Say Da-da

Allie's Christmas Party

New Tooth!

Josh has cut his first tooth! On the bottom. It's barely there, but it's there! Too hard to get a picture but I'm sure in the next few days I will get one. But I was very excited and a little sad that the toothless grins are over.

To Times!!!

Tanya and I toast to the Titans and their wonderful season!

The Beach: Day Two

Well, the second full day was very stormy. We had sustained winds of 30-40mph and and rain and hail storms came and went all day. It was amazing. We didn't lose power, thankfully, which made if a very cozy day. We watched two movies, shopped and ate way too much. The perfect day! ;-)

Even the room bear thought it was a good day to watch movies (our room service always put the bear in funny poses wearing my hat or glasses or whatever... pretty cute!)

The Beach: Part One

Our first full day in Cannon beach included two walks on the beach (with a nap in between) and lunch at Bill's. The weather was cloudy in the morning with the sun breaking through about mid morning and this afternoon was down right gorgeous. The sunset was unbelievable. Didn't have my camera on me for that walk because Cale was making fun of how many pictures I'd already taken. I will NOT leave the Stephanie Inn without the camera again. Anyway, got some good photos nonetheless...

I had a picture of the sunset on my phone and uploaded it so that I could post it. Thank goodness for camera phones!!

Future Titans

Well, it was a great season for Cale and the mighty Titans. Finishing 2nd in State your 2nd year of the school's existence is just awesome. Great job, sweetie. The kids were very proud too!

Took the pics with my phone....

SLACKER BLOGGER

I have been so bad lately about blogging. I promise to do better. I know you're all so happy about this.

Random thought of the day: Why is coffee so special? I mean, it really is....

Every once in a while...

you take a really good picture or two. Here are a few of the kids that I took recently that I thought turned out good. And one of a tree..... I know.... random....

Trick Or Treat!!

Happy Halloween 2008!!

PUMPKIN PATCH!

It was a fun day at the pumpkin patch for Allie, Josh, Nana and mommy!!

Baby Weekend

Went over to Jerry and Kathy's for a baby shower for Amanda's friend. It was such a nice shower. GREAT food, great drinks, great time. Amanda's friend, Kathy looked so happy and too good for being so pregnant! ;-)

And, we all went over to Jerry and Kathy's to see Baby Harper. Cale and Allie were meeting her for the first time. "She was so cute" to quote Allie. It was great to see "Fun Mandi" and to spend time with Chris, Amanda and Christina. As well as the Portland gang: Barnekoffs and Cases. The food at the Piland's was divine, as always and it was such a great fun filled weekend. I feel as if I need to devote my time Sunday to napping and recharging for the week. That's proof that fun "times" were had!

Finding Time

It's amazing how it is soooo hard to find time to toast "To Times" . Anyone else feel like we're spinning around like whirling dervishes and never getting to all the things we want to do? For instance, Lori and I are trying to find a time to get together for an evening. We have ONE "iffy" date in the next month. Crazy...
Actually I have quite a bit of free time on my calendar in the next month, it just doesn't happen to sync up with anyone else's schedule. I feel as if I'm constantly fighting the frustration of a busy schedule with living in the moment and enjoying/being grateful for this wonderful life that we have.
Serenity Now!

CHOW TIME!!

Josh is eating food now. The first intro was to rice cereal and now he has moved into the land of peas. Steak and potatoes are next given how this guy can eat!!!

GIRLS SHOPPING WEEKEND ALERT!!!

Okay Seattle, Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Vancouver girlies... we need a shopping day. IN OREGON, tax free, drinking lunch, etc. Who's in???

Remember the TITANS!

Here's some pictures from the football game this past week. Go Titans!!

To Times!!

I had a kid free night the other night and got to go out with Tanya and Eric after Cale's football game. I had a GREAT time. Love you guys!!!

SNL Biden/Palin Skit

Sitting up...

Josh has been working on sitting up for about two weeks now. He's pretty good on the floor but I had him and Allie on the bed in the playroom and he has a little more trouble. It was really cute how Allie was trying to keep him up and she finally looked at me and said, "he's heavy!!"

SNL

1 = 1 and 2 = 10

Man am I tired! As Josh grows (and grows and grows!!) I am realizing how much WORK it is to be a parent! I don't want to scare any of you one time mommies out there but it is monumentally harder with two children. I think I am really feeling the brunt of this with Cale doing football 'round the clock. I have SOOOOO much help from the "grandmas" and couldn't do it without them. I am so incredibly thankful for my job. It is literally an escape from my real job: mom. I'm not complaining, just venting a little bit.

Remember those calgon commercials. Now I really get it....

Holiday Party

The Christmas Party WILL BE BACK this year!!!! Keep the weekend of Dec. 20th open!

Meeting Harper....

I got to meet my cute little neice, Harper Flynn, last weekend. Josh got to meet her too. She is just about the cutest thing EVER. (Cale said, "the THIRD cutest thing", keeping our own children in mind....)

Chris and Amanda looked extremely happy and quite relaxed, actually. It was great to see them both. Can't wait to see them again soon.

thoughts on politics.....

Does Republican= Christian and Democrat = athiest/liberal??? Background: when I was 18, I registered as a republican because that's what my mom was and that was about all the information I needed at the time to make my choice. Or so I thought. Then I went through my early 20's not even giving politics a thought. Didn't even vote....

Fast forward to my late 20's until present time and here I am wondering why in the world I am a republican!! When I think of the Republican party, I think of greed, corruption, homophobia, mob-like tactics and a false alliance with right winged Christian believers. And yes, I remember Monica Lewinksy and how can I forget the recent news about John Edwards. (I don't think marital infidelity is privy only to the Democratic party.)

So, is this really about abortion and gay marriage? If so, then the Republican party has done a fantastic job tricking us Christians into thinking that it is ALL about these issues. I firmly believe you can be democrat and against abortion. I'm against abortion. What I am NOT against, is a person's right to choose. Even if abortion were outlawed, women would still be making that choice.... God gives us choices, that is why we needed Jesus. If we never had to make a choice then why even have the need for salvation?

The Republican party really seems to be about war/fight first talk later, about deregulation the market, about privatizing EVERYTHING, outsourcing American jobs, etc. I don't relate to this.

The Democratic party tends to lean more toward helping the poor, the sick, the vets, the elderly, the middle class. I like this about the Democratic party. I relate to that.

I need to get out of politics..... ;-)

Drama

Why is it that there is always drama at work? Really....

I try to NOT get caught up in the drama of the teenagers I am surrounded by everyday. So when the adults act like the teens, I am more than exasperated. I mean, REALLY???

Thank you Jon Stewart!!!

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086

The Daily Grind.....

I haven't officially worked since the middle of March but with my student teacher last Fall, I feel like I haven't worked for a year! Today I go back and I have too many emotions to even express. I am going to miss Allie, although she wears me out! I am going to miss Josh, he is just starting to really get interactive with people, toys, things. It's wonderful! I am going to miss NOT working....

However, I am so very excited about interacting with people outside of my family. Don't get me wrong, I love my family. But luckily for me, I love my job too.

And finally, I LOVE my husband. When I expressed my feelings to him and said to him, "What if I don't remember who I was?" He so lovingly said, "Just be who you are now."

Perfect!

The Pre-Preggo Jeans....

I have been torturing myself for some time now trying, and trying again to get back into my Pre-Preggo jeans. I have NOT been getting into them. Well today, on the eve of Josh turning 3 months, I did it!! SOOOOO happy!! Yes there is a HUGE mufffin top going on, but my thighs and rear end are in those things! These are not my "fat" jeans either. These are the real deal! Couldn't be happier and it is a HUGE motivation to continue to work out. I have been working out for 8 weeks straight now and wasn't seeing any changes. Now I am starting to.

WAHOO!!

(Oh, and those of you who know me KNOW that the picture above is not me... sadly...)

Bye, Bye, Binky!!

Who knew that the thing I was dreading the most (getting rid of Allie's binky) would be so EASY??? Thanks to Bonnie (aka, the binky whisperer) Allie had a sleepover with Brie-Brie and the binky is a thing of the past! Seriously, it was too simple! I will be forever grateful to.... the Binky Whisperer....

And baby makes ..... Four!

We are officially a family of four, one adult per child. Joshua Mark is here and is doing so incredibly well. We couldn't be/feel more blessed. Such a sweet, mellow baby and the light of his sister's eye, for sure!!!

Selling a House

Well, we are trying to sell our house. I know, I know... yes, in THIS market we are trying to sell a house. With each showing we are getting more and more discouraged! There has to be SOMEONE buying? No? Anyone? Bueler??