Journaling

As I stalk some of you in blog-land, I notice you are using your blogs as a journal, which never occurred to me. I started my blog to keep all of our distant friends and family updated on our lives - very exciting and adventurous lives, I might add. Not really.
Recently, I made book for Ethan. It recounts the first year of his life. Really, it's a hardback book that I had published. It is awesome. It took me over 3 mos to create (not continuously). And I was having a hard time remembering some of the details. I started thinking out loud to Larry and saying that I need to start keeping a journal for him, but I'm not a big fan of writing anymore. This modern contraption they call a laptop is so convenient. Not like the very archaic pen and paper. I bought a notebook and pens for Ethan's journal, so when I go to create his next book, it will be with greater ease.
Today, I received an email invitation from my sister-in-law, Andrea. It is a link that some of you also may be interested in - journal on-line. I have already started, and being the zealot I am, I started one for me too!

Road Trip-ish

Larry's Mom and Dad live in Southern Illinois, about 3 hrs from us. John made a nice dinner. Here are just some pictures I took to and from... Ethan "working" on his laptop, trying to tie his shoe, eating candy, and Larry - driving. Of course, one of me. I have to take pictures of myself, because no one else does - is that a hint, should I be worried?

The Great Easter Egg Hunt...

Grandma made a little Easter Egg hunt for Ethan (inside of course, due to inclimate weather - see previous post). He didn't really get it, but was curious nonetheless. Grandma pointed out the eggs to him, and pulled them out a little so he would grab them, but he would push them back in place.

Grandma getting Ethan all hopped up on sugar...

Now that I know what's inside - let's get some more of those eggs!

And this is what happens once the sugar wears off.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas -

Are you kidding me? Happy frickin' Easter - poo poo snow! We left Mom and John's house early because the snow flakes at their house were huge and we had a 3 hour drive.

Peeps... more than just sugary goodness

I love Easter time because it is traditionally the time for one of my favorites - Peeps. Apparently, there is this whole gallery, but this one is especially funny to me because it is just so... well, it's funny.
see more crazy cat pics

No Easter for Ethan

I was hoping to post a very cute picture of Ethan with the Easter bunny, of course, taken at the Mall. I got him dressed in a very spring-looking outfit and we waited in line for over 40 minutes. There was a 4 1/2 year old boy standing behind us pounding Larry's behind. Larry believes it has earned him a year of not having to stand in line. He excercised a lot of patience, tolerance, and restraint.

We finally got to the front of the line and I placed my order, Ethan looked at the bunny and started crying. I tried putting him down, he had the most horrified look on his face, and clamouring to get at me. So... no picture.

Okay, well I have been on this kick. I am trying to unclutter and get rid of the 'stuff'. So, my next project was the make-up. I thought about it because Caleen had a posting when she got purse tagged. She had, like 50 gagillion lip glosses.

I don't wear a lot and it's all the same color palette, so a lot of the same thing: brown's and wine's/berry/purples. I don't wear any actual make-up as in foundation (which is probably obvious but I don't care, I hate it) I have other stuff, because I am such a packaging sucker. I love the packaging. And I buy all brands, if the packaging is awesome. I don't even wear some of the stuff, but it just looks so cool, that I have to have it! Like, I have this Benefit eye lid brightening pencil... I have no eye lid (hello - Asian... no double lid) so, I don't need it, can't really use it... whatever! And I had this Chanel eye brow liner stuff, and I have caterpillars growing, so there's no point in that. I chucked some Mac bronzing powder that is just messy and I've only used it once. The point is, I threw out a lot of that crap. The drawer is very skinny, but it looks organized and clean.

The next chore was the lip stuff drawer. I took off of the pencils and glosses, and sticks out and threw them in the sink. I sifted threw, but I could only find 6 tubes of yuck. The rest were keepers. It's a LOT!

I'm not really Irish

Comment Graphics and Myspace Layouts at pYzam.com

This is unbelievable - even for me! Last weekend I undertook a project: my closet. I have been hanging on to items for more than 10 years. Larry will clean out his closet at least once a year, sometimes more. Every time we move, my closet is the worst. I have so many clothes accumulated over the years. Everyone knows I am a clothes horse. I just buy things that are less trendy and a little more basic so I can wear them over and over and over again. Tacky this may be, but I love clothes, and lots of them. I have finally resigned myself to believing I am now 35 and a mom, it is no longer appropriate to wear short shorts and short skirts, and halter tops as attractive as it may be ;) - With that, I was able to get rid of 3 full boxes, and 9 large garbage bags full of clothes. That is a stinkin' lot of clothes. I did however, hold on to all of my pants since I am almost back in them! As I was going through each item, I would think: "Why and where the heck did I ever wear this?" or "What was I thinking when I bought this?" I also had about 25 items I had never even worn - tags in tact.

I have a little brother, not my baby brother, but he is the eldest of the little brothers. Although, neither of them at over 6 feet tall is very little. But as you can see, at one time, he was very little.

Todd - since infancy - has been in and out of the hospital for one reason or another. When he was very little, up to two years old the doctors thought he may have had leukemia. It turned out he did not. He was always pale and thin and lethargic and would not keep anything down. Hard to believe? Kidding. When he was in junior high he was in a rolling blading accident that he very nearly did not survive. He had several broken and crushed bones and was very mangled, as being wrapped around a pick-up truck tire would leave you. He had a broken femur for which he had a metal bar in for a very long time. Several years later, Todd was in the hospital with his friend Tom because of a 'work-out' thing, which again, he almost did not survive, since he was officially dead for about 8 minutes. When he was revived they thought he would be in a vegetative state, or mentally traumatized at the very least. He was not... well, dead anyway - mental is a different story... ha ha (my facts are probably not 100% accurate, but it's as I remember, and I may remember things a little more dramatically, because I am a drama queen).

Of course, all these do not include the many trips for 'other' things - please, he's a boy who played football and rugby in high school and college.

Most recently, Todd has been laid up with a shattered ankle (right?) and a busted up knee (left?). Bummer, huh? He fell on ice at a job-site, and drove himself to the hospital, he had to army crawl into the emergency room. A couple of weeks ago, he had surgery on his ankle because it was healing the wrong way and needed to be re broken, set correctly, and stabilized for healing with yet again, another bar.

I can't help but wonder - with all of these things - what is HIS purpose? I can't help but think he is destined for great things and at the very least, to touch and bless our lives, especially mine!

The Editor in Chief

So, Mom (in-law) let me know I got a photo wrong. The uniformed photo is:

"And oh by the way, the pic of him in his Army uniform was the day he graduated from Basic training. Gramma and Pa Johnson, Gramma Albers, Rhonda, Matt, me and John were all there. It was so very cool. Then we took him to Myrtle Beach for a couple of days. That is where we ironed his bdu's and his buddy Pabons at the Yachtsman Hotel while he slept. Six can of spray starch and trying to iron on a table top ironing board. John actually did most of the ironing. Now that was a memory.
Isn't he just down right gorgeous? Spoken by a mom of course."

Oops, sorry... glad to have it straight now.

Tagged... again!

Thanks, Andrea...

How long have you been together? Well, married only 1 yr and 8 mos... I think
How long did you date? It depends on who you ask - if you mean stalking and badgering, then but about 12 yrs.
How old is he? Older than me! Just turned 36
Who eats more? It depends on the day
Who said I Love You First? I don't know... I honestly don't remember who said it first, and to me, the thing that matters is that we do love each other... sometimes.
Who is taller? Well, I always walk tall and take the higher ground (okay, y'all know I'm totally being sarcastic right? Because I am very petty and catty), but physically, I guess that would be Law Dog.
Who sings better? This is a funny question - I am a song bird, and I tell him so every time we're in the car, and his ears are bleeding.
Who is smarter? Another very funny question - we are both smart, but in very different ways
Who does the laundry? I do, Larry does his own, but I do everything else
Who does the dishes? I do - because I am a control freak and I have OCD!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do
Who pays the bills? We pay our own bills and split everything else 50/50 (but like, with groceries, I buy one month, then he'll buy the next) - trust me, this works out very well for us, we have been at this system for over a decade now.
Who mows the lawn? The landscaper
Who cooks dinner? Well, if you mean heating up the oven and 'cooking' a frozen pizza, then Larry. How 'bout neither. I do when I can
Who is more stubborn? Meow-ch! We both are equally stubborn. He holds grudges though
Who kissed who first? I am the aggressor, so me. I kissed him, but we didn't even like each other... long story
Who asked who out? He asked me out... He drove all the way from Idaho to SLC to take me to Better Than Ezra at DV8
Who proposed? Larry - twice, sort of... when I told him I was pregnant: he said "well, I guess this means we have to get married". And then officially at Jeff and Carla's house in May, I think
Who is more sensitive? Again, we both are equally, just about different things... if you mean emotional, I don't think that's even a question...
Who has more friends? I do. But Larry has longer friends
Who has more siblings? I do - he has an older sister, and I have 1 older, 1 younger sister, and 2 younger brothers

Tag, you're it: Lavinia Mumford, Caleen Christensen, and Brenda Tobler

Happy Birthday Lar-Bear

Today is Larry's Birthday, Happy Birthday. He is not very old, but older than me, so that is very old to me!

Here are some pictures Mom (Johnson) gave to us before Ethan was born. I love them... Larry grew up between southern Illinois (Peoria,-Mackinaw )and (Orlando-Debarry-Deland) Florida. He joined the army (photo is first day) and quickly was promoted to Sgt. He went to college at ISU and is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He is an avid soccer player and loved skateboarding and surfing growing up. He was so good he was the Slamma Jamma Ramp Champ in Orlando!

Larry has always been my rock and voice of reason. He calms me down and is so diplomatic. He is thoughtful and loyal. He is a hard worker and driven. I love him and so glad we are devoted to each other. I am proud of the role-model he is and will be to Ethan.

Gaga Goo

I got this from Tyler and Kate's blog. And this is especially funny to me, because when Ethan was an infant (I say it like it was so very long ago) I sent an email saying, Ethan is three weeks and such and such height, weight, and a brief update of what he was doing. Tyler mocked me sending his stats and favorite foods. Well, I was humored to find a growth chart right there on his blog! I am giggling with glee!

Since, tomorrow is Larry's birthday - this is for you:

W O W!

It's an acronym... and my husband, sadly, has fallen to the dark side. It has taken him over and consumed him.

When Larry announces he "needs to help save Azeroth"... I heave a heavy sigh, and shake my head in shame...

He started playing a few years ago, but it was occasionally. He really became addicted - and it is addicting - (as my babysitter also plays along with her son-in-law) while I was pregnant. I'm sure because... the hormones... yah, we'll go with that. I'm sure it was an escape. It's a whole freakish world out there: World of Warcraft. I can only picture, as you see on movies & TV shows, these nerdy kids and adults sitting around with headsets, IM-ing each other and going into battle with and against each other.

So, from what I understand it's like a sci-fi capture the flag. But you get to create your own character and you build up credits/money, and powers and weaponry. I just... I don't know.

photos courtesy of WOWinsider - oh, yah - there's a blog & on-line mag!

Spoiled.

I am totally spoiled, and I know it. I feel like I am pretty easy-going and low maintenance, mostly because I am very independent and determined. But, Larry has always been so good to me on birthdays and special occasions, very thoughtful, and gets me just want I want. Mostly, because I show him exactly what I want... I'm winking.

For my birthday, Larry gave me this Lacoste sweater (in black), and a new coffee maker!

Ahhh... Relief!

I have extremely dry hands. I mean, extremely, like excruciating. They are rough, cracked, bleeding... yuck. My girlfriends, Debbie, (DVM and dairy farmer), and Stacie (dental hygienist - so, obsessive hand washing) have the same problem. We are on a constant quest to find the best hand creams. The thing is, though, our skin is very sensitive. I cannot use detergents with perfumes, or I get a rash. When I was younger, Grandma used to give me bag balm (used for the utters of dairy cows). I cannot even use normal bar soap. Add to that, I hate hate HATE having lotion on the palm side of my hands. I cannot stand it! Stacie and I are always searching for new products and then telling each other or buying extra for the other.

We finally found a product that Bath & Body Works came out with in their Spa line.

It works, but wears off too quickly, the one nice thing, though, it has paraffin (wax) in it, so it immediately soothes.

Typically, I have a tube of A & D ointment, and pure lanolin. I have been known to also use Carmex on my bleeding knuckles in an emergency. I am at an impasse.

Finally, my girlfriend Debbie (knowing my plight) gave me this cream for my birthday. It IS AWESOME!!!! I just cannot say enough. I love this store, but now, it will be a staple. It is light, so I don't feel suffocated, it smells very clean, and there is no burning. I feel immediate relief.

Work, Work Work.

Ethan has a new job - he is my personal assistant, or so he thinks. He likes sitting at the computer resting his hands on the keyboard (it's wireless, so we shut it off), and 'using the mouse. Really, we watch videos on Playhouse Disney or Noggin.

He'll return my calls... or hang up on you...

Make copies...

I guess that gets exhausting because I'll catch him sleeping on the job...



And I guess it could get frustrating too, because sometimes he needs his own space...

Uh Oh!

I am such a dork. Today while my boys were napping, I was having 3 IM conversations at the same time, while emailing pictures and 'cleaning' up my hard drive. Here's the problem with too much multi-tasking - I speed read through things. Well, as it turns out, not a time when speed reading comes in handy. I started un-installing all these programs and components I felt were useless: MSN... Microsoft.NET... AOL and all the components to it... Windows Defender... and several others. First of all, there is not enough of a description, and I did not have the time nor the patience to read the Internet doc, so I just omitted them. When I restarted it was awesome, the programs were gone! Including the Internet... Whoops!

Then, I was so nervous about it, Larry tried to get me to log back in and I could not remember my password. Larry was quickly losing his patience. But in true Larry fashion, he kept himself calm and reinstalled everything. I think we are back to normal, whatever that is.

The things is - I am not ignorant, I'm just impatient, but that's because I'm Aquarius. So, Larry is my hero - well, for many reasons, but at this moment, for fixing the errors I made.