Big Bear Fun!

Tim and I are taking advantage of our new found freedom. We were invited to join my friend Beth and her husband, Joe, up in Big Bear. Because we now have local living grandparents that are kind enough to watch the boys, we were able to say yes! We had a great time. We enjoyed the spectacular views and having uninterrupted adult conversation. We imagined buying a place up here one day. The pictures are from when we took a chairlift to the top of a summit and hiked down. We got a little lost but enjoyed ourselves.

Knew it was coming

Guess what- I am sick. To be predicted because I would never give up kisses and love from my boys even if they are sick.

I've got a sore throat, can't swallow, chills, fever, ear ache, grouchy, and even talking hurts. Now I feel guilty that I should have been nicer to the boys since I know how they must have felt first hand.

I just want to go home and rest, but I have deadlines. Grrr.

Update: Just got a call from the pre-school. AJ has a fever. I am so happy we have the grandparents as backup now. We just have to get them some booster seats so they can transport the kiddos!
Update 2: Took AJ to the Dr and we both were positive for strep! My mom says this is the best sickness to have because it clears up real fast once you start the antibiotics. I do feel better today after one pill, not 100%, but better. Hopefully we didn't infect anyone else. So far Tim is ok.

Bad day

I should have known today would not go well. It is never easy to work from home with a sick kid and I had two kiddos that were banned from pre-school today. The boys were so crabby today. All Adam did was whine. He must have had 5 time outs in the morning. PJ was a little better but had just melted down at dinner time. Apparently he did not have enough Trader Joes White Cheddar shells in his bowl and flipped out. So AJ scooped his shells into PJs bowl while crying that PJ is taking it all even though AJ is doing the scooping. Then AJ melted down that he had an empty bowl, etc.... PJ is in a timeout right now as I write.
If the children's disposition wasn't enough, I started to have work problems. A project that I am on is having this impossible secure website that I have to get my e-mails off of. The attachments don't work most of the time and I can't seem to get the secure website to work properly. So I spent over 4 hours dealing with computer problems which to add insult to injury turns out has to be non-billable because the my billing rate is burning through the budget. I am suppose to have an associate help me out, but we have no associates available and tight deadlines. So I just had to carve back 0ver 15 hours worth of billables in the last pay period alone. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Just had to vent. AJ is in a time out now. I need a strong drink.

Timing is Everything

So Tim's parents have left WI and are en route to San Diego for a 6 month tour of duty. We are very excited to have the extra help. Now we will have help for when we are on business trips, have sick kid days, and even will be able to have date nights! Tim's parents even offered sleepovers for the boys. Tim and I have never had a night in our house alone without the boys. As Brian says, our lives are not going to be the same and it is going to be really hard to go back to our old lives.

As luck would have it AJ came down with a fever yesterday and got kicked out of pre-school. Now I am doing my exhausting working from home while dealing with a sick boy dance. At least he is sleeping. Oh wait he just woke up. I am thankful that we just recorded a new Scooby Doo episode.

This morning was trying. PJ was very upset that he had to go to school without his brother. (mainly because his brother gets to watch Scooby Doo.) PJ has a very bad temper when he starts feeling out of control. He told (screamed at) us he was not going to school and was going to run away. He informed us that he was not going to get dressed either. Then to top it off he melted down because we didn't have the same brand of cereal bars and therefore they didn't match. Oh, the grandparents are in for some fun!

Sundays in the Fall

AJ is pretty excited about this season.

Also included are digital pictures taken by Adam.

PJ Surgery

PJ had his lasering surgery today. He was very brave and only got scared when the anesthesiologist came in and when they took him away to go on the "spaceship". He picked strawberry this time for his mask flavor and they didn't need to give him an IV. Yeah! His recovery was quick and he charmed juice, 5 Popsicles, toys, books, and even ice-cream (chocolate) out of the nurses. They sure think he is such a cutie. We had to stay a little later because he had to finish his Popsicles and was disappointed to learn that he couldn't take the leftover ice-cream to his brother.
He made me take him out of his gown right away!
It gets a little "coldy" after 5 Popsicles.

Miramar Air Show

We finally made it to the Miramar air show this year. We waited this long because we thought the boys could actually enjoy it this year. I think we waited so long is because we did not want to have to deal with the pain of strollers, bottles, or diaper changes. I am glad those days are behind us.

We met my coworker, Beth, and her husband, Joe, who is a lieutenant officer works at Miramar as a fly guy (he is the "Goose" guy in Top gun) . So we got all the inside scoop on the planes and equipment. Pretty cool. The boys loved matching the planes in the program to the ones they saw up close. They even had the Budweiser horses to look at. Fun times.

Beth, TPJ, PJ, AJ and Joe.
Big Tire!

Adam and Baby Ethan Quesnell

Warning to My Boys Future Significant Others

Dear Future Significant Other of My Son,



Congrats on finding such a great catch! You've found a funny, loving, smart, creative (just not so much with drawing/painting arts), and generally happy guy. However, he has terrible bathroom etiquette. I have tried to teach him to pay attention and aim in the water, lift the seat up, put the seat down, flush the toilet, etc. He just will not listen and continues to urinate on the bowl, the seat, the lid, the floor, and sometimes the walls. I am forced to clean the stinky bathrooms almost every other day. Please do not blame his mother if you have to do the same.

Love,

His loving mother

What Not to Wear

As you can probably see in most of my picture posts that the boys are always wearing the same colored shirts (we really do have others to choose from). Each morning I pick out their clothes, but they typically insist that they wear either a red shirt (P) or a yellow shirt (A). Fortunately, we only have about 3 days worth of this until we are out of these colored shirts to wear. (then it goes to the blue dino shirt (P) , and blue Cars shirt (A), and then to green frog/dino shirts, etc...)

Since I did laundry this weekend, we had all the shirts available to choose from. But to celebrate the weekend events, I picked out the Brewer shirt for AJ to wear (P already found a red shirt he wanted). AJ threw a fit when I tried to dress him and went into his drawer and took out a yellow shirt. I asked him why he wants to wear yellow shirts all the time and that his daddy would really love to see him in a Brewers shirt. He told me that he loves the yellow shirts and it is his favorite color. After that, PJ told me he had a secret and whispered that he will wear the Brewers shirt tomorrow for his Daddy.

Mommy has a 3 year old sense of humor

Went to Bev and More today and had to buy this bottle.

Housing mess and financial crisis

Now that I am on the topic of politics, I thought I would comment on the housing mess and financial crisis. I was listening to NPR this morning about the release of the administration's $700 billion bailout plan. Fine, we have a mess and this is what the experts tell us it is the only way out. I am not happy about paying for it, but what can we do. What got me fired up is the politicians criticism of the plan. If I have to keep hearing again that we need to provide funds for those who are loosing their homes I am going to scream. Since when is having a home a right? I think having a home is a privilege and I am very happy to finally be able to live in one after years and years of apartment living. I am angry that I had to pay (borrow) way too much for it because of people inflating the housing market through their choice in loans that led to them overextending themselves. Now I have a house that is worth much less than I paid for it in early 2005 and I get to pay more taxes to bail out the folks who inflated my housing price. Hooray. I wonder what is the point of striving to behave financially responsible? I guess we are fools.

Healthcare

I went with my mom to a AAFP (American Academy of Family Physicians) foundation dinner last week, which was lovely. The main speaker was Mr. Huckabee (who was previously a presidential candidate). Even though I am not really into politics, I enjoyed his speech and funny enough, it got me thinking about politics. He spoke about his experience with his family physician has transformed and as he said "saved" his life. He was able to loose weight and manage his diabetes through diet and exercise with the help of his doctor. What really got me thinking is when he brought up the topic of childhood obesity. It makes me sad that children (who we feed) are having to battle the bulge and that American children (and adults) are getting fatter and fatter. Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember reading about this problem years ago. I just want to know how we fix it. Actually, I don't want to know how we can fix it, but what steps are occurring now to rectify the situation and what are the outcomes. Maybe that is why I can't get into politics. I hate the rhetoric about identifying the problems and proposal of solutions. What I want to see is what work is actually being done, how have we evaluated the results, may it be good or bad, and see what our next educated move is to solve the problem.

Baby name suggestions

So I asked the boys what names are they going to suggest for their new cousins. Here is their list:
poo poo, pee pee, diaper, bottom, gina, penis, bad belly, diarrhea, privacy, and poop nut.

Nice work.

Twins Are In

We just found out that Tim's sister is having twins! I know she just wanted to be like her older brother. Copycat!
Honestly, I can not believe the news. Although I joked with her that her baby was really babies, I am shocked that it could really be true. Check out the odds... My boys are the first and were the only blood related grandchildren to Laurie and Carl Jette. Now their next grandchildren (No 3 and 4) are going to be twins as well. Insult to the statistical injury, is that Josh (Jenny's husband and the in utero twins father) has 6 year old, identical twin girls from a previous relationship. So this means that Carl and Laurie will have 3 sets of twin-only grandchildren. Amazing.
The funny thing is that identical twins are not suppose to run in families (just occurs in 1 in 250 to 300 of all births). And if P and A are identical, like I think that they are, then their twinning (egg splitting) was due chance. Even if they were not identical, it the amount of eggs that are dropped is strictly a maternal side and inherited event (a Kostick and not Jette event). Jenny's ultrasound today showed 2 placentas at 12 weeks so that means that she might have fraternal twins (it still could be identical if the placenta split). So if she has fraternal babies, then it might run in the Jette side. If they are identical then, the last 3 births to the Jette family have been identical twins (assuming I am correct that P and A are identical). Amazing.

Legoland

My mom and I went to Legoland with the boys and had a blast. The boys enjoyed all the rides, especially AJ. PJ got a little nervous on the big pirate ship and just closed his eyes and needed to be held tight until it was over. He did the same thing during the dragon roller coaster ride (their first roller coaster ride). After the ride I asked if he liked it and he said no and that he did not want to ride that again. AJ on the other hand loved it. A fun afternoon!

Lock drama

Ok- so we have the modified lock on the boys bedroom door. Apparently, it is too good of a lock because I got locked in. Debbie actually got locked in the other night and called us from her cell phone to get out. I should have known it is that tough!
I went up to try to get the boys to nap (Oh and yes I fell for the line that they told me that they would go to sleep in the same room). Well, my hands were all lotiony/balmy/oily from making some face balm and such products and I couldn't open the door. Tim was asleep downstairs and couldn't hear me to get out. Nice. Luckily, my hands de-greased a bit and I escaped. Hopefully, the boys will go to bed early since we didn't get a nap.

Bad bad boys

The modified lock has been replaced. The boys again would not stay in their room, but their latest shenanigan pushed us over the edge. After clearly explaining to them rules for nighttime and even instilling a bonus reward system for proper behavior, we still had escapees. We finally thought they were behaving as things got very quiet upstairs. Then I hear little voices, "Mommy, I got to show you something". So I went upstairs and first noticed that their room smelt very good. I initially thought that this was because of their bath before bed. I was wrong. I looked at the window and it was covered with something and there were attempts of finger painting in it. The boys had smuggled out an almost full bottle of oatmeal baby wash into their room and emptied it on the window, their hair, their body, sheets, pillows, beds animals, blankets, wall, curtains, and floor, EVERYWHERE! It was so bad that I had to throw them into the shower to wash it off. Tim immediately made a new lock for their door.

Why won't they go to bed?

My boys hate going to sleep. Nap-time or bed-time, it doesn't matter. They fight it- even if they are sooo tired, which leads to over-tired, which leads to no fun time. We are constantly struggle with putting them to sleep. We used to lock them in their rooms, but we had a few problems with accidents so we would leave the door open a little so they could use the bathroom. But we used to have a special child proofing lock that Tim designed (duct tape around a sock over the knob) they couldn’t open that we used when we felt they had enough potty/ water breaks and had to stay in their room. Well, the boys finally ripped off the door lock and it has been pandemonium ever since.


Last night was no exception. They escaped their room and fled downstairs at least half dozen times. They had to see what we were grilling, what we were eating, show us something, find a toy/book, etc. The ultimate was when they escaped and we were listenting to music downstairs. We found those boys at the top of the stairs dancing to the music. Tim had enough. He went upstairs to get them to bed for the last time and this is how the conversation went. (It was my birthday so I got to stay downstairs for this one.)

Tim: Boys, it is past you bedtime, get in your room.
Boys: But I HAVE to dance.
Tim: No more dancing. You need to go to sleep, now.
Boys: Just one more song.
Tim: NO! Get in your room!
Boys: Mommy!!!!(whining) just one song, one short song
Tim: Get in your room now and stay in there.
Boys: You are a bad guy. (angry)
Boys: You are NOT going to take me to school anymore.

I still had to go upstairs and “tuck” them in after that, but they finally went to bed.

OCD?

Football

Tim predictably had on the Wisconsin game. Go Big Red. The TV flashed a picture of a badger. The boys saw it, got excited, and then started shouting for us to look at the "raccoon". Sad.

Morning Time

When you are a twin parent, you learn to let things go. You don't sweat the small stuff . People (Tim) could say they walk all over me, but I like to think I keep the peace (especially when you are on work calls-Tim).

For example, this morning the boys wanted to color (which I am all for as they usually hate doing art) and eat their breakfast outside. I told them it was a little cold outside and AJ said "I like it coldy". Then I let them know that their coloring books could get dirty if they spill their breakfast on it. PJ said "no it wont". So I said fine, go for it.

So they took all their coloring stuff out there, then their bowls, and threw off the chair cushions because they were wet. Then they asked me why the cushions were wet and I told them it was dew. They thought that was very funny. (Yes, we are still in the potty talk stage. ) I'd rather enjoy mornings like this one than try to force them have breakfast in a conventional fashion. Yeah, they run the show, but we have a good time.

Dining Out- Twinado style

Our boys are very "spirited" and it is very trying for us to take them in public. We have typically tried to avoid restaurants, shopping, airports, or any place where they can anger/aggravate others around them. Have you ever seen that A&E episode of "Airline" the documentary on airline with the twin boys? I feel their pain.

It is funny that if I do have errands to run, I will just take one boy and the experience usually is very pleasant. We take our time, look at things, talk, and enjoy hanging out with each other. (After we get past the drama of the other twin sobbing that he is left behind.) It is when the two of them are together that the trouble starts (competition problems, whining, tantrums, loud indoor voices, climbing under tables, and other inappropriate behavior).

Now that they are older, it has gotten a little easier in public and we attempt to do the eating out thing. We still have struggles with staying seated, indoor voices, and not crying/whining over broken crayons or being upset that their brother has a color they wanted. However, every once in awhile we get sweet moments like this one where AJ is sharing the ice-cream with PJ. (Yes we bribed them to be good for dessert.) Another nice thing is that we also get insight into their unique personalities/preferences having them exposed to new environments. The waiter asked what kind of milk they wanted and P wanted chocolate and AJ wanted vanilla.

Guitar time

Cannonball....

Sick boys

I came back from my trip to 3 sickos (yes, Tim is stick too). Coughing, stuffy noses, irritability, but the worst is the not being able to sleep through the night. For the past two nights that I have been home we have been woken up with sick kiddies. Then you get the fun middle of the night routine to do: give them some water, take them to the restroom, take them downstairs for a little medicine, some honey for their throats, some saline for their noses, some blue ball suction, and then try to get them back to bed. It seems as the only way I can get them back into bed is letting them co-sleep together. They share blankets and give each other hugs and kisses and then fall asleep. The hard part is getting the parents to fall back to sleep especially when you have to be up at 5:30 to go to LA or take a 6 am t-con. To top it off P got kicked out of preschool with a fever yesterday and now he has to stay home with me (since Tim is in LA) for 24 hrs before returning. I think these days are the hardest for a working parent. Somehow I have to take care of the child and also try to take t-cons, write reports, e-mails, and make my billables and deadlines. I also have to wrestle with the guilt of essentially parking the sick boy in front of Scooby Doo all day. I guess we all do what we have to do.

Poor Adam was so upset that he had to go to school by himself today. He pouted, cried, and stated how he is not going to go to school over and over. It was a very trying morning.

Tasted the good life

Somehow I lucked out on my latest business trip and was bumped up to first class on my nonstop, round trip flight from San Diego to Newark. I had only flown first class once before from SF to Vancouver for my honeymoon, so needlessly I was very excited for my trip. Ahh, it was the way business people should travel. Meals, drinks, comfy chairs, and the service. I enjoyed the tablecloths and the "my pleasure" response to my thank yous. The only problem was that I had pre-ordered (due to my work profile) a vegetarian meal (as they really don't have a pescatarian option). They hand you a menu with dining choices when you settle in to your seats. As I was looking over the menu, I had my mouth water at the tasty fish/shell fish dishes and even contemplated the whole wheat pasta with the fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. Then when it came time to order, I was nicely told that I had a special meal set aside for me. To my disappointment, it was the low fat/vegan meal option. While everyone was dining on crusted halibut with sauteed asparagus and shallots or beef tenderloin with garlic potatoes and gravy, I was devouring my grilled tomato and steamed veggies with brown rice and a vegan cookie. Granted, It was probably much healthier for me. However, I did manage to get served the non-vegan ice-cream dessert with the works. MMMMmmm. Being in first class, I didn't even mind that we had to sit at the terminal an extra 1.5 hours before pushing back late last night.


When I was gone, Tim saw AJ taking a pitcher into the bathroom and filing it up with water. Then he went outside and watered my flowers. He said that will make mommy so happy. What a sweetie.

Beach Bums

This is why we love San Diego. Adam loves boogie boarding. PJ rather use it as a skim board. Fun days at Del Mar.

Lesson Learned

I will never run 4.5 miles again in a thong.

Fashion Police

So I decided to wear a black t-shirt type top to work today with beige docker pants. I was putting AJ into the truck to go to school and he says:
"Why are you wearing that shirt? It is not a stay home day. This shirt is not a work shirt."

How does he know these things?

Curiously Strong

Our boys have interesting tastes. They love Altoids. Typically they throw 3 (it used to be 2) in their mouths, chew, and take big mouth inhales. They tell us it tastes "spicy". Well, Tim caught the boys this morning pillaging his Altoids container. (Silence usually means trouble.) They had already eaten their fill, but Adam managed to procure 3 additional Altoids. Adam was discussing what he would do with the Altoids when he got to school. He told Patrick that there will be one for himself, one for Patrick and one for Carlito. Patrick told him that Carlito hit him last week so he shouldn't get one. They discussed this during the whole ride to school and decided on another friend who deserved it more. Their negotiation skills kill me.

Fun with Mommy in the Park

I want to be a cowboy

So Tim tells the boys I went to Washington, DC for work. We get a note from the school today:
Monday- Teacher: "Where's Mommy?"
Boys: "She went to DC to do laundry"
Wednesday-Teacher: " I heard Mommy is back"
Boys: "Yeah she is done doing laundry"

Don't you love 3 year old ears. They asked me if all my DC laundry was done this morning. So silly.

What more can they take away?

Seriously, can flying get much worse? Not only are you forced like cattle on a plane for 5 hours (and I still have to transfer planes), stare at ads on your tray table, and watch commercials on TV, but now they no longer provide you with beverages. Not even water. Oh you can purchase a small bottle of water for $2! I guess you are getting a deal because if you purchase water at the terminal you have to pay $2.89.

Even I can grow

Tonight I did something that I always wanted to do, but always chickened out in the end. I am in DC (Bethesda actually) and after checking into my hotel I took a walk through the neighborhood looking for some food for dinner. It was a beautiful night-70ish with no humidity! Typically, I usually find something where I can just get take out or even order room service. Not tonight! I found a cute restaurant (Red Tomato Cafe) on St. Elmo Ave. I entered the restaurant and asked for a table for one. I ate my dinner entree and had a glass of wine all by myself. It was actually much more enjoyable and less awkward than I had anticipated. Not to say I don't prefer dining with someone, but now I won't be so quick to dismiss dining solo.

Birthmark Blues

Patrick was born with a port wine stain (PWS) that covers the upper left half of his face- which makes it easy to tell the boys apart. He goes to the outpatient center at Children's to get laser surgery for its removal. It is kinda big ordeal for him as he is put under general anesthesia (usually with IV) due to the PWS being around his eye and wakes up looking beat up with bright red/purple dots where his now faded PWS is. He also gets scared when the doctors takes him away from me and they go on the "spaceship" (he gets to press the surgery double doors, hence the spaceship and gets a special mask). He has had so many laser treatments (I lost count at 10) since he was 6 months old that his birthmark is a light blush color.

It is about time to make for his hopefully last major laser session (next are supposedly just touch up time: Yea!) and I tell Patrick that I am going to call the hospital for his appointment. He is very excited to "get his birthmark" as he thinks the aftermath of laser treatment is the actual birthmark. He also likes the look of his face after treatment and I have caught him admiring himself in the mirror. He told me that it is beautiful. Also, now that he is older he enjoys getting the Popsicles and juice (a no-no in our house: bad bellies like their mom) from the kind nurses after he wakes. He brags about this to his brother who is insanely jealous and now wants a birthmark too. Well, Patrick made a deal with Adam this time on the way to pre-school.
A: I want a birthmark too, Pat.
P: Ok, Ad, you can go to the spaceship doctor and get a birthmark and drink juice and have Popsicles.
A: Yea! I will let you read my airplane book.
P: Lot of times?
A: Lot of times.
P: and I can wear the blue CARS shirt lot of times.
A: yes lot of times.

Then they held hands and were very pleasent the whole ride to school.

Too young for ghost stories

Our boys have been having trouble going to bed on time. We put them up there between 7:15- 7:30 and they seem to just play for hours. It wouldn't be so bad if they played nicely, but my boys seem to scream for us every 10 minutes. "Patrick threw his blanket at me".."Adam hit me" ... "That's cause you threw your blanket at me" ..."I am thirsty" ..."I got to go potty"... "I got to go poo poo" (we run on that one). None stop chatter. I think it is hard because it is still light out and warm in their rooms. Well, last night was especially hard and it didn't seem that they'd ever go to bed, so Tim decides to tell them a ghost story. We all sat on the ground around the night light and Tim told the story of a scary, crazy skunk. He even hit the floor for sound effects while I make skunk noises. (I made some weird screeching noise at least since I am not sure what noise a skunk makes). Well he finished his story which ended with a big tickle monster and him and me tickling the boys. The boys didn't make a sound. No usual laughter from the tickle and their bodies were ridged. Adam tells us "I want to go to bed". Patrick says, "I do too". They went to their beds, got under the covers, and there wasn't a peep out of them until morning.

Fired up

Last night I went out with the twin ladies, which was lovely. I need to flee the coup and get my lady conversation on every once in a while for my own sanity. It is my chance to have some wine and share life and twin related stories. Well, one of the stories got me all fired up. Apparently, during a playgroup one twin mother had the audacity to insult another mother about her decision to be an out of the home working mother claiming that her children suffer because of her "selfish" decision to work. Naturally, my working friend never returned to another playgroup.

As a working mother myself and also because I was raised by a working mother, I get infuriated at such accusations. A decision for a mother to work outside the home or not is a personal one and typically, this decision is not made lightheartedly. It is a complicated formula filled with different variables including that of personal traits, monetary factors, career expectations, goals, and guilt. It is disappointing to hear a women from this day and age be so ignorant and say such insulting remarks.

Personally, I think my children are better served having me as a working parent. I think I set an example for them that women can do anything that men can do and should be treated as an equal and respected in the workplace and life despite their family situation. I show my boys that as men and fathers they will be expected to be equal contributing members of the family and do their share to make the household run. They will understand that by having working parents they will have disappointments as a result of their parent’s responsibilities, but can be proud of their parent’s career accomplishments and how hard they work to try to balance both career and family. They will realize that “you can’t have it all” and life is not the 2 dimensional, glossy, perfect family images portrayed as ideal in the media. They will be OK with this because I will teach them that life is a challenge and dynamic filled with possibilities and choice and that their parents carefully made their choices and worked hard to deliver the best outcomes that they could.

Morning Quotes

Tim and I commuted to work together today so the grandparents could enjoy a day with the boys. After we say our goodbyes and remind them to be good listeners, Patrick tells us:

"Drive safe and don't let the bed bugs bite. "

Earthquake

5.4-5.8 near chino hills (LA area). We felt it in Sorrento Valley up on my 5th floor office. It was pretty mild as we are all the way in San Diego. My husband didn't feel it although his coworker did. One Midwestern transplant was upset that she couldn't feel it and hoped for another. Not me. I have been through enough large earthquakes to have my heart drop when I start feeling those beginning shakes. I am just glad the one today didn't escalate and didn't cause serious damage/injuries. I don't mind moderate earthquakes like the one today since I think it relieves some of that fault stress preventing those really scary big ones.

Skills that probably wont pay the bills

As I have mentioned previously, there are certain personal attributes/ skills/ passions that I wish I had, but would probably never obtain. When I think about this question my mind wanders back to a Seinfeld episode where George (I think) proclaims he wished he was a history buff. Well, although being a history buff would be pretty high on my list here are my top 3 "useless" traits:
1. classical music aficionado
Some people really dig classical music. I truly wish I would desire to turn the radio on to classical music and passionately enjoy what is being played. In addition, I would also be able to identify the title and composer of the piece. Sadly, it is not without trying as I have been exposed to classical music all my life, participated in ensemble (clarinet), and attended many symphonies. I just can't seem to fall in love with it even though I think I should and want to. This category can also be applied jazz music, opera, and the Latino stations.
2. cheese connoisseur
I love cheese. But my love for cheese stops short at stinky goat and blue cheeses. I have tried these "delights" over and over. I keep hoping it will one day be like sushi was for me and I will grow to love it after a few attempts. Yet, I am like a picky toddler and thinks that goat cheese smells like BO and makes me want to vomit. Blue cheese just makes me think that I am eating expired food which also makes me want to vomit. In the meantime, I will continue to force myself to keep trying and hope for a change in taste. Tastebuds die as we age, right?
3. Political junkie
Why can't I get pumped up over politics? I love seeing the passion that people have for politicians and their platforms. People get so excited and go to rallies, hit the campaign trail, and visually show their support with signs and pins. It is not like that I don't vote (I am a permanent absentee voter), but I just wish I had the exuberance for the topic and campaigning like others.

What are your useless skills you wish you had?

Summer evenings

Here is what we love doing everyday after dinner.






PS. These images were captured using my new iphone. I feel very cool. Tim even stood in line for it as a sweet surprise gift for me. It a little weird having a cell phone again. I think I haven't had an electronic leash for almost 4.5 years.

A funny

Check it out:
http://galleryoftheabsurd.typepad.com/14/2008/07/if-scientists-w.html

I almost passed out reading this. Hilarious.

Skills I wish I had

Driving up and down California is exhausting. It is even more exhausting when the radio reception is poor (no satellite radio in the truck- bummer). However, I have found that one type of radio programming always seems to come in clear no matter where you are in the state of California- Latino. Because of this, I started thinking that I really wished I was more proficient in my Latino music knowledge. Driving always goes better when you know the words and can sing along. So I am adding Latino musica to my list of expertise I wish I had.

Home

We are back from our week vacay up north. The boys had a wonderful time with their grandparents while their parents ventured north into the redwoods and northern California coast. Their grandpa had set them up with a week worth of swim classes and we were so surprised to see how well they can swim in the water. They both even learned to do a kneeling dive into the water from the edge. Adam is loving diving for items at the bottom of the pool and Patrick loves to jump off the steps and take a ride on his "surfboard" (it is his new kickboard but he calls it his surf board). Very cute. Hopefully, by the end of the summer they will proficient swimmers. Having a pool is a scary thing with little kidos.

You think you know someone

Patrick and Adam just came back from the dentist. It wasn't the easiest experience, but they did pretty well considering that they are only 3. They had their first fluoride treatment along with polishing, cleaning, and flossing. The boys even had their first teeth X-rays. This was brought on by the Dr. finding that PJ had an extra front tooth. I never noticed that before and I watched the teeth come in! He had a chipped tooth in the same region so I have even inspected his teeth before and never realized it. Pretty cool.

Morning Cuties

Today we had a rare morning where everyone was happy and (relatively) rested. It probably has been my fault as I disrupted every one's schedules for the last two weeks with PHL trip and then a week at the Bio conference. However, it also could have been the crazy heat wave we just had that made everyone not sleep well. Even TJ finally broke down and turned the air on (to 78) to get us through the weekend. Luckily, last night it had cooled off and we just slept with our windows open. Well, the boys came into our room and hid a toy under one of their blankets on the floor. They moved their hands over it back and forth and said, "Abracadabra and Hocus Pocus" in unison. One of the boys whipped away the blanket and reviled the hidden toy. They told us that is how they make toys reappear.

Big boys

My boys told me that they did not want to wear pull ups at night anymore. I told them that they will need to tell me when they have to go potty and then we will try it. We still lock them (not really lock, but childproofing) in their rooms so they do not have the opportunity to go to the bathroom on their own. Well, Adam has had 3 nights of no accidents in a row and PJ just had a small accident last night. I am so proud.

Chilling in Phili

When I was younger, I used to think that people who traveled for business were so glamorous. I imagined myself dressed in professional attire, jetting off to meetings, and seeing the world. The reality is that you never travel in a suit (change in the bathroom if necessary upon arrival) and basically only see the inside of the hotel and the place of the meeting. In addition, the places where you meet clients are usually far from the downtown as their corporate headquarters are found in the remote suburbs. Right now I am in my hotel room enjoying being in some town outside of Philadelphia with my glass of cheap wine from the complementary hotel happy hour. The most I ever see of the cities I visit for work is during my descent into the airport or during my transport to and from the hotel. Doesn't it count that I have seen the White House from the air? Also, how come I always cram half of my carry-on bag with workout clothes/ shoes and never make it to the gym. Must be the complementary hotel happy hour.

New beginnings

Yes- it has been a little while, but changing jobs has made things a little crazy in my life. Like all new beginnings there are new challenges. I have been really focused on meeting new people/coworkers, learning the company procedures, and figuring out all the little things like who to talk to, where to get lunch at, how to fill out all the benefit paperwork, etc. The benefit paperwork has been especially challenging because even though you are covered by insurance on day one, you do not have a policy number for many weeks later (cards come even later). This poses to be problematic when your son decides to hurt himself and you have no proof of insurance. According to AJ, he had "jumped up so high in the sky, like a tree". I think that he got distracted at his vertical accomplishment and forgot to land correctly and tweaked his ankle, resulting in a noticeable limp. I waited a day to see if his limp would go away and it didn't so I called the doctor's office and they told us to come in to be seen. Then the doctor sent us to get an x-ray since kids usually break rather than sprain. AJ was very good at the radiologist and was very patient on the X-ray table. Thankfully, they could not find a break and I wrapped his ankle in a tiny ace bandage. He hates it, but an ace bandage is way better than a cast in the SD summertime- that is for sure. Now, I am going to have to do all that fun insurance paperwork when the bills come. Oh well, I am just happy I don't have to see a sidelined AJ at the beach or pool this summer.

It just keeps coming out

P's response to why he can't stop crying and calm himself.

Moving on

I have a few minutes until my exit interview and I am feeling a bit unsettled. I really would have preferred to do this over the phone, but the VP decides he wants to do it in person. I keep telling myself- do not burn bridges, do not burn bridges, over and over again. I think I have said everything that I needed to say over the last 4 years with this company. Agh, why is this so stressful? I hope I don't start crying-because that would be so professional.

Reunion

So we went up to go to my 15 year high school reunion last weekend. Normally, I wouldn't go to these sort of things, but it was at one of my favorite friends house (Leslie's) so I couldn't refuse. For some reason I was really nervous about going. High School was not the easiest time in my life. I guess coming of age is hard for everyone one, but just thinking of those times reminded me of my faults and insecurities. I went to a small, all-girls school where the students were so talented and brilliant, I felt like a fraud. Maybe I am just embarrassed of that time. There were so many things I wish I did and acted differently. I guess that is part of the growing up process.
Anyway, we left the boys at my folks home and TJ and I headed to the reunion. Armed with multiple glasses of wine, I was ready to face my past. It was actually amazing to see everyone that came. The funny thing is everyone still looked the same and beautiful! I had such a great time talking to people who I hadn't seen in 15 years and some who I didn't talk too much to in high school. Maybe it was my wine induced haze, but I thought everyone was so joyous and genuinely enjoyed each others company. To see that everyone had grown-up and matured so fantastically, it made me happy that I went.

Placating the Twinado

We survived yet another traveling adventure. The boys were almost pleasant. I think it is the secret weapon of the portable DVD player. It is funny, I used to not like cars with DVD players in the backseat. I thought it was too much of a luxury to use on children. Besides, if the kids were busy zoned out watching a video/DVD, I thought they'd miss out on the experience of the journey.
Thinking back to my childhood when such things weren't available (or my folks refuse to buy them for me), I remember I had to endure long car rides from the bay area up to Tahoe without such entertainment. I would just fight with my brother in the back seat (yes- we made a line down it) and watch the landscape roll by listening to my mom's Kenny Rogers/Alabama/Dolly Parton/Cystal Gale tapes. Come to think of it, I used to hate these road trips and would force myself to stay up late the night before so I could nap most of the ride. Maybe I thought that if I had to suffer as a child during road/ plane trips that it was only fair that my children should too- toughen them up! Then I learned that the DVD players were not so much for the children, but for the parents and people around them. This is especially true in a more public place like an airplane. Now we have no more tantrums and minimized emotional outbursts. Amazing. We might actually consider a family trip to the Midwest now.