Happy Father's day to my dad (pictured here with *a few* day old Matthew). He has taught me so many important things and I am so lucky to have him!! love you Dad!! Happy Father's Day Tom!! We are constantly inspired by your love and generosity!! Our boys are freshly missing you and so are we! Love you!
And my dear, sweet, husband. I can't imagine a better dad for my boys. He inspires me to be a better wife, and mother and I think I ended up with the greatest man in the world. Happy Father's Day Matt!! I love you!!
(working on finding a few good pictures of my grandfathers, but they are on a different computer, so later, probably)
Thank you Lord, for a sweet husband who is willing to wake up early, drive me and the boys into the city and wait while I run. Thank you.
Thank you for my sweet friend whose husband is serving overseas and about to come home. Thank you for all he is doing for our country, for us all. Thank you for his willingness to serve as a light pointing others to you.
Thank you for nice weather, and steep hills that I don't have to walk anymore!
Thank you for loving friends and family to surround each other in tragedy, to pray, comfort, and care for one another.
Thank you Lord, for a body that can move, run, jump, and enjoy life. Thank you for a fun race this morning, for neon pink hair, tie-dyed pants and not seeing too many naked people. Thank you!
Thank you for a wonderful church, for a family away from family. Thank you for giving us the chance to welcome others in.
Thank you for the sweet couple who sat next to us, as we ate after the race. Thank you for their willingness to talk about kids and teaching and wanting grandkids. Thank you for kind strangers who can become friends over a meal and snuggle my baby and make him smile when he is exhausted. Thank you for their unexpected kindness to us.
Thank you for neon hair dye, that washes out before church. Thank you.
Ahhhh, "not me's". The time every week where I question whether or not honesty really is "the best policy".
This morning I did not gripe and moan when Matt suggested that he take the laptop to his business meeting at the last minute. I wouldn't gripe and moan because I was actually babysitting, and OF COURSE I wouldn't have time to blog, and do other various (useless) things on the internet because I was attentively watching Joey's little friends. I most certainly gave him the laptop with joy and am not upstairs blogging on the desktop right now.
I did not plan on keeping my youngest home from church yesterday because of his very croupy cough, but then take him out to a street festival so we could celebrate the day. If he had something to pass on to other little kiddos at church, I wouldn't expose him to the general public. Not me!
When we had friends for dinner on Saturday night and I was showing off my new wall art while I was changing the baby's diaper, I did not specifically think "I HAVE to remember to wash my hands after this!" (especially since I was in the kitchen getting the boys dinner). Since I wash my hands after EVERY diaper change I wouldn't NEED to "remind" myself something like that, AND after a reminder I certainly wouldn't forget. ....and also I didn't agonize for several minutes, 2 days later when I remembered and wrack my brain trying to think of what I did next and whether I touched food and whether I touched OTHER people's food. *disgusted shiver* *waves at friend Sarah*
**Qualification for the next one** I sweep and vacuum regularly if not more often than average. The dog hair is just indescribable. Sometimes it really gets me down. *sigh* Please see THIS WEBSITE for more information, particularly: "shedding/grooming" "Not for" (ha!) "Cons" and "General Info"
This morning (while babysitting), I certainly did not tell my oldest little charge (6 years.) when she asked why there was dog hair in her food (which she brought from home), that it probably "came from her, or dropped out of her hair or off of her sleeve, since she had been sitting/laying on our floor". Surely if our own living room floor isn't fit to be trod/sat/laid upon, I would simply apologize and say "I don't know". I would not feel defensive about the amount of hair, TO A SIX YEAR OLD, and basically blame our messiness on her choice of play area.
I also most certainly did not suggest that OBSCENE levels of hair just "go along with having a dog" and maybe "you wouldn't want a dog" if you minded hair in your food. ugh. ugh me.
I'm going downstairs to vacuum now.
please don't judge me. *pitiful look*
*in looking for a good picture of an overwhelming pile of dog hair, to make you all feel sorry for me, I did not uncover this website, and briefly consider selling Ziggy's hair to people practicing HooDoo.
I'm joking people!!!
Oh lastly.....
I haven't watched this video like 4 times (since I saw it on my friend Susi's blog). We (Matt and I) haven't watched it together and laughed/lusted after the swagger wagon. We haven't been talking about Susi's amazing minivan since she visited last year. mmmmm Sienna...... (ohmygosh if you're going to watch this, double click and go to youtube to view it so your picture isn't cut in half. it's so hilarious)
We. (Seriously!) Matt fell in love with this van! He still talks about it!!
I've had this project in mind for many months and had big dreams of getting this done for our *whispers* bare-walled guest room, before we had some company in March, but alas, I am just getting finished now.
It's amazing that we've been in this house for a year and a half, and my husband is a photographer, and we still have very little on our walls.
Anyway, here's what I did.
First pick out several (I did 9) really cool pieces of 12 X 12 scrapbook paper. This is a great chance to bring some other colors into your room!
Then go to Home Depot or Lowe's or somewhere and buy MDF or plywood. They will cut it for you there, especially if you go there without your husband and pretend like you don't know what "No Project Cuts" or "No Exact Cuts" means! Ask them to cut it into 12" X 12" squares.
Grab some spray paint for the edges of your "frames", a can of spray adhesive, and some wall mounts for your pictures and go home!
Now you're ready to get your boards ready. For whatever reason white spray paint didn't work on my MDF. It might have needed primer, I don't know. $.97 wasted but luckily I had white paint in the garage. Paint (or spray paint) the edges (let dry) and then nail in your hangers and the boards are ready. Ugh. My nails were so short that I had to use tweezers to nail them in.
Now you can affix your papers to your boards. This took a little practice for me. Spray adhesive is super strong. It's like superglue but covers a much bigger area.
Now it's time to find a wall! You (may) also have to find your husband and ask for help hanging them up. This may be the hardest step of them all!
Practice arranging boards until you realize that once the screws are in the wall, you can move them around as much as you want.
Time to hang it up!
Snap a quick picture once it's on the wall and finally let your baby take a nap in the room! Admire later!
Hopefully I can get Matt to take some nice pictures later. My pictures don't look as nice as it looks in person. But now there is ONE wall in our guest room that has something on it. *whew* And it only took a year and a half!
Good morning everyone! If you are a member of PETA, please, read no further.
This morning I most certainly did not forget that there is wildlife in urban California as, on the end of my run, I almost tripped over a SNAKE and jumped about 3 feet straight up in the air! Of course if a snake did cause me to jump into the air from fright it would be because it was a giant man-eating anaconda, and not a helpless little garter snake. ugh. wuss.
A moment after passing said GIANT MONSTER, I definitely did not remember that HEY! I am a brave woman. Hey I have BOYS. I am a TEACHER. I grew up with a snake loving brother and we had Pythons for heaven's sake. I held them all the time! I should go back and get him!! I would never have turned around and looked for the snake and thought about taking him home, regardless of the fact that I was no where near my car and had nothing to bring it home in. Anything for an educational experience right?? I was not considering just taking off my long-sleeved shirt and tying up the arms, etc. to bring him home in.
Thank goodness I didn't find him. I may be a brave woman, but I am still a woman and what if he had gotten out in the car?? SHRIEK!
On my way home I definitely did not run over 2 birds in the middle of my lane. There's not much more to say about that one.
If I had, tragically and unfortunately run over 2 birds on my way home, in an unavoidable fashion, I most certainly would not have looked in my rearview mirror at the CLOUD of feathers and thought about how sad it was, and then thought: "but man, I LOVE this song, and I never hear it on the radio! I'll just enjoy the song and then be sad about the birds."
Do you think I am an awful person yet? If "yes". please stop reading.
If "no", feel free to continue.
I didn't...ummm..... search for a picture of bird feathers in a cloud because I like to illustrate my blog, using searches like "dead birds" "flying cloud of bird feathers" and "run over bird".
I'm not sad that I didn't find a good shot of the feather bomb that must have gone off, in the window of the car behind me.
After enjoying my song.... I didn't forget about the birds. You know, from 2 minutes before.
And I'm not way more concerned that you guys are going to judge me for liking loving country music than for killing 2 birds.
whew. I feel a little lighter! Small animals of Oakland, beware! I might go to the grocery store later!
Happy Father's day to my dad (pictured here with *a few* day old Matthew). He has taught me so many important things and I am so lucky to have him!! love you Dad!!
Happy Father's Day Tom!! We are constantly inspired by your love and generosity!! Our boys are freshly missing you and so are we! Love you!
