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where my husband says "you share too much"

Well. Perhaps he might be right. When my stat counter went boing I got curious, and figured out a freaky way that a lot of people were finding this site. Go with me now - I'm putting it in code so the exact phrase won't come up. Word 1: Short for Jacob Word 2: _______ the Train Word 3: IN Word 4: (opposite of over)-wear Apparently, those 4 words lead all these people to a now-deleted post of mine that had me laughing as my older son put Thomas the train undies over his pants and refused to take them off. The post was complete with a picture, that is also now deleted. I'm sure the googlers were disappointed, as I did some homework of my own and decided that they were most likely looking for this guy in his shorts (even though he's only in high school! which must just thrill his poor mother).

what does this say about me as a mom?

Tioga has his first vet appointment tomorrow. Josh and Jacob still don't have a local pediatrician. And Jake never had a well child 2 year check up (his shots are all up-to-date, though) and Josh is due for shots in a few weeks. Switching insurance is such a pain.

ha ha

The joke in this post made me laugh, but the comments made me almost pee. How's that for an unoriginal post? But you'll laugh, I promise.

sleep terrors for grown-ups

Last night was a great opportunity to catch up on lost sleep. Or so I thought. I was so tired that I knew I'd fall asleep faster than usual - and I fall asleep fast. Well, I stayed up too late watching Monday's The Closer. Then I was kind of riled. So there I was in bed, making lists of people I forgot to call back and jobs I forgot to do and things I forgot to buy and on and on. You know how it works when everything comes rushing back just when you lie down, right? But I've not finished unpacking the bedroom, so my nightstand is next to me, but without my paper or pens inside. I finally fell asleep, got Josh when he woke up in the middle of the night, and put him next to me in Nathan's spot, where he fell back to sleep pretty quickly. But from then on, I was only able to half sleep. I was having dreams of chasing Tioga in the house, keeping him from doin' his thang on my new floors. They were so vivid that several times I sat up in bed shouting "STOP!". True story. We got Tioga outside of a Wal-Mart, did I already mention that? Well, about 30 minutes before we ran into our future mutt, I walked past this clearance bounce house for the 1,379th time in about 4 days. There were only 3 left. Every time I saw that thing, I kept thinking about how great it would be to have in the snow or rain. All we'd have to do is throw it in the basement and the boys would jump themselves exhausted. After much serious mulling, I put the bounce house back. (Yes! After 5 or 6 trips to visit it, this was the first time it made it into my cart!) Nathan hadn't been excited about the idea previously, and I didn't feel like I could pop home with a surprise $100 purchase. (Although a bounce house for $100 is a steal, I might add.) We paid for everything else, left the store and found the dog. If I would have bought the bounce house that day, I would have most likely walked right past the dog. Coming home with 2 surprises in one day? Not a chance. I love this dog, I really do. But, last night, during my 'night terrors', I was really wishing I'd brought home that bounce house.

August, 2006 (Oh, What a Night)

[I tried to post videos but don't have the patience to figure out the html problems. So if you're that interested, here: link to the videos Oh, but a very different night from that Four Seasons night. When we first decided upon this new family dynamic of Nathan traveling more often, I had grand ideas. He would leave, and Jake, Josh and I would party. The zoo! The farm! The trails! The parks! The movies! And we would hardly have time to miss each other through all the fun! Well. Well. I could sum it up by saying that while I was relaying the events that took place in less than one hour this evening to Nathan over the phone, I started laughing quite hard. And then I quite accidentally started crying. But they weren't those tears shed from laughing so hard at funny things. No. They were "I'm laughing because I'm trying not to actually cry but hot dang I'm exhuasted and the second you get home I'm escaping to a deserted island with only mindless reading, plenty of cable/satellite TV, a large stash of Netflix documentaries, and my Vita-Mix, so please hurry home quickly" tears. But why sum it up when I can share the details?! Before I do, though, let me say that the Universe bit me in the butt today. Yesterday, Tracy M had a post that I cringed and laughed and got warm fuzzied at. And I left a comment that said something like "your posts give me a glimpse of what my future holds". BUT - I meant my future in 2-4 years, not 24 hours. Good grief. [I just took a couple hour break from writing this, and kept wondering if I really wanted to relive the night in all its glory? Sure, why not. Plus, when we're all in therapy, it will be helpful to have the accurate details.] After we got home from a walk this afternoon, I took the dog to play in the backyard. I sat on the porch watching Jacob throw sticks at Tioga until Josh started crying from his swing. I got up to get Josh, and came back to see this: Jacob. Stuck in mud. I couldn't find our little movie player fast (with sound! unlike our lousy Olympus camera), so instead you get this, best viewed with your left ear on your left shoulder and your head moving as if you were having a seizure. Go ahead and watch, it's not that long, and it's kind of funny to watch him keep falling down and try to walk around... So I went back into the house and put Josh on the floor, I put Tioga on the short leash, hooked to the step, so he ccouldn't explore in the same mud puddle. Then I ran upstais, got a new Jacob diaper and a beach towel, ran outside, stripped him down to his diaper, and cleaned him mostly off with the faucet outside. Not an easy task, as we don't yet have a hose. There was quite a bit of upside down time. Since he wasn't all clean, I took both kids upstairs for an early bath. I figured that I might as well give Josh a haircut since it had been a month. I used the wrong attachment to the clippers. Oops. Lots of "sorry Josh!"'s were heard and "at least you're a boy and your hair grows fast" to go along with the apologies. Boy, I felt bad.

Josh - before

Josh - after

After both boys were bathed, dried, lotioned, greased and primped, we headed back downstairs for dinner. This is when I accidentally kneed Jacob in the head and he tumbled - head first - down about 5 stairs. Lots of crying. Lots more "I am SO sorry!"'s. Some worrying about his arm. I decided I'd let him help me make some juice since I just toppled him down the stairs. His current favorite is carrots, pineapple and a small lemon slice thrown in with a handful of ice. So, we made some slushy carrot juice and sat down at the table to enjoy our appetizer. Josh had been placed on the floor while Jacob and I were "cooking", and he started being exceptionally cute. So I had to go take pictures. And a movie. I might add that Josh is just over 5 months and about to crawl. I'm not happy about this. 1 - he is too young, 2 - life with a crawler isn't easy, 3 - he's my baby! He's got the knees down, and just started trying to throw arms into the mix on Sunday. Every time he does, though, I give him a look with a stern "You'd better think twice about that, Mister." Thank goodness, he's as clumsy as the puppy and I'm praying it will be at least a few more weeks until he gets better coordinated. The one thing I wanted to get on video was his funky yoga move I love to watch him do - he does downward dog (no joke!) and then puts one leg way up into the air. Freaky strong, this kid of mine. That guy on Oxygen's early morning yoga show loves those, and they're not easy! So. After I was done oohing and aahing over Josh (while not being too encouraging - because he's only FIVE months. Crawling???), I went back to the table, where Jacob had been quietly pouring my juice and his juice back and forth from one cup to another. And juice was on the table, and on the booster. And on the recently bathed Jacob. And on the chairs. This is partially my fault, as I once thought I was being all swift and educational by giving Jacob a small bag of rice, two bowls and a measuring cup. I had him use the measuring cup to put the rice from one bowl into another. He loves "scooping" when he helps me in the kitchen, so this was a hit. Until he lightbulbed and just picked up the bowl full of rice and poured it into the other. Why employ a middle man? And he's been pouring ever since. Nice motor skills. Not a nice mess. And while all this was happening inside, Tioga the Wonder Dog was rolling in mud outside. Good night, huh? Nathan called to check in from his trip just after the juice incident. I was so exapsterated I started laughing when I was telling him that I kneed Jacob in the head and helped him to careen down the stairs. By the time I got to Tioga rolling in mud, the tears came. I've gotten about 5 hours of sleep each night the past couple nights, and I just don't do well with that little sleep. Once I got the quick cry out, we were a-ok again. Except for the exhaustion. OH. Of course that couldn't be the whole night. While I was changing Josh before bed, Jacob wanted to use the potty. (He just turned 2. He's been into the potty for awhile, but he's actually using it now. Again with the "slow down, dude...way too young!"). Anyway. He put his little Sesame Street toilet hole shrinker - or whatever you call it - on the toilet, hopped up, and started singing and doing whatever else he was doing. I'm putting Josh's diaper on and hear a "Mom! Help!" Getting off the toilet, Jacob somehow got one foot stuck inside (but not touching the water) while the rest of his body was going over the toilet, pointing down. Just one big question mark. Nathan will be glad that I fought the urge to let Jacob stay there while I grabbed the camera. (You're welcome, honey.) One hour: mud bath, Jacob outdoor bath, bad haircut, two-kid bath, kicked my kid down the stairs, begged my other kid not to crawl, picked up a royal juice mess and watched the dog roll in the mud, all shortly before my older son got stuck in the toilet. Do you see why that island sounds so tempting?

Partners in Crime

And he thinks HE had a rough day.

blow a kiss

blow a kiss
Originally uploaded by rarely home mom.

My view from the kitchen window this morning.

Meet Tioga

Tioga is the 11 week old pup who joined our family yesterday. His name comes from Tioga Pass, in and near Yosemite, one of our very favorite places on earth. I'm thrilled, Nathan is excited (it's his first pet) and Jacob thinks it's his birthday. Again. Josh is reserving judgement, until he knows how to make one. Tioga is mostly lab with a little suprise thrown in. His mom is full black lab, and the dad was thought to be full chocolate lab. When the puppies were born, they obviously had a splash of "not-lab-surprise". Tioga was one of eight pups and headed to the pound after his mom's owner placed six of the litter-mates and was done dealing with the pups. We're so excited to have him! Except for the potty-training (especially at 2 am!) and puppy-training, which I am remembering is harder than child-traning/proofing.

u-pick farms in Utah

Does anyone know of anywhere in Utah I can go pick my own produce? Salt Lake and Utah counties would be most convienent, but I'll drive a little bit. Thanks for any help - I'm having a hard time finding anything on Google.

a very good excuse for this first picture

Yes, those are my feet. Frightening, isn't it? Well. Here in Utah, these people celebrate the state's birthday with all the sha-bang of the 4th of July. It's a state holiday - everyone gets the day off. There are picnics and parades and fireworks. Oh boy, are there fireworks. I knew this, but since I'd never been here on July 24th, Pioneer Day, I had totally forgotten. Every time we drove by an empty fireworks booth during the middle of July I kept thinking, "take those down already!" It was starting to grate a little bit like Christmas lights still on a house in February. Then when the installer for the last piece of our kitchen counter came over last week and told us all about "that Mormon Day - July 24th", I remembered. And I got excited. Fireworks! Legal fireworks! In front of my own house! We got busy that weekend and never made it to a stand to buy any. And I was fine with it. After all, we're not moving again for a long time. We'll be here for more July 4ths and July 24ths. Then, Monday night, the 24th, I was doing dishes and watching this horrible show I had on to keep it from being silent in the house and having to listen to my own head. It was on TLC, I think, and called 1 Week to Save Your Marriage. I remember listening, horrified that people created and then stayed in marriages so mean and sad and unhappy. Horrified that people go on national TV and let everyone in the world see inside their unhappiness, see their meanness first hand. Right when I was thinking that, Nathan called. He was in Albertsons, wondering what aisle to find matches on. He knew I had really wanted fireworks, so he stopped at the booth near our house on the way home, and then got some more at the grocery when he went to get matches. And I thought "everyone should have such a thoughtful, kind husband." And they should. But that's not what this story is about. We're talking about those feet in the picture above. Wearing socks AND flip flops. (Remember the old days when flip flops were "thongs" because "thongs" just weren't "thongs" yet? Anyhoo...) As it started getting dark we went outside and started setting up our own personal pyro display. I was getting bit by mosquitos. Bad. After five minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. I was spending more time hitting mosquitos off my body than I was setting up the fireworks. With one last swat I hit a mosquito and came away with a handful of my own blood. Time for plan B. Plan B was me wearing sweats, a sweatshirt, socks and flip flops (couldn't find the tennis shoes quick) in 85+ degree weather. Cute, wasn't it? That terrible outfit made it possible for these: By the way, I have no final count on the bites. I counted up to 16 on one leg and 18 on the other, and that's just between my knees and ankles. And then I decided to quit counting, because I just didn't want to know. The number doesn't include the bites I got later that night through my clothes, or the bites on my feet, hands, arms or head before I covered up. Yes, I bought bug juice the next day. Ewwww... (and scratch).

settled. or settled?

With previous moves and purchases, I have always kept the boxes of my more valuable or breakable objects. Most of my vases have been stored in their original boxes, as was the crystal and china we received for our wedding. Serving trays and serving bowls? Same story. The griddle has its box. So does the crock pot. It's because, every time I moved, I knew it was temporary. I moved to the San Francisco area after college in May 1999. One year later, I moved closer to work. Only about 20 miles - but I moved. Two years later, I moved into a house in the same city. About a year and a half later I moved a couple miles away (again) when I got married. We stayed in that first married apartment just four days short of one year. We moved into our condo (only about 5 miles away from that first married apartment) in March 2003 and stayed there until July 2005. I move. A lot. Seven years. Five residences. (I read that and wonder, if I dislike the moving process as much as I claim to, why make so many volunatry moves?) If you receive a change of address card from me in the next week (or whenever I manage to get to the post office and buy stamps), please feel free to ink our information in, instead of using pencil. We're [planning on] staying here for at least 10 years. Which is why I decided to recycle all the boxes for all of my valuables/breakables. We have room for these things in proper cabinets in this house; none of the china or crystal will be stashed in dark closests here. And we're staying. So there's no point in keeping boxes. Right? It's very interesting, and slightly uncomfortable, for me to realize that we will be settling here. This will be a long-term home. But why am I uncomfortable? We love our house, and I think our neighborhood will turn out to be fantastic. The town (yikes! I live in a town) is quaint *but growing* and homey. It's a nice place. But every time I unpacked more kitchen things, I kept looking over at Nathan. "I should throw away the box, right?" "Still throwing away the boxes. Okay?" "Are you sure I should throw away these boxes?" He was patient and sweet and very confused. 1) They're JUST boxes! Buy NEW if you need them! 2) We are settling. It's OKAY.

Still wondering why they didn't name her Julie...

I'm, um..."borrowing" Nathan's blackberry quickly to jump online and give a virtual SQUEEZE to my friend Rebecca. She just became a mommy (again) through adoption to a beautiful daughter with a beautiful name. Norah was born on Saturday and got to join her family very soon after. I'm SO excited for their family!! (We'll have internet hooked up by tomorrow afternoon - yeah! See you soon!) p.s. I'm in love with my kitchen. It's tempting not to bring the mattress downstairs to sleep in here.

and so, I bid you adieu...for as few days as possible

We shall sleep tonight in the new house! The new house where approx. 2/3 of our belongings now reside, put there by Nathan and myself yesterday. And then we got hungry and it started raining, and I said "we are done!" Plus, the other stuff? It is heavy. Anyhow. The new house does not currently have internet. And because we live somewhere referred to as "rural" that is *so* not rural as of several weeks ago, when the houses started flying up faster than you can even believe (seriously, every hour - I swear that is not too large of an exaggeration - there is a new foundation being poured or a crane attaching a new roof somewhere else or a house being framed that was just dirt 10 - ten! - minutes earlier), it is hard to find internet service. See here, #4. Or don't, because I just told you the exact same thing here. Anyway, what shall I do without internet and tv service? Unpack? Good grief, no. P.S. to anyone who blogs on blogger - did your tool bar mysteriously shrink to almost nothing very recently as well? I can now only bold, italic, link, quote, spell check and add pictures. And we who use blogger all know what kind of attitude that little "add picture button" possess. (I think it is a cousin of the Soup Nazi.) I'm telling you, the threat to move to wordpress just got stronger (kind of like my muscles from moving all that stuff out of the pod!). But really - did blogger change on everyone else, too? Know, that upon my return, I have pictures to post. See you soon! (I really, really hope.)

warm jacob fuzzies

The Scene: putting Jacob to bed, he's on his makeshift couch/bed about 10 feet behind me; I am sitting in the same room, at the desk working on the computer Jacob: Mommy, I love you. Me: I love you, Jacob. J: Mommy! I squirt Grandma. I squirt Grandpa. I squirt Stacy. I squirt Grandma Gerry. (he's remembering what he did at my parents house 2ish weeks ago - pretty good memory!) M: I know, Jacob. That was fun, wasn't it. J: (laughs) Yes. Fun. Squirting. Mom! I have choo-choo trains. Boxcar. Tank car. (he's holding a box car and tank car of Nathan's he saved from the trash on moving day) M: You like your trains, don't you, Jacob. J: I love trains, Mommy. M: (I go and sit next to him, because he's being cute and being nice and I'm quite enjoying him at this point) Mom's going to give you a kiss. Kiss me back? J: Kiss mom! I love you, mom. Cubber up? M: Yes, Jakey. I'll cover you up. J: Mommy, no monkeys in the tree. And no monkeys on the bed jumping. M: You're right! No monkeys jumping on the bed! J: Ah. Jumping on the bed. No monkeys. (big laughing)Daddy, where is? Daddy on airplane? M: Daddy was on an airplane yesterday. And Daddy will get on an airplane tomorrow to come home to us. J: Daddy on airplane! I like airplanes, mom. Airplanes fly sky. M: They sure do. What do airplanes say? J: (spits all over me - I guess I asked for it) Mommy? I like milk. I like juice. I like waffles. I like nogurt. I like tacos. I like bubbles. Read train magazine? (I get him the train magazine) J: Ah! A caboose! A train magazine! I love you, Mommy. A kiss? M: You've got it, Jacob. (smooch) I really, really love you. J: I love you, Mommy Mommy. I love you. Being a mom is the best thing in the universe.

Randomnity, Part 2

1 - Apparently, when you fill out the on-line form for the post office where you pay $1 and request they forward your mail to your new address, there is someone who receives the e-mail, sees this:

asd;kfjads;kfjs;adljf asd;lkfja;ldkfj as;dfljads;lkfjads

instead of the request, and pockets the $1, with a trip to dollar night at Baskin Robbins in mind. At least, that's what has seemed to happen in our situation. Wee! If I don't get a bill, do I still have to pay it? 2 - I am condsidering taking Jake and Josh to the movies tomorrow. Alone. Please stop laughing. Thank you. It's only $1, so I figure that if it's a disaster, we at least get to spend 10 minutes in a really cold, dark room. And if it's a success, we will spend 1 1/2 hours in a cold, dark room. Cold. Hallelujah. If you would like to take your children to a cold, dark room for free or super cheap, click here. You're bound to find at least one theatre nearby. The last time I went to the movies was about 2 weeks ago, with my sister. It was about 287 degrees outside when we entered the theatre at 7:30 pm. It was SO cold during the movie that we were praying it would be 412 degrees outside when we exited. It wasn't. Surprise! It was more like 80 something at 9:30 pm. And still not hot enough to defrost. I never thought I would look back at that experience longlingly. Fortunately, no limbs were lost. 3 - I have learned that when a city gives a home builder a "certificate of occupancy" it does not actually mean that a house is complete or clean. Funny how that works. Who needs the rest of their kitchen countertops installed anyway? Silly, silly. 4 - Also! Because we're new construction, it is very difficult (which may soon turn into impossible) to find someone to provide our home with high-speed internet. My husband works from home! When he's not traveling, that is. Hey - did you know my husband works from home? In the field of technology? Where high-speed internet is crucial? He does. It is. We are...screwed. Because of that, you may miss posts on this blog for a week or so. Or until I secure a library card. And hopefully they have internet access. 5 - I shall end with this thought...when you get tired of rolling your eyes at these posts, you have the option to click that little red X box up at the top of your screen. But me? Not an option. Consider that. Also, consider this. Driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Nathan and I had to caravan with both the cars. The person driving in the Civic would have to make the trip without a radio. The person driving the mini-van would have both children in the car. I begged, pleaded and groveled to drive the mini-van. What? 7 1/2 hours in a car with 2 small children? Voluntarily? Oh, yes. Because having to drive in a car with nothing but my own brain for company? I would rather have my eyeballs tattooed.