Halloween Pics

And the deluge of photos begins.

Here's pics from Halloween. My dear mom made outfits for everyone but me (I recycled an old can-can skirt that I made years back into a pirate. Someone dubbed me "Keira Knightly" at the church Halloween party. Ha.)

I give you the jedi, the jedi, Minnie Mouse, and a pirate with a healthy appetite. (hey, no one said we had to have a cohesive family outfit):

I know. It's like attack of the Mini-Mes. Lumpkin was obviously into it.

Ado!

Thank you Nana for the lovely outfit!

Minnie and her Jedi.

Looking tough

And my personal fave...

Cute? Who me?

Are you ready for some blogging?

Annnd...it's back on!

Well, almost.

Our Internet package arrived in the mail yesterday, only to find out our Mac Airport does not count as a cable modem, so after a short trip to the Comcast store today, it should be back on. :) And yes, I get a big FAIL in the technology dept. And the blogging dept for the past few months, so I have a LOT of photos to post. Here's a few of our namesake to keep you satisfied.

Ladies and gentleman...Miss Linny Lumpkin:

I can fly!!

This was four teeth ago!




Dad has good taste in tights. :)

Cruising with her "bebe".

Thank you Aunti Katy for my apple outfit! We loves it.

Updates on Linny:

• I can walk! (4 or 5 steps, and then I fall down)
  
• I can talk! A lot: Mama, Dada, Brudda/Ad-an, Cracka (cracker), Nana (both Banana and Nana Jenn), Dees! (I think it's this, she says it while pointing to stuff), Car, Ball, and her first word: "Book!"
  
• She babbles a lot too. The most endearing sounds something like, "Gliba-gliba-glaba-glaba".


• She loooves books and cell phones and goes after both. She hold anything phone-like - her play phone, the remote (it is shiny, after all), to her ear and says, "Ado!"


• She loves her blankies and dollies.


• She also loves her big brothers' toys, much to his dismay - action figures, cars, everything.


• She can wave (she got lots of practice during the Christmas parade).


• She blows big kisses and says "muah!"


• She still never naps, except for a half hour here and there, but sleeps pretty good at night.


• Last night was the first night she actually fell asleep in my arms, with the exception of when she had the flu.


• She is a terror during diaper changes.


• She has started having fits; her first was on Thanksgiving.


• She loves music and dancing - she dances to everything, and will sing sometimes, or imitate us singing. Chris caught her playing her xylophone and singing to herself yesterday.


• She has six teeth! And...
• She turned ONE last month! (Those pics will be it's own post).
  

Aden deserves his own update, so look for that, as well as Halloween pics, her birthday pics, Thanksgiving pics...all hopefully before Christmas. I have some downloading to do. :)

In the meantime, here's one more of Linny looking lovely from several months ago:

Technical Difficulties

I apologize for the continued lack of new pictures. "Our" internet (meaning, ahem, the neighbor's wifi) has ceased to work. Meaning any pics need to be transported to work to be uploaded, a huge pain in the butt.

My apologies for the delay.
Sincerely,
The Management :)

Missing fish.

I'm sad.

I was randomly perusing a blog when I saw pictures of a trip to the Ballard Locks for the Salmon run.

For those NOT from Washington: Ballard Locks = the (water) gateway between the Puget Sound and Lake Union. Also the site of where salmon migrate back to their homes, leaping out of the water and up a "ladder" of underground stairs, much to the delight of onlookers.

I miss summers in Seattle.

I miss the bonfires on Golden Gardens beach. I miss watching the boats and the salmon come in and out of the Sound through the locks, feeling totally at peace. I miss kayaking on Lake Union on a beautiful day. I miss wandering Pike's Place, getting croissants or steamed pork puns, looking at flowers and listening to buskers. I miss Bumbershoot. I miss Discovery Park, the Aboreteum, the Fremont market, and wild blackberries everywhere. I miss all the green!

I know winters weren't quite as fun - cold, cold, cold - but being near the water made up for a lot of it. Plus there was Christmas decorations downtown and hot chocolate on Capitol Hill.

And no matter what the season, I miss my friends. I have many here as well, but I miss all those who helped shape my existence so much during those three years.

And while I know it will never be the same as before - I will never be a carefree singleton, out until all hours, and I may never afford a home in Seattle proper - I know it will still be great, a wonderful place to share with my family. Single friends will have turned into couples that we can still share our lives with.

I still can't wait to go back.

Real Food in '08 (Dinner Update)!

So yesterday was Pumpkin's first day of school (I'll talk about that in a blog later today - I want to post his pictures). :)

I don't know if was the fact that I had a major meltdown yesterday (don't ask), or if it was the fact that our barely-slept-in-4 days daughter passed out around 6p, or if it was the fact that Chris and I both had the day off, or if we finally just realized that our Kindergartener is, in fact, old enough to progress beyond chicken nuggets, or it was combo of all of it... but we had family dinner last night.

Wahoo!

Chris made delicious steak with cilantro and veggies - squash, oyster mushrooms & shallots- yum! He made a tiny plate with a teeny bit of meat and a few pieces of veg for Pumpkin. He ate all the meat of course (for having a vegan mother the boy looooves red meat) but the veggies were another matter. Chris told him "I only gave a you a tiny bit of veggies - three pieces. You need to it all of it and then you can have more meat." After three bites - one mushroom and a bite of squash - he thought he was done and then burst into bitter, hot tears when Chris reminded him he needed to eat all of it.

"ALL of it?! You didn't tell me that!!!"
"Yes, we did."

Tears or no, Chris stuck with me, and we told him, "You don't want to eat it? That's fine. But that's the end of dinner. No more meat. No nothing." He kept saying, "But I want meat! I WANNNNT meat. But I want to!" Finally after he nearly knocked his plate over when I tried to take it, I told him, "If you want to eat it, eat it. But we are not going to sit here while you have a tantrum. Either eat it now, or you're done." And he scarfed all of it down. I think he was emotionally done though, because after all that he didn't even want the meat I saved him.

I even think he liked the squash (unlike the mushrooms, which required a root beer chaser). All around, not too pretty, but I consider it a success! Real food in 08!

Because I don't have enough to do...

My dear friend Katy (Ryan's momma) decided that our crafty endeavors needed a home of their own.  

Voila!  She Crafts Too has been born.

(PS.  Managing two blogs on Blogger?  Very confusing at first!)

Our Menu Tonight Is...

Am I the only one who doesn't do family "dinner"?

I was reading one women's blog on her daily work outs, and she mentioned that "dinner tonight is..." It occured to me that I read and hear similar phrases often: "dinner tonight is..." "tonight we're having..."

I would love to get to the point where I could get home, give hugs, and start making a healthy dinner with everyone eating the same thing. But for now, unless Chris is home to cook - which is maybe one night a week these days if that (and said dinner night is generally at my parents' house these days) - I never feel less like a "we" and more like a "me" than at dinnertime.

As mentioned above, Chris is rarely, if ever, home in the evenings. Which means that most nights I am essentially a single parent getting home at 5:30p, desperately trying to throw together a meal that will a) not result in a Gladiator-esque battle of the whines, b) be health-conscious, and c) not take forever to make and/or eat, thus allowing time for our frantic schedule of cuddles/ playtime/make Pumpin's dinner/feed the baby/baths/books (we can't even read the same books because the baby tries to eat the paper pages)/bedtime.

After the baby was born, our eldest survived on his own steady diet of chicken nuggets and cheesy sticks. As I slowly try to transition to healthier food, I try to feed him smaller portions of what I'm having, but any kind of spice or herb is subject to a CSI-style investigation.

So more often than not, I end up making Pumpkin the safe bet grilled cheese while I attempt to feed the baby (who is transitioning to "real" food). I generally don't start thinking about what I'm going to eat for dinner until 9pm or later. Not good, especially for my healthy diet.

While I am trying desperately to become the "we eat ____ at dinner" family, it's a process. Baby steps.

What I want to know is - who are these "we" families? How do they deal with the different tastes of their family members? The dragout food battles from the picky eaters? The evening crunch time?

Enlighten me.

I want a vacation.

A nice, long, family vacation. Or maybe just a husband-and-wife vacation (Disneyland was kind of crazy).

Either way I want a vacation: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/17/TRP11224CU.DTL&hw=vacation&sn=001&sc=1000

Lies, lies, and more lies

Have you ever noticed how dishonest the world as a whole has become? It's been glaringly obvious to me lately. Two specific examples:

1) John (liar) Edwards
Another one bites the dust. Another cheating politician. I have to say, naive as it is, I was really almost heartbroken over this. I really really liked John (liar) Edwards. I thought he was honest family man with a spectactular wife (one out of three ain't bad), and I would have voted for him in the primary had he made it to the California vote (and if yours truly hadn't registered as the "American Independent Party" instead of "Decline to State" Independent...but that's another story).

To find out he was not only a cheatin' lyin' politician, but a cheatin' lyin' politician with a heart of black coal - who cheated on his terminally ill Betty Crocker-esque wife - just floored me. I guess you really can't tell who people are from their public persona at all. Which I knew, but still...still!

Worst of all, more and more details keep coming out that show (liar) Edwards is still lying about how long he was involved with the woman, did he pay her off, is he her baby's daddy, etc. It's like, you've already screwed yourself royally, just come clean with it all. It will come out, and you've already violated the trust of anyone who knows you exist. Get it done with, already.

I'm voting for Obama now, but my faith is shaken. It makes me wonder what skeletons are his closet, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Which is just another tragic consequence of John (liar) Edwards and his absolutely rotten, selfish behavior.

On to Example #2:

2) China's Gold-Winning Gymnastics Team
China's Gold-Winning Women's Gymnastics Team, to be more specific. Who were admittedly fan-freakin'-tastic is the team overall competition and beyond. As were the Chinese men, but they look their age. They ARE their age. Which brings me to my point.

No way, no way in hell, are all those Chinese girls 16 years old. I'm not only trusting my eyes here, either. There's an interesting commentary in Yahoo's Olympics coverage today about how the IOC needs to get up the guts to investigate: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/news?slug=dw-gymnastsage081408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The article cites several examples of how the Chinese girls were registered in former competitions as being born in 1993, 1994, etc... and then mysteriously their passports produced at the Olympics listed them as being born in 1992. In one case, a girl considered a 13-year-old prodigy as late as Dec 2007 all of sudden became 16 this summer. An amazing feat, no?

The columnist basically calls out the IOC for not having the cohones to investigate China's glaring breach of the rules. It's open and shut, as far as the IOC is concerned. China provided valid passports stating all girls are 16. That's good enough for them.

Because obviously, China is trustworthy. Obviously, a country that takes girls from their villages at age 3 and puts them in government-run training facilities the rest of their prepubescent lives and allows them to see their parents once a year has only the girls' best interest at heart. Obviously they wouldn't allow a 13 year old to risk serious injury by competing before her bones and body are fully developed, no matter how advantageous their nimble young bodies may be during all those gold-winning twists and layouts. Obviously a corrupt government wouldn't even think about how easy it would be to slap a digit change in the date of a year on a passport. I mean, it's not like they make the passports, right? Oh wait...

But China wouldn't do that. Obviously. And obviously, the IOC's lack of courage to address the situation has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with the millions upon millions they receive from the host country of the Olympics (ie: China). Right?

Right?

Like I said, a dishonest world man. I need to go listen to some Bob Dylan or something now.

PS. For the record, I have already mailed in my new voter registration. I am now - or soon to be- officially "independent" independent... not the stupid American Independent Party.

Sadness

I looked down at my hand this morning and realized that I am missing one of the small diamonds from my wedding band. In it's place stands a tiny black hole.

I must have done it recently, because I would have noticed. I'm not devastated - it's on the side of the ring in an unnoticable area - but it still makes me a bit sad. I'll have to take it to the jewelers this week and make sure they check the rest of the stones.

A moment of silence for my tiny lost diamond, please.

Go for the Gold!

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Olympics time!

Oh, how I love the Olympics. When I was about 12 years old, I got really really really into figure skating. I could tell you the difference between a triple toe flip and triple lutz (tooooe pick!) - I even saved the pullout cheat sheet from TIME magazine.

I was there for the 1992 Olympics, I was there for the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan lead pipe incident (way more interesting than OJ's trial), and I was there in 1994 when a teenage Oksana Baiul bent in half and beat shoo-in Nancy for the gold and sobbed her little orphan heart out. I even watched the men... I knew what Brian Boitano would do. I even poured my little 13 year old heart out in a two page letter to Kristy Yamaguchi - and got a hand signed photo - Always Dream! - sent directly to me! It was framed on my bedside table for years.

Now, the picture and crappy frame are packed away neatly in a box of treasures in my closet. I still like to watch figure skating when it's on, but it's not nearly the obsession is was 15 years (eek!) ago.

On to 2008 Beijing, and I realize my love for the Olympics has never died. If anything, I watch them more obsessively with each passing (two) years. It may be cliche, but there is so much bad news every day, and as the world gets more and more evil, it's a wonderful thing to watch the entire world celebrate together.

Also, I have realized that, oddly, I much prefer the Summer Olympics now. I still watch ice anything in the winter - hockey, dancing, pairs, singles, mens, womens, etc. - beyond that, not much holds my interest. But Summer is swimming, beach volleyball, gymnatics, synchronized diving... I haven't slept since Friday.

Every night, from 8am to nearly midnight, for the past 4 days I sit at my TV screen absolutely entranced. Really, did you see the Opening Ceremonies? Phenomenal. The best performance of anything. Ever. 15,000 extras in LED suits, people running on walls, more fireworks than anyplace ever... truly stunning.

And really, did you see the men's 400M medley relay? The French set to take it, had been trash talking for weeks, are ahead by a full freakin' body length and then all of sudden the last few meters 32 year old Leskin pulls it from somewhere and barely passes the French world record holder to win gold! Team USA is jumping up and down screaming, I was jumping up and down and fist pumping and punching Chris. It was bloody exciting. Eat that Frenchies (and I am one of the few who love the French).

After watching the 1-2-3 of Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and Aaron Piersol win golds last night, I managed to tear myself away from men's gymnastics out of sheer exhaustion. I was thinking I would get a night off tonight, but then I hear the radio, and nope! Michael Phelps trying for another record-breaking gold! May and Walsh beach volleyball! Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff go for medals in women's swimming! Team USA in the women's gymnastics volleyball! And synchronized diving in between.

I guess I have another date with my TV tonight. Go Team USA!

PS.

I just stuck my finger in a diaper full of poop.  Nice.

GARRRRRR (part 2)

So I am supposed to be working from home this afternoon and I cannot log onto my email from home!!!!  And the house is a disaster - even though we both cleaned this weekend - and the baby is grumpy and teething and crawling everywhere and Pumpkin did not nap when he really needed it (I don't care what my husband says, but sleeping while your 5 year old watches TV and dozes on and off on your chest does not constitute a nap) and he didn't even tell him he was going to work so now I am the bad guy who not only has to break the news of Daddy's imminent departure ("But I thought it was Daddy day?") AND I am way too prone to getting annoyed at the poor, tired, chatty 5 year old on my hands. And I haven't even eaten lunch yet and I have waaay too much to do.  Dammit.

But my email!  How am I supposed to work when I cannot log onto my email!?  And now the baby is crying - GAH!  

Le Sigh

Greetings friends.

It's another wistful, sad blog I'm afraid. At home on my lunch break, I told Chris that I think the stress I feel is starting to manifest itself physically - my neck and back are tight, I've been having headaches - and all the while I'm eating healthy and working out daily! Ok, ok, so I slept in this morning - we were up late watching "I Am Legend" (side note: wierd ending, and really, I don't like zombie movies. Far too intense. This is me: "Ahh..scary! I don't like this movie. Hold my hand!" This is Chris: "(insert laughing) It's just a movie!" Me: "Shut up.").

But back to the point. I am ball of stress as of late.

Do you ever look back on life and say, "you know, I really thought I would be further along by the time I was (insert age here)?" That's the way I feel. Back in high school, I thought by the time I was pushing 30, I'd be homeowner and have this great career, and be married with kids. I guess one outta three ain't bad, but I'd thought I'd at least have two. My parents had a house by the time I was 5 - which made my mom 26, two years younger than I am now. But their parents helped them with the down payment, and back then, parents worked at companies 50 years and had pensions and social security and healthcare taken care of and could afford to pitch in a few thou for a down payment. As a gift! (The moneylenders won't give you the mortgage if the downpayment is a loan, did you know that? I just found that out).

Nowadays our parents struggle like everyone else and no one really has a few thou sitting around. Nowadays houses are foreclosing like balloons being popped at a carnival booth. Nowadays asinine "leaders" are discussing charging entrance to even go INTO San Francisco. Nowadays we pay 15% of our paycheck to pay for a war over nothing? For what?

I am not a "sit back and take it" kind of girl, so when I get depressed about our current situation, I scour the internet for expert advice on improving our lives, our finances, etc.: "Get out of debt now!" "Top ten money secrets!" "How to make a living doing what you love!"

The problem is, the advice is all the same. The advice doesn't tell you what to do if you live paycheck to paycheck. They all advise to cut your debt - but "debt" is not the same as monthly bills: phone bill, car payment, rent payment, car insurance, health insurance, groceries, gas... what do you if where you live is just too damn expensive? If LIFE is just too damn expensive? If you make a decent living wage and it still isn't enough? If the country you live in just gets worse and worse.

And as always, I am a lucky one. There are thousands and thousands of people out there way worse than I am - yes, I stress, but the only times I really feel unhappy is when I pay the bills. Besides that, we have plenty. I have clothes, good food, great kids, a comfortable place to live. Our needs our met. Yes, my hair resembles the bleach blond-black roots of the 80s. Yes, it would be nice to wear contacts when I exercise so my glasses don't slowly slide down my sweaty nose. Yes, I'd be nice if I didn't have to hope I can add my classes in the fall and instead could just register and pay tuition early. I'm ok. Our family is ok. We have plenty. And one day, things won't be so stressful.

But today, you know... they are.

GARRRRRRRRHHHHHH!

I had a whole blog drafted about where I’ve been, what we’ve been up to, sorry for not updating the blog, blah blah blah… I’ll post it eventually, but sorry, you’re getting this for now.

I am so PISSED right now. It’s just one of those weeks where nothing is going right. at. all.

I know it’s not just me either. The one positive this week is I’ve started up with my workouts again (after a brief post-4th of July hiatus), and have actually got up every morning so far this week (go me). Working out usually helps me maintain my Zen.

However, there is no Zen this week. No Zen.

For one thing, I’m very unsatisfied with my professional life right now. I won’t blog too much about that here – rule number one is not to blog about work – but there’s been a lot of drama. I’m doing a lot of growing, as a manager, but growth is not always fun, and I’ve to deal with a lot of situations I’d rather not. (None created by me, I might add). Not to mention the virus on my computer, when of course the main IT guy is out. Fun, fun!

In addition, I’m in the midst of a very “what do I want to do with my life” existential crisis right now. (I go through that a couple times a year, but I like to chalk it up to my need to grow and progress and become a better and more fulfilled human being). Exacerbating the problem is the fact that I’m also on summer hiatus from my graphic design classes, which is my saving grace, my outlet. The plan was to buy the graphics programs and learn at home this summer, but various expenses came up, food and gas soared, and we, like everyone else these days, have to keep up best we can. Frankly, coming up with tuition – even community college tuition – won’t be a picnic this year. Not to mention I really need the software to take the two classes I want to take. Not to mention I'm sure there will be a few books on top of tuition and software.

(Note: I have to interject here and mention that while my main goal is to be a good mother and be home with the kids as much as I can, I do also feel that need to progress in other areas besides “mom” (happy mom=happy family), and if I’m going to have to work outside the home – which right now I do – and spend that much time away from my kids… well, I want it to be fulfilling, you know?)

In addition to being worried about my life direction, bills, etc., just stupid things are ruining my universe right now. For example, my mail yesterday consisted of a DMV notice saying I need to pay my registration NOW (it’s admittedly way overdue, but really, who has $150 just lying around right now? With gas prices, I’d buy a bike with that cash)! PLUS I have to get my car smogged (I just did that like 3 years ago, what the hell?). PLUS my engine light went on literally the day prior to the notice, and I can’t pass smog with the engine light on, which means I have to shell out to get THAT fixed before I pay for smog and registration.

My other piece of mail was jury duty notice. Seriously???

On top of all that, tonight we were going to go with friends on a double date that was already postponed once and now looks like it won’t happen because our babysitting isn’t happening. Now, in all fairness, I know it is not fair to expect anyone to watch our child, especially for free (even our relatives), but there really wasn’t a reason other than someone really didn't feel like it– the person, I might add, wasn't even the one who would be watching her – and frankly, it would have been nice to get out, given the week I’ve had and the fact that we double date… oh wait, never. We’ve never been on a double date. Ever.

I'll admit it, I cried after that. It was just the straw, you know?

I'm sure I'm growing as a person and what doesn't kill us makes us stronger and one day I know we won't be so strapped for cash and really, life could be so much worse and blahblah blah... but right now it just sucks.

To end, I apologize to all those who visited this blog hoping for pictures, a fun story, a Linny update, etc. and got a rant instead. Sometimes the rant is just necessary. Thanks for listening.

A New Outlook

I really have been insanely productive lately (see previous post). Well, at home anyways. I'm hoping it translates over to work this week. :)

I started working out a couple times a week three weeks ago, and then that progressed this past week to starting this workout program, where I work out 6 days a week, alternating cardio and weights, plus I eat fantastically well - all lean protein, eggs (mostly whites), whole grains, and more veggies than you can shake a stick out. Seriously, I eat TONS of vegetables. And like it!

On top of that, I also read this book, and it has unleashed a monster. It's like all the creativity I have NOT been making time for has welled to the surface. Last week we went to the art store and got clay and tissue paper for collage making. I draw again. I play music (we gave Aden a keyboard for his birthday). I've picked back up the long-forgotten embroidery project in my drawer. I've been looking into felt online - I want to sew Linny a doll. I want to get a machine and learn to sew, in general. And, of course, I blog. Katy and I want to start a blog just to catalog all our creativity.

The end result of all this - the exercise, the eating right, the tap into my creativity, the "me time" of being up before my family - has been amazing. This has been one of the happiest weeks I can recall in a long time. I play more with my kids - I have remembered how to play! - and being home with them on weekends doesn't seem like a chore now that it's full of play and arts and crafts and music.  I feel better, I look better.  I get to create again.  I feel more in tune with my body, and have a heightened awareness of it in general. I LIKE working out. I feel healthier, more alive. I'm more relaxed. I'm more productive in general. I cook - all the time - good food! I'm better at cleaning (seriously - all this cooking means learning how to clean faster). 

I feel more fulfilled, like I'm really on a path towards living life to it's fullest. 

Really, it's a fantastic feeling.  I hope I can keep it up.  This quote sums it up nicely:

What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes?  Herein lies the key to your earthly pursuits.  - Carl Jung

Productivity

I cleaned the crap out of my house yesterday, not to mention gave Linny a bath and fed her three times, AND gave Aden the best day ever as we hid from the hot sun outside.  He played his keyboard (bday present), played with clay, and played with his new Hot Wheels (thank you Grandpa Chuck!).  He even had home-made chicken nuggets for dinner (with the ingenious addition of melted cheesy sticks on top of some), which Aden declared were "better than Disneyland!" 

THEN I surprised him by fulfilling an earlier request of making his room like a movie theater. Dressed up in a vest a hat, I welcomed him to "Paquette Cinemas" at the "concessions" stand I set up (a box on top of a laundry hamper) by the door of his room, After he chose his selection from the DVDs presented, he "bought" buttered popcorn, two Milk Duds, and "water-flavored soda" with hugs, all of which were delivered up to his "suite" (aka: loft bed), complete with wet wipes to clean his hands.  He got to stay up late and watch "Emperor's New Groove" in his bed and have room service.  He couldn't stop smiling.

However, I got the biggest compliment of all today, overheard as I dozed in the back bedroom (Sundays are my "go back to bed" days): 

"Daddy, build the fort like Mommy's.  Mommy's forts always stay up!"  (yesssss!!!!)

Life is good.

I Want A Ukelele...

I promise, promise, promise that I will write about my own life again soon. I'm just too lazy to take the time to upload all the zillions of pictures on my digital camera: Aden riding his bike (no training wheels- wahoo!), lazy Sundays, fun time with clay, and of course... Disneyland! All to come.

But in the meantime, check out this chick playing ukelele on is amazing. I highly recommend linking to her other youtube videos.  They are surprisingly witty - she's like if Juno came to life and were a talented ukelele-ist.

(And yes, I realize that the time I spent looking up random youtube videos could have been more constructively spent uploading photos.  Don't judge.)

May the Shortcake bring you peace...

I am so glad I saw the video below. I was about ready to drop-kick someone. It has not been a good day. Kinko's is ruining my universe right now.

But then... then... I was 6 years old, watching Strawberry Shortcake:



Ahhhh....peace. For some reason the VHS tracking makes it even better - it's the nostaligia of the 80s, I guess.

PS. they are updating Strawberry Shortcake again! Sacrilige! Oh well, they already ruined her for our generation. I'm hitting eBay for some real Peculiar Purple Pie Man goodness:


PPS. Bonus! More 80s goodness... see the shining light!



Back to the grind...

Speaking of dreams...

This woman is living mine. And this, to a certain extent. Not exactly, but both of them come pretty darn close. Parenthood has awakened the creative, hippy, earth mama lurking inside. My dream used to be a fast-paced life doing radio promotions in the city. My dream now consists of:

Working from home. A big backyard - trees to climb, fruit to pick, dirt to dig. A treehouse for Pumpkin. Home gardens full of vegetables, herbs, beautiful flowers, and worms. Graphic design - art mixed with a viable career. Art, art, art! And crafts - oh the crafts! a room for crafts! - time to knit, learning to sew & quilt, painting once again, watercolors and chalk and crayons with the kids. Stuff from this book. Time to be creative again. Time to myself: Mommy work out time in the morning (I just started - sooo fun!). Time to just be. Yoga. Walks. Picnics in the park, day trips to museums. Kids that will walk semi-quietly through museums without saying "This is booooooooooooring!" (I'm looking at you, Pumpkin). Farmers Markets weekly! Freshly baked bread weekly. Movies, but no TV (or a little TV - Project Runway for inspiration). Music - oh the music! a room for music! - iPods, radio, instruments galore - a piano, clarinet, flute, guitars, violins, the works. Books - a music room/library! - vintage, children's, novels, leather bound... the wealth of the world on pages at our fingertips. Learning forever. Church as a family, every week. Friends filling our home with laughter and love. Love. So much love and creativity and peace.

Sigh. That sounds really really good. But for now, I go back to desk. (However, I am going to the Farmer's Market this late afternoon - any takers?)

The new dream

I just got off the phone with my wonderful marvelous husband (oh, how I do love him), and we had an interesting conversation. So many thoughts are rolling around in my head, that I had to get them down...

The hubby's current employment has ceased to make him happy, and he is looking around for a new gig. He's looking at a more corporate environment rather than a restaurant this time around, for various reasons. One is money - restaurants are notoriously low on the salary scale. The other is us, his family. The Disneyland trip - pics coming soon, promise! - made him really realize how much his schedule makes him miss out on family time. Corporate dining offers a M-F, 6a-3ish kind of schedule.

Much like Magnum, I shouldn't even be talking about this, he only just applied. However, I didn't realize how serious he was about it until today - he already talked to the nanny about switching her schedule and to his mom about filling in the day care gaps (Houston, we are a go). This is a huge deal, because I usually take care of 98% of that kind of planning (Cleaning and cooking, Chris has me trumped. But I am the planner in this relationship). For him to do that kind of legwork means he is serious serious.

The implications are major. More family time, more money, less stress. But also, a bit of guilt for me. It feels a bit like growing up and leaving the childhood dream behind. This is not to say he'll never cook in a restaurant again or open his own restaurant (and even if he didn't, I really don't care, as long as he is happy with his work), but we both are acutely aware that money once gained is hard to walk away from. He's been so supportive of my dreams - the ones that involve school and graphic design and more creativity and working from home one day - that I shudder to be the cause of him taking a step away from his.

Sure, it will be nice to pay off the bills, but if this is the path we take, I hope we both have the courage to re-visit the dream one day soon... if that's what he wants. However, as I write this, I realize maybe the dream has changed.* He told me yesterday that "he wants his work to be a means to provide for his family, and not the other way around." So maybe the dream now is summer evenings playing baseball with Pumpkin, more playtime with the Lumpkin, dinners at home, weekend family trips, etc. Perhaps that will make him happier than the "glamour" of working at a high-profile restaurant. And granted, it will definitely be a bonus for all of us.

Hearing all this talk about providing for his family and how much we mean to him, etc., etc. makes me fall in love with him all over again. It's just so... manly (heehehee). Really though, of course I know we mean that much to him, but it's very heartwarming to learn that we - me - are the dream, ya know? It also makes me feel much, MUCH too adult.

Disclaimer: I do not profess to know what is in my husband's head, these are only my own thoughts. (Honey, don't kill me for blogging about you and... get used to it). :)

Best. husband. Ever.

So, yesterday, we had only been home for a couple hours after our Disneyland trip (which was AWESOME and deserves it's own posts - or many posts, as I have 200+ pics), when my lovely husband and Aden hand me a small gift bag.  An early birthday present, I am told, since we were all together right then and he'd be working all weekend, including on my birthday (Saturday).

Aden says, "It plays music!"  So I'm thinking they got me some little Disney music box on the sly.  I open the bag and, to my utter DELIGHT, see one of these:

(mine's black)

I jumped on him. I squealed.  Today I realized I can not only download songs - and movies! - but I can learn Spanish, listen to NPR, and get the KEXP song of the day for free.  Free, people.

My husband rules.

Won't be on this thing 'til next weekend, cause we're going to DISNEYLAND!!!

Peace out, my homies!  I got a date with Mickey:

(Woot!)

American What?

Right.  So I am going to diverge from my usual anecdote-telling,  baby-gushing family life usually discussed on this blog, and delve into pop culture.

Everyone who knows me, knows I love pop culture.  I'm like a sponge.  I don't know how I do it, but I just absorb useless factidotes from the media and world a

round me.  For example, I know that the entertainment world around me is currently focused on Cannes Film Festival, Ashlee Simpson's wedding, the release of the new Indiana Jon

es flick this week and Sex and the City (yessss!) the next, and of course... American Idol.

I really don't watch TV much at all these days - no time - but I do watch American Idol.  The best and worst of singing, bright eyed wanna-be stars, snarky commentary... love it.  In fact, I'm watching the finale right now.  

Unfortunately, Idol's one weak point is the forced, cheesy production numbers and numerous commercials hawking the Ford cars and latest Fox movie.  This year's finale is rife with them. Really, they've outdone themselves.  So much so that I'm blogging about it.

And now, without further ado, I give you the top awkward (and just plain wierd) moments from this year's Idol finale (in no particular order):

1. Big-voiced, skunk-haired rocker Amanda Overmeyer - see above - suffer through those cheesy girl group numbers. In pants.  (Damn those contractual obligations).
2. Poor Brooke attempting to dance during the aforementioned group numbers. Love me some Brooke, but girl's got zero body awareness.
3. Jason Castro.  (See: awkward).
4. Two words: ZZ Top?????
5. Carrie Underpants, Stevie Nicks called. She wants to show you the right wear to gypsy sleeves (and no, they're not supposed to be attached to each other).
   
   
6. David Cook's choke hold on new best buddy Bryan Adams. I hope for his sake they are as good of friends as he thinks to think - I kept waiting for him to lose that hand (below). 

7. David "Archie" Archuleta trying to comprehend the humor of Mike "Guru Pitka" Myers.  Mariska Hargitay to you, Archie.
8. Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and... Robert Downey, Jr?
9. David "I'm not gay, I just strip that way" Hernandez whispering "naked" during the George Michael medley.  Ew.  And speaking of George Michael...
10. George Michael gets the last star spot on the family friendly Idol?  Guess that wierd park moment from years back is forgotten at last, eh George. (We know, we know... it's your culture).

and last but not least...

    11.  Jordin Sparks, please shoot whoever told you to wear that gold lame party dress.  Immediately.  (I'll try and find a pic, but for now, here's the video)*

On a positive note, props goes out to my boy David Cook... I'm so glad he won.  Yes, he's a sell out, but I love how he's kept his rocker side throughout and just has fun with whatever he's doing.  Whether he's forced to wear some horrible white suit or dress like a gay matador in some horrible Ford Commercial, he does it with the enthusiasm of a bartender plucked from the obscurity of Blue Springs, Missouri and fixed - I mean voted - to win fame and fortune.  Good on ya, David Cook.

*My apologies for the YouTube quality on the links; it was just posted so it's fuzzy bootlegs. :)

I need a nap.

Late last night, I realized that I had a very productive week.  

Early this morning, I realized that the productivity had come with a price.

A very rare spurt of spring-cleaning energy combined with my poor husband working insane hours and having insanely hard days at work (due to a new boss) means that I have been doing double duty at both work and home.  In spite of the 90-100+ temperatures, I have been on a rampage - busting my butt at work only to come home and do project after project to finally - finally - get my house organized.

Within the past week I have:

At work:

1. Successfully managed the installation of a much-needed new postage machine.
2. Saved hundreds of dollars a month of my budget my doing some re-negotiations with a vendor.
3. Narrowed the 100+ applications I received (in 3 days!) down to 12-15 viable applicants for the position I am hiring for and started scheduling interviews.
4. Collected money from several departments and executives, went shopping at Babies R'Us and the local craft store, and produced a beautifully wrapped basket of baby essentials, complete with gift card and signed group cards, for my boss (the President), whose wife is having a baby on Monday.  It was worth it - I got a hug! (He doesn't hug).

At home:

1. I completely re-organized the cabinets under our bathroom sink, so our "master" bathroom looks pretty.
2. Completely re-organized my side of the closet.
3. Completely went through our bookshelf, tossing all the old unnecessary papers and other trash, and actually fit the entire stack of books that has been sitting on our floor for month.
4. Scrubbed both bathrooms
5. Done the dishes about 4 or 5 times
6. Done 75% of the laundry, washed, dried, folded.  
7. Vacuumed and mopped the floor (although you would never know to look at it).
8. Taken care of both kids - both of them got baths yesterday - and did I mention it's 100 degrees out and my baby is teething?

I also attended my last graphic design class for the semester and briefly attended the reception for our Spring Art Show (nothing of mine, but still cool inspiration). 

And that's on top of regular life... although to be fair, I've barely ate all week.

Whew! 

After all that, I decided to be a nice person and wake up with the kids this morning about quarter to seven.  I vaguely remember my husband agreeing to get up with them this morning, but I thought, well, I need to get up anyway.

My brain was reeling from all the things I needed to do; I was still riding the wave of productivity from last week.  (It's rare, but when the wave gets going it's hard to get off.) 

Today was the start of Aden's last week of preschool (ever! he starts kindergarten this fall), and as it was the only day we take him to preschool, it was also the last day we would get to take him to preschool ever.  Monday mornings I also have an 8am department meeting, and though I knew I could easily get off the hook, I still needed to call my boss (my other boss - I have two).

So, despite the fact that I wasn't walking in a straight line quite yet, I dialed the phone.  The first time, I realized I dialed the wrong person.  I didn't even know I had that number (I deleted it).  The second time I reached my boss, L:

"Alyssa, what's wrong?"

"Nothing.  I was just wondering if it's ok if I miss this morning's meeting.  It's the last time I can take Aden to preschool, and I'd really like to take him."

"Alyssa.... it's Sunday." (!!!)

"Ohmigosh!  I'm so sorry!  That should tell you how tired I am."

(Lots of laughter) "You know I'm never going to let you live this down".

"I know."

Like I said, the productivity has a price.  I plan on going to bed early tonight.

My Linny Lumpkin is getting SO big. She's 6 months old today! I felt like I should get her a cupcake or something, but she's not quite old enough. So we just had lots of play time when I got home from work.

So, in her honor, and ode to Linny Lumpkin, the love of my life:

In the stroller, looking so big (and almost blond)!

She eats solid food!  And loves it!  AND she's cutting three - three! - teeth (poor thing).

What? I'm hungry!

She loves to play.  She smiles big smiles and giggles that gurgly, squealing laugh that only babies can laugh. It's the best sound in the world!

She wants to crawl.

REALLY bad. (Must...get...toy...)

It's amazing how fast it's going already.  She's already showing signs of transitioning from a baby into a toddler.  She'll be a baby for a little while longer yet, but I know I'll blink and all of a sudden she'll be grown.  It makes me sad to think about it, but happy at the same time.  

Love you, Linny Lumpkin Who! 

The weather gods have forsaken us.

It's supposed to be 103F tomorrow. It's the middle of May!  This is just not right.

Oh, and I meant to post this earlier, but Spring allergies have again beaten my family down. Especially my poor husband.  He went to the doctor a couple weeks ago, and came home with this:

(Mind you the Zyrtec is missing in this picture)  

The pharmacy has helped him become a functioning human being once again, but he's still got along way to go.  I think he's getting tired of the "heroin chic" eyes.

You may have won this round, Spring. But we'll see how you do against your next opponent: Air Purifier.

Ahhhhhh!

Today has just been one of "those" days.  One of those weeks, really (and this was supposed to be a relaxing week)!

Only parents, or those who are constantly around children, can really understand what a bad day with kids is like.  It's usually not anything horrible... no one got hit by a car, no one did anything particularly embarrassing like swearing loudly in the checkout line or asking why that person looked funny, no one threw up all over me.  

It's more like Chinese water torture... an emotional drip, drip, drip until your forehead is numb and you feel like you are going to explode in hysterics.  

As I write this, Linny Lumpkin is screaming in the other room.  I have done everything possible - everything - to try and soothe her. I rocked her. I nursed her. I tried a bottle (both with and without rice cereal). I tried Children's Tylenol. I tried just holding her and shushing... nothing has worked. I finally just put her back in her room, waiting until she cries herself into an exhausted sleep. I hate it - every fiber in me wants to comfort her - but I've done all I can. She has Pumpkin's cold - runny nose, red eyes, a croupy cough - and on top of that is cutting her first tooth. I can actually feel the sharp little edge poking through her poor gums. I am no match.

Today was my afternoon off to be with the kids.  It was supposed to be a fun and relaxing afternoon - beautiful weather, a trip to the park, hang out with friends... but no.  As I mentioned, Lumpkin has a cold and is teething (no match, I tell you). Pumpkin is just getting over the same cold and is still at that snotty, coughy post-cold stage.  I was hoping to get some much-needed work done at home while the kids slept, but true to form, Lumpkin woke up from her nap the second I had put Pumpkin down for his.  Plus, I had to wake Pumpkin up from his nap to take the baby to the baby to the doctor... and I have been suffering the consequences of it ever since.

You would think 2 hours would have been plenty, but post-preschool with a cold, no.  I love our Pumpkin dearly, but when he is tired and not feeling well (and in typical kid-like fashion, doesn't know it!), he is Chinese Water Torture!  It was this wierd combination of bored, whiney, hyper, attention-seeking, demanding and bossy all at once.  Examples:

As I go to get him his promised snack:  

"Don't forget... I want an apple!  And not a smushy one like last time."

Drip.

At the doctor's:

"They have a lot of candy here.  Can I have a lollipop?"

"Yes,, but you have to promise me that you'll be really good, and play quietly in the corner while I talk to the doctor."

"I promise!"

While I am trying to discuss Lumpkin with the doctor (as he climbs on my lap): 

I'm the big brother!  What's that?  What does that mean?  Does that mean she won't heal? I can't see! Am I getting a shot?  Can I still have a lollipop?

Drip.

Dinner:  "I ate all my food!  Can I have dessert?" 

Me: "Nope, as I said before, no dessert and no snacks."

Pumpkin promptly opens the freezer to expect for himself.  

About 5 minutes later:

"Can I have a cheesy stick?"

Drip Drip.

At bedtime, Lumpkin was fast asleep until 10 minutes after Pumpkin was in bed.  Then she started crying mercilessly... this pathetic, coughy, croupy cry.  So of course Pumpkin starts YELLING:  "MOOOOOOM. The baby is crying!"

Drip drip drip drip... 

Going in the room, of course, means that it's free reign to stall bedtime further.  As I tried desperately to rock Lumpkin to sleep, Pumpkin sat straight up in bed, "Hi Mom!"  About two seconds after "Not another word!" he was still sitting straight up, grinning at me like he had just stolen a cookie. Two cookies.

It's almost 10pm now, and I think - I hope - the baby is finally fast asleep.  I'm dying to watch my rental movie (Juno), but all around me is the trashed house and unfinished work that I will probably end up doing this weekend.  Although I don't know when, as I am home alone with the kids almost all weekend.

Ahhh... and there's the screaming again.

Maybe I'll just curl up in a good hole.

This picture makes me happy

I don't really know why, but it does:

My blogging is giving me nightmares...

...Already! I had a terrible, vivid dream last night that Chris has quit his job. Well, it was more like he was fired for some political reason (it was really wierd) and Chris was like, oh well, and refused to do anything about it.

In the dream, we were someone's house or party and I just lost it and started yelling at him about losing his job, and I remember in the dream his reaction being so non-responsive that it really felt like we were going to split up. I must have been in a really deep sleep, because I had to tear myself out of the dream to wake up, and when I did, it took me a few minutes to catch my breath and realize where I was.

I know it's because blogging about his new job was the last thing I did before bed. Bad dreams = no bueno.

As I said, this deserves it's own post

Chris got a promotion to lead line cook (ie: chef in charge of other chefs)!  And a raise, to boot.

I'm so proud of my chef.  He's worked very very hard for this and he deserves every bit of it.

I'm SO excited about this, in fact, that in celebration I give you... the Hoff:

Workin' 9 to 5...to 8..to 11...to 6...

I was sitting with our bishop the other day (and no not this, and certainly not this! More like this)... anyway, I was sitting with our bishop the other day and he asked how things were going.  I told him honestly, we were very happy, but things were kind of rough.  

Now I realize, on a daily basis, that we are very very blessed - we have a nice place to live, food to eat, wonderful family, wonderful kids, stable jobs, and Chris even recently got a promotion (lead line cook and a raise! that deserves it's own post...)  

But life, in general, is one big ball of stress these days.  

It's hard out there for a pimp. 

Seriously, though, we struggle with the same issues all families do these days:

• The economy sucks and gas and food are through the roof (especially living in Cal-expensive-fornia). 
  
• We love our children but it's hard work raising two young energetic kids. While BOTH of us work full-time jobs, and then some.  Our beautiful 5 - almost 6! - month old is not a good sleeper. So none of us ever sleep.  
• We crave quality time as a family, and as a couple, but most days Chris and I high-five each other as we head in/out the door trading home & kids/work shifts.  I stay up until 11:30p or later most nights just to see him after work (and the kids wake up at 6am...and Lumpkin gets up twice during that period...).  I want a nap just typing that.
• The majority of our sparse one-on-one time is, out of necessity, business: did you pay the car bill?  what time do you work tomorrow?  who is watching _insert child_? How was Lumpkin's teething/crawling attempts/sleep habits?  Was Pumpkin behaved?  Do you need anything from the store?  
• Did I mention I will NEVER. SLEEP. AGAIN?

It's a very glamorous life on paper.

However.

The point of this post was not to complain.  We have it no harder than most other people out there, and have it a great deal better than many.  The point is the bishop said something very poignant.  He asked, "Do you and your husband love each other?" (Of course I replied yes).  "If you love each other, than I promise you everything else will work out."

And you know what? It does.  Life is definitely hard work, but the results are worth it. I'm a lucky, lucky gal.

Who is going to bed. 

My new favorite website

I love love love learning new things. If I could be paid to take college classes, that would be my chosen career.

An online learn-to-do-anything site? I'm there.

Love this article!

Someone forwarded me this. Love it!

The Weatherman's barometer needs a tune-up

The weather was 90 degrees today!  90!  The forecast said it would be a high of 70. 

It was a beautiful day though.

Oregon Trip

Last weekend my mom and I went to Oregon (Southern Oregon) for the weekend to visit family. We mainly went to visit my grandmother - the last of my living grandparents - who has Alzheimer's and is starting to get a bit worse. It's sort of a one-sided conversation these days, but she was very excited to see the baby. It was good to see her.


I also learned something very important on this trip: no more road trips with the baby! Seriously. A usually calm 6 hour trip turned into a 9 hour ordeal. And did I mention she would NOT nurse the entire trip? Total Scorpio, that one.


We are SO flying to Disneyland next month.


Pictures below!

A tired mama and baby

My cousin Jen's art studio. LOVE her stuff!

Aunt Cathy and the cutie.

My cousin Shaula, practicing her momma skills. We're only 5 years apart, but we've never really gotten to know each other. We got some good quality time this trip. She's awesome. :)

My momma & her sisters. Take a good look, people. That's me in 20 years!

Grandma playing with Lumpkin. I didn't realize until I looked at these pictures how old she's gotten.

Four generations! What a cool shot...

It's Official.

I have the cutest baby, ever. Just try to fight me on this:

Game. Set. Match.

The Afrumas Visit!

March was a lovely month, because my bestest friend Katy came to visit along with her husband Michael and her mini-me, Peanut.

Katy is the friend who gets me cards that say "You're the kind of friend I can tell anything" and when you open the card it says, "My butt itches. See? Anything." I was a holding a leg when Peanut came out and cried half the way to California when I moved 2 weeks later. I miss her.

It was fun just being mommas together, chasing the kiddies around. The visit culminated in a dinner at the Taylor's (Katy's parents) house, with my parents and all of us friends who used to hang out watching X-files and are now chasing our mini-me's around. Nostalgic, wierd... and great. Unfortunately Chris had to miss the festivities; he was working. (Sad). But I had a blast!

The Mommas

The kiddos chillin

Katy with our mini-mes!

Peanut chowing down. Note her picture in the background.

Awww! Kisses!

Mikkel and his (very happy) mini-me.

Corbin Dallas (not really), the official screen opener.

The papas!

The crew.

Note: I will try and post the pics larger next time. It's taking me FOREVER to post them. I need to tweak with my photos. Patience, Iago....

Welcome to Linny Lumpkin

After much thought, we have finally done it - we've started a blog.  (Ok, that's not really true. Alyssa has started a blog.  Once Chris starts posting, then we'll migrate to "we").  

Really, this is mostly so all our friends and family from far away can see all the pictures and stories about our family. However, if other people want to check it out the cutest kids in the world, so be it.  :)

The first few posts will be from March - I gotta back track a bit - but I will do my best to stay current after that (feel free to ride me if I don't).

With that outta the way, on to blogging...

  -A