Rant, rant, rant!!!

Okay, now it's my turn to rant! I hate, I HATE, irresponsible pet owners and their !@#$ pets! Today, for the second time (that I'm aware of... it may have happened more), I found pee from some STUPID animal right by my front door! If I lived in a ground level apartment, I don't think I'd have room to bicker as much, but I live UPSTAIRS. Not only that, but each upstairs apartment has its OWN PRIVATE STAIRCASE! The first time, I'm quite sure it was a dog (due to the large, um, volume), but this time it might have been one of the stupid stray cats around here (because the corner of our welcome mat is also shredded now! I don't mind pet cats, but I HATE STRAYS! OOOH! I'm just really frustrated right now. I called the main office and complained, saying I've seen lots of people around here letting their dogs run around off leashes, and asked them what I could use to get the smell out. After all, one sure-fire thing that would attract more animal pee is, of course, the smell of animal pee! The first time it happened, last summer, I used bleach... large amounts of it. Well today, the lady up at the office told me that white vinegar would do the trick. Luckily, I had a whole unopened gallon jug of the stuff under my kitchen sink. I probably dumped about 2-3 cups, full strength, on the pee spot after rinsing it with a big ol' pitcher of water. I also scrubbed our umbrella, which also got peed on, with vinegar. By the way, if management catches someone with their animal off a leash, they get fined like 25 bucks... but that's a hard rule to enforce (due to the large size of our apartment complex and the limited office hours).

Well, now my entry way smells like vinegar. Vinegar I can live with... animal pee-- NOT A CHANCE! And, if it rains within the next few days, that might help dilute the strong vinegar scent. This whole thing is just a pain in the butt! Man, if I ever catch a cat or dog doing their business by our front door, they're not gonna know what hit 'em when my foot connects with them!

It may not sound like it, but I really do like animals. I just hate ones that aren't mine when they pee on and destroy my stuff! We're planning on getting a dog someday, and we've had many pets in the past (ie., guinea pigs, rats, love birds, hamsters, chinchillas, fish). We won't get cats because of my husbands severe allergy to them, but we'll definitely get a dog. For now, we'll just have to settle with fish. We've lived here for almost a year, and until a few weeks ago, we've had two empty fish tanks. We've got them almost all set up now... all we have to do really is get them established before we can get fishies to put in them. Fish are cool. They're clean, quiet, and require minimal attention... and did I mention they're clean?

Whew! I'm feeling a little better right now. It's nice to rant every now and then. I've got to get some stuff done now cuz we are going to the new Ice Age movie tonight. Jasmine is really excited about that. Ty had better behave himself, the little twerp! Tomorrow, we might take a drive up to Seattle for the weekend. We could probably listen to General Conference on the radio while we're driving, (we dont' get it on TV here in Oregon). I sure hope that we can find a station that is gonna broadcast it. I've gotta get some laundry done and stuff prepared, just in case we DO decide to go. So, adieu.

I need some fresh air!

I really need some fresh air! After being cooped up in the apartment for three days with a sick little girl and a cranky baby boy, I think that some fresh air will do us all some good. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we're gonna take a little walk over to the park that's kitty-corner to our apartment complex. There's a nice little walking path there, along with some play toys and a basketball court. Jasmine calls it "Space Jam." Well, any place with a basketball court, be it the park or our church gym, is called a Space Jam to her. Today on the news, I heard that we've only had one completely dry day all month... all the lush greenery is proof of that. I love the smell of it all, and I think being out and about in it will be good for us all.

I think Jasmine is finally getting over her gunk now, since she was playing and eating a lot more today than she has all week. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed, but until she has a day without any diahrrea (hasn't happened yet), I'm not going to say that she is completely over it. As I mentioned before, I'm sure glad that she's out of school for the week (for Spring break). I'd hate to have her missing so much school from being sick.

I don't know why Ty has been so grumpy lately. He's happy when he wakes up in the moring, but that's about it. I have to fight to get him to take a nap, and when he wakes up, he screams off and on for like a half hour or so. From then on, he's really grumpy, and the slightest thing will set him off. I wonder if he's teething. He already has eight teeth, but he's got 12 more baby teeth to go. I was reading an article about it, and it said that all 20 baby teeth are usually in by the age of 2 1/2. Ty is already 15 months old (as of today!), and the teeth he does have came in really fast. Some teething symptoms can include gastrointestinal upset and sleeplessness. Well, he has that. I've tried to look into his mouth, but that's not so easy to do without getting bitten. He's a wiggly little guy who doesn't like people looking into his mouth. What a pill!

It's 11:30 now, so I'd better get to bed. I am way tired, and I had a rough day. Goodnight.

A sick kid.... again!

You'd think that after a nasty bout of diahrrea and upset stomach, a little kid could go longer than three months before getting it again. But no, that is not the case for Jasmine. Yesterday after church, she fell asleep on the couch and slept for several hours. She was very sluggish the rest of the night and woudn't eat or drink anything. She was the same way all day today... and she's had diahrrea since last night. I really hope she feels better by morning, and that Ty doesn't get the crap that she has. Babies with diahrrea equals scary business. It's a good thing that she's on Spring Break right now, and that we don't have any major plans to go anywhere. She can rest all she needs to.

Today, I didn't do much. I had to return some Blockbuster movies that I rented last week while my husband was in Las Vegas. While we were at the video store, I picked up the "pink" Hello Kitty movie (it has a pink case) for Jazz, and I got the A&E Pride and Prejudice that came out like 10 years ago. I had seen parts of it before, but never the whole thing. And, after having just watched the new version that just came out on video, I thought it would be fun to watch this one and compare the two. This older version was a mini-series.... in other words, it was really long. I think it was probably at least four hours long. It stayed very true to the book (they didn't have to cut things out or alter them because of time restraints). While watching it, I worked on crocheting a blanket that I've been working on forever, and got a bunch of laundry done. I quite enjoyed the movie, but I think I liked some elements of the newer one a little better. All in all, I wouldn't mind getting either to add to my collection of chick flicks. That will take some convincing, since my husband isn't really fond of blowing a whole bunch of money for a movie. Maybe we can find them for a reasonable price on Amazon.com.

Well, it's 10:30 right now, and I am pooped. My stomach feels a little upset, too. I hate this being sick crud. As long as my husband doesn't get sick, though, everything will be okay. Goodnight.

Thoughts on Poison Control, building a desk, and giving a talk at church...

I've had a busy weekend so far. I'm looking forward to some downtime today. Yesterday, I spent I don't know HOW many hours getting my talk for Sacrament meeting prepared. Luckily, it didn't take me long to do get Jasmine's ready. While I was working on my talk, I smelled something funny. I looked up to see Tyler dumping a bottle of fish ick medication all over. I panicked, cuz I didn't know if he had gotten any in his mouth or not. So, I called Poison Control for the first time in my life. After speaking with the lady on the other end, I was relieved to find out that this particular medication wouldn't kill him, but may make him a little upset. It has a small amount of melaleuca oil in it (side note: I wonder if that oil is how the company Melaleuca got its name...hmm). I gave them my name and phone number, and they called back a few hours later to check on him. Luckily, he wasn't sick. I don't think he had swallowed any after all. Talk about a relief. Whew!

We decided to go out and about lastnight. We drove clear down to Woodburn, almos 30 miles away, to go to Super Wal-Mart. They have two in Portland, both on SE 82nd Ave, but neither of them are super ones... just the regular-schmegular-poopy-doop ones. We needed to pick up a desk or computer table or somethin', and that stuff is just too expensive at Target. We got a nice little desk, and probably saved 50 bucks by making the drive. When we got home, it was around 9:30. Jasmine was really excited about setting up the desk, because we are going to use it to set up our old dinosaur desktop computer for her to play games on (instead of stealing my laptop all the time... woohoo!). My husband was too tired to start putting it together, so I embarked on that fabulous journey all by myself. I ended up putting the kids to bed shortly after I started, cuz Tyler kept wanting to sit on the boards and get into everything. Talk about a little poop! So, I put the whole darn thing together all by myself, which for me, is saying a lot. I didn't finish until almost midnight, and then I stayed up to work on my talk. I didn't get to bed till after 1:00... yuck.

Today at church, my talk went okay I guess. I was probably better prepared for this talk than I have ever been for any talk. I sat down with my family instead of up on the stand, since Ty was being a little pill and wanted Mommy. Grr. That made me feel less nervous, though, so I suppose it all worked out for the best.

Jasmine did a good job on her talk, too. She was so excited to go up and give it, that when they announced that a little Subeam, whose name is Yasmine, was gonna give the scripture and opening prayer, Jazz thought they were talking about HER. Again, during sharing time, when Jazz was called on to help volunteer, she walked up to the front and kept on walking, right up to the podium. She thought it was time for her to give her talk. How cute. So, when the time came for her to give her talk, she was more than ready. Luckily, Daddy was able to end his lesson in time and make it to watch her give her talk, plus take Ty away to Priesthood with him. Now, I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet day where I don't have to do anyhing. Jasmine is already asleep, andTy is amost there, too. Man, that sounds like a good idea. ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz.

Not lookin' forward to tomorrow....

Tomorrow is a day that I have been dreading for almost three weeks now. You see, tomorrow is Sunday, and I have to speak in Sacrament meeting. Speaking in front of people is one thing, if not THE thing, that I have the hardest time doing. I don't know what it is... I just freeze up. I'll just have to make sure I have my talk completely written out tonight. That way, I'll know exactly what I'm gonna say. The talk has to take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. I'm guessing that it will be a struggle for me to get it to 10. I have been asked to speak on the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. Well, the first thing that came to mind is the fourth article of faith. So, I think I'll briefly touch on each of the four topics that it covers. The other person speaking is a return missionary, and I really hope that he doesn't have to speak on the same thing. Just to be safe, I hope I go first. I sure hope this goes ok. Heck, in 30 hours from now, I'll be looking back with a huge sigh of relief, maybe even with a chuckle or two, to see how pathetic I actually was beforehand.

Jasmine also gets the opportunity to speak in Primary tomorrow. Her talk shouldn't be very hard to prepare at all. We're talking maybe 2 minutes here. She has to speak about the theme "Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ make promises to me through the prophets." I need to go get that talk written now so I can help her practice it. My husband has to teach the Gospel Essentials class tomorrow, so I don't know if he'll be able to make it to her talk. I sure hope so, since Sunday school gets out at 1:00 and Jasmine's talk is at 1:05. It's just that he teaches on the other side of the church (and the building is HUGE).

My husband is off taking his driver's license test for his Oregon drivers license, so he'll be gone awhile. My hope is to have at least Jasmine's talk written before he gets home. So, I'd better get to it!

What a blah day.

Today is a blah day. I'm sure everyone has had those once in a while. It's just one of those days where you feel, well, blah. Yesterday, I never got around to showering or taking a bath, so this morning I was pretty grimy and gross. I put my husbands pajamas on when I drove him into work, and I was still in them when, surprise, my visiting teachers stopped by at 11:00 this morning. Well, I had spoken with them earlier this week and I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that they were coming... but I had forgotten all about it. So, as they were in the entryway kicking off their shoes, I quickly whisked a pile of dirty clothes into our bedroom and shut the door. The place was a mess, but they didn't seem to mind. No matter, I sure minded! Talk about embarrassing. Here I was, in my husbands pajamas, all icky and grimy from lack of showering, with a messy house. It's not like I had a legitimate excuse, either (ie. just got back from the hospital, been sick, been at work, etc). I was just very extremely tired. It was good to see them, though.

After they left, I finally got Ty down for a nap and then gave Jazz a bath. I then put Monster's Inc. on for her to watch, and I crashed for a few hours. When the kids woke me up, I got them lunch and took a quick bath. Man, I feel much better. I still feel blah, though. I think that feeling is gonna stick with me for the whole day. Oh, well.

Calling all LDS women Bloggers!

Calling all LDS women Bloggers!

He's finally home!

Well, my husband is finally home... well, he's already left for work this morning, but at least he's back in Portland. Last night, I drove to the airport to pick him up. Talk bout a rat-race. That airport was so busy and confusing to me. I ended up following the pick-up/drop-off signs to the terminal. I sat out and waited in my car, like a bunch of other people were doing, even though there were signs that said "no waiting". I figured that since my husband had called me and said he was off the plane, I wouldn't be waiting for very long. Well, after sitting there for about ten minutes, an airport security man came buy and knocked on my window, motioning for me to get moving (he knocked on the window of the car behind me and in front of me, too). I tried calling my husband to let him know that I had to move the car, but he wouldn't answer his phone. I started getting all worried, then I looked up and there he was. Whew. Talk about good timing. I was sure happy to see him.

I asked for him to drive home, since I was all confused about navigating through that mess. This is where things got a little, um, interesting in a freaky-type way. We were driving along, la de da de da, when all of a sudden, flashing lights turned on behind us. We got pulled over! I started panicking, as I do every time this has hapened. While the officer was getting out of his car, my husband reassured me that he wasn't speeding. Sure enough, he wasn't. We were getting pulled over because he made a few lane changes without signaling, plus he was weaving a little bit (I didn't realize he was THAT tired, and I wasn't aware of the weaving). My husband explained that he just got off of a flight and was really tired, and said that he hadn't been drinking, but offered to take a sobriety test for the officer. (Luckily, he didn't have to.) He then pulled out his IDAHO driver's license. When the officer saw his license, then looked at our insurance card (with our Oregon address) he asked how long we had lived in Oregon. When we told him, he gave us a stern look, then went back to his car with my husband's license, our insurance paper, and registration to do whatever patrol offiers do on their computer thingies. When he came back, he informed us that my husband was basically driving without a driver's license, since the Idaho lisence became "garbage" after living here for 30 days. He told us that he COULD technically fine my husband for driving without a license, but that he wouldn't. He advised that my husband not drive while he's so tired, and to get his Oregon license ASAP. (I think it might have helped a little when he saw that we ha an Oregon driver's manual in our glove box when I pulled out the insurance and registration forms.) He then bid us goodnight and went on his merry way. Gee, I'm sure glad he was in a good mood. That would NOT have been a cheap fine or penalty. He pointed out that the city cops aren't so forgiving (he was State Patrol). Needless to say, we switched drivers and I drove the rest of the way home, since I do have an Oregon license. Whew, what a moment!

We got home shortly after midnight. Jasmine was asleep, but Tyler was NOT. He had been awake ever since I left the house to go pick up my husband. Jazz woke up as soon as I tried putting her to bed, though. I then battled both kids until closeto 1:30 to get them back to sleep. Tyler wanted to play, and Jasmine wanted Daddy. They were both pretty tired this morning, especially Jasmine. I had to literally pull her out of bed to wake her up this morning. I drove my husband to the MAX station, since we don't want him driving until he gets his license. That's gonna happen this weekend. Paying the $59 that it costs for the test and license is nothing compared to what we could have paid.

It sure is good to have my husband home. The past several days have been very dull without him. He even brought us some nice stuff from Caesar's Palace. I got some comfy clothes and a dufflebag, and Jasmine got a purple shirt and hat that say Li'l Goddess on them. She's pretty excied about that. In fact, she's wearing her stuff right now. Well, I really need to go get some food in my belly now, and this blog is long enough, so I'm off!

My husband is almost home!

Right now, my husband is on the plane to fly back from Las Vegas. I'll see him in less than two and a half hours. I am so excited. He's only been gone since Sunday morning, but it seems like a heck of a lot longer than that. After discussing the matter with him, we have decided that it would be best for me to just drive to the airport instead of taking the MAX. His flight is going to be twenty minutes late arriving as is, and we'd be standing around waiting for a LONG time (like an hour or so) for a Red Line to leave the airport. As of now, his flight will be coming in at like 11:05. MAX trains don't run very frequently that late at night.

Right now, both kids are asleep. I got them to sleep shortly after 8:00. They will REMAIN that way until it's time to leave. I'm not worried about getting Tyler out the door. Jasmine is gonna be the real trick, since I won't be able to carry her. Daddy got her a surprise on his trip, though. Reminding her of that may be just what it takes to get her up and going. To kill time before I head off to the airport, I'm chatting with a couple of my friends. It's distracting me too much, so I guess Ill just blog later.

I miss my husband!

Okay, so I'm going on night number three here now. That's three nights without my husband. I haven't been able to sleep worth squat for the past several nights. Tonight will likely be the same. Last night, I think I finally threw in the towel at 1:45. It's not like I'm doing anything of any importance.... I just can't sleep. Last night, I ended up watching the new Pride and Prejudice movie (LOVED it) and The Importance of Being Earnest (cute flick).

Today was a busy day. I finally got the house all cleaned (minus the laundry--that one's for tomorrow). After that, I chatted online with my hubby for a little while. That was a nice treat. I then woke Tyler up from his short nap so we could make it to the zoo before closing time. We drove the car to the Millikan Way Park and Ride, then hopped on the extremely crowded MAX train that makes a stop right underneath the zoo. The elevator to get up above ground still makes my stomach flop... you go up almost 300 feet in less than 10 seconds. That's like the equivalent of almost 30 stories. Yikes. ANYway, the zoo wasn't very crowded today, since the weather was rather drab. We did walk through most of the exhibits, and I noticed for the first time that this zoo has hippos. I must have walked right past their exhibit several times before, since it's right between the rhinos and the zebras (both of which I had seen before), but I never notived the big ol' hippos.... two of 'em. Jasmine got all excited, calling them Gloria (referring to "Madagascar"). Oh, goody... now she can see Gloria, Melman, and Marty any time she wants! Sorry Alex, the zoo does NOT have any lions. We left the zoo a half hour after the front gates closed, and had an even squishier return ride on the MAX. Boy, it takes some skill navigating inside one of those puppies during the evening rush hour.... standing room only, with barely enough room to breathe. Try doing it with two kids, one being in a stroller! Not easy! Luckily, people are fairly helpful and understanding.

Well, it's 11:30 now, so I think I'll go watch some TV for a while before I turn in for the night. Or maybe I'll start reading that fish book I was supposed to have done before my husband gets home tomorrow night. That'll put me to sleep for sure! I plan on getting a bunch of that book read tomorrow. My husband's flight gets in around 10:30 tomorrow night, and right now, the tentative plan is for me to ride the train to the airport and meet him there. Ooh, boy... won't that be fun, with two tired kids. I may just opt to meet him at a transit station and pick him up from there. That way, the kids can sleep in the car.

I'm tired, but I can't sleep!

Yawn! I am so tired right now.... but I can't sleep. I miss my hubby! Tyler has been asleep since 8:30, and Jasmine since shortly after 9:00, so it's just me now. I've spent the past couple of hours just doing basically nothing.... surfing the internet and watching Crossing Jordan on NBC. Whoopee! Way exciting, lemme tell ya! I'm gonna try to go to bed when I'm done with this here blog, but I don't know how well I'll sleep. I sure hope my husband is having a fun time in Las Vegas.... he'd better be asleep now (it's an hour later there right now, so that would make it like 12:30). He needs sleep really bad since he's had maybe 10 hours total in the past three nights.

The kids and I rode to the airport on the Red Line MAX with my husband this morning. Jasmine was upstet to see him leave. She is already eagerly awaiting his return on Wednesday night. After we got back, we all crashed for a few hours (we didn't get back in time for church). Sunday just isn't the same without my husband here. I then made a lovely gourmet dinner (tuna casserole and Stovetop stuffing...yum), and my husband called. Aside from getting my husband to the airport, today hasn't been very eventful at all.

Tomorrow, I am going to try to get a little bit more done. On one of the days this week, I'd like to take the kids to the zoo. My husband left his TriMet pass with me, so if we go, it will be public transportation all the way, baby! Not only is it a fun adventure that the kids enjoy, but it would also save on gas. A few weeks ago, the lowest gas prices in the nation were right here in Portland.... they have since gone up. Where we used to be able to get gas for 1.89/gal it is now 2.19. Yay TriMet! The MAX stops in an underground tunnel that's right by the zoo, so it's rather convenient. I don't think that we will be going tomorrow, though, cuz it's supposed to rain. The odd thing is, today was the last "official" day of winter, and the weather was beautiful and sunny and warm. Tomorrow, the first day spring, is supposed to be cold and rainy. Hmm.

Well, Ty is fussing, so I'd better go take care of him before he wakes up Jazz. Goodnight!

All apologies!

I must apologize to a certain friend of mine for posting her blog address on my blog page without her permission. I knew she was trying to keep a low profile (as she clearly stated in some of her blogs), but I wasn't thinking. My husband, who is a software engineer (and rather familiar with blogging), was reading through my blog last night and he suggested that I post some links to my friends' blogs on the sidebar. After I figured out how to do it (which took a while), I got all excited and enthusiastic about it all, then posted their blogsites without permission. I realize that Dawnyel probably won't care, being that bloggers can access her blog just by reading comments she leaves, but this "other" friend of mine, whom I'm sure wants to remain anonymous, has disabled that feature. So, I removed her blog address from my blog page. If anyone out there, in the space of 12 hours, accessed my blog, they would have been able to get to hers..... I added it around 7 or 8:00 last night, and it was removed before 7:30 this morning. I highly doubt anyone saw it, but if she sees any suspicious threats or comments on her webpage from strangers, it was probably because of me! I'm sorry!

He passed! Whoopee!

Well, my hubby passed his exam yesterday. He needed a score of 700 or higher to pass, and he got an 867. I don't know what kind of scoring system they go by, but that sounds pretty good to me! So, that's one down, four to go! So, when he gets re-imburesed for this test (by his employer), he will turn around and dump that money back into the second test, which he plans on taking in like three weeks. I'll be glad when these tests are all over, and I sure as heck know that he will, too.

Using my resourcefulness, I finally figured out how to edit linls in the side margin of this blog. So, I have added my hubby's technical blog, along with the blogs of two of my friends. I think I'll add a few more here in a bit. I'm feeling pretty good about my "non-existant" computer skills right about now! My husband handed me an HTML book to read so I can actually learn how to read and understand HTML coding. I'm just jumping with excitement to get to that one, can't ya tell!

Tomorrow, my husband is off to Las Vegas for four days. He's going with another guy from work to a convention there. That means I get the kids and the house to myself for that period of time. Well, um, I guess I'm kinda looking forward to that, sorta. I got someone else to play the piano for me in Primary at church tomorrow, since I will be seeing him off at the airport. Jasmine is excited to see daddy fly away on the big huge airplane. He keeps teasing her, saying that he's going to fly away and never come back. Sometimes, I swear that I have three kids instead of two! I have to keep reassuring her that he'll be back late Wednesday night. We'll probably ride the Red Max Line to the airport tomorrow (so we don't have to worry about paying for blasted parking). Jasmine will love that. Riding the MAX train is one of her most favorit past times here in Portland. Our ride back from the airport will be the first time I've ever ridden the MAX with the kids and no hubby. They'd better behave, OR ELSE!

I have tons o' laundry to get done before he leaves tomorrow, so I guess I'd better get to it!

My poor, tired husband!

Last night, after we watched our TV shows, it was around 11:30. My husband then started to study for his Microsoft .NET certification exam that he has today. Well, he studied and studied and studied.... all night long. He didn't get a wink of sleep last night. Right now, he is taking a little nap before I drive him into work. I will also have to go pick him up and drive him to his testing place this afternoon. I'll be driving for a few reasons.... the first one being that he is so freakin' tired right now, that it wouldn't be safe for him to drive. The other being that he will probably try to study while I'm driving the car. This is a big test (important AND expensive). He has like four more that he needs to take... preferably before his one-year mark with the company he works for. He will have been there for one year on July 19. Man, this reminds me of when he was in school. Yuck!

Well, I'd better go wake him up here in a sec.

A few steps closer to fish tanks!

Before we moved out to Oregon, we had a few fish tanks full of fish. We got rid of all the fish, and almost all the equipment (except for the tanks, the stands and canopies, and one lighted hood) when we moved. So, for the past ten months, we've had beautiful empty fish tanks in our apartment. Actually, it looks really tacky. We just never got around to getting all the stuff to get them set up and started again. Well, last week we finally decided that we were sick of looking at fish tanks full of nothing. We ordered some stuff online since it's so much cheaper than going through the pet store. The poor FedEx girl is probably sick to death of delivering stuff to our upstairs apartment. She's been by three times this week already. We now have substrate for both of our tanks, along with heaters and filters. We got a glass canopy and a new lighting system for our 37 gallon tank since we'll be turning it into a salt water tank. I'm really excited about it. It will be my hubby's project, though.... I'll be to afraid to mess with it. I'll be happy to take care of the smaller tank, which will consist of mainly plants and maybe some teeny tiny fishies. He'll probably want to do that one, too though. As long as they look nice, I don't mind if he does all the work! This whole set-up process for each tank is going to take several months (cuz we're gonna make sure we do it right). At least we've finally started it!

Well, we're watching some TV now that we recorded earlier this evening, and I can't find the blasted VCR remote control! So, I have to play "human remote" for now. Goodnight!

Whew! What a busy morning!

I had a bunch of errands I've been needing to run lately. So, I just waited til I could take care of them all at once, then I wiped them out in one swoop. Today was the day for that. Man, driving around sure can take a lot of time! After I got Jasmine on the bus, I took a shower (an amazing accomplishment in and of itself for me to shower before noon). I then drove clear in the heck out to Big-O Tires to get that new tire that's been waiting for about a week now. I swear, it's like a 20 minute drive to get out there! They were quick, which was good. I was sorta racing against the clock to get everything done and be back in time to get Jasmine off the bus. After Big-O, I stopped at the bread store, K-Mart, then the Wells Fargo inside Safeway to pay our car bill. I still had one other errand to run, but I knew I wouldn't have time to do it before Jazz's bus dropped her off. So, I parked the car on the side of the street by our complex to wait for the bus. As soon as it showed up, I whisked Jasmine into her car seat and took off. I didn't want to have to worry about going out later (hauling Tyler around is very tiring for my arms!). We then went to US Bank to deposit a reimbursement check that my hubby got form work. Jasmine made sure that the bank teller gave her a sucker.

We're finally home! I don't want to go out again for a long time now... at least with the kids. I had to take Tyler out for every stop, except for the last one (we went through the drive-thru). My back is killing me from hauling that chubby little guy around! I put him on the scale today, and it registered at 26.5 pounds. Ugh! I didn't bother with the stroller, since that thing takes more time and effort than it's worth when I'm in a hurry. Getting Tyler in and out of his car seat interrupted the 20 minute nap he managed to sneak in. Now, he's grumpy. I've gotta get him some lunch... we ALL need lunch, then I'll try for the nap thing one more time. Grumpy babies are NO fun. It doesn't help that both kids got to bed very late last night because we were finally setting up the fish tank that's in their room. (We ordered some tank supplies online and FedEx delivered them yesterday.) Jasmine was really excited about that. Maybe, if I'm lucky, we can ALL take a nap at the same time. That rarely ever happens.... but it has been done before, so I know it's possible. I'm pooped!

I'm ridin' on a couch train down memory lane!

While I was chatting with my friend Dawnyel on Yahoo! IM this morning, she told me that she and her hubby had purchased a new couch set. This is so totally awesome for her, cuz she really needs and deserves a new couch set. Later on during the day, I was remembering our conversation, when... much to my delight and her undoubtedly-will-be-dismay, one of our childhood memories popped back into my head.

In all of our years of girls' camp growing up, I shared a tent with many different girls. There were usually three or four of us per tent. The one tent-mate that was always the same, year after year, was Dawnyel. Therefore, I have lots of camp memories with her in them. Now, most of those memories are locked away in a dusty chest somewhere in the back of my brain, but a few manage to get out once in a while (implying that I DON'T remember everything, contrary to what some people think). The childhood memory that came back to me today was the usual, me-bugging-Dawnyel type of memory. We were in our tent in the middle of the day, just resting a little in our down-time. Well, Dawnyel was trying to rest. I wasn't helping much. I'd let her drift into that comfy, fuzzy state of sleep where your mind begins to wander into dreamland. Then I'd wake her up and ask her what she was dreaming about. I did this several times, and she kept giving me bizarre answers. I thought this was hilarious, which was why I kept doing it. Of all the answers she gave, I only remember one (bummer, I know.... ) she dreamt that she was riding on a couch train. Like, what in the heck is a "couch train" supposed to be? I'm guessing that it's just a train that has couches instead of box cars. We both thought that one was pretty funny. And who knows! Maybe she wouldn't have remembered it if I hadn't woke her up. Hmmm......

Well, now that she's getting a new couch set, maybe she can form her own couch train! She has two old couches now, but it takes more than two to make a train, so those won't work. There are 3 pieces in her new set. Three would make a nice train.

It feels very late right now, even though it's only 11:14. I can't stay up late very easily anymore. Being a mom poops me out. Being tired has largely contributed to this blog entry. YAWN! Goodnight!

It's official! I'm now an Oregonian!

I did it! This morning, I finally bit the bullet and took the drivers' knowledge test to get my Oregon driver's license. I've lived here for almost ten months now, so it's about freakin' time! Actually, I tried to go about a month ago, but it was during a week day and I had Tyler with me (Jazz was at school). They told me that you're not allowed to bring kids in with you to take tests. So, I had to wait till a Saturday to take it, so my hubby could watch the kids. There are very few DMV's in the area that are open on Saturday, so I had to drive out to Sherwood to take the test. I got there about ten minutes before it opened, but there was already a line of at least 30 people waiting outside the building.

I had heard from numerous sources how hard the test was. Many people I've spoken with had to take it multiple times. So, I was all preparing myself for something totally brain-wrenching. I woke up at 5:30 this morning, this SATURDAY morning, to read through the manual and study. I was more than a little shocked when I went in to take the test. Talk about EASY. I zipped right through that thing, and it took me all of maybe 5 minutes. I went back and double-checked all my answers, then turned it in. I passed it on the first try! Whoopee! Now, when I have to show people my ID, they won't think I'm just visiting. I used to always get strange looks, along with comments like "Idaho, huh? What are you doing out here?" Not any more!

Well, I now must go. Jasmine hasa Primary party to go to (celebrating its 127th birthday). Tyler gets to stay home with Daddy, so this should be fun.

Another Auction!

Tonight, we had a ward auction and chilli cook-off. Yeah, this is the second auction this week that we've been to. All of the profits went to the girls' camp fund for the Young Women in the ward. It now costs $100 for each girl to go. That's sure a heck of a lot more than it cost back when I went to camp! ANYway, most of the items auctioned off were desserts. We ended up blowing a lot of money on two fancy desserts (one was a citrus-mango tart made by a pastry chef in the ward, and the other a strawberry-creme pie drizzled in chocolate) and a container of mango salsa. We realized we wouldn't be able to eat all of it, but we knew that the money was going toward a good cause. After all, our bids paid for over half a girl to go to camp. At first, we mulled over the idea of giving one of the desserts to the missionaries. That didn't seem right, though. Someone else had already given them a plate of cookies, anyway. When we got home, and my husband was bringing the desserts into the house, he got another idea. He knocked on the door to the apartment below us and gave the people there the strawberry-creme pie. Boy, did that make them happy! I have an awesome hubby, what can I say! We both feel good about what he did. Jasmine was a little upset at first-- she really wanted a piece of that strawberry pie. But after we explained to her that it was the right thing to do, and it's what Jesus would want us to do, she was okay. The citrus mango tart had a big strawberry in the middle of it. We gave that to her, and she was happy. Man, that tart is good, not to mention HUGE. We ate a fourth of it as a family tonight, so we have plenty more to eat later. The way I see it, tonight was a win-win-win situation for all. We helped out the Young Women in our ward, we surprised the heck out of our neighbors by giving them a dessert, and we got a yummy one for ourselves, too. Everyone is happy, even though our wallet is a little lighter. Tonight has been a good night. However, I think I'm at a good stopping point now.... no more auctions for a while!

What a fun date!

I had a real fun time last night on that date with my hubby. I dropped the kids off at my cousin's house in Sherwood at 5:30, then I zoomed on over to the Sunset Transit Center to park the car nad hop onto the MAX.... we figured that it would just be easier that way. The MAX ticket was only $4.00, and I would have had to spend more than that to find a parking spot in downtown Portland.... not to mention the time it would have taken. My husband met me at the library where I got off the train, and we walked to the hotel together. I cought the last 30 minutes of the silent auction where they were having cheese and wine tasting. I ate a bunch of cheese and crackers... they had all sorts of funky kinds of cheese. (I guess the cheese is supposed to complement the taste of the wine, but I wouldn't know that!) My husband bid on a few books. His boss, who had invited us, had name tags printed out for both of us. He accidentally had my husband's name printed on both of them. It had people giving us strange looks at first. His boss said that I should ask for my money back because of the nametag mistake (a joke, since HE is the one who paid for our tickets). So, I crossed off the name on my tag and corrected it.

Diner was really good. A live auction was going on during the meal, but we didn't make any bids. It was fun to see the auctioneer really going at it. All of the old, rich board members who sat at the front of the room were bidding on things clear up into the thousands of dollars. That was pretty neat. All of the money, in both the silent auction and the live auction, go towards the "Chess for Success" foundation.

My husband had to leave a few times during our meal to help out with their networking issues that they were having. He helped set up earlier during he day, and was basically "on-call" for them during the event if they needed help. And they did. I didn't mind, though. I still considered it a date. I think his boss kinda felt sorry for me when I told him that this was the first time we'd been on a date since we'd moved. It really is rather pathetic. I don't have a life.

My husband had me leave early so I could go get the kids. He ended up leaving a few minutes after me, and got on the same train I was on. That worked out nice. So, we got to ride back to the transit center together. We got to my cousin's house close to 10:30. Tyler was asleep, but Jasmine wasn't. I felt bad, cuz their two older kids were still awake with Jasmine. They had lots of fun, though. And Jazz and Ty were well-behaved for them. Whew!

It sure was good to go out with my husband. I hope it's not another 10 months before we go out again! It was a badly needed re-charge.

It's snowing! We're all gonna die!

I had heard rumors about it before moving here to Oregon. Now I'm actually witnessing it. Oregonians fear the snow! Schools are closed and many public transit bus routes have either been altered or closed this morning. For the past three hours, the only thing on the news has been stuff about the weather. Accidents are happening all over the place. All of this because of what? Well, for about 2-3 inches of snow. Yes, you read correctly.... that's 2-3 INCHES (not feet) of snow. AAAAAH! I took some pretty pictures of our blossoming trees in the snow, and I'll post those pics as soon as we upload them from our digital cam.

I think I'm just gonna sit back and relax inside our warm apartment today. Jasmine, on the other hand, has already bundled up and gone out onto the deck to play. She really loves to play in the snow. This is the only real snow we've seen here all winter, so I had to let her go out. I also took some pictures of her out there, which I will also post at a later date.

Tonight is the night that I go on that date with my hubby. I' m gonna drop the kids off at 5:30, and hopefully I can get to the Governor's Hotel by 6:30. Mapquest.com is like way stupid and needs major updates, so I'm gonna either have to get directions from my hubby, or I'll go the way I know (which is most likely the longest way). I hope my fabulous (not) sense of direction serves me well tonight.

Bill Porter is awesome!

This evening, as mentioned in a previous post, I went to Enrichment for Relief Society. I thought it was for the whole stake, but really it was just for our ward and one other ward that goes to our building. So, there weren't a whole lot of ladies there, which made it a more intimate affair (probably 40 attended). ANYway, we first had a dinner, which was simple yet tasty. Each table had a nice centerpiece made up of a hefty bag of candy (m&m's, skittles, gummy bears) with three helium-filled baloons tied to it. At the end of the dinner, we were told that there was one chair at every table with a piece of blue tape on the bottom of it. The person in that chair was the winner of that table's centerpiece. Well, I didn't win the one at my table, but I took it upon myself to snatch the centerpiece at an empty table that no one sat at (after obtaining permission, of course!). We then migrated upstairs to the relief society room (for those of you who don't know, our church house is like mega-huge.... the biggest meetinghouse in North America). We were all able to squish into the room to listen to our speaker.

She spoke of her experiences as being the personal assistant to Bill Porter. Before tonight, I had no idea who Bill Porter is. I now know that he is an extremely dedicated and passionate person who doesn't let his personal obstacles in life get him down. In fact, in his mind, he doesn't have trials. He is a 73 year old man with cerebral palsey. Up until a few years ago, he walked 7-10 miles a day door-to-door selling household goods. He worked every day, rain or shine...now, he does his work online due to a back surgery. ANYway, we watched a 20/20 with him on it, and it also had this lady on it (the one who spoke to us tonight). I can't remember her name off the top of my head, but she was a really good speaker. Listening to her made me reflect on the trials I have had in my life. I realize that life is not "fair," but that it also has so much joy to offer us, even in our trials. Everyone has their own set of trials and obstacles to face in life, and we all knew about them when we chose to come to Earth. Wow. I'm glad I went tonight.

Time away from the kids.... yipee!

I love being a mom. I love my kids. I love being able to stay home with them and not having to work. Keeping that in mind, I really, REALLY need time away from them every now and then so I can take a break and recharge. Well, this evening I will get the chance to do just that. Our stake is having its Relief Society birthday enrichment tonight. We will be having dinner and a speaker. My husband is going to get home from work early enough and watch the kids so I can go. I am really looking forward to this.

I will be getting a double-dose of time away from the kids this week. Thursday evening, just two days from now, my hubby and I will be going on our date (mentioned in an earlier blog) while my cousin watches our kids. I never thought I'd be looking forward to a date as much as I am this one... probably because it's been like 10 months since our last date. I sure hope my kids behave for my cousin. I also hope I don't spend the whole evening worrying about whether or not they're behaving! As I said before, I sure do love being a mom. However, it sure is nice to get away once in a while.

What a long day....

Saturday, we had a very long eventful day. After a not-so-very good night sleep (Tyler woke up a bazillion times, causing Jasmine to wake up and crawl into bed with us, squising me), we decided to head on into Portland for the day. At around 10:00, we drove to a local park-and-ride and hopped on a MAX train. We first went to check out the state Chess for Success tournament at the convention center. Man, that center is huge. It took us forever to find where the chess tournament was being held. In the process, I got separated from my husband-- he had Jasmine and I had Tyler. It took me twenty minutes or so to find him again. We huhg around there for a while so he could visit with some people he knew. We then got on the MAX again to commute to another part of town. We did quite a bit of walking, then stoped at a hotdog joint called "Good Dog Bad Dog" for lunch. Jasmine just loved all of the little doggy decorations in the restaurant. They had pretty good hotdogs there, but I didn't get the chance to sit and enjoy my lunch. I had to hurry up and eat it because Tyler was a squealy little crank. Lately (like within the past week or so), he's decided that he'll do a really loud high-pitched squeal whenever he's upset. GRR! Talk about nerve-racking!

So, after we ate, we got on the MAX and headed on over to the zoo. It was a beautiful day outside, and the zoo was jam-packed. We spent several hours there, then got back on the MAX to go get our car. We then drove around to some pet stores in the area (and didn't find what we needed-- GRR!), then ended up at Target. On our drive, we passed like one of the only Mexican restaurants in the Metro area, so we stopped by to eat their for dinner. It wasn't the best food in the world, but we had a fun time. We were so tired by the time we got home that we didn't do much after that.

Sunday was absolutely uneventful. After church, we cooked dinner, watched the Oscars, then went to bed. We got the kids to bed at 8:30, and we were in bed by 9:00. It feels good to go to bed early once in a while. I'm still really tired, though. Maybe it's becaue Tyler kept waking me up last night, and he ended up waking Jazz up as well. In order to prevent her from coming into our room, I fell asleep on the beanbag in their room at 3:00 this morning. I didn't sleep too well in there. I long for the night when both kids sleep all the way through without crying or coming into our bed! I'll have to wait a while... like 10 years or so! That's all part of being a mom.

The Bunkbeds

Here is a pic of the kids on their new bunkbeds. This was taken right after they were put up, so the beds aren't made yet. Jasmine has a tweety bedset, while Tyler has a Pooh bedset. Tyler hasn't had a problem falling off the bed in the middle of the night, but he does have a hard time getting down. He understands that he needs to climb off feet first, but he ends up falling istead. So, we have been puting our big green bean bag next to the bed when he's asleep. That enables Tyler to just crawl off the bed and "floop" right into the bean bag, then crawl off of that.

Tyler is a stinker!

Here is one more picture of my munchkins. It was taken about a week before my husband finished building their bunkbeds. Gee, having the bunkbeds is nice and all, but the crib definitely had it's good point. For instance, I could put Tyler in it and not worry about him getting into stuff while he was supposed to be taking a nap. And, if I ever needed to put him somewhere just to get him out of the way, the crib was also useful (I'd even dump Jasmine in there on occasion, to her delight). After we put the bunkbeds up, I would just put him in the bedroom and close the door if I needed him out of the way. That didn't work for very long, since he can now open the bedroom door! (It opens outward) That little stinker!

Tyler is also getting better and better at walking. He regularly walks 5-10 steps now before falling down. Yesterday, he went from sitting to standing up in the middle of the room without holding onto anything. He's done it several times today, too. He is getting to be such a big boy. It's so hard to believe that he is already 14 months old! It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. This whole past year has been pretty much a big blur, with as fast as it's gone and all. We have learned to cherish every sweet little moment.

A clean house is a happy house!!

Today I did a bunch of cleaning. Man, does it feel good to have a clean house, or what?! We have so little room in our apartment, and so much stuff in it, that it gets messy very easily. It's a chore even to keep the minimal daily cleaning done. That's why it's such an accomplishment when I get the bigger stuff, like the bathrooms, cleaned. That's what I've done today, and I'm happy.


Here is my little story of the day.... Jasmine was talking to me about the inside of the body while I was cleaning her bathroom. She showed me where her heart is, and said that it is under her skin and bones. I explained to her that the heart, along with the lungs and stomach were inside what we call a "rib cage". I went on to tell her that a rib cage is a bunch of bones that looks like a cage, and that it protects the heart and stomach and..." and she had to chime in "... and the poo-poo."

Nada. Zip. Zilch..... well, maybe somethin's in there.

Basically, I have like absolutely nothing to write about. So maybe if I just go "blah blah blah" for a second, I'll think of someting..... hmm..... blah blah blah.....

Well, a few days ago, I rented The Work and the Glory and Book of Mormon Movie. We hadn't seen either of those movies, so I thought I'd give 'em a try. We watched The Work and the Glory on Tuesday night. Personally, I really liked that movie. I think my husband liked it as well. I've read the first 3 books in The Work and the Glory series, and I wouldn't mind reading the rest of them. Maybe I'll even be fortunate enough to get the set some day. It's a really great story. Now, as for the BOM movie, I'm having a hard time getting through that one. I had seen and heard very little about it before renting it. I thought it would be good (after all, it's based on the best book ever written), and the actor playing Nephi is kinda cute, too. The thing I'm having difficulties watching is... the ACTING! Or, should I say, the LACK of it. Talk about cheesy. Anyway, I just have to keep telling myself that it was a low-budget film, and they just didn't have a lot of resources when making it. Besides, I haven't finished watching it yet. Maybe I'll change my opinion after seeing the entire film. Even if it does, though, it looks like I'm gonna agree with a friend of mine (you know who you are if you're reading this!) that The Work and the Glory was the better of the two movies.

It's a beautiful day today.

Today is a beautiful day. My home page (www.whitepdx.com) says that it's 56 degrees outside. It's been raining for the past several days, but today is partially sunny with no rain. I would love to go to the park with the kids, but I'm waiting for the pest control guys to come spray our balcony doorways for ants. I don't know when they're gonna show up, and I don't really like the idea of them coming into the apartment without me here. I was told that I wouldn't have to vacate it or anything, since it's just the doorways that they have to do.

Anyway, if they aren't too late, perhaps I'll take the kids over to the park across the street. My only dread about that is that my husband took the car this morning, and the stroller is in the trunk. I guess I'd just have to haul Tyler in my arms. Considering that the walk to the park is mainly uphill, I don't know how eager I am to carry Ty the whole way, though. He sure is getting heavy. Yesterday, I stood him on our bathroom scale and it said he weighs 25 pounds! Man, what a big boy! Jasmine was probably two years old before she weighed that much. I also put Jazz on the scale, and she weighed in at a whopping 41 pounds. It's about time! She stayed in the 35 pound range for the longest time. I think she may be finally hitting a growth spurt. She sure has been eating more lately. And of course that would have to happen, because my husband just built toddler-sized bunkbeds for the kids (she currently still fits on a crib mattress with room to spare). I hope she can fit in the bed for as long as we live here, since we built them to give us more room here.

Here's my story for the day. Yesterday, while Tyler was taking a nap, I encouraged Jasmine to do a quiet activity out in the front room (since all the toys are in the bedroom, which is off limits while Tyler is sleeping). She picked out a 70 piece My Little Pony puzzle and asked me to help her with it. When we had a little over half of it put together, she said that she wanted to put the rest together by herself. I was soooo tired, so I decided to lie down on the couch and close my eyes for a few minutes. She then piped up, "Mommy, open your eyes and watch me put the puzzle together." I suggested that she surprise me, and have me wait and look at th puzzle when it was completed. She thought that was a good idea. Things were going great until she had just two pieces left to put in place. One of them was missing. She asked me to help her find it, so I did just that. After rifling through some papers that I had cleared off the table when she started, I located the missing piece. Upon giving it to her, she put it into the puzzle. She then wanted me to lie down and close my eyes one more time before puting in the last piece, so she could "surprise" me by showing me the completed puzzle. I thought that was cute. She loves puzzles, and she is so good at puting them together. She is one smart cookie.

Buckets o' Fun

Since my friends were posting pics of their kids, I thought I'd better put at least one of mine on, too. This picture, which is also posted on my family's website, was taken back in January. Right after it was taken, Tyler took a tumble out of his bucket and bonked his head on the fish tank stand that's in the background. Things weren't so cute for a few minutes after that.