to hear the stories. It just cracks me up because every year they go to bed earlier than the year before, drink less than the year before, whine more about how sore they are on day two, three, and four, and vow that somehow the next year is going to be different. I hate to be the one to tell you boys, but you are all just getting OLD!!!!
5. Our schedule is now free of guests, so you better make your reservation while you have the chance! I've heard some vague rumblings from various people about trips they would like to make out here, but nothing has been confirmed except for Christmas 2008, so start booking!
6. The kids' colds are slowly improving. Charley has been a good sport about letting us clean and dig around in her ear the past couple weeks, and I think it's finally starting to pay off. Zander still constantly has snot-rockets coming out of his nose, but I think we are on the tail end of that. But hey, this is the only time they have been sick since August (nice change for once), so we'll take it!
I guess that's about it for now. Yesterday I sent out four albums of Snapfish pictures to everyone, so if you didn't get them for some reason, drop me an email and I will resend them. Slowly but surely I will get caught up here.
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