Singing in the Rain

Killing time waiting for the train to pass.





So I get a voicemail today from Maggie inviting me and the kids to go to Cornwall park today at 3. It's slightly grey, but pleasant for a NW Feb day.

Natalie and I run up to Semiahmoo to check on the in-laws place real quick for them, and on the way back the train is crossing. It's normally something we look forward too, a little break in the driving monotony. But 15 minutes into the train crossing, we got a little bored. I don't know if the train was held up at the border (it would be one helluva long train) or what. Then I hear this horrible CLUNK and think 'oh shit, it hit something'. No. It's going in reverse and heading back down the tracks that hit spent 15 minutes blocking. Nice.

Head to the house to get coats and bikes, and I see a tree moving. Huh? Then the rain comes. But we told all these people we'd meet them at the park. So we get Brady from school and head over. Sure enough, there are 4 of us idiots that brought our kids to play at the park. And they did for about 30 minutes, until the RAIN came. Not just the endless drizzle that is the NW. But we were'nt the only idots there. A van full of people arrived, walked over to a random space in the trees, held hands in prayer for about 10 minutes, got back in the van and left. We all agreed it was a field trip from the Nut Farm.

Big day tomorrow. Natalie has a date with Isabella. Brady and I may have a date with Tracy. And the 3 of us have a date with GOD at 5:30. I don't know if I'll make it out of there. Erin has lured me with free mochas. And my guilt as a mother and Brady asking to attend church has overwhelmed my better judgement. But I do believe that my children should be free to form their own set of beliefs, and it IS my job to help them discover them. Cheese and Rice!

"Bunco!"

I think I've yelled it once. But last night I won for .... MOST LOSSES! Or as the envelope I received with $20 bucks said "Biggest Loser".
I always giggle so much (and eat/drink too much) with these 11 other ladies. I really should have walked down, so I could've walked back up the hill (the host lives nearby) and walked off that Corona and extra chocolate chip cookie. Oh well, if it stops raining, I'll walk it off today.

OH, and mom's officailly homeless until 5 pm today. Last night her condo in O.H. closed, and the people were already moving in, and the paperwork for her Bham home files today. The moving trucks will be here at 9am Sunday! I am bittersweet about that. Mom can stay as long as she wants, but all her stuff has to go... having another persons entire home placed down inside your home is a little overwhelming. But it's tolerable since it's only a week. But my mediocre homemaking skills already make this house hard to live in/ look at, but now... forget it.

And I found out there is only got 5 more weeks until the in-laws come back up! Yea! Everybody will be "around". I told mom to prepare for harassment at work (she works at the post office in the same town my in-laws live), she says she has made friends with several of the border and DEA agents that frequent her office (by the Canadian border) and so she might call in for back up if necessary ;) if the heckling gets to be a problem. Cameron.

The Princess has spoken

Miss February at Red Robin.



Mama and Nat sneaking a snapshot.


So after Natalie's birthday dinner we decided to go to the pool, since that is always a good time. Everyone was excited to go (esp. me cuz I love to strut around public in spandex, cue 'my humps' by Black Eyed Peas here). The boys went to their locker room, and we went to ours. Everything is going great until I pulled out... the 'wrong' swimsuit. All hell broke loose in the locker room about how she was not going to wear that suit. I brought it because a. it was expensive and b. it was rapidly getting too small. She insisted that I put her pajamas on and she was going to go home. So I got suited up anyway and put her in her jammies (assuming this would pass as soon as she saw dad and Brady in the pool). Nope. So Larry played with B for half the time, dressed and took the Heinass (misspelled on purpose) home. And B and I played the rest of the evening. Which was cool, because I've been restraining myself all week from causing him bodily harm. Ahhh, the healing powers of the public pool.

Then Wed. I picked her up from school and she bursts into tears "Dosh (Josh) stepped on my toes!" I asked her if being 3 was pretty tough so far. "nuhyes!" and the sobbing ramps up again. Natalie frequently combines 'Yes' and 'No' into one undecipherable word. But I was pretty sure what she meant this time.

3 years and 14 hours later

February 26, 2005 7:05am

Little Natalie Sue entered our world and made our lives complete.

Spring is coming!

A rock-inside-a-rock


Me being "crushed" by the rock-inside-the-rock



Brady trying his hand at rock climbing (had to lose the shoes)


Larry showing off for the crowd (OK 3 people)

















Larry got his first invitation of the year this weekend to go play golf. Uh-oh. And he and Brady went golfing (driving range and putting green) this afternoon. It's begun. But now Larry is getting back into rock climbing (that's where he is now and why we went to Larrabee yesterday). My husband is a bit compulsive.

Speaking of Larrabee... did you know that it is Washington's first state park? Yup. Another reason to love Whatcom county.

Baby's first joke

Natalie told her first joke today. Ready?

Knock Knock.
Who's There?
Zup Zup.
Zup Zup who?
PeePoo! (said really fast together)

Hilarious, right?

Having a big brother has a big influence on the potty talk as you can tell. Always a crowd pleaser.

OHMIGOD, spell checker is back! Yes!

My "little" girl...

Do you think she liked it?


Natalie's princess cupcakes... even the boys wanted the tiaras! Well, Josh kinda talked Sam into declining ;)


Would you look at that face!




Had her 3rd birthday party today. Sigh. It was a lot of fun, most of the kids behaved sans parents, which made the party that much better.

Natalie was overwhelmed with wonderful gifts from all her friends and it was fun to watch a bunch of 3 year olds (most of them were younger siblings so they always get screwed) enjoying a party just for them.

The quote of the party came from Kate's son, Sam, as he and some other boys were assulting Larry with balls "Take that, old man!" Oh, boy, did we all enjoy that one! Well, I think Larry now holds a grudge on a 5 year old, but hey, it was worth the laugh!

And cutest pic of the day has to go to Nate. He out-cuted the birthday girl! But don't worry, we got some cute ones of her too.

And all the celebrations happened on such a beautiful day! Just like the day she was born.

I can't believe it!

I ALMOST did it again. I mean seriously! I just posted about how I was heading down to play bunco tonight, right? Yeah, it's next Thursday. Dummy. This time I actually looked at the date, then looked at the calendar, then looked back at the invitation. So I caught myself. But I was ready to go!

I've shown up a week early to Jennifer's house last summer for Bunco, and 2 weeks early for Brooke's At Home America show. Now this. Friggin A.

Round 2

Brady in 7th heaven having a big truck around.






So we made trip #2 today, filled the U-haul again, and my van. And there is still another van load of crap left at the condo. And cleaning. Ugh.

Thank god mom hired someone to shampoo the carpets and she is bidding out 2 movers to unload the storage shed and my garage and move (her new condo is on the 2nd floor). The $300 bid for moving sounds like a bargain when you are as sore as the 2 of us.

And only 1 casualty... I dumped her banana leaf plant. But she isn't heartbroken about it. And to be honest, I felt bad... but not that bad. Maybe I'm too tired to feel bad.

Oh, well. I'm off to play Bunco and drink a few beerskis. I'm walking. Got to stretch my sore muscles! Thank god we have a hot tub!

A Quickie

I'm heading back to the island for round 2 of the big move. The truck and the storage unit didn't hold all of mom's schtuff.

I'll post pics ASAP, but for now, some new mispronuciations:

"Mom, I got my soup-soup on!" (Natalie has her swimsuit on)

"Mom, Tokyo turned into a donkey!" (Brady is watching Pinnochio)

President's Day

Brady scootin on by...


Natalie test driving her birthday present.



The kids refused a photo (hoods up, backs to me) so I made Brady take a picture of me at Deception Pass.









Feeling a little more frisky today (yes, I said frisky, shutup), just a scratchy throat so far.

We had our little buddy Brendan over to play yesterday, the kids all had a good time. It's nice when a kid comes over and reindroduces your children to their own toys. All the sudden they are interesting again, and you get a little more mileage out of them.

Then we just had to enjoy some of this sunshine before heading to Whidbey, so we met Aiden and Amelia at Brady and Aiden's future school. I think all the kids had a good time and got some wiggles out.

Off to Whidbey to help mom prepare for the first stage of the big move. It was so nice that we stopped at Deception pass (usually just drive on by) but I got a little sentimental (and it was so gorgeous outside, we could see Baker and the islands) that I won't be coming to the island much anymore and I'm losing one more piece of "home". So I drug the kids onto the bridge, nervous the whole time (hundreds of feet fall on one side, traffic zooming past you 2 feet away on the other side). Then they refused to appease me. They pulled up their hoods in unison and turned their backs on me. Maybe I go a little overboard with the camera?

By the time we got home last night, my nerves were shot, and the crud was making me crabby. So we got the kids in bed and Lar drew me a bath and I soaked and read (I've become the worlds slowest reader now that I have children) the Kite Runner. Then I curled up and did my new addiction: People Magazine Crosswords. I got a whole book of them. I feel good about myself when I'm done, because I can actually complete the whole puzzle fairly easily. Cheap ego boost, I know. Worthless information, I know. Not that impressive, I know.

Uh-oh

As soon as I got home tonight, I started feeling chilly, and out of nowhere my throat got scratchy. And I have back cramps (you know, ladies, but that's not why I have the cramps).

So I had a eventful day and have some photos, but am in no mood to put forth any effort in doing anything constructive here today. Sorry. I'm blogging in sick. Maybe. I hope not, cuz I'm signed up to move my mom tomorrow.

I've deemed that on the rare occasion that I do get sick (like once every 2 years) it has to be one helluva bug, cuz I'm too mean to catch any of the sissy stuff. I scare it off. The last time I got sick I was on bed rest for 3 days. Mono, I believe it was. I must have been kissing my high school boyfriend again. Isn't that the only time you get mono???

A What?

Larry has an i-pod in the truck, and the kids have their own section of music in it, so it's highly anticipated when they go for a ride with daddy.

Mom has my van, so we squeezed into the pickup to head to B's last basketball game today.

"Dad, did you bring the die-pod?" asks Brady. "Yeah, daddy, the i-pom/n (it kept switching)" chimes in Natalie.

And tonight I was pulling crap out of the laundry room and found my Valentines decorations (they're still legal, right?). And I have a M n M house (like the Christmas village houses) that lights up. "Oh, mommy! A num-a-num house!" Natalie is thrilled and wants it in her room tonight. I put it in, but as I say goodnight, both Daisy and the house have to go. She has strict rules about who/what can stay in her room.

Richard

I just gotta say, that I'm pathetic because to get a photo of my brother, I had to swipe one from his myspace page. Mental note "Attack brother with camera next time I see him".

He deserves his one blub in my blog this week. My brother (did you know his name is actually his middle name? If he were fancy, he'd go by the name P. Richard B the Third) has become one of the coolest people I know, and he took the bumpiest route to get to where he's at.

I was a terrible big sister, I think opinions of my character would change if people knew the things I did to my little Brother. The picture of me holding him the day he came home from the hospital says it all: He is red-faced screaming, and I look terrified/miserable.

But after a long road to accept each other, we were thrown into the lifeboat together (found out what happens when you only have one sibling, the only other person in the world that knows what you're going through).

He worked his ass off becoming a better human being, and I admire him for being able to learn from his mistakes, and still keep on keepin' on when the shit hits the fan.

I just wish that I had figured out how wonderful he is before I damaged his childhood ;)

A trip to Sequim

And here are a couple other oldies but goodies (from 2004 I think). We took Brady to the Olympic Game farm in Sequim, and Larry was dying to try out his bike on Hurricane Ridge (he rode all the way up just so he could speed all the way back down).


And have you ever seen such a thing? I thought Chain Gangs were resevered for the segregated south with good 'ole boys with shotguns. Huh. That's the sound of the men, workin' on the the chain.... ga-a-ang

How cute is he?

Here is my little Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes). Brady is around 18 months I think here in the picture. I thought it was lost forever, but Larry has been downloading everything off of our old computer and putting it on here (to get rid of the old one) and all these old pictures are making me very remeniscent (I hate that spell checker is broke!) We are in Long Beach, WA.

Just another day in paradise

We have ways of making you cooperate, Natalie! She hasn't been feeling top notch, and the camera has gotten the wrath of her mood. So we have to tickle her, toss, her into submission.

Met Larry and B down at Boulevard Park today since there was a hint of sunshine. Larry bogarted the camera, but I got a few shots fired off.

Had some really sad news today, so it was nice to have a day outside to ease the mood. It seems like my brother and girlfriend might split up, and it breaks my heart.

Anyway... not here to discuss other peoples lives! Otherwise we had a great day, but I have spent the evening putting Mentholatum on Nat's chest and giving the humidifier a workout.

Oh, one more picture... this guy was all over the place out in the bay, I wish we could have caught him to send him a photo. Doesn't it look like he's walking on water?

Back from Holiday

That's what the Canadians call it, anyway. We got a late start, so we didn't get to shop at Archie McPhee's (want to use and abuse my brother and his discount anyway) but had THE BEST DINNER OUT (Larry inserted the "out" part quickly, smart man) at Ray's Boathouse on Shilshole bay (that's by the Ballard Locks). I love Ballard, I would love to spend a whole weekend alone there just puttering. Hannah's sister in on the chef staff at Ray's and so after gorging ourselves on king crab legs (lar) and I had the sampler (salmon, sablefish (my total fav), and a crab cake) and a great bottle of Cab. ( I used my scrapbooking notebook to jot down the wine... I'll make use of that notebook yet!) Rachel came out to say hello to us (don't you always feel a teensy bit more important than everyone else in the restaurant when part of the kitchen staff comes to your table?) and then she sent out, get this... a cherry chocolate Folly. OH. I needed a cigarette afterwards. It was sour cherrys over a firm chocolate mousse. YEAH.

Larry and I rolled out of there and stopped at B&N and Larry picked up the book I've been wanting and said "I thought about getting you this for V-Day. It looked like something you'd really like." Awww. and it totally is perfect for me! It's the 1001 places to see before you die, N. America version. I want it to be a realistic book for me to accomplish, I'll worry about the world once my children are raised.

Met Rich and Hannah back at the hotel, Natalie conned Hannah into making her eggs (at 9pm) so we had to wait to get our kids back. I love that they are so close now, and they can really start to BE in my kids lives. Because Nat and B are mad about them. I think I've mentioned this before, but it warrants a repeat.

Got up and took a swim (a little uncomfortable since most of the hotel guests were in suits heading to their meetings... here come the Allred's in their skivvys. I felt kind of like The Grimwalds relatives in Christms Vacation (Randy Quaid?).

Got Nat her birthday gift at Toys R Us... the manager said that they are looking (but it has been shot down so far) into opening at ToysRUs/ Babies R Us up our way again. I told him it was a smart idea.

Then to the Everett Childrens Museum. The roof was open, but it was cold as hell, so Natalie and I peeked, and left. The boys excavated dinosaur bones, played the instruments, and chased each other in the fort before heading back down. Natalie just wasn't on her "A" game, so we did a lot of snuggling, and then she served me "lunch" at the museum kitchen.

And home again, home again, jiggity jig!

So that's why I like him...

Every once in a great while, Larry and I are free and alone together. Like today. We dropped the kids off at school and went downtown to get coffee ( I heart Avellino) and some fish, since the kids wouldn't behave long enough to buy fish last week.
And we laughed all the way home, just being a "couple". It was nice. And tonight we're heading to Lynnwood (very exciting, huh? It's like winning a trip to Burbank) to stay overnight. My brother and his girl are going to watch the kids so we can go indulge on a early Valentines day dinner at Ray's Boathouse (they got us a sweet GC there last xmas, and Hannah's sister works there) and of course make a pit stop at Archie McPhee's (does anyone need some fake vomit or devil duckies???)
Then tomorrow we'll stop at the Childrens museum because Brady is going to pop a blood vessel if dad dosen't see this place soon.
So, that's what we're up to... this is a vacation people only dream of!

Ahhh...

Brady's feet, I've mentioned his obsession with feet...


Brady with a twinkle in his eye



Well. My son has been quite the "difficult" one this week (or two) with defiant tantrums, and bulling, general insubordance, etc. Today we went to one of his best buddies birthday party, and he hardly particiapted. But then I remembered he did the same thing last year at Aiden's birthday, it must be because he's used to having Aiden to himself or something.

Anyway, after we read stories, I took him to his room to snuggle and settle in for the night. He was in the best mood, I wanted to stay and talk with him all night. He was giggling (like all 5 year olds should, but he hardly lets himself go like that with me) and telling me silly stories about Daisy, using words that I'd never heard him use before ("that's disgusting") when referencing to Daisy's mortifing moment when she had a dingle berry, and was trying to get some love from Jackie (Brady asked when Jackie could come back again, too.) We just had the nicest evening, and it's a little sad to say that I can't remember when I've had such a lovely time with my son. We have a rocky road ahead for us, I'm sure. But he is my heart.

Oh, and I scored today. I am a little obsessive once I get a thought in my head on how something should be. So I decided that I needed small tiaras for Natalie's birthday. I had bought some at Target in September, but they don't carry them anymore. So I've been searching online with no luck. So I drove my mom and Natalie to Burlington today (to go to Costco, oh, and do you mind if we stop at the party store, and Target?) So we did, and they had exactly what I was looking for! Yea! And I got matching scepters to go with the mini-tiaras. I feel so much better tonight, maybe I can sleep peacefully now.

My photos!

Well, here is one for now, it's late. Larry and I went and caught the late showing of National Treasure 2... there will be a 3rd. It must be much better than the first, because I kinda liked it, but the editing sucked.

Anyway, the problem with my pictures is that I took them in raw format, so Larry had to show me how to change them. So I will work on more of the pic's and get on that. And I don't plan on photographing in raw anymore.

This is a picture of B heading out to the bay side of Semiahmoo spit. He had a great time.

Larry is taking advantage of having me in a baking/cooking zone. He invited guests over tonight to watch a climbing video, and then told them that we'd be having dessert! So I whipped out a apple pie with struesel topping. Not shabby. And we had flank steak and horseradish mashed potatoes for dinner. And mom bought me a beautiful salad bowl, ladle, and immersion blender (I've been complaining about how much simpler life would be with these things... she was listening!)

Well, off to bed (1:32am)... Oh. We went to Wally World after the movies because they are the only thing open 24 hours, and there were several children shopping with their parents! WTF? It's 1 am! I frickin hate that place, and every time I step foot in there (on the blue moon) I am reminded of why I hate that place. I hate the customers, the employees, and the entire atmosphere in general. I felt like I might get mugged in there. Nasty. So then Larry and I giggled and made fun of people all the way home. He was singing "I am so smart, s-m-r-t, I am so smart". How insensitive. tee-hee!

Grrr.

So I took some great shots yesterday down at Semiahmoo spit, and when I downloaded them off the camera, they got turned into a NEF file or something. It's my husbands damn telescope (that thing will be the death of me, it's my nemesis) software that won't let me open, flip, or upload the photos. Frick!

But we had a nice afternoon, as I was heading up to check on the in-laws house (all fine) after the windstorm, my mom called and said she had just gotten off of work. So we met up and we took the kids to the spit (it was cold and windy, but sunny) and let them throw rocks. Natalie was very pensive, I think she was just working the Grandma snuggle angle.

Brady could have stayed out there for an hour, but my hands were losing their feeling, and the other 2 were sulking on the bench... cold and ready to go.

Had Erin and Christian over tonight for Tortilla soup... mmmmm. delicioso! And then Brady and I had WWIII at bed time. Ahhh... power struggles with a 5 year old. I'm glad Erin picked up the phone when I called, I was trying not to waffle on my decision, but he was really amping up the begging and pleading. I won in the end, for today anyway. We'll do it all over again tomorrow, I'm sure. If you've ever tried to move a mule, you'd have some idea what it's like raising my son sometimes.

I'd post a beautiful picture of him right now to erase all the stinky comments I wrote about him, but alas, they are stuck. I'll get my hubby/tech support on it. I made him leftover soup, after all!

Brutha's from other Mutha's

I've known Josh since he was 6 (I think, I can't do math) and I am so happy to have him in my life, and my kids adore him. He is such a great influence for them, and they all love each other so much. It's weird to think that Brady is almost as old as Josh was when we first met. Josh likes to rub it in that he and I were friends before Tracy and I were. He brought us together (cue birds and harp music).

Brady of course idolizes Josh, and Holly made a knit cap for Tracy. Josh promptly stole said cap. Then Brady tried to steal it from Josh. So Holly was so sweet and made a matching cap for Brady, now he is just like Josh. You can imagine how cool that is.

I made fish tacos from scratch this evening, my house stunk for 2 days. I suggest sticking to the store bought fish sticks when possible! But they were good. I also suggest Trident brand fish fillets over Gorton's or whatever else they sell, I looked at the labels, an if you buy the other brands, you might as well be eating a big ol' juicy hamburger with cheese. I would think fish is supposed to be a healthier option!

Oh, and the goddamn spellchecker is still broken. It's causing me a lot of stress.

Vacations

So Larry didn't get the week we requested off so that we could go to CA, but suddenly they gave him next week off. What the hell are we supposed to do with that? We've been looking at Levenworth (and Stevens Pass innertube park), and possibly somewhere in Oregon, but nothing that is just screaming FUN! to me. Any ideas? Just a couple of days... Lar's got lots to work on around here too.

And good news: my mom got a full price offer on her condo, so she put an offer on a place just up the road here. Hopefully this will all continue smoothly for her, it's been nice to have this work out so well for her, as most of this experience has been a heartache for her. She's becoming a tough cookie ;)

And I'm off to go put the deposit down for Natalie's party and get my card making supplies in order to make invitataions.

Well... pray for the rain to stay away, I've got to try and get some shots of the kids for Grandma Honey, she placed an order for 3 4x6's of each kid. Can do!

An email I received...

Brady took this picture of me... my head was "floating" on a green screen.



Had nothing better to say today, so I thought I'd post this Q & A I received from Kate, with my answers of course, not hers!


1.What time did you get up this morning?
About 7:50

2. Diamonds or Pearls?
Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies?
ummmm... The "Bee" Movie, I think.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Since the writers are on strike, LOST is the only thing that I can look forward to, but it is also a fav no matter what. Project Runway is probably my fav. reality show.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast?
Coffee

6.Whaaat?? I don't know, it was here when I got this quiz.

7. What food do you dislike?
Lima beans, Ham, eggs, tomaotes, warm lettuce (like on a burger), Peanut sauce, this list could go on for awhile...

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
Aretha Franklin's Greatest Hits and Brandi Carlisle

9. What kind of car do you drive?
Honda Odyssey (along with 5 other families on my STREET)

10. Favorite sandwich?
The Turkey, pesto, red bell pepper, and provolone (I pick the lettuce and tomato off) on foccicia at Avenue Bread.

11. What characteristics do you despise?
Liars, finger-pointers, hypocracy, people who are "holier than thou".

12. Favorite item of clothing?
Huh, I guess my favorite is probably my most disgusting. Since I got it in 1992 for Christmas from my high school boyfriend, my once-red University of Arizona sweatshirt. There aren't any armpits in it anymore. But it's so broken in and cozy. But it's nasty. I wear it all the time. Not too much in public. You're welcome.
13. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go?
I'd love to see Egypt, and Greece, tropical places.

14. What color is your bathroom?
Contractor white. I want to make big changes to it, so until I can afford to do so, I don't see much point investing energy into it.

15. Favorite brand of clothing?
GAP

16. Where would you retire?
Palm Desert. Larry can golf his years away, and I can pickle my insides, and cure my hide on the outside (Something about Mary?)

17. Most memorable birthday?
18th... went to lunch with my famliy at the MAR-T Cafe (Twin Peaks fame) and then went to the Violent Femmes concert with friends and the floor of the coliseum sang Happy Birthday to me. Then I had my free dinner at Denny's and bought a pack of smokes... just because I could. And the guy didn't card me!

18. Favorite Sport to watch?
Volleyball.

19. Furthest place you are sending this?
NA

20. Who do you expect to send this back to you?
NA

21. Person you expect to send it back first?
NA

22. Favorite saying?
Wigity Wigity Wigity Wack. I don't think I have a FAVORITE. I probably say "cool" the most, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite saying.
Heres a few I should work into my daily vocab:
"Well butter my butt and call me a biscut!"
"It's colder than a well-diggers toe"
"Don't piss in my Cheerios"


23. When is your birthday?
Sept. 4

24. Are you a morning person or a night person?
A night person

25. What is your shoe size?
9.5, it used to be 9 until I carried a couple of children I know in my belly.

26. Pet?
Two labs, two cats.

27. What did you want to be when you were little?
Teacher and a Mommy.
28. What are you today?
A mommy and a Jack of all trades, master of none.

29. What is your favorite candy?
M n M's

30. What is your favorite flower?
Gerber Daisies

31. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Natalie's 3rd birthday in a couple of weeks.

32. What church/temple do you attend?
Don't. But Brady asked me if he could go to church. Crap, I've got to be a good mommy and take him, but that means somebody will want to talk to me. Crap.

33. What are you listening to right now?
The fish tank filters.

34. What was the last thing you ate?
Took mom and the kids to Fiamma Burger after Basketball. Best burgers ever. But then all the bums were hanging out side the pawn shop when we left, made it a little scary packing the kids in the car.

35. Do you believe in Angels?
NO, but I don't totally believe that there isn't "something out there". I just don't know what it is.

36. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
I'd like to be red-orange, but am probably seen as crulean.

37. What is your pet peeve?
People that smoke as they order their coffee and then drop their burning butt on the ground so that is continues to stink up the area. Tailgaters.

38. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
A lady named Carol who responded to my Craigslist ad about needing moving boxes for my mom.

39. Favorite soft drink?
Iced tea, black. I don't like pop that much, but I'll drink Coke or Root Beer (A & W)

40. Favorite restaurant?
Black Forest Steakhouse in Everson (tried the one here in Bham, not quite as good)
41. Hair Color?
Nasty Dishwater.

42. Siblings?
A younger brother

43. Favorite day of the year?
My Birthday

46. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs

47. Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate

48. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?
NA

49. When was the last time you cried?
When I listened to a clip of Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" speech.

50. What is under your bed?
Crutches, random bits of crackers, a garment bag, a quilt.

51. Who is the friend you've had longest?
Terra since I was 5

52. What did you do last night?
Hung out with some of my mom friends.

53. Favorite smell?
Alfalfa, Sweet Pea baby wash, vanilla, fresh air, and Aveda salon, fresia.

54. What are you afraid of?
not being able to keep my children from harm & illness.

55. How many keys on your key ring?
5

56. How many years at your current job?
1
57. Favorite day of the week?

It doesn't matter to me.
58. How many towns have you lived in ?
4
59. Do you make friends easily ?
I think so.

60. How many folks will you send this to ?
NA

Punxatawney Phil

Notice the shadow??



Well, Phil saw his shadow yesterday. So we have 40 more days of winter left. I created this craft for MOMS Club along with some Groundhog cupcakes, and ended up with one participant. Crap. But I can't blame the other people that really wanted/tried to come. Kids and illneses are unpredictable. Oh, well, I got my house clean anyway.

My Samurai Stir-Fry

Now this version was the Haggen version, and it was very good; but to be honest I usually go with the Fred Meyer version... there are only 2 small differences.

First you put a little bit of oil in a large skillet and saute the chicken until it is just barely done. Then you add the veggies and the following: a spoonful of garlic, a spoonful (to taste, this stuff is powerful) of the garlic chilie sauce, and quite a few good shakes of soy sauce. You cook this until the veggies are just tender, then add the Yaki (or Chuka) Soba noodles and use your tongs to mix the noodles in there and warm them through. That's it.

Now the difference between the Haggen version and the Freddie's version is this: Fred's sells a nice little clam pack of stir fry veggies in the produce section, as well as referigerated Yaki Soba noodles (also in produce). I usually grab a pack of veggies, a handful of bean sprouts, and 2 packages of the pre-cooked noodles.

Haggen does not sell the Yaki Soba noodles. At least I can't find them. So I bought the dried Chuka Soba noodles (asian food aisle) and cook them according to the bag. Then I grab a few good handfuls of the the "bulk" stir-fry mix and and a handful of the bean sprouts and do it that way. The Chuka Soba noodles are good, but I like the Yaki a little bit better.

Be careful with that chili sauce, I'm serious. You could really wreck the dish by making your face melt with too much of this stuff. But it's also what makes the dish so good to. Know your fire mouth limit. One normal size spoonful is PLENTY for most people.

And one last thing. For a few days now, I have been unable to spellcheck, and it's causing me a lot of stress that I am sending out uncorrected messages. So now I can't check my spelling or put a picture behind my title... my blog is falling apart!

Oh... and after I made all this lovely stir-fry, Larry just walked in with a giant bag of mussels that he plans on gorging on. So I'll have lots of leftovers.

Bellingham Roller Betties

I went and watched the Roller Betties a few months ago, and LOVE the energy created by the crowd and the competetors. I just went to their website and see that they have a few bouts lines up starting March 15. If you like people watching (and snickering) then you can't miss this. Here are the names of the Betties(I astericked the ones I especially like), another element I love about them:




Autumn_Atticweapon
Bawdy_Maudy
Eva Apocalypse
Chaos Fury
Crash Test_Monkey
Danger Ally
Joceyln Bones
Wanda Pieceamee *
Devlynn Wheels
Dianne Goughtahell *
Doctor Ruthless
Frida Smashya
Glam-o-Rama
Hot Snotty
Indy Nile
JonBenet Ramsya *
Lady Blackheart
Lucinda Streets
Beretta Garbot
Nottie A. Saiwant
Original Sindee
OSAKA PUNCH!
Pimpin D. Longstockins
Sal Monella
Scarlette Massacre
Sheeza Brickhouse
Malaria I.B. Poison
Apple Hardcore
Sasha L. Spanku
Bustine Ballz
Count N. Bodies
Bella Dominator
Ophelia Cox
Hera Thadog
Princess Leiya Down
Dolor es Amor
Pearl Haggard *
Rez Skin 'Ya
Suzy Seamripper *
Culturelle Revolution
Helen Damnation *
Dehlia Dirty
Satanya

Ahhhh... Everett

The "Hyperscreen", Natalie, Me, Brady. Very 70's, can you dig it?


A friends daughter with the Van De Graaff Electrostatic Generator.















What a city. I have very mixed (mostly negitive) emotions about Everett. I really shouldn't care about the place, but it works something up in me.

Maybe it was the dread of driving through Everett in Middle and High School because of the god awful stench the lumber mill created (no longer an aroma).

Maybe it's because we'd spend weekends there with my sweet and loving but also a serious alcoholic Aunt and her equally classy husband.

Maybe it's because that's where I got the news that my dad had Leukemia. And that is also where he died. And that's also where I picked up his remains.

But it's also where I had two very memorable meals with my dad, once the first time he finally got out of the hospital, we went to the Flying Pig Pub; and we went to eat when he was released "in remission" at this terrific little Italian restaurant that served the best Gorgonzola Linguine.

And I've also taken my son and daughter to quite a few events at the Everett Events Center like: The Wiggles (twice), Monsters Inc. on ice, Monster Jam, Disney Princesses on Ice... the kids love it and I love not having to drive all the way into Seattle.

And today we discovered Everett's wonderful Childrens Museum. We didn't get to check out the roof, but I hear that is pretty frickin cool too. They had just about every sensory experience and fantasy a kid could want to act out. They have a restaurant, Vet, bank, theatre, green screen, farm, ferry (tons of water play) an airplane, train station, and this cool black room, and science room.

Then I headed down and dropped the kids off with my brother and his girlfriend. The kids stayed and played while I went and had my way with Nordstrom Rack. It was so nice to shoe shop in peace. And when somebody else's kids started to scream, I smiled. Heh, heh. But there is a price to pay for that kind of freedom. My wallet limped out of there. I found myself 2 pairs of shoes and Larry 4, besides a pair of jeans that will actually fit my daughters butt. Guess jeans are for skinny people. I've never owned a pair. But they were meant for my kid. But I can only afford them from the Rack, they were still $17. But my rationale for that kind of spending is that we hardly ever get down to the Rack, and when we do, the kids are there, and that means you aren't going to find anything. So Larry's got shoes for the year, and I'll finally not LOOK like a mom at work, and the kids will look stylish as always.

Oh, and my son, the world's most finicky eater? He ate 11 chicken mcnuggets tonight on the way home. Where does he put it? And what the hell am I going to do when he's a teenager? And will he ever eat more than chicken nuggets and strawberries? I hope that the fruit flushes his arteries out a little bit...