Ode to Obama

I must give credit where credit is due. My sister-in-law's brother-in-law wrote this poem regarding our, ahem, President. To be matter-of-fact, I think the President is an idiot who is ruining this country one "policy"/nominee for cabinet posts at a time. I wasn't crazy with everything that Bush did either, but at least he didn't ruin this country in the 8 years he was in office. I realize that may be up for debate depending on which side of the proverbial aisle you find yourself on. But, one thing is for sure, Bush kept this country safe for 7 years and he wasn't willing to negotiate with known terrorists throughout the world. Can't say the latter about Obama. Anywho, I could continue down that road for a very, very, very long time. Moving on. This poem was written by Alvin Twitchell of Herriman, UT.

Barack Obama was elected president indeed,

Even though he’s admitted to smoking weed;

And done so much else that shows little class,

But from an adoring media he’s been given a pass.

The church that he attended for so many years,

Was led by a preacher who conjured up fears,

That this great nation, a light on a hill,

Is really unjust, racist, and evil.

With a teleprompter he spoke eloquently of “The Audacity of Hope”,

But without it he sounds more like a dope.

He “ummed” and “ahhed” his way through the debates,

And he seems to think there are more than 57 states.

Mr. Obama, to be fair, has his critics,

Many of them athletes in the Special Olympics.

On the economy he says, “I inherited this mess”,

But his budget and tax policy will put us in deeper distress;

And on foreign policy he makes this bold decree:

We must invite Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to the White House for tea.

He’s the liberal messiah; Oprah dubbed him “The One”,

Let’s just hope in four years the damage can be undone.

Let's all hope shall we....

New Wheels

Owen loves, loves, loves to play with the kids in the neighborhood. He always talks about them before he goes down for his nap (yes, he still naps, thank heavens). He wants to play with the "kids out front" as soon as I wake him up. One thing that is not so great about that is he always wanting to ride his friend's, Caleb's, bike. Sometimes Owen will sneak onto Caleb's bike while Caleb is off doing other things. There's always the struggle that ensues with one or both of them getting upset because they want what they didn't get. We've taken Owen to the bike aisle at Wal-Mart many a times and he would get out of the cart and "test ride" the bikes.

We weren't going to buy him a bike until Christmas because there's only about 6 weeks left of good riding weather here before it gets way too hot. Then, by the time it's bike riding weather again, we figured he could wait until Christmas. I talked to Adam about the practically daily struggle and, well, the Easter Bunny came a few weeks early and brought Owen his new bike. We found a 16" bike for him that was a perfect fit for now and one that he can grow into as well. We got Owen a new helmet too. Owen was so excited to get his new wheels. Owen is still working on "watching where he's going" but is getting much, much better already. He's figured out how to stop by pushing the pedals backwards. Before we know it, he's going to be zooming down the street and he and his dad are going to be building a ramp for Owen to learn tricks.

We got the bike out of the van and Adam adjusted the seat, cut the tags off of the helmet, got that adjusted and away Owen went. I'm so glad Owen won't have to sneak onto Caleb's bike anymore and especially glad that Caleb can ride his own bike in peace and quiet without Owen bugging him to ride it.

Barely There

There are many great attributes about Caroline. She's dang cute, funny, smart, and loves to help others. One thing that is not such a great attribute is her hair. She's got NONE! Until just recently, there has been absolutely nothing to put in a barrette. So, the other day when I saw it sticking up in the wind as ran down the driveway, I became so very excited. Maybe, just maybe there might be something to put into a "who-baby sprout" or a barrette. I went to Target and bought a board of small barrettes to try in her hair. Much to my amazement, they stayed in her hair and there was barely enough to keep the barrette in place. She looks cute, but weird because all this time we have never seen her in a "hairdo". Funny thing, she asks for her "brets" to be put in her hair. I haven't done many of them because she likes to pull them out, not being used to them and all. But, I'm sure in time she'll get there and, for now, I'll continue to count my blessings that I don't have to do the braids, piggies, ponies, curls, etc., etc., etc. I know I'm biding my time so I'll take it as long as I can get it.

Choco-holic

Just like her Mom and Dad, Caroline LOVES chocolate (Mom prefers dark chocolate. Dad prefers milk). For a little while, the only way we could get her to drink milk would be to put about 3 tablespoons of chocolate milk in with the 2% she normally drinks. Just enough for her to taste the chocolate. Now, every time she gets her cup of milk, she asks, "Is there chocate in it?" Whether it does or doesn't, we always tell her yes.

After digging through the fridge to scrounge something for the kids for lunch today, I discovered 2 pudding snack cups. Of course they're chocolate. I bribed the kids with them, provided they ate their grilled cheese "samiches" and chips first. Caroline saw the chocolate pudding and snarfled her sandwich down in nothing flat, along with her chips. Owen took his time (like 45 minutes) to finish his sandwich and chips, but eventually he got his too.

Fortunately, I was thinking ahead (a rarity these days) and took Caroline's shirt off of her before I let her rip into the pudding. After seeing the end product of letting her eat it on her own, I am certainly glad I had a moment of clarity and did what I was prompted to do. Owen just happen to be standing at the table and I turned and snapped the picture of him, which is so freakin' cute I can hardly stand it. (He's going to look so different when we cut his hair. I'm kind of dreading it; I like his hair long, it's just too hot here in the summer to keep it that long.)

My Own Personal La-Z-Boy

I peeked around the corner a couple of days ago from the living room, where the computer is, to the family room, where the kids were. I found Caroline in her own personal chair. We've had this chair for several years. In fact, this chair is 11 at the end of this month. This chair is very cooperative and doesn't mind getting jumped on, pulled, prodded, or anything of the sort. This chair is very tolerant of all kinds of situations and people, but does have a weight limit. It's a great chair and we will be oh so sorry when the day comes that we don't have this chair in our home. In the meantime, each child will continue to be able to sit on this chair and watch TV, play, or read a book, and the chair won't say or do a thing.

Guilt - A Mother's Worst Enemy

Have you ever had one of those days? Maybe it's because I'm pregnant and don't want to deal with anything; I'm over-emotional; overwhelmed; frustrated; feeling under appreciated as a mom, etc., etc., etc. Yes, one of those days.

Owen and Caroline are sick, yet again, with another cold. I'm so done with having sick kids and hearing kids cough, wipe their noses on their arms, fussing over the dumbest things, whining over the even more ridiculous things. Yes, one of those days.

Yet as I sit here and write this post, and so many other moments throughout each day, I feel incredibly guilty. Guilty because at least my kids are healthy enough to fight the cold; healthy other than having a cold; a roof over my head, a husband who is beyond my wildest expectations, a husband who has a job (which, given this economy, is a HUGE blessing in and of itself), kids who are growing and thriving, a baby inside me that is doing great and is growing and thriving, and so many more things that would cause this list to go on ad nauseum. I have so many, many, many things to be grateful for and somehow right at this very moment nothing is making me happy. Yes, one of those days.

I guess this is where I need to dig even deeper within me and concentrate not on what I wish would happen, or want to happen, wish I had, or want to have. But, instead, concentrate on ALL that I do have. I need to get on my knees and thank my Heavenly Father for all that He has blessed me with in this life but, in particular, right at this moment. Yes, one of those days.

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

For Valentine's Day, I got Adam 4 tickets to the Angels v. Giants game that was scheduled for today. How could I not get these tickets....the Angles I've cheered for since they moved to LA (I loathe the Dodgers) and my Dad played for the Giants. I didn't care who won the game, I just wanted to see these 2 teams play one another.

Adam took 1/2 a day off of work and we went to the game. I was a little nervous about going because the game started at 1:05, which is right when nap time is around here. But, I hedged my bets and off we went. The kids did great!!! They cheered at the right moments and had a great time. We strollered Caroline from the parking lot to the field, which I was so glad we did. It wasn't a big deal to take the stroller into the park and made my life (in turn Adam's life) so much easier. Owen and Caroline were wearing their hats and sunglasses. We forgot Owen's glove - not like we were going to get a ball anyway - but he wanted to catch a ball so desperately. Adam told him he could use his hat to catch it. That was it! He would take his hat off every time he would hear the ball hit and say "Mom, I want to catch it!" or, "Dad, I want to catch it!" Both Adam and I kept trying to explain to him that the ball had to come towards him in order for him to be able to catch it. That was the only disappointment at the game. Caroline loved standing on Adam's seat or sitting on his lap. It wasn't until she was really, really tired that she wanted to sit with me. Once we got the kids buckled back into their seats in the car (we left at the 7th inning stretch) I think it was less than 30 seconds later that Caroline was zonked out. Owen fell asleep with literally 1/8 of a mile to go before we got home. Fortunately, they both went back to sleep once we got them inside the house.

I love taking the kids on these kinds of outings. They enjoy them and I enjoy that they enjoy them. I am hoping to take them to the "big stadium" in Anaheim sometime this baseball season for another game. Don't know if it'll happen or not, but I can plan on it and then change plans later. It was a great day.

The "Afters"

As promised, here are a few shots of the way our house now looks thanks to the very hard and perfectionist work of Adam. It still amazes me how great the house looks. When we bought the house, one thing I wanted to change almost immediately was the color of the front door. I hated the royal blue color the sun had faded it to. I wanted to paint the door black, but knew that the HOA would have an absolute fit and wouldn't let me do it. Now, it is a really dark navy blue. In fact, it is so dark that from the street, it looks black! Yipppeee! I finally have my "black" door.

You be the judge though....what color does it look to you?

Show Stopper

Adam mentioned to me a few weeks ago a car show that he wanted to take Owen to. When he reminded me about this car show, I thought it sounded cool and, therefore, wanted to go myself. With the weather as gorgeous as it's been lately, that's exactly what we all did. We all piled into the van this morning and went to the show. I'm glad we went early, because by the time we left I was spent; my feet hurt and the kids were ready to go themselves. We didn't spend a whole lot of time, but we saw ALL the cars and motorcycles - and even a few weird things people were wearing and weird people.

We saw a really clean and super pretty '66 shortbed, white Chevy pick-up - exactly what Adam's truck aspires to be. One day.....many, many, many moons from now. It was really fun and we'll have to do it again next year...with 3 kids. Yikes!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Photo Contest

I never ever do this, so why I've chosen to do it now, I don't know. I entered this pic of Caroline in a photo contest:



I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I did. So, now I need your help to follow this link and vote for Caroline's picture to win the contest. Her chubby cheeks and the expression on her face are just priceless. A true "Gerber baby." No, I'm not expecting her to win, but it would surely be nice if she did. GO VOTE NOW!!!!!!

ROAD TRIP!!!!

Part of the agreement Adam and I had when it came to painting the house (see previous post) was I would take the kids to my parents' house while he painted. (Can you imagine a 3 and 2 year old getting into everything all the while trying to paint the house. No thanks!) Of course, I was more than happy to oblige my dear, sweet hubby and off to California I went! My ever responsible and cautious mother did not like the idea of me driving across the desert with 2 small children and being prego. What's a mom (grandma) to do, you ask. She flew over early in the morning, I picked her up at the airport and then we were on our way back to the house. She made an 800 mile circle in one day. (Truly wasn't necessary Mom, but glad you insisted and did it anyway!)

I didn't do much while at my parents' house. I attempted to make homemade bread while I was there, but killed the yeast with milk that was too hot. (At least I know what I did wrong.) I guess I'll have to make it here and send it over.

One thing we did do was to take the kids to the park (Bonneli - I think that's how you spell it) and feed the ducks. My s-i-l and her son took us. The kids had a great time feeding the ducks, despite Caroline wanting to eat most of the "duck food". How can you blame her when I took the jumbo Rice Krispies cereal and bread. I guess she was really hungry. After feeding the ducks, we went over to the park area and let the kiddos run, slide, and run some more.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Saturday, I went and had a "Mommy time out" and got myself a pedicure. Oh what a luxury of not only having my toes done, but have an hour to myself. Can't wait to have that done again....just before the baby comes is when - if not sooner!!!

I drove back on Sunday and, yes, my mom drove back with me and then flew home from here. She did the opposite route of the time before, but still did an 800 mile circle in one day. Again, not necessary, but oh so glad she did it! When I turned the corner to our house, I was stunned to see the house. I couldn't believe how good it looked. I knew it would look good. After all, there isn't a project Adam takes on without doing it correctly and/or having it turn our great. Did I mention he's amazing and so great with handyman-type projects?!?! Seriously though, the house looked brilliantly superb and beyond my expectations.

It was a short trip to see my parents, but so worth it. The kids were fabulous in the car on both the outbound and return legs. I just wish I lived closer to them and that I didn't have to travel 6 hours to see them.

Painter Man

Almost all subdivisions where we live are "governed" by an HOA (Home Owner's Association). These organizations have their benefits but, in my opinion, they are just a Nazi-like organization that wants to control even more of my life. In short, I HATE HOA's. In typical fashion, our HOA sent out some "you must or get fined" letters to various homeowners. One such letter was you must paint your house in 90 days or get fined. We never received such letter, but didn't ever want to get one either. In our view, the less contact we have with the HOA, the happier we are. the HOA is just another form of a government trying to interfere in our lives. But I digress. So, we decided that we were going to paint our house ("we" = Adam). Adam and I had talked about hiring someone to do it. Then, the economy took over and Adam decided to do it himself and save a little bit of money.

So, this past week, Adam took on the project and painted the entire exterior of our house!!! I honestly think sometimes that there is nothing my husband can't do. He amazes me with his capabilities and desires to improve our home, himself and our life as a family. He took some before pictures, and hasn't had the chance to take some after. I'll post the befores and then update this post with the afters. Suffice it to say, the house looks remarkable!

Before:
repair work needed to be done on the back patio drywall. Yep, Adam did that too! I tell you he's amazing!



No, it didn't look that bad but the endless summer heat here tends to take its toll on everything, including houses and the paint. Just wait 'til you see the afters and then you'll realize the difference! Stay tuned.....