Tys will be Tys

It seems like my last few posts have been neglecting my 2nd born, so I just wanted to give you an update on what Ty's up to. EVERYTHING. That pretty much describes him. Up to everything, in to everything, all about everything. The kid just doesn't stop.

Here's a few recent examples:

• He got out Jake's new toothbrush and toothpaste and tried to brush Felix's teeth this morning.
• He painted the kitchen floor and cabinets with baking soda when I thought he was finishing his breakfast.
• While sitting on my lap as I was typing an email, he grabbed a ball point pen and stealthfully wrote all over his arms. I didn't notice until he got frustrated that the pen was running out of ink.
• He asked for "one pinch" of sugar as I was cooking and ended up with approximately 1/4 cup all over his face/hands/shirt/shorts and another 3/4 cup scattered across the kitchen floor.

A few recent direct quotations:

• "Mom we need to go frew the carwash because our car is stinky." (He had just pooped)
• "What...in...the...wher-ald is going on here?" (The bathroom stool was not in it's proper place.)
• "Mom, I want you take good care a me." (He says this while fake crying after I've scolded him for being naughty.)
• "I need a bandaid." (After every fall, trip, pinch, bump, accidental brush against the couch, etc. The funny part is that he's the toughest kid imaginable. The child just loves bandaids.)
• He says "why" after every question I answer regardless of what I say. "Can I hit Jake?" NO. "Why?" "Can I buy that?" No, it's too expensive."Why?" "What time is it?" 7pm. "Why?" "Can I have a treat?" Sure, you ate a good lunch. "Why?"

Oh, my sweet precious baby. What am I going to do with myself when YOU go to preschool? I won't know what to do with a clean house.

Not my typical weekend

Funny that Melanie B commented (thanks, stalker!) on the last post, because guess where I was this last weekend...

Wildhorse Canyon (AKA the epitome of middle-of-nowhere-ness). I was the camp nurse for a group of First Call families (police/fire/paramedics) which was pretty much a joke because it's not like those people don't know what to do in an emergency. I did this in June as well, and my mom came with me, which was very fun but not very eventful which was just as we'd planned.

This time Ann, best mom-in-law in the world, and Jake best 4-year-old Stump boy in the world came with me. From the very beginning it was quite a different trip. We got stuck on I-84 just before Hood River (less than an hour after starting the trip) and ended up at an almost stand-still for over 1 1/2 hours. By the time we got to Wildhorse we'd been in the car over 5 hours. I'm thankful I brought bottles of water and trail mix, and that Jake has been practicing peeing outside the last few months. Honestly, I'm too tired to give details of the whole trip, except that Jake has never had so much activity, so much sugar, and so little sleep in his entire life. This is his honest-to-goodness dinner on Saturday night...ice cream on top of a cookie, cotton candy and popcorn. Yep, I'm accepting nominations for Mom of the Year.

No major injuries, and no life-flights out of the canyon, so I'm glad there's no stories to tell about my official camp duties. Just lots of sun, fun, and...pun(s)?? Forget it, I'm done. Ask Jake. Or Ann, her memory is probably a little more accurate than his. And besides, he won't be out of his sugar induced coma for another few days.

Musings from the ER

I wrote most of this the other night (morning?) when I did a night shift in the ER. I didn't post it because I knew I'd have 28 sentences that made no sense because my eyes were crossing at the time. I almost deleted it, but I just edited my incoherancies (I know, not a word)...and here you go. A little glimpse into another portion of my life:

I'm at work right now, finally getting my federally mandated 30 minute break. Note that I got here at 9:30pm, and it's now 5:50am, and I am just now getting my first chance to sit down, not to mention empty my elephant sized bladder. I've been downing coffee tonight like it's going out of style, so you really should be impressed.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in a busy ER. Here are just a very few of the highlights:

• A few people with respiratory problems. The young ones who don't smoke 3 packs a day went home, and the old ones, along with the ones who bring their own ash trays, got admitted.
• A 16-year-old who was in a gang fight and has a stab wound to the face.
• About five patients with migraines (probably only 2 of whom are legit).
• Four people with dental pain (none of whom are legit).
• A schizophrenic woman high on cocaine who is restrained to her bed after swearing she'll kill us all.
• A patient with chronic back pain for 10+ years who decided that at 2am the ER would no doubt cure him.
• A lady tweaking on meth who fell off the back of a truck and only bruised her knee.
• An incredibly foul mouthed 21 year old "gentleman" with a laceration on his upper lip after being punched in the face by his father. I almost gave him a matching one on the lower lip.

That's been my night so far. And you are probably sleeping in your nice warm comfortable bed, your head resting on a fluffy pillow, no need for a Big Gulp of bad coffee and a can of pepper spray in your pocket...sucker.

I'm officially...old.

Jake started preschool today. He ate his breakfast, chose his outfit, picked his snack, packed his Cars backpack (thanks Fredericks), calmly walked out the door, and drove himself away into the sunset. Er, sunrise. Alright, I was the one who drove, but it feels like he just grew up about 20 years today.

He walked into the classroom, said "see ya later, Mom" and that was that. I'm realizing what it will be like to be a mother of boys, because on the car ride home after school I asked him to give me all the details, and he said, "it was fun." Did you have a great time? "Yep." What did you do? "Played and stuff." Did you make any friends? "Yep." Seriously, could you give me more than a one word answer? "Ok." What else did you do? "We painted."

There you have it, folks. He had fun. He met friends. He painted.

At least he's not too old to yell, "MAMA!!" and run to give me a hug when I picked him up after school. Kinda doubting that will last through middle school. But here's hoping.

Danny J.

28 years ago the world became a better place. A tiny little dark haired olive skinned babe cried his first tears, looked up at his loving parents, and probably searched the room to find a TV so he could watch his first football game. I haven't confirmed it with my mom-in-law, but I'm fairly certain Dan was born with an ESPN magazine attached to his right hand. That gleam in his eye was the glorious thought that someday there would be an invention called Fantasy Football that would drastically increase his quality of life. Until then he would tuck away every sports statistic (the more obscure the better), the college, high school, and jr. high of each professional athlete, and the ability to intensely watch 2 games, study a Sporting News, and type a taunting email to a friend cheering on his rival.

Of course my husband has an obvious passion for sports, but what I love about him the most is his passion for his family. I'd never ask him to sacrifice the most exciting game of the year, because I know he'd do it in a heartbeat if he really needed to. Plus we have TiVo, which I'm pretty sure was actually invented by a young mother. But even if we didn't, I know his priorities are in the right place.
Thanks, Danny J. for being a great husband, an amazing daddy to our boys, a loving son, a loyal friend, a genuine man of God, the wind beneath my wings, my strength when I am weak... I'm everything I am because you love me. I may have just gotten a little carried away, but seriously, I love this man. I'm proud to be his wife.

Happy Birthday, dude.

Rebekah Jane Lillie

(Thank you, Bec for posting a picture so I could steal it from you.)
Happy birthday to my very first niece! Dan's sister Jane had a baby girl early this morning at 3:59am, and it's killing us that we're too far away to go kiss her! Rebekah Jane Lillie made her appearance after days of hard contractions and few hours of pushing (way to go mama). She is perfectly happy and healthy at 8lbs 15 ounces and 21 3/4 inches, and Jane is perfectly....exhausted! Dan's parents were able to fly down to CA to be there to hear her first cries.

Welcome to the world, little miss Rebekah. A lot of people have been praying for you! You are already so loved. We can't wait to see what God has in store for you! Love you Curtis and Jane, can't wait to see your sweet little family for Thanksgiving!

Now...go get some sleep.

Time certainly does fly

2 YEARS GONE BY:

Above: Jake digging at the Children's museum October 2006

Below: brothers digging in the same rubber pellets August 2008 (Ty is wearing the shoes Jake has on above)

Above: Jake 2006, cute kid
Below: Jake 2008, babe


Above: Ty 2006 drooling all over the Children's Museum toys
Below: Ty 2008 reeking havoc with the Children's Museum toys

WHAT HAPPENS IN JUST ONE YEAR:

Above: Ty rejoicing in the Blue Lake splash park, 2007
Below: Ty rejoicing in the Blue Lake splash park, 2008




Above: Ty's chubba bubba profile in 2007

Below: my little man 2008

People who make me smile

There's this list I have here over to the right. You're all familiar with it, I'm sure. These are the people I love to stalk...I mean investigate. I've just recently realized I've overlooked/just found a few people I'd like you all to meet. Marla Taviano has been a faithful blog stalker of mine for quite some time and because she doesn't blog on Blogger I've been completely ignoring her. Just kidding, I totally was clueless about the fact she had a blog on Xanga. Go check her out, she's an amazing author who met my dad a few years ago, and though we've never actually met face to face, I'm quite convinced that she and I are twins separated at birth. She rules. Her books rule. Go buy a couple hundred copies of her newest book Changing Your World One Diaper at a Time. Amazing. So funny, so encouraging for new moms, old moms, not-yet moms. Great grandpas. Well, maybe not GG's, but seriously, this book is one you've got to get your hands on if you've got the slightest interest in motherhood. She's not paying me to say this either (but Marla, I will except Starbucks gift cards).

Another new stalker/my new stalkee is my cousin Chris. She's the one who used to burn microwave popcorn for me and Karina while babysitting. I have great memories of her staying with us while my parents were gallivanting across the world without us. And I babysat for her little girl Alexis (not so little anymore, holy moley) It's seriously a crime that we live so close and don't see each other more often. Thanks for saying hi, Chris!

Another somewhat new link I have is called Choose to Bloom. If you haven't yet checked it out...CHECK IT OUT! Two of my very best friends Megan and Faith have created this blog that is full of encouragement and advice and great resources, especially for young moms. I love you girls, and I'm proud of what God is doing in you, and through you!

So there you have it. An updated list of the people who make me smile. If you're not on the list and think you should be, either a) I'm a total dork and I think I have you on there, but I really just get to your site by clicking on someone else's links or b) you may have to face the fact that you might not make me smile. (That was a joke, I love you all.)

Two dollar Tuesday

We decided to go to the zoo a few days ago for $2 Tuesday. We never got there. Here's the rundown of our insane Tuesday that cost just a tad more than $2:

• 10:28am: picked up umbrella stroller from G&G Alcorn's house, kids are practically wetting their pants in excitement
• 10:35: filled up with gas at Safeway (less than $50!! Who knew that would ever be exciting)
• 11:00: arrived at Lloyd Center to buy new shoes for Dan and drop off the car to take MAX to the zoo
• 11:10: found shoes Dan wanted (on sale, the day is lookin' good so far)
• 11:11: guy looking for 2nd shoe in the pair that Dan wanted (one was the display)
• 11:15: guy still looking for Dan's shoe, kids getting restless
• 11:20: guy still looking for Dan's shoe, kids are starting to pull the clothes off of nearby manikins
• 11:21: guy asks another clerk to help him find Dan's shoe, Ang getting restless
• 11:21 and 20 seconds: other clerk promptly found Dan's other shoe. Direct quotation from Ty, "That guy is SOOOO nice, mama." My thoughts exactly.
• 11:25: off to the food court for some lunch
• 11:35: Beef & broccoli juice comes pouring out of Ty's mouth because of his enormous attempt at a bite, and slides down his shirt, his elbows and onto his shorts
• 12:00: off to the MAX station to ride the train to the zoo, Jake is so excited he can barely contain himself
• 12:08: MAX takes us to the Steel Bridge which is being renovated for a new train line, thus is closed, thus we have to get off MAX, and thus take a Tri-Met bus filled with 194 sweaty people across the another bridge, thus getting on another MAX train that is across the river in order to make 29 stops in downtown Portland, thus finally making it the zoo, thus Dan and I are so excited we can barely contain ourselves (insert sarcasm here)
• 12:55: we finally get off MAX and ride up the elevator where it opens to reveal to us...approximately 5690 people in a line that is (not joking this time) over 1/4 mile long just to enter the zoo
• 12:55 and 10 seconds: no possible way we're getting in that line
• 12:56: we walk down to the Children's Museum and pay more than $2 a person because we don't have the heart to tell our overly excited children we have to go home


• 2:20: we leave the museum with exhausted but happy children to start the MAX, bus, MAX, car ride home
• 3:05: we get into our car to drive home, Ty has definitely had enough

• 3:06: both kids are snoring

Welcome, one and all

I've recently had a few people I rarely see/don't know very well tell me that they like looking in on this blog every once in a while...some people call these onlookers "blog stalkers," but I prefer to refer to you all as "inquiring minds who want to know" (who are quite possibly very strange, but still welcome to read my ramblings). But just an FYI, I'm not planning on publishing my social security number or my ATM pin number or, heaven forbid, my current weight. So if you're a long lost friend or relative, a friend of a friend, or a friend of a friend of a friend's nephew's daughter's neighbor...please feel free to read my stories, and comment now and again so I know you care. If you have a blog, I've probably snuck a peek. Yes, I know snuck is not a word. And if you don't have a blog, I have probably driven by your house several times to see if I can catch a glimpse of you and your family. (I'm kidding. If you're more than 100 miles away, you're probably safe.)

Stalk away, dear reader. Stalk away.

Jacob Gary turns 4

Today my firstborn turned 4. Not only do I feel old, I also feel...exhausted. Not purely because of the lack of sleep I've had the past 4 years, but also because of the party we threw today. A Hot Wheels inspired bash for the ages. I even crafted. Yes, me, the ultimate creative dud. I'll admit I stole the idea of a website, I don't recall the exact name (something like "bestcraftymomsinthehistoryoftheuniverse.com") but I glue-gunned my little heart out for the sake of my child. And my budget. Do you realize how much money you can spend on a child's birthday party? Ridiculous. So ridiculous in fact, that I made my own car decorations that doubled as party favors.
I'm not quite to the point where I'm ready to make my entire family's underwear from materials grown in my backyard, but I'm feeling pretty capable of stealing a basic creative idea and producing a decent product.

But let's get back to the reason for the blog. Jacob Gary. He has been asking us every morning for the last few weeks if that day was his birthday. This morning when he woke me up, I said, "Happy birthday, Juje" (please to to my nicknames post if you need the story behind "Juje") He said, "Today's not my birthday," quite adamantly. "Yes it is, today is August 3rd." He went walking down the hall slowly, and I heard him say quietly to himself, "Oh, today IS my birthday. I'm four now."

Anyone who knows Jake knows that cars are his reason for living, so the Hot Wheels party theme was quite appropriate. A few days ago, my mother in law told me someone asked Jake if he was going to have a pirate birthday. "No," he said, "I'm a Hot Wheels man." Indeed. I take out this cheap plastic tablecloth and he's almost wetting his pants in excitement "WHOA, mama what is THAT???" A cheap plastic tablecloth. "WHOA, so awesome!"

Weeks ago when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his party, he literally put his pointer finger on his mouth and, looking quite pensive, stated firmly, "Lemon Chocolate Strawberry Pie-Cake." Hmm, I don't even think bestcraftymomsinthehistoryoftheuniverse.com has a recipe for that. He repeated the request continually and so I decided to get creative (here I go again, you're thinking?) Well, I didn't exactly produce a lemon chocolate strawberry pie-cake, but all the parts were there. Except for the pie. I made lemon cupcakes and Fred Meyer made chocolate cake with strawberry filling. He was pleased.

And I'm pleased with the precious gift of Jake. He's definitely not perfect (if you know a 4 year old who is...please don't tell me) but he certainly is a good boy. How do I love he? Let me count the ways:

• He's passionately in love with his brother, and would fight to the death on a playground if someone tried to hurt Ty, even though 2 seconds before he may have been slugging Ty himself.
• He's instant friends with everyone he meets, including joggers that pass by and smile at him.
• He CRACKS me up. The other day dog-lover-Dan asked him "What do you think about giving Felix away?" Jake quickly responded, "Dad, if you give Fewee away, then we'll give YOU away." Amen, brother Jake.
• He's quirky. He despises the sound of a toilet flushing, so if we're in public he makes me flush it after he's left the stall, and at home he flushes with his hand over his right ear, and the other ear mashed against his left shoulder as that hand pushes the handle.
• He still sits on my lap and laughs at my jokes and hugs and kisses me without being embarrassed.

Happy birthday, Juje. Juja Maguja. Rad. Rad McFad. Faddeous. You're one of a kind, and I couldn't love you more.

Talk, talk, talk

Okay, Marla. I was hoping to stretch the anniversary blog into Jake's birthday blog (only 2 days away) but evidently I'm making people mad, so here's a quick update. Oh, and these pictures are from Seaside a few weeks ago. You know, the ones that almost cost me my sanity when I tried to post them. Anyway, the update:

Ty is calling me Ang. Seriously. Here's how the conversations go. "Hey, Ang? Can I have a granola bar?" "No, Ty, and it's 'mommy' next time, okay?" "Okay, Ang...Mommy. Can I have some string cheese, Ang?"

Ty's quite the talker. In fact, he barely says any words wrong these days, so it makes me laugh when he does. My favorites are "Ooohh, a doggie, can I pep 'im?" Yes, you can pet him. "Where's Jake, is he stownstairs?" Yes, he's downstairs. "I'm sick, because I need some meh-sin." No, you can't have any medicine, you're not sick. (I try to avoid the word "because" when I talk to Ty. See my previous post if you've forgotten how much Ty milks "because".)

Jake is also a talker. More accurately, he's a won't-ever-shut-his-mouth-er. This is bad, but I've totally begun to tune him out. I took him to Home Depot the other day when Ty was napping, and he was in the back seat jabbering on for probably 5 minutes before I realized that he was asking me questions, then answering them himself when I didn't respond. Sort of like this, "Hey Mom, when we're done at Home Depot can we go somewhere else? Like Starbucks? Maybe we'll get some hot chocolate? Mom? Okay, maybe the dollar store. We can look at Hot Wheels and maybe buy some for me? Can we? We'll buy some trucks and some vans, okay, Mom? We'll get some hot chocolate and take it to the dollar store and buy twenty Hot Wheels. WOW, a Hummer! Did you see that Hummer, Mom? Yes? It was red, huh. Yep, a red Hummer. Maybe we'll get a red Hummer at the dollar store after we get hot chocolate. That's what we'll do." In all seriousness...the kid just doesn't stop.

Dan also talks my ear off. Oh wait, never mind. After the kids go to bed it's like we go through detox. Neither one of us says one word for about half and hour unless it's vitally important. We just sit. Feet up. Cool wash cloth on our heads and a heating pad on our backs. Until we hear this, "Hey, Ang? I need some water because I'm thirsty, because I need a drink, because my mouth is sick and because I need some water and some meh-sin."

Then we put in ear plugs. And pretend all is right with the world.

Seven years

July 20, 2001

Seven years ago today a gorgeous young couple made their marriage vows before God, family, and a few friends. Actually, I believe there were about 550 friends in attendance, Lord bless them, because the blushing young bride might still be buying the basics from her registry at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Yes, my friends, it's true. Seven years. We're pretty much professional married people. I have to say that I am genuinely more in love with my husband than the day we were married, and I think he'd say the same. About loving me. Not about me loving him. You get it, I'll move on.

I've heard the term "7 year itch" and it makes me sad. Seven years of marriage and people realize it's not what it's cracked up to be, or they're too tired from being dad and mom to be husband and wife anymore. Unfulfilled expectations. The lure of greener pastures.
Frankly, I don't get it. I mean, I can understand how it happens, but I thank God it's not happening to us. We're in it for the long haul. And it ain't half bad. All joking aside, I'm so proud of our marriage, and thrilled to be able to say that I'm truly married to my best friend. Honest to goodness. I love being with him. He makes me laugh so hard that I cry. He makes me want to be a better wife and mom. He challenges me, and encourages me. It's not that we've never had problems, or never will again, it's that we believe our love is stronger than anything the world could ever throw at us. That may sound naive, but it's not our strength, it's God's that will hold us together.

God's strength, and the incredible people we have around us, encouraging us every day. We are blessed to have many amazing examples of marriage in our lives. Our parents were (and are) wonderful moms and dads, but they were first and foremost husbands and wives. Thank you, John and Ann, and Randy and Nanci for showing us how awesome marriage can really be.
Happy anniversary, dude. Can't wait for 7 more.

Fun in the sun

We're back from the beach! It was such a great time. Family, yummy food, sunny days, and plenty of entertainment from our borderline ADHD children. Here's some great quotes from the weekend:

On our way to the beach, traffic is moving slowly and I tell Dan a story about how a few days ago I missed a light in a left turn lane because of an idiot in front of me who decided he didn't want to turn and tried to merge into traffic going straight except their light was red and no one could let him in. My story was quite long and full of a lot of emotion. No, me telling a long story? It's true, my friends. Anyway, Jake says "Mom, I'm going to find those bad guys in their car and I'll be the pirate and get'em with my sword and throw them in the garbage because they can't be mean to you like that." My night in shining armor.

When we got to the beach Jake proudly showed everyone his hot wheels, including a semi-truck that says "Farm Fresh Milk" on the side. Uncle Dan: "How do you think they get the milk inside that truck?" Jake: "Well, first they take the milk out of the cow's bottom, then they put it in a bucket..." I think I told him once that milk comes from a cow's body. Evidently I need to enunciate.

On a complete side note Ty just crawled underneath me while I'm typing and bit my left big toe. Hard. I said, "OUCH. Did you seriously just bite me?" Yes. "Why?" Because I want to. Hmm, sounds about right. Here's some other Ty specials. First of all, I need to clarify that Ty uses the word "because" approximately 28 times in each sentence. I don't know why. Just go with it. "No uncle Marc, because you can't play football because you're too older." Then, while looking at a very distant relative he's never met, "Is he a mean guy?" No, he's a very nice guy. "Oh...can I hit 'im?"
This next direct quotation didn't happen at the beach, but I forgot to post this earlier and it IS my blog, so...here you go. A few weeks ago we're sitting upstairs watching TV and I realize I haven't seen Ty in a while. "Ty?" Silence. "TY??" Silence. "TYLER??!!" I hear the pitter patter of tiny feet walking toward me and a faint "Yeah?" "What are you doing?" He comes around the corner with wet hands, and I'm pretty sure I didn't just hear water running, so I'm really starting to wonder. I repeated my question and he proceeded to tell me just what he had been doing. "Because my hands are wet, because I had a booger and because my booger was on my hands, because I needed to get my booger off, because I put my booger and my hands in the toilet--DON'T spank me--because I wiped my hands and because my booger in the toilet..." Dan and I were in tears. I wish you could have seen him. He stopped dramatically and pointed his little index finger right at me when he said "don't spank me" and then didn't miss another beat with his booger/toilet/because story. That about sums up child #2.

Speaking of summing things up...the beach was fantastic. Dan's family is so much fun, and the weather was pretty perfect, and Ty didn't vomit in the car like our last beach trip (gotta love Dramamine). We were surprised that Jake didn't actually like the bumper cars in Seaside. I believe his words were "I hate those things" after the white-knuckled 3 minutes that Ty thoroughly enjoyed. Who knows. They both loved the carousel at the mall (I use the term mall very loosely. I'm pretty sure the Seaside "Mall" houses the carousel and the crazy hat store and the "Old Tyme" photo studio, and...that's about it.)

Why no pictures of the vacation? Because I've tried really hard to paint a beautiful picture for you already. You don't really need actual photos do you? Actually, the truth is that I'm probably going to have to commit myself to an institution because I haven't been able to get my pictures to upload to blogger despite 385 attempts to do so. "Internal error," it keeps saying to me, over and over and over...I'll show you internal error. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow. Unless my institution doesn't have internet access. Then you're just out of luck.

The 6th of July

Happy 6th of July! This is funny because I seem to be a little behind these days, get it? Hope everybody had a great 4th, and nobody permanently injured themselves with fireworks. Non-permanent injuries...that's just fine by me, it gives me job security. Please don't be horrified, I'm just kidding. Sort of. ANYWAY...

We had a glorious day. I'm trying out some new adjectives, do you approve? It was marvelous, stupendous in fact. And delicious. Dan smoked some ribs that were finger lickin' good and we got to share them with our friends Vergil and Kelsey. Their adorable baby girl Olive didn't get to taste the ribs, but I saw her eying them. They were superb. Outstanding. Top notch.

We bought a few fireworks, but would have had to take out a second mortgage to buy anything decent. But the boys didn't know what they were missing, and had a fabulous time stomping on pop-its on our back patio. On a side note, whenever I say the word "fabulous" I always picture myself owning a summer home in the Hamptons and kissing all my friends on each cheek when they come over for a cocktail party. Fabulous.

Hmm, what else is mildly interesting about our lives right now? We get to go to the Oregon coast with Dan's family next weekend. We're planning on taking the boys to Seaside on our way there and riding in the bumper cars and teaching them to play arcade games. Ah, the memories! I'm pretty sure Jake will want to ride the bumper cars approximately 82 times, so hopefully the ticket prices are the same as they were in 1990 when I was last there.

I'll be sure to bring my camera so you'll get the full experience of the Stump Family Vacation. I'll be inviting each of you over to watch the un-edited slide show when we return, so clear your calendars.
Keep enjoying this magnificent, splendid summer, alright? Fabulous.

Sorry I'm a slacker, but YEAH for summer slack days! Dan's off work until the end of August, the kids are getting cute little farmer's tans, Felix is ruining our reputation with the neighbors as he barks gleefully, and my birthday money is about to buy me some new summer clothes. It's gonna be a scorcher today, so I'm told. But life is good. Here's some videos from a few weeks ago(slacker) when we got a play structure from one of Dan's co-workers. Thanks Jimmy Joe. (His name is Joe but Jake kept calling him Jimmy for some unknown reason. Probably because it doesn't really matter what we say, he's always right.) Anyway, I'm pretty sure Ty will earn his first trip to the ER because of this, but it sure is fun.

Are you feeling the passion?

OUCH

T-Y-L-E-R. Know what that spells?

Tough.

He was wrestling with Dad and brother while I was at work, hit his head, and cried for approximately 3 seconds before wanting to continue wrestling.

I cried for longer than that just looking at the picture.

It ain't easy...

...bein' cheesy.

We're getting a little more settled into our new house. Now it's back to the daily grind of trying to keep my kids out of the dryer. I was trying to get them to smile at the same time, and this was the result. To coax a grin out of Ty we have to ask him to show us his teeth. Sometimes there's a good result, but mostly there's a cheesy result. Actually, most times there's a frightening result. The dryer picture is more scary than cheesy, but it got me thinking about all the other cheesy pictures we have of our normally beautiful children. View at your own risk.

Cheese ball.Cheesecake.
Velveeta.
The Big Cheese.
Tillamook Cheddar.Mac 'n' Cheese. Roquefort.

And finally, my personal favorite, and The Most Disturbing Cheesy Picture June 2008:
This cheese, most definitely, stands alone.

Home sweet home

We did it. We moved. All of our earthly possessions are no longer busting out of our tiny house in Wood Village. Now they're busting out of boxes in the garage of our new house in Gresham.

In totally un-Ang style, I'm going to spare you some details of the move and just say that we are EXHAUSTED. And horribly grateful for everyone who has helped! But as exhausted as we were the day that every last box, bin, and bag physically traveled to our new location, the work was only just beginning. I've never been a neat freak, but knowing there's approximately 7.2 million things I could be doing besides watching the American Idol finale (David Cook rules) has been harder for me than I thought it would be. I guess I just want to be settled. And find a matching pair of shoes.The boys seem to be adjusting very well. They were waking up earlier because of the glaring sun rising directly in front of their window, but in an exhausted stupor, I nailed a blanket to the wall to cover the window a few nights ago in an effort to save some sleep and sanity (I'm headed to Ikea today for curtains, don't worry I'm not quite that bad at interior design). So instead of waking up whiney at 6:15am like they had been doing, they've slept until 7:45 and 8 the last 2 mornings.

We're loving the house. Know what my 2 new favorite words are? PLAY and ROOM. The fact that I'm not tripping over balls and sliding around the kitchen on seventy-eight Hot Wheels has been simply marvelous. And fact that I can simply close the door to this Toy Wonderland if anyone stops by makes me deliriously happy. Do you think the boys have made themselves at home yet?I'll show more pictures in the days, weeks, months and years to come (we're not moving again. EVER.) but you may just want to stop by and see it for yourself! Our phone number has changed along with our address, so email me if you need the updated stats. angstump@gmail.com

I've stalled long enough. A never ending pile of boxes are waiting to be unpacked. So I guess there's just one thing left to say. Welcome home, Stump family....welcome home.

What's in a name?

I was looking through some of my old posts a while back, when I had time to do that sort of thing, and I realized I had once promised to write about the nicknames we've given our children. Actually my words were "I should do another posting on the nicknames we call our kids and how they came to be. The nicknames, not the kids." So without further ado, I give you: Juje and Beebs.

Juje somehow morphed from Noonie. Noonie was just lame, and had to go. Can you picture me at Jake's high school basketball game yelling "GO, NOONIE!" ? Juje is much better, obviously. I'm pretty sure Juje rose to the top because of the Seinfeld episode where Elaine stops for Jujyfruit before going to the hospital when she finds out her date has been hit by a car. We called him Jujy for a long time, then just Juje, because it's so much less of a mouthful, don't you think?

Most recently I've tried to shorten Juje because one syllable is just too much, and then I realized I was calling him Ju, which could be bad if I was ever near a synagogue. So I started calling him Boo. Then Boo Radley (from To Kill A Mockingbird, RIP high school honors English) and then just Radley, and finally Rad because I'm obsessed with the 80's and shortening every possible thing (except evidently this blog). So there you have it. My eldest son: Juje, aka Rad. Now we have Beebs. His is not so long of a story, but his has not been so long of a life either. I'll probably have to update this one soon. I'm sure you'll all be waiting on pins and needles. Beebs came from Buh-buh which was what Jake called him when he was born because he couldn't say Baby. Or Ty, evidently. Buh-buh went to Bee-Bee, and I'm pretty sure you're clever enough to figure out what happened next. My youngest son: Beebs. Now before anybody gets upset (DAN), I realize Felix is not my child, but I'm adding him to my list of family member nicknames I'm sharing today. So let's see, there's Feely, Feely Mageely, Mageel, Feel, Feel McBeel, Mr. McFeely (Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, anybody?) Dan has some other nicknames for him, but I'd like to keep this a family friendly blog, so I'll stop there. Our dog: Mageel.Thank you to those of you who finished reading this post. You must either be related to me, or seriously trying to avoid doing something important.