Last weekend, we wandered up to see my folks on Whidby Island along with my sisters' families for a reunion of sorts before all the new kids show up. The house is nice, but it was only barely able to contain everybody, as there were 15 of us -- 7 kids, 3 pregnant women, my mother, and a bunch of guys doing their best to keep up/tolerate the pregnant lady talk. None of us are new to it or bothered by it any more, but get real, it's not about us right now. Nobody cared how my boobs were doing or how my heartburn was going.
It was a lot of fun though, and the Mizz had a great time with his cousins, especially "Baby J", who lives in Seattle and will probably be "Baby" forever according to my son. Both of them are, for the moment, single children, and are not near as good at playing with others as the 5 from the Colorado household. Imagine our surprise when they turned out to have a great time together, pushing cars back and forth and just generally copying and following each other all over the place. It looks like they're going to be excellent big brothers.
This was probably our best road trip with the Mizz yet. He's finally getting to the point of being able to be entertained in the car for long stretches. He even watched the DVD player that Franny found on sale. Usually, shows don't interest him for very long. This was a pretty easy trip. Soooooo, I guess it's time for another one.
It was good to see everyone and it was good to do it before things get even crazier. Next time there'll be 10 grandkids running around. Based on the current crew, that should be even more fun.
Showing posts with label other kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label other kids. Show all posts
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thursday, May 31, 2007
It's been a busy week
I haven't posted much of substance lately, as I haven't felt like I had two consecutive minutes to do it with. Probably not true, but we've been busy lately.
Last week we painted two walls. One bright blue monstrosity in the Mizz's bathroom. He was very excited, since "blue" is one of his stronger words. Franny was excited too, since it meant she could get rid of the Hawaii shower curtain and replace it with the fish one and then get out all the other new decorative and functional fish stuff that Target forced on her. I personally liked the old shower curtain better, but it definitely doesn't go with the blue.
The other wall was in the living room and was a far more extensive project. Not the painting specifically, but the picking of the color. And the wall. We'd been tossing color ideas around for a while, but we finally settled on a tan/taupe/sand/dirt color that seemed to go well with the trim and with the black tree sculpture over the fireplace. So, while I was gone in Bend, I got a call, "Guess what the Mizz and I just did. There's paint on the wall." When I got home, I found that this meant two swaths of paint beside one of the posters we have. It wasn't a very representative idea of what it would really look like, so the poster came down and it widened into a three foot square. Needless to say, after much wrangling, we decided that it really wasn't the color we were after. Or the right wall. So there's now a patch of not-quite-the-right white that will eventually have to be dealt with. But in the end, we decided on a sage color and a whole different and much larger wall. I spent three nights painting and edging and 2nd coating and such, but in the end, it came out great.
I got to remember again that I hate edging. It's not that I'm terrible at it. I usually end up with a better job than lots of others I've seen. The problem is that I am a perfectionist about stuff like that, and I don't have the skill to do it as well as I think it should be done. This is mainly only a problem while I am doing it; after the fact it usually seems fine. But it makes for a very irritating experience.
I also found that I'm very impressed with Sherwin-Williams paints. Their Duration line of paint (top of the line) was on sale, and now I know that I will probably buy it again even if I have to pay full price. It went on very smoothly with almost no splattering, was very easy to clean up, and has a much better than normal container with a handle and pour-spout. They also did a great job of matching the color we had chosen from the Home Depot paint chips.
I also clipped the Mizz's hair one evening. I say clipped since cut would imply a thorough job. Mostly, I cut off the curls/rat tail from the back and over his ears, although I though the latter was going to get me divorced. I left a little more over the ears to placate the wife, but I had to get some of it off so he didn't look like a Kewpie Doll. Between the Mizz's distress and the Mama's distress, I did the most complete job I could in two minutes with maybe 8 or 10 cuts. I think he came out okay though.
Saturday, I finished the garden digging that I started a couple weeks ago. We also planted a bunch of flowers and a couple tomato plants. So far the only thing coming out of the garden has been sprouts from the squash seeds in the composter. A couple years ago, we tossed in a few decorative gourds that we no longer wanted. From what I hear, everybody knows you don't put squash seeds in the composter. That wasn't true then, but it sure is now. Small composters rarely get hot enough to destroy those tough little suckers. Anyway, those are the only real sprouts that seem to be doing very well. I'm ripping them out and hoping the other tiny little things I'm seeing are flowers and not weeds.
Also on Saturday, we invited some friends over for a Memorial Day weekend cookout/potluck. Unlike my usual burger and dog thing, I made Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Skewers from a recipe Franny found. I followed the preparation/marinating directions, but I grilled instead of baked. And since we cooked after everyone was there, we skipped the dipping sauce part. By all accounts, they were excellent. Franny also found some cool flat skewers. They are thin strips of bamboo maybe 1/4" wide with one pointed end. I'm not sure whether it made much difference for the chicken since that sticks pretty quickly, but it was awesome for grilling the vegetable slices. No more rolling around and only cooking one side. Everything turns just like you want. Good find, Franny.
Sunday, Franny and I got to go out. Without the Mizz. We left him with a sitter to go to a friend's sushi party. Lucky for me, there was stir-fry beef too. It was actually a surprise birthday party for her too, and we took a couple cakes that I made. Nothing fancy, just from the box, although I did mix Bailey's into the frosting on one of them. Mmmm. I wasn't impressed with my rushed decorating, but nobody else seemed to mind. The only reason I got to make the cakes was that Gina is the baker and her boyfriend was having trouble finding any of her friends that knew how to make a cake. Since I can follow directions, that apparently makes me the most capable. Kinda sad.
Monday was much more relaxed, what with all the Mango-tinis at the party. We did make it out to visit some friend and the other little Mizz. I don't get to see my Mizz interacting with other kids all that often, and it's fun to see them play together even if neither one of them quite understands what the other is trying to do all the time. It was especially cute watching our Mizz push the other one around in a wagon. Each of them seemed pretty happy with his part of the deal.
Back to work has actually seemed like kind of a break, although with a bit of driving. For the last three days, I've been travelling up and down the Columbia Gorge working at an aluminum plant, a couple wastewater plants, a water plant, a brewery (smelled great), and a couple other labs. It's been a beautiful couple days for that trip. The aluminum plant is actually kind of interesting, as it's the only one left in the Northwest that's doing much. They are actually only melting down scrap aluminum and recycling it, but at least that's something. There used to be something like 20 aluminum plants in the Northwest mainly due to the cheap hydropower we used to have. However with the power crunch a few years ago (thanks again, Enron), the days of cheap electricity are gone, and so too the aluminum industry in this country. We can no longer compete with developing countries with little or no environmental and labor regulations.
Sorry. Not trying to start a rant there. Not in the mood today. You see, I got an unplanned massage this evening. Franny had one scheduled, but ended up with plans that were going to end too late. So, rather than deal with a cancellation, I took advantage of it. After driving 600 miles in the last three days, it was welcome, and now I feel great. Thanks again, Franny.
Last week we painted two walls. One bright blue monstrosity in the Mizz's bathroom. He was very excited, since "blue" is one of his stronger words. Franny was excited too, since it meant she could get rid of the Hawaii shower curtain and replace it with the fish one and then get out all the other new decorative and functional fish stuff that Target forced on her. I personally liked the old shower curtain better, but it definitely doesn't go with the blue.
The other wall was in the living room and was a far more extensive project. Not the painting specifically, but the picking of the color. And the wall. We'd been tossing color ideas around for a while, but we finally settled on a tan/taupe/sand/dirt color that seemed to go well with the trim and with the black tree sculpture over the fireplace. So, while I was gone in Bend, I got a call, "Guess what the Mizz and I just did. There's paint on the wall." When I got home, I found that this meant two swaths of paint beside one of the posters we have. It wasn't a very representative idea of what it would really look like, so the poster came down and it widened into a three foot square. Needless to say, after much wrangling, we decided that it really wasn't the color we were after. Or the right wall. So there's now a patch of not-quite-the-right white that will eventually have to be dealt with. But in the end, we decided on a sage color and a whole different and much larger wall. I spent three nights painting and edging and 2nd coating and such, but in the end, it came out great.
I got to remember again that I hate edging. It's not that I'm terrible at it. I usually end up with a better job than lots of others I've seen. The problem is that I am a perfectionist about stuff like that, and I don't have the skill to do it as well as I think it should be done. This is mainly only a problem while I am doing it; after the fact it usually seems fine. But it makes for a very irritating experience.
I also found that I'm very impressed with Sherwin-Williams paints. Their Duration line of paint (top of the line) was on sale, and now I know that I will probably buy it again even if I have to pay full price. It went on very smoothly with almost no splattering, was very easy to clean up, and has a much better than normal container with a handle and pour-spout. They also did a great job of matching the color we had chosen from the Home Depot paint chips.
I also clipped the Mizz's hair one evening. I say clipped since cut would imply a thorough job. Mostly, I cut off the curls/rat tail from the back and over his ears, although I though the latter was going to get me divorced. I left a little more over the ears to placate the wife, but I had to get some of it off so he didn't look like a Kewpie Doll. Between the Mizz's distress and the Mama's distress, I did the most complete job I could in two minutes with maybe 8 or 10 cuts. I think he came out okay though.
Saturday, I finished the garden digging that I started a couple weeks ago. We also planted a bunch of flowers and a couple tomato plants. So far the only thing coming out of the garden has been sprouts from the squash seeds in the composter. A couple years ago, we tossed in a few decorative gourds that we no longer wanted. From what I hear, everybody knows you don't put squash seeds in the composter. That wasn't true then, but it sure is now. Small composters rarely get hot enough to destroy those tough little suckers. Anyway, those are the only real sprouts that seem to be doing very well. I'm ripping them out and hoping the other tiny little things I'm seeing are flowers and not weeds.
Also on Saturday, we invited some friends over for a Memorial Day weekend cookout/potluck. Unlike my usual burger and dog thing, I made Lemon-Rosemary Chicken Skewers from a recipe Franny found. I followed the preparation/marinating directions, but I grilled instead of baked. And since we cooked after everyone was there, we skipped the dipping sauce part. By all accounts, they were excellent. Franny also found some cool flat skewers. They are thin strips of bamboo maybe 1/4" wide with one pointed end. I'm not sure whether it made much difference for the chicken since that sticks pretty quickly, but it was awesome for grilling the vegetable slices. No more rolling around and only cooking one side. Everything turns just like you want. Good find, Franny.
Sunday, Franny and I got to go out. Without the Mizz. We left him with a sitter to go to a friend's sushi party. Lucky for me, there was stir-fry beef too. It was actually a surprise birthday party for her too, and we took a couple cakes that I made. Nothing fancy, just from the box, although I did mix Bailey's into the frosting on one of them. Mmmm. I wasn't impressed with my rushed decorating, but nobody else seemed to mind. The only reason I got to make the cakes was that Gina is the baker and her boyfriend was having trouble finding any of her friends that knew how to make a cake. Since I can follow directions, that apparently makes me the most capable. Kinda sad.
Monday was much more relaxed, what with all the Mango-tinis at the party. We did make it out to visit some friend and the other little Mizz. I don't get to see my Mizz interacting with other kids all that often, and it's fun to see them play together even if neither one of them quite understands what the other is trying to do all the time. It was especially cute watching our Mizz push the other one around in a wagon. Each of them seemed pretty happy with his part of the deal.
Back to work has actually seemed like kind of a break, although with a bit of driving. For the last three days, I've been travelling up and down the Columbia Gorge working at an aluminum plant, a couple wastewater plants, a water plant, a brewery (smelled great), and a couple other labs. It's been a beautiful couple days for that trip. The aluminum plant is actually kind of interesting, as it's the only one left in the Northwest that's doing much. They are actually only melting down scrap aluminum and recycling it, but at least that's something. There used to be something like 20 aluminum plants in the Northwest mainly due to the cheap hydropower we used to have. However with the power crunch a few years ago (thanks again, Enron), the days of cheap electricity are gone, and so too the aluminum industry in this country. We can no longer compete with developing countries with little or no environmental and labor regulations.
Sorry. Not trying to start a rant there. Not in the mood today. You see, I got an unplanned massage this evening. Franny had one scheduled, but ended up with plans that were going to end too late. So, rather than deal with a cancellation, I took advantage of it. After driving 600 miles in the last three days, it was welcome, and now I feel great. Thanks again, Franny.
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Mizz's Newest Little Friend
It's a couple days late, but happy birthday A! This is the new little brother of A. Just to be confusing. I really need to work on the kids' nicknames, especially since I have a couple nieces that are also A's. Anyway, I got this picture the other day. Excellent news.
I do want it on the record that I heard about this before Franny (but she did beat me to blogging it). I don't know if I get any points, but just in case...
I don't think I did very well on the when-and-how-big pool. I'm pretty sure there weren't any points up for grabs there either.
I do want it on the record that I heard about this before Franny (but she did beat me to blogging it). I don't know if I get any points, but just in case...
I don't think I did very well on the when-and-how-big pool. I'm pretty sure there weren't any points up for grabs there either.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
I've Officially Lost My Identity
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Things on My Mind
Heavy things lately. Last week wasn't exactly all roses, and now Virginia Tech. I'm actually somewhat familiar with the campus and I know the buildings involved, although it's been some time since I was there. Still, listening to the news reports all morning Monday, I had very vivid images of where they were talking about. What an awful day, although I really don't have sufficient words for it all. A sister of a friend who is a VT alumna now living in Australia had a better take on it all. Very eloquently put.
They released a bunch more details about the guy today. What a lunatic. The radio was making a big stink (on a BBC program) about whether it mattered that he was South Korean. Nobody here seems to care too much, but I guess the South Koreans are taking it pretty hard. Apparently, they have a far more collective idea of guilt and responsibility than we do. The show pointed out that the Koreans made a huge international incident out of a traffic accident a little while back where a US serviceman in Korea killed a couple kids. They held the US responsible for that incident and we didn't understand why. Now they are collectively grieving and feeling somewhat responsible for this tragedy and we don't understand why. Unexpected culture clash.
Also, I'm already tired of the gun-control discussion that will rage forever and go nowhere. The first quote I saw from Bush on Monday noted that he was sending his prayers to the families and community and, oh, yeah, he still supported the 2nd Amendment. Good thing he pointed that out. I've already heard from one side that we are the only gun-happy industrialized country and that should end immediately. I've also heard from the other side that if more law-abiding citizens had been armed, this would have ended much quicker. As usual, not much middle ground.
I was working at the US Forest Service laboratory at OSU this week. We only actually got the contract because the guy that has been calibrating their stuff for the last 25 years of so just passed away last month. He was about 85-90 years old and has been working this area longer than my boss. He was apparently a nice guy who like to tell stories going back even before his time on an aircraft carrier in World War II. Usually when I work a new place, it's because whoever was doing it before annoyed them too much so they are happy to see change. This was different because everyone seemed to like him a lot, so I felt like the runner up that they didn't really want to see. It didn't help that every time I replaced one of his stickers with my own, I felt like I was erasing a piece of history. I can look forward to doing this a lot in the next year since his daughter has been giving us a referral for all his old customers.
There's been some light stuff too. I had a dream the other night. Usually I don't care much to hear other people's dreams. They tend to be much more interesting to the person who dreamt them, and then often only until they say them out loud. But this was different (yeah, right), and anyway, this blog has no point. Anyway, it was loosely based on the end of I, Robot, although way more apocalyptic. For some reason, Will Ferrel was working with the robots, and in an odd twist, was not acting like his normal stupid-but-lovable buffoon self. He was actually very mean and evil, including a black leather jacket, head scarf and a couple guns. I reached for one of his guns, and he noted that he had another one pointed at me, so I took that one too. He laughed because when I shot him with it, I found that it was a water pistol. So I choked him with it. Apparently, I don't like Will Ferrel very much.
Franny and I took the Mizz to the tulip festival this weekend and met a couple other people with kid of the same name and only a couple days younger. We've been there before, but not with him. Not the same thing. We took him away from the flowers pretty quickly since he mainly wanted to pick petals off. I thought this seemed like excellent babysitting since they had several acres of flowers, but reluctantly decided against it. Luckily, there were lots of kid-friendly activities that we walked right by last time. The Mizz had more stimulation than he knew what to do with. He especially liked the roller slide, which was about 15 feet high, so I went with him. I apparently don't have enough padding on my behind, as it was pretty bumpy. None of the kids seemed to mind though.
The Mizz got to experience hail this evening. It was coming down in about 1/4 inch balls, so we went out on the front porch to watch. I caught one for him, and he thought that was great. He held it until it melted and then wanted another one. I caught several more until my feet got too cold. He didn't want to go back inside, but I distracted him with the doorbell. At least that's still easy.
I should write smaller things more often. Sorry for the rambling.
They released a bunch more details about the guy today. What a lunatic. The radio was making a big stink (on a BBC program) about whether it mattered that he was South Korean. Nobody here seems to care too much, but I guess the South Koreans are taking it pretty hard. Apparently, they have a far more collective idea of guilt and responsibility than we do. The show pointed out that the Koreans made a huge international incident out of a traffic accident a little while back where a US serviceman in Korea killed a couple kids. They held the US responsible for that incident and we didn't understand why. Now they are collectively grieving and feeling somewhat responsible for this tragedy and we don't understand why. Unexpected culture clash.
Also, I'm already tired of the gun-control discussion that will rage forever and go nowhere. The first quote I saw from Bush on Monday noted that he was sending his prayers to the families and community and, oh, yeah, he still supported the 2nd Amendment. Good thing he pointed that out. I've already heard from one side that we are the only gun-happy industrialized country and that should end immediately. I've also heard from the other side that if more law-abiding citizens had been armed, this would have ended much quicker. As usual, not much middle ground.
I was working at the US Forest Service laboratory at OSU this week. We only actually got the contract because the guy that has been calibrating their stuff for the last 25 years of so just passed away last month. He was about 85-90 years old and has been working this area longer than my boss. He was apparently a nice guy who like to tell stories going back even before his time on an aircraft carrier in World War II. Usually when I work a new place, it's because whoever was doing it before annoyed them too much so they are happy to see change. This was different because everyone seemed to like him a lot, so I felt like the runner up that they didn't really want to see. It didn't help that every time I replaced one of his stickers with my own, I felt like I was erasing a piece of history. I can look forward to doing this a lot in the next year since his daughter has been giving us a referral for all his old customers.
There's been some light stuff too. I had a dream the other night. Usually I don't care much to hear other people's dreams. They tend to be much more interesting to the person who dreamt them, and then often only until they say them out loud. But this was different (yeah, right), and anyway, this blog has no point. Anyway, it was loosely based on the end of I, Robot, although way more apocalyptic. For some reason, Will Ferrel was working with the robots, and in an odd twist, was not acting like his normal stupid-but-lovable buffoon self. He was actually very mean and evil, including a black leather jacket, head scarf and a couple guns. I reached for one of his guns, and he noted that he had another one pointed at me, so I took that one too. He laughed because when I shot him with it, I found that it was a water pistol. So I choked him with it. Apparently, I don't like Will Ferrel very much.
Franny and I took the Mizz to the tulip festival this weekend and met a couple other people with kid of the same name and only a couple days younger. We've been there before, but not with him. Not the same thing. We took him away from the flowers pretty quickly since he mainly wanted to pick petals off. I thought this seemed like excellent babysitting since they had several acres of flowers, but reluctantly decided against it. Luckily, there were lots of kid-friendly activities that we walked right by last time. The Mizz had more stimulation than he knew what to do with. He especially liked the roller slide, which was about 15 feet high, so I went with him. I apparently don't have enough padding on my behind, as it was pretty bumpy. None of the kids seemed to mind though.
The Mizz got to experience hail this evening. It was coming down in about 1/4 inch balls, so we went out on the front porch to watch. I caught one for him, and he thought that was great. He held it until it melted and then wanted another one. I caught several more until my feet got too cold. He didn't want to go back inside, but I distracted him with the doorbell. At least that's still easy.
I should write smaller things more often. Sorry for the rambling.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Happy Passover
Are you even supposed to wish someone a happy passover? Is it appropriate to wish happiness when commemorating oppression and slavery by ancient Egyptians. Maybe "Merry Passover" would be better.
Ours was definitely merry anyway. We went to a Seder this afternoon, which is a few days late, but it was a potluck event put together the Portland J-Mamas, all parents of toddlers, so it was the best we could do. It wasn't traditional per se, but we did okay. The person with the Hagaddah (the official prayer book that is followed for the beginning of the meal) was late, so we started with My First Passover Board Book. Everybody seemed okay with it and it was educational to me anyway. Most of the rest of the time was spent chasing children, which made for some disjointed conversations. I'm glad we were able to do something this year. A Seder is usually a large family/friends event, and I know Franny has been sad that we haven't been able to attend one out here since all her family is still back east. It's nice to stay connected to your roots and I'm glad she found a way to do so. Plus I got to do something social, which happens far too rarely.
In honor of Passover, I just wanted to note that I ran across by far the best holiday paraphernalia ever in one of Franny's magazines, the 10 Plagues wine markers. Click on the picture for a bigger version.
Ours was definitely merry anyway. We went to a Seder this afternoon, which is a few days late, but it was a potluck event put together the Portland J-Mamas, all parents of toddlers, so it was the best we could do. It wasn't traditional per se, but we did okay. The person with the Hagaddah (the official prayer book that is followed for the beginning of the meal) was late, so we started with My First Passover Board Book. Everybody seemed okay with it and it was educational to me anyway. Most of the rest of the time was spent chasing children, which made for some disjointed conversations. I'm glad we were able to do something this year. A Seder is usually a large family/friends event, and I know Franny has been sad that we haven't been able to attend one out here since all her family is still back east. It's nice to stay connected to your roots and I'm glad she found a way to do so. Plus I got to do something social, which happens far too rarely.
In honor of Passover, I just wanted to note that I ran across by far the best holiday paraphernalia ever in one of Franny's magazines, the 10 Plagues wine markers. Click on the picture for a bigger version.
In case you can't read them, this picture shows what the charms represent. I know that half my readership, such as it is, already knows this stuff by heart, but we can't all be Chosen People.
Merry Passover!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Payback's a b...
...aby. For all the time's I've felt bad about the Mizz crying and potentially keeping people up, now I get a taste. I'm in the crying baby section of my new hotel in Burley, ID. Across the hall is a baby who is apparently not happy with the accommodations. Even better, I can hear Mom over there trying every trick she knows to calm him/her/it down, but no luck. Actually it's not that bad. I hear the baby occasionally, but like most very young ones, it doesn't last long. There's also a kid that once in a while decides to run down the hall yelling back at his sister. I have nightmares of Mizz doing this. It's cute right now while he's doing it at home and he can't run very fast anyway, but that won't last long I'm afraid.
In other news, one of the cool things about my job is getting inside industries and seeing where things come from. However, one of the occasional bad things is seeing where things come from. I worked at a place that processes potato starch, which shows up as an ingredient in all sorts of things. It helps keep McD's fries warm longer than what you can do at home. It sticks the corn to the dog. It keeps paper-thin fast food burgers from falling apart when cooked. Anyway, it's a staple of lots of mass-produced processed foods. However, now that I've seen where it comes from, I'm not as happy. No details today, just ewwwww. Logically, I've seen the precautions that go into the food industry, and everyone has seen the mass hysteria that happens when something bad slips through. Emotionally though, I just have to shiver sometimes and give a big "YUCK". As my boss put it one time, "It's the kind of place that makes you want to grow your own food."
In other news, one of the cool things about my job is getting inside industries and seeing where things come from. However, one of the occasional bad things is seeing where things come from. I worked at a place that processes potato starch, which shows up as an ingredient in all sorts of things. It helps keep McD's fries warm longer than what you can do at home. It sticks the corn to the dog. It keeps paper-thin fast food burgers from falling apart when cooked. Anyway, it's a staple of lots of mass-produced processed foods. However, now that I've seen where it comes from, I'm not as happy. No details today, just ewwwww. Logically, I've seen the precautions that go into the food industry, and everyone has seen the mass hysteria that happens when something bad slips through. Emotionally though, I just have to shiver sometimes and give a big "YUCK". As my boss put it one time, "It's the kind of place that makes you want to grow your own food."
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