It inspires this:

As we were getting ready to adopt Luke, there were many preparations to be made. He was our first child. There was the bassinet, the crib, the stroller and car seat, the high chair, the bottles--you know, all the gear. I think I had 5 different showers for him with different friends who were so excited for us. On top of that there was the travel plans to be made. He was in Indiana and we were in remote California. We had to plan flights, time off from work, a hotel, what to bring, what to buy there--it was a little overwhelming. In the back of my mind I knew that she might change her mind. I didn't think she would, we had talked on the phone, flown out to meet her and her parents, emailed, it was as good as any adoption could be. But the reality that she could change her mind was always there.

On top of the plans was the cost. Adoptions are not free--too bad huh. We had saved and saved. When it came to buy plane tickets, we would have to buy tickets open on both ends. We didn't know for sure when he would be born, or how long paperwork for interstate clearance would take. I called all over and the cheapest I could find was $1000 per ticket. I was dying. Europe would have been cheaper. As I was complaining to some friends, another friend overheard me. Sylvia is a friend from church, a grandma, maybe great grandma. She is a wonderful lady, everyone who knows her would say that--so generous and just a good friend and neighbor to everyone she knows. She walked up as I was talking and said, "I need to give you my frequent flier miles. I have too many, I don't know what to do with them. You need them to pick up your baby." (They ended up giving us some sort of gold status which was wonderful!) I didn't know what to say. I was blown away. I offered to buy them from her, but she smiled and said "You need your money for your family, please just take them." Then added, "Maybe you can give me credit in his baby book for helping 'deliver' him," and she laughed.

I can't list all the people who helped us so much with our adoptions. Many are probably behind the scenes and I've never met them. Many might never have met me or the babies they helped. But my heart is so full of gratitude for them. I like to call them our "Special Delivery Storks."

One stork in our story is my good friend Carrie. When her mother-in-law mentioned a sister's granddaughter that needed to place her babies in a loving family, Carrie spoke up and said, "I know someone. They would love those babies. They are great parents and good friends of ours. They are hoping to adopt." She followed the story and filled me in on the details. When it came time for the boys to be placed, she made the connection between us and the birth family. They would not have come home to us with out her--or her mother-in-law, aunt-in-law, or any of the family that worked so hard to care for and love our two little guys.

Miracles happen because of ordinary people stepping up and helping others out. Neither of these ladies sacrificed their homes or their food budget, they didn't even give up a day of their time. They didn't make the whole thing happen, but were one link in the chain that brought us to our boys. They had their hearts and ears open to love and serve. They helped build our family.

Yes, its that time when we begin to consider New Year's Resolutions. This is the first year in a long time when top of my list is not to loose weight, but just continue to maintain where I'm at. My very good friend recommended this book. She lost 25+ lbs. with it just before she became pregnant. She was in amazing shape and had a very healthy pregnancy and delivery. I decided to look into the book. The things I liked about it was it was designed for women, it had different diets based on your body type and nutrition needs, and different work-outs based on your body shape. Essentially it's all tailored to you and what you need. It was all research based, scientific, and healthy. The book was endorsed by Women's Health Magazine. It also has a ton of yummy recipes that fit your new diet.

After starting the diet, I never felt hungry ever - seriously. I also began to feel better and better physically and just generally. The diet allows for cheat days, which are fabulous for parties, holidays and special occasions you just can't stand to be left out on. After your cheat you are ready to return, I found. I have not gained any of the weight back and I haven't been completely following it for 5 months. (I have tried to keep the same healthy habits, I just don't track everything.) I can fit into a pair of jeans that fit me in high school, it's great. I'm not a super model, but I look and feel great. I even have a little definition in my abs that I have never had before.

If you are considering this book, take into consideration that it requires exercise 6 days a week and eating 5-6 mini meals a day. I didn't loose tons of weight, just inches. (Which according to my Physical Therapist a.k.a. husband, means I lost fat and gained muscle.) If you are into looking like Gweneth, this diet is not for you. ( = When I looked for a photo of the book on Amazon, I saw the book listed for under $10.

Tonight at 8 pm Pacific time, turn towards the northwest and blow as hard as you can! Another snow storm is supposed to hit Seattle again tonight. We need to delay it at least 12 hours. Mike's flight is supposed to leave at 8:30 am tomorrow morning, but if the snow hits hard enough, we might not get to be together for Christmas. SO SAD!!

Here's our two favorite houses this year:





Aaron loved the music and light show. We had to let him out of his car seat so he could dance.

When I was young my parents took us (via automobile, no ac complete with pleather interior) to Utah nearly every Summer. We had extended family there on both sides and it just seemed to me that we were returning to our roots--the mother land, like mecca or something. The drive wasn't my favorite, but it was always worth it to see everyone and have so much fun with cousins. On the road, I was always envious of how easy a road side potty stop was for my brothers. For me there was the question of was there a napkin in the glove box? What was I wearing? Was there a bush to hide behind? etc. Never simple.

Mike took Luke camping right around the time we were potty training him. The week after the trip I kept finding Luke peeing on bushes and trees in the yard. When I started freaking out about it, Luke acted as though I was completely out of my mind, what was my problem? Come to find out Daddy had taught him to pee on trees while camping and this was some sort of male bonding ritual that Luke thought was fabulous--sharing his new skill with Dad. Luke is 4 now and I have finally got him clear on the rules of outdoor peeing. 1) Only when there is not a toilet available. 2) Never in a park, school, or public place 3) Not where someone can see what you are doing. But I really can't tell you how many times I have wanted to break those rules. When he really has to go and there's no potty to be found and no one around. Sometimes it's hard to stick to my potty principles.

But then I remember Burger King. It was not long after Aaron and Owen joined our family. I was down south meeting their birth great grandmother for lunch so she could visit them. Luke was 3 and the other two were 15 months and 5 months. We were waiting for great grandma in the playland and Luke had to go. I was loading up the other two and the diaper bag to head back to the restroom. Luke went out the side door of the play land. I could see his head through the window and watched to make sure he wasn't running away. He came right back in as I was still loading up. I said "ok, lets go to the bathroom." He said, "No, I don't need to go anymore." I was glad for the false alarm, it's a pain to take 3 to the bathroom at once. A minute later the manager came back and told me Luke had just peed in the parking lot and upset some of the guests. I'm confident I turned purple. I was so embarrassed! We had a long talk about it and it hasn't happened again . . . or he's just more sneaky about it.

We leave Saturday for California to spend Christmas with my parents. (That's my big Christmas surprise that I have been keeping a secret. I'll post date this post as to not spoil the surprise.) But today I'm wondering . . . How will I tell Luke it's ok to pee on the side of the road if it's an interstate, but not if it's in your front yard or Burger King. And Aaron who is starting to potty train, will he understand all this? What will he think as he sees Luke peeing on the side of the road? Am I shooting myself in the foot here? And is it legal to pee on the side of the interstate? Because I'm pretty sure it's not legal to pee in the Burger King parking lot. What will highway patrol say if they drive by? Could I get a ticket? Should I bring a bottle and try and have him go in that? (Apparently Mike's family has done the bottle thing--yuck!!) Hmmm . . . What label should this post have? urinary dilemmas?

Well, wish me luck. I'm driving 19 hours to Orange County with 3 little boys all by myself. A little crazy, but I'm armed with a DVD player, an arsenal of videos, and a list of 70 McDonald's playlands along the way. Santa's bag is packed and busting with presents ready to be loaded into the sleigh. Hopefully when you read this I will curled up on my moms couch napping while my boys are out back playing with Grandma and Grandpa. ( = I hope my mom is happily surprised and doesn't send me back!! No she'll be so glad to have us.

This year our treat bags contained Fudge and Fruitcake. Very festive.

Here's the recipe and I promise it's good! Forget the "nasty crap" image. Thanks for sharing the recipe with me Emily!!

Cran-Apple Fruitcake

1 C Oil
2 C Sugar
3 Eggs
1 t soda
1/2 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
3 C flour
2 C whole fresh cranberries
2 C pealed and chopped Red Delicious Apples
1 C pecan halves

Cream oil and sugar. Mix in eggs, vanilla and dry ingredients. Add flour cup by cup. Mixture will be thick like cookie dough. Add fruit and nuts. Stir with wooden spoon. (It's a workout) Bake in greased loaf pans at 325 for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 4 small loaves. Doubles, triples and quadruples well.

This year Luke and I made fudge and put it in these cute plastic jars from Dollar Tree. I'm so glad they are plastic, I can send them with him to school and not worry!

When we moved into our house 3.5 years ago, all the walls were all the same color-bone white. I need color like some people need chocolate or new shoes. So I painted the strip above my kitchen cabinets a red color what went with the cherry labels from my old kitchen. It was nice and it spiced up the place. But I've grown tired of it, and you can see my kitchen from the living room, and I just didn't like red to jump out at me while I was in the living room. It seemed to say, "there's dishes in here you need to do" . . . "have you started dinner yet?" . . . "your favorite ice cream in the freezer." It wasn't good.

So here's the before and after shots:

See, it's cute, but it gets old. Trust me.


Unfortunately when I started taking down the cherry crate labels, I uncoverd some water damage from our leaky skylights. It was totally un-noticable unless you were on a ladder up close. So I scraped, mudded and textured the damaged spot. It took longer than a coat of paint, but it had to be done.


Looks better huh.


I left this bowl of cherries, because I just love cherries, and because it's not yelling at me from the living room, it's on a different wall.

The brown blends well with the other brown walls, and is just more restful. Yay! A kitchen makeover for under $15!

One of Mike's good friends sent this to him. I don't want jewelry for Christmas, but this is sure funny!

Don't you love it when you have friends that are motivated, creative and fun? And you get all the benefits and do no work? I love that! My good friend had a cookie exchange for 2 and 3 year olds at her house. Each child brought 6 cookies. Then a plate was made up for each child with an assortment of all the cookies. If anyone else would have planned it, I would have worried, but she always does such a great job. It was good organized fun.

Don't these look yummy? I can't take credit for making any of them. I took a plate of treats home from quilt group the night before and used those for my contribution. I had great cookie making plans, but it just didn't happen. Thanks to all the great ladies at quilt group who saved me from a very late night!
Each child recieved special socks to wear to do their cookie walk. We all sang Jingle Bells and they walked around. When we stopped if they landed on the gingerbreadman, they got their plate of cookies to enjoy.

It took me a while, but I finally came to the conclusion that I need shorter hair. I've had long hair all my life and I like long hair, but unfortunately my biology and lifestyle just don't support it. My fine, thin, whimpy, weak hair is no match for chlorine and I do not have the time (or energy) to try and keep my long hair healthy and looking nice. I considered giving up swimming, but I love it too much and my overall health would suffer. Not good.

So here's the before and after. I really like it and I think I will have short hair for a very long time.

My hair generally looks better than this, but who does their hair before they do to the salon?

Everynight before bedtime all the boys get into Owen's crib and hang out for a while. They all look forward to it all evening, I really don't get it. Someone always gets hurts and cries. If I had to be in the crib with all of them for any amount of time I would be the cryer for sure.

Here's the post Thanksgiving, what do you want for Christmas talk. This is a taste of my evenings with the boys.

Many of you don't know the whole story of Aaron and Owen, and there's really just no way I could tell it here. It really should be a book. But I have to say that this holiday season I am most thankful for Owen. It's not that I don't love the other two, or even that I am not grateful for them, but it's just the miracle of Owen's first year that I am grateful for this season.

We got a call on Wednesday, Sept 5, 2007 at 4:30pm from DSHS. They asked us to come pick up Aaron and Owen as soon as we could. (there's a lot of history behind that call, but it was just that quick.) Mike was riding his bike home from work. I told Delores the social worker at the time, that we would leave after he got home and changed. It was an hour down and an hour back. We arrived home just after 8pm. (again I'm leaving out many details)

I got 1 hour of sleep that night--maybe. Both boys were sick, but Owen especially. He would eat and then cough so hard he would throw up all he had eaten. I had one bottle that he came with and Luke's old bottles were in storage. I went to the grocery store at 1am and banged on the window until they let me in. I almost kissed them as I checked out with my new bottles. All that night I couldn't keep food down him and he hardly slept at all. He was miserable and I was terrified he wouldn't live through the night.

In the morning I called our pediatrician (Luke's) hoping they would accept the DSHS insurance. They did! I took all the boys in first thing. We started round the clock breathing treatments, every 4 hours on Owen. He needed them to be able to eat and sleep. I learned how to work the machine, how to hold him right, the best position for feeding, etc. He was a tricky baby. My very good friend and RS President at the time came with me to the doctors office. She picked up the Rx's and later brought me dinner. I'm not sure what she had planned for that day, but it didn't get done. I never would have made it through that day with out her--and Dr. Pepper. (= My mom came on Friday and stayed the weekend. She was so great. Where would the world be without mothers?

It's been along bumpy road since their arrival. Owen was hospitalized in February for RSV and pneumonia. He was behind in all the milestones at every check up, but each check-up got a little better. Somehow around 10 months old, he just came alive. The Rx's started working and his body began to heal. He started crawling, and sitting and laughing and I guess he just started to feel good. He turns 18 months this Monday. You would never be able to guess the troubles he had. All the times I worried about him, and now he is a typical healthy handsome boy. He's tough and strong, yet tender and sweet. He's just easy to hang out with and play with. He's a teddy bear. He's every mother's dream baby. Just easy, good, and so lovable. I read somewhere that Owen means "mighty warrior." He sure fought to get better and didn't cry as much as he should have.

The other night I was changing him into his pajamas. He leaned over and hugged me. He gives the best bear hugs. I felt his open mouth on my neck, teeth and all. I almost jumped back shell shocked from other's bites in the past. But I didn't because this was Owen and he's never bit me before. He proceeded to give me a big blow fish/raspberry right on the neck, like I have done to him so many times. He pulled back to look at my face, laughing with a big smile--so proud of his new trick. I was cracking up--almost crying. He did it again and again. It was priceless.

Here's a shot of our family the very first Sunday after we received Aaron and Owen. The boys were 3 years, 13 months and 3 months.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, Owen was super sick. His poor face all puffy and his body just limp. I'm sure you can see how tired Mike and I were from the deep dark circles under our eyes.

Here's a video of Owen laughing. It's one of my favorites. He's messy from his lunch, but he has a happy full belly.

This was in July, his curls are longer now, but the laugh is just as wonderful and he still has all his arm rolls of baby fat. And yes, I make a fool out of myself regularly, just to hear his laugh.

People say the boys are so lucky to have us. And I suppose they are. But in my heart I feel so blessed and so fortunate to have them. They have changed my life so much for the better and brought so much life and happiness. This is what I am grateful for this season.

Mike and I come from different back grounds. East coast, West coast; huge family, average size family; oldest child, endish child; older parents, younger parents; male, female; ying, yang; you get the idea. So as every new couple does, you have to figure out how things will be for your family and choose what will work for your little growing family. (We're not really "new" anymore, but the debate on somethings continues.)

When it comes to Santa there was no backing down for me. Instead of bashing or even giving air time to "other" Santa perspectives. I would like to share my own perfect perspective of Santa. ( =

And feel free to pass this post to any hum-bugs or Scrooges that may need to get in the Christmas spirit!

1) Santa is a symbol of selfless generosity. Santa doesn't ask for a list of things in return. He doesn't get his feeling hurt if what you give him isn't as good or as expensive as what he gave you. Santa doesn't have to wait around to see you open the gift so he can receive any thanks in return. He gives just to give. Not for the glory. Isn't that how we all should give?

2) Santa encourages faith and a believing spirit. As a child I knew there were things my parents would never buy me, and there were things that they couldn't buy me. But there was always Santa who just might be able to bring me that one thing that I so very much wanted. Believing in Santa taught me to believe and to hope.

3) Delayed gratification, we all need to learn that. Waiting for Christmas. Gosh, it's just so hard sometimes!! I've kept my big Christmas surprise so far, but it's just killing me!

4) Anyone can be Santa. Have you ever played Santa? I mean really played Santa? It's fantastic. And have you ever received something from someone playing Santa? Equally fantastic. I remember one year growing up someone (or someones) chose our family to deliver the 12 days of Christmas to. As far as I know no one knows to this day who it was. But for 12 nights they brought wonderful things and left them on our doorstep. Sometimes food, sometimes gifts, sometimes decorations, all sorts of very thoughtful nice things. It was obvious they knew us and loved us from the gifts. It was the very best part of Christmas for us that year. And what's nice is they did it just to give, nothing more.

5) Santa is an out for parents. If Santa doesn't bring you exactly what you asked for, it had nothing to do with mom and dad. They still love you and will try to help Santa more with your list next year.

6) Santa is an example of preparedness. He works all year preparing for Christmas. He and his elves plan ahead and are ready when Christmas eve arrives. (An area I could work on myself.)

7) Santa encourages good behavior. Did you know that Santa sends out elves to watch you? They update that nice and naughty list all the time, all year long, right up until the last minute of Christmas eve. And Moms did you know that one phone call to Santa can really turn around some negative behavior? Let me know if you need the number. It's a lifesaver. A conversation with Santa can really impact your little one for the better.

8) One time at a craft fair I saw a little framed art thing. It was very cute, and I wish I would have bought it. Maybe some year I will make my own version and give them away Santa style to spread my Santa message. But anyway, it simply stated:
The 4 phases of Santa:
1) Believes in Santa
2) Doubts Santa
3) Becomes Santa
4) Believes in Santa
I really hope you are not stuck on #2, because #4 is so much more fun.

9) My Mom still believes in Santa. To this day, and it has always been this way, if I am home at my parents for Christmas, Santa does not come until I am asleep. One year I came home married--no boys yet. I thought for sure I would be given an opportunity to play Santa, but no. I heard all the same lines I did as a child and teenager. "Santa doesn't come until everyone is asleep." "The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner he comes." "If you don't believe in Santa, he just might not leave you anything. Your little brother might get more than you do. He's the best believer of us all!" "Just leave the cookies and milk out and go to bed. If you stay up too late he won't be able to come, he'll just fly by." It's a treat to be at her house, you get to be a kid again.

10) Santa gives us all an opportunity to give more. For example:
Mike: "We need to put a limit on gifts this year" He says that every year.
Me: "Of coarse, where are we at? What's the budget?"
Mike: "Well for the boys, lets just see how things go and not get out of control. The down stairs is full of toys already. And if I have to pick up more junk on the back patio . . . "
Me: "And for us?"
Mike: "$50 each. I'm serious Jessica. I don't need more than $50 worth of stuff."
Me: "OK. I can do that. I promise I will stay under $50 for you. " I wait until he looks relieved then add, "But I really can't say what Santa will do. He's a wild card, you know how he loves to give presents."
I'll end that exchange here. ( = It's the same every year. But I know there's a little piece of him growing more and more excited each year for what Santa will bring him. Wait until he sees what Santa got him this year. Even Dad's deserve to be little again on Christmas.

11) The man at Ace Hardware. I see him from time to time all year long. He must live in the area. He is so Santa. Seriously. He has the authentic white beard, the rosey checks, the belly--not too big or over stuffed, he glows all year round. And when children see him, they just get happy--smiling and jumping. It's precious. He smiles and waves. He is the happiest man out there. You can find him at the Ace shopping center every Saturday mid-November until Christmas 10am - 2pm. I asked him about it when I saw him at Dominoes for pizza the other night. Yep, Santa likes pizza. Ask Mike about the year he got to dress up as Santa for a church party. I think it was the highlight of Christmas for him. He loved it. And he was really good. ( =

There are the anti-Santa's out there I know. They believe things like Santa is commercial--really? The Santa I know leaves me things the elves made all the time. He never over does it, he gives me the things I really need and one or two things I really want--things I'll just love for a long time. And the anti's say Santa encourages children to be selfish, but I say he is the greatest example of giving of our day. And then there's the hogwash about lying to your children. There's no lie--Santa is real. And if you've forgotten or started to doubt, perhaps you need to play Santa a little more often. He's alive and well at my house. Stop by Christmas morning, you'll feel the magic. It's wonderful.

Let me know what you think reason #12 is. There just has to be 12, like the 12 days of Christmas. It's my OCD side needing 12. ( = A dozen reasons, it just works better than 11. Twelve is much more the Christmas spirit.

One wants ice cream, one wants graham crackers and frosting. (after dinner of coarse) Hmmm . . . how about homemade ice cream sandwiches? I pulled open the end of the ice cream carton and sliced off a few slabs, two graham crackers later--whalah!

Once when I was much younger, my uncle made a comment about my grandpa that I have for some reason remembered over the years. Perhaps I remember it because it seemed like my uncle was teasing my grandpa--who is one of my most favorite people ever. I didn't understand the comment and it bothered me. I thought about it a lot until I think I figured it out.

The comment was something along the lines of "Grandpa--the man from Sears." At the time I was maybe 10 and I thought that perhaps my grandpa was from Sears the way some people are from Japan. But that didn't seem right, he was born in Utah and I had seen pictures of the house he grew up in and his family. There was no Sears anywhere in the photos. And I was pretty sure they didn't let people live at Sears.

But I came to realize that what he meant was Grandpa frequented Sears. He took his car there, bought his tools there, his clothes, gifts for people, his appliances, it was a store he spent his time and money at. He liked Sears.

I remember in junior high and high school the girls from Wet Seal or Contempo, the boys that spent too much time at Spencer's. Sadly I spent so much time at the mall myself, I knew where they shopped because I had seen the clothes they were wearing at the stores. Where did my free time go?

Today I was thinking where am I from? At first I thought Target, but I don't really like Target. The cashiers there seem to ask weird inappropriate questions about my children too often and their return policy is absolutely TERRIBLE! I shop there mainly because it has what I need and it's relatively close and cheap.

I would have to say I'm the lady from Costco. The people there are super nice, probably because we are so close to Costco headquarters. Target in Minnesota was better. One time Luke lost his precious monkey at Costco. He sleeps with it every night, he NEEDS his monkey. I was in a panic when I told the manager, he was so understanding. He put out an APB to all employees on the radios and soon the monkey was found. All at once every Costco employee was looking for the monkey. A box boy ran it up to the front of the store. Yeah, he ran it.

Did you know you can buy lunch there for your family for $10?

They have hand stamps for the boys as we leave, the carts have buckles and seats for two babies, not just one. Best of all they have what Luke endearingly calls, "snack ladies" wearing bright red vests at nearly every corner giving out FREE samples. The diaper boxes and dog food bags almost last me a full month. They sell everything from designer jeans to dishwashers, to grapes, to fresh flowers. And the cashiers always tell me how cute my boys are and play with they as I pay my bill--instead of asking really, really dumb questions that are none of their business. One time a snack lady told me I was the most beautiful lady she had seen all day. It made my week. I had all three boys with me and a very full cart. I estimated I was pushing about 200 lbs for about an hour that day. Beautiful and strong!

Last year I spent enough there to cover my cost of executive membership. (Please don't calculate how much I spent and tell me, I really don't want to know.) They are not always the cheapest, but usually they are. They carry great quality products and they stand behind them with a great return policy. Yes, I'm definitely the lady from Costco.

Where are you from?

Have you ever tried these?



They are my new favorite lunch food. I can make a chicken quesadilla, a ham and cheese melt, a Caesar chicken wrap, all sorts of things--quick and easy with these great tortillas. I found them at Costco and gave them a try. They have 12 grams of fiber in each tortilla. Seriously, that is a lot of fiber! And fiber is a key ingredient to any healthy diet. Each one has 80 calories, 18g of carbs, 8g of protein, 3g of fat and yes, 12g of fiber. Very filling!

And they are even good! Wish I learned about them long ago. Yum-yum.

What's your favorite diet food?

My sister-in-law Emily makes the best fruitcake ever. I plan to make some for my Christmas treat bags. I'll be sure to post the recipe when we make some. But I'm a little nervous that there is a stigma out there about fruitcake. Perhaps I should call it cran-apple bread and put a label on it.

Have you ever watched Jim Gaffigan? He doesn't like fruitcake. Here's his take on cake. The part about fruitcake is at the end.



If someone gave you fruitcake would you eat it?

Luke decided to take a new approach to writing letters to Santa. It's better to butter up Santa with art work and letters of admiration before you ask for what you want. Smart boy. There is no way Santa will feel unappreciated as he opens his fan mail this year.


Fortunately I was quick enough on my feet to tell Luke that Santa worked out a deal with the mail people and there's no need for stamps if the mail is going to Santa. Otherwise this activity would have used up my roll of stamps!

We are almost through the phase of "everything in the mouth" with our littlest guy. I've given up on digging out dog food. It's just not worth it. Three different pediatricians have told me it can't hurt them and eventually they will think it's just not that tasty anymore. Yes the dog feeder at our house is viewed as a snack dispenser to some. Of coarse I do not encourage this dog chow behavior, I tell them it's gross and nasty--encouraging them to spit ot out. But I don't stick my finger in their mouths to dig it out anymore. If they want to eat it fine.

All 3 musketeers have been so different with how they respond to me sticking my finger in their mouth to dig out whatever it is, rocks, bugs, worms, bark, sand, toys, etc. And these are pretty pure reactions, when you are 12 - 18 months, you are who you are.

D'Artagnan: Willingly opens his mouth then bites down on your finger without warning as hard as he can. Surely you sticking your finger in his mouth is a contest of teeth and jaw strength. He is not going to let you down. He enjoys your reaction to the pain with a big grin making it impossible for you to be mad at him. Afterall, you're the dummy who put your finger in there.

Aramis: Pulls his head back in protest, as if your finger was poison. If you continue to dig for it, he eventually cries as though he has been deeply wronged and invaded. He can turn on the water works and crocodile tears like a faucet.

Porthos: Tenderly tastes your finger hoping that you are serving him a delicious treat that he will enjoy and be so grateful to receive. When he figures out you are trying to get something out, he just looks at you passively like--"why?" or "what?"

It cracks me up how different they are, motives, reactions, perception, everything. They are so good for each other, together they have it all. (One for all and all for one.) Individually they are so unique. I love being their mom, learning from them and helping them learn from each other.

Here is one of Luke's favorite videos, it goes along with the finger biting.

Did you know you can design your own fabric and have it made and mailed to you? Very cool. This is something I need to start considering for future projects. If you want to check it out, click here.

Do you have a problem with teenagers that drive too fast on your street? This may be the answer. Creative German engineering at it's best.

One day at the park he climbed this:

At school he studied this:

For Halloween he was this:

It seems only natural that in his bedroom he would want to build this:Luke came up with this one all on his own. It was actually a really fun project. It's masking tape so it won't hurt the walls or anything. It was easy to connect since it's sticky. I was really impressed at his ability to build such a large 3D structure. He even seemed to know how long to make the tape so it would reach where it needed to go. He also figured out how to reinforce the tape attaching to the walls with another piece set perpendicular. A roll of masking tape is around $3 at Home Depot. This was a great activity for one afternoon and all the additions and maintenance since. I now have to do the limbo (or lets be more honest, crawl) to get into his room, but he loves his new spider world.

You may find this video dull, but I look at it and it's just crazy! This is the neighborhood I grew up in. My parent's house in Orange County, CA is blocks away from were this was filmed. Imagine it's 96 degrees, humidity is less than 5%, it hasn't rained in 6 months, and then the Santa Ana winds start up blowing in gusts of up to 50 mph.

My dad stood on the roof for 2 hours watering it. It's old cedar shake, ripe for sparks to ignite it. Mom said when he came in from watering he smelled like a bonfire. They had to take my 81 year old grandpa to a hotel so he could breathe. All the smoke and ash made him very sick. School was cancelled Monday. School is never cancelled. There's an earthquake and you still go to school to ride the aftershocks. I can't believe it.

I'm so glad my family is safe. And I'm so sad for all those who lost their homes and will have to find another place to spend the holidays and to live while they begin to rebuild. I really just can't believe it. Watching the video made it all too real to me.

So out of the 9 comments I got about the 100th post giveaway . . . I guess shave cream is not that important to most as it is to me . . . the winner is Loralee from Life with the Carey Gang was lucky number 6. Congratulations! I'm betting it will be great for your daughter's sensitive legs. It seems the shave cream found the right home.

For those of you that may be concerned about fairness, I used random.org's integer generator. It was pretty random. ( =

There's a movie we used to watch as kids, my siblings and I. It's a family favorite and we quote it when we are together. It's not a famous block buster, but one of my dad's favorites, that he actually bought and we had on hand whenever there was nothing to watch on TV. Good old VHS version. It's embarrassing to even tell you what movie it is, it's The Man From Snowy River. Anyway, sometimes it's almost a competition between us to see who can squeeze in the most quotes that actually make sense in context. So here's mine for the day, "Here's to the man who sees what is, and to the man who sees what could be . . . " Can you name the scene that is from?? Sad, but I could probably quote the whole scene.

I guess I'm one "who sees what could be." ( = Here's some before and after shots of our gas stove down stairs. Total cost: less than $10, total time: less than 2 hours. My only question is why didn't I do this sooner?

Sorry this picture is a little off kilter. It must be harder to photograph ugly things, because the after shots are tons better.

Our house was built in 1981, I'm not sure how old this thing is, but it's pretty beat up.

You can see the scratches all over from cars, toys, etc. Many were there before we even moved here. And seriously what color is that??? It's really not at all finger print friendly.

The guy at Home Depot talked me into aerosol paint, which scared me. It wasn't too bad, I just had to be careful with the newspaper, I should have used more than this. I ended up scrubbing the brick after. Dried paint blew all over. I would do aerosol again in a heart beat. It's faster and it doesn't have any brush strokes.

If you decide to do this be sure to use heat resistant paint that won't melt, bubble or burn when you turn on the stove. I bought some rustoleum stuff that had a picture of a BBQ grill on front. It also said on the can that it was ok for gas stoves. This paint also had a nice matte finish which I am very happy with.

Isn't this so much better!!
Looks brand new! The best part is I have left over paint that I can touch up with in case someone get creative.

Wow! So much better!!

They did do a Man From Snowy River sequel, the Return to Snowy River, if you can believe that. But unlike my second version here, it's just not as good as the original.

My husband came home late from work two nights ago. He just straight out said, "Well it's official, I have one year left to live."

One year. The reality of one year, just how short that is, sunk in. I guess, at least I know how much time I have left? That means one more Thanksgiving, one more Christmas, one more year of birthdays, one year left to finalize the adoptions if they even let us. They will. Washington is a pretty liberal state and they won't discriminate against single moms. Besides I'm the only mom they know, what else are they going to do? Put them in foster care?

I said to him, "Are you sure you can't live just a little bit longer than one year? You will miss the end of football season next year and bowl games. Plus Thanksgiving next year. You love Thanksgiving."

"Well, I guess I could live a little longer. But forsure I am dying before Valentine's 2010."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by his announcement. He's been telling me for the last few years, "I'm too old for this." and "My body just can't take anymore." He has lived quite a bit--for a 33 year old. And there is the fact that the roof started leaking--again, the car goes into the shop tomorrow for many repairs, and the washing machine died on Tuesday. (Merry Christmas!)

Usually my response is "You had better live at least 20 more years--long enough to get the boys raised and out the door. There is no way I am taking on 3 teenage boys alone with no back up." His response is, "You can always remarry. Besides you'll have my life insurance money you can hire someone to knock them around if you need to." (Not sure about that policy due to the current economy) I follow up with, "If you die now, you'll have Eternal bitterness to face in the next life--because that is what I will be B-I-T-T-E-R, if you die in the next 20 years. Twenty more years Mike, you can and will do it."

I ask him, how will you go? Cancer, rare disease, heart attach, will it be long and painful? Suffering or will it be quick and abrupt? He tells me he's hoping for a heart attach and instant death. We agree, that's the way to go. Bring on the saturated fat, with a side of trans fat. That ought to do it.

I have explained to him many times that he better avoid anything that might cause an early death. This includes dangerous activities like cliff jumping, dirt biking, train dodging, etc. He says things like "What if I get hit by a bus?" I say, "What were you doing in the street with a bus coming? Seriously Mike, PAY ATTENTION!" There are the health issues I keep on him about too. Get enough sleep, remember to eat, and eat right. (Do you have to remind your husband to eat?? I NEVER forget to eat, it's a gift I have.) Don't exercise too much--he is addicted to exercise. Those are his biggies. Eat, sleep--and I can't forget--relax. He needs to relax more--it's a type A thing.

You know the great thing about this one year deadline--haha--deadline, is that I can say things to him like "you know you only have one year left to live, you really should make time for . . . " or "You really need to get _____ done, that's not something you want to leave your poor widowed wife to do while she is raising 3 boys all alone." That's what I will do. I will look at the bright side--guilt and manipulation.

This is the sort of twisted talk that Mike and I have in the evening after the boys go to bed and we feel like there is nothing left in us--no more will left to push on with. The message is we fear loosing each other more than we fear death. It helps us realise all over again how much we really need each other and how much we depend on each other for so many things. Especially a good laugh.

There's always the secret lovers we each have, that's a good laugh. But I'll save that one for another day.

Mike and I just got the biggest Christmas surprise present. It's so huge and exciting I just want to tell someone, of coarse I want to blog about it because it's so great for so many important people. But I can't, what if someone actually reads by blog and then the surprise is ruined. That's no fun. Dang it! I will just have to bite my lip from now until Christmas!!

BTW, have you checked out Tip-Junkie? They have tons of giveaways everyday for 12 days.

So I exercise regularly and have for some time. But I have reached the plateau boredom phase. There are no races coming up, baking bread and sleeping in sound better, there's nothing new at my gym, etc.

So Haze and I went this morning to a master's swim team. Wow. It was so fun! They are really serious swimmers. It was similar to the master's team I swam with in Minnesota, but this pool has fewer lanes so you have to keep up with your lane, everyone is named Paul, and the coach is just like "Brooks" from Shawshank Redemption. (A movie I saw back when I still did R)

It's been a long time since I've done a set of IMs or even paid that much attention to the clock. I'm tired!! There were 4 lanes, slow (like geriatric slow), medium, fast, and Olympic turbo. We did medium and it was a perfect push for me. I've got room to move up--maybe someday. Today I'm tired. ( =

But I wasn't bored, and I can't wait for our next practice! Thanks Haze for scouting it out and getting my butt back in the pool. We will be all set for the races next summer!

I just went to publish comments and I accidentally rejected one. I can't get it back, does anyone know how to do that? It was from a nice person I don't know--Nicole from either Phoenix or Dayton? So sorry!

Remember this ugly thing my Mike and boys got rid of?











Well, drum roll please . . . tah-dah!!! It's all done!

Isn't it gorgeous? I love it. Every attention to detail. All the angles are perfect. It's just as I dreamed it would be.

No longer does my deck sag! It's perfectly level and it doesn't move at all when you walk or jump!
Trevor suggested we miter off the edges so the water can easily drain off. He also suggested the stairs be slightly off from level, so gravity helps drain the water off. Is he from the Pacific Northwest or what? He knows his stuff. The steps dry quicker than the cement and they are not at all slippery when wet. What I should be showing are pictures of my injuries from slipping and falling on the old deck. This flip flop wearing California girl was not meant for rain. ( =
The boards are spaced out slightly more so that all the pine needles drop through nicely and don't get stuck. This may seem like it doesn't matter, but pine needle build up on you deck is just ugly.

Thanks guys!! I am so happy!

Ok, so not much variety today. This is my 3rd giveaway post in a row, but this will be my last for a while. (unless I just can't help myself) Have you ever been to Barefoot Mommies? They advertise for Etsy shops. It seems everyday they have at least one giveaway. You just leave a comment and then they pick a winner from the comment list. It's kind of fun and very addictive. If you've never seen Etsy it's a great place where people sell homemade stuff. I really like original unique custom things, and Etsy is a great place to find them. This pendant comes from Grey Cat Creations who is currently doing a giveaway on Barefoot Mommies. You might want to check it out. They have lots of cool pendants.

So I'm a relatively new blogger. I just started this year. I must say I really like it. It's a great way to keep in touch and there are a lot of cool blogs out there with some really neat things posted on them. I've been inspired by some, laughed at some, and learned some neat tricks of the mom trade. I've learned some fun things about layouts and html stuff too.

I saw this giveaway on Tip Junkie. A very nice lady is giving away a custom quilt in behalf of her neighbor who donated her bone marrow. The cool part is she is letting you choose the colors and she will sew them into the design. She made a similar quilt for her neighbor in honor of her sacrifice. Isn't it nice to hear about nice people that do nice things just because? Wow. So nice. If you want to enter to win the quilt check out her site. Fellow quilters from quilt group, this is a great Valentine's Day design for us to consider.

This is one of my best ideas ever. Luke loves to cut with scissors. So I give him the recycle bin with all the junk mail in it. I bought him a child size pair of scissors and it's hours of free entertainment. He cuts out the produce, the houses in the real estate guide, all sorts of things. Luke wins, the environment wins, and I win, Luke is happily busy. ( = So far only the dogs and one stuffed animal have received an unwanted hair cut.