She Made it Through Freshman Year!

Auntie came home for the summer and, despite the first picture, both girls were elated to see her. She just finished up her first year of college. I heard she slept for a week straight when she came home. Sounds good to me... where do I sign up for that one? It's funny how you spend your (well me, really) whole childhood trying to not go to bed and spend your whole adulthood doing everything you can to get back to bed as fast as you can. I am still fighting that one a bit (David tells me when it is time to go to bed... if not I would stay up all night and all day. I can't figure it out. I guess I have Peter Pan syndrome). Anyway, even though these pictures are almost a month old (she came back at the end of April), I thought I would add them anyway. As they say in Ghostbusters 2, when talking about the ghost of the Titanic reappearing, "Better late than never." Enjoy!

Yeah, um, as Boo gets older, her facial expressions get stranger. We still love her!

We love the Dora doll... and the dirty face. I think most pictures of our children they have the remnants of some sort of meal on their face. Why that is, I will never know. Could it be because they haven't had their face cleaned by the time I want to take their picture? You bet your sweet bippy it is!

She has a sweating problem, ok! Actually, I think that is drool, but you never know.

Even though I know they won't believe us, that screen has been ripped since we moved in that place. I promise, I wrote it down!

Deer in headlights and her sidekick deer in bumper.

Disgruntled and Gruntled.

I am going to pull this door in the house. Just watch me!

She looks like a dog hanging out of the car window.

What? What is that you say?

Best thing ever!!!

This pillow smells Downy fresh! YES!!

Ummm... her hand looks really weird and it's scaring me!

The Calm After the Stis-Zorm

Let me tell you what... what you say? Can I get a what, what? Ok, latey makes me crazee. Especially since I stayed up late last night making banana bread for who knows what reason. It turned out loverly (I guess, people can say that to your face and then spit it out you know... I trust these folks though), but I paid for it in exhaustion bucks today.

Well, the move went swell-like. We got a lot of things into boxes and put a lot of things into trash bags. I told David it was our white trash luggage (pun intended). We even had some duct tape to seal the deal. It ended up being a lot of work. And what a mess. It was actually quite tragic that we were moving out, but so traumatic at move end that we didn't have time for emotions, if you know what I mean. At least I know where the computer and a few of my clothes are at at this moment in time. I feel like I have been wearing the same thing for the past week, but that's because I have been. At least there is a washing machine around! Boo and Bo's grandpa has been great in letting us stay with him. He is keeping us in shape as well. We have been running several times and I rode a bike for the first time since I was a sophomore in high school. Who knew turning around was so difficult, but when I almost had a pavement pie for dessert, it must be so for me. I am just a little behind. My dad told me that I couldn't ride my bike anymore when I was a teenager (many, many moons ago) unless I wore a helmet (now California law). I thought he was ridiculous and the thought of having head injuries was much more desirable then having helmet hair at that time, so I showed him who was boss and never rode my bike again. Way to stick it to the man! I was a complete idiot. As a result, I have had to go to years of counseling to rid myself of Schwinn-itis. Good grief, it is late! My point is that I stunk it up Pee Wee Herman style on the bike. However, I have improved. Because you know, practice makes bruises less black.

That being said... wait, what exactly have I said? Not much... that being typed at least, I realized and acknowledge my slack-style when it has come to the blog (as was pointed out by a dear friend... thanks. I guess in the immortal words of that oh-so-great-philosopher, the one and only Justin Timberlake, what goes around comes around Lynsey. I deserve the drag across the coals). I will try to be better, but no promises since we (that means husband and I) start work next week and well, let's face it, my attention span is about as long as a split end. Speaking of which...

I do have some quite exciting news. Well, not so much exciting as terrifying (you know, that red-alert kind), but then back down to yellow (wow, I am TIRED). Anyway, the girls were on Grandpa's trampoline the other day for the first time (or at least Bo's first time). All was going well until Boo decided she wanted to fly (or so she told me today) and jumped across the tramp, tripped, smashed her face into the metal, flipped off, landed on her face and neck with body behind her, and then flipped over again. Can I tell you it was a Pollyanna moment for me? I tried to keep my exterior calm, while my interior was screaming and crying. Thankfully Heavenly Father kept her safe and she wasn't paralyzed. It was horrible, awful and humbling. She did end up bleeding (I suppose from her ENORMOUS lip... watch out Angelina Jolie... if my kid gets hurt again... you just better watch out! She looked like she just got a collagen injection. She didn't even look like the same child) and chipping two teeth. The lip went down, the scrapes, cuts, and bruises are still around, but look better. We took her to the dentist today and he filed down her snaggleteeth down a bit. Her one tooth looks like a wave, but it will function. Now we just have to watch to make sure it doesn't turn black and fall out (promising). Hopefully that doesn't happen. But, in the end, she got a purple ring from the dentist and that's all she cares about or remembers.

Now that this is a mile long, I am going to go to bed. TTFN!

Not our child, but you get the idea. People have way too much time on their hands!

Tornados, iPods, and Interview

It is insane around here! We are getting ready to move and I have basically gone nuts. I am having a hard time with this and it's not because we are leaving a place we have lived for three years (which is the longest we have lived anywhere during our marriage and, actually, the longest I have lived anywhere since my mom and I moved from Boise seven years ago). I am having a difficult time going through and getting rid of stuff and packing the boxes. I am trying to go through all of our junk to get rid of things we don't use/don't need. I have already gone through about 15 bags of trash and about six bags of donations, things to give away, etc. It has made me realize that I am a pack rat. Good grief! I think I have kept every receipt for the past four years. It's been an eye opening experience. I try to shred things every once in a while, but I have found that I have stuffed them everywhere (except the bathroom) including sock drawers, junk drawers, in my decorations, etc. We have since shredded everything... what a job! This move has helped me realize that I really need some organization skills and that, as soon as we move back in, I am going to do things very different. It's actually fun to think about, but the process of getting there is a pain! Where is my maid (Bethany! You lucky gal!) and personal assistant? Least to say it looks like a tornado has gone through our house, especially downstairs. It's driving all of us insane. I just want to leave and go far, far away from this place, but unfortunately, we need the stuff that is left here.

Other than moving, things are going pretty well around here. The girls have been pretty weirded out by all of the stuff in the living room and their room, but have turned to each other for comfort... or wrestling, but mostly the wrestling. Bo is back in her Barbie box and Boo is watching some strange Hello Kitty cartoon (I never knew they made cartoons about her. I am glad I just liked the toys, notepads, purses, etc. because this stuff is quite bizarre). The girls are finally sleeping in the same room together. Boo was really excited at first and Bo hated it. Times have changed. Bo is now sleeping just fine in her new digs. Once the novelty wore off (after the first night), Boo is trying to climb into bed with us. We have slept with her the past two nights because I don't want her crying and waking up the baby. It's frustrating, but since we are moving, I am not going to get too upset about it. It will be interesting to see what happens when we move into Grandpa's house. Daddy usually doesn't sleep when she sleeps with us and, when I do, it is usually on the edge of the bed or diagonally (it's strange to wake up and the bottom of the bed. I haven't done that since I was a child). Now I know why my mom didn't want me sleeping in the same bed as her when I got scared (since my dad worked at night). One small child can rule the entire bed.

Bo has another cold. I believe that is all this child knows. She has had them consistently her entire 15 months of life. I am hoping it is because she is getting two teeth (it looks like that at least). Her last cold required antibiotics because it turned into a sinus infection. I am hoping she will get over it soon. And, because we teach our girls to share, she has given the cold to me. I love it!

Oh, and for any of you that know anyone who has a pacemaker or defibrillator, don't let them hold an ipod over their device. I just read on MSN that ipods are causing pacemakers to record incorrect information and, in some instances, can cause the defibrillator to shock the heart when completely unnecessary. That is great information to know since David has both and was taking a nap with ours on his chest just last week! Thank heavens it didn't go off! So, if you know anyone with these devices, let them know.

Well, I believe I am going to end this and get back to the disaster that is my home, for now. David had a preinterview yesterday with a company in Portland for an environmental scientist position. She said he is a good candidate and is going to forward his resume to the human resources dept. That was kind of cool. We have heard a couple of positive things back from jobs he has applied to lately. I don't know what is going to happen, but we do have several backup plans up our sleeves. I just hope we don't have to fall back on the carnival plan... you know, carni's, circus folk. I guess there are worse things, such as dog food taste tester or almost every single job they show on Dirty Jobs (I just love Mike Rowe. Any guy that is an opera singer and will dig through trash and pick up dead chickens is very interesting in my book). Have a great day!

The Death of Common Sense

I was watching tv the other night and saw a clip on Lou Dobbs (I don't really watch him, it was just on) and he started talking about a lawsuit that he would have thrown out if he had been a judge. I missed the guts of the piece, but I did hear mention of a pair of pants and 65 million dollars. I was flipping through the channels a few days later when I came upon the same story, only a different reporter. Here is the gist of what I caught:

A man took a several suits into a dry cleaners two years ago to get them cleaned in Washington D.C. The cleaners returned one of his suits without the pants. He went back and they couldn't find them. He demanded they pay for the complete suit, which cost $1,000. The cleaners found the pants several days later and tried to return them to him. He said they were not his pants (even though they were his same inseam and it looked like his receipt) and still demanded the $1000. The the couple that owned the dry cleaners refused to pay. This man then decided that he was going to sue them. He added up all of the so called "costs" (including emotional damages (which, hey, I have a few items in my closet that I would be sad about if they got lost, I will admit... but not enough to sue) and payment for a rental car every week for the next ten years so that he can drive to a different dry cleaners). With all of this, and some other damages, he is suing them for 65 million dollars.

The best part (I am being sarcastic when I say best) about this, other than the fact that he has completely ruined these people, who had come from South Korea for a better life and are now seriously considering returning because they are running out of money due to legal costs, is that... da dada da... the guy is a JUDGE and is representing himself. The fact that the legal system has allowed this to continue for two years is beyond me. The couple have offered to settle (with settlements below $10,000, which seems fair to me), but that is not good enough for him. What a waste and a shame on his part. I had to laugh because there was a man who made comments about this case and he was the author of a book called "The Death of Common Sense." Isn't that the case? There are legitimate reasons to sue someone. I have known several people who have sued and for good reason, but over a pair of pants? It is pathetic that this is something that is acceptable in our society. The next thing you know, people will be suing themselves for cutting their own toenails too short ("You owe me buddy, I was bleeding! Give me 25 million dollars, stat!). It's ridiculous. I just wish that people could get along and use common sense instead of greed to get them through life. If I put a cup of a hot coffee between my legs and it spills and burns me, I shouldn't be able to sue McDonald's for my stupidity. If you want cold coffee, order it cold. I don't drink coffee, but most people that do complain if it is cold... therefore, use your brain and don't do things that can get you hurt. This is why there are warning labels on everything. Why can't people take responsibility for themselves? If something is harmful and a company knows about it and then does nothing, or there is something that one would never think about as being harmful and then someone gets hurt THEN I can understand it. But if you do something brilliant like zip yourself up in your suitcase and then flip out when the zipper gets stuck and, once you get out, start eating 100 Twinkies a day to deal with the post traumatic stress you have, you shouldn't be able to sue Samsonite for making you fat. It's just common sense, use it. Sorry about the rant, it's just crazy. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go sue Hewlett Packard for my carpal tunnel.

Lady in a Box

A friend of ours gave us some Barbies and a box to put them in for the girls. Little Bo LOVES (and I mean LOVES) the box. She thinks the dolls are okay, but she LOVES (did I say that already?) the box. She will pick it up and carry it around until you agree to take it and open it up so she can (guess, won't you): a.) play with it, b.) eat it, or c.) sit in it until the box rips and the sides break. If you answered "c" you are correct. She has totally trashed the box, but she gets lots of enjoyment out of it. It is always open, but Boo is the only one who actually plays with the toys inside. I decided to take a few pictures of her in her domain. The box still looks pretty good in this picture.

Gotta love the belly shots. The shirt fits in the morning, but after the first bottle and meal, it starts creeping up. We have asked three doctors about the size of her tummy (not because we think she is fat but because it looks totally uncomfortable) and they say it is normal and that her stomach muscles haven't developed enough to hold the tummy in tight. The last doctor even grabbed her tummy to pinch the fat and there wasn't more than a tiny pinch there. Good ol' medical school at work :)

On her way to busting the box...

Bursting at the seams.

If I hold this to my ear, I can hear the complaints of all the people who worked in the plastic factory to make this doll!

Help me! I am trapped in cup!

Included with the Barbies was a new pony. Complete happiness oozes from our oldest child (even though it doesn't look like it here) whenever ponies are even mentioned. We only kept the little Kelly Barbies... Barbie herself gives even me a complex!

Here it is... the joy from the ponies!

Some of the other loot. I tell you what, those poor dolls will be traumatized for life after Bo is done with them. Of course, Boo will probably drown them in the bathroom sink first as she is obsessed with water (tried to flood the bathroom just tonight with her playing... she is a young Darryl Hannah from Splash! The mermaid, not the actress)

The Not-So-Gentle, but Ever So Wonderful, Lullabye

I was rocking and singing little Bo to sleep today for her afternoon nap, when something funny and wonderful happened. She didn't want to go to sleep (neither one of them do, but Bo is a lot better about it than Boo... maybe because Boo is older, who knows) and was trying to thrash around a bit in my arms. She was also crying and fighting the inevitable. I held her tight and kept humming. She finally quieted down and rested her little head on my arm. She fought heavy eyelids as gravity and the day's playground trip started taking over. I thought she was finally asleep when she started pinching my neck. Bo has started this little thing where she pinches me and I say, "ouch" and she laughs. Anyway, she started pinching me and like Pavlov's dogs, I made my unconscious response. She was pretty much asleep, but every time I said "ouch" she smiled and started laughing... with her eyes closed. It was hilarious. This went on for about two minutes. I couldn't stop laughing either because here is my child, basically asleep in my arms and still pinching and laughing. It was one of those moments, the ones you want to never forget and hold close to your heart. It wasn't something miraculous, but it was something wonderful and that I want to remember. I have moments and even days like this one where I want to just hold my girls in my arms and help them understand how much I love them and how grateful I am that Heavenly Father trusted the likes of me to be their mother. I fall so short, but I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to feel their wet little kisses and feel the warmth from their hugs and hear them say, "Mama" and "I love you Mommy." If I have nothing else in this life, not another dime or another piece of food, I know I am filled with the love of and for my family. This has been quite a year for us, with almost losing David, and it puts things into perspective. I still lose my patience and I get wrapped up in the mundane things of life, but moments like these help me come back to the realization of why we are here and how fortunate I am. Please know that we love you, our family and friends, and that we pray for you often and that we are so grateful for how you have influenced and changed our lives for good. May God bless you this day and always. I just felt impressed to share this with you. I will probably get back to being a big dork, as always, but I want you to know that I love you! Take care!