Before and After

Justin got a hair cut today. Or rather a buzz cut! It is a little too short for my taste, but it grows fast.And as a "before" here is a picture of Justin taken Sunday. No doubt he needed a cut as he was looking quite shaggy.

Buzzed or shaggy... He is equally cute and I love him just the same.

{45 Things}

Found this out in blog land and am posting it here because I want to keep it and want to share it.

{45 Things}
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion, Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone and everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift

Beach trip

It was about 10:44 AM today and we had no idea what to do. It was Jeremy's last day in Portland and I was simply drawing a blank. I had originally planned on going to OMSI, but they are closed on Mondays. We had talked about maybe squeezing in a beach trip and well... we went for it, we had the time, it was a nice day, why not? We hit up Seaside first and fed the seals and spent some time at the aquarium. Then we headed south to Cannon Beach. It didn't take long for Jeremy to get right into the ocean - and it didn't take long for Justin to follow suite. We had to drag the boy outta the ocean, he was having a ball - but it was kinda chilly and we were getting hungry. A tantrum and meltdown ensued like none other, but after lunch Justin's 'toood was much improved. We headed back home, Jeremy and Justin napped in the car and I cried. Jason was being an ass of epic proportions and the nasty text messages eventually got to me. A few hours later we dropped Jeremy off at the airport. Then Jason picked up Justin and I had a good long girl talk chat with Rachel. After a long soapy soak I crashed. I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever fit so much stuff into one weekend before. It was a blast and I hope Jeremy comes back to visit soon.

It's a zoo out there!

On the agenda today: go to the zoo! Justin and I have been the zoo well over a dozen times, but this was Jeremy's first time to the Oregon Zoo and honestly the first time Justin and I have explored every exhibit in one trip. We saw everything! And it was a fabulous!

For the first time ever I went into feed the lorikeets. Those pretty birds sure did take to Jeremy, I think at one point he had one on each shoulder and 3 on one arm! After the zoo we had burgers and then hit up the movie theater for a 7:30 showing of the new Pixar movie UP. What a busy wonderful day!

Dane Cook

Jeremy landed safe and sound in Portland after a few flight delays. After consuming 80 of "the cupcakes" we dropped Justin off at daycare and headed downtown. It is Rose Festival time here and downtown was hoppin'! We took a walk along the waterfront, checked out the ships and then headed {on foot} to the Rose Garden for the show. My picture today showcases the head and ears of the kid sitting in front of me, but... here is DC - su-fi and all! Even blurry the guy is HOT!

The longest week ever

Ahhh, TGIF! This week has lasted for.ever. I am aniticpating a fun busy weekend and it just can't come fast enough.

Every night when we take baths... Paxil crashs out on the bathroom counter.

The project here is 2 fold

Jeremy comes in Saturday and per his request and my offer - I am making the soon to be famous and oh so delicious chocolate stout cupcakes dipped in ganache and topped with Bailey's Irish Cream butter cream. Jamie has also requested these for her wedding, and this was a trial run of sorts as well to see how many cupcake come out of each batch, as I never counted the last time.

all dressed up

The neighborhood always looks so pretty this time of year with the green grass and blooming flowers. All of the beauty does come with a price as it does take quite awhile to make sure it is well watered. The front of the house gets a lot of hot evening sun and things fry very quickly if not kept wet. Justin loves to help water, but he prefers to water the sidewalk, driveway and car rather than the grass and flowers. **sigh**

hens and chicks

Love these!

Perfect Combination

After a few days of heat it finally cooled down and drizzled a bit today. It was still nice enough to be out in shorts and Justin just had to take a bike ride and Paxil just had to come along and I just had to take my camera. Justin spent a few hours with me at work today - Jason had to take off to Seattle to deal with a work related thing and the daycare people had no kids today so they were'nt around. Justin had a lot of fun with me and work and I got a few things done. Not a bad Monday at all.

hot hot hot

Paxil sneaks out the door every chance he gets. I think he looks quite cute chilling on the grass.

Justin still loves the hose. It was really to hot to be washing the car, but he wanted to, so we did. Running the cool water on our feet was a great way to cool off - as was sitting on the grass under the shade of the tree.

We had ran some errands earlier in the day, to Target and Costco. I still had to run to Freddies but had ran out of steam sometime while standing in the line from hell at Costco. When we were outside my neighbor offered up a margarita and after an ecstatic "yes please" mood improved. I really hope my house doesn't sell and my modify works out. I love it here!

please pass the sunscreen

Today we got up and went to Champoeg park to check out where Jamie and Scott will be getting hitched. When we had finally made it {I was afraid I had made a wrong turn} I exclaimed, "we made it to Champoeg" {pronounced sham-pooey} and Justin said "no wash-a my hair!" So funny! He hates getting his head wet and shampooed. I just cracked up! Love him lots!

After hitting up Sonic for a cherry limeade we went to Jamie's. We worked on some wedding stuff and then hit up the pool. It was so hot, we all needed to cool off and the pool was divine! Justin had a ball! And no, he didn't get his hair wet! :)

Ahhhh... Fridays rule!

I am quite certain she is going to fall through the railing one of these days. Hope she lands on her feet.

Momma's Boy

This evening instead of grabbing a pull-up to do his "business" - Justin said "I ready poop on da toilet." I knew this was coming, I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly, see Justin for the past few weeks now has been very adamant that I change his poops immediately. And last night he wanted nothing to do with a pull-up. So I set him up on the toilet, with the cushion seat and a stool for his feet, we read some books and then he pooped!!!! Yay! I was thrilled! He was thrilled. He got 3 balloons for his deed, and another 2 balloons for repeating the feat tonight. Fingers are crossed that he will keep this up.

And today's picture has nothing to do with poop, because really who wants to read about all of this potty training business, let alone see it {wink}!

B-E-A-Utiful

The clematis plant out front started to blossom this week. The flowers this year are as big as dinner plates!

Happy Half Birthday

Justin officially turned 3 and a half last week. His Grandma Sharill always sends him a box of goodies on his half birthday. The box arrived today and I will say... Justin loves opening presents! And gives a big THANK YOU! Justin got a copy of the movie Stewart Little in his box of presents and he really enjoyed watching the movie tonight and I think it will be a new favorite!

this is what...

...mischievous looks like!

Today is Memorial Day which for me today equaled no work. I met Jamie, Rachel and Nicole at Starbucks at 11:00 - the plan: to celebrate Rachel's birthday. After getting coffee, we headed next door to get our toes done, which was followed by a trip to DSW to find "strappy shoes" for the wedding. Next was lunch and cocktails at the Cheesecake Factory. We also strolled the mall for a bit.

This evening I spent sometime playing "restaurant" with Justin and was his grocery store customer. After bath the little guy got frustrated with me because I wanted to do something other than play "hide and find me" under the bed covers. A big tantrum followed, with Justin screaming, crying, jumping, and basically being inconsolable. I think this comes from wanting all of my attention almost all the time and his being tired - which can make for a wicked combination. After some SpongeBob and a big glass of milk, Justin went to bed - and so did I.

I have no words...

What is better than a Sunday?
A Sunday that is followed by a Monday that is a holiday!
Even better, still - a paid holiday off of work!!

This monkey! Like I said, I have no words.... He is hilarious.

Today he spent some time playing what can really only be explained as "cop" and then later we played resturant. He has a very good imagination - I often wonder where he comes up with these things he does.

here comes the bride

Today Justin and I spent some time at David's Bridal with Jamie, Nicole and Scott's mom. Jamie got a dress!! Nicole and I each got a cocktail style dress to wear to the wedding. It was a lot of fun browsing the racks of colorful dresses and trying stuff on. I snapped a few pictures of Jamie in "the dress" but can't post them here {just in case}. But here is me in an adorable pink dress that I really wanted, but it didn't quite fit right up top and I couldn't justify paying to get it altered. I ended up with a black little number that is fab-u-lous!

1 pink balloon

Sometimes one picture, just isn't enough!

Looking forward to 3 days off!

I was drawing a 100% blank on what to take a picture of today, so naturally I handed the camera to Justin and let him decide. He took this blurry picture of me - and I am posting it cause I kinda think I could pass for a vampire. Pale skin - check. Dark circles under eyes - check. Do you think Dr. Cullen would adopt me?

One more work day this week and then we have a 3 day weekend! I cannot believe that Memorial Day weekend is here. I am not quite ready for summer yet.

At work my big project this week is putting together a presetnation on Web 2.0. Tomorrow I give a dry run presentation to my boss. I feel like I am back in school again and I don't have the presentation ready yet, so I am nervous. I worked on it quite a bit today, but got distracted with other fires that needed attention. I really hope I don't blow it. I want to wow her, but I am not feeling very confident.

split screen

Pretty much every night before and after bath we have computer time. Which for me means email, blog post, IM, facebook. And for Jusitn it means watching SpongeBob or Fairly Odd Parents. Justin on the left, me on the right. It is a good arrangement.

P.S. - Justin took this picture!

sad girl

Harlow had her spay surgery today. She is doing well, but isn't {as expected} feeling real spry. And now I can cross this off my to do list - that feels nice.

phone call from Justin

This time it was Uncle {Todd} who got a call from Justin! Frequently Justin gets a desire to call someone up. Next time it just may be you!

ribbons and hugs

This morning we were productive and got some plants planed in the pots out front. I think I may forgo the hanging baskets this year. I was the first one on the block last year to get my baskets out, but I am not feeling it this year, I guess time will tell.

This afternoon we had to vacate our house for a home showing, which was scheduled to take place about an hour before a baby shower we were attending started. After a fast spruce of the house we headed to Target to get a card and then we went to the baby shower. Auntie Ann's {aka the day care lady} daughter {Brittnay} is having a little girl and is due in July.

Justin and Kaitlyn.
The expression in his face makes me laugh out loud!

And this evening we took a long walk around the neighborhood... in flip flops - which was very stupid! I now have blisters between my toes. Ouch! Justin's toes seem to be fine though. Next time we are wearing appropriate foot wear. After our walk we did our grocery shopping and I declare the best time to go grocery shopping is 8:00 on a Sunday evening. The place is quite and the overall shopping experience is so much better.

Otherwise it is just a plain ol' Sunday. Oh how I wish it wasn't. I am not ready for Monday to come yet.

Photos compliments of Ann.

Hello Summer!

Today we headed across the street at noon for a neighborhood BBQ/2nd birthday party that we were invited too. Michael our neighbor turned 2 and we really enjoyed helping him celebrate with delicious grilled hotdogs, potato salad, bbq'ed beans, lemonade. The works! And it was so nice to see many of our neighbors. We don't ever see anyone is the cold wet months, and now that it is nice people start to come out.

Today it was nice out! Really nice - dare I say too nice... too sunny. Now I don't want to complain about nice weather, but when Justin and I were about and about this afternoon it was HOT! We had the AC cranked! Now it doesn't help that my car is black inside and out, but my goodness, we were roasting! Hello Summer!

After the party and the errands we came home to get some stuff done. At this point it was too hot to be outside anyway. I decided to tackle my dresser drawers. I basically started by taking everything out of them and then putting things back. Some stuff hit the Goodwill box, some stuff will get hung up in the closet, some times got shuffled to new drawers. It will take awhile to organize it all, but I made progress and that feels good!

Of course Paxil thought an empty open drawer would make a great place to relax...

...as for Justin - he thought that rolling around on all the clothes I pulled out of the drawers would be nice. He's a big help!

caught in the act

Justin decided to drop trow in the driveway and pee. I had camera in hand taking pictures of plants out front and after my stunned reaction of "what the heck are you doing!?" - I was able to snap this picture of Justin quickly pulling up his pants. Ha!

Oh Friday! How I love Fridays! Especially sunny beautiful perfectly warm Fridays! After eating out at our favorite Thai restaurant we came home and washed the car and pulled weeds and pruned. We were outside in short sleeves until 8:00 and it felt so nice.

insert disgusted face here

I had a house showing today, which theoretically should be a good thing - and there is another one scheduled tomorrow. Problem is, my house is so not in a condition for prospective buyers to walk through it. It is embarrassing really! Things have gotten so out of hand that actually getting back to a status of show ready will take some tremendous work and elbow grease. Now it is my understanding that it is a good idea to conquer organization one space at a time, or dare I say it, one drawer at a time. So this evening I am going to try and make a little progress in the closet so I don't totally offend the people coming to go through my house tomorrow. yikes!

there is a first time for everything

I have a weakness for Harry Slatkin candles. I buy his stuff in bulk at Bath and Body Works on a very regular basis. His pumpkin scent is by far the best fall aroma ever - and for summer the pineapple orchid cannot be beat! Well... the other night when I was channel surfing I noticed Harry Slatkin home fragrances on QVC - so I clicked, viewed, and then bought! I have never bought from a home shopping TV show before, but I just HAD TO have this candle. The fragrance is papaya guava - and it is simply divine, and the adorable holder... well, I was sold on the spot! Now as a Scentsy consultant I hawk wickless candles and all the benefits of "going wickless" - but tonight I just had to bust out a real candle. The smell is amazing and is bringing a bit of summer into my house on a day that has been dreary and wet.

a perk

One of the perks of having your wisdom teeth pulled is the flowers! Dr. TenHulzen sends a nice bouquet of flowers in an awesome mug on the day of your surgery. It wasn't practical for Amanda to take her flowers home on the train - so they are keeping me company. She will reclaim her mug on her next trip down, but right now I am enjoying her gift!

iTunes

I have had my little iPod Nano for well over a year now and I am just now working on loading my beloved Dave Matthews Band and Pink Floyd tunes onto it.

Today Amanda had her post-op and headed on the train back to Seattle. I never like when company leaves, I enjoy having extra helping hands {not to mention adult conversation} around the house.

Happy Mother's Day

Today Amanda, Justin and I headed into NW Portland to hit up Saint Cupcake. We also spent a little time walking up NW 23rd as well, I got some new bubble bars from LUSH {cannot wait to use one}. We didn't want to be gone long so we headed back home after a quick trip to Freddies to get the rest of the fixin's for the chicken enchiladas we had planned for dinner.

very close to loosing it

Today!
Today I had the following going on all at once:

• making tomatillo salsa for the chicken enchiladas I am making tomorrow
• potato soup {from scratch} in the works
• printing Jamie's wedding invitations upstairs
• helping with invitation production downstairs
• dealing with a child who wanted all of my attention
• dealing with a sister who needed ice packs for her swollen jaw

I truly thought I was going to loose my cool. My house was torn apart. Between the mess of the toys all over the floor and a kitchen completely destroyed by my cooking to the dining room covered in paper - I was overwhelmed. Simply put, I was trying to multi-task too much.

The end result of a crazy day is that I have awesome salsa in my fridge, a belly full of yummy soup, a clean {sort-of} living room, Jamie has 50+ wedding invitations complete, Justin and I are both bathed and ready for a good night of snoozing. Between Jamie, Rachel, Amanda and I - we were able to get a lot of stuff done in short order.

May 8th

Amanda minus 4 teeth!
We were up early to take Amanda in for her appointment. She was a trooper and all things considered did very very well. She spent most of the day holding the sofa down with ice packs stuck on her cheeks and jaw. By the end of the day she was able to slowly eat macaroni and cheese. I say Bravo!

Today was also my one year anniversary at JSR. I CANNOT believe that I have been back to work for a year. Truly cannot believe it. Going back to work and putting Justin in daycare freaked me out - I didn't want to do it, but had to, so I did - and it has been such a great thing! I have come a long ways in a year and so has Justin! Today since we were home Justin spent sometime doing this:
It's a big boy bike - complete with training wheels! He is a little unsure about it. It is not as stable as his trike, but he is very excited about it and before too long will be zipping all about!

red sparkle toes rule!

• drop Justin off at daycare
• take Amanda to her pre-op appointment
• get Starbucks
• get pedicures with matching red sparkle polish
  
• go to Costco and Target
• dodge downpour
• delish' lunch at Panera
• beauty supply store
• quick trip home
• head to mall
• buy new bike for Justin
• get iced tea
• shop without a 3 year old
• Amanda - phone interview for internship
• Amanda gets new iPod
• go pick up Justin
• eat dinner
• watch Bride Wars

short week

This was a good short work week. Amanda came in tonight, she is having her wisdom teeth extracted on Friday and she came down to Portland to go the same place I went to in 2007. Justin and I watched Amanda's train come in and then came home and Justin preformed for us. I love having company - and so does Justy!

a daily favorite

Nearly everyday for my evening snack I have organic vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries.

I love the rain...

...when I am lying in bed at night. The sound of the rain drops is relaxing!

But... I don't like rain in the afternoon when I am driving home from work. It was just pouring! Big drops! Lots of standing water.


And then when I think that the rain is the most exciting thing to happen today this happens...

with no insitigation or encouragement on my part.

I need a craft room. Stat!

My scrapbook supplies runnith over. I have things that I have forgotten about. Hundred of dollars of paper, stickers, buttons, ribbons, rub-ons, etc. that is all in complete and total state of disorganization. I have grand plans to create a scrapbook/crafting space in my loft. I have a big table just waiting for me in the garage and if the thing didn't weight so much, I'd haul it up the stairs right now. Today Rachel came over to craft cards and the state of my mess became even more apparent as I hauled armful after armful of unorganized supplies downstairs for us.

ummm.... oh-kay....

Today we didn't get out of bed until noonish, which was wonderful!

For breakfast Justin wanted pancakes, so I whipped up some. After I got Justin's plate ready for him I got to work on mine, not noticing that Justin had dumped a pack of fruit snacks on top of his pancakes. I am NOT a fan of fruit snacks, so I had asked Justin to save those for later - forgetting his new found ability to open packages... oops. Deciding to just roll with it, {it's Saturday after all} I started to eat - but wait... Justin's hands were sticky and he wanted gloves. Huh? I guess that makes sense, syrup makes fingers sticky, put on rubber gloves, then eat. Problem solved. Ummmmm - Oh-kay!

Fast forward to this afternoon. Justin dressed himself:
In shorts, that he put on backwards,
a shirt, that he put on backwards
and his slippers on the wrong feet.
I did take a picture of him, but you couldn't really tell that his clothes were backwards - and we headed off to the store.

As for me.. I seem to be having technology issues. My little video camera was on the fritz, and then I wanted to put some more songs on the ipod - but itunes isn't working. The computer keeps freezing up. I am getting increasingly irritated and would love to spend the evening in the bathtub reading New Moon.

Even now Justin is amazing me. He found some poles that I pulled out of box today - I was feeling ambitious and was going to install the closet organizer purchased for his closet before he was even a zygote. Justin has these polls stuck in the couch and chair cushions and now he "needs lights." He is trying to make a train signal crossing. I truly love his imagination. It makes me just shake my head and laugh inside. He is too cute for words.

a dance

Justin dancing at daycare today with Emily.

Clearly he is thrilled!

Photos compliments of Ann.