Saturday, June 30, 2007

A New Word....

I wasn't planning on posting again for a few days, but I just had to get this down. It seems Aiden has learned the most dreaded word to all parents of toddlers - No. So far he hasn't been too obnoxious with it, but I'm sure the day is coming when everything will be "no!".

Today we were driving to Wal-mart for some last minute things for our trip. Chris was going over his "plan of action" for Monday morning when we leave for the airport. He says, "since we have to be at the airport around 7 or so, I figure we should get up around 4:30." Before another word can be spoken, we hear "Oh no way!" come from the backseat. Apparently, Aiden was not too fond of getting up early.

This evening I was trying to get him to eat some yogurt (he's having some tummy troubles), and he ate the first bite readily enough. He made his yucky face, and when I offered him another bite, he wrinkled up his nose and said "noooooo!" I couldn't really blame him though, I hate yogurt too!

I'm sure I'll get tired of hearing it pretty quick, but for now it's actually pretty cute.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Off We Go!

Today is my last day at work before we go on vacation!! I'd be tempted to take it easy today if I didn't have so much to do! I'm trying my best to ensure that the department will run smoothly for the 10 days I'm gone, but considering the amount of work I do around here, that probably won't happen! Oh well, at least they will appreciate me when I get back, right? I don't want to even think about the amount of email I will have when I get back!

Anyway, I hope to be able to post while we're gone, but I don't know if I'll be able to. I promise to post as soon as we get back, though! I'm sure I'll have lots of great pictures, as Chris is going to be a dignitary in our hometown Fourth of July parade! He's wearing his Class A's and riding in a vintage Mercedes convertible, so should be fun. We hope to see lots of old friends, and do some catching up.

So off we go, and I hope you all have a happy Fourth of July!!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Karma

I know it's been almost a week since I posted last, but life just seems to get away from me sometimes! I want to share with all of you something that happened to me just this morning. To give fair warning though, this post is not for anyone with what we'll call delicate sensibilities.....

This story actually begins about 10 years ago, somewhere on a highway between Northern California and Seattle. My sister Sarah was little, and she and my mom were on their way to pick up my other sister, Christa, at camp. Being sixteen, I had to stay home and go to work and school. My mom called me on her way up to tell me that Sarah had pooped through her diaper and was fingerpainting on her legs with the contents. She wasn't able to pull over for quite some time due to the roads, and so had to smell it for a long while! Needless to say, being childless at the time and also not there, I thought it was pretty funny.

Fast-forward to this morning. I was getting ready for work in my bathroom, and Aiden was sitting on my recliner in my bedroom with his milk and watching the Wiggles, which he does every morning. While I was doing my hair, he walks into the bathroom and hands me his diaper. The one he had been wearing. Gee, thanks, I told him and he walked back out into the bedroom. I checked the diaper and saw that it was empty of brown stuff and sighed a sigh of relief. I threw away the diaper and went out after Aiden to get him dressed.

I took two steps into the bedroom and stopped short. There was a reason there was no poop in the diaper. That reason being that he was busy fingerpainting with it all over the TV. He had two big chunks in his hands that he was smearing all over the TV, the DVD player, the TiVo, the carpet and himself.

I just stared in utter, absolute shock. I didn't even know what to do first. Aiden slowly turned his head and looked at me. Then he smiled his "look at me, Mommy!" smile, and while I was busy processing the scene in front of me, he decided to pee all over the carpet, just to finish things off.

I came to my senses just as he was lifting his hands up and in the direction of his face. SSSTTTOOOPPPPP!!!!! I yelled, loud enough for my new neighbors to hear, no doubt. He froze, and just looked at me with a look that said, "something smells funny..." I snatched him up, plopped him in the bathtub and proceeded to practically scrub the skin right off his hands. He was giggling the whole time.

So I spent half an hour cleaning up his mess and then had to explain to everyone at work that I was late because I was busy scrubbing poop off of my TV. My Mom is going to love this story.....

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

My Inner Buffy

I'm usually a nice, calm, well-mannered person. At least, I like to think that I am. I tend to just let stupid people be, and not concern myself with them. But sometimes, someone will say or do something to me that just plain ticks....me....off.

When this happens, the person I like to call my Inner Buffy rears her head. She's surfaced from time to time. I know a certain captain in Vilseck who'll think twice before stealing someone's place in line at the gas station again. And of course, there is my would-be mugger who wanted my purse and ended up with a crotchful of 3 inch heels. Usually though, it's just words that are my weapon of choice.

Yesterday, I was at work. I was walking down to the front office and I ran smack into a conversation another employee was having with a volunteer, whom I didn't know. Apparently they were talking about the war and all the soldiers here who are deployed and getting ready to deploy. I was just going to walk around them and be on my merry way when my fellow employee says, "oh, Jennifer's husband is getting ready to deploy." I stop, turn around, smile politely and say, "yes, he's leaving in August." Had this volunteer had any sense of decency, the conversation would have ended right there. However, that was not to be. She actually looks at me and says -

Well, he knew what he was getting into when he joined.

Now, to say that I am a little bit stressed out right now, would be a colossal understatement. It's not easy to get ready to send your husband off to war for 18 months, and to do so with any modicum of grace is a huge undertaking. Whether you agree with the war or not, to say something like this to a military spouse in my situation is not only taboo, it's downright rude.

So my well-mannered, graceful self stepped aside and Buffy muscled her way to the forefront. This was my response -

Well, yes, he did know. He voluntarily puts his life on the line for you. He knew he would be shot at, put in danger, separated from his family, and have to endure all manner of hardships in order to do his job and protect this country. AND HE DOES IT ANYWAY.

Then I turned on my heel and left her in my dust. Yep, Buffy sure does come in handy from time to time!

Monday, June 18, 2007

Fathers and Sons

This past Sunday was Father's Day. As I watched Chris and Aiden together, I realized that there is a unique relationship between a father and his son, that is not the same between fathers and daughters, nor is it the same between mothers and sons.
Aiden seems to see Chris as a mixture of parent, playmate and punching bag. They get along well together, probably because they have the same sense of humor. For example, while Mommy doesn't particularly enjoy water-spitting contests, Daddy is always a willing participant. Aiden knows we play different roles. If he wants to play rough and tumble games, then Daddy's the man, but when he falls down and gets hurt while playing said games, then of course he runs to Mommy.
They also seem to be of the same mentality. By this I mean there is always something of the little boy left inside the big, strong man. Nothing brings out your inner child like playing with your toddler. The video below was taken on Father's Day, and is evidence of what I'm talking about.....enjoy!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Another new member


Well, we have added yet another member to our family. My friend Sheri was going to adopt the little boy puppy (the brother of ours), but she has changed her mind, so he has come to live with us. We have named him Winston, in honor of Mr. Churchill. So now we have Winston and Penny Lane. They are doing very well, they actually slept all night last night without barking or whining even once. They are getting better with the potty-training, and we've gone a whole day with no accidents in the house!
Aiden is doing much better around them, he was even giving them kisses earlier tonight. He likes them as long as they are being calm and sitting still. When they start playing and getting crazy (as puppies do!), he gets a little upset. He also gets very jealous at times! They were trying to curl up in HIS chair today, and he made it very clear to Winston and Penny Lane that he wasn't going to put up with that! He actually shoved them away from his chair, saying "MINE!!". Okay then! But a few more days and I think they will have bonded.

Monday, June 11, 2007

New videos

Here's a new video of Aiden playing outside!


And another one of Aiden "helping Daddy"....

Sunday, June 10, 2007

New stuff!

Make sure you check out the new video I added at the bottom of the page! Be sure to turn off the music on the slideshow directly beneath it - just click on the sound icon in the lower left corner. I realize it's sideways, for some reason it won't let me switch it around. I'll make sure all future videos are filmed the other way! I also added a few new pics to the "recent photos" slideshow. I came into the spare bedroom this morning to find Aiden lounging on the couch with a bag of chips, just chillin'. Such a boy, always has to be eating.

Puppy update - we have decided to call her Penny Lane.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

New Addition



We have a new addition to our family. This is our new puppy! We are still deciding on a name for her, any ideas? She is a pug-schnauzer mix, she's 6 weeks old, and she's very sweet. Aiden likes her as long as she's not too close! Right now we are also watching her brother. My friend Sheri at work is going to be adopting him, but she can't take him until Monday, so we are keeping him until then. I'll let you all know when we finally pick a name!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

10 Years

I realized on the way to work this morning that it's been 10 years today since I graduated from high school. Wow. That snuck up on me. That got me thinking about what I've accomplished in my 10 years of post high school bliss.

I have lived in 4 countries - New Zealand, South Korea, Germany and the United States.

I have visited many more - Australia, Mexico, Poland, England, Austria, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Spain, Japan, Bulgaria....that's all I can remember right now.

I've climbed the Eiffel Tower, stuck my toes in the Adriatic Sea, toured ancient ruins, visited castles, driven the autobahn, gone behind the old "iron curtain", eaten duck heart (I don't recommend it), and wandered the maze of streets that is Venice.

I've gazed at the Mona Lisa, eaten lamb in the shadow of the Acropolis, attended Midnight Mass in a church older than our country, and stood at the tomb of Elizabeth the First in Westminster Abbey.

I'm married with a child, and we own our own home.

All in all, I'd say it's been a good 10 years. I wonder what the next 10 will bring!

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Murphy's Law, part 2


Okay, so we got our dishwasher on Saturday. They delivered it about 9 am, and there it stood in the middle of our kitchen. Chris looked at the back for a minute and then proclaimed, "this is going to be easier than I thought". Any household project that is preceeded by that statement never goes well, in my opinion.


Before we bought the dishwasher, Chris measured it to make sure we got one the same size, or maybe a little bit shorter. I'm not saying that he measured wrong, just that somehow the measurements were a little off (maybe Best Buy uses the metric system....). You guessed it, the dishwasher was too tall. But not by much. So we figure he can just sand the bottom of the countertop a little to make it fit. Great idea, but it doesn't work. So then he says that 2 more tiles are going to have to be sacrificed. I tell him, just do what you gotta do. The tiles come out, and it still won't fit. Now what?


Time for the big tools. I'm in the bedroom with Aiden and I suddenly hear the whir of the circular saw. WHAT?? What is he doing out there?? Let's just say new kitchen countertops are now higher on the priority list....


So, 4 tiles and a countertop later, I have a new dishwasher. Yippee!