Overheard in a public restroom

(A little boy was in the women's restroom waiting for his mom, who was in one of the stalls.)

___________________
Are you going yet?

Ohhhh, now you're going.

....

Going potty, mama?

...

Still going?

....

Are you wiping now, mama?

...

Are you still old, mama?

How old are you anyway?

____________

Fortunately Tyler & I were alone in the bathroom. ;)

Brian was lecturing Colby because he was complaining about not having anything to play with in the car, even though there were several toys on the seat beside him. Brian's final comment was, "It sounds like you just won't be happy then, Colby."

That's when little brother piped up from the back seat and said, "Yah! You can be like that little piggy. He cried alllll the way home."

Showing my age?

This morning Colby asked me how old I was. When I told him 32, his eyes got all big and his mouth dropped open. After getting over the shock, he exclaimed,

"I can't believe you're that OLD, and you don't even look old!!!"

Over dinner, Colby was talking about wanting an iPhone. He wanted to know if he could get one when he was older, how much they cost, and how long it would take to save up that much.

I explained to him how the phone itself has a price, and then you have to pay a fee every month to be able to use it. In our case, it's about $120. Having recently received about $100 in birthday money from various donors, he had a rough idea of how much that was. He gets $20/month in allowance, so he quickly realized that he'd need a big raise before signing up for an iPhone.

Later in the evening, he said to me, "Mama, your iPhone must be really special to you."

Not sure I wanted to hear the answer, I asked, "Why?"

"Because you have to pay for it. I mean, you pay more than $10 for it! That's like... a lot!"


I was just glad he didn't say, "Because you use it ALL THE TIME."

In a minute....

Perhaps you had to be here, but...

Colby was calling to Tyler to come play, not knowing Tyler was in the bathroom. And it was one of those long bathroom trips, if you know what I mean.

So Tyler yelled out from the bathroom,

"I'll be there in a minute! ....or two... or three

...or four....or five"

RIP Arnie

Most of you know that two firemen died in the Station fire yesterday. Some of you might not know that one of them, Arnie Quinones, was the nicest guy you could ever meet. Talk to anyone who ever knew him, and they'd quickly tell you their lives were the better for it.

Arnie was a couple years older than me in school. His girlfriend, and later, wife, Lori was a grade ahead of me, and Arnie was two years ahead of her. We went to a small school, though, so we all knew each other. However, that didn't mean the older high school students cared much for the annoying junior highers hanging around campus. And certainly none of them took much notice of me, a nerdy tall girl with glasses.

But Arnie was different. I don't claim to have been his good friend, and I technically only went to school with him for two years, though I hung around that school for four years more after I left. But I can honestly say that every interaction I ever had with him was positive. He *always* smiled and laughed, and made the others around him do the same. His joy was infectious. He made me feel like I was a friend of his.

I lost touch with Arnie & Lori after high school, like so often happens. But rest assured I never forgot him. I know he and Lori made a great life together and that Lori will have many happy memories to reflect on and share with their soon-to-be-born baby. I know his brotherhood of firefighters will make sure that his son or daughter knows what a fine firefighter and colleague Arnie was. And my hope is that this little one will always be proud of his/her daddy, who died a hero.

Much love and many prayers to the friends and family, especially to Lori and the baby. RIP Arnie. You made this world and my life a happier place.

Arnie in a picture from one of my yearbooks

In an effort to be kind to our bodies, I've been incorporating healthier foods into our diets lately. The boys picked out a kids' Kashii cereal at Trader Joe's and just tried it out this morning. They were excited because the cereal was shaped like little men. Apparently that covers over a multitude of sins, because Colby said,

"This cereal is so healthy it doesn't have much good taste, but I still like it!"

And he had this to say about health food in general: "I found out that the more it doesn't have good taste, the healthier it is."

Kids can be so insightful!

Life with Kids

Yesterday as I got undressed in the fitting room at Target, I was loudly reminded by Tyler, "Mama! Don't take off your undies or you'll show your PENIS!"

Sad thing is, I wasn't even that embarassed. Though I did imagine whoever was in the next stall got a pretty good laugh. At least I hope so!

A perfect 10

Today Tyler took a tumble at Grandma's house and ended up bonking his forehead and nose on the concrete. He got a little scrape along with a bit of a red bump on his head, and a scrape on his nose.

When he got home, Daddy asked Tyler what happened, and after Tyler explained the ordeal, Brian said, "Boy, you really did a number on your head!"

Without missing a beat, Tyler asked, "What number did I get?"

Artistic genius

What you are about to see is the delightful surprise that awaited me when I happened past the Lego table this morning.

Tyler, who's not yet 4 years old, has been lately infatuated with Disney's "The Sword in the Stone." He asks about once a day if we can go to Disneyland so he can try to pull out the true sword from the stone. Then he wants to know what we should do with it once he pulls it out, because he's sure he's the "chosen one," just like Arthur.

Much to his disappointment, though, his mama won't let him wear a coat outside (like Arthur does when he pulls out the sword) in the middle of summer, so he's eagerly awaiting the winter when he can wear his coat in the snow.... the snow that we most likely won't get, but I don't have the heart to tell him that.

So without further delay, here's the creation that my little artist put together all on his own:


Tyler is very particular about details, so please notice the correct amount of "stones" and their relative sizes, the cape/coat for "Arthur," and of course the snow on the ground. Brilliant, don't you think?

Big sister brag

My brother is going to be on TV tomorrow night!

Last year, a producer...I mean, "reserve deputy," ...shadowed and filmed Deputy Walter's gang unit for several months and the result is a TV show called "LA Gang Unit."

It airs on A&E tomorrow night, Thursday, July 9, '09. A&E's website says that it's on at 11:00pm and 11:30pm, but my DVR shows that it comes on at 8:00pm and 8:30pm PST.

Justin shows off his skills in episode 2, which shows at 8:30pm (or 11:30pm, depending who you trust).

I'm really proud of him and all he does to protect and serve, and after you watch the episode, you will be too!

Here's a teaser commercial I found on YouTube. You see Justin at about 0:03-0:04 seconds in, on the right hand side wielding his baton. He's given major air time in episode 2.

More marriage talk

Overheard in the back seat of the car today...

Colby: We'll have to separate someday, Tyler. We each have to marry girls.

Tyler: I don't need to marry a girl. I have mama.

C: Well, I'm gonna marry a girl.

T: But remember Colby? You won't come back if you marry a girl!

Promotion Sunday

The photo may be a little small, but perhaps you can tell that Colby was recently promoted from the 2nd grade class at Sunday School.

Yes, giving us all a laugh, Colby came out of Sunday School last week with a going away gift and a certificate showing he had finished 2nd grade and was promoted to 3rd grade.

You may think they mistook him for a 2nd grader all year just because he's tall. I prefer to believe the real truth: it was because he is so emotionally and spiritually mature for his age, just like his humble mother always was.

He did let them know that he had only just finished Kindergarten, but they were kind enough to let him keep the certificate since it was already made out. And I think he conveniently neglected to give back the play-doh they gave him as a gift.

At least he'll never have to worry about being the runt.

Marriage talk

So this is my first post via text message. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my iPhone? When Brian first talked about getting one for us, I thought it was silly and frivolous. While still probably frivolous, I just didn't realize how *cool* it would actually be.

Anyway, right now we're sitting on the patio of a hotel room near Disneyland, ready to make a day of it tomorrow at the park. Earlier during dinner Colby was telling Tyler about what a wife is:

"When you grow up, you get a wife. And it has to be a girl. I'm going to pick a pretty girl who has God in her heart. Not just any pretty girl."

I can put my stamp of approval on that.

Two little lovebirds, sitting in a tree

Have to give a shout out to my wonderful parents, who are celebrating their 36th anniversary today. Happy Anniversary, you two!

Not me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So this week, I did not play pillow fight and dodge-pillow with the kids using the "decorative pillows" from the good couch. Those are just for looks, you know.

At the wedding I coordinated, I most certainly did not neglect to get any of the sparkling cider bottles open before they were all placed on the tables and the pouring was supposed to start. And we did not have only one bottle opener, causing guests to have to use their own key-ring bottle openers or their teeth to open the bottles in a timely fashion.

I did not, at that same wedding, bend over a little too far in my short dress in front of the whole crowd while arranging bouquets at the head table.

And of course I did not eat out or make mac & cheese for the kids 4 out of the last 6 nights. I only make balanced, healthy meals. Every night.

Speaking of eating out, I did not stop by Arby's when I could have grabbed a sandwich at home just because a roast beef & cheddar sounded good.

And here's another thing I would never, never do. I did not take Colby out of school early on Friday so we could go see "Up!" before the crowds descended upon the theatre. Education before entertainment, I always say.

And finally, I did not purposely ignore that little piece of paper scrap in the hallway and walk over it about 50 times. In fact, it's not still sitting there right now.

As somewhat of an update to this post, here are a few shots of the "little" guy now:

He and his big brothers came to play for a little while today while their mama went to her OB appointment. The next little buddy should be arriving in the fall. :)

Aforementioned big brothers:

Story time

Nothing like getting the video camera out to make the kids clam up, but I did catch a little bit of Colby's reading on video before he noticed me recording him.

Worth the wait

Finally, something to break the blog-drought. I've been hanging around on facebook most of the time lately, but I've got something here that I thought was pretty blog worthy.


As part of a project I was doing, there were scraps of previously rolled-up paper left over that were just asking to be made into scrolls. Colby decided to write Scripture on his scroll, partly to remind him what the Bible tells kids, and partly to teach others about God.

Here's what he came up with, completely on his own, without spelling or grammar help from me (hopefully that's fairly obvious!).

This part says, "Obey your parents/ Be kind/ Love one another/ Don't be afraid"

"David did ask the king to fight in the battle. David met Goliath."

"David shot Goliath. What is the lesson? Don't think you're more powerful than God."

My favorite part is where he asks, "Wut is the lesn?" This will be a keeper!

Another Disneyland reminder

Yesterday Colby told me that when he sees the back of my hair, it reminds him of Disneyland. He said that usually at Disneyland I'm looking around at the rides and so when he sees my hair, it makes him think of that. Funny, the things that stick out to kids. I can remember a few random things like that from when I was little too.

Smells like fun!

You know how sometimes a certain smell just brings you back? Like the smell of homemade cookies makes you think of coming home from school, or the scent of way too much perfume takes you back to your Grandma's house?

Colby's only six, so he doesn't have a lot to look back on yet. I imagine, though, that when he gets older, the scent of damp air will elicit the same fond memory for him as it did this morning when he got out of the car at school.

"Mmmm... it smells like Disneyland."

Fun with Firemen

Tyler got a grand tour of a fire engine today at MOPS. The fireman talked to the moms about fire safety, and the kids got to have fun with the fire truck.

Now these are just cute

I wish I had more keys so I could justify buying these!

This year, Lord willing...

...I will celebrate 32 years of living.

...I will be 20 years old in the Lord.

...I will have graduated from high school 14 years ago, and college 11 years ago.

...I will have known my husband for 13 years, and rejoice with him on our 11 year anniversary.

...I will have been a home owner for 10 years, 4 years in our current home.

...I will have been a mother for 7 years, and a mother of two for 4 years.

...I will pray that time will stop flying by so quickly.

Rose Floats

After watching the 120th Annual Rose Parade from the comfort of our own couch on New Year's Day, we ventured down to Pasadena today to view the floats on display. There are definitely advantages to seeing the parade on TV, but to really appreciate the detail and intricacy of the floats, you should really see them with your own eyes. They truly are works of art! Here's a smattering of pictures, and there are more if you click the link at the end. Enjoy!

More here!