Just a test.

Just wondering if I can actually post an entry on my blog from my phone. I've never tried before. I'm in the van with some teens, Kirsten and Josh who is horrifying eveyone by singing "honestly" by stryper at the top of his lungs with his super falsetto. Its pretty awesome... something that only few have witnessed.

Uncle of the Year Award!

The first annual "Uncle of the Year Award" is presented to.....

UNCLE MICAH!!!! (he has a blog HERE)

Everyday as we pile out of the van after school, Jessalyn heads to the mailbox to grab the mail for me. Today she was super surprised to find some mail addressed to her! She was very excited as she opened her mail and read the letter.

This past summer, while the fam was visiting for Joel's wedding, Micah and Jenn (and the kids) stayed here with us. Jessalyn had a chance to make her famous pancakes for them..and Micah (being "Micah") requested a heart shaped one. Jessalyn somehow managed to get something that almost resembled a heart...but you really had to use your imagination.

Today, Jessalyn got a heart shaped pancake shaper from Micah and she couldn't be any more excited about it! She even mentioned the fact that it was very nice of Micah to think of her when he saw it..and then to send it to her.

Thanks Micah. That was really very thoughtful and definitely made our day:)

(Funny how everyone mentions to me that certain things are dishwasher safe. Ya. EVERYTHING is dishwasher safe when you have the kind of dishwasher that we have here. *grumble grumble grumble*)

My 100th post...

I love to overhear the conversations that Ethan and Luke have together. I was giggling at Luke today as he said (while plugging his ears)...

"I need a piece of quiet"

With that I will leave you with some silly pictures of the kids....

Jessalyn being goofy...

Ethan being mad...

Luke looking confused..... with his translucent ears:)....

Owen..where are your ears??...

This is what I get. (I can't believe I'm about to tell this story)

On Sunday my friend Mel was telling me a story about how she was chasing her brother in the dark and totally bit it after tripping on a ramp...and has the bruises to prove it. I felt bad for her seeing the bruises on her arm, but admit to having laughed at her (with her) about the story. It was a good story. It was just yesterday when we sort of re-hashed the story....with me laughing, again.

Ok..so let me paint this picture for you.

Today (less than 30 min. ago) I was dropping Ethan off at school. We were sitting in the van when Ethan informed me that he had to poop. Jessalyn is already on the playground at this time, so I went over to the fence to ask her if she could help bring him inside to the bathroom. In the mean time other cars were parked all around waiting to drop their kindergarteners as well.

This is where the story gets good. I turned around to sort of jog back to the car to tell Ethan to go with Sissy and somehow managed to trip on the sidewalk between the fence and my van. In a few seconds I find myself speeding up as I try to regain my balance but just it just wasn't going to happen. The next thing I know I am going headfirst into the van...but my hands and knees on the pavement broke my fall first. It was NOT pretty. When I hit the ground I'm pretty sure I skidded quite a bit with my feet flying above me, or at least that's what it felt like. I honestly wished I couldn't have witnessed from a bystander point of view. I'm sure it was a hilarious sight. I was a bit stunned and then rolled over onto my butt and saw the looks on the faces of Jessalyn and her friend Grace. Priceless. Their jaws were dropped to the ground and then Jessalyn asks "are you ok?". At the same time the voices from above me are asking the same question as Ethan and Luke were both hanging out of the passenger side window looking down at me with complete looks of horror on their faces.

I didn't know what to do...so I started laughing. I sat there laughing for a bit..and then tried to play it off, but I knew that at least 4 or 5 people witnessed this magnificent occasion. I am completely embarrassed and actually kind of hurt as well...but I tried to brush it off the best I could. The only thing I could think was "coulda done without that"...(you know, Tommy Boy, when Chris Farley sits on the bench and it breaks.).

So as I'm driving away I call Josh thinking I could keep it together...but I was laughing so hard and wheezing and crying all at the same time, while trying to drive. He could hardly understand me.

So Mel...I guess this is what I get for making fun of you....and now I can totally feel your pain. At least we can both laugh about it, right? It sure does make for a funny story.

Here is a picture that can give a bit of a visual. This was not from today...but I was parked in this exact spot, the boys were in this exact position and Jessalyn was too. Just imagine it with more kids on the playground and cars parked all around.

...its ok, you can laugh.

This is not good.

In our house there are very few places where you can put things to keep them safe. I will put things on top of the entertainment center and on top of the piano but I really try hard not to do this because I also hate it when stuff gets cluttered in these places. The dining room table is not considered safe because 1. Owen can get into it and 2. it will likely get spilled on.

This leaves the counter in the kitchen. This is pretty much the only place where I can put things that are out of reach for him. (I still risk the 'getting spilled on' part, but that's a risk I have to be willing to take). I tend to put everything here because it is 'reachable' (I think I just made that word up) to everyone else....for example, the boys' leftover Hi-C's from McD's. Its a good place for them, because they can get to them and Owen cannot...

...until now. UGH. I came out of the bathroom the other night to find this....

Ya. This is not good. He is super proud of this. I think he feels like he fits in with Ethan and Luke who are always sitting up there together. Not only do I fear for the things that I'm trying to keep safe up there..but I fear for Owen. I have now witnessed him get up onto these stools many times...but have yet to see him try to get down on his own (because I always rescue him before hand). I can picture it now though...It will likely go down like this..

Owen scoots off the seat and thinks his feet are going to hit the floor but instead he hits his chin on the counter while he falls and his feet slip under the stool and his hands grab the top of the stool so that both he and the stool fall backwards resulting in Owen hitting the back of his head on the floor and then the stool landing on his forehead. I will be sure to post pics of his bumps after this occasion.

In the meantime, I took a few pics of him sitting up there sipping away on Ethan and Luke's 'soda' and had to laugh. Notice that in each of the following pictures he is drinking a different soda. It was like he hit the jackpot...or was some sort of addict that found a stash. He was going from one to the other..taking swig after swig as fast as possible knowing that I was going to put an end to it very soon.

He's a little "sninamanisaac". (This is what my mom calls him)

I think I've shared this before..

but I just have to share the link again. Its my cousins blog. He has his newest painting up and it is wicked cool:)
Adams Blog

It was an exciting day...

I think it was Tuesday night. Josh and I were sitting on the couch as we witnessed the event. It was down to the wire. Both characters were down to their last ounce of life and I feared the worst. I hid my head in my hands because I just couldn't watch. The anticipation of what might happen was getting the best of me. Josh stayed strong, he kept encouraging. Then it finally happened. One last swing of the light saber and it was over. I didn't dare look up from hiding my face...but I had a feeling that the outcome was a good one. It was.

At this moment Ethan (our 5 year old) was able to enjoy the feeling that comes with beating a video game...The Force Unleashed for the Wii. He has played many games but he has never played a game from beginning to end until this day. He worked hard for it. Darth Vader gave him a run for his money..but Ethan overcame him. It was down to Ethan and the Emperor (I think?) and again, was having a hard time. He even had to pause the game to get his composure as he was getting a bit frustrated. Josh cheered him on as he tried again. It took quite a long time..but he did it, without a single bit of help from anyone.

I'm not even sure if he knew that the Emperor was last guy. In fact, it was interesting to see the look on his face when he saw the credits of the game. It was one of both excitement and disappointment because the game was over. I have felt that feeling..and Josh (being the bigger gamer around here) has definitely felt that way too. You work so hard to beat a game and then to have it be over so quickly is quite anti-climactic, but then you remember the feeling of satisfaction of having conquered a game and its ultimately a happy feeling.

Ethan was excited to see what new things he'd unlocked and then realized he could play through the game as a different character.

I think only gamers (or wives of gamers) can completely understand the excitement of events like these:) It was quite the event around here!