Grossology

Reality TV & Me

2011-07-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Things I love (besides my family), serving in the community, hanging out with teens, reality tv, good food. How lucky am I that today I got to combine all these things and end up with a fun filled day! A little known factoid about me; my minor in college (yes, I had a major AND minor regardless of those nightmares I have where I have yet to graduate) was Youth Service Administration, so basically along with all the biomechanics, kinesiology, A & P, and Math that I took, I also took classes in how to plan, program and operate events. Fun stuff!! So, while it's been a few years since I've used my major (Kinesiology) I am super fortunate to have a job where I use my minor.
Today a group of us from our church's youth group headed into Seattle to the Union Gospel Mission, where we were fortunate enough to be allowed to serve lunch. It's so amazing to me that while we go to "help" those "less fortunate" we're the ones who end up being blessed. I also love watching the teens serving and helping with such enthusiasm! I have an awesome job and get to spend time with awesome teens!
Where does the reality tv fit into all this? I love, love, love Man vs Food, although, watching it always makes my hungry! I saw the episode in Seattle and decided then and there I needed to go to Beth's Cafe. So after we served lunch we headed over to Beth's Cafe, and I think Marissa summed it up best when she said, "My omelet is like a yummy fluffy pillow". We did not, individually, partake in the 12 egg omelet challenge, 5 of us shared in the sheer deliciousness of it. Not going to lie, as I'm writing, I'm thinking man that was one good omelet - when can I go back?!
While I'm reflecting on the people we served today and the sheer deliciousness of the food, I can't help but be thankful for a wonderful day (AND it was sunny to boot!).

Group in front of Beth's Cafe

Extreme Couponing, or Beginning Stages of Hoarding

2011-06-26T05:56:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love shopping, and one thing that I love even more than shopping is getting a good deal. When I saw there was a show called Extreme Couponing I new it was right up my alley! But here is my question - what is the difference between extreme couponing and hoarding? Is it that everything purchased is a good deal, or maybe because it's "stockpiled" neatly? Maybe because they have plans to use what they buy? Which leads me to the question, when do you know you have enough? I mean, how long will it take a family to go thru 500 bottles of body wash, and at what point in time do you say, shoot we're getting low on body wash, only 200 bottles left, time to start stockpiling again.

I think companies are loving the show and using it to their advantage (that and our love of consumerism) - think about how many store adds you see now where you can mix and match for a better price, or buy 4 boxes of cereal and get $1.00 off. I went to the grocery store the other day to get milk, and they had a special buy 4 of a certain type of yogurt and get free milk; so I'm thinking sweet, milk is what I'm here for, so I started selecting my yogurt flavors only to stop myself and think, "I'm willing to spend $8.00 on yogurt that may or may not get eaten, to get a gallon of milk that would otherwise cost me $2.50". I put the yogurt back, but it was hard to do, because I thought I was missing out on such a great deal!

There are somethings that I will buy in mass quantities (although to me that means 10 at the most), when they're on sale. Goldfish - yep, Capri-Sun lemonade - a staple for my boys, toothpaste - something we use everyday, soda - of course. But the other day I opened my pantry to get out cereal and thought oh my word we have too much food in here! I could never be an extreme coupon-er because for me it'd probably look a bit more like hoarding, which is one show I can't watch because all that stuff gives me anxiety!!

So where do you find the balance in spending to save and knowing when is enough? These are the questions that wake me up at night. How am I a good steward with our money; making sure I am taking care of the family but also being generous with the resources God has given us?

Oh, the paper is here! Time to look thru the sale ads!

Men are from Mars and Women Aren't and other Gender Related Issues

2011-06-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

I know that's not technically the title of that popular book that came out years ago, that was all the rage, giving us Scientific evidence that men and women are different. Glad someone cleared that up, because it was confusing me!
Those of you that know me well, know we're not a family big on "gender roles". If women want to work outside the home, fine by us! I'm, actually, very thankful for those women who have diagnosed my sick kids, and those who have faithfully and lovingly given them a quality education.
Feel free to quote verses at me night and day giving me your Biblical perspective/interpretation - I know them all! I went to a VERY conservative school growing up, where when women got married, they could no longer work at the school - except for my Kindergarten teacher, maybe because her kids were grown, I don't know, never really thought about that until now...
Anyway, I digress...
I have friends that stay home, and friends that work, and choose not to judge them or their decisions. I have been fortunate to have a job that lets me put family first, and I'm able to drop my kids off every day at school and (most days) pick them up. Over the years I have had many "professional" aspirations, but I've always known I wanted to be a wife and mom.
Now, while we don't have the stated "roles" in our house, we do have unspoken "understandings". I plan the meals, do the majority of the shopping and cleaning; if it's inside the house, I (mostly) take care of it; if it's outside I consider that Adam's domain. Lawn needs to be mowed - Adam, windows need to be washed - Adam, deck needs to be stained - Adam, dinner needs to be BBQ'ed - Adam.
Which leads me to tonight's dilemma - Adam is out of town (country to be exact) and the boys wanted burgers and I wanted a steak. Now, not getting married until I was 29 has also taught me to be somewhat independent, but BBQ'ing is not something I've ever done. I can start the grill, but once it's time to put the meat on, I'm clueless! And we all know steak cooked in the oven is just not as good! I'm kind of proud of myself - I went to the store, bought the meat, sucked it up and asked the guy behind the counter how the heck to BBQ. You know - didn't turn out too bad - ok the boys burgers were a bit burned, but what with my fear of e-coli and all, my motto is you can't cook burgers too much, and while my kabob was a bit more done than usual it was pretty good!
Will I make this a habit - no. Do I want you to come over and teach me to mow my lawn - no. Am I looking forward to my husband re-entering this time zone and coming home - yes.
But for now I'm glad I had a good dinner!

Stop "Shoulding" Yourself

2011-06-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

This morning when I stepped on the scale (a daily habit that I should probably break), I thought, "I've should start eating better again". Then I went downstairs to let George out (the dog, lest you think I'm practicing poor parenting) I looked at my treadmill and thought, "I should really use that thing more often". The other day I started a blog for Thornley and thought, "I should probably post something on my own blog". So while I was drinking my coffee this morning, I was remembering a conversation Adam and I had where he said we really need to stop "shoulding" ourselves. I was also recalling something I heard at church and I'm not sure if it was Adam or this past Sunday, but the thought of just wanting something isn't enough, you actually have to DO it. Wanting to follow an eating plan, wanting to use my treadmill, wanting to post on my blog, wanting a clean house (my list could go on, believe me) isn't going to happen by moping around wishing and "shoulding". I actually have to decide to do something about it.
Part of my problem is I look at other people's blogs and think, "They're so creative, I could never do that", or, "They're such a good writer; if I wrote like them, maybe someone would read my blog". Then the verse, that I so often have to remind myself of whilst the shoulds are taking over, comes to mind, "...you are fearfully and wonderfully made". So while I may not be as creative, or as funny, or as skinny, or as in shape (again, my list could go on) as the majority of people out there, I AM wonderfully made by God, which is something to be proud of.
I am also a firm believer in leading by example, one of my favorite verses being, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps". Perhaps a bit out of context, but if I want my kids to be healthy, to enjoy the outdoors, to take risks and be creative, I need to show them how, lead by example and encourage them.
Here is hoping for more doing and less wishing and shoulding!

When I think Pride is OK

2010-01-24T18:30:00.000-08:00

You hear it preached how wrong pride is, how pride goes before a fall, etc, but I feel like pride is ok when you realize it has absolutely nothing to do with us, and everything to do with God. This weekend was a big one for the Andersons! Adam was in Denver at our denomination's mid-winter conference and was being interviewed for ordination. This has been something he's been working towards for about 13 years, and finally he's been recommended for ordination! He will be ordained in Word and Sacrament this June in Minnesota. It will be a time of celebration for our family! My parents were here this weekend and we were planning our trip. I'm excited and I'm very proud of him, fully acknowledging it has nothing to do with me, and frankly not a whole lot to do with him, but mostly how God has been working in Adam's life oh these many years that this goal has been in front of him.

The boys were baptized today, which was super fun! Adam has been preaching on John the Baptist and his work preparing the way for Jesus, so Adam and his ministry leader (and more importantly his friend) felt God calling them to have our first baptisms at E(x)tol. The boys have been asking about baptism for a while, so it was a sweet moment for our family to have Adam's first baptisms be of our boys. I was proud of both our boys and Adam as well, again, fully realizing it has nothing to do with us but everything to do with God's working in their lives.

Another very precious moment was our friend reaffirming her baptism and her son being baptized. So amazing to see God's work!

There is a video on facebook on Ncc Extol's page if you want to check it out. Otherwise here are a few pictures.

Trying to find the Silver Lining

2010-01-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

I was going to say, "Life is what you make of it", but I don't think that's totally true. I think life is what we let God make of it, and how we choose to react to it. I was thinking today at church that I can either choose to let situations get me down and continue to flounder around, or I can realize God's given me a pretty good life and instead of having a pitty party, I need to CHOOSE to look at the bright side. My friend, Andrea, is GREAT at this; whenever she is telling me about something that could bring her down, she laughs and says, "...but what can you do about it". I love that!
My kids have been driving me crazy. Just plain crazy! Today has been a better day, for which I am thankful. I need to be thankful that I have to (somewhat) happy, healthy kids; not all of my friends can say that, so while they're throwing tantrums and making me say bad words in my head, I need to see them as the blessing God intended them to be (not going to lie - easier said than done).
My husband is going to be gone 4 out of 5 nights this week, and for our 10 year anniversary we'll be going to Thornley's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. I know, it's how everyone wishes they could celebrate a decade of marriage - last year they at least had pizza, hopefully this year we'll be so lucky! My husband is gone because he is blessed to have a job that he loves, that he is good at. I need to be thankful that he's only gone for the evening, and while it's hard at times especially at bedtime for the boys, he's not off fighting in the war like some people's husbands (regardless of what you think about war, you've got to be thankful for those that serve).
Our house, which I so lovingly refer to as the "half-ass house" because that's the kind of job the previous owner did on the house; is a house. That we own. Sometimes I feel it's too big, and hard to clean, but we have a house, with running water, heat, food in the refrigerator and clothes in the closet (and all over the laundry room floor).
I would love to be more like my friend, Andrea, and be able to laugh and say, "Well, what are you going to do". Because maybe, just maybe I shouldn't be praying for God to change my situation, but to change ME in my situation. Maybe I should start looking for the silver lining as opposed to the constant cloud cover!

Meghan's "Real" Math

2010-01-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

2 children + 2 nights with babysitters + not enough sleep = a long day!

Oh my goodness! The first week back at work/school has been a long one!

On Tuesday night my friend's son, Kyle, watched the boys - a good time had by all.
On Wed night our friend Janet watched the boys; they made 2 cakes and had a great time.
On Thursday and Friday we stayed up a little too late, which led to a long, tantrum filled day!

We went to the craft store so I could use a coupon and get some scrapbooking stuff to start my Project 365 album (9 days in, and I've only forgotten to take a picture one day - that's pretty good for me), and Thornley and Adam needed to get some stuff for Thornlely's Pinewood Derby car that "they" are making tomorrow. I met a friend and her son at the store and showed them what they needed so her son could make a scrapbook of their recent trip. I don't know what transpired between the men in the family, but when we get in the car Thornley says to me, "I bet if you had known how today was going to turn out, you would have reconsidered marrying daddy. He's just mean." I think 7 is too young to explain to Thornley that had I NOT married Adam, Thornley wouldn't be around. I'll save that conversation for another day.

Bedtime came early, and I can only hope that for all of us tomorrow is a better day!

I'd love to post something fun and happy, but you know me, I like to keep it real!

The Simple Life

2010-01-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

Wasn't that the name of Nicole Richie & Paris Hilton's show a few years back. That is soooo how I would describe myself right now; drinking a glass of 2 buck Chuck, typing on my 5 year old computer, lamenting about my husband's 10 year old car that wouldn't start last night and is in the shop, but they can't find anything wrong with it. Yes, Nicole and Paris, I'm right there with you!
I've always wanted to live a "simple life", and am wondering how that is possible while living in such a consumeristic place like we do. I'm not talking Laura Ingalls, go out and get my eggs from the chicken and milk from the cow so I can make breakfast (although, some days I'm so ready to throw on the calico and braid my hair), but more along the lines of how do we enjoy the simple things in life with all the madness going on around us? How do we sit back and relax, when there is always so much to do?
Adam and I (well, mostly just me, Adam kept leaving the table because of a migraine) were invited out to dinner the other night with a bunch youth pastors from the area, and I was sitting at a table with a newly engaged couple that were going on and on about the way things were going to be when they got married. And while it was fun to listen to and reminded me of Adam and I back in the day, I found myself being somewhat cynical, thinking, "Sure, that's what you THINK things are going to be like, but reality is so much different". Then I got to thinking, is it really, or do we just sometime sell out because it's easier?
Last night at youth group Adam was talking about life being a mess and living a life of obedience to God, even though we don't always get it. During our small group time one of the girls said, "Being obedient sucks sometimes", and I couldn't have agreed more! Why is it so hard to do what we're supposed to do, instead of what we think we want to do? Why is it so easy to sell out and go with the flow?
So maybe there is my answer, the simple life is like the obedient life; it's not always the fun option to choose and it doesn't always make sense, but in the end I'll look back and be alot happier for choosing that path.
Not going to lie, I will still continue to wrestle and struggle with this, because sometimes the over the top, the new and the flashy LOOKS like it's more fun!
Oh, and the problem with the car is a part under warranty - so yay! Other than renewing AAA so we didn't have to pay for the tow, it won't cost us a cent!

Things that make Meghan Cry

2010-01-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not known to be a big crier, or at least before kids I wasn't known as a big crier. But there are a few things that make me cry, always, no matter what.
Survivor videos from home. I remember watching Survivor Australia in our living room in Idaho and they got videos from home and I sat on the couch and cried and cried. I'm sure I was home alone, bawling because these people were seeing videos of their loved ones from home.
Biggest Loser Finale. Just discovered this show two seasons ago, and I always cry at the finale. Don't know what it is, but the whole before/after transformation gets me every time.
Graduations. No matter what, I cry. I cried when Thornley "graduated" from Kindergarten, and it was just a silly 15 minute ceremony in class.
Confirmation. Every year on confirmation Sunday, there I am, listening to the 8th graders testimonies crying.
Baptisms. Whether I know the people or not, I cry. This summer I was visiting a church and it was baptism Sunday; I knew not a soul in the building and I sat there and cried.
Hmmmm...maybe I do cry alot and I'm just in denial.
Adam is planning E(x)tol's first baptisms, so I asked the boys if they wanted to be baptized. They asked if they had to be dunked in the lake and we said no, it was just sprinkles on Sunday at church, and here are their responses...
Me, "Thornley, do you want daddy to baptize you?'
Thornley, "In the lake, heck no."
Me, "No, just at church, this is what he'd do (proceeded by me showing him how you "sprinkle" baptize), all you have to do is say that you've asked Jesus to live in your heart. Does Jesus live in your heart?"
Thornley, "Duh, of course he does mommy, remember?"
Although, Thornley does not like being in front of people, so this is stressing him out a little. I assured him that E(x)tol is very dark, so he won't really be able to see too much. He's looking forward to it (I think).
Jack rounds the corner, so I say, "Jack, do you want daddy to baptize you?"
Jack, "Yah, sure, that sounds good."
End of conversation.
So if I cry when random unknowns are baptized, you might want to buy some stock in Kleenex before the weekend of Jan. 24th!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

2010-01-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

First day of the alarm waking me up, first day back at school, first day back at work; yes, we're back to life as usual and we're back to reality...
Reality TV that is. In just a short bit of time I will be laying on the couch and watching the new season of The Bachelor, and tomorrow night one of my new favs - The Biggest Loser.
But for now, it's time to get lunches and snacks packed and ready to go, because wow it's painful when the alarm goes off so early!

Best of Both Worlds

2010-01-02T15:32:00.001-08:00

No, not in a Hannah Montana sort of way, although I am thankful my niece keeps me up to date on what's going on in the pre-teen world! Sometimes I am very sad that I don't live by my parents, and don't get to see them as often as I'd like. But, I also like to consider myself very fortunate that I not only was born into a great family, but I have a great church family as well. Seriously, the knowledge I glean from friends is invaluable (thanks Andrea & Janet).
Sometimes it's easier to learn from people you AREN'T related too, which is why I'm excited that I have friends who know how to cook and sew that are willing to impart their knowledge on to me :) (again, thanks Janet!)
I'd like to learn to live a "simpler" life, and be more "homemade and crafty". I truly am jealous when I see things people make and I think I could NEVER come up with anything that creative!
My first mission - tea towels. Lame and simple, yes, but really I do know my limits and abilities! The material came today, and I'm kind of excited about it!

New Year, New Ideas

2010-01-01T19:36:00.001-08:00

It's only day 1 of the new year and already I'm thinking, "Nah, I don't need to blog, I've got nothing to say". Well, nothing exciting that is - I always have something to say :)
Today I did my annual scrapbook day with some girlfriends, a tradition started years ago when we would hit our local haunt - The Bee's Knees, for their all day New Years crop. Sadly, TBK is no more, but the tradition continues, so today I loaded up my car with all my scrapbook paraphernalia and headed over to Cori's for a day of scrapping fun.
My oh so crafty, love her scrapbooks friend, Michelle, told us about a project she's been working on. Last year she committed to Project 365 which is where you take a picture a day and journal about it. She showed me her (super cute - I'm jealous) album with the fun pictures and stories about life at her house. What a fun idea! So this year, I decided along with blogging more, I'm going to try that out.
That got me to thinking, how often do I just go day to day trying to get thru one day and on to the next. I thought this might be a good way to make me stop and think about our day - the good and the bad - and remember life in our family.
If you think this sounds fun and want more info, here is the site http://www.beckyhiggins.com/projectlife
Adam is getting the dad of the year award because he's taking the boys to do super fun stuff this week! I think he's making me look bad - although, I did take them to Chuck E Cheese AND Family Fun Center. He and the boys spent the morning at the aquarium (membership already paid for itself - yay) and the afternoon at the zoo. I'm so glad my kids like that kind of stuff and that Adam is patient enough with them to let them look and explore and enjoy - not just get from one exhibit to another!
And on a total side note, what's with the Pac 10 and Bowl games this year - dang!
See, I told you I always had SOMETHING to say!

New Year's Resolution

2009-12-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

Does anyone still check my blog? I don't blame you if you say no. It has been a while since I updated! With the New Year starting tomorrow a bunch of people in Facebook land have been asking who is making resolutions and what they are. Mine is sort of general, but if I follow thru will actually encompass quite a bit. I want to be more disciplined in the coming year: you know, setting my alarm and actually getting up, saying, "I'm going to do _____ today" and do it, oh and ACTUALLY updating my blog! Sometimes I feel there aren't enough hours in the day, but maybe, just maybe if I say I'm going to try to live a disciplined life I will find a bit more time to do the things that I want/need to do!
Must go drink some caffeine if I have any HOPE of staying awake for the New York New Year I told the boys we could celebrate together!
Happy New Year!

Are We Turning into THAT Family?

2009-09-17T16:38:00.001-07:00

We always said we wouldn't sign our kids up for this, that, and the other: every season a different sport, swim lessons, piano lessons, art lessons, blah blah blah..., especially since the boys are only 5 and 7, and I refuse to pay good money for an activity until they are able to really understand what they're doing and retain the information.
That being said...
The first week of school Jack brought home a brochure from Bellevue Park and Rec, and after looking thru it, we decided to sign Jack up for indoor soccer lessons. It's once a week, for 45 minutes, on Tuesdays while Thornley is still in school. I think it will be good for him, especially when the rain starts! He seems excited - he is the sports lover, so hopefully this will be a good experience for him. I do refuse to become soccer mom, who has to refinance our house to pay for year around soccer teams, but for now, it should be something special and fun for him.
Thornley has no interest in sports of any kind, so we decided to sign him up for piano lessons. He went for his introductory lesson yesterday and really liked it. He has early release on Weds, so Adam was able to get him a lesson right after school, and will take him; which is perfect because I don't have early release on Wed, and otherwise he and Jack just hang out with me and teach my class important stuff like how to arm fart.
Hopefully, we won't turn into that family that has a list a mile long of all the things they "have" to do on any given day because of all the activities their kids are signed up for! First of all because we can't afford it, and second of all because I've been convicted more and more lately that they're only kids once so they need lots of time to just be a kid and use their imaginations and PLAY!

Christian-ese

2009-09-03T16:52:00.000-07:00

Give me a moment while I hop up on my soapbox - yes, it's a nice view from up here, testing - one, two, is this thing on...

You know, kind of like Chinese, but it's the language Christians speak.

I went to a VERY conservative high school (Eagle Pride, baby, Eagle Pride), so I am fluent in Christian-ese; you had to be, or you couldn't get your diploma; really, you could smoke and drink as long as you were off campus, but if you knew the lingo you were golden. Which may be why I'm having these issues as of late. You know I am addicted to facebook, LOVE IT, and have reconnected with many friends from high school, which leads me to this post.

I logged on to check out what all of my "friends" were up to, and I read this status update, "Praise God for He is faithful to those who love Him..." this person is referring to a mutual friend whose baby is sick, apparently he (the baby) is responding to treatment and doing better. But my question is this, isn't God faithful to ALL of us, it is US who are lacking in faith? And what about the gal who played basketball on the team I coached (low those many years ago), who also has a child in the hospital that will most likely die - does she NOT love God, and is He not being faithful to her?

Maybe the solution is I shouldn't spend so much attention to facebook, but still, I wonder, how do we communicate our faith and relationship with God without being all holier than thou and totally offending and alienating those who don't share our beliefs. If this is annoying to me, imagine how those who have a different view/opinion of God would feel about comments like this.

Stepping off the soapbox now. Thank you, I'm here all week...

Lunch Date

2009-09-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

Day #3, and we're still liking school! What a difference a fun teacher and a best buddy in the same class makes. Or maybe, just maybe, Thornley is growing up...
Yesterday was Tuesday (obviously), and I had told Thornley I would have lunch with him. I told him this, not because he was an emotional stressed out wreck, yelling and screaming all the way into class, like last year, but because he asked, "Mommy, will you come have lunch with me?". It was a bit of a pain logistically speaking, as Jack gets done with school at 11:45, and Thornley's lunch isn't until 12:15, but I figure, there will come a day when he doesn't want me anywhere NEAR the cafeteria, so I'll take him up on the offer while he's still excited to see me and maybe, just maybe, on a good day, even admits to liking me.
Jack is liking Kindergarten, is thrilled to be learning Spanish, and ecstatic that he had homework tonight.
I realize we're just three days in, and still in the "honeymoon" phase (although, last year three days in was pure hell, so, so much for that theory), so I refuse to tell myself we're going to have a good year. Although, I tell the boys all the time it's going to be a great year!
Walkathon coming up - let me know if you want to sponsor my people!

First Day Hurray!

2009-08-31T19:59:00.000-07:00

I won't brag or boast, because who knows what tomorrow brings, but so far so good on the school front! I am exhausted, and so are the boys, but they enjoyed their first day of school, which makes life so much easier on the home front. Thornley must really like his teacher, he actually did his homework before I asked, AND read in Spanish!
Jack was so cute, grown up and serious (so NOT Jack) waiting for his class to start. He said school was a bit boring (sound familiar Andrea?), all they did was practice lining up and sitting correctly at circle time - all important aspects of school I told him. Perhaps tomorrow they will learn some Spanish and get homework (something else he was upset about, so I made up homework for him).
Thornley is GIDDY about school, his best friend is in his class which right there makes for a good school year. He tried to complain, but in the end admitted that his teacher is fun and funny and he likes her.
What a difference a year (and a lot of prayer) makes! Hoping for continued success and a fun year!

Hola Kindergarten

2009-08-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

Tonight Jack had his "meet the teacher" for kindergarten, he was SOOOOOOO excited. Even Thornley wanted to go along to see his room and show him the ropes of actually GOING to school at Puesta, not just hanging out in the library and lunch room, although, Thornley asked me if we could go in the office and ask who HIS teacher was going to be - a bit of anxiety going on as he won't find out until tomorrow or Friday. Heaven forbid we find out too much in advance lest all us angry parents storm the office demanding our children switch classes - seriously people, help the anxiety ridden youth out!

But I digress...I like Jack's teacher, I think she'll be a great fit for him - sweet, friendly, but no-nonsense get down to business type. I'm trying to be fair since I ADORED Sra Bier; I'll give this one a fair fighting chance and assume the best. jack went in, introduced himself, found his seat and sat thru her "presentation" where she explained what goes on during a "typical" day at kindergarten. She talked a lot about picking up and dropping off and the bus schedule, perhaps this is why, when at the end when she asked for questions Jack raised his hand and asked, "If our parents forget what time school starts, well, what do we do about that?". Dear, sweet, Jack, I love you, but believe me, I'd never FORGET to take you to school! I was proud of him though for raising his hand and asking a question.

He's excited, and so is Thornley, although he'd never admit it. This is the day I've been waiting for - both my boys in school every day, and yet, it makes me sad at the same time. They're getting so big...sigh...

With this ring, I...

2009-08-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

...become a ring bearer.

The boys did such an amazing job on Saturday! They looked so handsome in their outfits, they didn't complain once about being hot (until after the ceremony and then Jack couldn't get his tie off fast enough), walked down the aisle no problem, passed the rings off to the appropriate people, and even - get this - SMILED for the pictures, yes ALL of them. I guess going to all those wedding with me paid off, because they were like professional ring bearers. I think I may hire them out; if I meet with a bride and she doesn't have a ring bearer, I may offer my boys - for a small fee.

Thornley wanted nothing to do with watching the K-I-double S!

We interrupt your _______________

2009-07-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

I have a few guilty pleasures, and those of you who know me know one is reality tv, and one is my love of People/Us/whatever kind of magazines Erin brings me. I must also admit, I have read both of Tori Spellings books. Love them, she is hilarious! I finished reading both of them while we were in Maui, and perhaps she has inspired me to write a book of my own to my children. Some things I would tell them...

It shouldn't surprise you that when the two of you play tag team wake mommy up in the middle of the night, so I sleep for two hours am awake for two hours and then sleep two more hours before you wake me up for the day, I am not going to be in a good mood. I know you don't have a clock in your room, and you've asked for one, but especially in the summer, if the sun isn't up yet, you shouldn't be either. Just saying...

The bathroom door is shut for a reason, and when I say I'll be done in a minute, I'll try to hold true to that promise. You banging on the door and yelling my name is not going to make things move along any quicker.

Along with the last one; when the shower is running, chances are that means I am in it, and am not able to log on to the computer for you or turn on your favorite tv show.

Oh, and daddy is a very capable man, so if he's home you can ask him to help you as well. Just in case that didn't cross your mind.

Yes, I love my kids and we're having a great summer. They have been troopers and have done/gone pretty much whatever/where ever might be on my agenda for the day. I love spending time with them, but really, is it asking too much to take a shower and go to the bathroom without interruption (I totally was going to say, "take a shower and a $&*#, because that would have gone so well together, but decided against - kind of)?

OK, that's all the complaining for now. Must go to bed because even though my 8th grade Science teacher told me you can never "catch-up" on missed sleep, it doesn't make me any less tired from my whopping 4 hours of sleep last night. The temperature has dropped a degree inside the house, so we're now at a frigid 87 degrees, brrrrrs! Anyone want to donate to the Anderson Screen Door fund, so we can keep our kitchen sliding glass door open at night to cool the house off, just let me know!

Feeling hot, hot, hot!!!

2009-07-28T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, it has been a while hasn't it. Where have I been? Ummmm...I don't know, busy? on facebook? watching my reality tv shows? blogging for e(x)tol (www.nccextol.com - what would life be without a shameless plug or two). Who knows but it's super hot this week, and except for the basement, the kitchen in front of the fan is about the coolest place in the house. I don't actually mind the heat, and will miss it a few months from now when it's cold and rainy.
Do I even have anyone that checks my blog anymore? Who knows, perhaps if I update it more than once a year I'd get a few more readers. Anyway, I digress...
We have been busy, but then again, who hasn't! Wrapped up school, all three of us (me teaching, Jack preschool, Thornley 1st grade),

wrapped up church (July marked 7 years at Newport which means and eight week "sabbatical" for Adam - and I gave him the long awaited Vespa of his dreams),

Thornley earned enough points in the "Eager Beaver Bible Club" to get a new Bible (God bless the Ritzmanns!),

headed to Maui for two weeks thanks to some amazing and generous friends

and are back home readjusted to the time change and maybe, just maybe have caught up on the laundry/cleaning.

What's coming up? The boys are in a wedding this weekend; our babysitter Kaitlyn is getting married and has asked the boys to be ringbearers, should be cute if Thornley doesn't tackle Jack, or take off with the rings, then it's off to Bend for our usual week in Sunriver, and Adam and I have a little "getaway" planned before returning to church/work at the end of August.

So, I will try to be better about blogging, and hopefully I will remember to post pictures from the wedding this weekend!

Slim Pickings

2009-04-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love Thornley! He is so awesome (which I sometimes forget when it's temper tantrum time). One of the things I love about him (which also drives me crazy from time to time) is his questions. He would make my grandpa proud with all his questions; grandpa LOVED an inquiring mind! Tonight he started off all his questions with. "I wonder...", here are some of the things he was wondering about tonight:
1. I wonder what it's like to die, you know, like what does it feel like
2. I wonder what heaven is like
3. I wonder what God looks like
4. I wonder what it's like to be married
The last statement lead to this conversation...
"Mommy, do you have to be a Christian to get married, because isn't marriage optional?"
"Yes, marriage is optional, but the important thing is that if you're a Christian, God wants you to marry someone else who is a Christian so you believe in the same thing."
"Well, then I don't have too many girls to choose from, the only girls I know who are Christians are Lauren, Gigi and Emily Nightingale."

You can take the girl out of California...

2009-04-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

but you can't take California out of the girl. My students used to say things like that to me, "Miss Anderson, you can take the girl out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the girl". Man, I hated that expression! But I thought it fitting to tell our latest story...
A few weeks ago, maybe 3 to be exact, could be 4, who knows (I'm suffering from brain freeze, literally); our heater started acting up. Like, running for a short time then turning off, or just making a ticking noise like the pilot was trying to light but just wasn't catching, so I called the repair guy. We usually get our furnace serviced every year, since it's probably the original furnace (ok, not totally true, but I think it's about 20 years old), but this year we hadn't so I was sure that would do the trick. The soonest the guy could come was a Friday afternoon so Adam worked from home that day so he could be there to open the door. The guy comes and gets the furnace working, but tells Adam that it will be about $500 to get it working properly or a couple thousand to replace it all together (his recommendation). I told Adam, since it's running now just let it be and we'll save some money and get a new one in the fall. The next day the furnace totally died. We invested in a few space heaters because I refuse to pay all that money IN MARCH to fix my heater. I mean, come on, it should start warming up anytime now, right?
I woke up to snow this morning.

We may need to file for bankruptcy

2009-02-17T16:27:00.000-08:00

OK, so not really, and I know it's not even funny to joke about those things, but I may need to get a second job (or 4th, depending on how you look at my employment) to pay for these lost teeth! Thornley's bottom tooth has been wiggly for a few days now and this morning it came out...

While Thornley was rinsing his mouth out, Jack announced that his tooth was loose, which he always does after Thornley looses a tooth and I say, "Oh, yes, look at that". But the thing is, today it really WAS loose; both of them, on the bottom. So this afternoon after much wiggling I yanked it out. My little Jackers - he's not even FIVE and has lost his first tooth. The one next to it is super wiggly too, and I'm sure if he'd let me in there again I could yank that one out too. Maybe tomorrow.

Hopefully this means both the boys will go to bed early so the tooth fairy can come!

Law Abiding Citizens

2009-02-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out the car today, something I usually do when I stop to get gas and have a big trash can at my disposal, and found this note Thornley had written. It was written with phonetic correctness, but I translated for those of you not hooked on phonics...

Law of the House:
1. No pushing
2. No helping Jack
3. No saying blah, blah, blah
4. Help me!
5. No making up names for dogs
6. No hitting me
7. No playing stupid games
8. No eating boogers

Better go post these to the front door.

I'd Like to thank BSD

2009-02-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

I woke up early today to get some stuff done before heading to work, and found it snowed last night. I didn't think it looked like a lot of snow; we've certainly had more, and I think we've even had school when we've had this amount or more. So I really didn't think anything of it, was more intent on finding my craft and coloring sheets for the week. I check my email and there is a message from Thornley's school that BSD is an hour late start today. An hour late for BSD means no school for Jack and no work for me. I let the boys sleep in, and then we headed to church so I could get some work done and Thornley & Jack ran around the gym. So now my Tuesday work was done on Monday and I don't know what to do tomorrow, although I'm sure I'll come up with something!
I hate to admit it, because I will be hated by a few people, but I'm glad school was late, and I had an extra day off. I have been busy, busy lately so it was nice to have an extra day and get some stuff done around the house.
And more good news, we now have Direct TV, so I will be able to watch The Bachelor tonight!! I'm saving my big pile of laundry to fold while I tune in!!

Life in the Ghetto

2009-01-22T16:35:00.000-08:00

I taught for many years in schools in "that part" of town; you know, the bad part. Never heard of Pittsburg, California, there could be a reason. We had many a lockdown, many teacher "all calls" (meaning rumor had it something was going to go down after school and all the teachers had to report to their morning/afternoon "duty" to prevent incidence (never quite got why all the teachers had to stand outside when they thought there was going to be a shooting, or knife incident). Even in Idaho, we had a lockdown at the elementary school when a guy across the street had a gun in a "hostage like situation", and there was a gang related shooting so the high school that I taught at was always locked. Wow - what's with these schools I've taught in?
So today, I'm pulling up to school to pick up Thornley and the road is blocked with cop cars. I'm thinking, was there an accident, what is going on? And I'm getting a bit nervous. A woman pulls up next to me and says their are in a lockdown and they are going to bus our kids to another school to be picked up. I called the school office and they said to just wait, they thought it would clear up soon, the police just had to do a little sweep threw the wooded area behind the school.
According to one of the ladies in the office, the community college had an emergency test today and it was so loud that all the schools in the area heard, "Get into the buildings and lock the doors", so they did. Then I guess one of the 5th graders, who had been out at recess, said they thought they saw someone with a gun in the woods. Police came to check it out, and deemed it clear, so while Cori, Mason, Jack and I are sitting in the parking lot we see a line of cops with big ole guns doing a perimeter sweep thru the playground. Haven't seen that much action since the SWAT team came to the neighbors house.
I thought Thornley would be FREAKED out, but he came running out of class telling me that they'd been in a lockdown, but it was boring because they had to lay on the ground with the lights turned off and no one could talk.
I'm glad the school took all precautions, and of course it's always better when there is a supposed gun on the OUTSIDE of the building as opposed to the inside (another plus for the "pod"-ness of the school).
Guess I should end my post and look into some homeschool curriculum!

And the Winner is...

2009-01-17T12:50:00.001-08:00

Not Thornley, but the winner of this heat was in the "unlimited" category which means they are no longer in Cub Scouts, but wanted to build and race a car, so TECHNICALLY he won - a hard concept to explain to a 6 year old. His car did awesome (thanks Jim & Chris); he came in 2nd in his den, which has 12 boys, so that's pretty good, and he finished 13th overall out of 42 cars. For the boy who wasn't too into the whole Pinewood Derby thing, I now think he has the bug and is talking about what he wants his car to look like next year!

Meghan Anderson and her terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

2009-01-16T18:08:00.000-08:00

Today was just one of those days. What I would like to be doing is tucking in my 4 year old and sitting on the couch watching mindless TV, while my husband takes the 6 year old to Cub Scouts. But alas, it is Pinewood Derby night and Thornley REALLY wants me to see his car race and Jack REALLY wants to see Thornley's car race.
It is the end of a long week. I'm having parent conferences this week, which just seems odd to me that in preschool you have conferences, but we do, so I am. My class has been talking about weather this week; snow in particular, so today we were making this really cute Snowman, Snowman book; very similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and a good review of shapes and colors. This morning I printed out all the pages of the book and when I got to work used the stencils to copy the shapes so they would be perfect. But, oops! Put them on the wrong page. Finally got the book put together the right way started the copying process and headed out to take Thornley to school. As we're crossing the street, the crossing guard says, "Good thing you have your coat on, there is a fire drill today". Of course, Thornley FREAKS OUT and wants me to stay with him all day. Wow, it is a good thing the fire drill was first thing, like 30 seconds after the bell rang so we were all still out in the hall listening to the fire alarm bouncing off cement walls. Finally back at work, one of the parents tells me at drop off time that his child threw up this morning, but they're sure he's ok, because after all it was only once and now he seems fine. The kid does have a cold; coughed, sneezed and generally was miserable all morning, but come to find out there was an afternoon playdate scheduled so apparently even when you're in preschool the show must go on! And how the conversation at snack time came around to the airplane crash last night, I have no idea, but I hope I don't get too many phone calls from disgruntled parents!
And the piece de resistance had to be when Jack walked into the kitchen while I was trying to get dinner on the table, with his shirt pulled up to his chin and says to me, "Look at my man boobs mom".
I could go on, but oh dear, it's almost time to go start the proverbial "engines" at the Pinewood derby.

Taking a Trip to the Impound Yard

2009-01-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

It's Pinewood Derby time, which is a big thing in Cub Scout land. All a totally knew concept in the Anderson house, but you get a block of wood and out of it sculpt the car that will go the fastest. So Adam, Thornley, and our friends Jim & Chris have been diligently working on Thornley's car. He (Thornley) is very proud of it and looking forward to racing it tomorrow night. Last night was impound night for all the cars so after Adam's talk at youth group, he and Thornley headed off to the elementary school to have his car weighed and be assigned a number. I'll have to post an update and let you know how his car did. For now here are some pictures. Let's just hope his car is faster than fast, just like the "real" Lightning McQueen!

Deja Vu

2009-01-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of what is going on outside right now, meaning, tonight, Sunday, Jan 4th '09. Not to be confused with Dec 18 - 26th '08 when it snowed, and snowed and snowed and snowed - you get the picture...

Yep, snowing again. Adam assures me it is going to warm up overnight and when we wake up in the morning the snow will be gone and we can FINALLY get back to school. We shall see. If I've learned one thing from all of this, it's don't trust weather.com! (Oh, and I need chains for my car, and need to learn to drive in the snow).

Right after Christmas we enjoyed a visit from our friends, the Nightingales. I didn't take any pictures, I don't know why I always forget, so I have no pictures to show of their visit. We were all very excited to see them and have Matt lead worship at the 9:00 service - good stuff. It was fun seeing them and hanging out; we miss our friends the Nightingales!

Thornley got his first "official" haircut by someone other than Adam. He wanted a "Shark boy" cut and LOVES the spiked look! I think he looks so cute! Jack wanted a "big boy" haircut - shorter on the sides and longer in front - he's adorable as always. A few pictures of their new do's... (for some reason, I can't attach Jack's picture - check back later for the cuteness)

This post is disjointed and random; perhaps because I'm just feeling kind of blah. Anyway, just incase you missed it, I thought I'd let you all know - snowing again.

Dear Santa,

2008-12-24T18:56:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Please don't put Thornley and Jack on the BB&G list (any questions - read Auntie Claus). And that's something that you'd probably want to tell your elves about that (Thornley thinks you'll laugh a ho-ho-ho here). Thornley wants a lego house and Jack wants a mega lightsaber and Jabba's Platform.
Enjoy your cookies!
Love,
Jack & Thornley
xoxoxo I love you Santa says Thornley

Jack thinks he can hear you in the distance, so it's time to go to bed!

Feeling a bit Grinch-like

2008-12-24T14:04:00.000-08:00

Yep, still here - day who knows how many of snow and nastiness (and I'm not just talking about my mood) here in the Seattle area. I can't find the camera to take a picture, but there is still snow on the ground and still more snow falling from the sky.
I bought a cute dress a few weeks back with the intention of wearing it to the preschool Christmas program; program cancelled because of snow. No problem, I'll wear it to the Christmas Eve service at church, Christmas Eve service cancelled because of snow. I'll take a nap, cancelled because my husband woke me up to tell me there is no Christmas Eve service at church, and then I sat in the chair listening to the not so smart neighbor spinning his wheels (literally) trying to get his car unstuck from the felon's driveway.
HOPEFULLY, we can get out tomorrow to Mama and Papa Pearce's house for Christmas dinner. Otherwise, it's chicken nuggets and tater tots for Christmas dinner.
It's now time to defeat the basilisk in the chamber of secrets again, oh and take some Advil - backache due to shoveling the walk does not make my mood any merrier.
I know I should be happy for the snow, and my warm house, and that we haven't lost power, but I'm craving adult conversation and sights other than the inside of my house!
Bah-humbug (ok, that made me remember when I was in the Christmas play at church as a little girl - happy times)

Still Here

2008-12-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Day three of no school, and we're still here atop our hill. Adam is heading out, but I don't dare. I guess I will always be a California girl at heart and don't like driving in the snow and ice. It's not snowing today, but it's still cold. One bonus of the snow is, it does make our house look a lot prettier, so it photographs well!

So I'll try to finish our Christmas cards and perhaps get some gifts wrapped. We've been invited to a party tonight, I even have a babysitter lined up, but I think it'll be cancelled. And the boys - same stuff, different day!

Now THAT'S What I Call a Snow Day

2008-12-18T09:26:00.000-08:00

There was no school yesterday because it had been reported that Blizzard 08 would arrive at any moment. How much snow we actually got yesterday, I have no idea, since it wasn't enough to stick, and it was in the 40's. This morning I looked at the window at 4:00, and again in the 5:00's (why am I having such a hard time sleeping?), to find there was no snow. At 6:30 Adam came in and announced that school had been cancelled again; now I was totally annoyed since the school year will go on forever because of these ridiculous snow days. Then I looked outside...

So I guess it's random dress-up and Wii day at our house.
I have more pictures to add, but I'm having a hard time! So, I'm off to address some more Christmas cards, wrap gifts, and make sure that the only people who get destroyed today are the Lego figures on the Wii.

The Grande Finale

2008-12-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

It was with mixed emotions that I watched cute Jack Jack's Christmas program last night.
Part of me was just plain nervous because my class of 3 girls and 13 boys was going on after Jack's class, and who knows what is going to happen when you give 13 4 year old boys handbells!
Part of me was so proud of Jack because he's just so stinking cute I couldn't wait to see him up there on stage.
And the other part of me was sad, because this is it! The last Christmas program for my kids. Granted, I will still have programs with my class, but my cute kids won't be on stage anymore.
Jack did a great job; knew all the words, but didn't do the motions, and rang his bell like a pro.
My class did great too, for the most part, and I was super proud of them.
And this year Mrs Chrissi had a grande finale, where all the kids up on stage at the same time singing a song together. It really was sweet (even though Jack missed it because he was playing in the library, and that's all I'll say about that).
OK, here are some pictures for your viewing enjoyment...
Jack getting ready to walk down the aisle

Jack ringing his bell so fast his hand was a blur

And here is a picture of my class, a bit blurry...

The No Snow Snow Day

2008-12-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

A HUGE storm has been forecast for our area, which means, of course there will be no snow. Everyone has been gearing up for this big storm; we've put plan B,C and D in place for preschool since it is Christmas program time. The gifts have gone home for both the kids and their parents, we are READY for this storm.
And yet, there is no snow. It was supposed to start early morning - 4:00 a.m.'ish; I woke up around then and looked, no snow. My alarm went off at 5:30, still no snow. Cori called at 6:30 to say school was cancelled just incase the predicted storm came to fruition. So here I sit at 8:00 a.m., when I would normally be at work getting ready for the day and stable building, and it still isn't snowing!
Adam is pointing out that it's a good thing they cancelled school because WHAT IF it started snowing? How would they get all those kids home? Thornley is THRILLED to have the day off school, not realizing that whatever days he misses now he'll make up this summer; the school year is already extended because of the teacher strike at the beginning of the year. And I'm thinking, will other people think it's weird to have a Christmas program after New Years?
Well, I guess I should appreciate my no snow snow day and get some more Christmas prep work done.

By jov, I think I've got it!

2008-12-13T19:48:00.001-08:00

Yes! It came to me the other day - our family Christmas letter!! Just finished penning it, and it will hit the presses soon (ie - I'll go to church and copy it off - sshhhhhhh).
Oh, and we were at the Great Wolf Lodge this past weekend and took a somewhat decent family picture.
Yes, it's all coming together, and none too soon, I can't believe Christmas is here in just a bit over a week!
PS - it's currently snowing, AND sticking. Not a big deal, except Adam's car - you know the one, with 4 wheel drive...it's in the shop. hhhmmmmmmmm...

Do you think anyone would notice?

2008-12-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

I am having a hard time with the whole Christmas card thing this year. The card, the letter, the whole bit. We took a picture when my parents were here over Thanksgiving and there was some camera (or perhaps user) error and the picture was deleted. So, we are without a recent family picture. And while I do have a good theme for my letter, it just isn't coming together like usual. What I'm wondering is, since not much has changed in the past year, do you think anyone would notice if I sent out the same picture and letter as last year? I did find some cute photo cards at Target, so that would be new. We have made a few new friends this year, so maybe we should just send cards to them; they'd never know, right?
I'm just feeling so uninspired! Bah humbug, I guess I'll go clean my bathroom (perhaps some inspiration with come then - or maybe not, that's kind of a gross thought).

Website Bio's

2008-12-07T16:48:00.000-08:00

Adam likes to check out other church's websites, just to see what they look like, and they have going on. One thing I particularly like to look at is who is on staff and what they say in their bio's. What if you were looking at a church, and this is what the pastor's bio said...

My wife was smoking hot when we got married, but a few years and a few kids later now, not so much. We were so excited to have kids, until we actually did and now, while they are a blessing from God, they sure can drive me crazy! Oh, and I love to drink a beer or two in the evenings while watching mindless t.v.

Would you think, now there is an honest pastor, or I'm staying the heck away from that church!

Have you ever noticed how everyone's spouse is always awesome and their kids are the greatest things in the world?

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I do wonder those things from time to time.

Oops, I Did it Again!

2008-12-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, me and Brittney, so much in common!
It's Christmas luncheon time at church again, and every year I say, I'm not going to do a table next year, but every year I do a table. This is my table this year...

I went for the red/gold action, quite a switch from my usual love of blue/silver mix.
It was fun; good food, fun people at my table, and now I must wash all my dishes and silver.

The Same, but Totally Different

2008-12-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

So lately we have had some discussions about the cleanliness (or lack there of) of our house. My big frustration is that, truly, I clean and the next day it's dirty. I really do like a clean house, but sometimes I think it's an exercise in futility. So, I complain that I just vacuumed and the next day the house needs to be vacuumed again, which is frustrating - seriously, why must the dog shed so much? Adam's argument is that he too has to do the same things day in and day out, like studying and writing sermons. My only issue with this argument is that no one comes up to me and thanks me for my fabulous dusting job, and I highly doubt that people stop Adam in the halls and say how my clean toilet really spoke to them, and how he must be proud of the fact that our house always gives of a fresh clean scent.
Speaking of sparkling toilets - must go scrub mine!

The Aftermath

2008-11-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

I truly don't think I've ever had so many dishes/stuff on my counters at one time. Holy smokes my kitchen was a mess after Thanksgiving 08.

It was a fun day. I got out of bed at 7:00 to start working with the turkey (meaning dinner, not my husband), got that in the oven, got the kitchen cleaned and ready to go, and our friends arrived at 1:30. It never ceases to amaze me how much time and effort goes into these meals and they're done in 20 minutes tops. But it was fun, and now 3 trash bags and 3 loads of dishes in the dishwasher later it's as if it never happened (except for the left-overs in the fridge).

And now the Christmas madness begins! Not hitting the mall too early tomorrow, but will be shopping since my mom wants to get the boys gifts while she is here, and I want to send some gifts back with her for my nieces & nephews. Oh and I came up with the theme for our Christmas letter this year - start checking your mailbox soon!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Big Night Tonight, Big Day Tomorrow!

2008-11-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

Big stuff going on here at the Anderson house! We lead such exciting lives!

Not only is TONIGHT the Dancing with the Stars finale! But my mom will be here tomorrow night to watch the awarding of the mirror ball trophy with me! Only fitting, since my mom is the one who got me in to the show in the first place. You better believe I'm tuning in tonight AND voting on my phone and online. Go Lance Bass!!

And then, tomorrow, I'm getting my hair cut, and perhaps even a bit of a style. Haircuts are expensive here, so I get my hair cut like twice a year maybe, and frankly I'm a bit sick of it. Still will be long-ish, still curly, still able to pull up in a ponytail, but yes, perhaps a bit different than just hanging down all curly-like. The boys are getting cuts too; Thornley wants his spikey on top - I think he'll look cute that way!

OK - people are yelling, and I must vacuum because YAY my mom and dad arrive tomorrow morning!

My College Game Day

2008-11-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

Beavers pulled it out in the final seconds! Dare we dream of the Rose Bowl for my Beavs?! I will be soooo glued in front of the tv next Sat for the Civil War, wearing my orange and black of course!
Cal won, also a good thing.
UW lost the "Crapple" Cup, I don't really care, but am hoping that the Bears don't take them too lightly next week and hand UW their ONLY win of the year.
College hoops will be on tv soon, now that the boys will actually sit and watch and let me explain the game to them, hopefully I can get caught up on a few of my favorite teams!
Now I must clean my kitchen that was neglected while I watched my game.

Busiest Shopping Day of the Year

2008-11-22T07:20:00.000-08:00

While some people are anxiously awaiting Black Friday, and have had their shopping plans in place for weeks; this is not the shopping day I'm referring to. I must say, I am excited to see the promo flyers, because I do love a good sale, but I don't love large crowds, so I may forego the deals this year. No, no, I'm referring to hitting the grocery store for the food for Thanksgiving dinner. My parents are coming for the weekend, and I've invited some friends over who don't have family in the area, and as of right now, I have no idea what I'm going to feed them (well, turkey and potatoes will be involved I'm sure). I have been looking thru some magazines for yummy sounding recipes, but I'm not a very good cook, so while they sound delicious in Martha Stewart, they in all likelihood will not turn out delicious on my table.
So today, between going to see Bolt (the boys have been counting down for weeks now), taking Thornley to a birthday party, Thornley's Cub Scout visit to the fire station, and a Pampered Chef party tonight, I will have to find time to sit down, make a menu and generate a shopping list. Maybe if the food is good enough, they won't notice my messy house?

What Jack is Thankful For

2008-11-21T16:48:00.001-08:00

Today was Jack's Thanksgiving Feast in class. It worked out great, while my class was at gym I was in Jack's class at his feast. His teacher, Andrea, always does an awesome job with the parent parties. Jack's class has been cooking and working on many Thanksgiving crafts (I may even copy one of them next year:)). True to form, the parents arrive, then the class comes in and sings a few songs - my all time fav the Mr Turkey and Mr Duck song; I look forward to it every year.

Then they go down the line and say what they're thankful for. Jack's list of things he's thankful for...God, and his grammy and papa. Now, I too, am thankful for grammy and papa - they're great, and the boys are so excited to see them this coming week, but HELLO! I didn't even make the list! Here is a picture of Jack and me at his feast (I guess since grammy and papa weren't there he could take a picture with me).

Imitation is the Sincerest form of Flattery

2008-11-21T16:40:00.000-08:00

Apparently, I got in trouble the other day, funny thing is, no one actually talked to me about it, they talked to another teacher at the preschool. I guess I copied a craft another teacher uses, which I don't see as a big deal, especially since we don't have the same kids, but apparently I was wrong, and it is a big deal. So, I'm thinking, if you don't want me to do the same crafts as you photocopy your lesson plan book and give it to me at the beginning of the year, so I know what you're doing because when I pick my themes and plan my calendar, I just google my themes and pick and choose my crafts. I copy Andrea's crafts all the time, because they're awesome and she doesn't mind! I've got some sweet Christmas gifts going home this year thanks to Andrea's awesome craft ideas!
I have also copied Matt and given up on the facebook-ness of it all. I would update my facebook far more often than my blog, but one of the problems is my mom doesn't have facebook, but she does check my blog. So hopefully, not spending time on facebook will find me spending more time updating my blog (not necessarily cleaning the house, like some may hope). Today for example, I believe I will have 2 entries! Almost doubled my November posts in one day!
I have to download the pics from Jack's Thanksgiving Feast and start working on that post!

Scout's Honor

2008-11-20T19:17:00.000-08:00

I am not a big fan of signing my kids up for this sport, and that class. For one, it costs a stink of a lot of money, and also takes a heck of a lot of time taking them from place to place. This year, however, I did think Thornley would enjoy Cub Scouts and decided to sign him up. He is in a Den with some boys from church, and some boys he went to preschool with. They really are a cute group of boys, and I think the program is right up Thornley's alley. He's already gotten a badge or two; gone to the library for a tour (and got his own card), seen a play, and is going to visit the fire station on Sat. He gets so excited for the meetings and comes home and tells me all about the cool stuff they do. And he gets a uniform, which, if you know Thornley, you know he's ALL about the uniform! Here he is with his Den during their first "official" meeting.

Running Late, but Worth It

2008-11-14T07:19:00.000-08:00

Typical Meghan work morning at the Anderson house; running around trying to get everything done (you know, like getting dressed and eating breakfast) and get out the door on time. But we had to pause for this momentous occasion...

Now I have to squeeze in a visit to the bank!

Focus on the Family Would LOVE This One

2008-11-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween one and all! Now, I must say, I don't see what the big deal is about Halloween. Yes, I am a Christian, but no, I don't think Halloween is a big day of the devil celebration. I think it's fun for the kids to dress up, and well, who am I to turn down a candy bar or two. I just truly don't get the big anti-Halloween-ness of some.
I think it's very fitting that this year my boys were Harry Potter and Bibleman. Here is one of my most favorite pictures of them, that those anti-Halloween/anti-Harry Potter, Focus on the Family lovin' people would want to make into a poster. Yes, this is Bibleman crushing Harry Potter...

We hit a few houses in the neighborhood to trick or treat and then headed to the church for their annual Fall Fun Fest. I was on the planning committee this year, so I of course was super sensitive about the event. The boys said they had fun, and overall I heard good feedback. Jack was a bit upset, as he thought Adam should carry him around all evening so he really looked like he was flying on his broom.
Here is a cute pic of the boys trick or treating - don't be surprised if you see it again on a Christmas Card!

Thornley's "Day of the Dead" party turned into a harvest party and he said it was fun. I ended up planning and prepping the craft (cute paperbag scarecrows - if I do say so myself), and the game (harvest bingo - always a hit). Don't know what happened to the mom who was going to plan it all, but I think it turned out better this way!

And now I'm exhausted, but must get ready for the month of November with new calendar numbers and name tags. The joys of preschool!! (really, I love my job, just tired!)

Thorns' New Smile

2008-10-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yay for Thornley! Thank goodness he's willing to pull his teeth out on his own, because frankly, I think it's kind of gross. This one has been loose for a while, so today he decided that he would eat an apple and told me to, "prepare to be amazed", and low and behold the tooth came out! Now there is a bloody mess on Jack's bed from where he spit the apple out once he realized his tooth had fallen out. Too bad it didn't happen last week, or this is how his school picture would have looked - I think he would have been pretty proud of that.
Must go clean up the apple mess (and the rest of the house for that matter).

Living the Dream

2008-10-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

It was always my goal in life to be a room mom. Back before kids; when I had fantasies of being the best mom EVER, with the best kids EVER, who just adored me, hung on every word I said, and would NEVER think of saying no to me or doing ANYTHING to make me angry; I always wanted to be a room mom (well, and be skinny, but one out of two isn't bad).
So, at curriculum night a few weeks back, Thornley's teacher had a sign up for room parents; cha-ching!! I ran back there and put my name down. So today we had a "committee" meeting with the 4 other parents who also signed up; one being THAT MOM, (mentioned a few posts back), but whatever, I'm a room mom now, so I can deal :). I head to school for the meeting, meet the other moms, sign up to be in charge of class shirts (anyone want to design a logo for me?), and then we start talking about the first class party - celebrating the Day of the Dead. All the moms agree that we want it to be more harvest-ish (are you kidding, Thornley would freak out if they decorated coffins like one class did), so we're tossing around fall ideas and one mom will JUST NOT LET IT GO and is insisting on googling Day of the Dead and getting craft ideas. Um, hi, I understand you have 2 older sons and your youngest son just thinks that kind of stuff is so cool, but some of us don't embrace with whole "scary" thing, and didn't we just agree to be more harvesty?
I guess there is a downside to living the dream!!

All Work and no Pumpkins Makes Jack a Mad Boy

2008-10-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Kelsey Creek Farm/pumpkin patch. My friend, Andrea, who is Jack's teacher, and I decided to take our classes together, so I wouldn't have to take a day off to take Jack (in preschool the parents have to drive their kids to the destination and stay with them during the "trip") when his class went, and well, it just seemed like a good idea. The first tour was fun, met Farmer Jane, saw some animals, saw the barn, helped out in the barn preparing the "beds" for the animals (moving straw into the stalls), and then picking out pumpkins from the "pumpkin patch". Jack had fun, happily help the first time, but didn't get a pumpkin because he was with my class, and I wanted him to wait until he was with his class. The second tour with his class he did a bit of work, and was thrilled to get his pumpkin. By the time the afternoon came around, and we went on our third tour (same tour 3 times), Farmer Jane asked Jack if he wanted a bucket to help move the straw and he told her, "I'm tired, I've done enough work for you today".

What did I ever do to the Bellevue School District?

2008-09-30T07:46:00.001-07:00

I, for one, am so glad that Thornley's school starts at 9:05. If it didn't we wouldn't have been able to have the awesome times together as a family in the morning. If school started at say, 8:00 or 8:30, my kids wouldn't have time to ask to watch tv, play the Wii, chase each other around the house (I think I heard an idiot this morning, but I'm not sure), oh and all the time to listen to the whining is just priceless! This morning, Thornley came in while I was doing sit-ups and asked why I do them every morning because my stomach isn't flat yet - just think, if he'd been in school already we couldn't have had that conversation!
Oh, it's going to be a great day!

Not mourning, just missing

2008-09-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

This past week Adam preached on the beattitude, Blessed are those who mourn (it was really good, if you want to hear it go to www.nccextol.com, click on media, and click on blessed are those who mourn), and it really made me look at the whole "mourning" process differently. As most of you know, my grandma passed away almost 2 months ago; now I wouldn't say I mourned the death of my grandma, yes, I was sad, but at 93 she'd lived a good life and I didn't (and still don't) feel like something was wrongly taken from me. I DO however miss my grandma, little things happen here and there and I find myself wanting to call her and talk to her.
This morning was one of those times; we signed Thornley up for Cub Scouts and Adam is going to be his "den leader", so this morning Adam had to go to "leader training". My grandma LOVED the whole scouting program. My mom was a brownie and girl scout and my grandma was her troop leader. When I graduated from college and was having a hard time finding a job in the area that interested me, my grandma thought I should look into working for the Girl Scouts, because she thought so highly of the organization and must have loved being my mom's leader. So my initial reaction when we signed Thornley up and Adam decided to be his leader was, I have to call grandma and tell her, she'll be so excited for Thornley, but then I remember that she's not here with us anymore; which makes me sad, but I know that she's in heaven, so she already knows.
On a total side note, but not really, I had to work an event at church today, so when Adam was done with his training he came to pick up the boys and they headed off to the boy scout store to buy HIS "uniform". Didn't have his size, but did get all the badges for both he and Thornley (who already has his shirt) - anyone want to sew them on for me?!

His boots weren't made for walkin, I guess

2008-09-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Every year Thornley's school has their BIG fundraiser, which is a walk-a-thon. The kids participating all get sponsors and then walk around the "track" after school for 3 hours (give or take). Thornley REALLY didn't want to participate this year, but I said it was either that or go door to door with Sally Foster catalogs (really, they have cute paper, if you want some let me know), and the walk-a-thon won. The event is a bit crazy, and they pack a TON of stuff in a small space; t-shirt sales, raffle ticket sales & items, bake sale, beverages (water & coffee, don't get too excited), etc.
Adam got to Thornley's school at 3:30, in time to find Thornley and get him "registered". Jack and I arrived shortly thereafter (yes, this is a whole family event, which adds to some of the craziness), bought some raffle tickets, some water, and something from the bake sale and started walking. Last year I made Thornley walk 20 laps, this year we didn't quite make that many, but he certainly complained as if we'd walked 200.
So, I'd had enough of the whining and complaining (and they didn't serve dinner this year, and I was hungry), so we left early. Only to receive a phone call a short while later saying that we were the lucky winners of the Web-kinz basket. Yippee!
Thanks for everyone who sponsored him - he did make enough to get his free t-shirt.

Settling In

2008-09-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

I long to be settled in, to routines, to where we live, to work, whatever, I just like that settled routine feeling of life. I remember shortly after I met Adam he was saying how he just wants to stay in one place so long that he becomes "just Adam", and people know him, accept him, and he doesn't have to defend/explain himself repeatedly; you know, the whole "getting to know you" stage that comes with change.
It did take me a while to feel "settled" into life in Bellevue, but I think both Adam and I feel settled (I must say it took me a bit longer than Adam). There are hiccups here and there, but for the most part, we totally feel like Bellevue is our home and will be for a long time (I know, for some of you these are odd thoughts, but I guess when you're married to a pastor, change somewhere along the way is inevitable, and it's just something you expect).
Now, I had an experience today, and I'm thinking, is this something particular to Bellevue, or would life be like this where ever we lived?
Thornley is a child who likes structure and routine, and doesn't embrace change; so this whole full day, new teacher, new rules, new people in class thing has thrown him for a bit of a loop. Today he said he wanted to take the day off; he'd go back to school tomorrow, so I knew some stuff had gone on and it was just a bit of anxiety that needed to be worked thru. So we have a little chat, I give him a bit of a pep talk and off to school we go. We arrive and he comes undone; again, I think it was his anxieties over the new routine, new class, new rules, but none the less, things weren't going particularly well for Thorns this morning. One of kids in his class is from his preschool. They weren't in the same class, but I recognize this boy's mom and we have chatted on and off over the past few years. So I'm helping/dragging Thornley into class as he's screaming that he hates school and just wants to go home, and the mom says to me as I'm on my way out the door, "That is one of the problems with choosing 1/2 day kindergarten". Excuse me? I hardly know you lady! I have absolutely no regrets over our kindergarten choice last year, and further more how dare you question me and my parenting choices!
Now, I'm not stupid, I know my kid has some quirks, but he's really a sweet sensitive kid who just doesn't adapt to change well, which is what I would have said to the lady if I could have picked my jaw up off the ground.
I just wonder, where do people get off giving parenting advice to people they HARDLY KNOW?!
So while I'm still processing thru that lovely encounter, Jack and I head off to do some errands and go back to school and have lunch with Thornley. We get back to school, get signed in at the office, and I see Thorns' class in the library. Thornley LOVES the library, and he has a smile from ear to ear because he gets his own library card this year, and gets to check books out! We have lunch, go out to the playground, and I'm helping Thornley look for some of his friends that are in other classes this year, when I run into a dad of one of the kids from Thornley class last year. So I go up and try to make small talk with him and ask him how things are going, "great, fabulous", and ask how his son is adjusting to first grade "fabulous, loves it, no problems". Really?
So I'm wondering, am I the only one who has a kid who's having a hard time, or am I the only one brave enough to say it? Is the need to appear problem-less everywhere, or just more pronounced here?
I don't get it, but hope that this new phase will pass quickly and we will feel settled in to the new routine soon!

A Sparkling Celebration

2008-09-13T17:27:00.001-07:00

What did you do today, Meghan? Well, thanks for asking, today I had a bridal shower for my friend Jenny. Jenny was Adam's intern for 3 years, and saved the day during the year of "the Rash", and came back to work for Adam when he had to let an intern go. Jenny and Connor are getting married the weekend of Oct. 4th, and Adam is officiating the ceremony (hopefully, unless he gets the stomach flu again).
You people know me well enough to read my blog, so I'm assuming you also know I never "re-party". Re-gift, heck yah, but re-party, NEVER! Each party is thrown with a specific person in mind, and should be unique to them. It's THEIR special day, not just another day for me to throw out decorations and have the same party I had for the last person I threw a party for. Both my boys wanted Toy Story parties when they turned 3, and both boys had Toy Story parties when they turned 3, and both parties were totally different (except of course, the napkins).
So what type of shower should I have for Jenny? There is only so much you can do with a bridal shower, that's at church. I found super cute invitations at Target, and my theme was born...A Sparkling Celebration. Everything was silver with blue accents, and I found CUTE diamond ring confetti at the party store. Jenny didn't want people to buy things off her registry, she wanted help decorating her house, so I decided we were going to, "help add sparkle to Jenny & Connor's house".
For the big game, I went around to many a Goodwill this week and last and bought random trinkets that could be used to decorate. Then bought some banker's boxes from Target, and called my game Design on a $1.99. Everything I bought was $1.99 or less, and each team took a box, took 5 things off the table of trinkets and had to design a room. It was so fun, and everyone was super creative!
Jenny lived with a family for 2 years while she was the youth intern, and the woman that she lived with thought it would be funny to go to Goodwill and buy some super tacky decor and wrap it really pretty and give to Jenny as gag gifts. It was so funny watching her open gifts and try to be polite about them, when they were really hideous!
Janet brought her chocolate fountain and of course the food was AMAZING!!
I wish I had brought my camera so I could have shown the creativity! Truly a fun celebration!!

Oh Happy Day!

2008-09-12T21:19:00.000-07:00

You've read it hear first folks (unless you too received the district email before reading my blog), the district and union have reached a settlement! They are voting on Sunday, so what does that mean? School may ACTUALLY start next week?! Jack is speaking on behalf of the Anderson family here...

Aren't you glad I learned how to post videos?!

The Andersons Have Talent

2008-09-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Not only can Jack sing, but apparently he does impressions as well! Here he is, being Chad singing Big House, and Adam (unbeknownst to him) is taking on the part of Ryan. And speaking of talented - hello! I figured out how to add a video to my blog!

I have a dream

2008-09-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

Call me Martin Luther King/Rosa Parks for the canines. I have a dream that one day all canines regardless of breed or fur color will be treated as equals. I know, you think the teacher's strike has finally tipped me over the edge (which is possibly true), but it's true! Had you said this yesterday I wouldn't have believed it either, but today, I witnessed with my own eyes and heard with my own ears: canine discrimination, and at the zoo of all places!
Today being day 8 of the teachers strike, and being a Thursday (meaning I didn't have to go to work) Cori and I took the people to the zoo. We didn't see too many animals, but the kids sure had a fun time playing in the little play area by Bug World. But I digress...at lunch time we went to the little "cafe" (and I use the term loosely) area by the birds (that's right, I like to be as close to WE's at all times), when we saw "the act" taking place. Now I must admit, I was in line at the time, and not in earshot, but Cori was and told me all about it (well, the words she could repeat infront of the little people).
So we see a few interesting characters walking by, one of whom has his dog with him. Not to pass judgement, but I'm not sure how these people even got thru the gates, because they looked as if they spent the night on the streets, and had a "liquid breakfast". Shortly after they walked by where we were sitting, security was on their tail. They must have caught up with them and had a few words, because this is what was overheard...
"@#$&*, I mean I don't even have my walking stick with me" (mind you, he MAY have been visually impaired, but since the dog didn't have one of the "working dog" jackets on, or even the special harness, I'm thinking the visual issues may be due to something else)
and then...here is the kicker...
"I mean, if he was a white dog they wouldn't have said anything."
Yes folks, sad but true!

It's all fun at the game, until someone gets some germs

2008-09-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the Mariners game with Mark and Cori. I knew there would be some fun and laughter, but I never thought there would be this much laughter...We get settled in our awesome seats (shout out to Papa Pearce), with our amazing new cell phone holders (courtesy of the freebie on the way into the game) which Adam put to good use right away,

and then what do our eyes behold?????!!!!!!!

The woman with the orange (burnt orange, to be exact) hair and the MASK! What the stink is this mask for you may ask, good question, none of us had the guts to go ask, but it did make for some lively conversation. Especially when the people behind us noticed it. Adam thought it would be funny to go sit behind her and start coughing and talk about awaiting the results of his TB test, and the jokes went on, and of course, he HAD to google breathing apparatuses on his phone, but we still couldn't figure out what the stink she was doing with this contraption on! And if you're so afraid of germs, why wouldn't you wear gloves, and why would you go to a ball game in the first place?
24 hours later and still so many unanswered questions. Thornley is very intrigued, and I think we may have found his Christmas gift!

First Day of School

2008-09-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

You may be wondering why I have no first day of school pictures up yet. Well, because there has yet to be a first day of school. Thornley was supposed to start last Tuesday, but there is a teacher strike, that is still continuing on. Jack WILL start on Monday, as will I, since the private preschools don't go on strike. I admit, I'm all about the teacher and supporting them. We all know teacher's don't make much, but it would be nice for them to be able to live on their salary. Could you live in Bellevue on $58,000 a year, if you were married and had a family? Even if you were single, it's tough. Bellevue is a pricey place to live, and it really annoys me when they do salary comparisons and say how well we pay our teachers compared to someplace where you can buy a NICE house for in the $200,000 range.
Anyway, let me step off my soapbox for a moment so I can head to some garage sales to look for some "boy toys" (meaning cars & rescue heroes) for our class of 13 boys and 3 girls that starts on Monday!

I need a good speech writer!

2008-08-31T18:49:00.001-07:00

This weekend we were in California for my grandma's service. I said I would speak, never dreaming that I would be the only grandchild that agreed to speak! We all (and by all, I mean all 4 of us, I have a small family) spoke at grandpa's service, but I think the reason we spoke was because grandma asked us to, and since we all love grandma we all "agreed" (meaning, we did it). So here is the problem I was faced with; what do you say about an awesome lady that lived 93 years, when you only have about 5 minutes? And here's the other thing, I think in themes, for whatever reason I do. Planning a party - need a theme and I'm on a roll. Planning the school calendar - give me a theme and off I go filling in the calendar. So what "theme" do you pick for your grandma's memorial service? For my grandpa's I did a very cute (if I do say so myself) "All I need to know in life I learned from grandpa" talk. My mom said she was reading Proverbs 31, so I couldn't use that; instead I created my 1 Corinthians 13 grandma. It went something like this:

Grandma was patient, she not only taught us all how to needlepoint when we were young, she sat thru countless organ recitals and LOVED every one.
Grandma was kind, it's hard to come up with one example of this because it's just how grandma lived her life, always doing something nice for others.
Grandma didn't envy, I don't think I ever heard her say she wanted something someone else had.
Grandma did however boast, about her family, of whom she was very proud.
She was never rude, she always showed respect.
She was not self-seeking, grandma always put others and their needs infront of her own.
She was not easily angered, I don't think I ever saw her angry, or ever heard her yell.
She did not delight in evil, she loved the truth.
Grandma always protected us, always trusted, gave us hope and she always persevered.
Now these three remain, grandma had faith, that gives me hope that I will one day see my loving grandma again.

So that is what I said on Friday, but mostly I cried, because I am sad she's gone, and I will miss her ALOT!

Airport Security

2008-08-31T17:07:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our weekend in California. While we were finishing packing on Wed morning, I told the boys they could take a toy or two, so they would have something to play with at my mom's. So Jack gets his new Clone Wars, storm trooper gun, puts it in my suitcase, then yells down the hall, "OK mom, my gun is in your suitcase".

I Pray for Thornley's Future Wife

2008-08-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

And I don't mean this in the "Somewhere in the World Today" overused wedding song of the 90's (sorry if I just offended you). No, instead I pray for her because this is the conversation we had today...
"Mommy, how many kids can you get?" (obviously Thornley talking)
"What do you mean, like how many can you have?"
"Yes"
"Well, you can have as many as you want."
"Good, because I want a whole clone army and the whole Skywalker family, so at least 300."

Jon & Kate Plus 8 watch out!

I'm Old Fashioned Like That

2008-08-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

Usually our summers are full of Ponte people, but for some reason, this summer our Ponte time has been few and far between. Cori is the most organized person I know, and I guess she's had her summer planned since, well, last summer so when I call to see if we can hang out she's always busy (OK - just kidding Cori, but really, you are organized and you know I'm jealous of those mad skills of yours). The boys and I went out to dinner last night with Cori and her kids, but that is a separate post in and of itself (sorry people sitting by us at Tapatios!), so I knew that she had a playdate scheduled for today all ready. Last night we had been home for about 1/2 hour when Cori called to say Mason had a fever (wonder where that came from?), so I knew that Mason would be visiting the doctor today.
Thornley woke up this morning begging for a playdate with Lauren, and since I knew that Cori would be taking Mason to the doctor and imposing a nap upon him, I figured I'd give Cori a bit of a break. My stipulation was that Thornley and Lauren had to compromise (she would play Star Wars if he would play whatever girly game of pretend she wanted to play) AND do so without fighting because I needed to clean.
Now for those of you that know me, know my house isn't always the epitome of clean - far from it, but really if I wanted it to be clean at all times I'd be cleaning every hour and every moment (hey, isn't that in a song?) of the day, and Lauren had issue with my cleanliness (or lack there of) way back when.
SO.....Lauren arrives, people start playing, and I decide to mop my floor, so I say, "No coming in the kitchen, I'm mopping the floor". Lauren is watching me and the conversation goes as follows:
"Meghan, where does the water come from? How does your floor get wet?"
"Ummm, the sink, Lauren."
"Oh, so you put that in the sink and then it gets wet and cleans the floor?"
"Something like that, yes."
Now, I know Cori has a super clean house, but I also know she uses a Swiffer, so Lauren isn't used to the more "traditional" mop of days gone by.
Cori came to pick Lauren up and Thornley is screaming, "Hide Lauren, hide!"
So it was a win/win situation, my kitchen got cleaned and the boys and Lauren had fun playing.
Mason, on the other hand, has a virus and is now on antibiotics (wonder where he got that, oh wait, did I say that all ready?)
The boys had to provide safe passage for Cori as she was leaving - you know, we do live in the ghetto!

I should be cleaning, but this IS for a good cause

2008-08-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

I should be cleaning the house, and then heading off to work to clean our classroom. Yesterday, Andrea, Laurie and I spent the morning pulling everything out of the cupboards and drawers and keeping what we wanted and tossing what we didn't. We had HUGE piles to throw away, and now are left with the task of putting stuff back in an organized way, hoping that we remember what we have! The joys of 2 new teachers inheriting a classroom. Really, I am excited about the upcoming year, but there is so much to do, I get overwhelmed and don't do anything. Very similar to my house being extremely dirty, and I don't know where to start, so I'm sitting in front of my computer, dorking around.
Today I got an email from Eddie Bauer with some stinking cute shoes pictured at the bottom, so of course, I had to look, because I love shoes and I love Eddie Bauer. I clicked on the picture and was taken to their website and saw that you can support breast cancer by purchasing some of their shoes. I'm all about supporting the cause. My grandma survived breast cancer, our neighbor has breast cancer, a friend from church is also a survivor. My friends, Arlene and Darla, started this company where part of their proceeds from their pink ribbon line go to the Susan G Koman foundation http://www.purlstitchdesigns.com/Pink%20Ribbon%20Apparel.htm
Anyway, back to my point, so I found these cute shoes, not totally practical for life in Washington, especially as we're approaching fall, and by the looks of the clouds it may rain today, but hey, it's about supporting the cause.

The shoes cost $50, but I see no mention of how much goes to breast cancer research, and then I spied the fine print - get this, they only donate $2. I'm thinking, really, only $2? Even if they'd given $5, they could have said 10%, which is only $3 more, but sounds much better.
OK, now I think I'm officially rambling and must head to the bathrooms with Lysol and scrub brush in hand!
But they are really cute......

Move over Michael (Phelps, that is)

2008-08-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

I love the Olympics. Love, love, love them! Especially the swimming, diving and gymnastics; I've stayed up far later than I should have watching the Olympics lately. One of the best things about Sunriver is there is a tv in the bedroom, so I could lay in bed at watch the Olympics both at night and then in the morning when I was too lazy to get out of bed (I was after all on vacation, a memo my children failed to read, since they woke up at 6:30 every morning). Another thing I loved about our vacation, was watching the boys in the pool. This was the first year that they really got into it. They'd both wear their life jackets and cruise around the pool. Thornley was even brave enough to take off his life jacket and swim in the shallow end. His favorite part was diving for our dive sticks, but the chlorine was bothering his eyes, so we bought him some goggles, and VOILA! happy swimmer, happy mommy on the lounge chair watching!

The Portland Zoo...

2008-08-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

I could have named this post, Holy Shit!, but that may have offended some. I digress...
We are on vacation in Sunriver, Oregon. Besides visiting my family in California, this is about the only place we vacation. We enjoy Sunriver. I like walking to the Village and having coffee and purusing the shops. The boys like the tennis courts, swimming, and the big bath tub. Adam likes sleeping on the couch, and taking the boys fishing.
It's our usual tradition to stop in Vancouver and see some of Adam's friends on our way to Sunriver, and then stop at the Portland Zoo on the way home. This year we decided to stop at the zoo on the way. If you will read a few posts back, when we went to Woodland Park Zoo on Monday, it was poop-palooza. So we get to the Portland Zoo and hightail it to the polar bears. We had to wait a few minutes before they came out, but when they did...yep, pooped (and peed, bonus!). We rounded the corner to the sun bear, yep, pooping.
Seriously, what's the deal?! Whatever, it just makes the boys enjoy the zoo that much more!
We'll see what happens when we go to the stables in a few days and look at the horses!

Out of the Mouth of my Babe

2008-08-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last I heard, grandma is declining, but still with us, see what I mean about being Survivor?! She is a little fighter, that's for sure. While it is sad that she will soon be gone, I am so thankful for sweet Thornley who keeps putting things in perspective for us. We are leaving for vacation tomorrow, to spend a week in Sunriver. While I was packing, the boys asked how long we were staying, and I said hopefully a week, but it depends on Gigi. Thornley asked if she was suffering, because he knows none of us want her to suffer. I said I didn't think so, she had been given some medication this afternoon that would help her feel better if she was. Then he asked, "Will her celebration be in California mommy? You know, when we celebrate her and her life". And I thought, wow!, my 6 year old is one smart kid, and I'm so thankful that he is around to remind me of the other side of grief, the side where, while you're still sad they're not here anymore you can remember and celebrate the time you had together.
How DID he get so smart?
Oh, I did get to "talk" to grandma today. Mom held the phone up to her ear so I could say hi and tell her I love her. That made me happy.

My Grandma

2008-08-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

My grandma is awesome! I love my grandma. If my grandma was a reality TV show (which is the upmost praise from me, being compared to a reality TV show) she'd be Survivor. She survived breast cancer, a heart attack, 75 1/2 years of marriage (ok - so technically she didn't survive that, she loved my grandpa and they amazed us all when they reached the 75 year mark), and that has all been within the last 10 years or so. Grandma had a stroke late Sunday night/early Monday morning. Grandma is a woman of routine, so when her neighbor noticed grandma hadn't picked up her paper Monday morning, she was concerned (thank goodness for the neighbor) and rightly so.
I remember praying when my grandpa passed away a year and a half ago, that God would give us a few more good years with grandma, and thinking what in the world will we do when the dreaded day comes and grandma passes away. Unfortunately, it looks like that might be something we have to figure out now, which makes me super sad because I adore my grandma! At 93 1/2 she has lived a fabulous life, and as Thornley reminded me yesterday, "she is old and old people die, but she is happy mommy". While all that is true, and does give comfort that I've enjoyed 38 years with her (well, actually about 34, since I don't really remember the first few years of my life, but I'm sure they were good), and she has gotten the chance to know my boys and Thornley for sure will remember her, which not many people can say, it still makes me sad that the day is fast approaching that we'll say our goodbyes. And then I'll have to speak at her memorial, which as I said at my grandpa's service, makes me so nervous, I could puke, but again I'll do it because my grandma is awesome and I love her!
The picture is of my mom, grandma, and aunt at my grandparent's 75th anniversary party in May of 2006 - isn't she a cutie?!

Zoo Poo

2008-08-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

No, it's not just a book, it is reality! Today Cori and I took the troops to the zoo, and what a bonanza it was! We saw the flamingos, the butterflies, the day & night exhibit (which was extremely awesome this time), and then rounded the corner to see the Komodo Dragon, who was out pacing around. Cori and I were noticing it's drool and telling the kids it was going to come eat them, when Thornley starts squealing with delight that it is pooping. Yes, indeed, after it moved on we saw that it indeed pooped. Does it get any better than that?
Well, I know you're thinking, absolutely not, but IT DOES!! We saw a few more animals, ate lunch and went to see the bears and otters. The bear was very active, walking around, acting like it was going to jump in the water, very fun, I LOVE the bears! We were watching the otters swim when the crowd around the bear starts laughing. Upon turning quickly towards the bear we notice it is pooping! Thornley, Lauren, Jack & Mason made a mad dash to the window to watch. The word I would use to describe them is giddy. They were laughing so hard (well, weren't we all, to be honest), it truly made their day.
We stopped by the lions on the way out to see if we'd get some action from them, but they were asleep - bummer!
Never had a better zoo day!
Sorry no pictures, we were laughing so hard, I didn't have time to pull my camera out.

Not so sleepless in Seattle

2008-07-29T17:20:00.001-07:00

My children didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning. Almost unheard of coming from the children who, when they wake up at 7:00, it's as if they've slept in. Now before Cori starts to hate me, and posts comments in symbols instead of words, let me say they have NOT been going to bed at their usual 7:30 bedtime. This seems to be the summer when we throw routine to the wind (not like me, especially when it comes to bedtime), and let the kids stay up late. While we were at Creation, I don't think they went to bed before 10:00. The thing is, they've been fine with it. A little whine here or there, a little tantrum perhaps, but for the most part we've been having fun and enjoying whatever it is we're doing.
Don't get me wrong, this is not something that will continue much longer. School starts in about a month, and then the bedtime nazi will return.
Today we have done nothing, unless you count defeating Voldemort on the Harry Potter computer game and listening to all the new free music I picked up at Creation as productive.
Oh, and Jack took a nap (more yelling and symbol words by Cori).
The downside of not leaving the house is I never got my coffee this morning, maybe that's why I'm feeling so unmotivated.

Creation

2008-07-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

We got back from Creation yesterday. Creation is a Christian music festival that is held every year at the Gorge, in George. Adam has been going to Creation since we arrived at Newport (truly, I think we'd been here 2 weeks when he went for the 1st time), the boys and I have gone for the past 4 years, each time staying a bit longer.
The funny thing about Creation is, Adam HATES it! OK - so he doesn't hate all of it. He loves the camping part, and hanging out with the kids (both our own, and those from the youth group), and who doesn't love Janet's cooking, but he could care the stink less if he went to any of the concerts, except of course the Newsboys; and he loves going to the river (where everyone swims to get the layers of sweat and dirt off).
I on the other hand, love Creation. I like the camping, the spending time as a family with not a whole lot to do, the concerts, and eating food made by someone other than myself.
The first year the boys and I just went for the day, and I HATED it! It was so hot, and I got lost, and the boys got sunburned and it was just an overall bummer. The following year we spent 2 nights and enjoyed it. We borrowed the Ponten's tent trailer and the boys had so much fun playing in the trailer and in the blow-up pool we set up for them, I don't know if we ever actually went to a concert. Although, I heard all the headliners, as our campsite is close to the entrance and while I couldn't SEE the bands, I could HEAR them.
Last year, we stayed 3 nights in the Wilson's tent trailer (thank goodness for generous friends) and the boys had a fabulous time. Adam and I were thankful that our friend Jerry offered to stay at the campsite with the boys (who were asleep at the time) so we could see the Newsboys, who never disappoint in their shows. Last year they did this awesome drum thing, where the drummer went up on this lift and was spinning around while playing - seriously, very cool! I think the boys may have endured a worship session or two.
This year we stayed the whole time, again in the Wilson's trailer. It wasn't as hot as usual (maybe 90's), and there was a breeze. The boys had a GREAT time swimming in the Columbia, and playing with Chad's squirt gun. We took in a few concerts as a family, and Adam stayed back at the camp with the boys while I saw Skillet (great show, but not my taste in music), Toby Mac ("not bad for a 40 year old", was the comment of the teenager sitting behind me), David Crowder (great show), and the Newsboys LOVE THEM (who "put on a good show, but looked like they just got out of jail" , was the comment from some man who was walking out alongside me). Again, we had a great camping spot and we were able to hear all the headliners. Oh, and in one of the tents they had a clothing line called, "Thorn Clothing". Thornley was soooooo excited. He and I each got a shirt, and a pin that says I heart Thorn. So cute. My WE tattoo that was supposed to last for a week only lasted thru one long shower last night, kind of bummed about that.
So now we're home with loads of dirty laundry, and lots of free downloads of songs from Creation. I bummed I forgot my camera, so I have no pictures to share. The boys are happy to be home where the toilets flush and we can shop in stores and not out of tents.
Sadly, I don't think we'll be back for a few years, as next year Adam will have been at Newport 7 years, and will be able to take a sabbatical (yay!).

Back to school shopping?

2008-07-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

Since about May we've seen back to school stuff at Target (ok - so I am exaggerating, but I do think some people started back to school shopping before school was even out). Last week Thornley got a bee in his bonnet to go back to school shopping. Some of it was inspired by a commercial he'd seen for a pair of shoes he wanted (Sketchers z-straps, so cool, so fast, so awesome). He has been BEGGING me to take him shopping. I told him he'd have to wait until after Creation (super fun this year), and he did. This morning he woke up saying he was ready to go shopping. So, I printed the list of what to get (thanks for helping me remember where to find it Cori) and off we went to Target.
Now, this item wasn't on the list of what to buy, but Target has a whole bunch of new Star Wars toys in honor of the new Clone Wars movie coming out August 15th, and I figured since the boys did such a great job while at Creation, I would indulge them.

I must say, if they'd let him, he'd wear it to school, he is sooooo excited.

Then we went to Bell Square to look at the Sketcher store, and purchase a good-bye gift for the Nightingales (be afraid Matt & Luanne, be very afraid). The infamous z-straps are home and have been put to good use today. Jack was a bit disappointed that I said no to the light-up shoes, but we did find him a pretty cool pair of shoes. I decided to stop by Gap Kids to see if my friend Kara was working, and she wasn't, but guess what Gap Kids carries now...The JunkFood brand of t-shirts, and they had new Star Wars shirts - again in honor of the new movie. Pretty much between those 2 purchases I've blown my lot of back to school clothes $$.

A title just won't do it justice

2008-07-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight Jack gave one of his infamous Day Camp concerts. Those of you who heard Saddle Up Your Horses last year, probably still remember it well (or at least now you do). I don't know the title of this catchy tune, but it starts out, "Everybody come with me it's time to sing...", hence his hand motions. The kid cracks me up!
Because I don't know how to attach a video, I have these pictures for your viewing pleasure. Give him a call, maybe he'll sing for you.

Move over Letterman

2008-07-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight Thornley put on his "pastor clothes" and went off to pastor. The funny thing about it was, instead of taking his Bible and "preaching", which he does from time to time, he decided to interview Emily and Zach. Now, as of late, Thornley hasn't wanted to go to bed when it's time to go to bed, so he's come downstairs a few nights now and watched Big Brother with me (yay for the summer reality tv). So Emily gets situated in the "interviewee" seat and Thornley's first question is, "What does it feel like to get evicted from the Big Brother house?" And cute Emily says, "I don't understand your question.", and then goes on to make up an answer.

Zach is next and Thornley asks him, "How would you feel if I said you were fired?" Now where he got that from, I have no idea, because truly, the kid has NEVER watched the Apprentice. Zach wasn't as excited to be interviewed, so Thornley had to take a bit more aggressive stance, as can be seen in the picture.

How We Spent our Summer Vacation

2008-07-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

Learning mad ninja skills, wax on wax off, Jack Fu

Taking flying lessons, seeker Thornley looking for the snitch...

The Perfect End to the Perfect Day

2008-07-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Today dawned early for the Andersons - it was garage sale day!!
Cori called a while back saying she was having a garage sale and did I have anything to contribute, which of course I did. I dragged down the bins from garage sales past of stuff that didn't sell and went thru toy chests and closets one last time. I had told the boys that if they would contribute some toys they no longer played with, when the garage sale was over we'd go buy a new toy. They were great and with every bag I packed they were ok with all that was getting sold.
We were off at 7:30, with Starbucks and Krispy Kremes in hand.
All in all it was a good day, I got rid of trash (I mean, my trash, but someone else's treasure), and collected a nice sum of money. The boys went to play at the Patricks, which, what 4 year old boy wouldn't loved being watched by a pretty 17 year old girl WITH A TRAMPOLINE IN HER YARD (I'm sure Thornley was smitten too, but he declared his love for another last night, Matt & Luanne we're looking forward to the wedding). Jack was telling me about the hot tub party he is going to have at her house later this summer; he'll bring his life vest and float.
AND the weather was GORGEOUS! At one point we had to move our chairs to sit in the shade, I mean it was at least 70 degrees (ha-ha-ha, just kidding, we do see the sun every now and then in Seattle).
And since I promised, and you don't want to break a promise, tonight we were off to the mall. Thornley had his heart set on this Star Wars Lego set to the tune of $100, but alas, the store was out. He was good about it, didn't even throw a tantrum and had picked something else out when he spotted IT...yes, the Star Wars Lego game for the Wii. He has been wanting this FOREVER and they had 1 let that was 1/2 off!
Jack wanted some Ben 10 toy that Adam was none too thrilled about, and is super hard to find (which I'm none to thrilled about - endless trips to Target and Toys R Us with a 6 and 4 year old). While we were on our way to Baskin Robins after the Lego store I spotted it, the perfect solution for Jack - Build a Bear. Jack LOVES stuffed animals - his all have names and he takes care of them. It's his dream to have an Alaskan Husky some day. And now he does - albeit a stuffed one. He is sooooooo excited, and it's much cuter than that Ben 10 WildMutt toy he wanted.
I'll leave you with pictures of Thornley conquering the galaxy and Jack and his new Cutie.

Adios Amigos!

2008-07-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

I have to say I'm feeling a bit bad for my Thorns lately. Thornley has many wonderful qualities, which I keep needing to remind myself daily/hourly/minute by minute, as he is also a very intense person. One of the things I love about Thornley is how much he loves his friends. Eventhough it doesn't always come across as such, he is a very sensitive soul.
This year he became friends with Emily, a cute little girl from his class. We LOVED Emily, every day there would be an Emily story to tell, and for a few weeks they even got to sit at the same mesa! Emily's family decided to move to Arizona, and I have to say I had to think long and hard about if I should tell Thornley because I knew he would be upset. But the bright side is Adam's parents live in Arizona, so we may be able to visit.
THEN the news came that another of his friends, Kelsey, is moving. This really makes ME sad too, since Thornley and Kelsey have ALWAYS gone to school together. They were in Young 3's, Young 4's and kindergarten together. Kelsey was the girl, that a year ago when Thornley was having his boy only party, he wanted to invite one girl - Kelsey. They are moving to Australia, and while I personally would LOVE to visit them I don't think that will happen any time soon.
THEN I'm told that his teacher from this year, whom I ADORE, retired at the end of the year. She was such a wonderful teacher for Thorns. I think she totally understood his personality and worked really well with him. No matter what he said, I know he loved her. When I told him she wouldn't be there next year, I really thought he might cry. He knew she wouldn't be his teacher, but I think he found comfort in knowing that she would be around, and since she retired, our friend Janet won't be at the school any more either, which made him really sad because I think he was thinking she'd help him get used to the playground routine.
And don't even get me started on the Nightingales moving...I mean come on now!
I hate change, and I really hate it when I have to help my kids, especially super sensitive Thornley, work through changes that make him sad.

Yikes! The fireworks are going off like crazy, so I guess I should end my post and lock up my tranquilized dog before he suffers too much trauma. I will end with a picture of Thornley and his amazing teacher.

Men are from Home Depot, Women are from The Container Store

2008-07-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

The boys and I just returned from a 12 day stay in California. It was fun seeing family and friends; the boys attended Day Camp at the church I grew up in, swam at my sisters, saw Wall E, and went to Marine World. While we were gone, Adam did some "home improvement" projects. I think it's funny how Adam and I differ when the other is out of town.

When Adam is gone, the boys and I get take out from the restaurants I like but Adam doesn't, and I try to clean/organize the house, get caught up on laundry, make some runs to Goodwill (usually to drop off, not shop), and of course stay sane. It never ceases to amaze me that my husband can go out of town for 21 days, and usually Cori is the only one to invite the boys and I over for dinner (I won't even go into my summer without a washer while Adam was in Jamaica for 21 days...).

When the boys and I are gone (why is it I'm never gone without the boys...) Adam takes on some project or another, he gets MANY invitations from MANY people to come over for dinner, and when he isn't invited over to someone's house he takes himself OUT to eat. This time was no exception. Adam decided to paint the stairs, which was much needed, as I can't even remember what trip the boys and I were on when he took the carpet out. Painting the stairs turned into, painting the ENTIRE entry way, stairs included, installing a new ceiling fan in the entry and putting in a new/much needed shower head in the boys bathroom. He was going to paint the hall, but ran out of time. It looks great, it really does. He has a better eye for that sort of thing than I do, and definitely is a better painter than I am (Cori and Mark can vouch for my painting "abilities").

I really appreciate all his hard work - I really do, but now I will leave you with a few pictures while I'm off to scrub the toilets and kitchen floor, and ask how one manages to only run the dishwasher once in 12 days...

Lots of Pomp for the Circumstance

2008-06-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

From the first day of kindergarten...

To the last...

Thornley did awesome, and I am very proud of our graduate!

It was all too much for Jack to handle!

I Love This Kid

2008-06-10T19:25:00.003-07:00

Don't quite know what was going on, I walked in on the tail end of some Kung Fu Panda something or other.

The 6 million dollar dog

2008-05-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Move over Lee Majors...meet George, the 6 million dollar dog. Although, nothing is robotic, or controlled by a computer chip or two. Nope, just a lot of pain medication and IV drips going on here. We've decided we're going to change his name to Europe, or perhaps Summer Vacation, since we could have taken some nice trips with the money we're going to have to give the vet when George comes home. He is still at the vet, and will remain there until at least Sat. They started giving him water yesterday in the late afternoon and he has been able to tolerate that. We stopped by for a visit today after lunch, and he was happy to see us, but as we were in the OR and they were about to start a procedure (which I for one would have loved to watch), we couldn't stay long. They are going to introduce food to him this evening and see how he does with that, and if all goes well he should come home on Sat. Which is a bit of a silver lining for us, since we're going to be gone tomorrow night and would have had to get a dog sitter. The down side is we usually pay $20 a day, not $200. He is in good hands, and I do appreciate the vet being cautious. Adam and I did, however, agree that even though we love George, if this happens again we will miss him.
On the bright side, I vacuumed on Tuesday, and the floors are still clean.

The things we do for love

2008-05-27T18:11:00.000-07:00

This morning, around 3:00, Adam woke up and said he heard George making noise. How the heck can he hear George when he is locked up downstairs (George, not Adam), and not hear our children who are in a room a yard away from us? Anyway, he said he heard George, so he went down to check on him and without going into detail, came back up to say he was sick. Now, it's not out of character for George to eat something, have it upset his stomach, throw up a time or two and then bounce back. He threw up again in the early morning, and then when the boys and I got up, I went downstairs to let him outside. When he came back in, he wanted a treat, went downstairs to lay on the couch for a bit, then threw up again.
Tuesdays I usually drop the boys off at their schools, stay out doing stuff, work for 2 hours and come home around 2:00. I didn't want to leave George unattended that long, so after I dropped the boys off I came home and he had thrown up AGAIN! So off to the vet we went. It appears he has pancreatitis, but they are awaiting the results of the blood work to say how bad it is. He will spend the night with his IV drip as they continue to monitor him. How much is this going to cost us? Roughly $1,000, maybe more - buh bye stimulus check! How can I not pay this though? We've had George longer than we've had our kids! Not to mention the fact that Jack ADORES George and is so sad that he's at the Dr and can't be home with him. I do hope he's feeling better and can come home soon. Too bad dog's don't learn lessons, like, oh yeah, last time I ate out of the trash can I had to go to the vet. But no, he will come home and do it all over again, most likely.

George and I on a hike when he was a puppy.

Happy Birthday Thornley!

2008-05-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

Isn't it funny how six years ago today, about this time I was thinking the exact same thing...why can't everyone leave me alone so I can rest?!
You know how people say that you forget the whole birthing process? Well, let me tell you 6 years later I remember it like it was yesterday! Thornley was born 10 days past my due date. I had gone to the doctor on the morning of the 15th for some "non-stress" tests that frankly, stressed me out! My doctor decided that the next morning I should come to the hospital and they would start the induction process. This was fine with me, the next day would be a Thursday and was the Survivor Africa finale as well as the Friends episode where Rachel had her baby, so I thought I could hang out with a Potocin drip and watch my shows. Later that afternoon we were getting ready to go out to dinner with my mom and Adam's parents and my water broke. So off to the hospital we went. At some point in time Thornley's heart rate dropped, so they did one of those internal monitor deals. At about 4 a.m. I woke up to a steady beep, and was yelling at Adam to go get the nurse because the monitor wasn't registering a pulse. It took a few times to wake Adam who was snoring in the chair. The nurse comes in, says the monitor fell off Thornley's head and he was indeed fine, and oh look, it's time to push. So I pushed, and I pushed, and I pushed and 4 hours later no progress had been made, so off to the C-section room I went. A few minutes later I had the biggest coneheaded son around (really, remember the coneheads from Saturday Night Live - that was Thornley). Now, in Idaho, after a C-section, they take the baby to the nursery to check them out and get them cleaned up and you off to recovery. Finally, some rest I thought. Nope! the nurses talked to me the whole time!!
Six years later and I'm still waiting to get some rest! I love Thornley very much, and he does bring me much happiness and laughter, but he also brings me those moments that I feel like banging my head against the wall! He is so full of life and creativity and curiousity, there is never a dull moment with this one!
Thanks for strolling with me down memory lane! And Happy Birthday to my Thorns!!

Great Expectations

2008-05-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Thornley's 6th birthday. Hard to believe 6 years has passed! He brings me such joy, and such frustration!! i've always said he is a little Adam, but more and more I'm seeing bits of me in there too (not always a good thing, either).
This morning I said, "tomorrow is your big day!!"
To which he replied, "yes, and I expect my presents on my bed when I wake up".
I knew it was a bad idea to put his Easter gift on his bed!
I will put ONE on his bed, and the rest ON THE TABLE to greet him when he wakes up.
Speaking of his birthday, I guess I should get his "favors" ready for his class tomorrow. His class doesn't do food on birthdays, but each child can bring something for all the kids in the class. Thank goodness for $1 bins! Each boy is getting a Spiderman pen and each girl a Strawberry Shortcake bracelet.
How funny, that as I look at the clock and am about ready to post this, about this time 6 years ago we were headed to the hospital.

Kind of like Freaky Friday - but different

2008-05-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

I seriously think my 6 year old is a 13 year old in disguise. Today he made 3 lists:
1. The people I like (luckily I made that list along with a few others)
2. The people I don't like (quite lengthy, I guess it was a rough day in school)
and my favorite, that I saw as I was tidying up the house tonight...
3. The Worst Days:
- today
- the whole month

Guess the birthday party wasn't all it was cracked up to be!

Saying goodbye to an old friend

2008-05-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

No, don't worry, no one died. A few years back, like even before Jack was born, I think, I found a pair of denim capri pants at Value Village. LOVE my capri pants! I think I paid like $5 for them. How sad was I yesterday, when I noticed that one wrong bend and the whole back would split! So sad, it's very rare for me to wear something until it becomes threadbare, but I loved those pants!!
Now I'm on a mission to find a pair to replace them, but I was so spoiled to find the PERFECT pair at Value Village!
Goodwill here I come!!

Oh Happy Day

2008-05-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

In most aspects of life Thornley is a little Adam, except when it comes to party time. Thornley LOVES parties, he likes to help me plan them, he likes to go shopping for them, he likes almost everything about them (except cleaning up before and after, but really who can blame him for that?). The one thing about Thornley is he always picks a random theme, but without fail, the year AFTER we throw him whatever party he chooses, the stores will be filled with party supplies in that theme. Last year it was Larry Boy, a stretch, but it was fun. This year Thornley chose a webkinz theme. GREAT!, no invitations, no napkins, no nothing, so here is what we came up with...

The guests (all 10 of them; two couldn't come) arrived and we went into Chef Gaspacho's kitchen and made cupcakes, a bit of a stretch for 6 year old boys. We then headed outside for our gem hunt. Gems were hidden in Easter eggs, but don't be fooled, not all eggs contained gems, some were rocks or "slag" and you had to keep hunting. Once the gems were found, they headed inside to make their crown of wonder...

We also played Bullseye Batter where they hit the ball off a tee towards a target hanging from our basketball hoop. They really seemed to enjoy this one and some of them hit the bullseye every time!

We also had a fun pie throw - sorry to our neighbors who now have whipped cream all over the far corner of their backyard!

All the while everyone was earning KinzCash, which they spent at the end at the W-Shop, which I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of. I put out a bunch of candy, gum, little toys, glow sticks, etc and the kids could buy stuff for their goody bag with their KinzCash.

One spin on the Wheel of Wow, where they could get trading cards, a ring pop, a pencil, or another trip to the W-Shop was the end of the party.

Now I'm left with a bunch of leftover candy, a messy house, and a happy 6 year old!

Like sand thru the hour glass...

2008-05-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

So are the days of my life! Holy smokes it's been a while! And now I'm on here because I'm avoiding work around the house, planning Thornley's party that is Sat., and planning a fundraising dinner at the church later this month. And I'm sure there is a book or two that I could be putting together for Thornley's teacher...
I guess we've been busy...we endured Opening Day and the fireworks and snow...

We celebrated Jack's birthday with a Harry Potter party and magical candles...

We went to Arizona for Spring Break to visit Adam's parents...

And now, I must get back to my laundry, cleaning, planning, bed making craziness of today.

Back in the day...

2008-05-01T14:16:00.001-07:00

OK, so I hate it when people tell stories and start with, "When I was...". If you share those feelings, you can just stop reading now.

I know we live in Bellevue so things are a bit above and beyond the norm, but really. The other day I received an email from one of the room moms from Thornley's class reminding us that teacher appreciation week is next week. Now, being a teacher myself, I'm all about appreciating my kids' teachers. I love Thornley's teacher and her assistant and of course can't say enough about those dear, sweet Young 3's teachers that Jack has, and I do let them know from time to time how much I appreciate them and all their hard work. I have to say, though, I think they're going a bit above and beyond for teacher appreciation week at Thornley's school (and I know his isn't the only school, I've talked with friends in other districts)...Monday is breakfast and coffee day, where people are bringing in their espresso machines and making coffee for the teachers, Tuesday is flower and card day so each kid brings in a flower and a card made from a template that they send you, Wed is car wash day so parents are supposed to volunteer to wash the teacher's car, Thursday is a luncheon where people are supposed to sign up and bring things for a special lunch, and Friday is chocolate basket day (not sure where all this chocolate is coming from).

Now, here it comes...when I was teaching in the public schools in California we got A PEN yep, that's right, a single, solitary pen with the school district's name. I can't remember what happened in Idaho, maybe a pencil or a lanyard type thing for our keys - who knows.
Maybe it's time to renew my credential...(just kidding, Adam, I LOVE my job at the preschool!)

It's almost April 1st, but this is no joke

2008-03-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

According to my calendar, it's almost April 1st. Being born and raised in CA, that means warmer weather and time to break out the shorts. Here is a picture I took of Jack YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!

I for one am ready for the sun and some warm weather! We are going to opening day on Monday (go M's!!) and I really don't want to have to wear snow gear!

While it is still snowing a tad, here is a picture of our deck this morning...

The most wonderful time of the year

2008-03-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

That's right - March Madness baby!!
I love March Madness - getting the sports page and filling out my brackets, hanging it up on the fridge and seeing if I chose wisely.
Tonight at dinner, I was filling out my bracket and the boys decided to help me; so we picked Georgetown because it reminded them of our dog (which I was fine with, since I think they're #1 in their section), Drake because it sounds like Draco Malfoy, and a few other choice picks. Much like people who choose based on the uniforms, or the cheerleaders, my boys had some sound reasoning behind their choices.
Needless to say, if I end up throwing my bracket away after the first weekend, at least I can point my finger towards the boys, and it will have nothing to do with my knowledge of teams and their abilities.

Not much luck, but one strike!

2008-03-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

This year, Cori and I decided to have a combo birthday party, and we thought it would be fun to go to the new swanky bowling alley...Lucky Strike. Who knew you'd have to get dressed up to go bowling - seriously, they have a dress code!

So we chose 14 friends and off we went to celebrate. Jen works on Friday nights, and since she was going to miss out on the bowling portion, her husband, Mike, brought a date...Marge, his bowling ball (who knew I had a friend that owned their own bowling ball).

Wow! I suck at bowling! I tried to make the best of it though, and down play my competitiveness, but really, the only strike I got was when I was bowling for Brad who hadn't showed up yet!

Maybe for my 40th I'll go to happy hour at the pub - I'm good at ordering off menus!

Here is a photo of Adam and me at the bowling alley..

A picture is worth 1.000 words OR...

2008-03-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

$2,000, if it's taken in the emergency room! Here is Jack during his latest trip to the ER.

I took him in last week because his breathing seemed rapid and shallow. So at 2:00 a.m. off we went to Overlake. The new ER is beautiful, and the rooms are much larger. We were seen right away by a triage nurse, who asked if he had a fever. He did feel warm, but his medication makes him flushed, so I didn't think anything of it. Oops!! He did have a fever, which I guess caused the rapid, shallow breathing. The nurse said she heard "something" while listening to his lungs, but gave us a minute to look at the fish before heading off to our room where we sat...and sat...and sat. A whole 2 hours before someone even came to check on us! Tylenol, a breathing treatment, a check for RSV and the flu, and some chest X-rays (with a very friendly technician - I guess it gets lonely in the ER at 4:00 am) and the diagnosis was a virus.
Then today we received the bill - no wonder they were able to build a new facility!!
Every cloud has it's silver lining, however, and once Jack's fever had come down and he fell asleep, I was able to watch a few Saved by the Bell episodes while waiting for the discharge papers, AND there was no line at the drive thru Starbucks at 6:00 am on my way home.
We picked my mom up a few hours later and she stayed home with Jack while he recovered and I was able to get out and do errands.
A week later, he is FINALLY better, and I finally convinced my pediatrician to put him on some asthma medicine (he gets more and more like me everyday). Now I must clean the mud off the walls from all their playing outside today.

Parenting Classes

2008-03-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

According to my kids I AM the meanest mommy ever. I told them, as I should be, since I took all the classes. You know the ones...

How to say no when ever your child asks for something
How to make the grossest food EVER
How to be no fun by not letting them play on the computer/Wii 24/7
Making them go to bed at a decent hour

And from the conversations I've had with friends today, I am not the only alum of MMU (mean mommy university).
Funny thing is, the boys were mad at Adam tonight and they asked him if he took the same classes as I did.
Is it bedtime yet?

It's time to celebrate Momukkah

2008-03-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

You know you're singing the Adam Sandler song...
So here is a holiday worth looking into. My pediatrician (that I've been seeing a lot of lately, unfortunately) was telling me that in his family they celebrate Momukkah. The week before his wife's birthday, they do something every night to celebrate her, like Hanukkah, but you don't have to be a certain religion, and it's only for moms - how great is that!! And then on the actual day they do something special.
Let me tell you, after the week and a half my family has had, I could use a good Momukkah celebration. We have pulled a Cori and been to the doctor 4 times in 6 days (Adam and Jack both went on Wed., and well, the office isn't open on the weekends, or we probably would have been there). Jack is to the point in his illness where he is getting better; how do I know this...his cough is getting looser, which means he coughs so much he throws up. Yesterday it was all over him and his carseat, while we were on our way to work and then again at the dinner table. Today, no actual puke-age, just some gagging after a coughing fit. How do you tell a 3 year old boy to calm down and take deep breaths and it will help his cough?
I picked Thornley up from school yesterday and he greeted me with, "I think I need to go to the doctor, my ear hurts." Yep, ear infection!
The upside of my kids being sick, they sit on the couch and watch tv, so my house if fairly clean (save the melted popsicle on the family room floor - going to mop that up when the boys are in bed) and I've caught up on my laundry (it's all washed, just waiting to be folded, which will happen during Big Brother - maybe).
Time for a breathing treatment for Jack and a beer for me!
Happy Momukkah to me!!