Up Way Too Late

The time on the computer clock reads 2:44am. Yes, I'm still up. My mom left tonight, I was paying bills and searching online for a job. I know this isn't the best time to do these things, but honestly I sometimes don't know when else I could do it. I guess I need to take a time management course someday when I have time. Right now, I just need to get to bed...

Not Sure What I Just Did

I want my blog to look more "put together" like some of my other friends. However, all I found was just changing the template and I'm not so sure what I need to do to increase my aestetics. Keeks, Juj, T-Rex some help, please?

The Unassailable Logic of a Three-Year-Old

Here's a conversation Brennan had today with the nursery worker at church:

Michelle - "Brennan, do you need to go to the bathroom?"
Brennan - "No."
Michelle - "Well, maybe Thomas on your underwear needs to go pee."
Brennan - "But Thomas doesn't have a penis."
Michelle - "Does your penis need to go pee?"
Brennan - "No, but my testicles might."
Michelle - "Do your testicles need to go pee?"
Brennan - "No, they don't have a penis."

There you have it, folks!

Missing My Friends and Family

I've really been missing my friends and family a lot lately - those that aren't nearby, that is. I got to talk with a couple of good friends from seminary today and though it wasn't very long, but the laughter came easy and the love that I have in my heart for them just longed to give them big hugs. I've been very bad at keeping in touch lately: calling people, checking emails, updating my blog, and notoriously going on Facebook.

I've been trying to figure out the problem and I honestly don't know what it is. I mean sure, I have two kids that are little and church activities or other social obligations, but so does everyone else and they seem to go on Facebook every day. So I'm trying again. I think I need to have a set time that I do computer stuff. A specific hour a day could be good. I think part of my problem is I always feel something pulling at me and I feel bad being on the computer when my laundry is out of control, dishes are piled up, and dust bunnies are watching Ni-hao Kai-lan with Brennan. I'm not going to give up though, so please, dear friends and family, don't give up on me either. Please know you are loved so very much - even if I'm not online.

Three Years Ago Today...

So of course I gotta start off my post like this. Because in all honesty it is truly unbelievable that Brennan is three years old today. Sure every mom says this when her little one has a birthday...because it's the truth. In many ways, the three years seems like it has gone so slow because a million other things have happened: we were in the middle of seminary, the process of getting a job, graduating from seminary, me leaving a job, leaving good friends, moving, meeting new friends, oh and the birth of a second child just to name a few.

On the other hand, it seems like these three years have flown by. Sometimes, I look at my "big" boy and I have a vision of him taking his first steps or I'm trying to remember when he couldn't talk. And with Aidan looking so much like Brennan as a baby I feel like I have deja vu all the time. We sat down with Brennan the other day and watched the DVD we made of his first year of life (Christmas present to all the grandparents back in '06 - definitely recommend doing this) and he loved seeing himself as a baby. He kept wanting to watch more "episodes." And of course, I'm beside him blubbering.

It happens so quickly. However, as much as I miss seeing him as a baby, I love getting to know him more as a person. All the clever things he says, his little facial expressions, his big heart, how he's learning - all of these things are what makes it get better. So I'll cherish the past, soak in the present, and look forward to what he'll be like in the future. After all, he is one one cool little man.

A Funny Conversation

So Don and I had some welcome and needed time away from the little ones this past Thursday. We decided to go to a nice lunch together at BJ's Brewery - a place I missed from the SoCal days - and then do a little shopping followed by a movie. We had a great time together, but the nicest little highlight of my day was when we stopped into a game store to look at some board games. Don was over looking in one section and I was around the aisle looking in another. Following is what I was privy to overhear:

Saleswoman: "Sooo,...you found the coolest game section."

Don: "Absolutely." (no eye contact)

Saleswoman: "I like to play strategy games too...unlike some other women."

Don: "Uh huh." (still no eye contact)

Saleswoman: "I play (some games I don't know/remember), but I also play Risk and Stratego, so I'm not a complete nerd or anything."

Don: "Oh, wow."

Saleswoman: "Settler's of Catan is a good one."

Don: "Yeah, that is a good game."

The conversation stopped there because another patron asked the saleswoman a question. So you can guess my response as I overheard this woman hitting on my husband, for if you didn't realize it that was what she was definitely doing, I was crackin' up inside! I stood there with a little smile on my face the whole time as she listed as many of her fine attributes as she could in 30 seconds. I mean I can't blame her, I think Don is quite good-looking myself. It was just really funny and I wish the other patron hadn't bothered her...I wanted to see how long it would be until she gave Don her digits.

Busting on the Buffets

If you read our family blog, you saw that last week we were in Myrtle Beach on a family vacation with Don's family. It was super fun and I truly enjoyed being surrounded by Canadians the whole week :0). However, there was one part in particular that I do not have fond memories of: the seafood buffet.

First of all, I am NOT a seafood person. I do like salmon and tuna, with the little bespectacled tuna guy smiling back at me. But I draw the line there: no crustaceans, no bottom feeders, nothing that could possibly move off of my plate. However, my husband does like seafood and I knew that he really wanted to get some great seafood being by a beach and all. So it was with sacrifice that we went to a seafood place on a double date with my sister and brother-in-law, Connie and Chris.

Now we weren't searching for a buffet because none of us really wanted that. We wanted just a nice seafood place. Unfortunately, everywhere we looked said "buffet." Finally, we saw a place that made no mention of buffet but did say "fresh local seafood." We were all hungry so we ended our expedition and went on in. We should've known something was up when Blackbeard the Pirate greeted us at the door and then the host asked if we had any coupons. As he walked us through the restaurant, we of course saw that it was a buffet. I inwardly groaned, but we kept on moving to the table not sure if we should leave right then. Hush puppies and sauce were shoved in our faces and Don started eating them right away. Even after that, we were still ruminating whether or not we should leave. In the end, our stomach growling won and we stayed.

I never realized how much I truly disliked buffets or seafood until that evening. First of all, it was super expensive. This made me mad because it's a rip off for two reasons: 1) you're never going to eat the amount of food you'd need to offset the cost and 2) the food is never really that good. Now I don't know if my tastes have become more discerning through the last few years or if I'm just missing the simpler buffet days (and way cheaper!) of Ponderosa (awww man, did I used to LOVE some Ponderosa). Second, is the quality, as I just mentioned. You never know how long the food has been sitting, no matter how "fresh" they claim it is. So Connie and I decided to split a steak and baked potato and get the salad and dessert bars. Don & Chris opted for the seafood buffet.

I began with my salad and had to avert my eyes from all the hapless creatures staring back at me at the seafood buffet. I thought the salad bar was not bad, but my nice thoughts ended when I tasted a seafood-flavored cucumber, like it had been soaked in the little critters' bath water. Who knows, it was probably my mind playing tricks on me, but the damage was done - no more salad. Well, our steak finally arrived along side Larry the Lobster, Chris' extra entree and I about barfed because there he was in his entirety - beady eyes and all. Meanwhile, Don is cracking legs and shells on the other side of me and I couldn't even look over. I tried my steak, not bad, but not worth the price we paid. After all of this, Connie and I headed to the dessert bar and our hopes went up when we saw the treats. We grabbed a bunch of things, thinking the rest of the meal would be redeemed. Alas, we were mistaken.

The best part of the evening was being sans kids and getting to hang out with Connie and Chris. The worst, well, reread the above. So, with the exception of breakfast buffets, I think I'll stay away. Unless, the buffet somehow finds me again...