i was tagged

the person who tagged me was late on posting their tag, and i guess i followed suit...i was just reminded by reading a similar post...i was tagged by Whitney the creator of some beautiful jewery (hey...just in time for a holiday plug) Bel Kai Designs. The challenge is to share 7 facts about yourself...let me just grab a cup of coffee first...okay here goes...
1. i grew up on a farm...ish in yorba linda (i think barn, corral, horses, goats, chickens, ducks, tractors count as farm right?)
2. i have a strong loathing for ann hathaway for no good reason...just the mention of her name makes me mad
3. i had my day as a swing dancer and have a super small appearance in Truman Show (dont look too closely for me - you'll get dizzy)
4. i am a registered libertarian and closet conspiracy theorist and still think my name is on a list somewhere and freak out every time i go the airport (there was also a year in college in which i was certain taxi cabs were following me, but that is a different story for a different time)
5. cilantro, horseradish and wasabi all gross me out but i wish they didnt...dont hate on me for this one - i have tried...believe me i have tried...
6. i still think that Blame It on the Rain is a good song
7. i am planning a home birth and its just about all i think about lately - i can't wait to meet this boy!

turducken

so...we were going to deep fry our turkey, but it turns out to be pretty costly to get all the stuff to do it, so we are going to be roasting....however...in my search for something new to do with the thanksgiving turkey i came across the ever delightful Turducken...which is a de-boned chicken inside a de-boned duck inside a partially de-boned turkey...seriously...has anyone ever done this? obviously, because there are pictures, but really - is that appealing to anyone? that would take so much work. i have been obsessing over it all day long...

random thoughts

i have a quiet reflective night tonight and thought i would jot down some of my random pregnant brain thoughts...with bryson recently turning 3 i find myself shocked every day by how much a little man he is turning into to. i know - you hear parents say it all the time and how cliche - and how true and how overstated...but seriously...i can't get over it. i love the way that he is making sense of things and although we have days...like today - dear God...where i wish he would stop talking for just 2 minutes, at the same time his verbal sense is inspiring. for instance...two of my favorite words that he has made up are: 1) clawbster = lobster....because really - they are clawbsters...makes more sense doesn't it? and 2) jumpoline=trampoline...because really - we don't tramp on them...


also - whenever we question him about anything..."what did you do with the little piece that fits on the tripod that mommy just bought daddy?" his reply = "anything"....or..."what were you just doing to the cat...why is the cat running away like that?" his reply = "anything". its so perfectly fitting...we know he means to say nothing...but that would really be a lie wouldn't it? anything is a much more appropriate response for a 3 year old who is really up to anything and everything.

he is starting to ask why questions about his world and starting to make sense of his environment and starting to form social relationships and social groups and become geographically aware that we live somewhere different than other people. the awareness came into effect with our san jose trip last weekend. when we had gone before (i believe it was in September) we left long beach around 8pm and he slept - we told him that meema and papa live far far away. he woke up when we got there - recognized their house and said, "see i told you - it wasn't far far away!" this last weekend when we went we left around 6pm and he was awake until 9 and then woke up again at 11:30 because we hit construction on the pacheco pass, at which point he started singing, "I'm never tired...I'm not going to sleep" - he remembered that the last time we got to meema and papa's house meema woke up and played foosball with him at 3:00 in the morning for 30 minutes...so of course he wanted to stay up for that. anyway - he got a better sense of how far the trek was this last time and constantly asks me what the place is called where meema and papa live...

i love this age where their imaginations are bigger than the tiny world we have constructed for ourselves and where their excitement and wonderment can bring out inner children in all of us and where energy seems to be bottomless and sometimes (not nearly enough though) contagious. i hope as a parent i can help this phase to last a good long time and to make sure i do everything i can to keep the world exciting and fresh and new. i think their innocence is the best gift they can give to the world and i wouldnt want anyone or anything to taint that.

don't get me wrong...this is not an easy age. these last two days when i have said his prayers i have asked God to help me know how to parent this child...his will is relentless, his energy neverending (we put him to bed at 8:00 and he didn't fall asleep until just about 10:00 - talking to himself for 2 hours!) and his verbal knowledge that i love so much was constantly spouting...everywhere...loudly...but even through all the tantrums and whining and boundary testing there pop up these precious sweet moments that melt you and make you want to do it all over again tomorrow...just after some sleep...and maybe coffee in the morning would help too.

my time with him as my only child is coming to an end and i have mixed emotions. i look so forward to him having a sibling...especially a brother he can do whatever it is boys do with each other...probably fight...a lot...but i know that it will be hard to not have the alone time i have with him now like i do - to lay down with him when he takes his naps (which are becoming less and less frequent sadly) - to do a craft in the afternoon together...all the precious mommy and bryson times are now going to include another being. i am just about 36 weeks and the realization that this baby could be born anytime now is starting to hit and i am increasingly excited and nervous all at the same time.

Bryan's White Twin

bryan's cousin Mike was at the wedding and they wanted me to take shots of them because Mike evidently tells everyone he has a black twin/cousin...i hadnt noticed before this night, but the Italian really shows through when he is with him...hilarious!

event-filled weekend

i am still trying to recover from this weekend, but it will most likely take me all week. we had 2 birthday parties (one for our niece Kaliya who turned 11 and one for Bryson and I), 1 wedding (Bryan's cousin Cady) and 2 baby showers (Kristie's and a surprise one for me!)

on our way back home we stopped off in santa barbara to have (we thought) a nice dinner with jeff and solera and instead walked into a room of our very awesome college friends who surprised us with a baby shower. we are so blessed to have such amazing thoughtful friends. they decorated onesies for us...some of which we can actually dress our baby in...i'll post some of my favorites later. i am still overwhelmed that they all threw it together so fast and that so many people came - we love you all!

(This pic is of the Barnes family at the wedding on Saturday...i love bryson's expression - priceless!)

santa barbara fire

many of you i am sure have heard that there has been a nasty fire in santa barbara / montecito this week. here is an update from yesterday on the westmont fire update website (Las Barrancas is the faculty housing neighborhood where many of the Westmont professors live & Clark Halls is a dormitory for freshman and sophomores):

326 students in Gym, fires out

November 14th, 2008

8:00 am: There are no active fires on campus, no injuries, and everyone is safe.

Wesmont has 326 students remaining in the Gym; those students with transportation have been released from campus because it is safe for them to travel on area roads.

Westmont has lost eight structures, four buildings in Clark halls (F,G,M,S), the physics building, the old math building and the two quonset huts. The later three structures were scheduled for demolition soon.

Fourteen faculty homes in Las Barrancas have burned; there is damage to trees, and wooded areas on campus, but much of the formal gardens remains intact.

New Shop Posts

we had a ton of fun at the patchwork show, and true to our promise we posted all the goods we have left over at our etsy shop. it has been so much fun making all these things, it can get tough to part with them sometimes because you put so much time and thought and love into each piece. but...we'll sell out, don't worry! i have some ideas i am working on for future shop items, mainly i need to beef up my BOY supply...any ideas???

the friendkidly three have been working very hard and we have basically put together a brand new shop with all sorts of new items and goodies...just in time for the holidays! remember to keep it handmade this holiday season and check out the stash!

www.friendkidly.etsy.com

im addicted

i just heard about these books about a month ago and after being accused of "living under a rock" for never having heard of them i ordered it through half.com and read it in like 2 days. i kind of wanted to not like it - i am not a big vampire fan...i guess...they never have really intrigued me i suppose, but i think this book sparked a new fascination. one thing i must say is that this book is extremely linear - there are really no side stories or side plots and it was odd to read a book about just one plot - that stuck out to me, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. what i did love is that the author - Stephanie Meyer - totally captured the high school love/crush thing. i couldnt help but harken back...way back to a crush on a boy who was no good for me and i knew it but i couldnt stay away...he wasnt a vampire, but then again - who knows? i loved the way she forced the reader to ride along on the hormonal rollercoaster of a 17 year old girl. anwyay - it wasn't shakespeare...which i still have yet to finish, sorry joel - but it was absolute brain candy and i didnt hesitate to order the second one in the series almost instantly...

Happy Veterans Day Grandpas!

to both of my grandpas - Wally and Darol - Wally was in the merchant marines and Darol in the navy....Happy Veterans Day and thank you for all you did for our country...Bryson and I visited Grandma June and Grandpa Wally today and I tried to keep the bull in the china shop from destroying their apartment...they were so happy to see us and i snuck in this little moment too of Grandpa and Bryson:

Patchwork

This last Sunday friendkidly participated in our first craft show at Patchwork in Santa Ana. it was a great event of local artists and crafters and we actually sold a bunch of stuff. More than that, the feedback was more than encouraging and we have all caught our second wind, despite multiple children and pregnancies and kids refusing to nap. we met some great people, ate some great food, heard some great (and not-so-great...lets be entirely honest) music. We are updating our shop this week with new goodies too since we passed out so many business cards! stay posted and remember to buy handmade!

happy birthday bryson!

my baby boy turned 3 on saturday...we had a great little get-together with family to celebrate the momentous occassion...he got all sorts of fabulous big kid toys that he is truly playing with now...maybe he will stop trying to use my desk objects now as toys...not holding my breath though! i am still not believing my son is 3...but he keeps reminding me - how do i know he is 3?
1. he asks "why" constantly
2. his imagination is overwhelmingly active
3. he is wearing big boy underwear and using the potty all by himself
4. he is able to be in a room by himself unsupervised (for at least 10 minutes)
5. he can dress himself from his shirt to his shoes
6. he can count to 10
7. he knows the street he lives on
8. he remembers when you tell him promises or bribes
9. he is trying to give up his nap
10. he is creating friendships and relationships in such an amazing way now

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

white clawed jesus

so suddenly it seems we wake up with a kid...and suddenly it seems we are meant to parent said kid...and suddenly said kid is asking all sorts of questions that i never really thought i would have the need to prepare to answer...like for example - bryson came into the office the other day while i was working and tells me he is scared of Jesus. "why?" i ask..."because he has white claws and white eyes and scary hair"...hmmm...i try to think of how he got this image of Jesus and who exactly he thinks Jesus is anyway - we say his prayers every night and he knows Jesus lives in heaven with stars and angels, but how did he come to be a monster i asked him...no answer...so i googled Jesus...isn't that funny? i wanted to put a different image in his head than a monster so i googled our Lord and Savior...anyway - this wonderful picture came up and i showed him that Jesus was a man and probably had a beard and was Jewish...i am sure we can discuss that later...but i suppose it helped replace white-claw Jesus with baby lamb Jesus at least...is there a book somewhere for all of this? cause i should probably read that book...this kid is surprising me every day with how he makes sense of the world...

Happy Birthday Jenny

happy birthday dear birthday twin/cousin...see you tonight at Hibachi...yummmm....Hibachi! You may have to click on the picture to see it better, but look at us...from our fake little performances we tortured our families with to our high school performances we tortured our families with...warning...do not look too closely at our little thigh sizes...we were in high school and it is never fair to compare 30 year old thighs with teenager thighs...just be grateful we looked like that when we had to wear those...in front of people...at some times in front of our own student body...it is because of you i got back into dance and i am so grateful for it - thank you for being like a big sis to me always! love you!

Halloween

can you guess who Bryan was? Bryan surprised me for my birthday and flew in Jena (and her baby Eliot who turned 1 year old on Halloween!) from Portland and my brother flew Ruthie in from Texas in to celebrate with me. such a sweet sweet surprise. i miss my girls so much and it was so wonderful to have them there with me...we went shopping and stayed up late talking and laughing and looking at goofy college pictures of us and had brunch and i loved every minute with them. I also loved that we got to be with Eliot on her birthday - what a darling baby and what an amazing mommy she has! definitely the best Halloween ever! we went to the carnival at our chruch. bryson couldnt decide between pirate and ghost so last minute costume decisions were made...he ended up a pirate!