Meggie Lou turns six!

Megan turned 6 today. As with Jake, it is so hard to see her growing up so fast. She already acts like she is sixteen! We celebrated her birthday with cousins on Saturday but she wouldn’t have been happy if we didn’t do some celebrating on her real birthday as well. She woke up to balloons, signs and birthday banners. We then went and got a color extension put in her and Katelyn’s hair (they begged — it was really cheap and they loved it so it was worth it). Then we got slushies at Sonic. In the evening we opened a couple more presents and went to see the new movie Wall-E. It was a cute movie and we all ate WAY too much junk. She seemed to enjoy the day. We finished off the night doing her “press on” nails that she got for her birthday. What a girly girl!

Megan has had a busy year and here are a few highlights:

  • She completed her first year of school (Kindergarten).
  • She played on the soccer team and was quite the speedster.
  • She performed with her Jazz dance team in the High School Musical Performance dancing to “Fabulous”
  • Now that she can read, she has gained a real love for reading any and every book she can get her hands on.
  • Megan is “Mom’s helper”. She is always the first to volunteer to help and rarely leaves a job unfinished.

She is such a sweet girl and we are so grateful to have her in our family. We love ya Megs!!

Can’t even believe it!

A few weeks ago my mom and I were visiting Macey’s grocery store and there was a nice Kenmore front loading washer and dryer being displayed. It was another dumb contest that you have to enter and then assume you’ll be contacted by a billion telemarketers. I walked passed it and my mom mentioned that I ought to enter it because my dryer was on its way out. I made a small joke about it being a waste of my time, but I filled out the form anyway. Well sure enough I get a call one week later and I won the stinkin’ washer and dryer!! I couldn’t believe it…the most unlucky person became lucky! I was so excited (which is kind of sad considering the prize winnings, but its value is about $1600). So now I can say I am the proud owner of a new washer and dryer. We had just bought a new washer about 6 months back so I’ll sell that one and make a little money too. Ha! The whole thing makes me laugh but yeah for me!! 🙂


All Hands on Deck

I defy any one person to keep track of Claire for more than an hour. It’s an impossibility.

Claire is the very embodiment of a free spirit. Now that she’s more mobile, Claire loves to explore the world around her — and is not the least bit deterred when no one else joins her. She can open doors now, so she opens them and just goes.

She leaves without the slightest hesitation.

The warmer weather exacerbates the problem. She notices more people out and about and she’s anxious to join them, even if she doesn’t know them. She’s not even going anywhere in particular, she’s just off by herself doing her own thing.

Claire is not the least bit shy; she will strike up a conversation with whomever happens to be around. Our neighbors told us (to our dismay) that Claire has gone into their house (uninvited), gone to their pantry and helped herself to a treat. They asked her what she was doing and she held up her bounty and said, “snacks,” and then just walked out of their house like she owned the place.

At Jacob’s baseball game, Claire nearly started a brawl because she kept “stealing” another two-year-old’s mom. Whenever the little girl would leave her mom, Claire would go up to the mom, say hi, beg for treats, and even sit on the mom’s lap. I’d never seen this woman before, and neither had Claire, but that didn’t stop her. The little two-year-old didn’t like Claire starting in on her turf and eating her fruit snacks, and we soon had a battle royale going on — and Claire was right in the middle of it. I let it happen because it was better than her wandering out onto the infield in the middle of the game (which happens often).

We’ve talked about a leash, an electric fence, a shock collar, and various other methods of keeping Claire to stay close, but none are very humane. We’ve resigned ourselves to enlisting our entire neighborhood to help watch out for Claire. So all hands on deck — this is a team effort. If you see Claire out wandering, please let us know.

You’ve got to be kidding!

So I bought a couple boxes of candy to give to a few of my neighbors for helping us in our yard the other day. I wrote a cute little note and tied a bow around them and distributed them accordingly. Later that afternoon Seth came up to me and asked me where all the boxes of candy went. I told him I had given them to a few of the people in our neighborhood that helped us. He said “Did you give them the milk duds?” I said, “Yes.” He then proceeded to tell me how he had been snitching the milk duds from the box and had closed it nicely so the box appeared untampered. I, of course, didn’t notice and apparently gave my neighbor a half-eaten box of milk duds with a bow on it. Oh my goodness! I am absolutely mortified. Needless to say I went running over to her house with a new box but she wasn’t home. I can only imagine what she must have been thinking when she opened it. Seth claims he had no idea that they were gifts (even though they were in a tied grocery bag on the counter). He got a good chuckle about the whole incident. I am so not looking forward to explaining the whole thing tomorrow. Uggggghhhhhh…

All-time Stupid

I’m not talking just a little stupid here. Not even close to just plain stupid. Nowhere near worst-FHE-activity-ever stupid. Not even major stupid. This was all-time stupid.

Before I begin my tale, let me explain my use of the ‘we’ pronoun. I will use the royal ‘we’ mainly to avoid any additional marital discord. So, even though (for example) it may not have been my idea to purchase a trampoline in the first place, for my marriage’s sake I will write, “We decided to buy a trampoline.” Got it?

So, back to all-time stupid… Continue reading “All-time Stupid”

Wannabe Roadie

So I finally purchased a road bike. My Dad rides, several friends in my neighborhood ride, and now I can join them. I’ve been wanting one for the last several years for fun and for exercise. And, now that gasoline prices are nearing $4 per gallon, commuting by bicycle will save me serious dollars at the pump.

I spent several weeks visiting the local bike shops learning about different road bikes and shopping around. I found several potential steeds, but I kept one eye on the online classifieds for a good used model to avoid the cost of buying new. I found one that looked promising, even though the initial asking price was more than I was willing to pay. After a week or so of negotiations I finally purchased a 2007 Cannondale Six13 Team 3.

Seth’s New Bike

The Six13 is a pretty sweet bike. For those in the know, it has the standard carbon fork, aluminum frame with carbon drop-outs on the top and down tubes, 105 components with an Ultegra derailleur. For my non-cyclist friends, all that cycle-jargon above means the bike is fast, lightweight, and cool.

My bike shopping experience taught me that bikes were not cheap, so I was able to set aside some fund for the purchase. However, I wasn’t prepared for the plethora of accessories and additional equipment any decent cyclist should have. And, surprise, surprise — it doesn’t come cheap. So if any of you want to become official sponsors of the Super Elite Seth Johnson Cycling Club, you can purchase me some cool accessories from my Amazon wish list.

I’m looking forward to becoming an actual roadie (you have ride several hundred miles before you can move out of the wannabe class), getting into shape, and riding with my family and friends. Manina has also been suspiciously supportive throughout this process — my only guess is that she’s looking forward to seeing me in lycra.

Mother’s Day

mom1.jpgGrowing up, I loved my mom dearly but not until I had children of my own could I truly appreciate what it took to be a mother. Being a mom requires a huge amount of work, sacrifice, time, patience and love. Every morning we wake up thinking about our children and go to bed hoping and praying for them. Being a mother is a divine calling and requires a special type person.

I am blessed to have such a mother. It is difficult to remember every day from my childhood but I can vividly remember how hard my mom worked — the home-cooked meals, the clean house, the laughs, the tears, and most of all the hugs and “I love you’s”. She is a remarkable person and the type of mother I hope to have become. She never passed judgement on another. She taught me to love everyone. She always helped those in need and has taught me the importance of doing the same. She taught me that cleaning can be fun. We could spend hours sorting through boxes together and organizing the “junk drawer”. The most simple experiences are the ones I remember the most. I cannot remember a night that she didn’t kiss me goodnight and tell me she loved me.

Now that I am older and find myself doing many of those same things I can really appreciate my own mother… Mom, thank you for being a such an amazing example to me. Thank you for all your sacrifices. Thank you for the late nights and for the loving words. Thank you for being my mom. I love you so, so much.

Springtime Sports

The next several weekends will be jam-packed with our kids sporting events. Jacob is currently doing double-duty, playing in both a soccer and baseball league. Megan is also on a soccer team and budding into quite a star.

Here are some clips from the games last weekend (I couldn’t get any highlights from Jacob’s soccer game because the wind was blowing too hard — it was too cold to break out the camera). Megan scored a goal in her soccer game and was easily the fastest person on the pitch, and one of the clips in the video proves it. Jacob played well in his exhibition baseball game, going 2 for 2 at the plate and making some good defensive plays at first base. Come see them play if you get a chance.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-1395381368916351882&hl=en

They just know…

friendshug.jpgI am the type of person that is generally able to handle all the things that are thrown my way. It takes a lot to trip me up from my daily routine and when I am feeling that I can barely keep my head above water I usually put on a good show so it appears that I am still in control. However, the past few weeks have thrown a few a kinks my way and it is starting to take a toll on me. I have been a little less productive and feel as though I am falling behind on a lot things that I usually stay on top of. It has been hard but I try my best to keep trudging along.

Today I was asked to switch up carpools and do a little extra babysitting. Of course I said “yes” as I almost always do if my schedule permits. I was happy to help where I could but was feeling a little overwhelmed with all that I had to do today. As I was showering, in preparation for my busy day, I got a knock on my door and there was my dear friend. She had arranged to pick up all my kids and the kids I was planning to babysit and take them to the park. She made lunches for all of them and dropped them off to preschool and kindergarten as well. I was resistant to let her do this, but I let it happen (which is hard for me to do). As they left, I sat on the couch and had a good cry. I needed that.

I then realized how grateful I am for good friends. What would we do without them? They know when you need a little extra help, a warm plate of cookies, or just a short break to pull yourself together. That’s the thing about good friends…they just know. I love them!