what happned to fall

It is cold outside. I hate being cold! The last two nights it has gotten down in the 30s. What happened to fall? I want some cooler temperatures, but not cold temperatures. Lance and I walked down to the park yesterday to play, it was fun, but I was cold the whole time. My thermometer said it was about 60, but it sure didn't feel like it. My nose was cold and running, my ears were cold, and so were my hands. I miss the 70 degree weather already.
Tomorrow is Halloween, I can't wait to dress Lance up in his costume and go see our friends and family. Lance's new favorite thing: turning in circles until he gets dizzy, very funny.
Nothing interesting really going on, it finally stopped raining, but it is a little cooler than I would like. Still broke. I am a little bummed about something going on, but I am trying to stay focused on what is important and I am listening to Casting Crown's "east to west" like 100 times, it is such a great song.

so not a yummy mummy

Rain + Financial Train wreck + No Good Fitting Clothes + Cooler Temperatures = Depressed Me
I think the cold temperatures and the rain is really starting to get to me. To try and make things a little more exciting Lance and I went to the grocery store to pick up a few items so we could have a Half Birthday Celebration last night. Instead of feeling great, I feel worse. Lately it seems that I see people and hear of people who have the life that I want and it is getting to me, I am not content with life right now. Basically I wish I was a yummy mummy. Yesterday I was at the grocery store and I saw a yummy mummy. She was doing major grocery shopping at the expensive grocery store unlike me who was picking up a few items and do my major grocery shopping at Walmart and then I have a list and I am adding up prices to make sure that I stay within my shopping limit and am pretty stressed trying to decide what we must have, entertain lance in the cart, and add and subtract what is the cart. She looked cool and collected and her child was not squirming around in the cart nor going through her purse and chucking the remains down the aisles. Yummy mummy was so relaxed she was able to enjoy a Starbucks as she shopped. I only wish grocery shopping was that carefree or that I could even justify getting a drink somewhere instead of using the money for a bill we owe to someone. Yummy mummy also was stylishly dressed in trendy clothes without stains or holes. I wish I could dress stylishly but I lack the funds, lack of time, lack of energy, basically I don’t even know where to begin on the fashion front and I sit in my stained clothes and blah, plain outfit. In fact, in the last two months I have bought one pair of jeans for myself, that is it, and those were from Old Navy, real fancy. I guess what made the clothes thing hurt is my currently problem of not being able to find anything in my closet that fits. My pre-lance clothes are too small, my right after lance was born clothes are too big, and some more of last winter's clothes are getting too small, then there are some things that are just plain missing, some things stained or have holes in them (despite them being relatively new, grrrrr). Anyways, I feel like I have 3 good outfits and I just wear them over and over and over again. Back to yummy mommy, she bought so many groceries she had the bag boy take her cart out to her car and load up her Honda Odyssey minivan which is the definite the "it" vehicle for the mommies in our area. So after observing this mommy for a few minutes I felt quite lacking in all areas of momminess. Now I know that life probably isn't as great as it looks, but man, it looks pretty good from here.
These days I get so easily envious when I hear and see these mommies who buy clothes and other stuff as though it isn't a big deal, husbands who don't work 6 days a week, those who get to go away for the weekend, heck even out to dinner together, those with good friends they hang out with and have kids at the same time, those who get to stay at home without having to stress about how you are ever going to get caught up financially, those who aren't about to lose everything if the wind blows the wrong way. I have a lot: a newer car, a house I be devastated if we had to leave, clothes for me and my family, food in my refrigerator, a sweet boy who loves me, a husband who works hard and loves me, but in one week, maybe even in a day it could be gone, we have built our house of sticks and their is a storm and I don't know if everything can stand up to the wind. I just feel so alone. I wish I had a best friend in the same life stage. Alone, it seems to be the theme of my life, I never have felt like I have fit in, I always feel I am in the outside looking in. Will I ever be in the "in" circle? Do I really even want to?

if the rain wasn't enough

Why is the weather always have to be such an extremist? It didn't rain for months and now it is raining for days. Anyways, the rain makes me a little down and a podcast nearly brought me to tears. I enjoy listening to podcasts from many different churches and yesterday while listening to one from Rob Bell I was very touched by a story he told. I listened to the story again today and it makes me want to cry. I can't really explain why it resonances so much for me, but it does. So here is the story: There was a three year old girl who wanted to be alone with her new baby brother. They were a little hesitant, but she was very insistent. Her parents allowed her because they had a monitor so they could listen to what was going on. They listened on the monitor walk over to the crib and the little girl say to the baby: "Tell me about God, I've almost forgotten." I guess what touches me so much is just the reminder that a baby is miracle and their spirits knows more about heaven then of earth. Or maybe it is because we can get so wrapped up in this world and forget the bigger picture. Or maybe because I am blown away by the fact that this child can see how her faith is slipping away and she isn't me and who wakes up and thinks what the heck happened, how did I get so far off track? Children are gifts and it is easy to forget that they may know more than we think they do.

Happy Half Birthday!

Today is Lance's Half Birthday- he is 18 months. I can't believe how time is really moving by or should I say it seems to be able to be slow during the rough times (those first two weeks of Lance's life, or the 24 hours of labor, or the week he had his first cold, or any night he got up every 2 or 3 hours), but the good times fly by. So Lance has been in our lives for a year and a half now which in the grand scheme of things isn't very long, but I don't what I did before he was here. I guess work took up much of my time, and I remember teaching, but I don't remember really what it was like not having him around. Lance is my little sunshine and I never thought I would love a bundle of energy as much as I do. He is not much of a talker, or at least in a language I understand. He is finally sleeping and master of taking up the bed in the early morning. He is very opinionated and knows what he wants. He loves the outdoors and playing at the park. He loves dogs, cats, and reading all of his books (current favorite: Where's the cat?). He is getting to be so much fun to play with and he can entertain himself. He is a heck of a lot smarter than I give him credit for sometimes. His new favorite thing is to hear a sound (like the train, a truck, a dog barking, rain of the roof, etc) and say something that sounds like "what's that." I was sad when Lance turned one because he wasn't a baby anymore, but now that he is more of a toddler and less of a baby, I enjoy this more. I like the interactive little man more than the little cuddly baby more and more. I still am shocked that my little baby is a year and half, but I am not sad, I am enjoying this age and not yearning for the past (maybe because I secretly hope for another baby) or wishing he was older (because he will get into even more stuff). Happy Half Birthday Lance!

busy weekend

Saturday:
We headed out to the harvest festival to see Jeff, but it was too crowded and we didn't stay long. We did however stay long enough for Lance to enjoy some corn on the cob, he is crazy about it. When I took it away because he had eaten it all he cried. Since we were halfway there we headed up to an apple orchard and got some more apples. We got to park in the orchard which was fun because I got to use my 4 wheel drive vehicle the way it was made! Lance enjoyed kettle corn and picking up apples off the ground. We got lots of Staymen apples this time since we knew they were the best.
Corn on a stick, he loves it!


I don't know why I didn't think of putting it on a stick a long time ago because this boy loves corn on the cob.


Showing off his apple he picked from the orchard.


Sunday:
We went to church and then afterwards we headed up to another apple orchard. We took the hayride to the pumpkin patch and enjoyed the scenery. I always say that I could never live out in the middle of nowhere, but after taking in the view, I think I could reconsider. It was a beautiful day, not too hot and not too cold. It was nice to be out in the woods/country enjoying the outdoors.
Jeff trying Lance in the apple slingshot.


Lance heading down the gravel road at the orchard.



The pumpkin patch, with the carefully placed pumpkins in rows to be purchased. It was pretty, but the fakeness of the patch bothered me.

Lance pointing to the hayride coming back to pick us up.

i am so jealous

Jeff got a new digital camera for his birthday back in August and I am quite impressed and jealous of his pictures, they are really good. I don't know whether it is the camera or his skills, but they are great pictures. (He has lots of really good ones, but I don't know how to rotate them with his computer so I had to only pick out ones that didn't need alterations.)




I wish my pictures looked that good. Yesterday Lance, my mom, and I went to a harvest festival and an apple festival. The harvest festival was at our old church, it was strange being back, seeing a lot of people I haven't seen in a year and even more people I didn't recognize. There were several thousand people there and with long lines for everything we decided to head over to an apple orchard having a festival. The apple orchard had lots of vendors and a wagon ride, but we ended up just getting some apples and then walking through the orchard a bit. I was excited to see plenty of my new favorite apple availabe for sale. A couple of weeks ago we did a taste test and tested 6 different apple to see what variety we liked the best and staymen won. I had never heard of staymen before and I thought gala was my favorite, but in a blind taste test I didn't like gala, but did I enjoyed staymen, winesap, and golden delicious. My least favorite was red delicious, it was gross, all the apples were peeled which could have contributed to red del's lack of flavor. After getting some apples we enjoyed some kettle corn and the mountain views all around. The trees looked beautiful, the mountains were all rust colored from the changing leaves. Normally there would be some reds and yellows, but with the lack of rain they are various shades of brown.

lunch with lance

I would really like a nicer camera, but since that it out of the question financially I am working on being content with mine. I have been trying to figure out the different setting on my camera without busting out the owner's manual because I would rather figure things out by trial and error then read a manual. Over the weekend I discovered that I had a black and white setting on my camera which I have been using in excess lately. While Lance was eating his lunch I worked on my photography skills, I really don't have any, I was just trying to capture lance and all of his many expressions.

I captured Lance with his eyes closed, but he has such a sweet look on his face.

He heard a school bus coming down the road and stopping. He is becoming quite the nosy neighbor.

His cute and he knows it look.

working the camera.

his scrunchy smile, still working the camera.



He loves his banana nut bread.


Wants more bread.

He realizes that I am taking pictures.


He is looking quite innocent here, but he has probably just thrown food on the floor and I told him no.

He really enjoyed the banana nut bread that grandma gave to him, when my current banana turn brown I am going to have to make him some more, he eats it like it is chocolate cake.

Yesterday, Lance and I were at the store so Jeff could have a meeting with the owner of a coffee shop he is having an event at. Fortunately, something came up and the meeting didn't happen so Jeff got to the shop earlier than he expected which is good because I was at my wits end with Lance. Lance was so good at the shop the first hour and half, but after that he was getting into everything and I couldn't keep up. He climbed in the display cases and pulled product our all over the place. He emptied out a bag of goldfish onto the floor and dumped the contents of the diaper bag all over the place. The store looked like a disaster area, I was so tired from trying to put inventory into the computer, keep things out of reach of Lance, clean up after Lance, and help customers. I was hoping I would get a chance to clean up before Jeff got there, but no such luck. He thinks I am incapable of running the shop and taking care of Lance. I can do it for an hour, but after while he is cranky, ready for a nap and hard to entertain. So here is some of Lance's mess yesterday:

Lance enjoying some the goldfish he tossed on the floor.
Yes, that is Lance in the display case. He managed to remove a glass shelf so he could fit in there better. He was banging trucks into the side of the case and I am surprised he didn't break the glass.

information overload

Lance and I now have a new evening ritual, we wait at the window watching for daddy to come home from work. We talk about the cars and trucks we see.

When Jeff does get home Lance and him play peek-a-boo, both ducking down and popping back up (which they are doing above, Lance is waiting for Jeff to pop up from behind the bushes). It is fun to watch Lance light up when he sees Jeff.


When Jeff does walk in Lance immediately wants to get him and does the happy dance (stomping in place), in the picture above, he is trying to figure out how to get down off the bench while happy dancing.



It amazes me how much joy this little guy brings up. Like all parents, I want to do what is best and I have found figuring out what is best is hard. This morning I read a blog about toxins in household cleaners. I have been trying to figure out what is best for us, but it isn't easy. The internet is great because it brings us so much information, but at the same time, it brings us SO MUCH INFORMATION! On almost every topic you can find lots of information to support both sides of an argument. I want to do what is best, but I am having a hard time figuring out what that is. The mommy is at a war with the scientist. I found a site about the dangers of household cleaners, my reaction: I am poisoning me and my family, I must rid myself of everything, and buy better. I have been considering switching to more of the method brand cleaners, but I wonder, is it really better, or will it just make me feel better? Also, microbiology in college, opened my eyes to the things that we don't see, and I want things to be clean, kill the bad, but at the same time, I know you can over clean too and kill the good. The scientist in me looked at the data given for the harmful reproductive effects of household cleaners, one study said it caused harm in tadpoles. The scientist in me didn't really think that this study had much bearing on me, amphibians and humans are very different creatures, but the mommy said, what if this data is true? It is so hard these days to do what is right. Jeff said if I was really worried that we would go to a whole foods and stock up on product there, but given that it would be more expensive then what I usually get, am I being wise with the small amount of money that I do have? And where does faith come in? I turned out okay, women have normal healthy babies all the time and they don't avoid chemicals and plastics. Lance should be evidence that you can turn out okay, especially since I was a biology teacher and handled real chemicals for labs and demonstrations, not to mention since I coached swimming I was around high levels of chlorine. He is okay right? He doesn't talk yet, but he is cute and healthy and Einstein didn't either from what I hear (but maybe I got that info from the internet!). So where does faith come in? I have faith in a God who is the giver of life and He is bigger than household chemicals that could cause harm to reproductive health. I do want to honor Him with my finances and take care of this Earth that He created, but how do I do that?
I guess this is just a case of me thinking way to hard on something that is so small in comparison to a God who is so BIG.

lance has his calcium quota

So it is Monday and the weekend had its ups and downs. Saturday was the up and Sunday was the down. The theme of Saturday was kid free. We went out to dinner and to a coffee shop minus Lance Saturday night. We were going to try and not talk about lance and the store, but that didn't last very long. It was nice to enjoy a meal and not rush, share, or entertain Lance. At the coffee shop we got to look at some books. We found quite a few about being good stewards of the Earth and one about how God is like Starbucks (okay I think I just butchered the book's concept). Saturday morning I also got some time to myself, Jeff took Lance to the shop so I could get some cleaning done without him underfoot. It was nice, but also kind of lonely. I felt like something was missing the whole hour and a half I was alone, and time seemed to tick by slowly. I also had a light bulb moment that morning. Our porcelain kitchen sink, which I love, gets gross and stained easily. I have been trying different things to clean it, but nothing was working. I even had a porcelain cleaner on my shopping list. I had a light bulb moment Saturday when I realized that the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser might work on the sink. (I had just scrubbed Jeff's tub with the Magic Eraser an hour earlier). I tried it and it worked beautifully. Why didn't I think about that a week ago????? I guess I wasn't thinking, but now I know, I LOVE the Magic Eraser, it is wonderful! When it first came out I thought it was all hype, but Christy showed me it was everything you could want it to be and then some. Lance, my mom, and I also went to lunch Saturday which was fun, I hadn't been to lunch in over a month probably, maybe longer. We also got a little Christmas shopping out of the way. I bought Lance a wheely bug for Christmas and my mom got a game for my cousins. Saturday was also a good day at the shop, Jeff had a Christmas time kind of sales day which we really need since we are so behind of bills. Also during naptime I organized all my music on itunes into playlists, it took way too long, but now my ipod is easier to use in the car. Saturday was a good day, and Sunday was the opposite.
Yesterday was a horrible, terrible, very bad day. No, it wasn't that bad, just kind of rough. Jeff had to be at church at 7:30, or so he thought, and since I slept in, I didn't get a shower before Jeff left. I put all of Lance's bath toys out of the tub so while I showered he could throw them into the tub and be entertained. A few minutes into showering, I noticed that Lance was quiet and hadn't peeked in the tub so I peeked out at him. I didn't have my contacts in so I couldn't see very well, but it looked like Lance had something in his mouth. I quickly moved to the other side of the shower curtain that was closer to him and tried to figure out what he was eating. I realized that he had a mouth full of tums, I quickly tried to get them out of his mouth as he was trying to escape from me. With shampoo now running into my eyes, I grabbed Lance, pjs and all into the shower with me. I pulled out 4 or 5 spearmint tums from his mouth and tried to wipe his tongue as best I could. I felt like the worst mother in the world at that moment, and was dreading the call to the doctor and Jeff to confess what had happened and what we need to do. I snapped out of my momentary panic and realized that though tums aren't good, they aren't going to harm him, the bottle doesn't say contact poison control, so I calmed down a little. I pulled the wet pjs and diaper off of him and let him play in the shower while I tried to finish up. I did have another moment of panic when I saw lance going after something mint green (a similar color to spearmint tums) on the bottom of the tub. I was panicked because I thought the tums that I had pulled out had melted into one big tum that lance was going after. The mommy fog cleared and I realized that it was the bar of soap on the bottom and that the tums were gone, but not forgotten. I finished showering and hoped that was the last of the drama for the day. I was wrong. At church I was getting the craft ready and set the scissors down which of course Lance picked up. I had my hand raised slightly just as Lance closed the scissors on my right middle finger knuckle, taking a bit of skin off. I immediately jumped up and walked around doing the pain dance, it really stung and I felt all woozy from the blood from the cut. Jeff thought that Lance had taken my finger off, and when he saw the small wound he immediately lost sympathy for me because he said it wasn't all that bad. Lance of course saw me upset and started crying and wanted me to hold him but I was doing the pain dance and was kind of mad at him for hurting me then getting upset at me for being hurt. Jeff of course said I was overreacting, so I had to prove it was bad, so I grabbed the scissors to show him the hunk of flesh still on them. It was quite gross. Since it is on the knuckle, it is quite uncomfortable and stings when it gets wet. Jeff had a good time inflicting more pain on me after church by pouring hydrogen peroxide on it. What stinks is the wound in on the knuckle so it will take forever to heal and I keep banging it or bending it so it hurts. I know it is a little cut, I have done worse, but it hurts! So after the tums and the scissors, I figured it had to get better, but the day didn't. We went for a walk and halfway into it I got really naseous and had to pee. The whole way home I thought I was going to pee in my pants or puke, it wasn't a lot of fun. We finally got home and after laying down I felt better and had a good time with friends. So with a good day on Saturday and a bad day on Sunday it all evened out to okay.

the not so cute pictures of a photogenic baby

Lance is usually quite photogenic but yesterday I captured him looking not so cute. To pass the time before daddy came home we made brownies. He really liked stirring and pouring the water into the mix. In the first picture he looks a little devious with his eyes.


This picture looks cute, he was showing how he liked to pour in the water. He did so good with stirring, he didn't try and eat the batter nor take the spoon out and get batter everywhere.

















At dinner last night Jeff and Lance were having a contest, not really a yelling contest, more like a loud, annoying vowel sound contest. It started when Jeff mimicked Lance and they each took turns making the annoying "ahhhhhhhh" sound as long as they could. Lance was quite comical because he was so focused on making his noise. These three pictures make me laugh, they probably aren't as funny if you don't know the accompanying ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sound. Can you see the concentration in those eyebrows?


Lance is covered in yogurt in all of these pictures, he likes to get messy while eating, I have no idea how much he actually eats because he gets so covered.





This picture is interesting because it shows off Lance's uneven front teeth. He only has three lowers which is strange because he has been cutting teeth two at a time so I am surprised we haven't seen the other one. This pictures also shows off that HUGE molar in the back, it was a pain to come in and it is a big one.




This last picture I took when Lance was trying to go after the camera. It captures him in his happy phase, but notice the tears, a few minutes before I had denied him the bottom cabinet in my bathroom. Also the spark on the chest from the drool, he just started drooling in September, and though it is better, I wish it would stop, but we probably have another 6 months. Looking at this picture makes me smile because, this face makes my day so much brighter. Next time I am irritated with him because he is whiny, I should look at this picture.

nothing i can do

Yesterday I had an Internet free day with the exception of checking our bank account to find out where I made the mistake on Quicken. I thought it was going to be harder to do then it was. Today I back checking bank, e-mail, some blogs, itunes, weather, etc and not getting a lot done. So I need to find a good balance. It it actually quite chilly today which is a total difference then yesterday. Also Lance's cold/allergy/whatever has turned into a yucky yellow runny mess. He seems to feel okay, he just looks nasty. Today I am extremely frustrated because I am a doer and there is nothing I can really do when it comes to our financial situation. This morning I made a list of possible situations that could help (sell house, get a full time job, get part time job, sell car, close the store) and nothing had the positives outweighing the negatives. Yes, we could sell the house, we could get some money to live off of, but would we ever be able to afford another one? could I stand being in an apartment? would it really be cheaper, with rent as high as it is? we could sell the car but we would have to buy something and even though the payment could be lower, we might be having to get it fixed more often. So after thinking of some solutions I realized that we are pretty much stuck in a holding pattern and the only thing I can do it pray. I know that we are doing what we are suppose to do, but why is it so hard. I know that I should be thankful because compared to Sudan we have a palace, but we are going to soon lose this palace if we can't pay the mortgage. We are behind on all bills which makes me sick to my stomach because we are paying late fees, but the money isn't there. I just need faith that we are doing the right thing and right now that seems so hard because I don't know if we are doing the right thing. How do you know when you are suppose to give up?

what's a girl to do?

After listening to several podcasts about being better stewards of the environment, I felt very convicted about using disposable diapers. Since Lance is napping I decided to google environmentally friendly diapers. I first found gdiapers, which have flushable middle, a much better alternative to cloth diapers and a better for the environment then disposables. I was practically sold until I saw the price. They were twice as much as regular diapers and no one locally sells them. So there goes that idea for now at least. So then I googled again and I am now even more confused. I found an article that talks about the supposed dangers of disposable diapers to a baby (lowers their sperm count), how biodegradable diapers do not break down in a landfill if they don't have enough oxygen (which they probably won't), and how cloth diapers use up more water which can be bad for the environment too. AHHHHHHH! What is a girl to do? I want to be wise with what little money we have, conserve resources, and not add a lot of extra work. Decisions on what is best is sometimes very hard to make because both sides of an issue have pretty strong arguments. For example, seventh generation says that bleach that makes diapers and wipes white release toxins in the environment and causes birth defects, reproductive issues, and cancer, but I turned out okay and my parents didn't know about toxin free products.

of all the inherited traits

I had hoped that Lance would not inherit my allergies, but things aren't looking good for little man. Yesterday afternoon he started sneezing, had a runny nose, and his eyes looked red. I don't know if it is a cold or allergies, but he has never sneezed like he has been before with a cold. I feel bad for him because he doesn't feel good, and I pray that this may be a short cold that will go away soon. He is currently asleep which is unusual for so early in the morning, I hope he have a long nap because the last couple of days he hasn't slept as long as he usually does. Lance has also been getting into mischief this morning. He grabbed the end of the toilet paper and ran it into the playroom. While I was showering he decided he wanted to shower to so he took off his diaper and threw it in the shower. He found the cheerios from the diaper bag and managed to open the Ziploc bag and pull a plate out of his drawer and pour the cheerios on the plate. He figured out that there was a drawer underneath his bed and pulled out all of the sheet and blankets that were there. What was I doing while the mess was being made? Guilty of trying to find some new podcasts to listen to, update Quicken, check my e-mail, and shower/ get dressed. So this morning, I am officially a slacker mommy. I will do better I promise!
On a random note, speaking of doing better. I listened this morning to another God is Green podcast from Mars Hill/ Rob Bell and I am very convicted. I am trying to figure out ways that I can be a better steward. Something that I really don't want to give up, but am feeling pretty guilty about: DIAPERS! I know that they are pretty bad, but he are so much easier, and cloth seem so bulky, or at least what I have seen from people I know. Right now we don't have the money to invest in cloth diapers, but I might be able to go 50/50 with cloth diapers, so I am making a little difference. I am interested to see if this conviction about diapers will stick or if it is something I will get over quickly.

it's too hot for october

So one week into October and it feels more like August then October. I am ready for it to be a little bit cooler, not freezing, but cooler. I want to go to the park with Lance, but it seems so hot I don't really know if I want to venture outside and walk down there. I have to walk to the park because after listening to several messages from Rob Bell, I feel convicted driving my car somewhere that I could walk to. Speaking of convicted, I really am! I don't know about global warming, despite the warm October temps, but I feel like I need to be a better steward of the earth. I already recycle, but I can do more and want to. It is funny because I have been hearing from the news the importance of taking better care of the earth, but it wasn't until I heard a sermon that really got me thinking, what little things can I do that would be better. So far I have unplugged some kitchen appliances, walked to the park though I really felt like driving, recycled plastic cups from small group last night, and tried to not let the water run continuously while washing dishes. I don't know if I can be radical enough to switch to cloth diapers, but I may have to, I made the mistake of buying pampers last week and now Lance has a red behind and I had to go out and by more, which stinks because we have very little money. On an exciting note, this weekend I haggled and got a new jogging stroller. Our jogging stroller died in August and I have been wanting another. I saw one Friday night at once upon a child, and after talking with my mom and looking up stroller prices I went the next day to see if they would take a lower price, which they did, it was so awesome because I am so not a bargainer, if the price says 2 dollars, i believe it is 2 dollars, not a 1.50, I don't yard sale for that very reason. Well Lance is up from nap.

thankful

I am thankful that they are so many parks/playgrounds a short drive or walk from our house. I was a slacker this afternoon and drove down the street to the park to play and I realized how we have quite a few playgrounds to choose from. There are three nice church playgrounds and one park playground within a walk from our house. I also am thankful that Lance is old enough to enjoy the playgrounds, last year at this time there wasn't a lot we could do outside other than sit or take a walk. Also, Lance has mastered going down the slide by himself which makes the playground more fun for me because I don't have to crawl everywhere and I get to catch him at the bottom.

not much going on

Not much going on here. I have been feeling pretty blah so I haven't really been doing much. We went to the library, I have a large fine the next time I go back. We took a mini-hike this morning, I would have liked to go longer, but the backpack was really uncomfortable and I was not feeling it. We have been going to the park a lot, Lance is getting really good going down the slide by himself. The front porch is still jacked up. Life is pretty dull, but that may not be such a bad thing.

opening a whole can of worms

Why can't things be simple? They seem to be for others. Why can't I have an easy button, or get a get out jail free card? Nothing major, just it seems like small things turn into big things. For example, we replaced the railing on our front porch and I want to finish the project by repainting the whole porch. How difficult can it really be? Dumb question. As Jeff was scraping paint he realized that the top of the post is rotted and needs to be replaced. So one side of the porch is currently supported by a ceiling jack, we are getting quite trailer trashy over here on plymouth. Of course the side railings that we just replaced have to be taken down to replace the posts and who knows how long it will take to get this project finished. We did discover under the post that the front porch use to have fake grass on it, real classy let me tell you. So like most projects we start, it is much more complicated then it seems.