November 11th will mark the 1st anniversary of my Uncle Linus's death. I can't believe it has already been a year almost. I'm working on a memorial project that I'm putting together for the anniversary of his death and my cousin Karen sent me a disc full of photos and newspaper clippings. As I was going through the disc tonight I noticed this newspaper clipping that must have been taken back in the 1970s or '80s when Uncle Linus was receiving his swine flu shot.
I really wish he was here to get the swine flu now.
Lincoln just got home with Jake and Hannah from their Halloween outing. I guess they had a very successful night although they had to venture onto a street they don't usually go down because a lot of houses on their usual route were dark this year. Lincoln said they had to have walked about 2 miles. Jake came home absolutely exhausted. While Lincoln and Hannah sat on the floor and sorted their loot into piles Jake crashed on the arm of the couch. It was too cute for words.
Despite the fact that it has snowed not once but twice so far this October we were very lucky to have beautiful weather for Halloween this year. It was in the high 60's - if not actually 70 degrees - but very windy. The kids were able to wear their costumes without layering up too much. Hannah put a long sleeve shirt under her Raggedy Ann dress and Jake wore long pants and a long-sleeved shirt under his Rebel Fighter Pilot costume.
Lincoln took the kids over to Hopedale with the other Diane Snow and his niece Kayla. I stayed home because I'm still under the weather and fighting this horrible cold. At least my voice is almost back to normal.
Yesterday we surprised our kids with a day trip to Washington, DC. The kids had absolutely no idea that we were going anywhere and we didn't tell them until we were on the road. We had to leave the house at 5:30 a.m. in order to catch our flight so we just told them that Mommy and Daddy had a really busy day and that we had to get them out the door early that morning. They thought they were going to Grandma and Grandpa's house just like usual - only earlier. We got them into bed earlier than usual and got them up at 5:00 a.m. in order to give them some breakfast before we left. We learned the hard way on our trip to Iowa this summer that Jake gets car sick if he doesn't have enough food in his stomach so we wanted to avoid that happening again.
When we got on the road we turned right at the end of our street instead of left towards Grandma and Grandpa's but the kids didn't say anything for about a half mile or so when Jake finally said "Why are you taking this road? Where are we going?"
I had the pictures from our bedroom - the ones that Jake always complain about excluding him - and so I handed those to the kids and told them that we were going back to those places to take pictures with Jake in them. Hannah knew it was Washington, DC right away and was very excited but Jake was initially very upset that he would be missing Dinosaur Train on PBS which he watches at Grandma and Grandpa's each morning. Once we explained to him that he was going to get to see real dinosaur bones at the Museum of Natural History he came around a little bit and then when I told them we were flying his favorite airline both kids perked up and cried out "JetBlue!" I swear, our family could be a living, breathing ad for JetBlue. It's ridiculous how much we love that airline.
We made excellent time to the airport and despite the pouring rain in Boston our flight took off on time. It was a pretty bumpy ride going down because of all the rain and unsettled air on the Eastern sea board but the flight is only about an hour and twenty minutes so it wasn't too bad. Unfortunately we didn't get enough food into Jake's stomach so he did throw up on the plane but we're so used to it now that we were fully prepared. I packed this special little hard plastic bucket that we refer to, in such a clever way, as the "puke bucket" and he just threw up into that and then I rinsed it out with a bottle of water in the airplane bathroom.
After arriving at the airport we headed over to pick up our rental car and then we were on our way. The weather report originally said it would be rainy on and off in the morning and then cloudy in the afternoon. That's not exactly how the day ended up going. When we arrived in DC the sun was starting to come through the clouds and the day ended up being much warmer than anticipated. After our first few stops we ended up buying the kids some cheap T-shirts from a street vendor because it was pretty hot out.
On our way into the city we called Grandma Dena to let her know where we were and she told us to say "hi" to President Obama if we ran into him. Well we didn't run into him in such a manner that we could talk to him but we did run into his motorcade so Hannah was able to wave to him. We parked our car at the parking garage and walked a few blocks to buy tickets for the Old Town Trolley before heading another couple of blocks down to visit the Museum of Natural History and see the dinosaur exhibit. While stopped at one street corner trying to orient myself with the map we missed a light cycle at the crosswalk so we happened to be standing there when a motorcade came by. It was led by a few motorcycle cops then the limos with the presidential crest, a few Secret Service cars, then what I can only assume is a press vehicle (there was a man standing up through the sun roof with a camera), and then an ambulance and a few other police cars. The video of it is below. It's a little hard to see because his motorcade books it through the streets of Washington DC. It went by really fast. Who knows where he was headed but he may or may not have been headed towards Andrews Air Force base. When we came out of the museum a huge plane flew pretty near the White House and I can't imagine any other plane allowed in the air space. We saw a lot of planes taking off over the city but that is the one that came the closest to the White House. Of course that is pure speculation and what do I know.
Our first stop was the Museum of Natural History's dinosaur exhibit. I really wish that I had the video camera out the second we walked into the exhibit because I have never seen Jake light up the way he did yesterday. He is absolutely obsessed with dinosaurs right now and knows all of them by name. Jake walked into the exhibit, stopped in his tracks and started pointing at all the dinosaur skeletons and rapidly calling out all their names. It was so precious. Unfortunately my son, unlike my daughter, freezes up once I whip out the video camera out so in the video below he's sort of shy and she's pointing things out but it is still a pretty cute video. It's nothing like how he was when he first walked in but I have to say that sometimes when I'm catching something on video I feel like I miss out on it in real life so even though I'm disappointed I didn't get the video I'm so happy I got to watch his excitement firsthand.
It was hard to get a picture of Jake in the exhibit because he was running around so much I couldn't get him to hold still long enough.
I absolutely love his pose and facial expression in this picture.
After we finished with the dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Natural History we hopped on the Old Town Trolley. We bought passes before going to the museum and our plan was to use that as transportation around the city throughout the day. It was some of the best - and only - money we spent all day thanks to the fact that most museums and all the monuments in DC are free.
After getting on the trolley outside of the museum we rode over to the White House. One of the pictures from our bedroom was of us in front of the White House but unfortunately we weren't able to recreate that one. As a matter of fact I was only able to get one good photo because when sitting in front of the White House we were facing directly into the very bright sun. Neither of the kids could keep their eyes open and even the pictures I took of Lincoln mostly had his eyes shut as well. I managed to get the picture below and I think that Hannah is absolutely adorable in it. Lincoln is pretty darn cute too but I think she just looks like a little model. What you can't see in the picture is the White House garden that Michelle Obama planted. It was actually a very nice looking garden. This is also the start of the pictures where it looks like either all the buildings in Washington, DC are tilted or I was sicker than I thought and not standing up straight. The only thing that comforts me is that when a stranger used our camera to take the picture of us in front of the Capitol at least one of those pictures was crooked too.
After our trip to the front of the White House we stopped at a street vendor to grab some hot dogs and another one to purchase shirts for the kids. Not to get too "anti-immigration" on you all - I realize my family came from overseas too - but the lady selling the t-shirts was incredibly annoying. I was the only tourist around stopping anywhere near her stall to buy her shirts and she kept giving me attitude in her heavy foreign accent about having to take out different shirts and different sizes for me to look at. "This just makes me have more work to do" is what she said to me multiple times. Oh I'm sorry. I can see how busy you are sitting on your ass doing nothing while no one shops at your crappy little stand but you're welcome for our open immigration policies and free enterprise which allows you to live out your dream of suckering tourists out of their hard earned money with your crappy product.
But I digress....
Jake really wanted to be the one to lead us around with the map so we grabbed him one from the trolley. He carried that thing around with him all day and checked it every few minutes. Whenever we'd stop for a few minutes he'd whip it out and Hannah would help him figure out where we were. The map had drawings of the different monuments on it so he was pretty good about finding where we were - even without Hannah's help - and pointing it out on the map. I absolutely love these pictures because when I took a picture standing in front of them you can see the Washington Monument in the background and when I stood behind them you could see the Capitol. Too cute.
After we took our family photo we headed back towards the trolley stop but it had been awhile since we had taken a bathroom break and we needed to find one before getting back on the trolley for the ride over to the other end of the Mall and the Lincoln Memorial. The trolley only comes every 30 minutes so we had to get back in time to make sure we didn't miss the trolley but after our lunch and bottles of water we had to find a public restroom. The Botanical Gardens has free admission and so we zipped in there quickly to use the restroom. You had to walk to the far side of the garden to get to the restrooms so I have to say, it was the prettiest bathroom break we have ever taken.
While we were waiting for the trolley I grabbed a few more shots of the kids and this one I think looks like a postcard for Washington, DC in the autumn. Isn't she adorable?
The trip from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial was the longest period of time that we were on the trolley. Even though the kids probably didn't understand half of what the tour guide was talking about they were very attentive and enjoyed looking at the buildings. We passed by the Roosevelt and Jefferson Memorials and had a great view of the Washington Monument across the Tidal Basin before arriving at the Lincoln Memorial.
We did a quick walk-thru of the Korean War Memorial which is to one side of the Lincoln Memorial before climbing all the steps to the top of the Lincoln Memorial. After that we walked through the Vietnam War Memorial on our way to the Washington Monument. We explained to the children that it was a very quiet place and that we had to be respectful walking through there because it is a Memorial that makes many people very, very sad. Despite Jake's naturally exuberant personality he walked through very quietly after an initial comment that made some of the other visitors laugh. There was a sign in the ground as you walked up to the Memorial that says something along the lines of "Out of respect please remain on the sidewalk." Jake asked Lincoln what it said and after Lincoln told him Jake said "Yeah, but it doesn't say be quiet." which is what we told him he'd have to be while walking through the Memorial. A few ladies were walking by when he said it and they bust out laughing. I have to say, it was pretty funny. I thought this picture was such a beautiful view with the fall foliage behind the Memorial.
After walking through the Vietnam Memorial we walked along the reflecting pool towards the Washington Monument. Or more exactly, Lincoln, Hannah, and I walked and Jake marched along while playing his "trumpet". I also took a picture of the three of them in front of yet another crooked Memorial. This time I managed to make the Lincoln Memorial appear to be leaning.
Continuing our walk/march towards World War II Memorial and the Washington Monument.
As our day was wrapping up, and we were headed towards the Washington Monument, some dark clouds started to roll in over the city. To our left (towards the White House) it was getting pretty dark but to our right it was still incredibly sunny. Since I hadn't had much luck in getting a good picture of the kids in front of the White House I decided to try again for a shot with it in the background. It's an interesting picture because it's so dark over the White House but you can see how bright the sun still was on the kids' faces. And once again I managed to make an iconic building appear crooked. Seriously, what kind of cold medicine was I taking? And actually, at this point of the trip it was wearing off.
After we walked up by the Washington Monument it was time to start heading back to our car. Jake was very disappointed that we weren't able to go to the top of the monument but you have to get those tickets early in the day and we weren't there to do that. We promised him that the next time we visited Washington, DC that would be our first stop.
We started to walk down to the trolley stop but made a side trip to get ice cream which the kids had been asking for since lunch time. Unfortunately that caused us to miss our trolley and instead of waiting for the next one a half hour later we decided to walk the five blocks or so back to our car.
Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:05 p.m. and we wanted to make sure we got back to the airport in plenty of time to eat a sit down dinner without rushing so we got to the airport about 5:15 p.m. When we got to the airport we found out our flight was delayed until 9:15. Well that definitely left us with plenty of time to eat something. We found a restaurant right near our gate and had a very nice dinner. I had taken some DayQuil before our flight down in the morning but only had one more dose to take during the day and I wanted to make sure I timed it right so that I'd feel good on the plane. Even though I started to feel like crap somewhere around the Lincoln Monument I held off taking the medicine until we got to dinner. Unfortunately that left me going downhill rapidly and I felt like crap by the time we got on the plane. My head got stuffier, my voice got raspier, and my cough got worse. I'm lucky they let me on the plane.
Even though they had told us our flight would be leaving at 9:15 we actually ended up boarding shortly before 8:00 even though we didn't take off until about 8:40 p.m. The kids were major troupers all day and I can't believe how well they did. We really hauled ass around the city and did a lot of walking. They didn't complain much about being hungry. They didn't complain about being tired. They just traveled. They took naps when they could in the car and on the airplane and when they had to be on their feet and going around they did what they had to do. That is why I like taking them on trips. They do such a great job.
As we were pulling out of the airport at about 10:15 p.m. after a long day of traveling Lincoln and I were thanking the kids for the wonderful job they did and how they were such wonderful travelers and that we were so proud of them. In an absolutely classic moment characterizing our crazy family travels Hannah merely sighed as she fell asleep in the car and said:
The pretext of our surprise trip to Washington, DC yesterday was to replace the current pictures in our bedroom showing Lincoln, Hannah and me in Washington, DC when Hannah was a baby with pictures of all 4 of us in Washington, DC.
Yesterday we went to the Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur exhibit. Jake wasn't afraid of the huge dinosaur skeletons. Oh no, he was afraid of the T-shirt with the T-Rex on it in the gift shop. Not the shirt itself but the thought of wearing the shirt with the scary T-Rex on it.
Yesterday was our crazy one-day trip to Washington DC. I'll have more details and pictures later but basically this all started because I have the travel bug. It rears its ugly head every so often and after having to talk myself out of booking a trip to Africa this December - in all fairness it was a REALLY good deal - I decided to treat myself by indulging in a family trip to Washington DC courtesy of JetBlue's $39 airfare sales.
Making it that much easier of a trip to sell to my husband (which usually isn't very hard anyway) I justified it by using the photos that we have in our bedroom of a trip we took to DC when Hannah was 10 months old. There are three pictures in our bedroom of us in front of the White House and the Capitol and Jake gets very upset because 1) he thinks that is him in the picture and when we explain it is Hannah he doesn't believe us because "That's me! That's a baby! That's me!" and 2) once we finally convince him that Hannah was in fact a baby at one point he then asks "Where am I?" and gets very upset when we say he wasn't born yet. It's pretty comical but he does get very concerned. So I suggested we take the kids there and take pictures of us in front of the same places so that Jake could be included this time.
I'll save the rest of the details for later. There is a lot to tell since we crammed so much into our busy day but here is one photo to get you started.
That's how I feel. Blah. I can feel a nasty cold coming on but I really don't have time for it. I have a bad sore throat and congestion is setting in but hopefully it will hold off for a few more days.
Tomorrow is a big day...we have a big surprise for the kids that I think they'll really like. Just a little hint...it involves travel, my inability to stay home more than a few months, my belief that you don't have to get a hotel room when you travel if you're back within 24 hours, and a series of photos that make Jake very upset when he sees them.
Mull that over for awhile and I'll let you know tomorrow what the secret day is that we have planned for the kids.
Whoudda thunk it that almost 10 years later my parents would benefit from a fight Lincoln and I had back when we lived in our little tiny condo and didn't have any kids?
This March it will be 8 years since we build our house and moved into it. Eight years since we poured the foundation for our garage but never built anything. Eight years of hoping the kids don't impale themselves on a rusty bolt sticking out of the garage foundation when they can't resist walking along the little wall. It is rather tempting for a child after all - a low wall that is just their size.
But now....now that is all going to change. It looks like with a generous gift from Lincoln's parents we'll finally get a chance to build our garage. It has always been our intention to build a room above the garage but what that room would be has always been somewhat up for debate. Do you make it guest quarters? A playroom for the kids? A warehouse/workshop for Lincoln's business? What to do, what to do.
When we found out we'd be able to build the garage next spring Lincoln and I were very excited and immediately started making plans. I would love to do it as guest quarters so that my family can come and stay with us for longer periods of time but it also didn't seem terribly practical since it would stand empty a lot of the time. And by "guest quarters" I meant a huge room with a bed in it and a bathroom in the corner since you'd have to go outside to get into the main house. That's all I was hoping for. I talked with Mom and she seemed excited about the idea but she and Dad also thought maybe it would be more practical for us to plan something for that space that would be used on a more consistent basis. It made sense to me, and even Lincoln admitted the idea had some merit, but Lincoln really wants to put an apartment up there. An apartment....not guest quarters....but an apartment with a kitchen and a living room and everything. Who am I to argue with that when it means Mom and Dad can come out here and spend more and more time with the kids?
Oh wait...that would be me. Yep, it's all coming back to me now. The second big fight Lincoln and I ever had with each other. Click the link to read the back story on this but I just want to put it out there that I AM WILLINGLY CONCEDING THE ARGUMENT TO LINCOLN.
Of course when the children want to move back home after college I reserve the right to change my mind again.
This morning I needed to sort out a few hundred yearbook waivers to be alphabetized. I printed out the letters of the alphabet and laid them out in a circle around the room. As I was sorting them out the kids of course decided it looked like fun. (On a side note, when do projects like that stop being a game and become a chore?)
Hannah could do it on her own but I would have to hand one to Jake and tell him what letter to file it under. He would then walk around reciting the alphabet to himself until he found the right pile. It was actually pretty educational since he's still learning his letters. I, of course, decided to stop and take pictures while they went to town. After all, why should I walk around and around in circles bending down and standing back up over and over again when they want to do it? It's not laziness....it was educational.
When Hannah cut her hair into its most recent style it was pretty much by accident. We needed to clean up a cut that wasn't done properly when she was traveling this summer and in order to do so we had to make it much shorter than I ever would have done by my choosing. The funny thing is, she gets such rave reviews for it. She loves it. I love it. It looks great.
What cracks me up though is that parents who I know only through brief interactions at PTO meetings or school drop-offs come up to me and tell me how much they like Hannah's hair - even when she isn't with me! Today I dropped Hannah off at school and as I was walking out I ran into a mother that I haven't talked to since Hannah and her son were in kindergarten together and she stopped me to say "I really love Hannah's haircut."
On one hand I feel like such a fraud because it wasn't like I was smart enough - or fashionable enough - to come up with that style on my own and on the other hand I'm just so incredibly proud of how adorable Hannah is with that haircut.
Hannah's first session of sewing class just finished for this school year. Her most recent project was a vest (with lining). Next week they start on zippers. Here are a few pictures of her vest. I think it's super cute and yes, it's supposed to be cropped short like that.
(CNN) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs fired back Thursday at the latest criticisms from Dick Cheney, and suggested the Bush administration did not send U.S. troops into foreign conflicts responsibly. "What Vice President Cheney calls 'dithering,' President Obama calls his solemn responsibility to the men and women in uniform and to the American public," Gibbs said. "I think we've all seen what happens when someone doesn't take that responsibility seriously."
Gibbs' comments come a day after the former vice president issued a blistering a wide-ranging critique of the Obama administration's foreign policy, saying Obama appears "afraid to make a decision" when it comes to troop levels in Afghanistan, and the president's indecision is "hurt[ing] our allies and emboldening our adversaries." In his comments Thursday, Gibbs said the delay over a troop decision in Afghanistan is largely due to the fact the Bush administration did not adequately assess the conditions in the country ahead of sending troops there.
"I think it is a curious comment," Gibbs also said, "I think it is pretty safe to say that the vice president was for seven years not focused on Afghanistan. Even more curious given the fact that an increase in troops sat on desks in this White House including the vice president's for more than eight months - a resource request filled by President Obama in March."
"I find it interesting that he's blaming us for something that he didn't see fit to do over, best I can tell, seven years of a war in Afghanistan," he added.
I found the best shirt for Jakey the other day at Old Navy. This for a boy who once got in trouble because he kicked his sister in the head while she was stretched out on the floor watching TV for the following reason:
Me: Why did you kick your sister in the head?
Jake: Because I wanted to walk in a straight line and she wouldn't move.
If you can read this you are in my way. (Seriously, I'm gonna to need you to move over a little.)
Every fall when we have a cold day or two and then it warms up again our house gets swarmed with pumpkin bugs. If you don't know what a pumpkin bug is I can tell you that it looks exactly like a ladybug except it is orange and when you squish them they stink really bad. While they're annoying because there are so many of them they are not actually harmful and, if they stayed outside, they're actually quite good for the plants because they eat other bugs (I believe). The funny thing about pumpkin bugs is that they gather in little clusters in the corner where the walls meet or, at bare minimum, at least in the crease between the wall and the ceiling. We don't usually do anything about them for a few days because you want to wait for them to all cluster together plus as long as the weather stays warm they'll continue to multiply in number. Since they're not hurting anything we wait a few days and then we usually suck them down with the hose on the dry-vac. They're pretty entertaining to watch because while they clump together in the corner every now and then one will venture out on its own. As they form in groups it looks something like a pilgrimage. Sometimes you can watch one pumpkin bug make slow progress from one cluster to the next. We often joke that they're being sent out to scavenge for food or are running away from their current family in search of a different one. They're annoying but they provide us with a few brief moments of cheap entertainment every year.
For those of you that have never gotten to enjoy the pleasure of a pumpkin bug, here are some pictures.
At the end of the school year last year Hannah decided to switch over to brown-bagged lunches instead of taking her lunch box to school. I would write a note on the bag each day and she loved to see them when she took her lunch out at school. Today Jake decided to pack a brown bag lunch for Grandma's house (honestly, I'm not sure why since she cooks him a hot lunch but he insisted). Hannah had written him a nice little note on his lunch which I thought was very sweet. I'm saving it as evidence for when they're at each others throats.
As my friend Stephanie will attest, it is not unusual for my father to dine without his shirt on when he eats at home - especially in the summer. Tonight at dinner Jake wanted to take his shirt off because he was afraid he would get it dirty.
Hannah: You look just like Grandpa Dan.
Jake:(slapping his hand to the top of his head) But with more hair!
Lincoln and I are increasing the amount of our life insurance and to do so we have to take a mini-physical and fill out a long health insurance questionnaire. In addition to filling out a written questionnaire you also have to do a 20-30 minute interview over the phone. I completed mine today. My two favorite parts of the conversation were about the birth of Jacob.
Insurance Company Rep: In the past 5 years have you ever been admitted to the hospital overnight?
Me: Yes, when I had my son.
ICR: And what symptoms prompted you to go to the hospital?
Me: Um, I was in labor? (Not technically true since I was induced but my other choice was to say "Well, he wasn't going to stay in there forever" but I thought that might be too smart-ass of a comment.)
ICR: And how was the situation remedied?
Me: I gave birth.
ICR: And what was the result of your treatment?
Me: A baby boy.
(Later I just couldn't hold back the wise-cracking. Luckily the guy taking the survey had a pretty good sense of humor.)
ICR: Have you ever been on short or long term disability?
Me: Yes, I was on short-term disability when I had my son. That's how my company does maternity leave.
ICR: And how were you disabled?
Me: Apparently by having a child.
ICR: And are you still disabled?
Me: Technically? No.
ICR: How was your disability remedied?
Me: Well, I still have the kid. I'm just not getting paid for it anymore.
Halloween is my least favorite holiday for a number of reasons.
I bore easily. I keep a magazine on the front seat of my car for long stoplights. Walking from house to house to hear the same "Trick or Treat", "Thank you" over and over and over again just doesn't do it for me. And it's hard for me to read in the dark much less while walking so that's not an option.
I'm lazy and walking from house to house doesn't do it for me. Driving from driveway to driveway makes you look like an idiot and, going back to the laziness portion of this complaint, it's just as big of a pain in the ass to get in the car, get out of the car, get in the car, get out of the car, get in the car, get out of the car.
I prefer heat over cold. While we've occasionally lucked out with warm Halloweens here in New England I don't particularly like walking around on a cold, damp night. And it drives me absolutely bonkers when you spend a fortune on a costume for the kids and they either have to layer it over sweats or cover it with their jacket.
I know a lot of kids go trick-or-treating through malls or in apartment complexes but really, that's just cheating. I know that it would wipe out some of my previous complaints but I really want my kids to have the true Halloween experience so the fake trick-or-treating through malls or on days other than October 31st just seems stupid to me. Halloween is Halloween and should be celebrated on Halloween in the universally accepted manner that as an adult I detest but as a child I loved. Yes, I can bitch about it both ways because it's my blog and I can bitch however I want to.
As for the cost of Halloween costumes....the costume Jake originally wanted for Halloween this year cost $69.99 BEFORE you bought the cool accessories that actually made the outfit what it was supposed to be. Absolutely not. I finally talked him into something else that cost half as much but that's still insane. They're only going to wear the damn thing once.
I also have absolutely no creativity on these things so I'm not going to make a costume for the kids and don't even get me started on grown-up Halloween parties. I have NO imagination in that department.
I hate pumpkins. While I enjoy eating baked pumpkin seeds I hate digging out pumpkins and I hate carving them. They're messy, slimy, tough to cut through, and usually they don't turn out the way I want them to look.
And last but not least, I don't look forward to spending two hours bartering with Jake to get him into the costume that HE picked out. Last year he cried and carried on and created quite the stink because he was scared of his Darth Vader costume. He had picked it out and was very excited about being Darth Vader but when it came down to it the thought of being in that costume freaked him out. He said he was scared of the person in the costume to which I replied "YOU are the person in the costume!!!"
So, my question to all of you is, what is the Halloween version of "Bah Humbug"?
Last night was Lincoln's birthday dinner up at Justin and Diane's house. We were also celebrating Gail's birthday which is on October 20th. Originally the dinner was scheduled to be at our house but Diane was pet-sitting a friend's 5 month old puppy so she asked if we could move it up there so that she wouldn't have to leave the puppy home alone in its crate. The kids of course absolutely loved the puppy. It was an adorable little King Charles Spaniel, I believe.
We were there pretty late last night and the puppy, and the kids, were winding down. Jake decided to stretch out on the couch and the puppy decided that looked like a good place to sleep as well. This picture was taken with Lincoln's cell phone so it's not the greatest quality but it was too adorable not to post.
Many of you would assume, since it is Lincoln's birthday today, that he was the one that was served breakfast in bed but those of you that truly know us know that would never be true. Because if it's Lincoln's birthday they would know that I am the one that would get served breakfast in bed.
Yes, it's true.
The kids wanted to make Daddy breakfast in bed this morning. They were very excited about it and wanted to go downstairs and do it right away. Lincoln said that really isn't his thing so I made the ultimate sacrifice and said that I would remain in bed until breakfast could be cooked.
I mean, the kids had their hearts set on serving someone breakfast in bed so who am I to destroy their dreams.
Note the fact that the leaves haven't even finished changing colors yet much less fallen off the trees. Also note the big tall trees I was talking about in yesterday's post.
Saturday night is Lincoln's birthday dinner and, as you all know, I've been sidelined from doing anything but providing a clean house and the alcohol. Well guess what. Now I don't even have to provide the clean house.
Lincoln called to inform me this morning that Di had called him and asked if we could move his birthday dinner up the street to their house because she is dog-sitting for a friend and doesn't want to leave the dogs at her house alone all evening.
Now the only thing I'm responsible for is a couple of bottles of wine and some beer. This is the easiest birthday dinner that I've ever thrown for my husband.
One of the marketing things that we're doing this fall is mailing phone caddies to Lincoln's current customer base. I think these things are pretty cool. I don't know how well you'll be able to see it in the picture below but I'm pretty proud of them and want to show them off. This was my idea.
Our house sits on four and a quarter acres of which all of it is trees except for a large front yard and a smaller backyard. Our house sits in the corner of the cleared area and is surrounded by very tall - and mostly dead - pine trees. On average they're probably well over 100 feet tall. I have a huge fear of them falling over onto the house, the pool, and/or the cars.
At 3 a.m. this morning there was a huge crash which caused both Lincoln and I to sit straight up in bed. There was a loud bang, the rustle of leaves, and what sounded like breaking glass. I immediately thought a tree had fallen on the house. Luckily it was just the hanging plant in our bedroom crashing onto the dresser below it and knocking everything off. The hook, which obviously wasn't strong enough to hold such a heavy plant, had come out of the ceiling. The only thing that broke was a clay figurine clock that we got in Athens, Greece last year. That clock has now been broken three times, once from falling off the dresser when we shut it and twice from things falling on it. It is the unluckiest souvenir we've ever owned and every time we glue it back together and move it somewhere else the thing above it falls off the wall (or ceiling). Obviously we need to just throw it away. On the other hand, the hand-blown glass flowers from Venezuela that were also on the dresser survived and the last time something fell and broke the clock it missed the beautiful statue that we purchased in Corinth, Greece.
So I guess the question is do we get rid of the clock and hope things stop falling off the walls or keep the clock so that it continues to protect the more expensive and more sentimental pieces from being destroyed?
Or do we just need to get better at securing things to our walls and ceiling?
As I've stated on this blog before, I find it incredibly cool that Lincoln and the kids can trace their lineage back to the Mayflower. Next week Hannah and her classmates will be taking a field trip to Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower. A few years ago Lincoln's Aunt Elaine and Uncle Russell gave us the documentation showing the family lineage back to Peter Brown, one of the 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact in 1620, so I put together a little sheet for Hannah to show exactly how she is connected to someone who actually came over on the Mayflower. A picture of the document is below but this is what it says. As she read it I think she was a little bored at first until she hit the part about Robert Snow and then she got really excited. She's excited to take this to school with her tomorrow and show her teacher. And yes, it's written as one long run-on sentence but I did that on purpose.
Hannah Snow and the Mayflower
Peter Brown and his wife Mary had a daughter named Rebeckah Brown who married William Snow II and had a son named Joseph Snow who married Hopestill Alden and had a son named Jonathan Snow who married Sarah Soule and had a son named Samuel Snow I who married Deborah Tinkham and had a son named Samuel Snow II who married Elizabeth "Betty" Perkins and had a son named Martin Snow who married Lydia Hayes and had a son named Alden Snow who married Pamilia Rolph and had a son named John Snow who married Ella Pease and had a son named Frank Snow who married Evie Fuller and had a son named Phillip Snow who married Emily HANNAH Johnson and had a son named Robert Snow who is otherwise known as Grandpa. He married Gail Wright (otherwise known as Grandma) and they had a son named Lincoln Snow who Hannah calls Daddy. He married Diane Lentz (commonly referred to as Mommy and they had a daughter named....
Hannah Grace Snow
Peter Brown, one of the 41 signers of the Mayflower Compact in 1620 and a passenger on the Mayflower, is Hannah's Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandpa.
Today was one of those days. You know, the kind where you head into work with a list of all the things you want to get accomplished and you're all fired up and ready to jump right in and plow through everything but then, wait, hold up, all hell breaks lose? Today was one of those days.
This morning on my way into the office I had an entire mental list of what I was going to get done and in what order. And then, shortly after my arrival, I get an email that says: Can you come up and meet with me at 11 a.m.?
So, how many of those things on my mental list got done today?
Zero. Zip. Nada. Nothing. Not one.
And yet I had such a busy day I had to throw myself on the mercy of my runner to bring me lunch because I couldn't leave my desk. I even had to forward my calls to my cell phone every time I walked to the copier so that I wouldn't miss all the calls coming in to my desk.
It was just one of those days. Here's hoping tomorrow is better.
Okay, this is pretty funny. Not so much the message itself but the fact that I could see this actually becoming an accidental law. How often have you gone into a voting booth and not completely understood what you were voting for? I think a number of people who voted "No" on Prop 8 probably thought that by voting "Yes" they were actually supporting gay marriage. It's just in the wording. This PSA is on the internet and I guess some guy is trying to get the signatures necessary to put the Protection of Marriage Act on the California ballot. Given the outcry over Prop 8 I could totally see a bunch of idiots voting for this law without reading the fine print. So what is the Protection of Marriage Act? It outlaws divorce, of course.
Lincoln's birthday is this Saturday. We actually have a thing to go to on Friday night and a block party down the street on Saturday afternoon. I asked him over the weekend if he would like to have his family over for dinner or if it would be too much to do over the weekend. He seemed rather non-committal so I figured we'd figure out something over the course of the week. Yesterday morning Lincoln dropped the kids off at his parents house and came home for this conversation.
Link: So my mom is cooking lasagna to bring over Saturday night.
Me: Oh, okay. So we're doing dinner?
Link: Yep.
Me: Cool.
On my drive to the office I figured I'd call his brother and sister-in-law that afternoon to invite them down for dinner. Before that could happen Lincoln and I had lunch together since he was working in Cambridge for the day.
Link: So Di is bringing the cake on Saturday.
Me: Huh? You called and invited them already?
Link: Yep, I just figured I'd do it.
Me: Oh. Okay. I was going to you know.
Link: And my Mom said she's bring a salad too.
Me: Oh, okay. I guess I'll make br...
Link: And she said while she's at the store she'll just get the garlic bread too.
Me: So, what am I providing for your birthday dinner?
Link: We'll be providing a clean house.
Seriously? Am I the worst wife or what? Notice he said "we'll" be providing the clean house. The funny thing is I'm glad that I don't have to cook or anything but still, I could have at least called his brother and sister-in-law or thrown a few loaves of garlic bread in the oven. Sometimes I feel like a 1950's husband. I just show up after work in the evening, kiss the kids and the hubby hello, and sit down to eat the wonderful dinner that my loving husband has prepared. Maybe for his birthday I'll buy him a nice set of pearls to wear while he's vacuuming.
Oh wait, vacuuming is one of the few household things I do! I guess I do have a purpose.
The other night I got home from work and Lincoln and Jake were making pumpkin bread. Jake was very excited about it and when they put it in the oven Lincoln told Jake that he would turn the light on for him so that he could watch the bread baking.
Jake: I have a hypothesis!!!
Me: Where the heck did he get that from?
Link: Dinosaur Train on PBS.
Me: Cool.
(Later)
Me: So, I never heard what Jake's hypothesis was.
Link: Oh, he said he thought the light was what would cook the bread. So he was wrong but at least he knew the word hypothesis.
When I was a teenager we passed notes back and forth in class that we would have been horrified if they had been made public. Then texting came along and I'm sure it was the same thing for the kids that came along after us. To have your phone grabbed by a teacher....or a text forwarded to someone else...was probably your worst nightmare. Now kids get to make those same horrifying mistakes but on a much more public stage. Enter Facebook. Yep, as great as it is it is just one way in this digital age where you can get into horrible trouble in front of hundreds of your closest "friends".
The thing about Facebook is that you get a false sense of community. When I post something I think I know who is going to see it because those are the people that show up on my News Feed. I know that Tracy, Erica, Holly, Sheri, Ricky, Kelley, etc will be seeing my comments because I always see the ones that they post. Then there are people like my husband who is what they call a lurker. He signs into his Facebook account to see what his friends are up to but he never posts anything about himself on the page. It's easy to forget that you've "friended" someone who is a lurker. Then there are people you "friend" but hide their updates from your news feed because they're on there 600 times a day and you really don't care that they just went to the bathroom or that they're having a peanut butter sandwich for lunch.
What I'm trying to say is even though you think 15 or 20 people are going to see your comment it could really be 200 people seeing your comment that you forget exist in your Facebook world. I try to keep that in mind and I don't usually publish anything too crazy. I never bitch about work. My last post was about going out to dinner with Lincoln for our anniversary. The one before that was about something funny that Jake had said the other night. Nothing that I would be embarrassed about if it made the headline news.
Why am I getting into all this? Because of what happened this weekend with a 17-year old in my group of family and friends. Apparently he posted a comment on his girlfriend's Facebook page that was not something he needed to share with the world. Yes he crossed a line by making the comment in such a public forum but nothing was said that isn't joked about by every teenager through the ages. The difference is we just said it on paper notes when we were kids that you would then tear up and throw away. Unfortunately you can't do that when you've just posted it where her 650+ friends will see it. His argument was that they posted it (yes, they posted it together) as a joke for their close friends to see. Unfortunately, buried in those 650+ friends was the mother of another student who brought it to the attention of the girlfriend's parents who brought to the attention of the boy's parents.
And that is what sparked my "Thank GOD I didn't grow up with the internet" moment this morning. I can now only fear for what we will have to deal with in the future as Hannah and Jake get older.
I love sleeping with an electric blanket. A few years ago Lincoln gave me a twin-sized electric blanket for Valentines' Day so that I could have it on my side of the king-size bed. Unfortunately my blanket has apparently died of natural causes.
Me: I wish I had my electric blanket.
Link: Well it's a good thing my birthday is coming up.
Me: How will that help me? You don't even like electric blankets.
Link: Yes, but knowing you're happy is the best present I could get.
Gag.
Just kidding, honey. I love you and I suspect that you were actually serious when you said that. Have no fear though, you're getting your very own birthday present.
Speaking of which, I better get online and start shopping.
Today is my "little sister's" 18th birthday. Shani and Kristen are the daughter of my very good friends Deb and Michael Walker. Deb was my high school yearbook advisor when we lived in Arkansas when I was in 10th grade.
We moved to Arkansas when I turned 15 and was entering the 10th grade. The first class that I went to was Yearbook which was taught by Mrs. Walker. Some of my closest friends that I made in high school were in that class or the class period immediately before it which was Newspaper. At the end of the year my friends Sheri and Andrea and I went over to Mrs. Walker's house to work on the end-of-year slideshow. Sheri and Andrea were the co-editors of the yearbook and Andrea and I were putting together the slideshow. That was the night I first met Shani and Kristen who would have been 2 and 1 years old, respectively, at the time.
Following my sophomore year of high school Deb and the girls moved to Massachusetts where her husband Michael had already moved for his job. In October of my junior year of high school Andrea, who was a senior, found a "buy one, get one free" airfare deal and we decided that we would fly up to Boston to visit Mrs. Walker. We called her and found out they'd be around that weekend and, with the permission of our parents, bought the tickets and flew up to Boston for a 4-day weekend.
Here's where it gets a little crazy. It seemed normal to me at the time but as a parent now I think my parents must have been smoking crack.
I was 16 years....barely! I was flying with a girl who was only a year older than me to visit a huge East Coast city that they had never been to and didn't know anything about much less anyone who lived there. And we were visiting a teacher that I'm thinking they had probably only met at Open House and her husband who they had never met. What the hell? I am so, so, so glad they allowed me to go on that trip because it was one of the best experiences of my life and a huge reason why I moved to Boston after college but seriously, what were they thinking?
I lost touch with Mrs. Walker not long after that but I remembered that the last time I had talked to her she told me they had moved out of their apartment in Marlborough and to a town that was equal distance between Boston's Logan Airport and Providence's T.F. Green Airport....a distinctly important thing since flying out of Logan back then meant dealing with the Big Dig and was to be avoided whenever possible. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the town.
When I was a senior in college I didn't know what I was going to do after graduation. My parents had moved to Milwaukee between my sophomore and junior years of college. My sisters lived in Seattle. At the time I had no desire to move to Minneapolis but Milwaukee wasn't really home and Seattle never really did it for me as a city. I decided I would move to Boston and give it a try for a few years.
So what did I do? I got on the Internet and looked up all the Michael and/or Deb Walkers to be found in Massachusetts, got out a map, and used pins to mark all the cities where they lived. I then found the one that was equal distance between Boston and Providence and called them up out of the blue. The conversation went something like this:
Deb: Hello.
Me: Hi. Is this Mrs. Walker?
Deb: Yes.
Me: Deborah Walker?
Deb: Yes.
Me: The Deborah Walker that taught at Jacksonville High School?
Deb: Yes. (At this point she was starting to draw out the "yes" and I could tell she was wondering who the crazy person was on the phone.)
Me: Hi! It's Diane Lentz.
Deb: Oh my...hi!!!! How are you doing?
And so it began. I flew out for Spring Break that year to look for a place to live and ended up moving into their basement for two months while waiting to move into a condo that I had found in the same town.
And that is how their daughters became my little sisters and they became my other parents and the reason I met Lincoln and got married and had Jake and Hannah.
But seriously, what the hell were my parents thinking?
As stated earlier this morning, there are certain words out here in New England such as pocketbook and cellar that drive me nuts. Other words, like wicked, I have embraced whole-heartily.
Along similar lines, when my cousin Greg and his wife and friends were out here we went for lunch at 11:30 a.m. When he told the hostess we were there for dinner I think that really through her for a loop. She laughed and said "I think you're here a little early for dinner." Actually, as opposed to supper, we were there right on time.
This morning's conversation with Lincoln got me thinking about the different lingo that I've picked up (or been bugged by) throughout my life living in Iowa, Washington, Arkansas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. Here are a few of my favorites and my biggest pet peeves.
Iowa/Minnesota:Supper and Pop. After 21 years away from Iowa I use these less and less but they still come up in conversation every now and then. The funniest story I have about this is when we took Lincoln's brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece back to Iowa with us for summer vacation a few years ago. When we got to my parents house in Wisconsin they offered them pop and cheese curds. Wha??? I think they were so stunned and confused by the word pop they didn't even hear the part about cheese curds at first.
Washington: Honestly, I can't think of a single thing that I picked up in Washington State other than soda (vs. pop).
Arkansas: Ahh....Arkansas. The land of y'all and fixin'.Y'all was an easy one to pick up but I swore I would never use fixin' until it just slipped out one day and then it was all over but the crying. I love that one. I don't use it as much as I used to but I still enjoy a good "I'm fixin' to go to the store. Do you need anything?" every now and then. One I never did like....and will never embrace....is the use of the word buggy for a shopping cart. A buggy should be something you push your baby in, not your groceries. The other one that made me laugh is coke as a word to cover all soda (Washington), pop (Midwest), or tonic (Massachusetts). As in, "I'd like a coke please." "What kind of kind of coke?" "A Sprite, thanks."
Massachusetts: As previously stated, pocketbook and cellar drive me nuts. So does bureau for a thing you put your clothes in (that's called a dresser in my opinion). I actually don't mind packie so much, it just doesn't come naturally to me. I have, however, fully embraced the word wicked. You can really use it in just about any situation. For example, "This post is wicked random, what the hell is she rambling about?"
Yes, these are the thoughts I have when stuck on my long commute. Similar to my "Ode to Massachusetts Weather" the other day. I really need to find a job closer to home.
Me: First of all, they're not my cellar shoes because I never go down there. Second of all, we don't have a cellar, we have a basement.
Link: What's the difference?
Me: I don't know. I just don't like the word cellar. It's too "New England".... like pocketbook and packie*. I hate the word pocketbook.
Link: No, if it was a cellah, it would be too New England.
Me: Good point.
*A pocketbook is pretty easy to figure out...it's what the rest of the country would call a purse. A packie is a package store. Still don't know what that means? A package store is a liquor store. So if you need alcohol you have to head to the packie. These New Englanders are kind of crazy that way.
Five years ago this coming December I gave birth to Jake. Five years ago today I gave birth to my kidney stone. And yes, I think delivering the kidney stone hurt a hell of a lot worse than delivering Jake. At least with Jake I had an epidural.
Why do I remember this? Because it was on our wedding anniversary. Lincoln and I were supposed to be going out to dinner for our anniversary and after lunch that day I started having terrible back pain. I was 7 months pregnant at the time and was absolutely positive that I was in labor. They always say that a kidney stone is the closest a man will coming to feeling what labor is like and I totally agree with that statement. It was like one long contraction without the relief in between.
When I thought I was in labor my friend Melissa had her assistant, Magen, drive me all the way out to the hospital by my house. Lincoln was working on a job site out in Western Mass and it would take him a while to get to the hospital so Magen came in with me. I think it cured her of ever wanting children.
When we got to the ER they whisked me up to the maternity ward right away and started strapping on the bands that measure contractions and the baby's heartbeat. They were having a terrible time trying to get them on because Jake was all over the place. He could obviously tell that Mommy was stressed and in pain and he was movin' and groovin' in there like there was no tomorrow. My stomach looked like an alien was trying to pop through. Probably not something a young, twenty-something, childless co-worker wanted to see but she was a real trouper....even as all the blood left her face.
The contraction monitor wasn't picking anything up so they figured that it was likely a kidney stone. I got them to take off the contraction monitoring band but they wanted to keep the heartbeat one on to make sure that Jake wasn't in distress. Let me tell you, the person in distress was ME! Imagine having the worst possible pain in your back, a bowling ball moving around in your stomach, and a tight velcro band around your middle. I kept clawing at the heartbeat monitor and begging them to take it off. The nurse kept saying "we need to make sure the baby is fine" so I finally snapped "The baby is FINE! I can FEEL the baby! Take this damn thing off me." We finally compromised and she took the band off and gave me a button to push every time I felt the baby move. I was pushing that button like a drug addict hooked up to one of those "control it yourself" morphine lines the doctors sometimes put in for seriously ill patients. Jake was all over the place and didn't sit still in my stomach the entire time I was in the hospital.
They said that my outburst when I was clawing at my belly was probably the point when the kidney stone actually passed through wherever it was blocked because after that things got better rapidly. They sent me home that evening with a plastic cup and a filter. The next day out came my little kidney stone. I'm more proud of delivering that little sucker than Jake because with Jake I got an epidural, slept through the transitioning stage, and woke up to push for about 13 minutes before Jake popped out. It was FAR more painful passing that damn, itty bitty kidney stone. But I still have it. Yes I do. In a sealed cup. That I look at from time to time.
Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. For those of you wondering how we celebrated our 10th anniversary in August and are now celebrating our 9th anniversary in October it's because in August it was our dating anniversary and this is our wedding anniversary. Doesn't everyone do that?
I enjoy having a full four, distinct seasons in regards to weather. Over the years I have lived in the Mid-West, the Pacific Northwest, the South, and now New England (obviously we're too good to put a direction in our descriptor). I can say with fairly strong certainty that New England has everywhere else beat - Massachusetts in particular - and here is a season-by-season breakdown of why that is true.
Autumn: There is nothing like autumn in New England. Ten years after moving here I still have my breath taken away every October. It is so unbelievable gorgeous. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. I still find it hard to believe that this is a yearly occurrence and not just a fluke of nature that happens every few decades.
Winter: Winter in Massachusetts is just about perfect. There is a good amount of snow and you're guaranteed to get some every winter so you've got sledding and skiing every year. There aren't so many snow storms that you never get out of the house but enough that you get a few snow days off from work and school every now and then and a day or two that you get to curl up in your house and watch the fluffy stuff come down and turn everything into a winter wonderland. Yes we get the occasional blizzard and a strong Nor'easter is nothing to joke about but they're not terrible. To get snow you have to have a few snowstorms. That's a given. Unlike living in the Mid-West though, you don't really have the icy cold winds blowing across the plains and weather reports that start in the negative numbers before wind chill is factored into the equation. Celebrating that it is finally warm enough to start snowing again signifies a general winter weather pattern that I can live without and Minnesota and the Dakotas are welcome to it.
Spring: I would happily take Spring off the table no matter where I live. I hate Spring. It's rainy, it's muddy, and it's miserable. If you go out in the morning without a jacket it is guaranteed to be freezing. If you wear a sweater you can bet on the fact that the thermometer will hit 70 degrees that day. It's also the time of year that we start sleeping with our windows open again and the birds come out and NEVER SHUT UP and wake us up at 4:30 a.m. I hate Spring.
Summer: It's hot. It's humid. It's perfect. With the exception of this year when it rained almost every day in June, summer here is pretty awesome. It's hot enough to get into the 90's which I like, and just humid enough to feel summery, without the oppressive humidity of the South. I don't want it to be 95 degrees at two o'clock in the morning but I love it to be 95 degrees at two o'clock in the afternoon. I would be willing to trade the humidity and 95 degree weather for the dry heat and 110 degree weather of the Southwest but then I'd have to give up the other seasons so hot and humid (but not too hot or too humid) is just about perfect for me.
Last December we set up a "kids" room and a "grown-up" room downstairs. Unfortunately the kids like to be in the grown-up room more than the kids room because it's clean and has a nicer TV. Now we've finished re-doing our bedroom and it has a nice couch and an electric fireplace in there which makes it very cozy. So where does Hannah decide to read her book for her upcoming book report? On our bedroom couch in front of the fireplace of course.
Lincoln: Did you have to re-type the list of mailing labels?
Diane: I didn't have to but I figured I would while I was waiting for you to finish going through the paperwork. The old list wasn't re-formatting the way I wanted it to so I just decided to re-type them. Besides, it keeps my typing up to speed.
Lincoln: So just for fun?
Diane: Pretty much.
Lincoln: You're a strange duck.
Diane: When I was younger I used to have my mom give me lists of numbers to practice on 10-key.
Jacob just ran into the room and told us in a very excited manner that Disney now has a new website called Wiz-tober. Apparently there are all sorts of scary things on there including the "scariest sounds!"
What are the scariest sounds you ask?
Jake: You can listen to all sorts of scary sounds! Like cats. And Mommies. And bears.
Whoa....back up a sec. Mommies? Not mummies. Mommies.
Every year for my birthday my friend Melissa gives me something purchased from the Leinie's online store. She knows it is my favorite beer so she usually buys me something totally random and something totally useful. Last year she gave me soap made from beer and an awesome BBQ apron with a bottle opener and a built-in beer holder.
This year I received coasters and some really cool pint glasses that are laser cut on the bottom to maximize beer flavor. Yeah, I'm not quite sure how they work but Lincoln loves them. It has something to do with releasing the flavor or the bubbles or something. I'm not quite sure what.
Anyway, the "random" gift this year was a key rack that had the bottle caps of all the Leinie's beers. It was ridiculous how excited Lincoln and I were over this gift. Yesterday we finally got it hung up in the kitchen so I figured I'd take this chance to show it off.
Over the past nine months or so Lincoln and I have been re-doing our bedroom. Last year at Christmas we re-arranged it and put in a flat screen TV. When Mom and Dad were here last May we got all of our travel souvenirs up on the walls. In September we took out the old recliner and put in a wonderful, plush couch and hung up window treatments. Today we installed an electric fireplace on a brick hearth.
Both of my children are incredibly unique and yet Hannah definitely has more of her father's personality and Jake has more of mine. And while I absolutely love that about him it's not always a good thing since he definitely has my temper and my stubbornness.
But this post isn't about how much Jake is like me but about how much I am like him. Jake loves to rub people's ears. I know that sounds weird but it seems to be very relaxing for him. He rubs them when he's tired or sad or hurt or scared. He loves Grandpa Snow's and Daddy's the best but he'll climb up into my lap and ask for mine if he's really feeling blue.
Yesterday Lincoln and I had our latest meeting with Casey, our financial planner. This was the meeting where he came back to us after crunching all of the numbers and figuring out our net worth, our monthly budget (and shortfall), and how much we have in the way of college planning and retirement. Overall the news was pretty good. We obviously have a ways to go but it definitely wasn't as bad as I feared it would be.
As we were sitting in the meeting - and he kept revealing information to us on this large screen - I found myself sitting there rubbing my ear exactly the way Jake does when he's worried.
I just came out of CVS to find this idiot parked next to me. There was about 4 feet of open space between the front of her car and the curb not to mention theangle at which she was parked.
Two years ago this month Lincoln and I did the first marketing push for his company. We sent out a postcard that we printed at home on postcard stock from Staples. They looked good but they were definitely a homemade product. Today I received the postcards that we just had printed for our new marketing push. These were professionally designed and professionally printed. They look awesome.
Hopefully in another two years we'll be far enough along to have them professionally labeled, stamped, and mailed too.
This morning was one of those wonderful mornings when both kids crawled in bed with us and the four of us snuggled together and enjoyed being under the covers on a chilly fall day.
For about 30 seconds.
Then Jake turns it into wrestle mania and it ends with Hannah holding a pillow over her head to protect herself, Lincoln covering his groan, and me waving a white flag.
I know it is a cliche but one of my favorite things to say to Jake is "What part of 'no' did you not understand?" This morning Lincoln said he was going up to take a shower and I didn't hear him the first time so I said "What?"
Jake: A shower. What part of shower did you not get a hold of?
I am a 33 year old mother of 2 married to the most perfect man on the earth. Since the rest of my family and friends are scattered all over the country I started this blog to let them all know what was going on in our lives.
DEBBIE AND MARK - my sister and her awesome husband. They live in Seattle and I don't get to see them as much as I'd like but hopefully they'll be coming out to visit soon.
HANNAH - My 9-year old daughter. She is brilliant, precocious, and wise beyond her years.
HUNTER - Tracy's 9-year old son and a good friend of Hannah's. Jake's idol.
JAKE - My 5-year old son. He is constantly in trouble for hitting, kicking, and punching and I fully anticipate having to visit him in jail someday.
JEN - my former assistant. She may have moved up to nice, quiet Portland, Maine but I'm sure she still calls in late to work while doing the walk of shame and she's also the one that had Bret Michaels autograph her breast.
KAYLA (KIKI) - My 11-year old niece and one of my childrens' favorite people in the whole world. Jake gave her the nickname Kiki when he was a baby. She's the ultimate tomboy and is fantastic with the kids. They adore her.
KEGAN - The little brother I always wanted and Mom and Dad never gave me. He worked for me briefly before moving up in the company. Now he's just a thorn in my side but I adore him anyway.
KYLE - My 17-year old nephew and a great kid. He may be a big, cool, important high schooler but he's so great with the kids. He'll let Jake think they're doing serious wrestling without ever letting him be in danger.
LINCOLN (LINK) - My wonderful, perfect husband that I don't deserve.
MA AND PA SNOW - Lincoln's parents and my fantastic in-laws. They live right around the corner from us and are a true godsend.
MELISSA - my favorite co-worker. Melissa and I spent the first couple years of our acquaintance sharing a small office at work. She mocks my lack of music knowledge and I do her expense reports in exchange for wine and other gifts.
MOM AND DAD - my parents (duh!). They live in Seattle and come to visit often.
MY HAREM OF 20-SOMETHING BOYS - The young boys that I hire to work for me as runners.
RACHEL - My bestest and most longtime friend. My mother started babysitting for Rachel while she was pregnant with me so I've literally known Rachel since the womb.
THE OTHER DIANE SNOW - my sister-in-law who bears the same name as me and lives two houses up on the same street.
THE WALKERS - My second family. Deb and Michael are my Boston parents. Deb was my 10th grade teacher when I lived in Arkansas and she and Michael took me in when I moved to Boston. I even lived in their basement for the summer when I first moved here. Their daughters, Shani and Kristen, are my little sisters. They go to concerts with me, babysit my kids, and are just generally cool chicks.
TRACY - My BFF. Between bail bonds and locked psych wards we have it covered.
I absolutely love his pose and facial expression in this picture. 
After getting on the trolley outside of the museum we rode over to the White House. One of the pictures from our bedroom was of us in front of the White House but unfortunately we weren't able to recreate that one. As a matter of fact I was only able to get one good photo because when sitting in front of the White House we were facing directly into the very bright sun. Neither of the kids could keep their eyes open and even the pictures I took of Lincoln mostly had his eyes shut as well. I managed to get the picture below and I think that Hannah is absolutely adorable in it. Lincoln is pretty darn cute too but I think she just looks like a little model. What you can't see in the picture is the White House garden that Michelle Obama planted. It was actually a very nice looking garden. This is also the start of the pictures where it looks like either all the buildings in Washington, DC are tilted or I was sicker than I thought and not standing up straight. The only thing that comforts me is that when a stranger used our camera to take the picture of us in front of the Capitol at least one of those pictures was crooked too.
After we took our 
The trip from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial was the longest period of time that we were on the trolley. Even though the kids probably didn't understand half of what the tour guide was talking about they were very attentive and enjoyed looking at the buildings. We passed by the Roosevelt and Jefferson Memorials and had a great view of the Washington Monument across the Tidal Basin before arriving at the Lincoln Memorial. 
October 2009:
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