Pinch Pot Turkeys

Made these as examples for Homeschool Pottery in November.

The body is a pinch pot placed either upside down or right side up. I learned not to make the feathers too thin or they broke off...repeatedly.

The kids did a great job and amazed me with their cute and creative turkeys!

I Am Thankful for Pot-Lucks!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving this year.

Yes, Thanksgiving Dinner in the High School cafeteria may seem unconventional to some, but my philosophy has always been "The More, The Merrier." (Doesn't seem like very good grammar now that I type it out.)

(FYI--The 12,000+ kids in attendance-not pictured-spent most of their time either in the "Movie Theater" (a large utility closet) or the gym (which was filled with toys)--leaving the adults free to chat, relax, and play card games after dinner.)

It probably stems from my upbringing. Every other year we got together with my mom's family for a huge meal at a local church cultural hall. The "off" years, we were home with anyone and everyone who didn't have another place to go. Cousins attending BYU or Ricks college, random roommates of said cousins and siblings, visiting relatives, Honduran refugees...

One year we even hosted two inmates from the local prison. I still remember them smoking out on our porch swing. Good times.

(At least for me. My only responsibilities were eating, playing, and occasionally arranging the gourds in the cornucopia. My mom got to do all the cooking and all the cleaning up. Poor woman! I appreciate you a lot more now Mom!!! And I'm thankful for Doug who can cook. And clean!!!)

Anyway, that's why a quiet Thanksgiving at home doesn't appeal to me. I like to be surrounded by lots of people. And lots of pies. Fortunately, there are a lot of cool people around here to be surrounded by. And they brought lots of pies!

A good time (and a full belly) was had by all!!!

(Doesn't seem like very good grammar...again.)

And on an unrelated note, here are a few reasons I'm okay with having a(nother) baby boy:

And a few reasons I still plan to adopt a girl:

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Worth Your Time

I'm thankful for Mormon's who make cool videos!!!

A Peek at My Week

*Saturday morning, around 7 a.m. we received a delivery: Three extra kids. 'Member when we went to Hawaii and our neighbors took OUR three kids? Well, this week we're returning the favor. Our friends are basking in warmth in Hawaii, and we are now the proud parents of a 9yo, 7yo, 6yo, 5yo, 2yo, and an angelic (but very mischievous) looking 1 yo baby girl with golden curls. It's been a busy week.

When they arrived and Doug handed me baby Ashley, I said; "See, this is what adoption is like. Someone hands you a cute little baby and there's no additional wear and tear on your body!" (I have 5 adopted nieces and nephews. I do realize it's not quite THAT simple.)

*Sam has been officially diagnosed with ADHD. The "inattentive" type. (Max is the "hyperactive" type.) Awesome.

In the throes of motherly guilt (since I was diagnosed with ADD in first grade) I asked Doug, "What about you? Do you think you could have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD as a kid? You were pretty hyper, weren't you...?"

Doug: "Well, there was that time I chased my sister with a knife...and since my parents weren't home, someone had to call the neighbors to come over to help..."

Uh huh.

Thus we see this is all DOUGS fault. No more guilt for me!

*It's been cold and wet and overcast all week. A few minutes ago I walked by the window and huge snowflakes were filling the sky. Five minutes later it had stopped again.

*We like to save up our maintenance issues until we have more than one. Then call all of them in at the same the same time. Doug called yesterday and promptly at 10 this morning, seven Japanese men showed up at my door. Two came in to fix the dishwasher (it was making noises), two came to fix the stuck closet door, and three went upstairs to fix the water pressure in the showers. (Kramer would love it. But it makes me feel like I'm being sand-blasted every day.)

Of course, all of them took their shoes off by the door. (This is standard procedure and we do it too.) I noticed at least two wearing the socks with the individual toes.

They all went to their separate parts of the house and did their jobs. Within 25 minutes, all of them had asked me to check their work and had left. All problems fixed to perfection.

Contrast that to calling a repair man or plumber in America. It's never quick. It's never easy, and they track mud through the house. (In my experience.) Plus, I usually wondered if the slovenly men I was letting into my home had criminal records.

Sometimes living here makes me despise American customer service. Okay, a lot of times.

We could learn a lot about courtesy and efficiency from the Japanese.

Plus, why don't we wear cooler socks?

*At the beginning of the week, we let all the kids pick their favorite meal and made a dinner menu. Max choose "Wizard Wonton Soup"--a Sneaky Chef recipe from her second cookbook.

Unfortunately, the commissary was out of Wonton wrappers. So we bought Lumpia wrappers and I cut them into quarters and used those. Who knew the Lumpia would dissolve when placed in the simmering broth?

When I served the soup, the ground turkey/veggie filling was floating unwrapped in the extra thick broth. Like square meat balls. Fortunately--for everyone's sake--the kids ate it anyway.

And that's all I have energy to write.

It's 6:42 p.m. I'm going to bed.

What the S-e-x?!

*Warning! This post contains graphic information regarding the s-e-x of our baby!!!"

When Doug came home from his TDY in San Francisco, he brought more than just Sour Dough Bread for my souvenir.

He also brought this:Since this was a few weeks ago, it was too early for an ultra-sound and we were, understandably, anxious to know the s-e-x of this baby. (#4)

So, the morning after he got home, Doug dragged me out of bed at 6:30 a.m. so I could do the test. (You have to use morning pee.) Here's how it works. You pee in a cup. You use a syringe to pull out an exact amount of pee and put it in another cup already containing a mystery substance. A crystally/powdery mixture. Then you wait ten minutes.

If the pee stays yellow or orange, you've got a GIRL.

If it turns green, BOY.

My pee turned green. Immediately.

BOY!

"Told ya!" I said. And went back to bed for an hour.

The next day, I picked up the packaging and started reading more carefully. We'd followed the directions correctly. But then there was a Q&A section which said "Preliminary studies have found un-protected s-e-x within the last 48 hours can lead to a false "male" result." (Or something to that effect.)

Huh! I thought. Maybe there's still a slim chance we're having a girl!

('Cause, you know...we'd...a..........nevermind.)

When I told my friend Julie about the results, she said,

"You need to check the Chinese Calendar. The Chinese Calendar is NEVER WRONG. I trust it over your test."

So I checked the Chinese Calendar.

It said...

GIRL!

hmm.

Well, around these parts you can't get an ultra-sound until 22 weeks and then they may or may not tell you the gender.

But you CAN go to an O.B. clinic in Hachinohe, pay 2,000 yen, and get an ultrasound with video!

So at 17 weeks and 6 days, we did.

The Doctor came in. A distinguished older Japanese man. He smiled politely as he pointed out the beating heart, skull, spine, arms, and then...bum and legs. Legs with something in between them. "Boy?" we asked. There was definitely something there. He just smiled serenely and pointed to a sign on the wall.

"S-e-x cannot be determined until 24 weeks. Results are not guaranteed."

He just kept smiling and shaking his head.

We just kept saying "Boy! Yep! It's a boy!" We've seen boy ultrasounds in the past, ya know.

We brought home the pictures and the video tape.

A few days later I showed my friend Tami. She's a pediatric nurse. She looked at the picture. "I dunno. That's awfully big for only 18 weeks!" (Doug grunts like Tim the Tool Man in the background saying "Yeah! Dub Boy!" in a deep voice.)

Tami: "Maybe that's a hand!"

(If so, my little girl was giving me the finger.)

Then she watched the video.

"Okay, that's a boy!"

Uh huh! Thought so!

A few days later some other friends, the B's, had us over for dinner.

Dr. B also happens to be my O.B.

Doug brought the video.

"Well, I don't usually look at such early ultrasounds. Usually I don't see them until the third trimester. But it DOES look like a boy to me. Of course, it could be a girl with c_____ g______..." (Trust me when I tell you it's something freaky you DON'T want your baby girl to have.)

WHAT THE...?!?!?

We'll take a boy, thankyouverymuch!!!

No more verification needed!

Yep! We're having a BOY!

And I'm fine with that.

We're happy!

We love boys!

And I'm planning to adopt a girl.

No more rolling the dice for me!

No, I'm not joking.

Yes, I'm totally serious.

I will get my girl. I WILL!!!

(Let me know if you know of any birth mom's who want their baby to have four big brothers!!! THANKS!)

TTFN!

Ta-Ta For Now!

Homeschool Pottery

Every Friday, I load Gabe and his booster into the car and head to Arts and Crafts where I teach a Pottery Class for Homeschoolers. (We have a lot of kids on base who Homeschool!!!)

I've been doing it for quite a few months now and the same old projects were getting a little boring for the repeat students. (And especially for me.)

So last month I decided to shake things up. On the regularly scheduled "pinch pot" day, instead of making plain little bowls, we combined two pinch pots and made Halloween Jack 'o Lanterns.

(As seen on "Art Projects for Kids"--one of my favorite blogs ever.)

I loved the results so much I brought my camera in to take some pics. Yes, I'm the only one excited about these pictures. Sorry. Pregnancy is making me a boring blogger. Anyway, here they are:

This month, we made Pinch Pot TURKEYS!!! I know! You're dying to see them! I'll be sure to post pictures when they're finished!!!

Kyoto Trip - Take 2

We did half-day tours on two different days.

Wednesday afternoon our tour took us to the nearby town of Nara where we visited the Todaiji Temple, Nara Park, and the Kasuga Shrine.

Highlight: Biggest indoor Buddah in Biggest Wooden building. (Pretty darn cool.  Even Max and Sam were impressed!)  Totally worth the side trip out to Nara.  Also, the boys LOVED seeing the wild deer!Lowlight: Wild deer.  Nara Park is home to 1200-2000 wild deer.  That's a lot, fyi.

They're cute.

At first.

And then they ATTACK!!!!

Okay, maybe "attack" is too strong a word. But I like to approach wildlife. I don't like wildlife to approach me.

And I DON'T like it biting at my pants or trying to plow over my small children.

(Though, admittedly, it was incredibly amusing to watch Doug get stampeded after buying a packet of "deer cookies".)

Sure, he looks all cute an innocent as Max shows him a ninja star...but when his friends come over, all bets are off!

to be continued...

Halloween Recap

We celebrated another fun Halloween here in Misawa. Pumpkins were carved for Family Night the Monday before the big day. The boys picked their design, Mom and Dad did the dirty work.

(One of the pumpkins has morning sickness. Which inevitably leads to stringy hair.)

For costumes, Max was Darth Vadar and Sam was Obi Wan Kanobi. (Thanks Target.com!) Unfortunately, I have only one picture!!!

Sam at the Halloween party at church.

No pictures of the other two. (Gabey was an Orange Monster, btw. Hand-me-down. Poor third child!!!)

Once again we had friends over for Soup and Homemade Donuts. (Alton Brown's donut recipe. Made by Chef Extrodinaire, Erin. They are Donut perfection. They are the best EVER! Erin is the best ever for making a million of them over the course of two hours!)

Once again we had about a million Trick or Treaters. But this time, we were prepared. I bought about 10 big bags of candy and the friends who came brought just as much. I'm not so good with the numbers but I'd say we gave away over 1,000 pieces.

Once again, a good time was had by all.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Four Days in Kyoto

Not as long as Seven Years in Tibet, but adequate to get the job done.

Confused?

Last week we took a trip down to Kyoto for our first "in Japan" family vacation (probably last--it was exhausting). We left (via Shinkansen aka Bullet Train) Monday morning and came home Thursday night. (Kyoto is the setting for "Memoirs of a Geisha" and the former capital of Japan.)

Turns out our three sons don't care much about the changing seat of power in ancient Japan or the historical significance of Buddhist or Shinto temples and their place in Japanese Religion. But they DO like bullet trains and Samurai swords. So the trip was a win/win for everyone.

Rather than re-cap the WHOLE TRIP, (we packed a lot into 4 days) I'll just mention some highlights and lowlights. And I'll probably spread them out a bit. Cause, for example, right now it's bed time and I should be upstairs helping Doug.

But here's a start:

Visit to The Imperial Palace--where Emperors held court. The structures were often destroyed by fire and then had to be rebuilt. (You'd think at some point they'd have started building with more stone. But no.)

Highlight for the boys: lots of gravel to pile into "pyramids". Seriously. We took a tour this day and visited three different places. They're favorite part of the day was the gravel.

The GRAVEL!

*Note: The color Vermillion scares away evil spirits and is also thought of as a HAPPY color. The white gravel in the inner courtyard represents purity.

*Note: "The Oikeniwa Garden is a strolling garden, the main feature of which is a large pond with an artificial shoreline..."

Lowlight: Boy's playing in gravel all day makes for three REALLY FILTHY boys!

Note to self: Gravel and Crocs are not a good combination.

Each night ended in all three boys in the Hotel Tub soaking their nasty black feet.

To be continued...

Gabe's First Party

Gabe was invited to his first "friend party" ever. Madeline's party was held at the Weasels' Den

Before the party:
(He gave her a vintage Effanbee "Butterball" doll.)
(Madeline is one of his BFF's and he mimics her speech and mannerisms quite a bit. And her foot stomp.)
After the party:A good time was (obviously) had by all!

The Best Lunch EH-VER!!

Doug got home from his TDY* to San Francisco a few days ago. What? You didn't know he was gone? That's because I didn't tell you, CREEPY STALKER!!! (Have I mentioned lately that I live in a gated community protected by armed guards? I do. Plus, I keep a 50 lb. MagLite about my person.)

Anyway, he was gone for over a week. Went to a conference, learned some stuff, saw his wonderful parents, brother Mark & Co., went to eat with some fabulous old friends, and basically had a grand ol' time. (Plus, he did all of the shopping and fetching I required of him.)

AND, he ate out a lot. Jerk. (Doug's family; I use that affectionately.)

--Extensive and over-long digression:--

Now, since I've been pregnant, we (or just I) have been eating out a lot more. In fact, we (okay, I!) over spent our eating-out budget last month by, like, a LOT. Because when you're pregnant, and puking, and all of the sudden something sounds good--not just good--LIFE SAVING, well, you get it and eat it immediately.

For example: One day I went in to Arts and Crafts on a Saturday afternoon. I was hand painting some pots. My co-worker offered to get me lunch at the base Popeyes and I, being nauseated, but hungry, agreed.

Do you know what Popeyes is? It's a southern place like unto KFC. They do a lot of deep frying there. As in, everything on the menu is soaked in oil before being cooked and they don't even pretend any of it has nutritional value. This was my first experience actually eating food from there. She (co-worker) got me a meal. Three chicken strips, french fries, a biscuit, (bleh to biscuits) and large a root beer.

Let me tell you how often I order a fast food meal like this: Never.

But that day, it saved my life. Those french fries (which were greasy enough to have been triple fried) were the best artery-clogging goodness I've ever eaten. I thought about that meal all weekend long and went back Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. for seconds. A pregnant woman's gotta do what she's gotta do.

Since then, there have been more desperate cravings for Taco Bell Nacho's Bell Grande, (another new one for me--I'm usually a '7 layer, no tomato' girl.) Shrimp & Veggie Tempura, more Nacho's Bell Grande, Salmon, Steak, Hamburgers with fry sauce, a Chocolate/Banana shake, fruity carbonated beverages, and peanut butter apples.

All of these things, when I got them in my hot little hands, were the best things I'd ever eaten.

Until Thursday morning when Doug got home.

--Now back to the point:--

And he gave me this:

Fresh Bodine Sour Dough Bread and Clam Chowder!!!

(I devoured it immediately!)

BEST!LUNCH!EVER!!!

(at least until I start craving nachos again.)

Welcome home Sugar Lips!!! And thanks again for LUNCH!!!

*Temporary DutY: (Most of the acronyms around here make no sense.)

Misawa is in TCCOR 3!

I don't actually know what TCCOR 3 means. But I DO know there is a tropical storm headed our way and we're in for some rain and high winds.

This is what the flyer left on my door said:

*Residents will secure all outside equipment and properly secure/store it.

*Trampoline owners will remove safety net & turn trampoline upside down.

The last big wind storm we had relocated our trampoline to someone else's backyard. Guess they're trying to prevent that from happening again!

Should be fun to watch!

Fitting in and Cleaning House in Japan

I have this problem. (One of many.) I'm house-keeping challenged. I blame my ADD. See, every time I try to clean a room, I get side-tracked by some small insignificant detail in the room. For example: I might go to put something away and notice the drawer where it belongs is a mess. So I start cleaning out and organizing the drawer. Then realize that to properly organize said drawer I need a drawer organizer. Which means a trip to the 100 Yen store. Which may take a few days to get to. And wherein (when I eventually make it) I will be sidetracked by all the cool stuff, buy supplies for an art project I'll never complete, and forget the drawer organizer.

So you see, my home is never very tidy. (But I'll be darned if my drawers and cupboards don't look AWESOME!)

I thought it was pretty bad!

Then I got pregnant.

Got morning sickness.

Got tired.

Got pukey.

Took lots of naps.

Got a nasty cold.

Got over the cold.

Got the flu.

Didn't shower or get out of bed for two days.

etc. etc.

(ad nauseam, if you will)

And weeks ago I gave up even trying. The kitchen makes me sick. The bathrooms make me sick. Thinking about cleaning anything makes me sick. So I've stopped all that nonsense.

And it turns out I must have been accomplishing something before, because things around here have actually gotten a lot worse.

Doug helps all he can (with only a slightly disgruntled air) but he's only home for so many hours. And he's already doing all the cooking.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

I called in the heavy artillery.

I hired a Mamasan.

What is a Mamasan? A Mamasan is a magical being.

A Mamasan is a Japanese lady--usually an old lady--who will come to your house and work wonders.

She is (usually) hired to babysit or clean.

She (usually) rides to your house on her bike.

The standard fee is (usually) 5,000 yen/day. (Roughly $60.)

And she (usually) wants lunch. Or in some cases, coffee or a Coke.

My Mamasan (whose name I wrote down but now can't find the paper) came at 8:30 a.m. last Monday and left around 14:45. (2:45 p.m.) I got her a Subway sandwich. (Like I said--I don't go in the kitchen these days.) She brought her own Instant Coffee.

While she was here she cleaned the kitchen, the bathrooms, straightened the bedrooms (made the beds) and vacuumed all the carpet.

While she was here, I left and did my Visiting Teaching!

Talk about a win/win.

She's coming again next week and I can hardly wait.

I know it wont last long. Doug is too cheap and my nausea is easing somewhat. But I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

And on a totally unrelated note:

Isn't this a cute family tree Max and I made? It includes three boys, two parents, and six grandparents.

That makes three whole things I've accomplished in the last 3 months. Hire Mamasan to clean: check! Visiting Teaching: check! Help with school project: check!

Good to know I can still pull my own weight around here!!!

(Oh yeah! And Write Blog Post: CHECK! I'm totally awesome!!!)

My Mom Thinks I'm Funny. Doug doesn't.

I got an e-mail today from someone at "The Bump" telling me to nominate myself and my favorite blogs for "The Bump Mommy Blog Awards". I like voting for other blogs! I like blog awards! I like recognition!

BUT, I normally don't bother with this kind of thing because then I have to REGISTER and fill out--like--ten lines of information. And WOAH, that's just too time consuming.

But then I noticed the winner gets a $100 Pottery Barn gift certificate. And I'm highly motivated by money. Even when nauseated.

So I did it! (Registering only took about 32 seconds, so it wasn't THAT bad.) And nominated myself of course, because HEY! My mom says I'm funny! (But really cause I want want $100 PB bucks.) And then I nominated some friends. And now I'm telling YOU! So you can vote for me! Er, I mean, yourself and possibly win a $100 PB gift certificate. (But if you win I want a full report on what you get from Pottery Barn. And I promise to be happy for you...and only a little bitter that you snaked my victory.)

Interested? Click HERE!

P.S. I'd never heard of "The Bump" before today. But it looks like a pretty good site having to do with all things baby related! I'm planning to check out the section on "Baby Names" later.

I Dream of Crazy

In my dream, it's dumping snow outside. Tons of white fluffy snow is piling up and making it look like a Japanese winter wonderland. Doug looks outside and immediately gets excited. He starts pulling out Christmas decorations. White light covered Christmas trees and garlands. He's putting them up everywhere and the house is starting to look quite festive. In the midst of the decorating chaos, I have a sudden realization: It's late September! I was about to start decorating for Halloween! I bought all those decorations from Target 75% off last year! I yell...

"Doug, DOUG STOOOOOP!!!"

All of the sudden Doug is spooning Cheerios into my mouth.

"Thanks Honey" I mumble groggily. I assume he's on his way to work and helping me start the day off without nausea. Just to be sure I ask;

"What time is it?"

"It's 4:45."

I'm a little confused. It's very early. I take another bite.

"Why am I eating this?"

"Because you woke me up. Violently."

He doesn't state the obvious; "...and I assumed it was because you were about to yak."

Crunch. I take another bite.

It's probably the 5th time he's been up tonight. Sam had a nightmare and climbed into our bed--twice. Max has a cough and keeps crying out for comfort.

And then I go and wake him up.

Violently.

Maybe I'll just wait till tomorrow to tell him I just wanted him to stop putting up the Christmas decorations. Yeah. I'll just wait.

Sorry, Honey!

Cheer me up. NOW!

I'm in a funk.

It's been a bad week.

I'm tired, cranky, hormonal, and puke-y.

The kids had the day off today.

My house is a mess.

I can't clean and I can't cook.

(I'm not saying I don't want to, (I don't) I'm saying I actually can't because I'll just end up heaving in the nearest garbage can which helps no one.)

So I'm asking for YOUR help.

You have three choices:

Do my blogging for me. Write something funny or silly or entertaining. It can be one sentence or a long story. E-mail it to me and I'll post it on my blog. (emilydeon(at)gmail(dot)com)

OR

Give this picture a funny title or caption: (It sums up perfectly how I'm feeling.)

OR

Wire me some money.

You choose.

Now get to work!

IT'S A...

BEAN!!!

I had my first ultrasound today! Based on the ultrasound and the FDLP date, I am officially allegedly 9 weeks and 4 days pregnant with a due date of April 10th, 2010.

We heard and saw the heart beat, and saw the tiny line of a spine and the leg and arm buds.

It looked to be a decidedly female bean to me, but I'm not getting my hopes up. (Who am I kidding?!)

In other news, Sammy FINALLY started kindergarten yesterday, got his first "Green" today, and now has a fever and probably wont go tomorrow. (Big sigh from Mom.) Nothing like a Back-to-School virus to get me all excited about the upcoming cold and flu season.

In even otherer news, Gabe wants me to entertain him the entire time his brothers are gone. The ENTIRE TIME! This means we play "catch". A LOT of "catch". And boy is he mad when I want to STOP playing "catch" after 3.5 hours...
So to punish me, he's climbs out of his crib at nap time and/or runs away to the neighbors when my back is turned.

And here I thought having only one at home would be EASIER!

That's all for now. Will blog again when there's a break in the nausea.

Queasily yours--
Em

The State of Things

I'm nauseated.  24/7.  (But so far I'm not puking, so that's somethin'!

Doug is participating in an "Exercise" this week.  This means, instead of seeing patients, he runs around in Chem. Gear and a Gas Mask from 6a.m. - 6:30p.m.  Or later.  He's not happy about it.  I'm not happy about it.  (Understatement of the year.)  I teach Wheel at 6 p.m. sharp people!!!

Gabe learned how to climb out of his crib.  Right now I'm watching him run towards the neighbors house because I'm too tired to put him in bed for his nap--again.

Someone keeps peeing in/on the training potty.  Only it isn't Gabe.  (And whoever it is doesn't have good aim.)

Sam is ticked off that kindergarten starts a week after regular school and complains about it--loudly--multiple times daily.

Max wants to work for a T.V. station when he grows up so he can "watch T.V. all day long."  (Most disheartening thing I've heard all year.)

Sam got an in-home visit from his Kindergarten teacher today.  He got out every weapon we own and repeatedly punched things at random.  Awesome.

But on the bright side...

Today Sam said:   (While "tagging" the air.) "Mom, did you know Jesus--I mean da Hoey (Holy) Ghost--is down heo (here) and I'm pwaying (playing) tag wif him?!?" 

So at least there's THAT!

Items of Note/Notorious Items

All of these items could be their own post.  But I don't have that kind of time so take what you get and be happy about it!!!

*Sammy had a birthday and turned 5. 

*Doug and I had a big fight but we made up.  And then we had our 9 year anniversary the next day.  Maybe I'll post about it one day.  (The anniversary--not the fight.  That would be like admitting we don't have a perfect marriage.  Which we do.  BTW, we fought on our 8 year anniversary too.  It's our new fun anniversary tradition.)

*I'm supposed to be returning from hiking Mt. Fuji right now.  But I'm not.  (FORTUNATELY!!!)  Because I have bigger fish to fry/people to buy food for.

*I was called to be "Camp Food Coordinator" (or something) and I'm headed to church GIRL'S CAMP Tuesday morning.  (And the commissary is closed on Monday, and I can't shop on Sunday, so I had to shop on Saturday, which meant I couldn't hike Mt. Fuji.)  (FORTUNATELY!!!)

*Though I LOVE camping, I never really liked Girl's Camp as a 12-16 year old.  Too much drama.

*And frankly, I'm pretty sure I don't like camping with Morning Sickness, either.  (How's THAT for drama?!?)

*If you noticed I'm getting fatter and asked if I was pregnant...I forgive you.  ('Cause I am and I am.  But I didn't know it at the time...so nevermind...you're not forgiven.)

*Doug participated in his FIRST TRIATHALON on Saturday morning and did quite well.  Not that I would know as I was home sleeping and didn't arrive on scene until 40 minutes after he finished.  But I HEAR he did quite well.  Go Doug.  (But NO Doug.  You may NOT buy an expensive bike.)

*I personally believe marathons and triathalons are for MASOCHISTS!  Yeah, you heard me every.single.female.friend I have!!!  Masochists and CRAZY PEOPLE!!!!!

*I (also) personally believe the only good reason to run is if you're being chased.  By a mugger.  (If I've said it once, I've said it 10,000 times!!!)

Well, that pretty much sums up the last two months.  Any questions?

"Max Power...is his name..."

SOME how, at some point, probably when my back was turned... (he used to do a lot of naughty things while my back was turned)  

this little boy... 

...grew up!  

Maxwell joined our family when we were still newly weds going to school and living in Provo, UT. 

He turned us into an official family.  Sure, marrying Doug was great and all, but we were just playing house until this kid came along.  (And he made it so I didn't constantly stare at all the other babies at church on Sunday and comment to Doug how CUTE they were!!!)

(People at church would stare at him and comment about is huge toothless, slobbery grin.)

He moved to San Francisco with us where we lived for four years, and then tagged along when we switched coasts and lived in Rhode Island for two.  

Now he lives happily in Northern Japan.  

Not bad for an almost 8 year old!  

And at some point...he went and grew.  

And stopped pulling stuffing out of pillows and sneaking Lucky Charms while I showered blissfully unaware.

Now he makes his own sandwiches*.

Practices piano and writes in his journal.

And begs for "reading time" with Mommy at night.

He even learned how to put a diaper on Gabe!  (But only to save himself from embarrassment and our family from a reputation as exhibitionists.  Too late!)He's just an all around cool human being.

I Love you Max!  Thanks for being part of our family!!!

*Made with organic "Whole Oat" bread which Max loves because he considers it "white bread" which has been banished in this house since 1861.