You've Got Mail

You know what?  Life's actually been pretty good lately.  Turns out spending family time together does quite a lot of good for a family--a world of good for our family.  And if you want to maximize the benefits, you spend that family time OUTside.  It's seriously amazing.  You know why?  Because there is nothing to fight about--plenty of space, and bugs, and sand, and water, and discoveries for everyone. Yeah, so I think we've spent more fun time as a family in the last couple months than we've probably ever spent before---or at least that's what it seems like.  For whatever reason, Brian decided to start actually giving himself Saturdays off.  And it has been so, so wonderful.  Since the weather's been nice, we have planted a garden (in Brian Holmes's garden spot which he graciously offered to us this year), gone camping, enjoyed many family bike rides, done yard work, had barbecues, gone to the beach...

Oh, and the kids and I followed Lindsay's lead and created a summer bucket list.  The kids had a blast just making the list, not to mention actually checking things off it.  So anyway...we're enjoying our summer.

Looks like wrinkles are the least of my worries.  How 'bout adult acne?!

Hey.  Remember that post where I told you how wonderful it was to feel pretty for Brian?  Well, lately I haven't been feeling so pretty. You know why?!!  Because I've become really discouraged by my aging face. It's certainly not that there weren't plenty of issues before.  But I seriously have more wrinkles than anyone I know who is around my age.  I'm not just saying that.  I have been counting wrinkles on others' faces for the last several weeks, and so far, no one trumps me.  And I just couldn't figure it out at first.  I mean, I know I spend time in the sun occasionally--but not more than any other normal person.  So where in the heck did I get all these stinking wrinkles?!!  Well, I think I've figured it out.  For most of my life I have not worn sunglasses.  They were just hard for me to get used to for the longest time, and then I would lose or break them every time I got them, so I just never really got in the habit.  Well, I'll tell you what.  I'm paying the price now, baby.  I look like I'm ninety.  So last Thursday morning, I headed straight to the Grocery Outlet and picked myself out a really nice pair.  Well, maybe not super nice.  :)  Better late than never, right?  Besides, a girl can't have everything.  I do have a long(er) eyelash, after all.

And that reminds me...You know what saying I hate?  That saying, "She wants to have her cake and eat it too."  My whole life, the little subconscious me has sat timid in the corner wondering, Is it really too much to ask to actually want to take a little bite of my cake?  I mean, it sure looks pretty on my plate, but my belly would sure enjoy a little taste...  I'm pretty sure my mom and I discussed this one of the last times she was visiting and she agreed that the saying is ridiculous.  No, we understand what it is supposed to mean.  It's just that as it is stated, it just doesn't make sense.  We think it should be stated, "She wants to eat the whole cake and still have it too."  Better, don't you think?

You know what else is funny?   I think when we are describing something unfavorable to us, most of us will say, "I could care less if ...."  When the correct sentiment is really "I couldN'T care less if...."  Right?  I notice myself constantly correcting myself on that one...  So dumb.

Anyway--get this.   So Janey has this little tin Christmas mailbox.  Every now and then I will see it on the floor in front of her doorway with the little red thing sticking up, indicating there is mail inside it.  Beside it, there will always be a little tag with the name of the person for whom she has written a note.  Well, the other day, Janey and I got in a little tiff and she stomped down the hallway and slammed her bedroom door behind her.  Before long, though, the mailbox was out--the red flag and fallen down--with a note by it letting me know the mail was for me.  I opened it up to find the following note:  



Can you tell what it says?  I will love you forever...I love my mom and she love(s) me too and that is how it will olwaze dee (always be).   Oh, man.  It just doesn't get better than that.  I, of course, told Jane how much I had loved her notes and since then, it has become a "thing" that I tell her, "I will love you forever, Gain Goo."








I seriously have the most awesome kids.  Yesterday, Danin came up to me while I was cooking and said, "How's the bacon shakin'?"  So funny!  That girl.  Have I told you how social she is?  While we were out at the beach on our camping trip, she made friends with another little girl whose name she told me she couldn't understand.  I was thinking it was probably because the girl didn't speak English.  Seriously, that wouldn't have deterred Dan.  She LOVES to make friends.  The other day in church, we had some visitors sitting in front of us.  Immediately, Dan was introducing herself and asking the other girl's name again.  Her name was Dannika!  So perfect.  So she and Danin exchanged crayons and coloring pages and whispers throughout the meaning and then skipped off to class together afterwards.  A couple weeks later--break my heart--Danin was telling me she doesn't think she is as pretty as the other girls.  I immediately became paranoid that she was struggling to feel pretty like the other girls because of her lack of long flowing hair-- a struggle I endured my entire childhood.   I told her she was the most beautiful 4-year-old in all the world.  She told me she would feel prettier if she had a yellow gemstone necklace like Dannika.  Ohhhh, I see.  That would do the trick.

And I had (what I'm still hoping is) a breakthrough with Camp.  He struggles, at times, to control his temper--not too unlike myself, I'm afraid.  And I've been really struggling to figure out how to discipline him appropriately when he loses control.  So I had been praying pretty earnestly about it when one day I had a thought come to me:  Maybe instead of punishing him when he loses control, I could set up a little reward system for when he maintains control.  I had never thought of that before.  So I started a little system with him where every time he is in a situation where he is likely to lose control, he has the opportunity to take a deep breath, keep his mouth shut and his hands and feet to himself, and earn a point.  Every time he earns 10 points, he earns the privilege of staying up late with me for one hour after bed time.  He was thrilled with the idea, and I feel like it is definitely a step in the right direction.  If nothing else, I feel like Heavenly Father was helping me to change my focus--reminding me of the importance of acknowledging when Camp had chosen well--and also the importance of spending quality time with him.  He really is a good, good kid.

And Skip. He is speckled with chicken pox currently, but darling and perfect, of course.  He says "Ma" and "Da" now and loves to make us laugh.  He is terrified of standing on wet surfaces but loves to splash in puddles, cannot be separated from his stuffed lion, pushes anything that rolls, and  generally brings an added measure of joy to all of us.

Brian is busy with work.  Busy with work.  Man, what a blessing.  And he's still running and biking and stuff.  A week or so ago, he and I ran the Cape Mountain Trail Run.  I use the term run loosely.   It was  mostly uphill upmountain, so we walked a good bit of it.  But we're cooler for it anyway.

And I've been decorating!  Did I tell you I got a part time job?  A four-hour-a-week, just-enough-time-to get-us-a-little-moolah-to-save-and-a-little-moolah-to-decorate  part-time job.  Once a week, I clean the dental office of some very generous friends.  So anyway,  I'm working on my first set of roman shades for the girls' room and I got a new pet recently.  Well, it's actually a zebra rug, but mark my words--it's the closest thing to a pet my home will ever see.  It sheds, so it's practically the real thing.   I mentioned on Pinterest that I was wanting a rug like this for my room, and it really would look great there.  The problem is, when it arrived and I rolled it out in the front room, I couldn't bear to move it.  I think I'll just move it from room to room periodically, just like I do everything else in my house.  That's how you decorate on a budget, you know.  You just rearrange things.  And I just ordered those Ballard mirrors from my Pinterest board, too.   So exciting!  Maybe when I have them up in my room, I will take a picture and finally show you my painted armoire, too.  I moved the filing cabinet, finally.

Until later....

Read This

Hey Guys.  I just wanted to pass on a link to an article I just read.  It is really, really interesting and touching--and truthfully, it made me a little bit jealous.  It's worth your time, so read it here.

P.R.

Could I seriously have gotten even flatter over the last couple months?!! I P.R.'d again.  Rhody Run  5K 2012:  22:59.  :)

Oh, man, my blog.  Neglected.  Forgotten.   It's amazing how life fills up my minutes and I no longer have any emotional energy (not to mention time) to write on my blog.    As I've told you before, I love writing on my blog, and I love reading my own blog.  It's weird, I know, but reading my old blog posts comforts me.  I know that girl, and she understands me.  You know what I mean?  She's always on my side.

Anyway....I still haven't shown you the before and after of my armoire, and I'm still not ready to do so.  You know why?  Because right now, it has a filing cabinet shoved up against it, which makes it impossible to get a good picture of it.  And like I've already said, I've become insecure and intimidated by all the professional photography on other blogs.  I can't hang.    So anyway...some day.   I DID (well, Brian, mostly--per my request) however, paint my front door last weekend, and it doesn't have a filing cabinet shoved up against it--so maybe I'll just post pictures of it instead.  We painted it red.  I think I like it.  My house just needed a little lipstick, you know what I mean?  A little color to liven things up during the months of the year when all the flowers are dead.  (Not that all the flowers are dead right now--they're just starting to sprout up again, and I love it.  I love this time of year when my yard becomes pretty again.)

I've discovered a couple of things about myself over the last couple of months.  First, I've discovered that if there is such a thing as being an over-communicator,  I certainly am one.  You know you've got a problem when even your sub-conscience is frequently yelling at you to shut up.  And this has proven to be quite a large problem because as luck would have it, Brian and Camp HATE to communicate anything that isn't absolutely necessary.  No feelings.  No details.  No explanations.  No confiding.  So as you can imagine (if you know me), I have a hard time getting along with them at times.  But after all these years of constantly wanting to "talk it out,"  I'm finally realizing (because Sarah finally set it to me straight) that I just need to stop talking.  Be quiet.  Let it go.  Leave it alone.  Leave them alone, for heaven's sake.  But oh, man.  It's hard for me...    And second, I've realized that it is really difficult for me to ever really set aside the challenging parts of my life in order to just kinda relax and have fun.    I know others who are able to do that quite easily and I admire it.  Those people are always fun, it seems.  Me?  I'm only fun if everything in my life is going super well.  I'm hoping to be fun next year.  :)

So how was everyone's Mother's Day?  I got the nap that I ask for every year.  I didn't, however, get the no-fighting I asked for.  Hmmm...  I'm pretty sure my mom asked for no-fighting every year of my eighteen years under her roof, and I'm pretty sure she never got it either.  Man, I'm so sorry, Mom!  I wish I had done more to show you how lucky I was to have you as my mom...

Oh, and when Brian asked me this year what I wanted for Mother's day, I had told him that I wanted the little trip to Portland that Angie and Erin and I had planned, and that's what I got.  Brian, of course, never hesitates to let me get away when I need it--Mother's Day or not--and I sure love him for that.    And the trip was sooo fun!  We joined Allison on her date (what a sport Elliot was!), spent the night at Angie's mom's house, and then spent Saturday shopping and eating out.  But you know what my favorite part was?  Yep, you guessed it--the talking.  Gulp.

Anyway...

Something that happened with Camp recently reminded me of my brother, Scotty.   My family loves the story of when Scotty was in second grade or so and was scolded in class for talking and not paying attention.  The teacher had demanded that Scotty go to the front of the classroom to share with the class whatever was so important that he had to talk about it.  He obeyed and began reciting the Ten Commandments.  (How many kids do you know that recite the Ten Commandments out loud to themselves during school?  Not Camp, that's for dang sure.  That's not where his story is similar. :) )  This story reminded me of Camp's story because it illustrates a misunderstanding of a student by a teacher.  A couple of weeks ago, Camp came home from school very upset.   I did my best to piece together what had happened with the fragments Camp offered--he detests talking about this kind of stuff, remember.  Apparently, while Camp was in music class, his music teacher had said that if anyone did not want to participate in the music program they were practicing for, they would just do a work packet instead.  She asked if anyone wanted to do a work packet instead.  Camp raised his hand--immediately noticing there were no other hands in the air.  The teacher was disappointed.  She told Camp's regular teacher of his preference to not participate with the rest of the class.  His regular teacher told him he was not acting like a "self-manager."  Camp was mystified, frustrated, and embarrassed.    Lucky for both of us, I finally realized what had happened.  Obviously, the work packet option was not the option Camp's music teacher was expecting anyone to choose.  She had thrown it out more as a threat--kind of like when I say, "You better get in the car right now, or I'm going to leave you, " and my kids just wave goodbye at me.  She did not expect that any kid might actually prefer work packets to performing musical numbers.    Turns out one kid does (and it's the same kid--the only kid--who refused to go up to the stand last Sunday on Mother's Day to sing I Often Go Walking with the rest of the primary kids).  So I called Camp's teacher and explained Camp's point of view and she said she understood and had realized it later as well.  Poor camp--unfairly persecuted for being a worker and not a singer.  I'm kidding.  Looking back, I'll love this story.  But I fear these kinds of misunderstandings happen all the time with me and my kids ...So sad...

Janey will be starting Speech class next year which means that our days of enjoying her adorable lisp are numbered.  Just ask her to give you a cha-cha-cha and you'll know what I mean.  So bittersweet.

Lately, I've felt sad that most of my time with Danin and Skip (while Jane and Camp are at school) has not really been spent with Danin and Skip.  Those same few hours are too often the same ones during which I am cleaning, at the gym, showering, or doing my hair and make-up.  I've felt panicky lately that I cannot remember as much as I want to about when my Sugar was younger and I seem to not have as much of her baby and toddler years on video.  It makes me so sad.  I can't let any more time go by where I am not taking full advantage of my time with her.  I've been trying to do better.  She needs that time.  (I'm not so worried about Skip at this point.  He get's plenty of my attention, but I'll have to be careful to get him on video and stuff, too.)


Guess what?!!  I have a long eyelash!   A real one!  For a while, I just kept thinking how interesting it was that I kept getting a little extra glob of mascara on the same eyelash on my right eye--but nope!  It really is longer than all the other ones.  Sure,  it's only here seasonally since eyelashes are constantly falling out, but it comes back faithfully every go-round, and makes me temporarily one-hundreth of an eyelash prettier.   I need to start planning pictures and special occasions around my long eyelash cycle....

Oh, and I P.R.'d in the Shamrock 5K Run a little while back.  I want to make certain that my posterity knows that at age 33, I ran the Shamrock run in 23:03.  ( Janey completed the entire 5K, too! and after convincing Danin to run in the little kids' race (and then cheering her along the whole length of the race) she was the first to cross the finish line),  I was pretty happy.  Interestingly, I have gotten quicker with time.   While this may be just due to the added experience over time, I think there are a number of other factors at play as well--not the least of which being better running music.  Like I've mentioned before, the music I listen to totally affects my running speed.  And would you know?  Laura and John's Good at Being Bad makes for a pretty decent pace.   Aaaaannnddd....you know what else makes me faster?  The fact that a 36 A flattened further by a sports bra makes for virtually no bobbing and very little wind resistance.   So there you have it--yet another reason to breast-feed.  Brian and I and Camp will all be running in the Rhody Run 5K this Saturday, so wish us luck.  I can't wait to cheer for Camp.


Well, that's about all I can write tonight.  I'll post more pictures soon.

Eleven Years

Well, I wasn't able to finish my armoire doors, so I'm just going to have to share the reveal a little later.  I know--you're on the edge of your seats.  (Humor me, alright?)

And I never got a chance to tell you that my parents and youngest brother, Seth came to visit at the beginning of February.  It was so wonderful!  I hadn't spent time with Seth in like a year and a half, so that was really a treat.  My kids about ran him ragged, but I'm so grateful for his being such a good sport.  What a good kid man he is.  My dad is always really fun company, and I don't have to tell you how much I love my mamacita.  I am so grateful to have had all of them.

Look at THESE beauties!  My kids did our hair like this and then my mom paid me 20 bucks to go grocery shopping like this.  A little uncomfortable, but not too bad :)

Oh, and my boy Skip turned 1!  He is so stinkin' darling.  We all seriously love that boy.   At now 13 months, he has finally started walking and we are all very proud and delighted.

And after about two minutes of trying, Danin started riding a bike without training wheels.  Her little training-wheeled bike had gotten a busted tire, so I picked up another bigger one at Good Will just to give it a whirl.  That is one tough, capable girl, I tell you.  She even learned to get on and get started on her own that very same day and is now riding all over the place everyday.

Aaaannnnd, Brian and I celebrated our 11th anniversary.  Let me tell you about my anniversary.  I had been looking forward to our 10-year wedding anniversary for some time.  I don't really know why...maybe because ten years is a significant milestone, or maybe because 10 years justifies my celebrating by treating myself to some shopping...But whatever the reason, I'd been excited for that 10 year anniversary.  And I know this is super lame, but one of my wishes for my tenth anniversary was to really look good for Brian and to feel like he was still attracted to me and happy with the decision he had made to choose me to be his wife--not that he chose me for my looks; I'm confident he didn't--and not that attraction is what will make a marriage last--we all know it isn't.  But you know what I mean, right?

Well, as fate would have it,  last year was our tenth wedding anniversary and I was not looking my best.  I had just had Skip---enough said;  aaannddd, we were in a fight.  Nice, I know.    So that left this year--our 11th anniversary--to be the year of redemption.    I needed it to be great.

Engagement picture

At some point in January, I was thinking about our upcoming anniversary and decided to get on Allegiant Air to see if there were any screaming deals on flights out of Eugene.  When I saw $29.99 one way tickets to Oakland/San Fransisco, I knew I needed to jump on them.  I'm not a super spontaneous kind of person--so this was a little out of my comfort zone-- but I felt like planning a trip would be a way to show Brian love.   I fear he sometimes laments the fact that he did not choose a funner wife, so this was my way of really doing something crazy and exciting :)  I decided that the only thing that would make an anniversary trip more exciting would be to have Jen and Tim with us, so I called them and asked them if they wanted to go with us.  They are super fun people, so they only had to think for a second before jumping on board.

This was taken right as we were boarding our ship on our Honeymoon

And let me tell you---we...had...so...much....fun.  Oh, my heavens.  It was so wonderful.  We walked around and ate down at Fisherman's Warf; we went to an old penny arcade; we rented bikes and rode all over the presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge and down into Saucilito; we went to a movie; we went swimming; we took pictures in the same location at which they filmed the opening to Full House; we drove down Lombard Street; we visited a science museum and the Japanese Tea Gardens near Golden Gate Park; we ate at a fantastic taco shop down in the Mission District and at In'n'Out Burger at least  a hundred times (or maybe 3 or 4).....we talked and laughed and just enjoyed every minute together.  Man, it is so fun to have friends--another couple--with whom you can feel so comfortable and so relaxed.   Not counting a little freaking out on my part RIGHT at the end of the trip  (after being so good about not worrying so much about money the whole weekend, I totally lost it when I realized how much our rental-car upgrade cost...sigh....sorry, Jen and Tim), the trip really was perfect.   And you know what one of the best parts of it was for me?  I felt pretty!  I felt pretty...  Man, what a treat.    I got up for 4 mornings straight and showered, and did my hair and make-up, and put some real clothes on--and it felt great.  I looked pretty for Brian--or I felt pretty for Brian, rather.  But I'll take it.  I got my silly wish after all.  It was just a year late. :)

These are from a photo booth at the Penny Arcade.  They did not cost just a penny.

Did you know giraffes are my favorite animal?

February Drawing Winner!

I put all of the February dinner suggestions into a hat and had my Sugar Plum draw one out...  And the winner of the Airwick Scented Oil warmers is......KATIE!!  Katie, email me at lac1107@aol.com with your address and I will send the oil warmers on their way :)

Thank you again to all of you who have contributed to my sanity and my family's wellness.  I really do appreciate it!

I'm going out to the garage to finish painting the bottom cabinet doors of the armoire in my room, so later I'll show you the before and afters of that and also tell you about my wonderful anniversary trip!