You can always tell when Eric is lying because his nostrils flare

Please forgive the state of my basement - I AM PACKING!

Ethan's Extended Family

Go Eric, Go Eric, GO, GO, GO Eric

HE PASSED! 86% - YIPPPEEEE!

Dun, Dun, Dun, Dunnnn

It's just sitting here, teasing me. I can hear it talking to me, whispering, open me, open me. I can't get Eric on the phone to give me permission so it will have to wait. I am not a patient person and IT'S KILLING ME.

So long old pal

I sold Eric's car on Craigslist the other day. The peeps came to pick it up on Friday so Eric has no car at this point. Eric has had this car since it's birth in 1994. That's 14 years ago. Eric is 32, he's had that car almost half his life. CRAZY!! It is still going - that is what amazes me.

Here are the peeps that bought the car. I wanted a picture from the front, but I thought that might be a little weird - me asking them if I could shoot their picture. So, I sneaked one from the back. The back says it all though, doesn't it? Mulletville! She was sporting the VERY Milwaukee Harley Davidson leather jacket and he was wearing some t-shirt with a car on it. They were very nice but both needed some serious dental work.

Cohen on his Radio Flyer - shifty eyes.

Ethan, scooting the bleep out of that scooter.

Thirtyone

Today's my bday. It was a pretty good one this year, considering I had to talk in church today. HATE IT! I wore this new skirt that Eric got me:



It went ok though. Eric had to as well - it was our goodbye....we will only be there for two more meetings. Yikes.





Last night Eric and I went out to dinner and movie. We saw:



It was pretty funny. I love Amy Poehler. I made me want to be a surrogate. I mean you can make a ton of money!







Eric also got me this stuff:



Marc Jacobs perfume & Philosophy face wash that I needed. It smells really good. I'm not much of a perfume wearer. I used to and then I got pregnant and I couldn't stand smells so I quit wearing it. I like this one though.













The nice part of the day was taking a nap and having food brought to me in my bed! And Eric bathed and put the kids to bed - one of my least favorite chores. So it was a good bday!

Bday conversation with Ethan:
E: Mom, who is coming over for your party?
J: What party?
E: Your birthday party.
J: Oh, I'm not having a party.
E: Why not?
J: Because when you get older, it's not normal to throw yourself a birthday party, usually they are thrown by someone else, which would mean daddy, and that's not happening.
E: Oh. Well, then how are you gonna get any presents? Who's going to get you presents? Don't you want presents? I like presents. I got presents on my birffday. I will be 5 on my next birffday.
J: You and daddy and grandparents will probably get me presents.
E: But, I didn't get you anything.
J: That's ok.
E: I think you need a party.

This just went down

E: Seriously, Josie, what do you want for your birthday?
J: LOL, you better find something.
E: Come on, tell me what you want. I always give you hints for my birthdays.
J: No, I want you to pick something.
E: Alright, if you don't tell me then I will just give you packing tape, sharpies, and a stack of cardboard boxes.

Like popcorn much?

Next months book club read

There are some benefits to sorting through your ENTIRE house.
This is one of them.
This will NOT be in the garage sale pile.
This will soon find it's way to Eric's bedside table.

Next stop, pharmacy.

Ethan had a visit at his PCP doc on Monday. And wouldn't you know, it's time for more immunizations. Yippeee! Three: Polio, Hep A and DTAP. You would think Ethan would be a pro about shots considering, but he was not loving these. He hates it when they put them in the leg. I don't blame the kid, these things hurt. Well, unfortunately, this round left me with an even more sour taste in my mouth about immunizations. As if I didn't have negative thoughts about them already...

This is a picture of Ethan's leg 24 hours post-immunization. Last night I sent Ethan upstairs to put on his pj's and he came running downstairs saying, "Mom I have a rash on my leg". Great. So I called the on-call nurse for our clinic and she told me to draw a circle around it so I could tell in the morning if it was getting any worse. Ta Da! It's almost twice as big. So we had to go back to the doctor today to hear the great news that it's a staph infection. Sick. And don't you love it when the doctor flat out says, "well, patients who have diabetes or impairments of the immune system are particularly prone to developing cellulitis". I'm sorry but Ethan has had tons of these shots and has never developed a staph infection - maybe your administration procedures are a little lax, or the nurse didn't wash her freaking hands, or you believe in the 3 seconds rule, or you double dipped the syringe in the vial, did you think of that? So, what you're saying is this is HIS FAULT, because he has diabetes. Bull shOt.

Impending doom

May 20th. Not only Anne's birthday (sorry she has NO blog to link to), but our moving day. Yep - it's official. Therefore, the packing has begun. This is our garage - I've made a decent dent in the madness. You should see the pile for the garage sale!




















On the list for the sale: Eric's 1994 Honda - I listed it on craigslist on Sunday and already had a buyer by Monday afternoon. If I knew it would go so fast I would have listed it for more. Eric's had this car since he graduated high school (yes in 94). Don't you think he deserves a new car upon graduation - I do!













Also on the list: Our queen guest bedroom set that we will no longer need. 1. because whatever house we have next will be half the size, and 2. because we will now be living close to all the family that ever came and slept in that bed. Also listed on craigslist on Sunday - the guy is coming to pick it up today. Ooops - we kind of need that bed for graduation guests. Uh oh. But here's the thing, what if I waited and it didn't sell? Catch 22.

Anybody want to buy our Land Rover?

Because every day is Earth Day at FLOR

I just got an email from FLOR - telling me that they are offering free shipping today! If you haven't ordered FLOR before, you wouldn't know that shipping can get very expensive because the carpet tiles are kind of heavy. For example, if I were to order 20 tiles, the shipping would come to $52. So, if you are in the market for a cute rug in front of your kitchen sink or a long runner to go down a hall way - check out FLOR. We used it in Cohen's room and love it. It is so easy to clean and best of all we can easily take the rug with us when we move! Use coupon code BP887W during checkout.

Enjoy it boys, because this is as good as it's gonna get.

I am stating for the record - I will never buy my boys a modern video game system. And I will try my hardest not to let Eric buy them one either. This is what I used (loved every minute of it) and this is what they will have to use as well. I think this may have even been the same tv I played on in Wichita - am I right sisters? This whole console and all the games were packed neatly in a box ready to move until Sunday night when Eric opened it, rude.

Earth Day

I ran across some of these statistics online today while checking some of my favorite blogs. Here are a few that jumped out at me...

1. the air inside the typical home is on average 2-5 times more polluted than the air just outside - largely because of household cleaners and pesticides
2. app. 300 million people will be suffering from diabetes in 2020 (mostly type 2)
3. most people spend 90 percent of their time indoors
4. the average father spends the same amount of time shopping for groceries as for looking after his children, 24 minutes a day
5. the western population compromises only 20% of the worlds total population but consumes approx. 80% of the worlds resources
6. only 9 cents of each dollar spent at conventional food markets goes to the farmer
7. the total weight of fossil fuels and chemicals used to produce a 2-gram memory chip is 630 times the weight of the chip itself
8. by 2005, consumers worldwide will have stockpiled approx. 500 million cell phones that are likely to end up in landfills, where they could leach as many as 142 tons of lead
9. we lose about one plant species every day
10. only 0.6% of the approx. 5000 billion plastic bags, that factories around the world produced in 2002, were recycled

Some of these statistics were scary. Now, I'm no environmentalist. I use said plastic bags to carry my grocery buys in, but I find way to reuse them or recycle them. I used to bring a bottled water to the gym each day, but decided to start using one of the dozen Nalgene bottles I have instead. Then, my FIL emailed me an article/study about how bottles made with polycarbonate plastic (look at the bottom of you bottle - if they have a triangle with the number 7 inside of it this is polycarbonate) such as Nalgene bottles, are linked to causing chromosomal aberrations. Great! Scratch that idea. We use those "green" light bulbs, but we drive a Land Rover. Yikes. One step forward, one step back.

Todays' Randomnesses

While getting dressed...
E: Wow mom! how are you doing that so good?
J: Doing what?
E: Connecting that thing behind your back
J: You mean my bra?
E: I don't know
J: Practice my son, practice

While running errands...
Random Woman: Do you think a child his age should have a cell phone?
J: Are you talking to me?
RW: Yes.
J: Bi@*h you better step off (ok, not really) Oh, you mean his INSULIN PUMP?
RW: Oh, sorry, it looked like a cell phone.
J: Really? I've never seen a cell phone with a thin, long, plastic tube attached to it.
RW: silent

Last time?

You know those milestones in your life that will forever change you? I'm talking about instances such as - getting married, having a child, sex, etc. I remember back to some of these events and leading up to them I would always think things like; this will be the last time I _______
- sleep in bed ALONE
- write the name Christensen
- wear real shorts
- wear a two piece
- sleep for 8 hours straight

I've started doing it again. Now it is always a question in my head, will this be the last time I ______ in Wisconsin?/at our house?

- refill the Jet Dry in the dishwasher
- sweep out the garage
- go get a Kopp's custard
- have to rake our lawn
- buy something at this Target
- visit this playground

The list gets longer and longer as moving time approaches. 31 days isn't very long considering all the crap I have to get done. I don't know how my mom did this almost 10 times. And she has five kids. 10 moves, all but one or two of them were moves further than 750 miles away. Granted, she had moving companies doing the packing for many of the moves, but that is a lot of work regardless. My sisters and I moved around a lot as kids, so much so that I went to three different high schools in three different states. Each time my dad told us we were moving he tried to make it fun and appropriate for the place we were going. Examples:

- Living in Kansas at the time, driving home from church on Sunday my dad decides he needs to get something at the gas station. Naughty. So he goes in and comes back with 7 pairs of sunglasses - and proceeds to tell us we were moving to Florida. Brutal.
- Living in Florida, my parents decide we should go out to dinner as a family. What do they pick.... California Pizza Kitchen - and so, just 9 months after having moved to Florida we are told we will now be moving to California, at dinner. (it's odd but you would think I would have bad feelings for that restaurant now, but I don't)

It didn't get easier with time either. Each one was just as hard as the first. And it didn't help that I'm not that outgoing. I don't talk to people I don't know. And I'm not very social. What was I supposed to do, go up to random people and say, "hi, I'm new here, will you be my friend, for anywhere between 9 months to 2 years?" Thank goodness I was an athlete and played basketball. Instant friends!

So, then I graduated and moved again - this time to college. I joined a sorority, and again, instant friends - some not as instant as others - but it made it easier. And now I will be leaving Wisconsin, moving back to California - which I left almost 13 years ago. That is such a long time. And even though I've lived there before, the circumstances are so different this time around that it may as well be Alaska. It's unfortunate that moving has taught me not to put time and effort into making close friendships. The inevitability of me leaving one day was always in the back of my mind. I guess that's why I chose a husband who's career required him to stay in one place; and hopefully, California will turn out to be that place.

I have a new niece!

Congrats to Julie & Derek! Addison Diane Barnes was born last night in Pocatello, ID at 10:30pm. She is 22 inches long and 7 lbs 11 oz. This is their first baby so we are soooo excited for them. She looks so much like Derek if you ask me. We can't wait to meet her during graduation. Love you guys.

Go fly a kite

Yesterday, it was above 70 degrees for the first time this year. The bummer was that it was crazy windy, but it allowed us to use Eric's kite for a fun little family outing. The wind was so strong that it literally pulled Ethan when he was trying to fly it.... you can see he is totally hunched over trying not to get pulled down.

Say cheese

The other day we tried to recreate this picture we took of Ethan when he was Cohen's age. We will have to shoot it again when it is sunny out, but it's ok for now. Until I looked at these pictures side by side I didn't realize how different they look. Their bodies are pretty much identical but their faces are really different. Ethan hasn't had curly hair like that forever and his head looked way too big for his shoulders back then. Cohen really needs to get in the sun - he is so pasty.

Raise Your Voice

April 14th is Raise Your Voice for Type 1 Diabetes Awareness Day.

Ethan was diagnosed with Diabetes when he was only 18 months. He's lived with it now for more than half his life. It's going on 3.5 years - which sounds like a long time now that I write it down, but it's gone by fast. When I think back to the time Ethan was diagnosed it all seems like a blur, but the thing that stands out to me was that I knew everything would be fine, that Ethan would deal well with the disease, and that it was something I could handle. I have to say, as diseases go, and if it was mandatory that my kid contracts one in his lifetime, I would probably pick Diabetes. It is a pain, granted, but it is very manageable. It is also a disease that I feel, has a great chance to be cured.

Studies are published all the time telling of the advances they are making for the cure. My FIL cut an article out for me just the other day in which researchers successfully conducted a study that used human stem cells to treat diabetic mice. The scientists cultured the cells for 12 days in a medium that directed them to become pancreatic cells. These were transplanted into mice whose own pancreatic cells had been deliberately destroyed, making them insulin-deficient. Within 45 days, new cells began producing fresh insulin. Amazing!

Celebrities Help Raise Awareness

Gary Hall has won 10 Olympic medals and he's going for more! In 1999, a little more than a year from the 2000 Olympics, Gary was diagnosed with Diabetes. He says, at the time of diagnosis, he was suicidal - his doctors had told him he needed to stop training. Now, he volunteers at Children's Hospital of Orange County by visiting with diabetic children and their parents. You can help Raise Awareness by cheering on Gary in the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games!

Elliot Yamin, previous American Idol contestant and current recording artist also has Type 1. Elliot is currently raising awareness by partnering with the JDRF (Juvenille Diabetes Research Foundation) to co-chair the Promise to Remember Me Campaign in Washington DC.


Little Ways You Can Raise Awareness

The next time you are at the grocery store check out Old Orchard's Healthy Balance line of juices. They have 10 different flavors which taste just like regular juice with only 6g of carb/8 oz of juice. There is 75% less sugar (good for all kids, not just diabetics) than regular juice - no cavities!! Plus Old Orchard will donate money to the JDRF for every label that is collected. Click on the link for a $5 Coupon.



Every state has a JDRF chapter that organizes multiple Diabetes Walks around their state throughout the year. Go to the JDRF website to find out when the next walk is scheduled for your area. This year, I will be participating in Orange County for the first time. I hope their walk is as fun as the walks in Wisconsin have been. The OC walk is scheduled for November 9th @ UCI. For all of you that read this that live in Orange County I better see you there!!



Ethan has been a total stud about his Diabetes. He was blessed, in my mind, to have been diagnosed before he was old enough to know anything different. If I tell him I need to test him, he doesn't fight it, he just sticks out his finger. Back when we were still giving him shots he didn't object to that either. Today, the pump he uses makes life a whole lot easier and less painful. He likes to push the buttons (that I tell him to push) and test himself sometimes. He is proud of his condition and likes to tell his friends about his pump and the fun trips to the zoo for the walk. He really has taken it all in stride. I hope and pray that Cohen will not follow in Ethan's footsteps, but I know if he is diagnosed he is going to have a pretty sweet role model of a brother to look up to. A big thanks goes out to all of our friends and family that have supported Ethan throughout all of this. We couldn't do it without you!

The Good

It's Sunday. Phew. It's officially over. Eric feels really good about how he did on his boards and I am so happy it turned out well. Now that it's over, I have been waiting for the dreams to begin, but, they haven't started, probably because I can't stop reliving the nightmare that was this past weekend.

Popcorn & TV with Papa

Bunk bed room at the hotel.

MSP - KC, flight is On Time!

Kansas City BBQ

The place was so old school.
It's in a bad area and has it's own security guard but yet the line was very long.

BBQ sauce anyone?

Sonic Cherry Limeaid - so GOOD.
(diet sprite all you "hogs")

The Bad

WEDNESDAY
3:00pm Eric arrives KC. Rents a car, drives to the hotel, calls his buddy, goes out to a nice dinner, goes to sleep.
11:00pm Ed and Diane arrive Milwaukee.

THURSDAY
7:00am Eric wakes up for Boards Orientation, has lunch, takes a written test, goes back to the hotel for a nap.

3:00pm I leave for the airport with Chris (patient #1 - 24 year old WI native, dresses very goth, has long fingernails but does NOT play the guitar, smokes, is a bar tender, swears about ever 4 words, has a suspended license and can only get on the plane thanks to his passport), we park at the airport, check-in, get through security.

4:00pm Locate Alex (patient #2 - 19 year old WI native, short, skinny, red head kid, likes to draw and is taking graphic design/animation courses, listens to Ipod constantly, quiet but good kid), find out that our plane is delayed 30 min, no biggie, we'll still make our connection in Minneapolis.

...remember in my previous post when I said "the difficulty comes when I have to ____"? I take ALL of that back. ALL OF IT! Would the court please strike that previous information from their minds and replace it with this:

5:00pm Start boarding our plane, only to get to row 4 before they tell us all to get off because Air Traffic Control has grounded us for 2 hours. Supposedly, there is a winter storm warning that stretches from the Dakotas clear to Minneapolis. The snow is beginning to accumulate and there is only one runway open for flight to come in and out of. PANIC! I officially start stressing. I run off the flight knowing that if at least one of the two patients doesn't make it to KC tonight, Eric is failing his exam and all of this planning was for nothing.

I get to the ticket counter where there is already three people waiting to be rescheduled. Luckily, none of them were going to KC. There just so happens to be one flight going out on Midwest Airlines direct, but there is only ONE seat available. I'll take it. I get Alex booked on the flight which arrives KC at 9:30pm. Sorry Eric, guess you're not going to be getting to bed early tonight. Then the lady re-books Chris and I on a different connecting flight for MSP-KC at 6:45am Friday morning. It arrives KC at 8:30am which, assuming we leave Minneapolis on time, will give me 3 hours to get our luggage, hop a shuttle to downtown and to the dental chair that he has to be sitting in at 12 noon. Doable.

6:00pm I call Eric who is currently eating dinner at Houston's with his buddy. Of course I am in a panic telling him all that has happened and he says, "well what do you want me to do?" UMMMM - how about a. leave the restaurant b. get to the closest computer to check other flight options c. rent me a car because i might have to drive the 9.5 hours at this point because who knows if we will ever get off the ground in Milwaukee let alone take off tomorrow from Minneapolis on time??? But, what am I thinking - I don't think Eric has ever scheduled a flight for himself - he wouldn't have the first clue about what to do. So I call Ed and Diane...

J: Hey, guess where I am!?!
D: Where?
J: Milwaukee
D: What?
J: Ummm, no joke. Can you check the weather for me?
E: Not looking good. Maybe we should drive.
J: I might have to at this point.

- Meanwhile Chris (patient) is asking me what his "rules" are for when we get to Minneapolis. Rules? Well, he has some friends in Minnesota he hasn't seen in a while and would like to party with them if I will let him. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You think for one second I am going to let you go off bar hopping when we have to catch a possible 6:45am flight to KC?

C: So... what do you think?
J: Are you serious right now? Chris you are killing me. Do you not see how stressed I am and you think I am going to let you go out tonight?
C: No, I was just thinking they could come to the hotel.
J: How many people are you talking?
C: 2.
J: And you are going to just stay at the hotel?
C: Yes, maybe go in the hot tub.
J: How are you going to wake up for the flight?
C: I will probably just stay awake all night.
J: You cannot be wasted when we get on the plane. Two drink maximum.
C: I just had two drinks at the airport bar... 2 does nothing to me.
- at this point it was like I was talking to an alcoholic child
J: TWO drinks, and you will give me a key to your room.

We decide to skip the driving idea and just get on the plane, hoping it would all work out. So at 8pm we board the plane for a second time. The plane pulls back from the gate and surprise surprise, "um, this is your captain speaking, we have been grounded for another hour and a half, sorry for this delay, we will be waiting on the tarmac until we get the ok from air traffic control to take off". And here's where the waterworks started. It had been building but this sent me over the edge. I have heard all the horror stories of airplanes being stuck on the ground for 8 hours not being able to get off the plane just because they have "pulled away from the gate". Why that is a valid excuse - I have no idea. I do remember a flight attendant telling me once that they only get paid from the time they pull away from the gate until they arrive at the next gate. If they are delayed, they do not get paid. So I see it as no coincidence that not two seconds after we pull away from the gate we get word we will have to be waiting again. They knew full well we were grounded for longer and hurried us on the plane only so they could get paid. So, now I'm stuck. I have no other options at this point to hope that we make it to MSP in time for the flight the next morning.

10:30pm We finally arrive in Minneapolis. The flight was the bumpiest ride I have ever been on and the landing was just as sketchy. Never have I had a flight attendant get on the intercom and tell us flat out, "buckle you seat belts, it's going to be a rough landing". We go straight to the ticket counter to get our boarding passes for the next mornings flight and a hotel room for the night. No hotels available. Sold out. But, we can grab a mattress and sleep at the gate. This was actually good news because the flight was only 8 hours away at this point and I didn't want Chris partying with his friends. He was irritated and needed a cigarette. We started walking towards the exit so he could smoke and I noticed on the monitors that our original connecting flight was still here. What? They just gave us boarding passes for tomorrows flight knowing full well our original connection was still at the gate. Sorry Chris, no time for a cigarette. We start running to the gate. And wouldn't you know - 1 seat available. They had given mine away because they already re-ticketed me. Fine, I will sleep in the airport.

J: Chris, get on the plane - get a taxi to the hotel - Eric will come see you in the morning.
C: Ugh, I need a cigarette...
J: - roll of the eyes -
C: OK.

10 minutes later, ring ring...

C: Where are you?
J: In the terminal, why?
C: They are kicking me off the flight.
J: What??
C: The plane is too heavy.
J: You ARE KIDDING ME!!!
C: No, but guess what - because they are kicking me off I get a $300 voucher to fly again and a free hotel for the night, isn't that great?
J: Ummmmmm.... I guess (NOOOOOOO!)

FRIDAY
12:30am Arrive at the hotel. Did I mention that I would be sharing a hotel room with this guy? Awkward!!! His first priority was to get to the hotel bar. Good news - his friends were not going to be meeting up with him because the weather was too bad. Another bonus - the hotel room had a separate room with two sets of bunk beds. I turn on the TV to check out the weather and Chris hits the bar.

2:00am Finally fall asleep.

4:30am Wake up, the shuttle to the airport leaves at 5. And since we have no luggage there will be no showering.

4:50am Get to the lobby to wait for the shuttle. The shuttle seats 32 people and there are about 65 in line. NOOOOO. I ask the desk clerk to call me a taxi and head out side for a deep breath. I notice a man, regular looking business man, putting luggage into his trunk.

J: Hi, are you going to the airport?
Tom: Yes.
J: Would you, I mean, do you think, um, could you give me a ride?
Tom: Sure.
J: I LOVE YOU! Oh, and could you bring this guy I am traveling with?
Tom: Ok.

5:20am We get to the airport, through security, and have an hour to wait for our flight which ends up being on time!! We get to the hotel around 10:00, just enough time for us to get cleaned up and over to the dental school. Eric - all the while, not knowing if he would even have another patient to work on. He was very happy to see us!

Now, our only other worry was if Desaree Dawn (45 year old Italian, WI native, also a smoker, only flown once before in her life, and has a Granddaughter named StarDayzia) would make it on her flight that leaves later that night. And she did.

SATURDAY
9:00am Desaree Dawn goes back to be screened by the doctors to see if she qualifies to be a patient. The doctor is humming and haaing about whether or not she qualifies. She thankfully, turns on the charm, pleading with him that she really needs her teeth cleaned, that it's been 5 years and that she flew all the way from Milwaukee for this. Eventually, he says ok - but Eric thinks it's only because she pleaded with him. That could have been bad. Very bad.

There were so many BAD things that happened this past weekend it amazes me that everything went according to plan on Eric's end. If I had decided to stay home with the kids and just send the patients on their respective flights there would have been no chance of getting them there on time. Thankfully, Ed and Diane were gracious enough to come out and watch the boys so that I could be there to deal with all the crap so Eric didn't have to. I've realized that even if I never get the chance to be on the Amazing Race that I sure did get a taste of what it would be like, although I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pick Chris to be my partner.

And The Ugly

Me, after 2.5 hours of sleep - on the flight to KC.

Chris, after 2 hours of sleep on the same flight.

Bon Voyage

Eric is taking off today for his National Clinical Boards in Kansas City. Why Kansas City you ask? Well, because since Eric wants to practice in California he has to take a certain boards exam that CA accepts. Unfortunately, Marquette does not offer this test. Therefore, the closest and least expensive school offering it was in KC. So, not only does Eric have to bring all of this:

dental shiz with him, but he had to screen multiple patients to find the perfect candidate for what they require and then BEG them to fly to KC. The easy part is finding the patients. The difficulty comes when I have to schedule 5 different flights, put up 3 + Eric & I in hotel rooms, pay for all their food + extra just for coming, hire a dental assistant to assist during his procedures, rent a car, pay for the testing fee, fly in my very supportive in-laws to watch our kids, try and reassure Eric that it will be a piece of cake, all the while praying these people actually show up for their flights because if they don't Eric fails. It has been a total nightmare the past two weeks. Senior year has not been the dream I thought it would be. But, as of this Saturday, the nightmare will be over and the dreaming can begin.

Brush and floss people

I bet you don't have a cool jar of people's teeth sitting on your counter at home...

For the love of Oprah, part 2

Tonight Eric, the boys and I attended a baptism at our ward building. We take our seats in the back knowing full well Cohen will not last the entire hour. The opening prayer is given and the program begins. Of course, the first thing Ethan notices is that there is a table set up in the back with plates and napkins on it. (food is instantly on the brain!)

E: Mom, what is that table for back there?
J: Oh, probably cookies and punch.
E: Well, where are they?
J: In the kitchen, we don't get them until it's over and ONLY if you are good.
E: Ok, I will be good. (now folding his arms)


A woman is now finished giving her talk on baptism and the man who is getting baptized stands up along with our former bishop who will be performing the ordinance.

E: Look Mom, it's the man from Oprah.
J: Who?
E: That guy over there, Oprah's friend the doctor.
J: (attempting not to laugh - but at the same time mildly impressed) No Ethan, that's not Dr. Oz, that's our old bishop.
E: Oh.

by the way - he has no idea about this crazy conversation or the picture i took of him

I guess my boys like red pants

It's actually above 50 degrees today. Imagine that! And I hear it may even be 60 tomorrow. Won't you be glad when I live in CA and no longer have to complain about the weather in almost every post? Here's some pics from today's park outing.

How silly does he look in this swing? He just had to swing next to Cohen.





Ethan was a little low after the hour and a half we spent there and I had nothing to give him so we took a quick trip to McD's for a chocolate chip cookie - I'm not sure if Cohen managed to get any of the chocolate in his mouth...