Guess What?

On July 28th our family will be plus 1!

Karate?

C has begun karate. This is following many false starts with sports such as tennis, soccer, and swimming. I was stunned when he said he wanted to do it. Typically a conversation about starting a new sport goes something like this:

Me, “Hey bud. Do you want to take tennis with Jonah?”

C, “No. I don’t know how to play tennis.”

Me, “I know. That’s why you take LESSONS.”

C, “No thanks.”

We showed up at our first karate lesson and I couldn’t believe the difference. It may have had something to do with the costume... er, uniform. He was THRILLED to be putting it on. Everything his teacher showed him he did, without once coming over and laying on me like he usually does.

The best part was the next day, when his teacher (who we have begun referring to as Mrs. Miagi) called. She said he had done a great job, and I wonder if she could feel me glowing over the phone. There’s a good chance she called all the other new students’ parents, and didn’t even remember who C was, but I was still thrilled.

So we just went again on Wednesday. I took C and his two friends, who are also 5 year old boys. The song they requested to listen to on the way there and back? If you wanna be my lover, by the Spice Girls. I wonder what Mrs. Miagi would think of that.

Happy Birthday Dave

I'm a bad wife. It has been 23 days since Zach Morris...I mean...Dave's birthday. And I'm just now getting a birthday acknowledgement on the blog!

Dave you are without question my very best friend. I never get tired of spending time with you or observing your daily accomplishments and antics. Thanks for making me so happy. I love you, and feel incredibly lucky that you are my husband. HAPPY 29th BIRTHDAY.

Here are 10 things you might not know about Dave:

1. When he takes his lunch to work, he eats the whole thing by 9:30am (usually starting with the turkey sandwich around 8am). He then calls me at 10:30 to complain he is hungry.

2. He is hands down the fastest snowboarder I've ever seen. He could beat any skier down any double diamond, icy shoot, covered in HUGE moguls. Most snowboarders never attempt moguls.

3. He is a great neighbor. He is always shoveling extra walks, mowing extra lawns and cleaning out gutters than aren't his. When he gets a "snow day" and everyone else has to go to work, he walks around outside for hours knocking snow off people's tree branches so the branches don't break under the weight of the snow.

4. He can quote any line from any episode of the Office.

5. He is an excellent cook. He follows no recipe, and can never re-create anything – but his stir fry, sautéed shrimp, grilled meats/veggies, and other concoctions always taste fabulous.

6. Whenever we go on walks through the neighborhood, or local park – he picks up and throws away any trash that crosses our path

7. Don't walk, lie, or sit on his grass. When we were first married he came home from work and I was outside, lying on the grass, reading a book. He yelled "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OFF THE GRASS!!!!" And Dave doesn't yell. If you are at our house visiting, he will act like he doesn't care if you walk on the grass. But the second you leave, he will probably mow our grass again so it is standing up straight.

8. He knows all sorts of random facts. The other night we went to a Safeway and he said "I wish all Safeways were like this one. It just makes sense that a grocery store have a basement and keep the stock room there, vs. the main level." I have no idea how he knows where this, or any Safeway's stock room is.

9. He is a very consistent exerciser. He exercises at least 5 days a week, every week.

10. He has a strange mystical power over kids. Kids who never go to anyone invariably get off their parents lap, so they can go sit with Dave (even if they have never seen him before.)

I could go on and on about how cool Dave is, but I think these pictures speak for themselves. Don't forget to post a comment sharing something you know or like about Dave.

Chicken Bullion

Last week, I ran out of chicken bullion. This is probably the 3rd time I've run out lately, so I decided to get a lot so I had some on reserve. I think I went a little crazy. The store I wandered into (while waiting for our car to get washed) had a wide variety, so I loaded up.

Tell me, how on earth did I end up spending 24 bucks on chicken bullion?

Joy

It's not nearly as impressive as Dave's stacking skills... but there are no words to describe how my heart felt when I walked in and saw this:



S was reading Owl Babies to Oz, while holding him on her lap in his crib. My kids are so freaking cute, sometimes I can't stand it.

Seriously?

Dave has a lot of talents, skills, and good qualities.

Putting his stuff away is not one of them. I'm not sure why, but Dave seems almost incapable of putting his stuff away.

When he takes off his shoes he lines them up neatly just outside his closet. Don't ask me why he can't push them an extra 6 inches so they are actually inside his closet, where they belong.

One of Dave's favorite tricks is draping stuff over my office chair which is 1 foot from his closet. He knows I can't stand stuff on my office chair, as that is where I work. So putting something there is a guarantee I will put it away for him. On a daily basis I find either a dress shirt draped over the back of my chair (after work) or a wet towel from his morning shower (before work).

But this my friends is an all new low. I was seriously appalled when I walked into my office last night.


Are you kidding me? Let's analyze this stack of crap.

On the bottom: an already worn long sleeved shirt that should have been put in the dirty clothes.

In the middle: A stack of CLEAN, folded laundry balanced on the top of the previously mentioned dirty shirt. As a reminder - his closet is with-in arms length of this chair. This stack of pants could have easily been placed on the proper shelf of so named closet. And yet, he has decided it makes far more sense to try to precariously balance his clothes on the BACK of my chair?

On the top: yet another worn, dirty long sleeved shirt daintily balanced on the pile of growing insanity. You know it took some serious concentration to lay this last item without knocking over the tower.

What the heck is going on? Is he trying to drive me crazy? Does he think this is a game of Tetris? What on earth is going through his mind as he delicately adds something to the stack?

You had a nice life my dear husband. I played along with your games. I put your stuff away with minimal complaint. But you have taken things too far. This is war. Good luck trying to find these items when you next need them.

Christmas 2007 'The saga continues'

More favorite moments

• being M's pool partner and taking 2nd place when the members of the 1st place team were trying to let us win.
• S referring to Carrie's crutches as crotches
• The "Kitchen" New Year's eve when mom was making mac 'n cheese, Rand was defrosting and fixing the freezer, I was making nachos and Sydney was standing up holding onto the freezer door ALL AT THE SAME TIME
• Glancing out the front window and seeing a mountain lion [okay it was really the next door neighbor's dog] grab the Tupperware of homemade goodies and run away into the darkness. We had emptied the fridge and freezer and were keeping the food outside in the sub zero temperatures.
• Having 5 minute whispered discussions with T before each turn while playing the Train Game. [we were partners but he was the mastermind]
• Listening to C and S play together
• Going to Build a Bear with S.
• Watching everyone open the gifts I gave
• Making Oreo shakes
• New Years Eve doing an online Ethics course at the mtn house in a room with 17 other people. If I didn't finish it by 12/31 my CPA license would have been in jeopardy.
• Trying to move Carrie's car and turning on the windshield wipers, lights, wiper fluid spray, and radio before finally getting it into reverse only to realize the emergency brake was on which I didn't know how to release [I drive a '92 Corolla]
• Sees Chocolates
• Going to the mall to shop/speed walk with Sara. [she is the world's fastest walker and admits that if anyone is in front of her she feels like she needs to pass them]
• Dad being there
• Observing C put on his coat and exclaim that he was going home to NYC right then and having S plead with him to stay [we all know he doesn't go 10 steps away from Sara]
• Trying to negotiate the narrow ladder from the top bunk at 4 am in order to go to the bathroom.

Highlights from Christmas 07

So here, in no particular order, are my favorite memories from Christmas this year.



1. Laura, who not 10 minutes earlier had refused to be cast in the nativity, suddenly had a change of heart and began appearing in different elaborate costumes for EVERY role. This is her in my Grandma's old temple dress, being an angel. The wise guy next to her is Rand.



2. In one of the many costume changes, she came out wearing a wig, a red cape, and was carrying a sequined devil's tail. C leaned over to me and whispered, "How did they change their hair?"


3. When Travis finally arrived, having passed the kidney stones, at about 2 am on Christmas morning. He snuck down to the basement, where we were sleeping, and got a good look at the PJs I was wearing, which were about 2 sizes too small. He said, "Wow! So these are the pajamas? I didn't know they were going to be sexy!" (Don't worry; I ended up with a pair that fit.)

4. As we were all prepping the kids to go down to see what Santa brought, Travis frantically asked if he got pajamas. My mom found them, and he ripped them open and was wearing them in seconds. This was quite a different reaction than the other adult males in the family, who kept the tags on theirs so they could later attempt to return them.

5. Skipping snowboarding in the -35 degree weather, with 70 MPH winds. Best decision I made the whole vacation, probably.

6. Watching all the kids with Uncle Dave in the hot tub. It was clear a game of truth or dare was going on, with all the dares involving sticking various body parts in the snow.

7. Playing Ticket to Ride. I hope someday I'll win that stupid game.

8. Watching Rand teaching my kids to ski. Now that, my friends, is sacrifice.

9. Getting to snowboard with my nephews. And knowing that in one more year, they will all be better than me!

10. Forgetting my laptop in Boulder when we went up to the mountain house. I'm sure I was much more social without it, though I missed it terribly!

11. Watching my mom and dad with baby Oz.

12. Watching Oz play with his much more agile cousin (she has a lot less weight to haul around!).

13. The pool tournament I tried to lose.

Of course there were many more wonderful moments, all which made the 4 hour wrestling match I had with Oz on the way out AND back worth every minute.

Favorite Gifts from Holiday Season 2007

A fabulous track jacket for Dave
Trust me, he looks super hot in it. He is my favorite (and only) Denver Industries model.


A washer and dryer!
Who knew that washers had the capability of cleaning clothes instead of ruining them?

Not one, but TWO fabulous new purses.
The first purse was hand made by my sister-in-law if you can believe it.



A potpourri of hot sauce for Dave.
Let's see if Dave can actually use it all before the end of 2008.


Matching PJs for the Lewis Family
Of course I had to beg/bribe Dave to wear them...he will not be happy that this picture has gone public.



Original newspaper and magazines from the day/month Dave was born.
Can you believe the top headline for the "Life" magazine is "The Osmond Show Biz Empire?"



And many more fabulous gifts. Of course the best gift was spending quality time with our loved ones. Thanks everyone for your creativity and generosity!