Got ma hair cut.  Not spikey with green tips, spikey with red tips - as a Mary Kay consultant I know that red is a much better color on me than neon green.  It looked REALLY cute Saturday – it’s just longer than my shoulders but pretty much the same sort of haircut I’ve been getting for the last 7 years.  It hasn’t turned out as well in my home efforts; however, when I go to Bellingham for my doctor’s appointment and ULTRASOUND on Friday I’ll stop by and pick up the styling stuff she put in…maybe that’ll help. 

We ran lots of errands on Saturday in preparation for our big trip to CA.  In addition we dropped off my laptop at Circuit City.  When we bought it I paid a little extra for the “even if I break the thing myself I get a replacement laptop for free” warrantee.  The CD drive has been a pain for the past year and we brought it in once already…they fixed it, but after a month or two it wouldn’t read audio files anymore.  This time while the Firedog guy checked it out and ordered a new drive I questioned him on our warrantee – is it really true?  If I really happened to accidentally run over my laptop, would I get a brand new one?  As long as I run it over before the warrantee expires in October. 

What do you think?  Is this morally right?  The thing has been running like crap for the past year – it randomly needs to be restarted in order to run at all.  And if it IS morally right, how shall we do it in?

We’re just hoping for now that we get the thing back in time for me to record some CDs for our LONG 20 hour drive.  Otherwise it’s going to be known as the unbearably long 20 hour drive.

Pray for us.

I’m getting a haircut Saturday am.  I haven’t had one since Christmas.  I haven’t had one by anyone other than Theodore Theodosus since 2000. 

Short or Long?  By short I mean roughly shoulder-length (if I was going to buzz my head I’d have James do it over the toilet and save myself some money); by long I mean just trim off an inch or two?  Anyone have any great pics they’d suggest for inspiration?

Comments, please!

Uncle Gordon invited us for a ride on the sailboat yesterday – Peyton had been begging for weeks so he was really excited when I told him to get his backpack ready.  He was thrilled to wear his lifejacket and we used a toddler leash to harness him to the boat   He loved seeing the sea lions and birds and border patrol.  Yeah, we got pulled over.  The first time we saw them (yes, we had two run-ins) they pulled alongside us and wanted to know if we had crossed into Canadian waters.  They asked if it was just Uncle Gordon and James on board, so they were surprised to hear about three others inside.  Steven, Peyton and I poked our heads out while they lectured on the rules of sailing between two countries.  Eventually they let us go.  An hour later we noticed a helicopter flying in our direction and joked about homeland security on our case again.  The flew right over top of us and circled before hovering for more than a minute.  We were waiting for them to turn on their spotlight or drop a few navy seals down into the water with heavy artillery or use the megaphone to command that we put our hands behind our heads or something.  We waved and smiled and I would have taken a picture as proof, but we were afraid the camera’s flash might look like gunfire to them.  We didn’t want them to misunderstand us.  Eventually they let us go on and other than barely seeing another patrol boat in the dark floating alongside us with their running lights out, we didn’t have any other problems. 

I tried to put Peyton down for bed after two hours of sailing but he’d pop his head up every minute to ask “Mom, any whales?  Do you see any whales?”  We didn’t see any whales on the trip (on the 4th Uncle Gordon and family were in the middle of a whole pod of whales) but we did see lots of sea lions of a dolphin or two (but that was late and harder to see very well).  Peyton had SO much fun and can’t wait to go again.  This morning when he got up he said in a very Mom sort of voice, “Mom, I’m sorry we didn’t see any whales yesterday.  They had to go home to sleep.  We’ll see them next time, okay?” 

Here are a few pics from our adventure:

Last week I mentioned I was having a pain in the butt.  Not that the baby is a pain in the butt – you know, some have girls, some have boys, I have a pain in the butt.  That’s not what I mean, though the baby could having something to do with my pain in the butt. 

The pain is sharp, stabbing, searing at random times, especially when moving from one activity to another, like standing up after sitting down, or walking after standing still.  Or cleaning, cooking or doing other chores. 

It was really starting to bother me and I don’t want it to get worse so I called the chiropractor.  I’ve been to the chiropractor once in my life – when I had my last bout with my sciatic nerve – and his advice healed me miraculously, but wearing a back brace that wraps around my growing belly (see previous post) is only going to work for a few more weeks.  I’ve already quit lifting everything I can, including Peyton 99% of the time, and my bed is already new and posturpedic.  So I need more help this time around. 

The chiropractor fit me in this afternoon, the only trouble was that my body seemed to have somewhat healed itself on the way into the office because the stretches or movements that hurt me at home didn’t bother me at all while he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.  (Unfortunately the miracle didn’t last – as soon as I got home I was having issues again).

I did get to lay on the alignment table for some more adjustments, including a few cracks that made my back feel oh-so-good when I got up again.  The prescription: ice, a few new stretches and a follow up visit.

But first I need to call my insurance company to see how much of this they wanna cover

Happy 6th anniversary to us!  We celebrated by cleaning house, putting up some paneling in the garage (to keep the dogs from eating the walls, no joke), and mowing the lawns.

Oh, yeah, and Sheri watched Peyton so we could go out to dinner alone   Olive Garden’s Wild Berry Margarita (virgin, of course) was awesome; we also enjoyed our typical fettuccine alfredo, plus chicken for James.  We were completely stuffed, so I have to ask,

At not quite 3 months, am I supposed to be this big?  The doctor did say ONE baby, right?

This week my morning sickness disappeared – I actually felt like I had some energy this week and yes!  I vacuumed once!  Peyton and I ran lots of errands together this week and we resumed our daily walking of the dogs/trip to Bender Park.  Today I tried milk, which I’ve been avoiding for the last four weeks because it pushed me beyond heartburn and towards the toilet, and though I did notice a bit of heartburn afterwards, it never came back up again.  Later in the afternoon I even had hot chocolate – hot milk with nesquick.  It probably sounds gross to those of you in hot weather, but here it was 62* & rainy, so a cuddly blanket and some hot cocoa was nice.  Not to mention the fact that Peyton picked out a Christmas movie to watch this morning  

Since I’ve had more energy to walk and clean I’ve been sleeping better at night.  I still wake up at 4:00 every morning, though, and don’t fall asleep again until 5 or 5:30.  At least I don’t have to go to work and can take a short nap in the afternoon.

I was glad to be rid of morning sickness, but now I’ve a new trouble – the baby’s squishing things around so my sciatic nerve is pinched.  Right now it’s a literal pain in the butt, sometimes worse and sometimes better.  Sometimes I limp around, and other times I get a really sharp pain when I lean over to pick things up.  I guess I better pull out my old back brace until it doesn’t fit my belly anymore.  Maybe the doctor will order bedrest and James will have to do the cooking and cleaning…

We’re 11 weeks now; in 2 more weeks I have another doctors’ appointment.  I’ll get another ultrasound because they need to check up on that cyst they found last time.  Hooray!  I’ll be 13 weeks then – they might be able to tell the sex of the baby by then, especially since it’ll be an internal u/s (you probably don’t want to know).

A discovery this week, but first some background.  In the past few years some green companies have been wanting to get rid of albuterol inhalers because they are aerosoles and deplete the ozone layer.  This past year they succeeded and plain albuterol has been replaced with albuterol sulfate, a non-aerosol version.  My family doctor prescribed this knowing we were trying to have a baby.  1200 miles away, my mom also received the new inhaler and she looked it up online.  It’s horrible!  Albuterol had very few side affects and none were serious.  This new inhaler can cause cancer, infertility, and even birth defects!  I suppose those are a small price to pay for a cleaner environment?!  To be fair (and to give you peace of mind), many of these occur only in those who take the maximum dosage on a daily basis for a period of time (I’ve only taken 3 or 4 puffs total in the past few months), but still!  Why would they do something like that!  GRRRRRRR!

It’s our anniversary tomorrow.  We might go out for dinner.  I say might because I procrastinated on finding a babysitter and my first, second and third options (tiemeyers) are busy   Anyone interested in filling the position?

(obviously I’m bored, but hey!  It’s entertaining!)
1.Name: Laura

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 4 letters of real name plus izzle.) Laurizzle (though I’d spell it Low-rizzle)

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and animal) Red Herring

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on) Beth Bridgeview

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name.) Oglla

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and random thing) Blue Belly (:-)
7. YOUR ARABIC NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, 1st letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, and last letter of your moms middle name) Albaebe (hey, that actually works?)

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (Parents middle names) Jane Glenn
9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets) Black Molly

This Works for me Wednesday post is dedicated to killing many birds with one stone.  Or more specifically to getting a walk in/sleeping well at night/tiring everyone else out, too/getting your toddler to go to bed on time/walking the dog.  There’s also an additional WFMW tip not-so-hidden by a blue link to another website.  Consider it my gift to you.

(Birds #1 & 2/background info)  I need to walk, but getting a daily walk in has become more difficult (bird #1).  Peyton is 3.5 years old, which is decidedly too old for his stroller when it comes to our neighborhood; besides, when I walk I get tired, but he just sits!  He might as well do some of the work and wear himself out (bird #2). 

I suppose I could set my alarm and get up before he does, or take my walk before James has to leave for work, but that would mean that I have to stop being lazy!  I’d much rather fit a walk in when I feel like fitting one in – like when we get bored and he starts asking for the TV. 

Enter the super-cool Big Wheel.  He loves to ride his bike, but he’s only allowed to go between our neighbors’ driveways or in our driveway.  We occasionally ride bikes in the parking lot across the street, but unless I’m with him that’s off limits (it’s terribly boring for me).  But biking is such good exercise for him – as the only child in our family capable of running around (at this point), he doesn’t run around as much as I remember doing when I was little.  He’s been having a hard time falling asleep lately, so we need to make sure he gets enough exercise.

(WFMW tip) So we started a new method for our daily walk.  Peyton rides his Big Wheel on the sidewalk, I walk in the street next to him or on the sidewalk right behind him.  Now, our first time doing this he thought it funny to race ahead and make Mom chase him, but considering that I don’t feel like the doctor probably doesn’t want me to run, we came up with a quick solution.  He probably can’t hear me yelling at him when he gets too far ahead because he sings while he peddles, so now I wear a whistle.  When he hears it, he stops.  If he disobeys, I get to be the leader and he has to ride behind me because if he won’t make good choices then I will have to keep him safe this way.

Tonight I felt comfortable enough with Peyton’s obedience that I was going to take the dogs along as well (we might as well wear everyone out at once!  Birds #3 & #4?), but Sandy seems to have forgotten that we don’t pull on the leash.  We made it two houses before we turned around and put her back.  Jack, on the other hand, our large strong lab retreiver, in his head collar, was a very good walker tonight.  He loves going to the park with us because our park has a fenced-in off-leash area where he can meet other dogs and run himself out (so he doesn’t bug us during the night).  I’m going to pick up a head-collar for Sandy next time I get to the pet store.

After we tired Jack out he and I sat on/next to a bench while Peyton played with some other kids on the playground before we made the 20 minute trekk home.  All together, 40 minutes of walking/biking plus extra time for Peyton and Jack to play with friends…priceless. 

For more WFMW ideas, including how to teach a toddler to hold a pencil, visit Shannon!

The highlight of our weekend was a trip to Lake Padden yesterday with Tiemeyers & friends.  Frisbee, swimming, hot dogs and lots of other munchables, not to mention the company, made it a great afternoon.  Peyton was SO excited to go to the lake and go swimming, but mommy had forgotten the camera, so the best I can do today is to upload the pics from a Padden trip four years ago. 

This was our first (and last, until yesterday) trip to Padden – Ryan and Peyton and I drove up in August of ‘04 to visit for a week.  Peyton was 7 months old and he sat happily while we talked and ate and later while Mommy went across the lake in the canoes w/ Uncle Gordon, Ryan, Steven & Lisa to the rope swing (that’s still there).  I forgot how much fun we had until yesterday!

This time Peyton was big enough to play in the water until it started to cool off, then he entertained himself for the rest of the evening with running around, pretending a few aerobies around his waist were his car, then later his ship.  He had a blast and can’t wait to go back again.

I promise I’ll remember the camera next time

This week is Vacation Bible School week at our church.  I signed Peyton up hoping for some Me-time while he practices school, but they asked for volunteers so I added myself to the “if you need” list. 

They needed.  Now I am not only “mommy,” I’m also “teacher Laura” to three little 3 year olds, Peyton included.  They’re good listeners (for the most part) – Peyton is the worst because I’m his mother so he gets whiny now and then, especially right before snack because he’s so hungry.  The time is probably too long for such little boys – everyone is tired and ready to go home by 10:30 or 11 after being good since 9. 

The theme this year is Avalanche Ranch and the creators of this VBS were very creative!  There are videos with the songs, words and motions on them, so we line dance together to songs like “Great Adventure,” “Wild Ride,” and “Praise His Name.”  Peyton tries really hard to keep up and he does a pretty good job for such a little guy.  It must stress him out a bit, though, because the first day after nap he woke up crying that he didn’t want to do the dance anymore…he probably had a nightmare in which he was being danced upon or something  

The Bible stories have focused on Joshua- spying on Jericho/the story of Rahab (God is real!  Wahoo!), crossing the Jordan on dry land (God is with us!  Wahoo!), and the battle of Jericho (God is strong!  Wahoo!).  The crafts have all related to the Bible stories, so we painted rocks from the middle of the Jordan and we made trumpets to make the walls of Jericho fall down (the first day the 3 year olds made trail mix snack for the rest of the kids).  Speaking of snack, we’ve enjoyed trail mix, smores (but frosting substituted for marshmallow – way too sweet!!!), and cracker sandwiches.  Thankfully teachers get a more adult-friendly treat because I’m starving by that time!  I tried snacking on cheerios behind the kids’ backs, but they notice everything and ask hungrily “wha’choo eating?”

Another point of entertainment occurs when all the kids gather together at the start and end of the day.  In the mornings Cowboy Mackenzie and Daisy Dolittle take offering in a cowboys v. cowgirls race to see who can raise the most money for building wells in Africa.  At the end of the day the money has been counted and they announce the winners of the day, who are rewarded with one tally point in a week-long competition.  Then there is a boys v. girls challenge – the first day it was a relay to see who could bring their balloons from one side to the other…while carrying them between their knees and clucking like chickens.  Then second day Cowboy Mackenzie and Cowpie Burke wore goggles and Daisy sprayed a giant dallop of shaving cream in their noses, then the kids had to see who could clean their leader best using squirt guns   Today, Cowpie Burke and one of the teachers were in a big-hair competition – using shaving cream, the boys and girls had to see who could make the tallest hair.  Cowpie Burke looked like she had a giant white chocolate hershey kiss for a head!  Peyton, Joey and Michael (my crew) thought it hilarious.  Finally, each day ends with a “pie or prize” volunteer, who inevitably gets a pie in the face.  Peyton volunteers every day for that position

Peyton says his favorite part of VBS is “Wahoo!” complete with cowboy arm motions.  Every time someone says one of our daily lessons (God is real, God is with us, or God is strong), everyone has to say “Wahoo!”  I think Peyton’s other favorite part is telling Daddy everything that happened at church.  He misses Daddy so much!  He was used to spending half his day with Dad and half his day with mom, but now it’s all day with Mom and only a few hours with Dad.  Every time we pull into our garage Peyton asks hopefully if Daddy’s home, but usually my answer is no.  When Daddy finally walks in the door, Peyton is SO excited to see him and tell him everything.

In spite of all his love for VBS, I’m not sure we’ll be able to make it tomorrow – his temperature is up pretty high.  He isn’t uncomfortable or tired – he acts normally and enjoys play time – but he feels really hot.  The thermometer said 101 at noon, it’s 99 now, but if it’s still up in the morning we’re not going to make it.  But maybe I should check all of our temps – it was 104* in town today!  And it’s 89 in our house right now.  At 6:40 pm.  Maybe we should invest in a/c…or go sleep at church – it was nice and cool there!