The Esary's

Boys

2010-10-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

The morning started at like, 4am or something when Jack woke up, wide awake and wanted to eat breakfast NOW and go downstairs and watch cartoons. Seriously, thank goodness Garrett was getting up anyway. We had to take a morning detour and go jump on the trampoline at Gigi's house for awhile to bust out some of that energy that was threatening to give me a nervous breakdown. Days that I feel frazzled I need some Jane Austen. I don't know why I don't own the whole collection of books and movies. I seriously need them.

Maxwell, 2 months old

Maxwell 2 months

Jack at 2 months

I was looking back at pictures of Jack when he was two months old to compare the boys, and Jack was way chubbier! Max weighs 12lbs and is 24.5 inches long, and Jack at two months was 14lbs 3oz and 25.5 inches long. And I think Max looks more like Garrett.

Even though Jack has been potty-trained since this summer, we're having issues with wetting his pants again, since Max has been around. It's frustrating and we're trying to keep him interested in staying dry by keeping a potty chart. Every time he goes potty in the toilet he gets to put a sticker on his chart, and if he's stayed dry all day he gets a gold star. When he gets seven gold stars he earns a new toy. He finally earned his seventh star yesterday. It's only taken him two months. I'm thinking we should make the reward sooner, like after three or four stars. But he is so nutty about Thomas trains that I'm hoping when he goes to pick out his new train he'll get excited about earning another one.

just give me a moment, please..

2010-09-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

I have to wonder, do people without kids really know what they're saying when they say they're tired? I mean do they KNOW what tired can feel like? Tired is having a newborn and a 2 1/2 year-old. When you're functioning on a daily basis not really remembering what rested feels like. Not seeing rest in your near future, knowing that this cup of coffee is your replacement for sleep is like..sad.

But those kids sure are cute, and if you keep reminding yourself that you'll only be 40 when your son graduates from highschool, well... there is hope.

Then and Now

2010-08-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

Where we're at these days:

Jack is potty trained
Max has finally arrived
Garrett is now the manager of coffee culture cafe
I haven't done anything on my chore chart in the past three weeks (or more)
My garden is in desperate need of weeding and watering

....so we're off to a good start! Honestly, I'm just relieved Jack is potty trained and I'm not pregnant anymore. Whew.

Jake lives outside all the time except for at nights, and then he lives in the kitchen. So I have to sweep the floor every morning, because I haven't convinced Garrett to wash Jake everyday yet. Ha.. ha.

So aside from the chore chart not really getting accomplished, we have been doing okay at keeping up with laundry, but note how I say WE... meaning mostly Garrett has been doing a good job at this. Don't worry, I fully plan on taking back over as mistress of this house once it's been over a week since I gave birth. Maybe longer. I don't know, I hate to pin myself down with a timeline....

In other happy news, I have lots of ice cream in my freezer.

Proudly Presenting...

2010-08-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Max! He's here! August 11, 2010 at 1:52am... what a gorgeous boy! The waiting game is over, and now we can all get on with enjoying every moment with the newest addition to the Esary Family.He's a laid back baby, quiet and wide-eyed when he's not asleep. Jack loves his baby brother and I think he's adjusting pretty well, although a couple nights he's woken up crying at night and wanted to get in bed with us; I'm not sure if this is to do with the changes going on around here or what.

Garrett went back to work on Monday, so its just me and the kiddos during the day- so far nothing crazy has happened, although yesterday I did forget to feed Jack lunch. This weekend we get to go spend some time at the beach with the fam, so we'll see how our first trip with Max goes, hopefully he travels well!

while waiting..

2010-08-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

We thought we'd get a few family photos in before Max got here, so we could have some with the big pregnant belly- since it's going to be the last one! And since Max is taking his sweet ol' time getting here, well... we have lots of time to kill!

Summer

2010-07-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

Today is too hot for my huge pregnant self to be comfortable- I'm daydreaming about the ocean breeze.

We're working on potty-training Jack and it is definitely not easy. I'm pretty certain that he's been holding his poop all day because he refuses to go in the toilet, and yesterday he pooped his underwear and hated it, so now he's at an impasse. I'm worried he's going to get constipated.

Yesterday I went to Portland so I didn't do anything around the house, and today I'm too hot hot hot and we don't have our AC units installed yet so I fled the house early today. I should be getting all kinds of things done at home but just can't handle being in that house!

I'm stumped on what to do in my living room- we got a new (used) couch and it's a lot smaller and prettier than our last one but now I can't decide how to arrange the room. I have so many more options, but still can't seem to figure out something I love. If only HGTV would come to my rescue...

sigh.

Farting in bed should be against the law

2010-07-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

I've got this mystery skin condition that started with my elbows being itchy and bumpy, and now I've got itchy-bumpies on my hands, arms, feet, calves, thighs, hips and top of my backside. It's awful, I can't sleep at night. I hope this is something that clears up quickly...I might go crazy. Now I know how the dog feels when he's so itchy he just starts running around in circles whining. I'm pretty much there, except I'm too pregnant to run.

We recently had our carpets cleaned again, as well as a few pieces of furniture and our living room is now livable again, and thanks to my sister we have a lovely new (to us) couch... and now the dog is banished to sleeping in the kitchen when he comes in at night, except since we don't have any kind of a dog gate yet, we have to use furniture to blockade him in. The last two nights I've woken up to hear the dog breathing on our bedroom floor. So now, not only can I not sleep because I itch like a crazy flea-ridden dog, I'm paranoid that the dog will escape the kitchen and come ruin the newly cleaned carpets with his stinky, furry, dog-ness.

I think I've just had too many bad experiences with all the ways he can ruin our carpet.

As of today, I have exactly 4 weeks left until my due date. This means that in 4 weeks, give or take some, little baby Max will be here for good, on the outside! We are so excited to meet him!!

In celebration of new beginnings and the 4th of July I thought I would dig up where we were a couple years ago:

Happy 4th of July!!

Little conversations

2010-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Listening to Jack playing by himself is so amusing. The little conversations he has with himself and his toys are hysterical. This morning I heard him in his room saying "this little piggy" to himself: "This little piggy had none, this little piggy stayed home, this piggy had none, this piggy said wee wee wee wee all way home! That so fun. Yeah? Again? Ok. This little piggy...." and so on. I opened his door and he was just sitting in his bed still, playing the piggy game on his own toes. When I walked in he looked up at me and said, "Good morning mommy! You came to see me? Oh! You play this little piggy?"

And later he was playing on the landing at the top of the stairs and talking to himself and suddenly I hear him say, "Oh! Who's talking to me downstairs?" And he walks over to the stairs and looks down and says, "Oh it's Jake. Jake, you talking me? Oh, ha." (Jake is the dog)

Cinderella?

2010-06-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

I scrubbed the walls today.

Not all of them, just the ones in the entryway.
Yesterday I scrubbed the wall next to the stairs where the dog supports himself to walk upstairs. It was filthy, as were the entryway halls. Maybe later (or maybe tomorrow or some other day) I'll get to the other dirty walls. Between the dog and the toddler those walls sure can build up nastiness fast.

It's those things I don't normally do that make me feel like my house is so much cleaner.. like washing the windows and scrubbing the walls, the sink, the toilet. All those things got left for far too long when both Garrett and I were working. I just didn't want to spend my time at home cleaning, ever. I've probably only mopped the floor a handful of times. Which is gross, because a lot of stuff gets stuck to that floor. I realized how bad it was when I mopped yesterday and it took me twice as long because I had to get down on my hands and knees and scrub some spots with a sponge. But now its shiny! At least for a few more hours.

I had just finished mopping yesterday when I heard, "Oh no! There's water everywhere!" and I turn around to Jack standing there staring at the wet kitchen floor, shocked.

Now that I actually do housework, I notice things that are gross and instead of thinking, "yeck." and moving on, I think, "oh that can be tomorrow's project" and it doesn't seem daunting or exhausting. Even though it's usually exhausting. I tried taking down the window blinds in the kitchen today and nearly died of over-exertion. For some reason my arms and legs get worn out so darn fast.

Those blinds, by the way, were a train wreck. Between Jack and the cat they had been mutilated beyond recognition. Every time I looked at them from the outside of the house I just thought how white-trash it made us look with those nasty broken blinds. So today when I washed the windows I said adios and threw 'em out! Why did it take me so long? Probably same reason I hadn't mopped or dusted cobwebs for so long.

I have to get the house overhauled before Max gets here, so the cleaning routine doesn't have to be so intense to maintain. It's just going to take awhile to get a good clean foundation. Back to square one, if you will. It's like spring cleaning, except that no one had ever spring cleaned before that.

And maybe one of these days I won't be embarrassed to have my friends come over. :)

SAHM

2010-06-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Jack's been in bed for awhile, Garrett's downstairs watching the Laker/Celtics game. I'm just lounging here on my bed.. and I realize the little background noises I'm hearing aren't just the Lakers playing downstairs, I'm hearing Jack running around and talking and squealing to himself in his room. I'm still trying to decide if I should go intervene or not.

I'm officially a Stay-At-Home-Mom now (SAHM), which means I'll be slowly losing my sanity in a whole new, much more enjoyable way. I have a laminated Daily chore chart for myself hanging on the fridge, and I much prefer it to the laminated chore chart posted on the fridge at Starbucks. This one I made myself, and I got to decide what I do when and you know what? I actually LIKE it. It keeps my house clean and I don't have to try and decide which messy part of the house I'm going to tackle today- I just look on my chart!

The fence and doghouse are both in working order but the dog seems to keep finding his way in the house... for longer periods than just overnight. This puzzles me.

Since I've started being a SAHM, I've realized certain tasks are not as easy as they once were, now that I'm 33 weeks pregnant. Like traveling up and down the stairs to do laundry is totally exhausting! I could only get part of the laundry done on my laundry day! Good thing I have two laundry days. WHEW, I might need an elevator.

And our garden is BEAUTIFUL and growing nicely, I cannot wait for those tomatoes. :)

Doghouse building + vegetable gardening

2010-04-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hooray for sunny weather and weekends!

As I'm sitting here inhaling the god-awful reek of dog urine that I can still detect in our carpet, I relish the reality of the building project taking place outside my window: a dog shanty for Jake is in process of being built inside the newly fenced and gated side yard. It should be finished tomorrow, if it doesn't rain too much. The days of dog hair, dog urine, dog shit, dog drool on the kitchen floor, and the horrible snarfling noises will be forever banished to the outdoors. My life is starting to feel complete.

Another exciting development taking place is the freshly erected raised beds in my front flowerbed, for the purpose of a vegetable garden. Garrett built two 10inch 6'x3' beds to go under our front window and side patio, and they only await the dirt and vegetables to be complete! I'm so excited to be able to walk out my kitchen door and pull fresh veggies out of my garden! And to celebrate Spring and sunny days ahead I pulled out my patio furniture and porch umbrella so now my home is starting to feel more alive and ready for bbqs!

I cherish the thoughts of two whole months of summer without having to work, to dedicate to my home and family before little baby Max joins us! It will be great to have that time to get into a good routine of house-keeping and cleanliness before our lives our consumed with child #2. I can't wait to meet him!

2010-04-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Our drive down to California last week was loooong (we drove straight through) and so of course at a rest stop we had to get out and stretch a little- Jack and Casey doing some routine body stretches.

vacations

2010-04-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

Jack and I just returned from a week-long visit to Southern California, where we got to see our beloved Lolo and Heehaw, and visit Disneyland with Gigi and Tia. It was a fun and exhausting adventure, and I'll write more about it later. So good to be home.

Rainy Day Things.

2010-04-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

Jack has been sick the past two days and when you ask him how he feels he says "I feel much." Its so funny, every time.

We have him sleeping in our bed right now, because he will wake up coughing and crying, so he sleeps propped up on a boppy pillow, with his blankie wrapped around his head and shoulders like a little old lady and vicks vapor rub on his chest and feet. Its sadly adorable. I woke up at 3:30 this morning for work and all the sudden I hear Jack announce, "DADDY PARTED!!" (farted) it was hilarious, the kind of thing you don't normally experience at such an ungodly hour of the morning.

And speaking of going to work, I count the days until I'm done with Starbucks FOREVER! Which is hopefully June. The beginning of June. It just can't come fast enough. Every day that I work is like torture. Did you know that in the Starbucks Frappuccino Cremes (those are the blended drinks that don't have any coffee in them- like Strawberries and Creme) there are actually ingredients that your body CANNOT DIGEST and therefore just hang out inside of you for all of eternity, maybe some of them escaping without digestion. How horrific is that? I find myself amazed and appalled when I see restaurants advertising that they serve REAL food. Like it's a novelty. Starbucks jumped on that bandwagon last summer and started advertising that they serve Real Food. Simply Delicious. Like, what the hell have you been serving before? Products our bodies can't digest??

Someone came in today and bought a drink, one drink, that cost them $5.55. We calculate the regulars that come in daily and average out their annual spending at our store. One couple spends on average, $2100.00 a year buying Starbucks coffee. That's a down payment on a house.. or car.. or college..

It makes me wonder how much money I throw away a year, on things that do not last.

On another note, I'm very pleased with my climbing hydrangeas, they seem to be coming back nicely this spring and I'm hoping they'll reach a fuller growth than last year. They seemed so sickly for so long. And I planted lots of rununculus and some strawberries and I feel very happy to look at them everyday. They smile through the rain. So sweet.

23 Weeks

2010-04-01T22:44:00.001-07:00

inspired.

2010-04-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start the spring out on a fresh note, and start documenting the hilarious and crazy things that happen in our family, as well as keep track of all my pregnancy woes so that everyone else can enjoy them as well. Which, I know, you'll thank me for.

The above photo is just one moment captured that happens all-too-often: Jack bringing me live bugs. This is a particularly gross one, a giant June Bug with long waving legs and creepy antennas, and he was holding it just so that all its limbs could flail appropriately and his little bug face was looking right at me saying, "KILL ME!" Which I promptly praised Jack for his bravery and immediately guided him to the toilet where we set the bug free down the sewer system. The other day it was a fly, also alive. I don't know where he gets these bug-catching skills where he grabs them alive just as if they were little kittens and he's holding them by the scruff of their necks.

On another note, my tailbone is so bruised and sore that every time I shift in my chair it sends my body into a spasm of pain which is so not cool. I carry pillows and blankets around with me to sit on.

jack enjoying the wedding.

2009-09-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

a few wedding photos

2009-08-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

we're not dead

2009-07-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

Our honeymoon was gorgeous, here's a pic of our deck, and a few things jack is up to. We promise we'll blog more when we get back from the cabin. LOVE!

poops, tears, food

2009-06-09T11:35:00.001-07:00

I'm sorry everyone, our camera is MIA and we've been really bad about posting. Wedding plans are coming along...slowly.

Today Jack is very fussy; I think he has a tummy ache or something. He won't eat anything, although he insists he's hungry but every item I offer him, he throws a fit about and cries and cries.. so frustrating! Uncle Heehaw (Casey) went and bought Jack popsicles, which Jack DID eat, although I wouldn't say he's exactly happy.

This morning I woke up to Jack standing at the side of my bed holding out his hand in front of my face fussing. "eh eh eh" he hates having anything on his hands. So I open my eyes and look at him and realize his fingers are covered in poop.
He has developed this habit of walking around with his hand down the back of his pants- sometimes its just inside his pants, sometimes its inside his diaper. Apparently this morning it was inside his poopy diaper.

I've spent all morning trying to get Jack to either eat or stop crying, preferably both. To no avail. Ahhhhh!!

bacon lovers :

2009-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

see more Fail Blog

Love bacon and all its goodness? Want to spice things up in the bedroom? Well, you’re sure to love this new product, baconlube™ . baconlube is a delicious personal lubricant designed to “keep it sizzlin’”. Now you can have your cake and eat it too.

Please note that the product is still undergoing FDA testing, although the makers feel confident that it will be fast-tracked given that pigs have been using something very similar to this as a breeding enhancer for years with no ill effects.

So Big

2009-05-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

Jack is getting quite tall, and very boy-like. He likes climbing things and bouncy balls. And Garrett's disc-golfing discs. He can figure out anything, and some mornings he wakes me up by kissing me over and over and some mornings he wakes me up by dumping water on me.

2009-05-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

our landlords/family just gave us a new computer which is rad, but i'm a born and raised PC girl and now i'm trying to function on a MAC and i keep going HUH?! what do i do?

2009-04-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

my computer is not allowing me to upload any pictures at the moment so i can't post and it just doesn't seem as fun to blog without pictures.

On Being a Small Boy..

2009-04-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

The Dog is my enemy

2009-04-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

He is gross and I abhor him. Today I came home to find the upstairs trash (which has a lid and isn't supposed to have diapers in it at all) spread all over the landing with nice big chunks of poop everywhere and chewed up wet diapers. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, I found he had gone into Jack's playroom, lifted a leg, and PEED on Jack's ball tower. There is PEE on Jack's TOYS and on his CARPET.

Is it unreasonable that I want nothing more than for Jake to GO AWAY FOREVER??!!

Nothing like an evening in the E.R.

2009-04-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

We had a fun and exciting evening. Not.
Strangest phenomenon- Jack woke up not sick and by this afternoon had developed a raspy cough, then a raspy voice, then raspy breathing, then difficulty breathing and a burning fever and totally lethargic. When we got to the crying and couldn't breathe with high fever and lethargy part, I started freaking out a little bit inside because this was so sudden, he was perfectly okay (at least on the outside) this morning! What was this crazy sickness that overcame him so suddenly?! Any-hoo we ended up taking him the the emergency room after a phone-consult with the on-call doctor at the Clinic.......which, by the way, it's so lame that there is no 24-hour clinic. Or at least stay open until say, 7?

The ER was sad. Jack was sick and unhappy and so feverish and only wanted to lay on either mine or Garrett's shoulder. His little cheeks were just burning up and his breathing sounded like Darth Vader. After two hours we got to go back home, but not before Jack got a chest x-ray (ummmm, hello! we do NOT have insurance- keep that in mind as you're reading this lovely tale), and if you have never experienced a small child get an x-ray I DO NOT recommend it. HORRIBLE. They strapped him in some prehistoric torture device with his arms in the air and he was of course freaking out and then I had to GO IN THE BATHROOM AND SHUT THE DOOR. I cried.
They gave him steroids in a mist form and they were like a little miracle cure. Within minutes his raspy breathing and cough were significantly subsided and as the visit wore on he grew more and more perky and alert. His temp was back down to 98.6 by the time we left. His x-ray being so small they said it's hard to see much but they thought there might be some pneumonia at the bottom of his lungs. Either way though, they said he definitely has croup and isn't that fun? What a night. I was in the middle of cooking dinner when we rushed off to the ER and so by 9:00 when we got home we were starving, and little Jack Danger here is a whole new guy. He's played in his room like nothing happened, except for every once in awhile I could hear a little cough. And now he's going to bed, hopefully none too traumatized by the awful visit.
They did give him a new book and a teddy bear though. That was nice, considering we're probably going to have to pay a million dollars for that visit.

It just makes me more excited for us to have insurance and knowing that my son is going to be OK is worth whatever I have to pay. Maybe we'll skip the wedding. Ha ha.

by the way, registering isn't actually fun

2009-03-31T23:45:00.000-07:00

So you may have noticed I haven't been blogging. It's because I haven't been ALIVE. YES, I have been dead. I've also noticed that none of you pretty people have been blogging either so whatever.

I've been doing stuff and talking to people and making decisions and planning things and having headaches and driving places and sleeping and not sleeping and working and feeling fat and doing more stuff...... the end. How's that?

Because we're this cool

2009-03-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

Old pictures

2009-03-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

This is what I look like when I'm dancing........baahahahahaha

Jack trying on some winter hats

Jack and Preston napping during "girl time"

So in Love.

2009-03-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Lauren took our engagement photos the other day and I can't wait to see the rest of them.... :) Thanks Lauren!

2009-03-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

It's SNOWING?? What?! I know March is traditionally nasty weather, but....snow? Hmm.
Well yesterday began another fun project at our house.... our bathroom sink. Something is mysteriously wrong with it. Mark graciously devoted his afternoon and early evening to help us try and fix it..but it seems to by defying all efforts. It simply will not drain. Perhaps after an overnight rinse of super-strong-powerful-lye-cleaner in the pipes it will work. We shall see. I can't wait to have our sink back!

I can't wait for the sun to come back out so I can take Jack to the park! He has been so full of energy and exploration, I feel like a few trips to the park are long overdue. How much would he love wildcat park?? I've been dying to take him there, now that he is of an appropriate age to appreciate it.

This was from last february:

We discovered today how much Jack loves Craisins. He has devoured almost an entire bag of them in the course of today. That will be a fun diaper to change.

ALSO....it's been about a year now since:

WHOO-HOO!!

2009-03-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

My fabulous closet organizer, and how lovely my bedroom is beginning to look: these are for you jaz! Hopefully curtains will be the next thing.

..And Jack reading..

Catch-up Blog (not to be confused with Ketchup Blog.. totally different)

2009-03-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my mom and sisters and our respective families stayed at the coast for the weekend.. so many funny things happened.

Eating oysters.. gross things that look like vaginas:

Olivia and Jack checking out the fishes at the OSU Marine Hatfield Science Center:

Touching pools! Even cooler than the ones at the aquarium.

And also, here are some pictures of things to make up for my lack of blogging recently:

For some reason this picture refuses to cooperate, but here is Jack with his classic smug smile. This is what you get when you say "Smile, Jack!"

Jack likes to eat his shoes.

Garrett's hot new shades:

We found a stray balloon in Macy's and it became Jack's best friend:

Garrett's new look:

still alive, i think.

2009-02-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

I have been battling my deathbed for the last week or two. that's why we seem so silent. first i coughed so much i tore up my ribs so bad i couldn't move much, then i got needlessly ill from my painkiller, and then i got ANOTHER ailment which made me unable to move well, then i got needlessly ill this morning so much that i could not work and laid on the couch all day because our bedroom doesn't have a ceiling. arrrrrghh!!!

also cannot wait for a day when i don't get headaches.

sweet life

2009-02-11T10:07:00.000-08:00

my head is swimming and i am just so thankful jack is playing happily in his room! i'm not sure if i cracked my ribs, or just seriously got them out of whack and bruised, but they are hurting a little bit. yesterday i couldn't breathe without feeling screaming white hot pain and today its a little better thanks to some drugs but now my head is like whoooooo. hopefully these antibiotics will finally get rid of my cough!

so i was basically sleeping all day yesterday, and garrett was so sweet to come home early and take care of me and help out with jack. and then i got some glorious pain killers and slept wonderfully, only to get brutally woken up this morning by a cupful of icy cold water dumped on my chest! i wake up and there is jack standing next to me with an empty cup and an angelic look of pure innocence on his face. hi mom! awake?

you know you're a mom when...

2009-02-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

the past couple days i've had a few moments where i find myself saying things that at the time seem normal but in retrospect, very strange. for instance..

"jack take that fork out of your ear"

"stop wiggling the dogs weiner"

"take your fingers out of the outlet"

"do you have a jingle bell in your mouth?"

just a few examples of my everyday life with a 15 month old.

Tomorrow means.......

2009-02-06T03:46:00.001-08:00

Wedding dress shopping!!!

little cowboy

2009-02-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

jack loves his cowboy hat, he puts it on sideways and stumbles around the house like a drunk man. its so amusing.

also in the news: we got new downstairs windows! hoo-ray!

2009-02-02T10:30:00.000-08:00

FREE DOG:

150 lb rottweiler, good tempered and lazy. needs lots of affection and running space.

shoe fetish

2009-01-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

I splurged today and bought four pairs of shoes. Because I deserve them and I never have any dress shoes to wear.....i got all these for $51, but since I used my tip money, I felt like they were free. :) And now I can look pretty when I go wedding dress shopping next weekend!!!!

drivel..

2009-01-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

A few things:

I cancelled cable today. (we were paying over $150 a month.. what?!)
I'm selling a diaper bag.And Jack is cute.

Morning chat with Jack

2009-01-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

At breakfast this morning we decided to show off a little. This is pretty much what conversations with Jack are like, all the time. He uses his signs for everything, and no, I wasn't showing him the signs to make behind the camera. I was eating a bowl of cereal.

sharing.

2009-01-07T00:46:00.000-08:00

It's the new year and although I haven't technically made any resolutions, I've had some revelations. As of yet my mind is slowly mulling feelings and thoughts, but I will share with you this: This is the year of radical change. For me, absolutely. Also, I think for the rest of the world. We'll see shit happen that's crazy. As if we didn't all know that by now. But right now, I'm talking about me. I'm talking about dreams. About things we thought were buried a long time ago, when our life took a different path than we were planning. How could those dreams ever happen now? I certainly counted them as dead. Well they're not. I just decided to go ahead and believe that they are still alive and ready to be fulfilled. Why not? What could I possibly lose? What could you possibly lose? One of the hardest things to realize is that our 'someday' is right now.

A man told me this once, and I just came across it written in an old journal:

"How do you recognize what's your true dream and what's the dream that you are dreaming for other people to love you? The difference is very easy to understand. If you enjoy the process, it's your dream. If you are enduring the process, just desperate for the result, it's somebody else's dream."

I realized that so many things I do, I just want to be over so I can get on to the next part, and then the next part... so impatient, so unsatisfied. I don't want to live my whole life being impatient and unsatisfied. I want to enjoy all the little moments, and do exactly what I love in all those moments. I've been reading through some old journals, and sometimes it hurts to read my life on paper... I have an ugly past. But I have some powerful experiences that feed what I am today and helped create everything that is my life now. Some things I may not wish to remember, but where I've been helps me direct where I will go now. My experiences have reaped some sage advice that I will always be able to fall back upon. And now is one of those times when I appreciate everything I scribbled down on paper, all the raw feelings and powerful experiences. Because now they are speaking to my soul and waking me up from a stupor of sorts. Whispering to me... just run! if you fall, you fall.

So here's to 2009, and living our dreams.

2009-01-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

So a few things have happened since I posted last... like its 2009 now. And Jack walks everywhere now because he is not a baby anymore.

Sorry we haven't blogged forever, we'll be better soon. I've just been too lazy.

a cold winters day calls for warm fuzzy pictures

2008-12-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

Do you know...?

2008-12-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

That Christmas is 8 days away? Have you done all your Christmas shopping? I wonder if there will still be snow on the ground by then. That would be a first in a long time!

Garrett and I are set on our wedding date of the second weekend of July. Which day of that weekend is yet to be decided, but hey, it's something right? Either the 10th or the 11th. Make sure you ask for those days off. :)

Jack's poops are sometimes AUDIBLE. Like a few moments ago when Garrett and I were having a nice conversation at the table and from the entryway we heard a loud squelching sound coming from Jack's backside. Just thought you would like to know. I made Garrett change that one.

A New Phone!

2008-12-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

My life is so much better now, because I have THIS:
I also have a new phone number now. Which is TOP SECRET.

busy-body

2008-12-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

This afternoon while I was finishing my chair and Garrett was making a sandwich, Jack was getting into a bag of peanut M&Ms.....I think I fished about twelve out of his mouth.

Also, I tried to get Jack to show all of you all of his little communications.. you can at least get the general idea:

Patting his head means he wants water, or sometimes food

"more"
"go beavs" or "i'm excited!"

2008-12-07T20:14:00.001-08:00

my project.

2008-12-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

Hopefully I'll start doing more of these. This one is for an art show on Friday the 12th that my friend Jesse is hosting! (it's not quite finished yet, but you get the general idea.)

Olivia? Acting Like a teenager?

2008-12-02T00:45:00.000-08:00

Dear Becca,

You wonder about how Olivia is kissing boys, having a long-term boyfriend and acting like a teenager?

I'm shocked...Not OLIVIA!!!

Jack in a Box

2008-12-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Turkey Day

2008-11-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

The Scene: Garrett, Jack, Jake and I all sitting in our *new* office; Jack playing with his Little People barn/crawling under the desk, Garrett making a playlist on the ipod for Thanksgiving, me doing this..

Listening: The Band, right now "home cooking".. how appropriate!

This morning Jack was cracking us up. Not really unusual, but he was so stinking hilarious from the moment he woke up. He decided to shower us with kisses and snuggles first thing, and later as we were eating breakfast he was dancing in his highchair and throwing his arms up in the air for "GO BEAVS!" and giggling hysterically. And his level of cheerfulness and clowning around could not be measured.

So today we are going over to the Esary's for the big dinner, our first Thanksgiving with them as a family! Garrett is making green bean casserole, he's been researching ideas for a good recipe all day yesterday, and I'm making pea salad. Today is Jack's favorite holiday EVER and he's going to LOOVE all the food!!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Jack's first thanksgiving last year, only two weeks old!

2008-11-25T12:39:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get Jack to fall asleep for a nap on his own. Currently he's crawling around in his crib crying half-heartedly because he's so tired. He's so dependent on one of us to see him through to the end (sleep), that he refuses to think its ok for him to enter the threshold of naptime alone. Hopefully he'll cave soon. I think the only reason he's still awake is pure stubborness.

Prittle-Prattle..

2008-11-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process (slowly) of switching Jack's room and the office. Currently, the office is in the larger upstairs room with the window, and Jack's "room" which is actually just empty, is the hole between houses with no window. It's very small. BUT in lieu of Jack getting millions of toys for his birthday and being big and whatnot, he really needs his own room/playroom, even if he doesn't really sleep in it. So tomorrow hopefully I'll get the bulk of the moving done. I was originally planning on painting each room while they were empty, but I just don't foresee that happening. So the painting will have to wait.

I'm looking for shelving for my house, in almost any form, so if you or someone you know has some shelf or shelves, or something like a shelf that they do not want, let me know! I'm in dire need. Apart from the constant cleaning that seems to be required around here, the only other things we've been doing lately are working and trying to get a normal amount of sleep. Garrett's job is overwhelmingly annoying, and I figured out the other day that if he were doing the EXACT same thing for Starbucks, he would be making $40,000 a year with full benefits and paid vacations. Just a comparison.

I, on the otherhand, want to pull my hair out from work. In retrospect of our discussions of when is a good time to have another kid, I decided NOT UNTIL I DON'T HAVE TO WORK! It sucks. So we will probably never have another kid.

Anyways, I can feel this blog spiraling downward into my negativity so I'll fill you in on all the things I love about my life:

- Jack is hilarious. We taught him to lift both arms over his head when we say "go beavs!" and he points his fingers and it's darn cute.

- Jack also does "high five" and "pound it" which is also adorable.

- My fish died so i don't have to clean the bowl out ever again.

- Garrett cooks dinner pretty frequently and it's delicious.

- I like watching football now that I understand what "first down" means.

- I'm starting walking tomorrow, which excites me because i love cold foggy weather.

- I can't think of anything else at the moment.

Jack being cute

2008-11-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

Digital Macro is my new best friend

2008-11-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

I discovered this setting on my camera Saturday evening as we were playing Yahtzee. This is what it can do! I love it!

..oops not this one, but this is how happy I am!!

ps. Garrett FINALLY shaved his beard last night because it was appalling and I was afraid to touch it and now he looks SO MUCH BETTER!!!!

More about the Beach

2008-11-19T09:12:00.000-08:00

There was so much more than just us relaxing at the beach, I had to share a few more wonderful moments. Like how we played Yahtzee and drank wine every evening, and how dessert was forced upon us by the ice cream nazi as soon as dinner was over, or how we went out for the weird evening sales downtown at night and Mark bought a didgerydoo (i have no idea how to spell that) and we were filmed by a local guy doing a documentary on Cannon Beach which was pretty funny. Jack really enjoyed trying out the didgerydoo.

Brian and Neil, the cousins

Claire and Bill

brother and sister

Brian trying to fit into "jack's cupboard" where Jack enjoyed playing hide and seek all weekend.

The marshmallow guns...the infamous marshmallow guns. A few of the guys are sporting some pretty gnarly welts from these things!

Cousin Bill on the beach looking suave and debonair with his dad's hat and cane.

Jack's paparozzi

Le Trip to Cannon Beach

2008-11-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went to Cannon Beach for the Esary Family's Annual Reunion. It was absolutely gorgeous and warm and it was such a great getaway! We all relaxed and enjoyed the good weather, watched the Beavers kick some Cal butt and ate lots of de-lish food. Garrett and Brian and I started a game of Monopoly around 10 in the morning on Saturday, and Garrett went bankrupt by 11 or so and I finally won around 1:00. It was intense.
Jack claimed the rocking chair as his own personal chair and enjoyed climbing up and down it and sitting there like a king, rocking back and forth.
The beach was so so so beautiful and I decided Cannon Beach is my new favorite beach-- it's so amazing! There is a fairly large sandbar that seperates the waves from the beach during low tide and swarms of pelicans and seagulls sit there sunning and swimming all day, safe from beachers by a small river.. it's absolutely wonderful.

Can't wait for next year!!

Just a little bedtime story

2008-11-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

Number One

2008-11-09T21:14:00.001-08:00

the spread

the cake face

the gifts

opening his own presents

matching dads

halloween photos

2008-11-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

Life?

2008-11-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

Halloween was cute and I do have some pictures of Jack, I just haven't uploaded them yet. I'm sorry. I've been busy. Working about 30 hours a week, opposite of Garrett's 40, and trying to do things around the house and have a life and spend time with my family and chase Jack around..... is hard. I'm kind of just trying not to have a nervous breakdown.

Jack with his pumpkins- they were VERY interesting:

A different kind of use for a guitar... don't worry, this one isn't good for much else:

A Year of Jack

2008-11-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

ONE DAY OLD..

ONE MONTH..

TWO MONTHS..

THREE MONTHS..
FOUR MONTHS..

FIVE MONTHS..

SIX MONTHS..

SEVEN MONTHS..
EIGHT MONTHS..

NINE MONTHS..

TEN MONTHS..

ELEVEN MONTHS..

............ALMOST THERE!!!!

another day......another rodent

2008-10-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

So our rat issue extends to all parts of the house, apparently. We caught another, even larger, rat by the dog food on top of dryer. It's really disgusting. They are not like mice, which would be bearable and less than terrifying-- they are large, disgusting, bigger-than-my-feet, rats. I'm not posting a picture of the last rat because it was actually disturbing and there is blood so I will spare you all the visuals!

In other exciting news, Jack turns ONE in a week and a half! His birthday party is on Sunday November NINTH at 2pm. We are having it at Garrett's parents home, since ours is a tad small to house more than a handful of people. Many of you have questioned what Jack needs (wants, whatever) for his birthday, so I thought I would post a list of suggestions:

BOOKS!!!!!!!
WARM CLOTHES 12-18, 18-24 MOS
(PANTS, SWEATERS, SOCKS)
SHOES & SLIPPERS (SIZE 6)
BLOCKS & BALLS
TOYS IN GENERAL (HE DOESN'T HAVE VERY MANY AGE APPROPRIATE TOYS)
TOYS HE CAN PUSH LIKE CARS/TRUCKS
A HIGHCHAIR

i smell a rat...

2008-10-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

WE HAVE A RAT PROBLEM. GROSS.

I love the fall!

2008-10-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

Remember last fall, when I was still pregnant? And Garrett dressed up like a nasty coked out rockstar? And I actually shoved my torso into a leotard?! Let me remind you with this visual image how Garrett actually was wearing this costume for our hospital tour. Yes. That really happened.
There are a few favorite things I love about fall. One being the crisp cold weather. WHERE IS THAT?! I was wearing shorts and a tanktop yesterday!!!!! Oh my god.
I also love to take the opportunity to have lots of nice-smelling candles and bake yummy treats. Although to be honest the only thing I've really baked so far this fall is zucchini bread, which only turned out sub-par. But in loo of halloween I will make sure and post pictures of Jack in his super cute bear costume. You will die when you see him. It's adorable.

Last year, the day before Jack was born:

2008-10-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Lauren!!

2008-10-20T12:38:00.001-07:00

Garrett's sister Lauren took some amazing photos of Jack, check out her BLOG for more awesomeness!!

a little bit about jack

2008-10-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

This was the last time Jack sat in his saucer, because he can actually crawl out of it, but it was so cute how he was reading his book.

He's also very good at standing up, almost walking by himself, not quite.

He's easily frustrated though.

Mr. Serious..

Thoughtful? Or maybe just weird.

This is how he stands up......

His first experience with a toy car- he was fascinated by the wheels. He sat there for about 10 minutes straight just like this.

The Birthday Girl and all her JEWELS...

2008-10-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

My Mom just turned 50!!! All of us kids took her to Strega, which is a very fancy and gorgeous restaurant on the waterfront in Corvallis....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

welcome home sailor!

2008-10-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

my baby brother just got home from deployment and got to meet his daughter for the first time!!

Jack's Mozart-ish tendencies...

2008-09-30T15:15:00.001-07:00

Our House

2008-09-30T00:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't seen our house yet, here are some long overdue pictures of downstairs. The upstairs is sort of messy right now.

2008-09-30T00:03:00.000-07:00

It's a pity I didn't upload my pictures sooner, so I could have made a witty blog for each group of pictures, but such are the circumstances, so here a few pictures to catch you up on what has been going on in this house. Also to come: pictures of my ring, my house, and a few get togethers.

my morning thus far

2008-09-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

I just have to comment on my morning. Because it's been so eventful!
So I woke up to dog excrement in Jack's room (again!) and now that room just totally smells like ass. Jake has peed and pooped in there like four times now and let me interject that is the room with no window. So no ventilation. FUN! The whole upstairs reeks of urine. Also, I picked Jack up out of his chair and got baby poop all over my shirt. And then as I went to change his diaper I realized that we were out of diapers. And then I checked my bank account to make sure we had money for me to go buy more diapers and saw that american dream had charged me twice for my pizza the other day and overdrew my account. So then I had to call and fix that ordeal, which meant phone tag with the manager from Dream and the bank. BUT it all got taken care of (I think) and hopefully that marks the end of a hectic morning. Oh, did I mention this all happened before 9am? That should be against the law! Let a lady have a peaceful morning!! But it's ok, everything will be fine and I am watching Jack do strange yoga moves on the floor and stand up without anything to push himself off of... what a big boy! So I am reminded why all of this is trivial- I have an adorable son who makes me forget all my worries. And this is why being a mother is such a blessing.

By the way, does anyone know where to get a carpet cleaner?

little bits of life

2008-09-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a delicious little impromptu dinner... Jack and Garrett were out grocery shopping when I got home this evening (Garrett made some rather fantastic Muddy Buddies), and so, being hungry, I threw a few things a in a pot and cooked it up! Turned out delicious and Garrett and I were very pleased with the result. This is all I did: Some brown rice and chicken broth plus a little water, throw in some green peppers, onion, acorn squash and carrots and slow cook it together, add a chicken breast halfway in and a few spices and whatnot... and VOILA! Delicioso! Seriously, it was so good. And I literally did nothing but throw things into a pot. Oh my gosh. How invigorating! I felt like a true housewife! Garrett even brought me a bottle of wine called Mad Housewife. I'm adopting the character.

In other exciting news, my little baby Jack is now little toddler Jack! I chase him all over the house, telling him No! NO!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Ha. :)
But seriously, he's so smart. He has learned to clap, which he does ALL THE TIME. Sometimes when he is nursing he will stop and look at me and clap once or twice, and then go back to nursing. As if to say "good job, mom, this milk is most satisfying. well done." He high-fives, he low-fives, he knows the sign for "more" and uses it avidly and he stands by himself! He is so smart, so strong and so cute that myself, Garrett and the whole entire world does not know what to do with this precious little boy!! He gives kisses, which are so darn cute, and he will wave goodbye, sometimes with both his hands which is so endearing.... how we love him.

And that is all for now.

2008-09-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have a working phone now, but I do not have any phone numbers anymore. So if you think I need your phone number, you should probably give it to me. And in other news, thanks to the help of some fabulous friends, my house is spectacularly clean!!!

I'm sorry but you can't call me.....

2008-09-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

My phone is broken. Let me tell you the story.

My dear friend Mikala got us tickets to the Beaver Game this afternoon and we all went and it was lovely, Garrett's parents took Jack for the afternoon which was so wonderful of them! Mikala lives close to the Stadium so we just met there and then walked to the game, and back during halftime for a few beers. Well after the game while we were walking back, Garrett decided it was a good idea to just throw my phone on the ground and it broke of course! The screen is all befuddled and you can't see anything but cracked insides which is just so sad. I got a text message later and I was distraught because I can't see it! What does it say?? OHMYGOD!! So now I need a new phone and you, my friends, cannot get ahold of me. I think this was a secret ploy of Garrett's, so that I cannot call him. Well. Now I might just break HIS phone!

GO BEAVS!!!

All of us kids

2008-09-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

HEY..

2008-09-07T11:50:00.001-07:00

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!!

Future Pianist/Rock Star

2008-09-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Jack Relaxin'

2008-08-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

THINKING

2008-08-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

What would life be like if I actually painted everyday?

Why does the dog only throw up when Garrett is gone?

for those of you breakfastly challenged, here's some help

2008-08-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

just some stuff and oh yeah, i'm TIRED

2008-08-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

I have a 9 month old who wakes up at 7am every morning, I work at 11:30, and here I am at midnight still awake. What the heck is wrong with me?? I should totally be sleeping. Well tomorrow evening my nieces are coming over for a slumber party and I'm pretty sure it's going to be the best ever.

Also, we just spent Friday night/Saturday in Portland and it was so much fun! We went to Voodoo Donuts, Stumptown coffee (SO GOOD), walked around the Pearl District and of course, 23rd street.

Ode to my Sister

2008-08-20T22:00:00.001-07:00

My sister Jenn came over this evening to partake in our shrimp fettuccine that I made and play with Jack. Then we went out for a drink, which was wonderful to do. We left Jack and Garrett home so we could have some girl time. It was amazing. THANKS JENN!!!

a day with Olivia.

2008-08-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

Olivia came over today to play with Jack and I, and we had lots of fun. We painted, we played paperdolls, we did a "grown-up" puzzle, we danced and we dressed up and pretended we were trapped in a tower by the Evil King. Olivia dubbed herself a "gyptian princess" and her name was Princess Tinkerbell. She looked at me and said: "Do you like have any dress up clothes or something, like we have at our house? I need some jewelry and necklaces." In her cute tiny little voice with her head cocked to the side and her hand on her hip. Okay. So I dug out all my necklaces, my high heels, and all the ribbon in my drawer and although she was disappointed that I didn't have "fancy hair things for my hair," she made do with a clip and a ribbon, a style which she fashioned herself.

She also did this incredible little dance, it looked like a cross between a hula and....something else. When I asked her about it, she told me it was a dance from South America and that people there do it in caves where they take off their coats and then shut the door behind them. I asked how she knew this and she said "grandma told me this." which I seriously doubt. Either way, the dance was lovely and I told her it was so good that if she went to South America the people there would think she was one of their own, and would welcome her into their family. Her response to this was, "Yes. And that's because people in South America are all in the same family and they live in one big house and it's crowded." Unfortunately I didn't get that last little cute conversation recorded.
Well. There you have it. Now see it for yourself:

catch up chat

2008-08-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

So I'm having a hard time keeping up with my blog. I feel like by the time I have time to sit and write about an event, it's so far past that I feel like it's irrelevant. Like my birthday, that totally passed in blog silence. Garrett's birthday also passed with hardly a mention.. he had a great BBQ blowout at our new little casa and all his faves showed up-- thanks Katie and Sara! We went camping- that got mentioned, at least in pictures, and in between all sorts of little Jack adventures happened that, because of my failure to blog, none of you know about. How sad.

katie flew in for G's bday!

Well here's what's on the "current events" calendar for the Cooper/Esary household (god, can't wait til I can just leave out that Cooper part...) :

Jack crawls like a freakin' pro. He can really book it and it's so funny to watch. He stands up on anything like he knows what he's doing and he's going to just walk away.. as long as at least a fingertip is touching something stable he can stand. So far no free-standing yet. He'll be walking in no time, I'm sure. And he's huge. 25lbs 9oz. Almost 30 inches tall. He's recently graduated to size 5 diapers (that will probably only mean something to those of you with children) and his feet are freakin' HUGE! He has four teeth on top and four on bottom and he likes to use them to BITE. He bites our shoulders, like he just needs a snack while we're holding him or something. And at all costs, do NOT put your fingers in his mouth. Trust me.

Also, we've been working on the house, little by little. Getting it all cute and stuff. And trying to keep it clean. Big news: we now have BLINDS on our windows (yay i can walk to the kitchen in my underwear without flashing the neighborhood!) and we now have DOORS!!!!! I'm so thrilled that we don't have to hang a blanket ghetto-style in our doorway to keep the room cool. And with a door on our entryway closet our entry looks very spectacularly neat and tidy now! News on the street is that we'll be getting a working dishwasher soon, too. Life is sweet.

our landlords!!

And the very LATEST news is that this last weekend we went up to the Gorge to see Tom Petty!!! It was AMAZING. Paul Tostberg, Garrett's boss, took us up for Garrett's birthday. It was very cool, we stayed in an appropriately trashy motel room (jacked actually pooped on the bed- sucks for them- and the gorge was beautiful and Tom is just BRILLIANT in concert.. and Steve Winwood opened and it was lovely and wonderful, the only thing that could have made it better is if I wasn't so exhausted. By the end of the concert I could barely keep my eyes open. So now we're just catching up with laundry from two weekends in a row of absolute fun.

us having fun:

Oh and then last night we went over to my sister Becca's house for a fabulous thai dinner which is always a blast because a) she's an amazing cook and b) it's super fun to go hang out with them. and Garrett would say c) because Steven has a rad horseshoe pit.

i love jasmine

2008-08-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

A tribute to my dearest friend, Jazzy-Jazz, who is 9 months pregnant and GORGEOUS......I LOVE YOU JAZIMUFFIN!!

a few more camping pics....

2008-08-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

a weekend away

2008-08-14T08:41:00.001-07:00

We went camping this last weekend, which was a blast. It was called Rock Creek Campground, which was between Florence and Yahachts. It was like a little rainforest and our campsite backed right up to the creek. Becca and her family and Jenn all came and we enjoyed some FABULOUS sunny weather at the beach! We sorta had our own private beach for most of the time too... I think because it rained Friday night everyone stayed away from the beach...but it was just a ploy. It was so warm and not windy that we played in the water and built architectural masterpieces in the sand!

2008-08-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've been a terrible bore lately, I apologize.. not keeping up with the blog.. shame shame. In my own defense, I've had some obstacles with the computer and the camera (computer too full to unload pics, then left camera in monmouth..) and then of course we've been busy trying to clean our house up because.......

IT'S GARRETT'S BIRTHDAY!!!

And for those of you who don't know, we're having the BBQ bash here, at our new location on 20th Place, tomorrow around 3:30 or so. Beer keg. Food. People. Badmitton. Need I say more?

what we've been up to, part 1.

2008-07-21T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy month and there's no way I could catch up all the happenings without writing a book, so I'll give you the highlights with pictures.

First off, Lee and Theresa's wedding, in which Garrett was a groomsman:

Then the following weekend we moved and it was also my best friend Aly's wedding, which Jasmine and I were bridesmaids in:

..Jack learned that it was cool to wear sunglasses..

Playdate with Kennedy, Amy's baby (and Mikala came over to play too):

And hopefully soon I'll get pictures up of our new living space, the fantastic "before and afters" and our trip to the zoo!

Admitting..

2008-07-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

I am a woman. I am a woman who wants to have skinny legs and a flat stomach, and sometimes thinks that could be the answer. I want to seem like it doesn't matter all that much. I am a woman who wants to make powerful art of this world. I am a woman who can feel lonely at the most unexpected times and sometimes can't ask directly or tell you how upset I really feel and I hope I'll grow out of it. I am a woman who sometimes forgets about poetry and reading in the shade.

2008-07-10T09:22:00.000-07:00

We're finally moved. The apartment is clean and we handed in our keys, no more weddings to be in, and all our stuff is in or around our new house. I can't quite say that we're totally settled, but we're much closer than we were a few days ago. Thanks muchly to our faves, Lauren and Casey, who put so much work into this place and helping us move in that I'm not sure I would have stayed sane without them....THANKS GUYS!!!!!

I'll post more exciting words when I have more energy and don't feel like I'm actually wasting time when I sit down. :)

MOVING

2008-07-03T10:21:00.001-07:00

Please excuse the lack of blogging, we've been busy... it was my birthday on the 26th (the big 24!), and then we had a two day wedding event that Garrett was in, and then my birthday again, and now we're moving and have to move out by tomorrow but the carpet isn't going into our new house until sometime TODAY and oh yeah I'm in a wedding this weekend. WHEW. Our house is a hot mess of crap and boxes and crap. And we're both working everyday. OHMYGOSH!

day at the beach

2008-06-23T20:36:00.001-07:00

Well we went to the beach on Saturday and had a wonderful time- Jack's first beach experience sadly didn't include sand, but it was cold anyway, so next time he can dig his toes in. We went to Yaquina Head to see the tide pools, which was really neat because there were seals there and they were swimming closer to the beach as the tide was coming in. Very cool. We ate lunch at the Chowder Bowl where Jack fell in love with a pickle. Yummy! (And yesterday he pooped it back out... whole!
We took Jack to the aquarium, not really expecting him to interact with it very much, but he LOVED it! (the parts where he was awake, at least) There was a seal that loved to show off in front of people and Jack thought it was great!We also ate at the Rogue Brewery which is the BEST and just had some beer and appetizers before we came home, and we got some beer and new pint glasses to bring home with us. Yay!

ode to blue eyes

2008-06-20T22:14:00.000-07:00