sick boys and politics

Adrien has been pretty lathargic all day, he has had a fever of about 100+ since 9 am. I hate to say it but the only thing he has been willing to do is sleep and watch cartoons. Finally, when Scott got home though it seemed his fever began to break, right when Hillary Clinton was making her speech.

And what an amazing speech it was. I did have to giggle a little at the deja vu I was feeling. We are currently using what is referred to in my family as the "Nana TV". It is possessed, or has been in the past, by my Step-Mom's Nana. Anyway... I digress. I remember watching Bill Clinton fight for his second run as President as well as fight about what is and is not considered "sex" on that TV. My parents felt (and I am sure still feel) that it was important for us to watch what was happening in our country. I used to think that they were lame and I hated it. Now, I am grateful because I am one of the few young people, particularly one of the few young women, who actually pay attention and vote. I can clearly remember Jen, my Step-Mom, getting very upset about elections and the state that our country has been in in the past. As a child, I didn't quite understand, now I certainly do.

Either way, I can't wait to vote this year. I could not vote for the past two Presidential elections. The first one, I wasn't quite old enough and the most recent I had a family emergency and had to go outside of my voting area for the day. Though Obama, for many reasons, is not my first choice for President, I do feel that he would make decisions that would be better for our country right now than McCain would. Both are very intelligent people though and either way I hope that at the end of it we could end up in a better position than that of the one we are in now.

On another note, I received an email from a relative the other day about the fact that Hallmark is releasing a line of cards for the newlywed same-sex couples. The email was clearly opposed to both the line and to same-sex marriages. Let me first say that I sincerely dislike the fact that people send out emails like this. I can understand why they send out jokes making fun of political candidates and policies, but to discriminate against an entire group of people in one email is just plain stupid. It does nothing, no matter how many times it gets forwarded or passed on. No one actually does anything except hit delete or forward. I did neither. You see, this relative of mine, barely knows me. He knows my name, knows that I have two children and a husband. But, beyond that I don't think he even really is concerned. He definitely did not know what my political, social or family values are, otherwise he would have never sent this email to me.
The question I kept asking myself and thought about over and over again before I decided to respond was simple. WHY. Why would he send this if he doesn't know where I stand. So, I decided to tell him where I stand.

Here is what I wrote:

" I respect that you have your opinions about what should and should not be legalized in this country, but I also feel that you should respect other people's opinions too. Sending out mass emails like this to the people on your list is a little offensive if you don't know what their political, social or family values are. I personally am not a Republican, nor do I have any problem with the Gay Community being allowed to legally testify their love the same way that I have testified to mine. Love is love, it should not be a political issue. If Hallmark is embracing it in any shape or form, for profit or not, it is a smart business move. The gay community is worth a lot of money and you can't blame a company that is only trying to profit on that. Everyone's got to eat, right?

Either way though I do respect that you don't believe that this should be happening. I just do not like having this kind of thing in my in box. I would sincerely appreciate it if you could not send me political stuff. I prefer to do my own research on the political atmosphere. "


The interesting thing to me, overall is why anyone would have a problem with someone making a profit, unless it is your competitor company. Our country is based on people trying to turn a profit. Money is everything and to tell Hallmark that what they are doing is wrong is ridiculous. They are a massive company that has MADE holidays, just pulled them out of thin air, for profit. Of course they see a market and a world opening up to them that is untapped. Go for it Hallmark, I say.

And to Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi and all the other men and women who have announced their love and undying devotion I say Congratulations and it's about time!

Today...

we are expecting our new phones, I can't wait to finally have a life line to the outside world in case something happens with one of the kids. I can't wait to be able to find out if my husband is going to be late, from him instead of an email from his mother or brother. I can't wait to be able to talk to people during the day, instead of rushing it in at night when Scott's just arrived home, he's hungry, the children are hungry and I'm exhausted.
Today we are having a pot roast for dinner. I have just finished putting it in the crock pot, and my hands still smell of celery, onion and garlic after two washes. It's kind of nice and homey here. The weather is supposed to be mild with a bit of rain every now and then. I think I might head out to the garden and get some things finished before my sister comes on Friday night.
I am so excited to see her, I just can't even tell you. I've looked up how to get to the airport from here, and it shouldn't take more than an hour and half. I get to pick her up at 10:45 Friday night, Isabella will be coming with me. She nurses too often during that time frame to stay at home with Scott. So, it might take Sam and I a few minutes longer to make it home from the airport. But it will give us some time to catch up before she sees Scott, too.
I don't know quite what we are going to do yet, but I have a few ideas.

Anyway, here's to the day, I hope it continues on the same path as it has so far. Cozy, happy and relaxed.

What a beautuful day!

Today was one of those days to be incredibly thankful for. You just keep saying to each other how beautiful and lovely it is. That was today.


We started out with a short walk through Pioneer Square. Then lunch at Salumi's with my Aunt Katie and cousins Amy and Sarah. The food was so very, very good! I suggest that if you go, get there early because the lines can get pretty long. I had a fantastic Prosciutto, fig and goat cheese sandwich. Scott had the Hot Sopressata sandwich and everything was just so tasty. Even Adrien, our adamant vegetarian ate a piece of salami!

After a break at their hotel, we went on an electric boat around Lake Union. This was so much more fun than I thought it would be. The kids had a great time and the whole thing was very user friendly.

Scott Captained the boat while us girls got caught up on life and everything in between. Adrien loved Aunty Katie! He was giggling with her and snuggling with everyone.

Isabella immediately took to them all. And let everybody hold her today.


By the end of the boat ride, both kids were ready to crash, and Izzy did after much ado. It was such a lovely day and it was so fulfilling to see my family today. I can't wait to do it again.



P.S.

Dad, the salami, it was to die for! The sopressata was amazing and spicy and I am so, so taking you down there when you come!

Rainy Days

Lately it has been raining here. Last night I went out to the grocery store in what a thought was a break. Right as I pull up to the store the sky decides that now is the time to "let it rain" and I do mean RAIN! It was pouring. I sat in the car for a few, hoping it would slow down because I had left my jacket at home and only had a T shirt on. It hasn't been that cold. But about 10 minutes later I gave up and made a mad dash to the doors. It was done raining when I got out. But when I pulled up to our house it started again, worse than at the store. It quite literally soaked me. The thirty seconds it takes to run from the car to the house had more water pressure than my shower, granted that's not hard to do. I actually all in all haven't been minding the rain, we had a pretty serious heat wave last week. It was too humid and hot to really do anything outside. When I let Adrien go out he would come in a few minutes later and say "Hot." He does like to play in the rain, though. Puddles are absolutely irresistible. Getting the mail has turned into a wonderful foray into the long, wet grass and kicking up water on the driving. He just loves it.

My Aunt Katie and my cousins Amy and Sarah are in town (well, Seattle) and Scott, the kids and I are going to go see them tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it. Scott hasn't met much of my family and I finally got him to take a day off work to meet a few more. Quite frankly, I feel like it's about time, too. I have met almost all of his family and they come over or we go over to their houses quite often, which is really nice. But I also like to see my family from time to time as well.

Speaking of family, Samantha my sister is finally coming up here. She's been teasing me for months and has finally bought plane tickets (non-refundable!) and will be here for Labor Day. It think we are going to get tattoos! I found a very pretty celtic sisters knot that I want to do on my neck, and then when I go down to California I am going to persuade as many of my other sisters (Jennifer won't take much though!) to get it as well. If we get it, of course.

Welp, that's it for now. Pictures will be posted this weekend, Dad so keep a look out.

babies in a basket

Yesterday, the kids were unwinding from all the excitement of the weekend and Isabella discovered that she can fit in the toy basket. Now she is there all the time. Adrien got jealous of course, but in the end they both went to their separate areas.

Finally Over

Just in time, too! Adrien had been throwing consistent fits all weekend and Isabella hated June.. I don't really know how it all worked out in the end, it just did. We picked up Scott's cousin, Alana, on Thursday so she could have a bit of a break before having to drive all the way back down to California again. She is an amazing person! She is going to be studying Pre-med with a FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIP at St. Mary's in about three days. She is so smart and it was good to have a person here with me during Friday. And, she offered to watch the kids on Friday so Scott and I could go to the movies. That two and half hours felt like the only time we have really had since she was born. It felt so good to be in a car, out in public together but without one or both babies.

Isabella took to Alana instantly! I picked her up out of her crib from a nap and she walked in. Izzy took one look at her and decided she was in love. All weekend she would crawl after Alana and stare at her, play with her, show off, flirt. It was so cute!
Then June showed up on Saturday morning and Alana and I had gone to the store. Scott said that Izzy was so scared of June she was shaking. I feel sorry for both of them! Poor June just wanted to see her very first Great Granddaughter and Izzy thought it was me who had come home and got so scared. She refused to let her hold her and would not be in a room alone with her for even one second without crying. It was so sad.

Thankfully Adrien at least was nice to June. He wouldn't let her hold him either, but I think he knew that she was older and might not be able too. He did let her read to him on the couch, with Scott holding him.
June understood, and did manage to have a good time. She still has so much energy for an 84 year old woman. They left on Monday morning and made a stop in Oregon to visit her son again before heading home to California.

Playing in the yard

We barbecued hamburgers and some grilled eggplant (bad, very bad). The kids happily played in the yard while we cooked. It was so nice and they were definitely enjoying themselves. Isabella loves to be outside, she loves grass and dirt and anything really. She was definitely feeling mischievous tonight though. Every time we looked at her she was into something bad. First it was the dirt.....
Then she went over to the compost bin to check that out and poke it. Scott tried showing her the slide in the hopes that maybe she would be OK there.


A few minutes later, we were talking and looked over at her. This is what we saw. Our nine and half month old daughter, climbing up the slide. Then slowly sliding down. She is so strong!!

Adrien soon realized that she was using "his" toys and got jealous. This was taken just as he tried to kick her in the face. You can see his leg just starting to come up.

mmm...mmmm... good!

It's 7:00 pm and much later than originally planned for dinner. I have the pasta water boiling and am getting my pot out for the sauce when I frantically start to realize that I have hungry, hungry children and no pasta sauce. Adrien will not eat pasta without sauce. Scott hates a simple clear or butter sauce and Isabella is getting crankier by the minute. No sauce in the cupboard, under the couch (yes we really looked here), in the fridge, under the sink, under the stove, in the laundry room, in the trash. No sauce.

No sauce, no sauce, no sauce. I checked my receipt from earlier in the week. Did I really buy the sauce or am I just going crazy? Yes, I bought the sauce. Scott clearly remembers putting it away, though where still remains a mystery. Hmm...

I ended up improvising quite nicely. Adrien ended up with chicken nuggets from the freezer.

Here is what I did and let me tell you, it was better than sauce!


Jessie's "oh crap" pasta

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1 vine ripened tomato, diced

4 small cloves garlic, minced (fresh, other wise use 5 of the canned stuff)

2 tblspn Olive oil

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

spaghetti for two

Basil

Italian Cheese



Boil water for pasta, and just as you add the noodles sweep a sprig of rosemary leaves into the water. Cook until done.

Heat oil in a large skillet and sautee garlic and onion together until the onion just starts to turn a golden brown crispy color. Add the tomato and stir, then immediately turn off the heat. Add about one leaf of Basil, torn up and stir again. Let sit on warm burner while you drain your pasta. Divide onto two plates. Divide your "sauce" onto the pasta, top with two pinches of cheese and some sliced basil (approximately 1 leaf per plate). Add a little salt and pepper and you are done.

Yummy!! Scott loved it and I loved it. It was mild enough not to cause indegestion and yet flavorful enough to be satisfying.

Enjoy!

Boys Toys

Adrien loves to play outside, especially on his little play slide things that I found for free off of Craigs List. (I really love Craig's list!)




But, he also loves his cars, he really loves to park them and line them up in different places. One of the best "garages" is my window sills.

busy weekend

Even though I feel like we didn't do much this weekend, I look around and I see the fruits of our labor. Scott's Grandmother June, who is 84 is driving up from Concord, CA with his 18 year old cousin. They are making many stops along the way to visit with family and friends, their last stop is our house. We will see them here on Saturday morning next weekend. We are both really looking forward to this visit, as it will be June's first time meeting Isabella. When Adrien was born, he and I were only a few hours away from her and she came a few days after he was born. With Isabella it was hard to be up in Washington away from so many our family. Thankfully, though we did have his Grandma, Mom and brother here or we would have been very lonely. So she will be meeting Isabella. I know she is so anxious and has been hearing lots about her from her brother and sister in law, but it's defintely not the same.
We have been slowly getting the house more and more together and easier to live in the past few months. But with her coming it definitely gave us the shove we needed to finish a few more things. We added a handle to the tub area so that it is easier for everyone, not just old ladies, to get in and out of our tall tub. A second cabinet style thing was added to the bathroom, now we actually have a place to put things. We picked up a few things at the Goodwill as well. A chair for our computer, which I love but needs a bit of work and a table for in the living room. Which Adrien loves to stand on and dance on.
A few other things that we have already done, but are worthy of note is Curtains!! Curtains everywhere upstairs! Finally, the sun isn't beating us into the shady areas of our home. Our nieghbors in the far off distance won't be able to see us change anymore (thank God) and quite frankly they look nice. I am not a huge fan of WalMart's business ways, but they are great for people living on a tight budget, thats for sure.

On another note, I stirred my compost bin today and it was such a lovely site!! I am making dirt, yup, right in my own backyard. Dirt, lovely nutritious and delicious dirt. I can't wait to be able to use it. It is still just a tad too soon and too little, but I do have about a good solid 2 inches so far. I am so excited. My garden next year will benefit from this so much. Thankfully, too that I didn't have to buy worms. While digging up the grass in the backyard for my flower bed, I have been finding worms in abundance and every now and then I send Adrien with one over to the compost bin. (I do NOT touch worms.... and yes there is a reason/story for it that I will delight you with another time)

We did try going for a little mini hike today on a trail in town by the river. But the mosquitos were attacking us. Scott has 9 bites, just on his arms and I have 12 on my arms and legs. We were only out there for maybe then minutes and gave up. I think we went about a 1/4 of a mile. It was awful!

Finally.... I am working on a growth chart for the kiddos using the extra pieces from Adrien's crib when we converted it into a toddler bed. It should be done sometime this week so I will post a picture when it is. It feels so good to be painting again, even if it just a fun little kid thing. I love it.