One Couple's Stumblings Through Parenthood and Marriage
Julia remains an undaunted climber and jumper. She puts mountain goats to shame. We thought on Sunday that that might come to an end, though. We were getting ready for church when Julia began crying. She hardly ever cries in pain, so we knew this was a doozy. Sure enough, in the process of leaping onto her pink futon she had slammed her forehead on her rocking chair. There was an immediate black dent where rocking-chair-arm had collided with julia-forehead. It looked awful. Annie iced it, and we consoled ourselves b by saying that she would be fine, and that maybe she had finally learned that not all things are made for climbing and jumping.We were only half right.She turned out just fine, but she is back to her same antics. In fact, she healed so well that I am wondering if she has a genetic mutation ala Wolverine. I'm keeping her out of Canadian government hands, that's for sure.
Annie and I just celebrated our six year anniversary this weekend. We had a wonderful time in Dillon Beach. But there was one problem. Since we celebrated it without our kids (thanks, mama and papa), I don't have any photos of them. So, you'll have to do with some nature shots.
This first one is of a doe that was hanging out in the beach house's backyard. She was a bit weary of us, which reminded me of Genna. See, there's a tie-in!Our encounteres with wildlife didn't stop with a deer, no sir! We befriended a playful seagull, which reminded me of Kate and Julia (that's another reference to our kids who aren't in this post, for those of you who failed to notice).Annie and I were busy enjoying some clam chowder and watching the sun set at Bodega Bay. This seagull was hanging around us, so I decided to throw an oyster cracker to it. It caught it mid air. I then went on to throw at least 20 crackers at it, and it caught every single one. This second photo is an action shot, entitled, "Seagull Catches Oyster Crackers on a Railing in Front of a Beautiful Sunset at Bodega Bay, California."
The last shot is of the actual sunset, sans seagull. We had a wonderful time.
The other day I was digging through my fridge for a snack, when I stumbled across this scene. Earlier, Genna had complained of not being able to find her bear. Well, we found it. The girls are always stuffing their 'friends' into odd places, but Genna has no idea how appropriate it was for her to place her polar bear in the refrigerator. Such subtleties are lost on a child who still insists that throwing her baby sister to the ground is a good idea.
Sorry for the lack of posts ... I've been a busy little monkey.
I wanted to post on this photo.I have been wondering what story to tell along with it, and what title to use. One idea involved calling it, "Sisters Don't Let Sisters Drink and Drive." In the end, though, I think I'm going to keep this filed in my blackmail folder (which is always growing ...) for use against Genna at a later date. It was a cute moment in sisterhood when it happened, but the picture makes for a different story.
Today is the birthday of the United State Marine Corps. It is a special day, not only for the country and for our veterans, but for myself as well because my grandfather served as a Marine in in the Pacific Theater of WWII.We love you grandpa, and we thank you for your service to this country.This weekend be sure to take a moment and thank the veterans you know for what they have done for all of us. The world is a better place for their sacrifice.
Poor Genna. She really enjoys her new 'big girl bed', but for three nights running she has fallen out of it. Last night I moved the tinkerbell rug beside her bed to catch her fall. It did lessen the impact, but it still woke her up.Should we go ahead and put the sides back up? You can see in this photo that she was perfectly happy in it when it was still a crib. Just look at all of her animals lined up in what she calls a 'train.' What good times!Since she has fallen out of bed every night, we can only assume that she will continue to do so. The next time we show up at a party or gathering, she'll be so badly bruised that people might begin to suspect Annie and I of bad parenting. Our explanation of "No, really, she has fallen out of bed onto a hardwood floor 14 times," might not suffice as an explanation. I can use this blog as evidence.
We've had a number of troubles with our van recently. The litany of problems include: a busted power steering pump ($800), a broken water pump ($180), and a cracked radiator hose ($280). With our van out of commission, we have had to turn to Annie's parents to use their spare car, or use my Corolla to haul the kids around.
Here are all three girls in their carseats in the back of my car. My Toyota wasn't really designed for this use. But then, most cars aren't meant to have three carseats in them. They sure liked how close they were to mom and dad, since they are used to their place on the back bench of our van.We're just happy to have our van back. We're looking forward to the additional troubles it will present us with. Life would be too easy if your cars simply worked, right? Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Ford Motor Company.
Our twins just experienced their biggest change in their sleeping arrangement in over three years. When they were two months old, we moved them from their shared crib in our room to separate cribs in their own room. And that is how it has been ever since.Until last night.While Annie bathed them, I went about the task of removing the sides from their cribs. We had told the girls about it last week, and they have been so excited ever since. After they emerged from the tub and got jammied-up, they came bursting into their room - into a Whole New World (cue Aladdin soundtrack ...).
They squealed with delight. Even Julia, who still remains in her fully functioning crib, was excited. For once they didn't fight to stay up. We couldn't keep them out of bed. They were almost as eager to sleep with their new princess blankets as their new set up.Annie and I weren't looking forward to the inevitable wars we would have to wage to keep them in their beds. But our fears were unfounded (at least for now). They stayed in bed the whole time! We were amazed and much impressed.At around 3:50 in the morning Genna began crying out for mommy. After Annie came back to bed, she told me how their conversation went:Annie: (walks in to room, only to find Genna on the floor, having fallen from bed)Genna: "Mommy, my bed is broken."Annie: (after scooping Genna up) "No, honey, you just fell out."Genna: "No. My bed is broken!" The first night, and she fell out of bed! Maybe the honeymoon has already ended. It was good while it lasted.
This year's company Halloween Costume competition was a joke. I'm the goblin standing in the back. I spent over a month crafting that mask for myself, molding each piece of it from memory foam. It takes over eight hours to put on. I also made that robe from scratch, creating my own pattern and then spending hours at the sewing machine. I even filed down my teeth and stained them yellow so I would have good goblin fangs.But guess what? I lost.The guy in front of me, dressed like Magnum P.I., won. How lame is that!Actually, I didn't even know there was a competition until about an hour before it was held. I had my costume with me for use later that night, so I thought I would compete. But, as always, I lost. Woe is me. I do think, though, that out of a company of over 200 employees that more of them should have turned out for the competition. Where are their priorities?
Julia remains an undaunted climber and jumper. She puts mountain goats to shame. We thought on Sunday that that might come to an end, though. 
