111 things about ME

This idea was borrowed from a new found friend on her blog। I thought it would be fun in honor of my 111 post. I've been working on it all weekend.

111 Things About me -
1. I don’t enjoy being hot.
2. I really dislike the sun shining on me.
3. Because of #1 and 2, I love living the Northwest.
4. I have natural blond hair, blond eyelashes & eyebrows.

5. I dye my hair lighter and eyebrows/lashes darker.
6. I am happily married.
7. I think marrying my husband was the best decision I ever made.
8. I came across as a power woman in my early days, but secretly, I always wanted to be a mother.
9. That being said, I often think I am a terrible mother.
10. That being said, I really really like my boys. I like who they are.
11. I had a baby boy named Brock that died when he was born at 24 weeks.
12. I know I’ll meet him again and I think he will forgive me.

13.I don’t have a middle name and when I was young I would make one up.
14. I am so loud.
15. I say things and then regret them later all the time.
16. I don’t like keeping secrets. Not to say I can't do it, I just don't enjoy the secrecy.
17. I am terrible at returning phone calls even though I really like hearing from the people that phone me.
18. I never drop what I am doing to answer a phone call. (those that call me know this)
19. I love that my boys play sports and I secretly love that they are successful in them.

20. I really really enjoy working out.
21. I am good at gardening and cooking, but I can’t sew a stitch.
22. If I want to blow off steam, I go dig in the dirt and I always feel better after.

24. I enjoy mowing the lawn and vacuuming the carpet – it is soothing to me.
25. I love to travel, but am a little afraid of flying.
26. I like diversity in people; I get bored with the same 'ol, same 'ol.
27. There are few people I dislike - I figure I can waste my energy in better ways than hating others.
28. I value intelligence above beauty and am drawn to intelligent, interesting people.
29. I love ballet.
30. My favorite form of art is French impressionist paintings.

31. I read about 2 books a week & usually choose female authors. (sorry I haven't updated my blog list of recently read books)
32. I love to watch TV.
33. Reality TV/Documentaries where they follow people in their daily lives are usually my favorite shows.
34. Red is my favorite color because it is vibrant.
35. I’m naturally pessimistic about outcomes, but optimistic about people.
36. I’m pretty trusting of people.
37. I am a confident decision maker.
38. My biggest pet peeve is someone else doing my laundry (thus why all laundry actions divert to me, aka my husband asking me to wash his shoes)
39. I like to say I operate in organized chaos – I know where everything is but it’s not neat as a pin.
40. I get most of my ideas by clipping out pictures from magazines.

(Idea for my kid's playroom)

41. I am a good cook.
42. Many of my recipes can be made in 30-40 minutes and contain very healthy, natural ingredients.
43. I often cheat and use Krusteaz pie crust mix when making pies or cobblers (this is a huge cheat if you are a Tribe woman).
44. The best kind of humor is dry and intelligent, like Tina Fey or Larry David.
45. If I had a choice, I would rather hang out with my family than with friends.

(me, Heather, Anne - you know, a sampling of the Tribe women)

46. I am a big time homebody.
47. I am very deliberate in my clothing and accessory choices.
48. I give away half my wardrobe every season and buy newer, trendy pieces to fill in the gaps.
49. I am not super impressed by name brands – design overrules names any day.
50. I worry about my body all the time.
51. I think everyone should take responsibility for their actions, even if they have a good excuse.
52. The thing I feel most “lucky” about: being born in America in the 20th century.
53. I call myself a liberal who is conservative (democrat that is not too lefty). (Go Hillary!)
54. My husband is quiet and a great listener; I talk too much and interrupt.
55. I strongly believe that opposites attract and can work in relationships.

56.The main reason I was attracted to my husband: he was a professional baseball player at the time.
57. His personality won me over in about a week; he is a very intelligent and interesting person.
58. After 12 years of being together – we still laugh at the same things and our conversations never get boring.

Halloween, 2006. Me as desperate housewife, Jer as PWT

59. My biggest turnoff in people: entitlement.
60. I respect highly religious people and their commitment to their faith – no matter what their beliefs.
61. Everyday, I check online: email, bank account, my blogs.
62. I love studying economics and financial news.
63. I would love to have a daughter, but am secretly afraid I’ll screw her up.
64. I was set to choose fashion as a career choice, but I knew it was not compatible with being a mother so I choose being a teacher instead.
65. I don’t regret that.
66. The two people I consult on my decisions are my husband and my mother.
67. I am in constant fear that my car will break down.
68. My second biggest fear is that my children will grow up and hate me when they are older.
69. I am always hugging and kissing my family.
70. I think I taught Jeremy to be more affectionate.
71. I sometimes judge people on the condition of their homes.
72. Come to my house and it is usually a mess.
73. Life humbles me all the time.
74. I usually park at the back of the parking lot and walk.
75. If I can walk to my destination, I do.
76. I ride my kids’ Razor scooters all the time – without a helmet.
77. I get scolded by the neighbors for setting a bad example.
78. I don’t care.
79. I used to own over 12 handbags. Now I own 3. This is how I streamlined my life.
80. I do not like cats at all.

81. My Starbucks order: extra hot Grande soy latte with 1 splenda.
82. My biggest regret in life: not studying abroad.
83. I would have chosen France.
84. My wildest dream? To be on The Amazing Race.
85. The traits I hope my children have: genuineness, leadership, tolerance.
86. The traits I hope they don’t have: addiction, snobbiness, rudeness.
87. I only run to lose weight.
88. I prefer to lift weights and ellipitcal.
89. When I volunteer in my child’s classroom, I always hang his artwork front and center.
90. The thing I’m most proud of: my marriage.
91. the 2nd thing I’m most proud of: who my children are becoming.

92. Favorite season: Fall. Least favorite season: summer

93. Turning 30 was a critical turning point in my life.
94. It was when I stopped being so concerned about what others thought about me.
95. Life is a lot more freeing these days.
96. I crave change.
97. That being said, big changes upset me terribly.
98. I am a morning person.
99. By choice I would wake every morning at 6am. (since being pregnant, I wake at 7 and feel like I’m sleeping in)
100. My favorite time of the day is the first sip of my super hot soy latte in a quiet house.
101. I spanked my children when they were younger.
102. I don’t feel bad about it because I was very careful as to how angry I was when I did it.
103. One of my favorite places to visit: Canadian Rockies (Whistler, B.C.)

104. My biggest source of sadness right now: my brother and I don’t talk.
105. My biggest source of happiness right now: Jeremy has a good work schedule.
106. My mottos: “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. “This, too, shall pass.” “Life is like a bicycle, you have to keep moving forward to keep your balance.”
107. I am afraid of the dark; I still leave 1-2 lights on during the night.
108. The thing I am most vigilant about: making sure my family eats healthy foods.
109. I really enjoy reading about other people’s lives and experiences – maybe a reason I like blogging.
110. I truly believe that whatever happens to you was meant to happen to shape your life. There are no mistakes and no coincidences.
111. I truly believe that God forgives me for not being perfect- this is huge for me.

Why I let my kids play video games

So as per several blog stalkers requests, I decided to do a mental exercise and jot down some of my reasons as to why I let video games invade my house. Let me preface this by saying a few things. First, these are strictly my opinions. Granted, I came up with my opinions by combing judgement with research, but because I am currently not able to access any of the research data bases, I cannot cite anything that proves my assertations - so take most of what I say as opinion instead of fact. As I said before, I have spent the last three years at the University of Washington in Tacoma - wrapping up my B.S. in child psychology as well as preparing to apply the Master of Social Work program there. Most of hte work I did had double meaning as I trying to fulfill requirements to graduate as well as learn and discover how my own kids tick.

All that to be said, I've let video games into our house. Mostly because that is my husband's favorite form of relaxation. But I always felt so conflicted about it. Everything in the mommy world screams, "Video Games are EVIL" - yet here they were in my own home imported by my husband and my home didn't feel that invaded. So I decided to investigate really what the research says about video games and how they impact our brains, and specifically boys' brains.

Did you know that the U.S. government uses a shooter reenactment scenerios to train their soldiers that are almost identical to the shooter video games our guys play? That would send any mother to the train bin with Halo under her arm, wouldn't it? But as a woman whose husband, father, brothers all play video games and quite not violent, certainly there has to be several factors that mitigate the messages the games send, Right? Well here is what I've come up with.

First, I looked at how boys' brains work. Whether you like it or not, boys' brains process information differently from girls' brains. I cannot cite the specific anatomical parts that, but the parts of boys' brains that process aggression and risk taking are larger, thus being one of the reasons why boys tend to be more physically aggressive and take more physical risks than girls. Boys also tend to develop their large motor skills (like running, jumping, hitting and kicking) earlier than they develop their small motor skills (like writing with a pencil, stringing beads, assembling puzzles), which could be another reason why they process information in a physical manner. That being said, as human beings, we tend to socialize with what we identify with. If a person, more specifically a boy, have developed a more physical manner and identifies with physical, aggressive acts then he may tend to follow or want to be involved with activities that are more like to what he has become - thus a reason why boys may tend to gravitate into video games that explore these topics. This is also a possible reason as to why many boys pick up a stick and use it as a gun - they identify with the more physical actions of a soldier or policeman rather than the contiplantive nature of a computer systems office worker.

Next, you look at the risk factors of video games - of which there are many. One of the most cited risk factors for young children (pre-adolescent age) playing video games is the exposure to violent scenerios. While parents need to provide adequate supervision as to the type of violence in the game, the more significant risk to the child is not the type of violence, but length of exposure to the violence. In several studies of children's exposure to media influences, it was found that the children who were at most risk for repeating or imitating the types of images they saw in TV viewing or video game playing were the children who were exposed to the images for a length of five hours a day or longer for 5-6 days a week. By interpreting this data, parents have the ability to lessen the effects of violence by limiting screen time - pref. to less than one hour a day, 3-4 days a week. Personally, I have limited my children's screen time to not being able to play on school days (that means only 2 days a week, Sat and Sun that they can legally play) and setting a set time limit on play time.

To expand further on the risk factor of violence you see in video games, you must look at the type of violence exhibited. Children are more likely to repeat acts they experience rather than acts they view. It is not unheard of for children to repeat acts they view - several studies have shown that children viewing video tapes of other children beating a toy clown will be more likely to hit or kick a toy clown than children who did not see the video tape. But that demonstrates the point I want to make. Children will be more likely to repeat what they see. If the child, namely the boy, lives in a home where violence is not present - where gun violence plays no part of his daily existence, the boy is at far less risk than a child who experiences daily bouts of physical violence, environements where guns and people who carry guns are present, and reinforcement and "rewards" for acting in a physical and aggressive manner. My boys live in a nice quiet white bread suburban neighborhood where in their day to day existence they do not hear domestic violence; they are not rewarded for interpreting situations in a aggressive, physical manner. My boys see their parents, for the most part, model non violent solutions to problem solving and I find that my two guys tend to resolve situations in low aggressive way. In my opinion, the physical environment in which the boys live in lessens any sort of damage that a violent video game would present for them. My husband has made it clear that the types of games the boys would play would have only fantasy scenerios as opposed to real life scenerios. They battle Jedi knights or shoot aliens - a very unlikely scenerio that they would encounter in real life. But as a counter point, my brother (half brother) played more aggressive realistic video games as an adolscent, under the supervision of my dad, where the object of the game was to hi-jack cars, beat other people with a pipe, and interact with drug dealers - and my brother is a very very non aggressive person who is a top student, active in his church grounp, and popular with his peers. If you made an argument that his video game playing would make him more likely to be violent, I credit his environment as one that does not support at all what he plays as to the real reason why he is non violent and he does not repeat what he plays.

Last, but not least, you look at the social factors of video game play that override any violence.
Or rather, factors that may "override" any damaging violence. When the boys play video games, they often play with their dad. I view it as an opportunity to bond with dad. It is also a way for dad to model appropriate respones to images and in a way, "teach" the children to respond to the images they view. Second, video games are a way in which the boys can identify with peers. Humans are social creatures and when you provide ways in which your children can use to identify with other children, I feel like you've done them a bit of a service. All you have to do is sit next to a group of boys and you hear the topics they discuss. Often, video games and TV shows are a big part of their conversations. Third, video games are a fantastic currency that we use with our children. When our children mis-behave, video games are the most likely choice of priviledges they lose and they feel it. Granted, we use a variety of "currency" like riding bikes, staying up late, watching a favorite movie, but VG are just another method.

So that is my dissertation on why I let video games to be a part of my boy's life. I understand and accept that there are many flaws in my reasoning, many of which I'm sure you could point out. But as stated before, after careful and patient discussion with my husband and research of my own, I have found a way to make peace with the fact that they are in my life and I can be okay with it. That being said, my family is my own - it is not your family. Many of the reasons I find helpful to justify it may not hold up in your family and I accept that. Some mothers just absolutely hate video games and all they represent and to be honest, that could be reason enough as to why those mothers do not allow them in their homes. I support that; that is what works for you.

Although I could probably piddle along for another couple of sentences, I need to get my kiddo off to school and I have errands to run. Have a fantastic weekend - aren' t you glad it's Friday??
Cheers.

Right Arm = Cut Off

Since the move I haven't been able to find my Ipod charger. I swear I saw it the day we moved in, but so far, no luck. The battery has served me well, but yesterday it kaput on me while walking the dog.

Let me explain how I feel about my Ipod. Never have I been so attached to piece of electronic equipment. Jer would die without his XBox, I feel the same about my Ipod. I think I may just rank my Ipod above my cell phone on favorite gadgets, that's how much I love my Ipod.

I have lovingly created about 20 different IMixes on my Ipod that range from "Bike Riding" to "Car Ride from SEattle to Salem" to "Working in the Garden" to "Hanging Out" to "Mellow Hanging Out" to "Sunday Spiritual" to "White Girl Hip Hop" to "Running on a Treadmill" to "Running Outside" to "Teen Jams" (thank you Jeremy for adding that one based on my watching of Laguna Beach)....the list goes on and on. Email me anytime if you need a good IMix - chances are I have one.

Jer, the kids, and even my mom has found some of my mixes pretty good. I was riding in the car yesterday and I wrote down 3 new artists I heard on the radio to add to my Ipod. Sadly, I could not add them today.

I bought my first Ipod about 2 years ago. Since then, I am currently on my third Ipod since I have worn out the other two. If I had more money to spare, I would give Ipods to all my family since I find them so valuable; if they cost about $50 each you would be getting one for Christmas from me.

As Tracy Jordan has said, "I love my Ipod so much I want to take it behind the gym and get it pregnant". You won't get that unless you know 30 Rock.

So now, I will be without my most favorite, most indulgent piece until I can track down a new charger/transferer.

Don't you love Ipods?

I am the NICEST mom ever!!

How many mothers would let their almost 8 year old son accompany his father to the midnight release of the new Xbox 360 game - Halo 3?
That's right and I don't want to ever hear how I make life so unfair for him or how I "never" let him do anything. I think I have officially secured a free pass to chores and complain-free homework for at least the rest of the week.
"MOOOOOOOMMMMM, I don't want to unload the dishwasher"
"Who let you go with your father to get Halo 3 at midnight?"
"MOOOOOOOMMMM, I don't want to set the table"
"I'm sorry, did you go get Halo 3 at midnight?"
"Mom, will you stop reminding me that I went to get Halo - it's really annoying me."
"How many other children were in bed asleep while you were out with your father getting Halo 3?"

Just keep it coming Jackson.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

My husband says to me, "We need to go to the outlet mall."
Me, "Why?"
Husband, "Because I need new shoes."
Me, "Didn't you just buy a new pair a few weeks ago?"
Husband, "Well, I guess you could just wash them."
Me, "They're just dirty?"
Husband, "Yes."
Me, "Oh."

WNTW vs. Tim Gunn

Calling all pretend fashion mavens! (I say pretend because when you live in po-dunk Oregon, you're not really a fashionista) I have found a new show that completely outshines its incumbant.

I don't know about you, but I have been an avid watcher of What Not to Wear on TLC.

Stacy London and Clinton Kelly CRACK ME UP! My only critique is that pretty much after every time I watch the show, I want to drag a big garbage can into my closet and start throwing things in it. Problem is, I don't really have $5000 to buy a new wardrobe after I trash everything. So the same ol clothes stay.

Low and behold, I accidently caught the new show on Bravo - Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. Yow-sah! Great great show. It may put WNTW on my permanent disabled list. Tim Gunn is the style consultant on Bravo's show Project Runway (which never gets old for me - I adore this show!) and he is just so much nicer than Stacy and Clinton. And he always gives the contestants really nice prizes from his prize closet. I'm thinking...would anyone like to nominate me for this show? I promise to wear capri pants and tee shirts with birkenstocks for the whole winter if you would.

Good Luck trying to be pregnant in Salem, OR

Hello Everyone out there - having a good day? Everyone happy? Just thought I'd check because today I'm going to be a little negative. I know shocking...but did you really think the joy and moving and reuniting with my husband would eventually wear off - Of course it did.

So let me tell you a little story about my day yesterday. Quicky background story. As you know, I'm pregnant with my third child (well technically fourth child, but you know the story). And this time around I decided to see a midwife for my pregnancy. Up in Seattle, luckily, I had a bizillion options for this choice. So I went with a OB/GYN pratice in Bellevue, WA (ritzy rah rah area of Seattle) that has several midwives in the group. You get to deliver at a hospital (thus, you get drugs and epidurals) but you don't have too busy OBs attending to you. You get nice compassionate midwives with lots of time for your trivial pregnant business. I really enjoyed my first 16 weeks of pregnancy.

So now, I'm down in Salem and I thought - surely I'll find something here like that. Wrong.

Salem is a one hospital town. And when I looked up my doctor options on my insurance webpage, I got only 12 hits back. 12 hits!! And as it turns out, 6 of the 12 are in one pratice - Salem Clinic. Long story short. After calling 4 different clinics - no one was accepting new patients. Huh??? There is one midwife practice here in Salem, but they don't deliver at the hospital and I'm not brave enough for drug-free birth. So I cried a bit because I felt sad and trapped here with no care. And then a mom who I met at Jackson's school called me and said that I should try a different hospital in a town about 30 minutes away. My tears started to dry as I realized that 30 minutes away is NOTHING because that was what I was planning to do in Seattle anyway. So I called the OB pratice that goes to the Silverton Hospital and sure enough they have several midwives in the practice along with the doctors and sure enough they deliver at the hospital and yes, they could accept me and fit me into the schedule within the next two weeks. Thank heavens because I thought I was going to have to birth the baby in a field somewhere.

In the end, I guess that is the tradeoff for moving to a smaller town like Salem. Yes, everything is about a 5-10 minute drive away. But because of that, your options are limited in terms of certain service items like healthcare. And may I just say this - the doctor offices are fickle here. Pretty different from my healthcare experience in Seattle. Just thought I'd share.

Jenny McCarthy on Oprah

This is the time of my pregnancy where I get really really scared. Only a few can relate to me because most people don't have anything go wrong with their babies once they get past a certain point. But since I'm 17 weeks and just 3 weeks away from my big "20 week scary ultrasound" - the cold sweats are already starting. It is all because about six years ago at our 20 week u/s we found out that our baby boy would not live because of a fatal birth defect. Even though at my last u/s four weeks ago, everything looked good, I still have the fears until they tell me everything is okay.

So now, we add to the stress of me watching Oprah. Did you see it? Jenny McCarthy was on Oprah yesterday talking about her son who has autism. Now, quick background. I'm compared to Jenny McCarthy a lot mostly because of my blond hair and big loud mouth. And I say whatever I want and I'm super expressive. And I kind of look like her. (However, I'm not a formal playboy bunny and super skinny, so that is where the comparisons end, but still.) Anyway, I kind of relate to her, I don't know why. But here she was on Oprah talking about how the immunization shots gave her son autism and her son's diet helped contribute to the autism and now my emotional illogical pregnant brain can't get it out of my head. I know that my older boys are out of the woods, but this little one growing in my belly is freaking me out.

So that is my story for the day. I know it is just the stress of everything, but I just can't shake the fear.

Things I like about Oregon

After spending about two weeks in this state I have come up with a couple of things I like about Oregon.

#1 - You don't have to pump your own gas. State law says that gas station attendant has to sit out in the sweltering heat or freezing cold and pump your gas for you while you get to stay in the comfort of your car.

#2 - There is no state sales tax. You go to Costco and buy a $499 mattress set, you pay $499.00. I feel like I'm discount shopping every day.

#3 - There are a lot of police out there handing out speeding tickets. This may not be a good thing for you speed demons out there, but I couldn't figure out why everyone drives so SLOW here and then I figured out that it is because the state troopers are out in abundance.

#4 - You can recycle EVERYTHING here and the bill is CHEAP! In Seattle, my bi-monthly bill was close to $100 for garbage, recycling, and yardwaste. Here my bill is a tight $10 month and I can put all plastic 1-7, batteries, glass, light bulbs, motor oil, paint in my recycle bin as long as I separate it. For those of us who love to recycle and throw things away, this is a dream.

#5 - Farm Fresh Produce. Living 5-10 minutes from the country where they grow a ton of agriculture means you get almost daily farmer's markets and you can pretty much buy anything fresh. Plus there are a lot of hippies/tree huggers who love to farm organically so Whole Foods can suck it. (did I just say that? Cousin Heather is rubbing off on me)

That's it for now. There are things I love individually about my house, neighborhood, and kids' school, but I'll save that for later.

Cheater and Enabler

The children are not allowed to play video games on school days. Today is Monday. A school day. I took a shower tonight and came out to the family room to this sight.

With Mr. Enabler #1, Jackson and Blake have no chance on keeping this rule.

Blog Stalking

Waiting for Jer to come home from work, he said he would put the kids to bed, so I'm sitting at the kitchen table blog stalking. I don't know if I need to pick up a book again - I'm having far too much fun looking through people's lists and then those people's lists and then those people's lists. I have already found about four and five people I went to high school with through my stalking behavior.

On a side note:
Which would you rather do? I have a surprise $300 refund coming my way. Would you replace 6 mauve colored blinds that totally clash with your decor and replace them with white wooden blinds? Or would you buy three bar stools for the eat-in island for your kitchen?

I think I'm going like it here!

Holy Moly, I am TIRED!!! But I feel like Little Orphan Annie who found her home - and she sings the song, "I think I'm gonna like it herrrreeeee!"

Luckily everything could not have gone smoother and we are in the house. TV and internet were installed this morning, so hello! here I am again.

Some highlights and thoughts from my move that I thought I would share with you.
I am a lucky girl. My mom and stepdad flew in from SLC to help out with the move and boy did they ever. My mom had most of my kitchen unpacked and boxes put in the correct rooms - they just need unpacking. Bryan installed a new front entry light fixture, changed the direction of the fridge doors, installed our washer/dryer, and helped Jer move in our heavy heavy piano.
Jeremy's sister Marie works in the next town down from us and stop in for a few days and helped assemble the boy's beds, unload tons of stuff from the PODS containers and pretty much just helped out when needed. Jer has had to work through this whole process and he spends his mornings before work unloading stuff and nights after work unloading stuff.

I am impressed that I have been able to find most things. The only thing I can't find is my camera's battery charger. Other than that, I can't believe how well the boxes were labeled and then unloaded. It really has been a dream.

That being said, I can't tell you how tired we all are. The troops have left and Jer is at work, I'm doing laundry and the boys and I are VEGGING! Boxes are everywhere, but it feels like organized chaos.

My house and yard are bigger than the old house in Maple Valley. Funny thing, though, when we bought the house we thought, how could the sq. footage be bigger because it feels smaller? The former owners had a lot of clutter and big furniture. So now that we have moved all of our stuff in, I see the difference! There is a lot more space around here. Now I'm spoiled, I told Jer that from now on I'll have to have the same size or bigger of everything - it is just so nice to have the extra room in closets, pantry, bathrooms, garage - everything! I love the new layout of the house so much better than our other house - it just feels better. The kids are happy, the dog is happy - take a breath and just let out a big 'ol sigh of relief!

One day left

We had a fun surprise this morning. Our real estate agent told us that the seller of our house moved out yesterday and they were at the house today cleaning, so we could stop in today and check out the house again. For a family of five and a half that has been homeless for three weeks, just walking into your new digs is beyond excitement. Plus, it was great to see all of the seller's crap, I mean stuff, out of the house (they had a ton of clutter).

Now tell me, please, that I'm not the only one who walks into a room and is immediately flooded with ideas on how to change the room. I should be beyond grateful and thankful that I'm moving into my new house, but all I could think this morning was how I needed to change the whole thing. Luckily the bones of the house and yard are good, but truly everything needs to be updated and changed. Perhaps it is a woman's way of making her mark on a home. We'll post a ton of before and afters.

A couple of days ago I posted the things I enjoy about our hotel stay. I forgot to add one more thing. I enjoyed catching up on and then watching and re-watching all of my TV shows that I hate to admit that I love. If you know the names of the shows these pictures refer to, well then, you have good taste.

Anyone else excited for the season premieres?

Hereos, Lost, 30 Rock, Wife Swap, Supernanny

Hmmm...guess who is enjoying not being in college at the moment?

Monday Musings

Today we were bored. Ha! you say, how could one be bored when you moving and trying to acclimate to a new city? Well, start with a 97 degree day where the city of Portland and Salem issue a heat advisory warning. Our thin northwest skins stayed inside.

Next, you add in the fact that we're in a teeny tiny hotel room - Wait, let me rephrase. We're squeezed in like sardines into this room. And we tired of this room. And we're tired of having no space to ourselves. And I'm tired of worrying about our noise level (we're a very noisy family). It all makes me want to just sit in my bed and weep - but then that could be because of the hormone levels I am currently at.

So here we are stuck inside, with not a lot of entertainment and you get, well, bored. To pass the time, I've stuck the kids in front of the TV (I swear I will read to them 2 hours a day for the next two years) and I've been lurking on all of my cousin's friend's blogs. They have some really interesting friends. I don't add a friends blogs to my blog because I dont' have a lot of friends who blog (just look at how many people comment on my blog) - but heck, it is really really fascinating to get a glimpse into other people's lives. I've always been a huge fan of reality TV so reading through everyone's blogs is just plain entertaining. I'm hoping they don't add a blogger caller- IDlike feature anytime soon because then I'll have to identify myself.

At the end of the day today all I have to say is - thank heavens for free hotel dinner night and the fact we're moving out in two nights!

Wanna see boys fight?

Place just one plate of chicken nuggets on a table. Squirt a little ketchup on the plate. Then watch your boys, husband included, fight tooth and nail over the nuggets on the plate and the ketchup distribution on each nugget.

It is funny being the only female in this family.

Dirty Mouth

What the French, toast?

For those of you who are familiar with the orbit gum commercial, you know that the actors hurl insults at each other that don't use actual expletives, but insinuate the true meanings. The tag line- Dirty Mouth? YOu need Orbit gum.

Well today I discovered that Blake has found more than one purpose for his toothbrush. Not only does he get a good brushing, but apparently the dog gets a daily brushing as well. I'm getting Blake a lifetime supply of Orbit gum.

Moment of Silence

I do not confess that I will not spend a lot of money for jeans. In fact, a year or two ago I was convinced that sometimes it is worth the extra$$ to have jeans that make you look great. My most favorite brand is Guess - they've come a long way since sixth grade when all you had was a red triangle on your right cheek. A pair (that I spent a little too much money on a year ago) passed away yesterday. They looked almost identical to the picture above.

My ever blooming pregnant body finally sent these jeans to their demise. I have managed to get by with my jeans because they are extra low and a bit stretchy. But I fear I cannot repair the huge gigantic hole that riped in the crotch yesterday. So farewall my favorite jeans. You served me well.

Spoiled

After that little nap yesterday I awoke to two rowdy boys playing video games - hmmmm....isn't the rule "No Video Games on Schooldays"?
Oh, but Jackson assured me that he was just supervising Blake playing since Blake doesn't have school today. Right.

Despite being crammed into about 400 sq. feet with the boys, the big dog, and all our crap, I mean stuff, I am enjoying several things in my hotel stay.

I enjoy the daily maid service (thank you housekeepers for making my bed, giving me clean towles everyday, and sweeping up the spilled dog food and fruit loops on the carpets daily).

I am enjoying that I have a swimming pool within 1 minute of my room and it exercises both of my children daily. I enjoy the "Homestyle" breakfast every morning served in the hotel's Hearth Room. And despite my mother's warnings, I am enjoying the evening "Manager's Special" meal. My kids love having tator tots, chicken fingers, and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for dinner. My husband enjoys the complimentary Coors beer. I enjoy making my dinner in my suite's kitchenette because I value my stomach's sanity.

I enjoy the HBO on my TV. I enjoy the free faxing the front desk will do for me. And I enjoy the nonstop tap of coffee that sits in the Hearth Room.

But overall, I think I will enjoy leaving next week and moving into my new home. And I will enjoy NOT having to worry about if today is the day they throw us out of the hotel for too much noise.

Grrrrrrrrrr

To be a copycat and repeat the words of my cousin.

I have too many children and dogs today. I'm sick of "having my hands full". Since when did it become a federal crime to beat your children?

That's it. After a nap maybe I'll change my tune a little.

Hello Salem!

We landed today in our new hometown. As much as I enjoyed my time with my mom (and the boy's enjoyed their time even more than I did), I can't tell you how great it was to land in semi-cloudy, 72 degree NW weather. Ahhhhhhhh.

Love the plane ride from SLC to Salem. We took the Delta Connection, SkyWest airlines. What an experience! Starting from the SLC SkyWest terminal where the gate agents compete for PA time with auctioneer-style annoucements to the teeny tiny airplane that seats 50 people in just twelve rows. The pilots fly the plane like it's their own personal Miata in the sky. Land in teeny tiny Salem airport (which happens to be across the street from Jeremy's costco, Hello Daddy as we fly over you). Plane taxis to the "gate" which is a chain link fence and my husband and dog are on the other side of the fence. We get off, they basically hand you your luggage and off you go within five to ten minutes. I think I may like this small city living after all.

So now we're hunkered town in the Courtyard Marriott with the two boys, the dog (who is very happy to be found), and me and Jer in our 1 bedroom suite. All the boys claim it is "super fancy" - much fancier than our customary Best Western we've stayed in the past. Jackson starts school tomorrow. He will be in second grade. Talk about moving to a smaller town. Jackson's old elementary school of K-5 had close to 900 students and about 7-8 classes per grade. His new school features 275 students and each grade has 1-2 teachers. When I went to check out the school today, the principal personally greeted me and told me he had a hand in placing Jackson in his new class.

I had about five different people comment on how I "must have my hands full" as they regard my children. I believe what they really mean to say, "Holy Crap - your kids are out of control".

Stay tuned to all our new adventures from Salem.

I'm Having a Girl!!

according to the Chinese conception chart.