The Last Lecture

Yeah, I know. It's kind of horrible to rip off the title of a touching and important book for a blog post. Oh, well!

Mason has a routine as we leave the house on those occasions when we leave the dogs out of their kennels. His routine is to speak directly to them when Alan has them in a down command. What he says is a variation on the following:

"Now dogs.... don't do anything dumb. Don't eat anything, don't lay on anything, don't poop on anything, don't throw up, and don't die. Just take a nap and we'll be home in a little while."

That about sums it up, doesn't it?

M.O.P.

..that's me. I'm officially a Mother of Preschooler. Congratulations, Mason! You're going to do a great job. His first day of school was Friday. I think it's safe to say he loved it. I wasn't such a big fan of having to pry the details out of him. He was gone for two hours, and all I got was that his teacher gave them candy-- which I knew because he promptly asked me to open it for him. Throughout the day, we pieced together that they read stories and colored pictures. They also have show-and-tell every day. Of course Mason took Thomas; it seemed like that was a big hit with some of the other boys in his class.

... meanwhile, Claire enjoyed her brief stint as an only child. We played with her newest ability, that of rolling on to her side. I gave her some tummy time and this was about the only photo op without her crying. She seems frustrated that she can't move; if she can learn to keep her arm down, she'll at least be able to return to her back.

Kids get too big too fast!

A-Wanderin' We Go

We went for a short walk with some friends recently. Our trips included the library and Arctic Circle for ice cream cones all around. Mason rode his bike, and with the huge hill that comes off the walking path to the sidewalk, it felt a little more like hiking; Ashlyn found some flowers to blow. I'm glad we weren't by our already-infested yard! And Claire talked to the friendly animals dangling from her car seat/stroller.

In the end, Mason was exhausted, and came home toting only about half of the 12 library books he selected. Heather got to snuggle with Claire (and was spit up on, thus being inducted into "the circle") for a while. Mom got out of the house for some fresh air and sunshine. Overall, I would say it was a hit.

Three Months and Counting

Likes: snuggling, her swing and bouncy chair, sitting up, staring at the lady bugs on her walls, ceiling fans, kicking those long legs, her grandpas, sneezing

Dislikes: Mason's loud noises, the hiccups, being put down, the carseat

Is this how we pictured it?

At least, that's what Alan always asks me. Usually as we're sitting in the porch swing while both kids are crying. Our sixth wedding anniversary was last Sunday, so here ya go. I finally got around to it. Thanks to my mom for scanning the pictures, which gave her much difficulty. Thanks to Alan for putting up with me all this time. He must be crazy. It's not what I pictured, but it's what I would have pictured if I had known what to ask for.

Like good wine, marriage gets better with age - once you learn to keep a cork in it.

-Gene Perret

Six years

Two kids

Two dogs

One house

Nine jobs

Eleven states

One college degree

Many years to go

Love you!

Murphy hates my freaking guts

So on top of all the other stuff, our car broke down last week. In the grocery store parking lot. Alan had to deal with me towing it (I'm not great at that sort of stuff...I've barely got normal driving under control). In the end, it had to go into the shop.

We got it back today, $500 later; it's sporting a new timing belt, a new water pump, a new serpentine belt, and a couple of other things I cannot name. Granted, it is an older car with many miles on it. We knew it would need some help. Still, don't believe the guy selling a car on KSL when he tells you he replaced the timing belt. Chances are, he's a liar.

On the bright side, our mechanic is awesome. Email me if you need a referral.