This just in...

I am the worst blogger ever.

I am a meticulous list writer, and every day this week the first item on my list has been, "write a blog entry". I dutifully settle myself in front of the computer screen, position my hands for some "QWERTY" action, and then....I go blank. I mean I....got...nothin'. It's not like things haven't been happening in our corner of the world, I just can't seem to figure out what's worth talking about and how to make it interesting.

But, rather than despair over my inability to deliver our little family updates creatively, I'll just give you a list of a few random tidbits to keep you all from wiping my URL from your computer forever:

-For the first time in 8 years, I am on SPRING BREAK. That's right, two weeks into the job and I already have a week to rest. In my opinion it's the only way to work. Two weeks on, one week off. Definitely my kind of schedule :-)

-Speaking of which, the job is still going well. There really is A LOT to learn, but I'm slowly getting myself organized. I'm lucky to have very helpful and understanding coworkers and am looking forward to getting back to work on Monday. I think. I'm almost positive. ;-)

-I've managed to get a few things done around the house this week...for instance, Sassy-pants finally has stuff on her walls again! And the purple walls and pink ceiling are NO MORE!! We finally broke down and bought some paint, and I spent two afternoons ridding her room of glued on glow in the dark stars, and purple and pink madness (seriously). It's now a simple off white with all our favorite framed photos and artwork bringing a little color into the room. As soon as my camera is charged, I'll snap some pics to share.

-Sassy-pants has her first ever (very small) ear infection and I am super bummed. I've been forced to revise my long "to do" list for the rest of the week in order to keep my little girl comfy, which is difficult since she has a nasty cough, ear infection and small eye infection (not pink eye, thank goodness!). Despite all of that, during our three hours at Urgent Care today, she didn't complain once. What a champ!

-Along those same lines, we recently found out that Miss C will not be needing glasses (whew!). Some of you know that we've been a little concerned about the fact that one pupil has always been larger than the other, especially since Handsome was in glasses at age 3...but luckily after going to two doctor's appointments and hearing from an eye specialist in Portland, there are no concerns with her eyesight. We have a follow up appointment a year from now, and we can rest easy knowing that all is well.

Ok, to sum up- Spring Break, painting, ear infection and eye appointment. Really? That's all I got? I wonder why I've had such a hard time finding something to blog about lately!

Let's hope Spring brings warm, dry weather soon so we can get outdoors and find stuff to do. We have big plans this spring/summer to hike around some of the state parks, Yurt on the coast, and maybe camp in SE Washington...and we're counting the weeks until visits from Handsome's Mom, my cousin The Dish, and Uncle H and Auntie S.

Bring on SPRING!!

Dear Faithful Blog Readers

I have been meaning to post something on here for WEEKS!! Things have been so busy and I have been so very tired, which has made it a tad difficult to keep up in the blogging world. I'll just go over the basics to catch y'all up to speed:

1) I got a job! This time it's FOR REAL! I started Monday in the front office of one of the local high schools. So far, so good- there's a lot to learn and it's a totally new environment, but I'm excited to be working again and I'm really enjoying everything so far. The best part: I work 7-3:30 and I have winter, spring and summer breaks off! Though I don't particularly delight in hearing my 5:30AM alarm, I sure love having the afternoons with Miss Sassy-Pants, and am happy to be able to easily put dinner on the table each night. Also, I can't help but be proud of myself for beating 91 applicants!

2) We were able to get Sassy-Pants into the dream daycare that I visited a few weeks ago! She started with two half days, and has been going full time since Monday. This afternoon I had to persuade her to leave, she was not happy about leaving "the girls and boys". I watched her for a few moments this afternoon and she was interacting with one of the other kids- it was so wonderful to finally see her playing with kids her own age! I can't wait to hear (and share) her stories each day. And as soon as she is potty trained, she'll start daily swim lessons!

3) We spent a week in Minnesota in February visiting family and friends- it was a blast but it went by far too quickly. I've got all kinds of pictures to post, but I'll have to save that for tommorrow's energy. It's quarter to seven and it feels like 10:00...how will I ever make it to bedtime?

4) A quick note about Handsome- he was one of only three managers that were recently selected to speak on a conference call with all of the area managing staff (50+ individuals) about his recent branch success, and goals/tips for improving in the coming months. I think that's pretty great, especially in our current economy! He is always finding new ways to impress!

That's about all the updates I can think of for now, which is good since my energy is flagging considerably! I'm hoping that after a week or two of this new schedule, I'll find some energy and get into a good, restful routine. Thanks for all who have sent their congrats on the job, it's been a long road and I'm so happy to be working again! I'll end on a ironic note- I received the job offer on the same day that we celebrated exactly one year as Oregon residents!

Bear with me as I adjust to our new schedule, until then I will be the best blogger I can be!

From Oregon,

With Love

She's 3!

Yesterday my baby girl turned three years old. I can't believe how much she's grown, especially in the last few months. It's been wonderful having the last year at home with her, watching her grow and learn. I can hardly wait to see what year 3 brings!

Just three short years ago...


And just last week!


Happy birthday baby girl! :-)

Love,

Mommy

Inspiration Needed....

It's been a frustrating week.

As most of you know, I was supposed to start a new job with the courthouse on Monday. Unfortunately I received a call last Wednesday informing me that a hiring freeze has been put into effect and my job offer was no longer being extended to me. The call came in as I was walking in the door from finalizing plans for the daycare of my dreams. I don't think I've ever been more frustrated and upset, I can't tell you how disappointed I was (and continue to be).

I'm having a hard time with the fact that I have to start the job search at square one AGAIN and I can't put my daughter into the best daycare I've seen in a year of searching. For the first time since we moved to Oregon, things seemed to be going our way and working out perfectly and it was all reversed with that one phone call.

Though I've having a hard time staying positive, I'm thankful to be receiving such wonderful support of all of my friends and family. I continue to remind myself that everything will work out when it's meant to happen, and things could be so much worse. In the meantime I'm enjoying spending so much time with Sassy-pants and counting the days to our week long visit in Minnesota. I'm hoping to come home from our trip feeling refreshed and ready to start again.

Until then, I'm sorry to be such a blog bum. I'm hoping inspiration finds me soon so I can get back on track here. If you see any inspiration, or have any extra you'd like to donate, I'd love to have it. I'll trade you for it.

Rocking out to...

Sassy-pants LOVES music. Like, LOVES it. I can barely get my seatbelt on in the car before a little voice shouts from the back seat, "Turn the music on please!"

And the only volume level acceptable to her is the "the people in the car next to us can actually feel this song" level. Of course, I don't allow the music to be quite that loud, for the sake of our eardrums, and those around us.

She likes just about any type of music, specifically soundtracks to her favorite movies. "Sugar Sugar" came on the radio the other day and I swear, two beats into the song (before I was even aware that the previous song has ended) she shouted "Mommy it's Bee Movie!"

We have a pretty wide range of music that is acceptable for a toddler to bop along to, but I do try to keep her music selection aimed towards kid's cds. Unfortunately, this means that I am constantly subjected to various renditions of "Twinkle Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and particularly mind numbing versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb ". And don't get me started on "It's a Small World".

Thanks to my parents (er, maybe it was Santa Clause) we are now the proud owners of "That Baby CD", which is actually pretty enjoyable! It does have it's slightly cheesy tracks, but overall I don't mind listening to this one. Maybe that's because rather than hearing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Puff the Magic Dragon", I am treated to acoustic versions of songs by Neil Diamond, The Pretenders and Fleetwood Mac. There's even a song originally written by Jonny Lang (one of my favorite young Blues artists). Definitely a must if you are getting tired of the same old kid's songs.

Kudos to "That Baby CD", my eardrums thank you.

25 Random Things

In sort of a MySpace/Facebook survey fashion (and inspired by a friend's blog), I am posting 25 totally random things about me. There is no rhyme or reason, these are the first things that came to my mind. Here goes...

1) In my family, there is an unspoken rule: no matter who is leaving the house or what the reason is, you must wave goodbye. It doesn't matter if someone is leaving on a trip, or running down to the grocery store, we always wave. My grandma started this and it has been carried down to my own family, which I love.

2) I cry VERY easily during movies. I am the biggest sap ever. My husband makes fun of me for it all the time, but I can't help it.

3) Since I graduated high school, I have lived in 3 states, 5 apartments, and 5 houses, and I have moved 10 times.

4) I want to go back to school someday. What for? Who knows...

5) I have discovered that I can vacuum my entire house using one outlet. At first this made me sad, but then I realized that I'm totally happy with the amount of space we have, and less square feet = less time spent cleaning :-)

6) I hate golfing, but it's my favorite game on the Wii. Plus, I worked at a golf course for three years. Ironic?

7) I have a serious fear of small spaces. I can't even watch scenes in movies involving crawl spaces, closets, or being trapped. Even thinking about it is making my palms sweat.

8) I would love to have a garden someday, but it is physically impossible for me to keep plants alive. I once had a small indoor tree that only needed to be watered once every few weeks, and it died. On the other hand, I remember to feed our fish twice a day and am fully capable of taking care of my family.

9) I hate following recipes. It's so much easier to just throw a bunch of stuff into a pot instead of having to stop every five seconds to double check a measurement or see what the next step is. It's more fun to guess, but consiquently my food almost never tastes the same as the last time I made it.

10) When I'm thinking really hard, I often twirl a pen in my hands without paying attention. Hours later someone usually has to point out that my hands are inexplicably covered in black ink.

11) I really miss MS-DOS programs. I was going through some old boxes the other day and came across a game that I used to play with my dad all the time- The Dagger of Amon Ra. It was a totally awesome adventure/murder mystery game about a reporter named Laura Bow. It got me thinking about all the other old games we used to play- Space Quest, King's Quest, Lemmings...anyone else ever play these games?

12) I LOVE rain. It doesn't matter if it's sprinkling, misting or downright pouring outside, it always puts me in a good mood. And I realize that's weird, but it's the truth.

13) I sincerely hate emptying the dishwasher. I would much rather clean my bathroom and wash windows than empty one load of dishes. I don't know why.

14) I love cheese but I'm very picky about the type of cheese I eat. I will only eat blue cheese, parmesan or EXTRA SHARP cheddar. And that's it.

15) I had three reoccuring dreams growing up. One involved being stuck in a moving vehicle that I couldn't stop, another was of my sister and I being chased by ghosts, and the third was about our house being robbed by men in white painter coats. Totally weird.

16) I took four years of Spanish in high school and I can't remember how to say anything beyond "Hola, como estas?". I really really wish I had paid closer attention, I would love to be bilingual.

17) I have zero tolerance for barking dogs. We are surrounded by dog owners, almost all of whom let their dogs bark at all hours of the day and night, and it drives me mad. My blood pressure skyrockets the second I hear a dog's bark.

18) Calvin and Hobbes is my absolute favorite comic strip. My dad has the entire Bill Watterson collection and I am so jealous.

19) I still listen to the Backstreet Boys. Don't judge.

20) I hate watching basketball. It's the most boring sport in the whole world to me. That even includes golf.

21) I can recite just about any scene from just about any episode of Friends. If someone is questioning what episode a specific scene is from, I can usually tell them which one it is. And I'm not bragging, I think it's completely ridiculous.

22) I was in seven car accidents with my first car (although one of those doesn't count- my car was backed over in a parking lot). I have been rear ended sitting at a stop sign twice, I have been rear ended while slowing for a turning car twice, and I have hit two deer. And I hit those two deer in a two week period. With the same car. On the same road. One on each side.

23) I am really good about not hanging on to things I don't need, except when it comes to clothes. I still have a pair of jeans from the beginning of high school. I will never fit into them again, but I just can't bring myself to throw them out. It's ridiculous.

24) I hate butter, mayonnaise, miracle whip, and ranch dressing. Yuck.

25) I really don't like talking on the phone. I am so much better at staying in contact via email, letters, texts...anything but the phone. Any daily tasks that involve calling someone (even if it's just to make an appointment) are usually pushed to the end of the list in the hopes that by the time I get to it, it won't need to be done. That almost never happens though.

Crazy Hair

I love cute litte girl hair. It's so fun to put silly bows and ribbons and bright colored clips in my daughter's hair, she look so cute. Unfortunately, Sassy-pants does not agree.

This lasted about an hour:


Then this happened:

"Mommy, I LOVE my crazy hair!"

(Sigh)...She's having her 3 year pictures taken in two weeks...what are the odds that she'll be okay with "cute little girl" hair?