The Egg Hunt Part 2

I had originally planned to take Ethan to Toys R Us today for the Easter egg hunt, but we found out the rehab center across the street was having a community egg hunt this afternoon... and well, gas isn't getting any cheaper, so we just couldn't pass it up.

The ground was a little soggy from yesterday's showers but it wasn't anything that bothered the kids. They split the crowd into two groups - they put the 4 year old kids on one side, and the older kids on the other. Ethan actually enjoyed it this year... it was fun to see him *compete* to fill his basket quicker than the other kids. Mike and I restrained to pick up any eggs ourselves, so the full credit to the 30 plastic eggs all goes to Ethan.

The Egg Hunt

There's a New Toy in Town

Thanks to Grandma and Papi, we needed to do a little rearranging in Ethan's room to accomodate the new, big, bad train set. Forget the cheapo trainset I got him for Christmas -- the one that just goes around in circles -- this bad boy comes fully equipped with remote controlled trains, a train station, clock tower, a bridge... and a full array of passengers ranging from the diva to construction worker to nerd. It's so cool it even hauls Ethan's cheerios.

PS. This was taken about a week and a half ago... just before Ethan's cast came off (I'm just a little slow with posting). But his arm's doing well... they took another round of x-rays and said his bone healed just fine. Hopefully, it'll be a while before the next one....

Sleepless Nights

It's officially one minute into Tuesday... and yet I'm wide awake. I've spent the last 2 hours loading photos onto Facebook -- geez, another MySpace? -- my eyes feel heavy, I'm beginning to develop a nasty headache, and my brain is rotting as we speak. I feel like Hillary Clinton on the night before the most important day of her political endeavor...

It's frankly been like this for a couple of weeks now. I hate to resort to pills, but long nights like these make my days awfully dreadful. Maybe the stresses from work is finally catching up... I'm just finally getting settled in, and already I have to start thinking about getting a new one. Can we say pressure?

Really, it's about that time to start thinking about the "big move". The timeline's still a little blurry, but we figure we should probably be back to California by end of Spring... which in *my mind* isn't a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of stuff.

First step, submit application.

I'll have to remember to do that tomorrow inbetween my power naps.


Now, where's that ambien.....

Where I've Been

I ran into this neat little app and it got me reminiscing about the good ol' days.

I love to travel. Seeing new places and meeting new people; exploring areas I have never explored; braving unknown food; getting lost in the tourist traps; figuring out the local transportation; SHOPPING; taking photographs; getting away with things I wouldn't do in the "real life".....

Of course, traveling was far much easier before we had Ethan, but I'm a firm believer that our traveling days should NOT be over!!

If I had all the money in the world, my next stop would be... THAILAND. At least we can dream, right?

LINKIN PARK ROCKS!!!!!

So every once in a blue moon, Mike and I get to pretend we're rock stars and we do stupid crap like swim with stingrays or jump out of airplanes... but it's been a while since we've been to a concert -- last time was actually nearing 4 years ago when we first got back from Bosnia (it was Linkin Park, KORN and Snoop Dogg). Luckily for us, our individual tastes in music don't vary that much.. although he still makes fun of me sometimes for being a veteran NSYNC junkie. :)

Anyway, we figured we were way overdue for one, so for a romantic post-Valentine date, we decided to spontaneously wisk ourselves to Detroit -- thank you Mr Asian guy from Craigslist who sold us the floor tickets for face value -- and saw Linkin Park (it was a 3rd for me and I think the 4th for Mike). We coulda care less about the opening acts - Coheed and Cambria - though they actually didn't turn out so bad.

It was BY FAR, THE BEST concert I've ever been to... and I'd been to quite a few in my pre-mommy years. It was definitely the closest I've been to the stage. Granted I almost passed out from all the weed, not to mention the mosh pit...

Of course, STUPID ME, I forgot the digital camera in the car and didn't realize it until we got to the floor. Hence, the overly pathetic shots taken by my 1.2 megapixel Razor which will NEVER do this experience justice... but no use in moping about it now.

This video was taken from last night's concert by someone in the front row... it was a KICK ASS show.

Linkin Park - Given up LIVE - Projekt Revolution Tour Detroit 2008

Young Love

When I first took these photos back in December, I knew they would make the perfect Valentines Day cards. Of course, I never got around to actually getting them printed and sent out -- bad mommy. Allie's been one of Ethan's friends since they were in the infant room at daycare.. and they are sooooo adorable together, we couldn't help to *coerce* them to hold hands.

Valentines are for Married Couples Too

It was killing me that I couldn't figure out what Mike had gotten me for Valentines Day so I convinced him to exchange "gifts" a day ahead of time. My best guess was jewelry... but it wasn't even close. In fact, I never would have guessed in a million years that this is what he's been working on for God knows how long --

SWEET can only begin to describe it. Doesn't seem to fair well with the shiatsu massage chair I got him, but he seems to like it anyhow. I got him one of those cheesy coupon books too.. seemed like a good idea at the time. I didn't realize until later that I should've written up some kind of clause to go along with it -- Only 1 coupon can be redeemed at one time.

When I got to work, I was surprised yet again when I got called by security to pick up a delivery downstairs... the nice arrangement of daisies and peonies made me the envy of the floor again.

This weekend, we'll be dropping Ethan off to the inlaws and spending some time *alone* in Detroit. Romantic couple of days away... romantic hotel... romantic dinners... romantic stroll through the city of Brotherly Love... oh ya, and a not-so-romantic Linkin Park concert. :)

What does it take?

Ethan's First Broken Bone

Ethan's new friend Boo Boo Bear

My supermom powers were shattered when mommy's kisses couldn't make his hand feel better after falling down the steps last night. Not a kiss, not a hug, not even a bribe to put Blues Clues on made him feel better.

It was the worst feeling in the world... knowing exactly what's wrong and not being able to comfort him.

So we got in the car and drove to the ER, a place I'd grown quite familiar with. The nurses thought he was an angel -- an exception to the rule -- the only calm kid in the emergency room, visibly in pain while he clutches his left arm, but cheery enough to say hi to everyone and skip around as if he were there on a field trip. The nurse came in and prodded and pushed and wiggled his arm around and he didn't even make a sound. If you asked him where it hurts, he points to the same spot and says in the cutest way "right there!". After the xrays came back, we were told that he has a buckle fracture (which we learned later meant a partial break common in little kids). We left with a splint covered in ace bandage and we were told to call the orthopedic doctor first thing this morning. As we were walking out the door, we could still hear the nurses musing about how they need "more kids like him".

So he got his cast this morning and we were told to come back in 3 weeks. 3 weeks!!!!

I think I looked visibly upset when they told me that because the doctor suddenly changed his tone and tried to reassure me that this is normal in little boys... especially in active little boys like mine and that I had nothing to worry about.

Sigh. How can kid run and jump and dance and climb and act all sorts of crazy, all while laughing and giggling, when he has a 10 lb cast on?

Birthday Boy

A certain litle one in our house turned the big T-W-O recently. I had imagined a much bigger 2nd birthday, but we instead opted for a low-key celebration at home with home-baked cake and a visit to Chuck E Cheese (pretty much the only heated place around here a toddler would appreciate).

Being so close to Christmas, we were dry for fresh ideas on what to give Ethan for his birthday. Those who know me would probably agree that Ethan is no stranger to the front of the camera... but since he realized he could hold a camera and push the button himself, his interest has been diverted more towards TAKING the pictures. So... we did what every reasonable, non-spoiling parents would do. We spent $70 on a "kid tough" digital camera for a 2 year old! :)

Cheese!

Old Friends

can sometimes be the most intuitive.

I finally called her back today... after missing at least six calls dating back to Thanksgiving. I spent the first 10 minutes of the phone call making excuses... the same ones I've been trying to convince myself why I've been so out of it lately.

"I thought for sure you either fell off the face of the earth, or you were depressed," she said.

I didn't have an excuses for that.

It's just life, I kept thinking. Or is it?

Breakdown

How unlucky is it that I met THREE different tow guys in the last 72 hours...

There was Joe, whom I met on Thursday when he took my car to the dealership for repairs after Mike finally raised the surrender flag. Stupid thing just quit starting last week. Something to do with the wiring for my security system that is messing up with the starter? I was plainly annoyed, but I figured... at least we have another working car. I spoke too soon.

I was on my way this morning to Best Buy to return a hard drive I purchased yesterday when Mike's car decided it was his turn to take a break. Luckily, I had JUST exited the highway when the engine stopped. I slowly led the car as close to the curb but I was still impeding traffic.

I waited... restarted... nothing.
I waited... restarted... still nothing.

I frantically called Mike to see if it's something I could somehow fix -- yeah, wishful thinking. Believe it or not, I've fixed a flat tire before on my own... but this one, I was S-O-L. So I called roadside assistance and they told me the tow company won't be there for another hour or so.

So for the meantime I tried to entertain Ethan with animal crackers and some annoying farm toy. I tried to re-start the car again a couple of times to no avail -- I kept thinking I should've taken that shop class in high school instead of ceramics. Ethan kept yelling "it's broke!" to the sound of the battery struggling, a laugh I really needed. There we were, broken down and impeding traffic... I was so nervous we were going to get hit that I didn't even take Ethan out of his carseat. You would think hazard lights and a hood propped up would clue people in to slow down and change lanes but most of them looked like they weren't even paying attention and would come so close my heart skipped a beat everytime they passed. I finally stood outside and battled the cold so I could be more visible. I'd rather be cold than some asshole to hit the car my child is in. The bright side was, we weren't on the interstate, it was still light out, and it wasn't snowing and 0 degrees out. I guess you learn to count your blessings at the worst times.

I was surprised to see how many good samaritans stopped by to help.

The first guy was an older guy wearing a suit and driving an SUV with a license plate "LTC MP". Military man, I wondered. He said he didn't know anything about cars, but that he hoped if his daughter was stranded, that someone would stop and try to help. I graciously thanked him and he was on his way. The second guy was an even older guy who left his wife in the car while he diagnosed the problem wasn't because I ran out of gas. I graciously thanked him too and he was on his way. Third guy was a younger clean-cut guy in an Ambercrombie & Fitch sweater with Texas plates. He said he didn't know anything about cars either, but he did help push my car to a turn lane a couple of feet ahead at least to get me out of the main traffic. He offered to get me and Ethan some food (it was around lunch time) but I said we were ok, so I graciously thanked him and he was off. The fourth guy reminded me of Mike's Uncle Forest -- scruffy beard, sporting a mullet and know an awful lot about cars. I tried to start the car again and he knew right away it was a problem with the fuel pump. Too bad it's not something he can fix on the spot. I graciously thanked him and he was off.

An hour and a half later, I met Greg. He hauled the car (me and Ethan in tow) 5 miles down the road to Sears Auto Center. It was attached to the mall so I figured I'd walk around a bit, they'd tell me they fixed my car, and we'll be on our way. I guess I'm just not that lucky. 2 hours later, the guys at the shop calls me and says it looks like a bad fuel pump but that they can't fix it. Well, that's freaking great.

Next think you know, I was on the phone AGAIN with roadside assistance, asking for a tow truck to take my car ACROSS THE STREET to Firestone -- who claims they CAN fix it. By then, I was up to my wits end with a very bored toddler and no interest whatsoever to shop. Yeah, really. Who knew I'd EVER complain about being stranded in a mall? Another 2 hours later, I met Frank the Town Man who had to drive all the way from Graceland, Kentucky just to haul my car across the street. Of course, by then, the shop was already closed so I called my friend to take me and Ethan home.

Alas, I have 2 dead cars, a teething toddler and a husband in the hospital. My friend says it's probably not a good time for me to play the lottery. Now, the tow guys didn't sing or bring an army, but they were pretty helpful and Thank God they decided to answer their phones on a Sunday afternoon since apparently no one in West Virginia wanted to.

Crazy Coupon Lady

Let me preface this by saying... there are far worse things to be addicted to than saving money. But, I have to admit, I (may or may not) have gone a little coo-coo lately.

Nevermind that I have enough batteries to power up an entire city....

Total cost: less than $5

Or enough soap/body wash to bathe a football team....

Total cost: $0

The most bothersome stack actually lies on top of our kitchen cabinets (no other place to put them)... each chronologically arranged according to expiration date. Ethan is set with 100% juice until August, or I could start watering them down around May, then he should be set for the rest of the year! :)

Total cost: $0

HOW, you ask?

I got the batteries from CVS, using a combination of their store coupons and manufacturer's coupons. For 2 weeks before Christmas, CVS had their Energizer 8-pack batteries on sale for $5.29. Someone in their corporate bigwigs decided to give us an early Christmas present and released a CVS coupon for $5 off, plus some of the battery packs had a $1 manufacturer's coupon (peelie) on them that I used on top of the CVS coupon.

The math: $5.29 batteries + $.99 filler (usually a pack of CVS Jelly Bellies for Mike) - $5.00 off CVS coupon - $1 Energizer coupon = roughly around $.30 out of pocket after tax.

I also got the Johnsons & Johnsons soap from CVS. The buddies soap and travel size body wash are .99 each, and CVS had a coupon for $2 off any J&J product.

The juice boxes, I acquired from various stores - Walmart, Kmart, Kroger - within a span of about a month. Some required "special trips" while the others I just bought during a regular trip to the groceries. I did not spend a penny on them courtesy of a free coupon I got from the Nestle website. I had some bottles too but I found that the juice boxes were easier to pack-and-go. At some point, I'm sure I had at least 50 but I've lost count since then. I even gave some to a local women's shelter and to a sponsored family at the daycare. I'm almost saddened to say the coupon's expired. No more free juice for this crazy coupon lady. :(


Now, I'm not a complete virgin in the couponing world. I even had one of those cheesy coupon organizers at some point -- mostly collected them for formula and diapers -- although I probably shouldn't call it cheesy since I desperately need one now that I'm hooked.

I wonder where I can get a coupon for a coupon organizer?

When Snow Falls on a California Girl

Well, it's official. Vacation is over. No more waking up to 65 degrees and the only worry is what to do for entertainment that day or where to go for lunch. No more default babysitters. No more Thai food.

Now it's back to the cold, snowy mountains of WV.. in my little cubicle world piled with superfluous responsibilities and inexorable stress.

I know this is going to sound cliche coming from a transplant, but... I freaking hate the snow. Sure it looks pretty for about 15 seconds, and then it becomes just itty bitty pieces of cold manifesting on my cheeks... and my toes. Not to mention it sends me on a frenzy of paranoia, packing my car with boxes of juice and warm blankets.

I hate driving in it.

I hate walking in it.

I almost hate living in it.


Highlights of the past month to come, I promise. Oh, and Happy 2008.

Christmas "Ham"

Naughty Blogger

So November was a really crazy busy month, and Santa knows I have been a naughty blogger. But my problem lies in the ongoing dilemma of lack of time, not so much lack of things to talk about. Between my mom's heart attack, my long-awaited promotion at work, Mike's hospital visits and a transforming toddler... my Christmas wish this year is for some kind of technology that would translate my dreams into blogs so I can do it my sleep!

Until then, I do want to share our Christmas photos this year. I didn't have time to set up the backdrop in the dining room this time around, and of course, trying to take our own family photo just wasn't in the equation... so I had to break down and let someone else take them.

I'll post more soon, I promise!

Halloweens are for Monkeys

Ten Things I Learned After Slamming My Thumb in the Elantra Door

If you ever slam your finger in the door and your nail is turning purple and it feels like your finger is going to explode from the throbbing pain (also medically known as subungual hematoma):

1) Don't let anyone see you cry or frown, because they'll just call you a pansy [or tell you to suck it up] for bitching about a finger... even though you've survived boot camp, given birth, and jump out of airplanes for a hobby.

2) Be careful with accepting screws from strangers to use to drill into your nail to relieve the pressure, even though after hours of excruciating pain, drilling and squeezing out blood is about the only thing that makes sense. Don't let your spouse drill it either, I found they tend to be a little more forthcoming with ignoring your pain signals.

3) Just smile and try your hardest not to growl when everyone hovers around your black nail and say things like "your nail's gonna fall off" or "everyone's done it" because they're probably just trying to be polite by seeming concerned.

4) The top segments of your finger–the miscreants that got in the way of that car door–won't stop throbbing for at least 2 hours. And then it'll start to tingle in a horribly painful way for another couple of hours after that, more if you managed to break/fracture it. And then any time you bump them or brush against anything, a new shot of pain goes through you and you go about your day looking constipated and mad at the world.

5) You could go to the emergency room, wait 4 hours to get an xray and then have a resident-in-training tell you to take an aspirin and sleep it off. OR you could do what I did and walked to the nearest pharmacy for a splint, tape and a bottle of extra strength tylenol.

6) When you're in that much pain and are willing to try alternate treatments, be prepared for any unknown allergic reactions. After a long day of uncomfort, I took a nurse's advice to soak my hand in Epsom Salt (appears to be a natural remedy here in West Virginia), which I only found (the hard way) that I'm allergic to sulphur. So I spent the whole night itching and discovering hives on my face and neck. It's a good thing I didn't opt to take a bath in it or I might've just made that trip to the emergency room anyway.

7) You will learn quickly how much you take your thumb for granted when you can't even do simple tasks like squeezing the shampoo bottle, turning the ignition on, writing a check for daycare, or buttoning/unbuttoning your pants: which can make things really awkward in the bathroom (be extra careful not to stumble in a porter potty like I did).

8) You become thankful that you don't play the guitar for a living. But you also wish your job didn't entail so much time on the keyboard and mouse. The rest of the fingers just have to work double-time.

9) 2-year-olds don't quite get the concept of mommy having a "boo-boo", but they do give the BEST healing kisses.

10) Don't ask anyone to play thumb war, even if you are just kidding.

PS. One of the hidden perks of working with the Dept of Health is that it's easy to "run into" people who will give you free medical advice. I showed my finger to an RN and she said it doesn't "look" broken since it's not crooked, but the swelling might suggest that I fractured the tip of the bone (which I'm very familiar with), in which case they can't do anything for you but immobilize it anyway. Prescription: Ice it every 20 minutes and take motrin. Ha. Saved a 4-hour trip to the ER.

Splinting doesn't sound like a bad idea at all either, especially since my right hand keeps forgetting NOT to use my thumb for the space bar.

Farewell Bob

Bob the Fish passed away peacefully and went to heaven on Wednesday, October 3, 2007. He died of natural causes.

He was 2 1/2 years old, and a Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta Splenden).

Although very little is known about Bob's early months, there have been rumours of his involvement in international espionage as an aquatic courier, and an illegal smuggler in the borders of Mexico. He lived in Southern California where he was adopted as the "centerpiece master" for a gorgeous wedding reception. He later on moved to West Virginia to be with his family.

Bob was an adventurous finned fellow who enjoyed taking cross-country trips and swimming in figure-8's. His favorite pastime was staring at himself in the reflection of his 2-gallon tank and wiggling to the tune of the spinning dishwasher.

He is survived by his loving family, Anne, Mike, and Ethan.


Bob, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but you are one and unique. You will be missed!

Our Angel on the Ground

Here's our angel waiting on the ground while mommy and daddy fly...

Ethan's getting his own lessons for the perfect "freefalling arch"...

When Finlays Fly

This blog is exactly a month late, mostly because we've been waiting for our jump photos to come in (and partly because I haven't had much time to). But our photos/videos finally came in today... and I just had to share!

Rewind to September 1: We did out first jump (yes, I said first) to celebrate our 2-year wedding anniversary. There's nothing more romantic than checking insurance benefits and custody sections on our wills before renouncing our love to a camera strapped on someone's helmet. Mike decided to surprise me, so I didn't actually know we were skydiving until we got to the drop zone (maybe he thought I was going to chicken out?)

I watched the video, got a couple of lessons from my jumpmaster Phil and got strapped into a harness. I thought about calling my mom, but decided to hold off until after I landed so I could at least say "Don't worry, I'm alive".

I started to get a little anxious watching my altimeter on the long way up--

4,000 feet....

6,000 feet...

9,000 feet... civilization only kept getting smaller.

Then at 11,000 feet, my videographer Jay swung that door open and for a split second, a tiny hint of "oh shit" hit me like a bag of rocks and stepping out off that perfectly good plane seemed crazier than it did from ground level. I took a nice, cold breath of air, staggered to the door attached to Phil, and took the plunge... freefalling for 60 seconds at 120 miles per hour. The wind noise was deafening and I was on complete sensory overload, but I remember making sure I don't forget give the camera a thumbs up. Hell yeah, I was flying and there's no other feeling like it. It’s exciting, exhilarating, daring, nervy, demanding – better than any other kind of rush I've ever had.

Freefalling from 11,000 feet above the ground...

This ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just after our chute deployed....

LOVE the shot of the plane in the back...

"
Mike's freefall...

Spectacular views...

At around 6,000 feet, Phil led my hand to the knob and I pulled the chute (saving both our lives). The deceleration slammed us on our straps and we soard for another 5 minutes or so before landing. Phil tried to let me stir, but with over 300 lbs and a canopy big enough to carry a duo, I pretty much just sat back, enjoyed the ride and lifted my feet when it was time to touch down.

We're blaming the adrenaline rush for the cheesy thumbs ups...

Fast forward to this past Saturday: Mike and I made our first static line jumps --where as soon as we jumped off the plane, our chutes automatically opened. We spent the first half of the day being force fed information about skydiving: how to open my chute, how to tell if I have a good canopy, how to identify a bad one, what to do if one of the 13 different things that can go wrong goes wrong, how to fly it, how to find the landing spot, how to land it, and how to anticipate and prepare for a bad landing. After a couple hours of ground class, not really sure if I got it all or not, we were on a plane again.... but this time, going solo.

Jump #2 wasn't as friendly to me as the first though. While I managed to stir the canopy back to the airport and landed without broken bones, I did hit a small snag spinning out of the plane and came home with a nasty ropeburn (from the strap of the chute) as a souveneir. They did say there were risks, right? ;)

My little boo boo...

But as you'd probably guessed, it wouldn't be my last. We're hoping to be licensed skydivers by the time we move back to California. How's that for a couple's activity? :)

My mom thinks we should've taken up ballroom dancing instead...... on one of our last conversations, she said "You're the craziest mom I know", which I'll gladly take as a huge compliment.