Perspective

So I've shared how freeing my lack of a social calendar has been, but lately the novelty has been slowly wearing off. I don't want to be so busy that my head spins in circles but it'd be nice to actually need a day planner (or iPad calendar or Microsoft outlook or any other form of engagement organizer) I told Austin that I'm beginning to feel the pang in my side that tells me I need friends and he said 'well I'll see if bills and I can arrange something.

Bills(a new character in my blog who I'm sure is thrilled to be part of this blog world unknown to him) is another platoon sergeant in Austin's company who has been urging Austin to 'get the wives together'. He thinks that his wife and I would be instant friends - which sounds nice but his entire premise for his theory is based on the fact that we both like to bake. Martha Stewart and I share that in common too but I bet we'd be far fetched to find any other mutual topics of conversation. So, as is true to my personality, I've been a little skeptical and reluctant to dive in and say lets go.

I am not sure if Austin told Bills that I was begging for friends, but last night during the Olympics he texted Austin and asked if I would want to go to a book club with his wife on Thursday.

There are some red flags here.

#1 I enjoy reading but have never been a very committed reader. I sort of play on the shore of calling myself a reader and there have been long periods of time where I haven't touched a book and haven't cared one bit. So 'book club' isn't quite where I'd picture myself (truly no judgment here, I'm just not that great with it)

#2 walk into a room of 5(or maybe 20) women who all know each other, none of whom I've even met? Me? I mean you, maybe, but me?

#3 the book of the month is one I'd usually quit reading mid-way through the back cover. Actually i did quit reading through the back cover on my first glance. And I'd have to actually turn to page 1?

#4 did I mention all of the women are members of the same church, and that church happens to be a different religion than my own? Now - before you start judging me - some of my best friends from Colorado are also members of this faith and I have never taken issue with it. But if #2 didn't make me enough of an outsider, think this one might???

#5 the one women in the group with whom I'm expected to be instant friends will be moving in two months. The cynic in me says 'what's the point?'

So, I emailed the scenario to Addie asking her opinion. I know her well enough to know she herself would likely be planning to pass on the invite so I knew she wouldn't judge. And she gave me the best response:

If Rickie hadn't sat next to me in geology and asked to go to lunch without EVER knowing me, we would never have hung out. Which means we never would have hung out with Ryan and James and she never would have dragged me to that party (because James liked Rickie). Which means Ryan and I would never have started dating and I never would have been introduced to that b-batt crew. THEN I never would have met you. (and I never talk to Rickie anymore)

True. And how can I argue with logic that very well could find me a friend of 9 or more years? (Addie can you believe we've known each other for 10 years next spring????)

So - to book club I go! On Thursday. And if I absolutely hate it and never speak to the people again, I guess I lost an evening of my life. I'd say I have far more to gain.


- manda

You know what I'm sick of?

Politics. And it's only August! How am I going to survive?

You know what I'm more sick of? The chick fil a debate. Get over it! So a known Christian business owner answered an interview question honestly based on his beliefs - is he the first ever? Will he be the last? If you heard hate and bigotry in his statements then don't eat at his restaurant. If he offended you and you don't want to support his AMAZING chicken sandwiches and DELICIOUS waffle fries and YUM YUM milkshakes then by all means, bid them farewell. But can we just move on?

I realize that in writing this I am in fact not moving on, but I'm not here to debate his opinion or his beliefs or my support for him. I love chick fil a. Why? Because I love their food! I would eat their August 1 if I could because I'd eat there at least once a week if I could. Not because I do or do not agree with his views.

I didn't stop drinking Starbucks when they reportedly announced they didn't support our military. Number one I didn't know if it was true, and number two our relationship was not based on our joint belief system. Our relationship was based on the fact that they provided a product I liked. Period.

Did I agree with Starbucks? No. Do I agree with the CEO of chick fil a? Likely. But my point is it doesn't matter! If chick fil a were engaging in violent hate crimes against homosexuals and using company funds to do so I'd take issue with pouring my money into their pockets. But the last time I ate at chick fil a I was served by someone I'd bet any amount of money was homosexual and you know what? He was happy to work there. He and his coworkers enjoyed each other's company. And I devoured my waffle fries. So where the CEO stands on any one of his religious beliefs (religious or political? I'm sadly confused these days) is of little
Concern to me.

What IS of concern to me is #1 when is chick fil a coming to seaside, ca? and #2 when did it become wrong to have opinions one way or another? Until you can, without malicious words toward the other side, answer that question please PLEASE just make it stop.

I think I need to go to Australia until mid November.


- manda

MY STUPID APP

I wrote 3 blogs that just disappeared into cyber/mobile/e space apparently.  I'll just have to try to recreate them this weekend I suppose.

Relay Update:

William and I are on our way out the door to try to solicit some last minute sponsors for the Relay.  We have some sponsorship forms and some business card supporter forms.  Hopefully we can get some local businesses to sponsor but with the last minute timing, I'm mostly thinking a few business card sponsors would be great.

We met at the Relay Site on Wednesday with our ACS representative and the team captain from the fire department.  Their team name is "Seaside FD: Hot for a Cure"  clever huh?  The site is going to be great I think.  There's a big playground so it's free entertainment for kids.  In Salinas they pay for bounce houses and game trucks and stuff like that - we have a free park!  It's great for a first year site.  There's plenty of space for camping and cooking too, and I think we're really going to have a great time.  It got me really excited!  Lindsey has been working on 3 other local relays and they all happen to be clumped near each other so I'm sure she's just ready for her relay season to be over, but she's done a great job getting this first year event up and running.  Have I mentioned I'm excited???

Our team has raised $1830!!!  We are SO PROUD!  Our goal was $2,000 so we are almost there.  I realized that some people have made online donations that I never got a notice for, so I may not have been able to thank you, and some people have made anonymous donations.  So - I'll just say one BIG THANK YOU to all of our supporters.  We are incredibly thankful for your support through your financial donations, and your encouraging words.  I've received many sweet cards in the mail from family and friends encouraging us in our journey.  They really mean the world.

Sorry this update is so scatter brained - just thought I'd do a quick blog check and relay website check before we run out the door and that's when I realized my blog hadn't been working all week!  So my apologies there too :)  (i know you were sobbing in bed at night)

Also - it's not too late to donate, for those of you who may want to jump on board our team of donors.  The site - again - is
www.realyforlife.org/seasideca
Feel free to support myself, Austin, my mom or Alfredo - or hey, you could support one of his soldiers and help them earn their t-shirts!  I'm sure they'd appreciate the support too :)

Happy weekend!

Californ-I-yay Roday-o

Salinas has a theme song for their rodeo - I don't remember all of it but it ends with 'at the Californ-I-yay Roday-o'. Very pneumonic of them.

But it was a lot of fun!

I had noticed signs for the rodeo when I first started my job and thought it could be a fun event. I had no idea how big it is for this small/mid sized town. But when I heard they pronounce it roDAYo I was a bit worried. When I hear that pronunciation I, naturally, think of pretty woman and roDAYo drive. So I assumed salinas was trying to glam up a country event and that it wouldn't be worth attending. We were offered free 'sponsor' tickets for my birthday though, so I figured - why not?

William LOOOOOOVED it. Loved it. We had access to the hospitality tent where there were tables and chairs with free food and drinks, so Austin and I preferred to stay there. But William kept asking to go sit in the stands where he could see better so we finally obliged. He was so happy! I couldn't get a picture of his face cause he wouldn't take his eyes off the cowboys and animals.



It was at the same outdoor sports complex where the relay for life was, but the arena is much bigger than I had realized before.



And of course William loved all the tractors.



We didn't realize the timing for the events so we missed more than we'd like, but we still had a great time. After the bull riding we walked around the booths to see if we could find Austin some boots. We didn't, but we did find these!






And would you believe the salesperson said his Texas merchandise just flies off his shelves? I wasn't surprised. It's a pride unsurpassed. And who was I to break the streak? we had to support the local Texas love.

William liked trying on hats but I wasn't about to spend that money on a hat he'll soon grow out of. That's what grandparents are for, not mommies.



We tried to walk over to the kid's play area but it was already closed. We did catch the face painters though and William was pretty proud of his spider man.


Look at that proud face! He kept pointing to his unpainted cheek saying 'this is William' then pointing to his paint saying 'and this is spiderman!' For someone who has never seen spiderman he sure does live the paraphernalia!

And in the end we had a tired, conked out baby. He could barely stay away past 7:00. He had an awesome day and loved the rodeo!

And I have to say I was pleasantly surprised myself. It was pretty awesome!

- manda

What do you think of?

In times like this, what is it that you think of? Where does your focus land?

Do you think of the innocent lives lost? Do you think of the lives cut short, and what they could have become had someone not stolen it from them? I wonder what they thought when they saw the shooter enter the theater. I wonder if they saw him at all.

Do you think of the injured? Do you think of the people laying in the hospital with gun shot wounds? Their lives will never be the same. They will look at the world through new lenses. Will the lenses be good? Will they embrace the gift of another day and make something of themselves? Or will their vision forever be tainted and battered, seeing the worst in everything around them?

Do you think of the employees at the theater? The people who were awake in the middle of the night to try and earn some extra money on their next paycheck. The ones who were mindlessly serving popcorn and coke to people whose lives were going to end suddenly? I wonder what they felt when they were watching the time tick by on the clock then suddenly heard gunshots and screams.

Do you think of the families who got dreaded phone calls? Mothers kissed their teenagers before they went to bed that night and told them to come straight home after the movie. Parents paid babysitters to care for their children until their expected safe return a few hours later. But while someone was murdering innocent people at a theater, their families were sleeping peacefully at home in their beds. They had no idea the horrific loss they were going to endure in their sleep. I wonder if they’ll ever sleep well again.

Do you think of the family of the shooter? Did they suspect anything was wrong with him? Did they talk to him at all? I wonder a lot about his mother. I wonder if she will replay his entire life in her head for years to come. I wonder if she will beat herself up forever over potential mistakes or wrong choices, never knowing if she failed as a mother. The guilt of motherhood is the heaviest burden to carry I think.

Do you think of your own families? Do you hug them one more time just because you realize life is precious? Do you call and apologize for the mean thing you said yesterday? I usually tell William we don’t have time for 4 books in the morning (he asks for 4 because he knows at bedtime he gets 4) but today I let him sit in my lap as I read 4 books of his choice. I squeezed him tighter, I kissed him more, and I thanked God for the opportunity to be his mom. Again. And again.

Do you think of the shooter? Do you think of him with hatred? pity? compassion? I wonder how long he planned this. Weeks ago when he saw his state ablaze did the thought ever cross his mind that enough lives were lost? I wonder why he planned this. Was he angry? Was he lonely? Was his brain so convoluted to think that he was just acting out a scene from the movie? Did he just want his name to go down in history? I wonder what he’s thinking right now.

Or are you like me? Me – I think of all of them. I juggle thoughts of the victims, the witnesses, the families, my family, and the shooter. Am I so affected by this tragedy because it occurred 10 minutes from our last home? Or are we all so affected by tragedies like this because it brings reality to the forefront of our attention? I’m angry. I’m hurt. I’m scared. I’m sorry.

And I’m thankful. I’m thankful that I have been given today. I’m thankful that I can appreciate the blessings in my life. My entire day was filled with love and blessings, and I’m thankful I can remember that today.



- manda

Opening a present

I wish I could paint you a picture. But I'm not an artist, so I'm going to attempt to paint you a picture with my words. I know I will fail to match the beauty I'm aiming for, but maybe I'll land somewhere close.

In the mornings it is usually foggy in Monterey. I don't love fog, but it is a happy time of day for me. I always hear George clooney's voice(and hearing George clooney can make any day a happy one) in The Perfect Storm saying 'the fog's just lifting. ...' I hear it because I loved that part of the movie; I loved where he relished in the blessing to be living his life. I can't believe I get to live where I am now, seeing a bit of the fog he described. This morning's fog was a little different though.

First, as we entered onto highway 1 which is maybe 50 feet from the water the fog was more dense than usual. There was no sight of sunshine peeking trough, no visibility of the waves breaking on the shore, no signs of tail lights ahead. It was a very thick, pretty nasty fog. I remember thinking 'I guess we got spoiled in June with the lack of fog and we are collecting on past due weather'. Then in an instant it was like we just curved around the fog wall. To my right I could still see this grey, dense fog consuming the beach and above the car and mountains I saw the same. But just in front of me, just peeking around the well defined edge of the fog, the sun was shining down on Monterey. I tried to capture a picture as the moment captivated me, but let's be honest - I was driving 65 mph down a freeway with a jabbering 2 year old. I shouldn't have been taking pictures in the first place, and the one I got just didn't do the moment justice.



There's just a little piece of God's gift to me peeking out. And in that instant I heard Him say, 'even when you can't see where you're going, just keep trusting that I have a gift for you on the other side of the clouds'. And he sure does! My picture doesn't show the fog that was literally consuming me. My picture doesn't show the brightness which shined through the little gap of the landscape. If I were a photographer or a painter I'd work tirelessly to capture that and share it with you.

I got an email today from one of my oldest friends and she said, 'I'm so glad you're doing so well in Cali, I know how nervous you were'.

I was. But I did my best to trust and have faith and believe that God had a plan laid out. And as He guided me, he slowly peeled back the fog to reveal his beautiful gift. He revealed it a little at a time, constantly reminding me 'stop worrying; I've got this. You have no idea'.

I had no idea. And maybe today you have no idea. I don't know if God shared this with me as a reminder of his faithfulness through all of this or if He shared it with me because He's trusting me to share it with you. Either way, I couldn't keep it to myself. God shared Himself with me and for my birthday he let me open a beautiful gift. Happy, happy birthday!



- manda

Oh man! Just great

I wrote a blog yesterday and it didn't post! So now I have to re-write it then I'll be a day late on William Wednesday again. Ahhh, what frustration.

Two days ago I got a super fun birthday package in the mail. And what is a birthday package without at least one surprise for William? This was actually my second awesome package and neither one disappointed my little tot.

But this one brought on a parental 'mistake' that was just so fun!

After dinner and playtime Monday I proceeded to take William to the bath to clean him up and wind him down. I thought I had done a good job and then at 8:30 as I was drying him off I heard Austin say, 'wait don't bring him in his room I'm making a surprise for him'.

I was thinking maybe a tower of blankies or stuffed animal buddies or laying out his 4 books for the night. I was not envisioning a remake of the Olympic rings out of his new glow sticks!!! We went into his room when Austin said it was ready and William's face lit up when he saw the glow stick masterpiece.

Usually after bath there's about 3-5 minutes of trying to get him dressed and get him to lay down, then 10 or so minutes of reading his 4 chosen books, then if he still let's us we sing songs until he's asleep. Otherwise we just lay with him for a little bit and bedtime ends almost like clockwork at 9:00. But, as the clock struck 9:00 we were still building necklaces and bracelets and more Olympic rings and twirling them all in the air and laughing hysterically. Finally at about 9:05 I asked William if he wanted to play with his glow sticks alone for a little bit while we showered and did dishes and then told him I'd come back. He didn't like the plan but when I told him the alternative (losing his glowsticks) he decided it was a great idea! When I went back in at 9:30 he was just barely keeping his eyes open, cuddled up with his favorite toy du jour.






(what it looked like with lights off)

In the morning, this is what I found



I put the glowsticks on the floor and got him ready for school, thinking surely they'd die out during the day and lose their luster. So at 8:45 last night when I heard lots of giggling coming from his room I was surprised to find that he and dada were playing with the glow ring again...still glowing away.

So, if you need glow sticks that live up to their name I highly recommend the black tube from michael's. They will not disappoint! But if you're trying to get a 2 year old (or almost 30 year old) to sleep I'd recommend you leave the glow sticks downstairs. Just from personal experience.

- manda

Nancy

Ok. The animals are revolting. Well, Maybe just the cats, but I'm not going to count on Layla to avoid the band wagon.

Reagan is gone. I've come to terms with it. He was cooped up as an indoor cat 8 years longer than he ever wanted to be, and he has always been an outdoor cat by nature. He's wild. He's feral. He's a terror, really, and I like to imagine that he's gone back to his roots and has found happiness. I also like to imagine that he has not found the underside of a car. K? In all honesty, I miss him a lot but I do know that he is having much more fun outside and I'm thankful for the companionship (read: neediness) he provided for the last 8 years.

But nancy. Sweet nancy. Itty bitty prissy pants nancy.

She's revolting.

We have had her for 5 years and in that time I have heard her squeak all of maybe 10 times. And they're the cutest little squeaks you've ever heard! She's never whined, never begged, never howled and never been a verbal nuisance. Annoying on the neck maybe, but never vocal.

And now - when there is night time silence for the first time in 8 years - she has decided its time to discover howls. She has learned to scream out the windows and sprint across the house at lightening speed, pressing all her weight into every step so as to sound like a herd of miniature elephants. (Reagan pulled off elephants well, but at 20 pounds his lesser she barely pulls of miniature elephants.)

And sweet, old, relaxed, laid back nancy has also since discovered the door. The DOOR! I fought with Reagan for 8 years about being freed into the wild, but never ol' priss pot. She's too high maintenance for that.

Or should I say she WAS too high maintenance.

This morning she - like Reagan one month ago - BOLTED out the door into the garage. Luckily the garage door was closed so she is now confined to the garage until the stubbornness subsides. But REALLY?!?! Come on nancy! What are you doing to me?

As William might say, dog gone animals!!!

I just hope my next post isn't titled '...and then there was one...'

Good 'ol Layla. For now.


- manda

William :)

You already know a lot about William's week from his episode at breakfast Saturday and our visit with Joy, but I'm sure I can come up with a few more things.

After the breakfast episode we stopped at target to get some flowers for Joy. I ran inside while William and dada waited in the truck - I wasn't risking another public display of humiliation! As I jogged past the dollar section my eye caught sight of a little army helmet. It was too cute for any army wife to pass up, plus William has been asking for a helmet lately. He knows dada has to wear a helmet to ride Jackl, so he had decided he needed a helmet to ride baby jackl! I quickly grabbed it then realized at check out that it was 70% off. 70% off $1??? Ok!



He was so excited when he saw me walk out of target! He now wears it anytime he rides baby jackl, which is usually how he travels from the living room to the kitchen.



When he gets off of his bike he gently places the helmet on the back rest of his seat, just like dada does on his. Monkey see, monkey do!

Monkey hear monkey say too - a few days ago a flock of birds swarmed in front of Melvin and Austin said 'dog gone birds!' And we now have a new phrase! When sand fell out of Williams shoes in Melvin yesterday he said 'dog gone sand!'

Sunday we took William to My Museum, the Monterey children's museum. It's another one of the things everyone told me we 'must' do while here. It was a cute little museum. The different areas are supposed to represent pieces of Monterey bay life so there was a boat in 'water' with rocky formations around, a golf course, a farm, and of course the usual...hospital, ambulance, fire truck, etc.



This creates a big bubble around you as the pully pulls up the ring. William loved it when the bubble got as high as his hands.





Oh, and yes he is wearing shorts, Thomas boots, and a sweater. He's 2, and I refuse to fight everything!

My personal favorite area was the craft station. They had bins of recycled scrap to use to create your own masterpiece. It is a little advanced so William needed my help with the hot glue, but I just took his instructions an this is what he created:


Pretty cute little car huh? I want to go back just to make more fun stuff! (junk, according to Austin, but I say it's treasure)

His new phrases that he's learning to use in conversation are:
I think so
No, I'm not
I don't think so

So sometimes if I ask him 'can you let Layla inside?' he will answer with 'I think so'. Works right? But he's still figuring it out - other times I'll say 'what 2 cars are you taking to bath?' and he'll say 'I think so!'

No, I'm not is more entertaining. It can be an answer to anything. 'are you sleepy?' 'do you want to ride in Melvin?' 'what should we eat for dinner?' - he's still fine tuning, but I love his little phrases.

We have another event-free weekend which means we will likely spend all our time entertaining William. Aquarium? Museum? Pool? Park? Quite possibly all of the above! Stay tuned :)



- manda

Not always an angel

I'm writing today's blog for multiple reasons. #1 I want everyone to know I am not naive enough to think my child is an angel 100% of the time. #2 I want to make light of my extreme embarrassment from this weekend. And #3 I hope that in doing so I may always remember being in this place so that I never find myself in the mindset where the old lady sitting at next next table found herself saturday morning.

Because she nearly found herself back smacked upside the head.

Saturday morning William came into our room around 6am and got in our bed. On the weekends he usually wakes us up around 8 and then we all get up but at 6:00 he fell back asleep and slept until 8:30. Mistake #1: allowing him to sleep past normal breakfast time.

We didn't have much in the house for food and we didn't want to go to the store then back home because we had to leave around 10 to go to aunt joy's. So we decided we'd go eat breakfast out then leave town. Mistake #2: not feeding him before we all got dressed and out the door.

When we said we were going in the boss (Austin's truck, just in case you've never been introduced) we saw the beginning of a meltdown. Mistake #3: continuing along with our plan to eat out despite the impending doom.

We struggled to get him in the boss, struggled to get him buckled in, and listened to his whines and cries all the way to the restaurant. Mistake #who's even still counting: not opting for a take out breakfast.

We took our crying 2 year old into a restaurant and he then became a screaming crying 2 year old. We then sat at a table which clearly was the wrong table and he became a kicking screaming crying 2 year old. For the parents out there - you know the moment when you see your toddler's body be taken over by some other soul and you just stare in shock and wonder 'who the heck is this person????' - I saw the transformation right in front of me. Do you know who else saw it? The 80ish year old woman sitting behind us.

Our food was served and his behavior had not improved so Austin took him outside to talk. As he was outside I was drinking my coffee, debating whether or not to pack our food to go, and attempting to ignore this conversation:
Woman: do you know what they need to do?
Oblivious husband: who?
Woman: the people with the baby
Oblivious husband: what baby?
Woman: the one screaming who was taken outside
Man: what do they need to do?
Woman: just splash water on his face
Man: why?
Woman: that always works. He's just tired and they don't know how to control him
Man: (as William is walking back in, once again resembling my angelic baby) well whatever they did worked.
Woman scoffed.

We proceeded to eat breakfast and I fought the tears of embarrassment the entire time. At one point Austin said 'that man fought in two wars, I can tell by the pin on his hat. I wonder if it was ww2 and Korea or Korea and Vietnam'

I said 'I don't know but he was fixin to witness ww3 between me and his B of a wife'
(note: I did say the letter B rather than the word, pat on the back for me) He asked why so I told him the story. As I was telling him William started to fuss again and I saw the lady stand up. Her husband asked what she was doing as she picked up her water cup and she said 'he just needs some water splashed on his face'. Her husband grabbed her arm and sat her down, and Austin and I agreed he was a smart man.

After we had finished eating and William's stomach was full things were much better. The older couple stood to leave and the woman stopped by William and said 'you are behaving so well, what a good boy you are'. As she said it she reached to touch his cheek. All I could do was stare her down and firmly say 'do not touch my child.'

She didn't.

So life was back to normal and the evil child had disappeared out of sight. William was incredibly well behaved the rest of the day and was just perfect at Joy's house - really.

I hope I never forget that I, too, now wear the badge of humiliation by toddler. I hope that I never look at parents and say 'oh they just need to____'. And even if I am so removed from toddlerhood that I say it, I sure hope someone has the brains to hold me back if I try to splash water on someone else's child.

Parenting a toddler is not for the weak. It's not fool proof. And when your 2 year old becomes that dreaded text book terror for 10 minutes, no text book answer will give you the results you're looking for. You're earning your badge.

I now wear mine proudly. As long as I'm living, my baby he'll be.



- manda

Joy

Today William, Austin and I went up to see my great aunt Joy again. Her 94th birthday is in a few days so we wanted to bring her flowers and take her out to lunch. William kept pointing at the flowers during the ride saying 'flowers for aunt joy' - so sweet, and I love that he knows his great GREAT aunt. Amazing! When we got there Joy surprised me by having a present for William though. Her birthday an she had a present for him!



She also had something special for me.



A picture of my dad! My moms picture boxes are filled with pictures of Brandon, Brandon, Brandon, Brian and a few spottings of a dark haired little sister - but no pictures of her or my dad! There are a few but apparently their lives and cameras revolved around their kids just like mine does now :) the point is I don't have many pictures of my dad, especially from his healthy years, so this one was a treat.

We went to a nice little cafe for lunch and William behaved like an angel. (stay tuned for a post with the opposite outcome...) after lunch we went back to Joy's house and spent some time visiting. If I didn't have an all-boy hyper 2 year old in a house full of glass I could stay all day listening to her stories. She talked about her great uncle Will (where I learned William's name started in our family) and how he helped his nieces sneak out of their house to go on dates, she talked about growing up with divorced parents in the 30's, she talked about her daughter and granddaughters - she just talked and talked. I heard stories about my grandfather who I never met, Mimi, my dad...just everything. I wish I had recorded it all so that I could remember. It was like system overload, I was just trying to take in all the information and enjoy it.

I wrote a poem about Mimi a few years ago for christmas that ended with me saying that all I wanted/needed was her time. I cherished the hours we spent talking at her kitchen table; I loved learning about her and about my family. Sitting with Aunt Joy today was the same. I just loved it and can't wait to go back. Joy has always been one of my favorite people in my family, I think because she lived far away so it was always really special when she made it to family functions, and I think I cherish her more every time I see her!

Here we are just before leaving her house. Hope to have a new picture to share soon :)



- manda

Well shoot

I missed William Wednesday AND July 4th! I'll blame the combination of food poisoning and hand, foot and mouth disease.(not to be confused with foot and mouth disease which comes from cattle)

Friday I got a call at 9:45 that I needed to pick William up because he had a fever. His teacher warned me that 4 kids had been sent home with hand, foot and mouth so if he developed a rash within the next 24 I shouldn't be surprised.

So Saturday morning we weren't surprised to see red bumps in Williams mouth making eating pretty painful for him. The 'disease' is poorly named though because he had a rash on his arms, face, legs, hands, feet...rally sits midsection is all that was spared. The rash didn't bother him, just looked bad.

Sunday dada went to play golf with some of his coworkers and William and I spent the day together. We went for a walk that was intended to be 3 miles and turned into 6. It was just so nice out and he was sleeping so well, I couldn't resist! Then I set up my computer to try and make up some time from leaving work early Friday. I had the bright idea of setting up William's desk next to mine so we could work together. Cute idea, but what ended up happening was we just colored together all afternoon :)






He wanted me to draw a car then he proceeded to tell me where the tires needed to go. All 16 of them.

He couldn't return to school until the rash turned into blisters then scabs (eww) so he had a few days off. Monday dada stayed with him then the plan was for me to stay with him Tuesday. But, mommy and dada both got food poisoning on Monday night so we were both home Tuesday. Good thing we have a well behaved boy because we were knocked down most of the day.

Wednesday William's sores were FINALLY scabs so we could take him out of the house. So excited! We went back to the aquarium and William was probably more interested this time than last time. But we learned he doesn't find jellyfish fascinating in the slightest. He just wanted to see sharks and fish and turtles! So, we did.








He and I agreed this little shrimp was so cute that we should just never eat them. Ever. :)




Here he is inside the little play tunnel in the kid area. Once we got into the kid area mommy and dada found a place to sit because we knew we'd be there awhile! William climbed and played and had a blast.




We knew he was ready to leave when we went to see the kelp forest and he tried to lay down!

Today we were worried it'd be hard to get him to go back to school but it wasn't in the slightest! He was excited to see his friends and play. And he had another GREAT daily report! His teacher said that his new friend Eric (a new kid in class) was having trouble adjusting and William was greeting him sweetly and trying to share his toys with him. She ended by saying "William is such a sweet boy! I know you know this, but I'm just sayin! We love having him in class"

I am filled with pride with how adorable he is and how brilliant he is, but above all of that I am filled with pride when I hear how sweet he is! I better run...dada bought him a new Mickey's clubhouse DVD for being such a good boy and it's my turn to do the hot dog dance!!! (please tell me I'm not the only 20something doing the hot dog dance.....)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I might regret saying this

I read a blog this morning written for NY Times (so, clearly a good writer and well thought out blog) about the busy world in which we live. The writer talked about how it has almost become a social status to be busy. The busy-er you are, the higher up the social ladder you have climbed. While I don't feel like I've climbed a ladder (I do know people who take great pride in their inability to squeeze anything else in) I am ashamed to admit I am in this group - and have been for awhile. I have been so busy and that worst part is - I don't even know what I'm busy doing! I can't ever figure out why I seem to have no time when everyone else seems to have time. Why do I have no time for happy hours and scrapbooking and reading books (that are not on a toddler level)?

We had a great weekend this past weekend and part of the reason it was so great was that we had no plans. Nothing to do. Other than the grocery store we had no to-do list to check off, no social obligations, nowhere to be and no one to see. For a minute I was thankful we have no friends here.

As I say that, I miss my CO and TX friends so much it hurts, and I'd give a lot (not quite an arm or leg) to see them right now. But it was nice for one weekend to not have the option. We couldn't see them by choice or by obligation and as a result we had a relaxed, carefree weekend. We spent 15 minutes running up and down our hallway, collapsing on William's bed and making a tower of people - dada on bottom, William in middle, mommy on top. We yelled as we ran, making our voices bounce with our steps, and as we fell William squealed with happiness and excitement. It was a great time. We weren't rushing out the door to make it to the next event on our calendar, we were just enjoying whatever the moment brought.

I'm not saying I don't want to have friends here or that I don't want to make plans. I want to go to weddings, travel to see people, work on our house to-do's to make it homey. I want to be invited to 4th of July parties and play dates and baby showers and happy hours.

I just want to find a balance. I want to be able to do a good job at work without feeling enslaved by my job. I want to be able to be proud of our home without spending all my at-home time cleaning and working on it. I want to be able to take the time to run down the hallway yelling for absolutely no reason.

I guess this is what they mean when they talk about the pursuit of happiness. An undefined moving target. But I've got my eye on the hazy prize.


- manda