Friday, April 1, 2011
And because it's April Fools' Day...
I love Google's April Fools' Day jokes. I don't remember what it was the first year they did one, but it didn't dawn on me that that's what it was. Now I've come to expect it and I find them generally hilarious. Click here to go to Gmail and click on the bottom where it talks about Gmail Motion. The two-minute video is really funny :)
This is what I feel like saying sometimes
Not all of the time, just sometimes. Like when people think it's funny to ask, "You do know what's causing that, right?" as though I have a headache and keep purposely slamming my head against a brick wall. I know, I know. They're not trying to be mean. But when you've heard it a thousand times it kind of gets old. I probably don't have the guts to wear it, though. :) (If you want to test me on that, though, if you click on the shirt it'll take you to the website where it's sold...)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Fun & Silly
I stole this from a friend's blog because I thought it was cute. I know you're not as dull as I am (it took me a while to figure out about whom she was answering the questions) but I'll go ahead and tell you it's about Jimmy and me :)
33. Who drives when you are together? Depends. If it's a long car trip I often do the driving because he's taller and can reach the back of the van to tend to the boys. Other than that, though, he does the driving.
1. What are your middle names? Gerald and Bryan (though mine was Lynn before I was married)
2. How long have you been together? dated/engaged for 3.5 years, married 6 years in July
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? about 6 months
4. Who asked who out? Well now that's a funny story. We'd met at summer camp as counselors and had both gone back to college, me in Virginia and he in California. We kept in touch via instant messenger (I know, so romantic). It got to the point where we were "talking" several hours a day and I eventually told him it needed to move on to something more or needed to stop. His response (which I'll never forget): "Can we talk about this tomorrow?" Me: (freaking out) "Why?" Him: "Well, I'd like to think about it. And the intermural water polo playoffs start in five minutes." The next day he "said:" "It would not be correct to say I have no feelings for you." And there you have it :)
5. How old were each of you? I was 20 and he was 18.
6. Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? It's really about equal
7. Do you have any children together? 3 sons, one on the way (gender yet unknown)
8. What about pets? We have a cat, Amos, and we care for two feral cats
9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? That's a hard one. God has really been gracious to protect us from anything overly difficult. Learning to tread the sometimes difficult waters of relationships (not between each other, but with those outside the marriage) can sometimes be a challenge, but isn't that true for everyone?
10. Did you go to the same school? No. He went to Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, CA and I went to The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA.
11. Are you from the same home town? No. Both from VA, but he grew up in the suburbs of DC and I grew up on a farm in central VA.
12. Who is smarter? In most things he is. But I have him beat musically, hands down.
13. Who is more sensitive? I am definitely more sensitive, but I wouldn't be surprised if many people think neither of us is particularly sensitive.
14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Well that depends on if we have the boys with us or not. If we do, then it's probably somewhere relatively fast. If it's just us, I like to eat non-American food. I LOVE Indian food.
15. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Flying: from VA to CA (several times). Driving: from MO to VA (several times)
16. Who has the craziest exes? I'm the only one who dated before. But my exes aren't crazy as far as I know.
17. Who has the worse temper? We'd both agree: ME
18. Who does the cooking? When I'm pregnant, he does it most of the time. When I'm not pregnant, I do it most of the time.
19. Who is more social? Me, but only by a hair. We're both extroverts.
20. Who is the neat-freak? Both of us care, but about different areas (though neither of us could be described as "neat freaks"). He cares more about clutter; I care more about actual cleanliness.
21. Who is the more stubborn? Interesting question! On the outside probably me, but he just hides it better.
22. Who hogs the bed? Neither of us really, but he hogs the covers.
23. Who wakes up earlier? He does.
24. Where was your first date? I think just at his house! We'd been dating for a while but because of the CA/VA thing we hadn't seen each other. So I think we probably just hung out at his house over Christmas break.
25. Who has the bigger family? He does
26. Do you get flowers often? Not really. But that's ok because I really don't think about it and if I want them I just buy them for myself!
27. How do you spend the holidays? If by "holidays" this means Christmas, we usually are in VA and we spend about an equal amount of time with each family.
28. Who is more jealous? Neither of us gets jealous about anything within the relationship because there's no reason for it.
29. How long did it take to get serious? We pretty much knew we were going to be married after about 7 months. But then he had to spend 3 more years in college before we could get married. Those were a LONG. THREE. YEARS. But wonderful :)
30. Who eats more? Depends on if I'm pregnant or not :)
31. Who does the laundry? He usually washes, I fold
32. Who’s better with the computer? He is
Monday, March 28, 2011
Confused about soy
I am really confused by soy products, cheese and yogurt in particular. Let me explain.
Isaac has a milk allergy that we've known about for approximately six weeks. He's had eczema most of his life, but over the past several months it has spread and worsened, at times being so bad that he would scratch himself bloody in places. We had to cover large portions of his skin in hydrocortisone cream every night to prevent all of that scratching overnight, and all that topical steroid isn't good every night. He never complained about it because I think it's just always what he'd known. After doing some research, I learned that eczema in children is almost always the result of a food allergy, and dairy is the most common food allergy for children. We decided to eliminate dairy from his diet (which is at the same time both easier and harder than it sounds) and six weeks later, he's been eczema free for 3-4 weeks.
The boy loves dairy products. I have often said my children could survive on fruit and dairy. Isaac was drinking milk at least twice a day and most lunches had some form of cheese or yogurt. Though he has taken the explanation as to why he can't have dairy very well and his response has been more mature than I was expecting, I've still wanted to have a few of his favorites in non-dairy form. For butter we use (sparingly) margarine and for yogurt I've found a coconut milk yogurt.
And here presents my frustration: there are so many soy products on the market that are supposed to be copying their dairy counterparts, but they have dairy in them! I bought soy yogurt one time and didn't even bother reading the label because why would soy yogurt have dairy in it? Well, we get it home and sure enough, it's not dairy-free. (My friend explained to me that the cultures don't grow in soy milk so they must grow the cultures in cow's milk, strain them out, and then put them in the soy milk to create the yogurt.) Thankfully we found the coconut milk yogurt that is truly dairy free.
Today, at Isaac's request, I was looking for a cheese alternative. I saw two types of soy cheese but they both also had dairy in them (casein, the milk protein). Once again I'm left wondering WHAT'S THE POINT??? The only thing I can come up with is that people who are lactose intolerant might be able to eat these soy versions of dairy favorites, but I know that for a milk allergy they don't work. (But let me do say that if the answer is that they work for people who are lactose intolerant, then obviously it makes sense.)
Anyway, if you know the answer to my question--what's the point of a soy alternative, especially given the amount of estrogen in soy which I don't want in my boys' bodies--or you know a good, dairy-free cheese alternative, I would appreciate it :)
Isaac has a milk allergy that we've known about for approximately six weeks. He's had eczema most of his life, but over the past several months it has spread and worsened, at times being so bad that he would scratch himself bloody in places. We had to cover large portions of his skin in hydrocortisone cream every night to prevent all of that scratching overnight, and all that topical steroid isn't good every night. He never complained about it because I think it's just always what he'd known. After doing some research, I learned that eczema in children is almost always the result of a food allergy, and dairy is the most common food allergy for children. We decided to eliminate dairy from his diet (which is at the same time both easier and harder than it sounds) and six weeks later, he's been eczema free for 3-4 weeks.
The boy loves dairy products. I have often said my children could survive on fruit and dairy. Isaac was drinking milk at least twice a day and most lunches had some form of cheese or yogurt. Though he has taken the explanation as to why he can't have dairy very well and his response has been more mature than I was expecting, I've still wanted to have a few of his favorites in non-dairy form. For butter we use (sparingly) margarine and for yogurt I've found a coconut milk yogurt.
And here presents my frustration: there are so many soy products on the market that are supposed to be copying their dairy counterparts, but they have dairy in them! I bought soy yogurt one time and didn't even bother reading the label because why would soy yogurt have dairy in it? Well, we get it home and sure enough, it's not dairy-free. (My friend explained to me that the cultures don't grow in soy milk so they must grow the cultures in cow's milk, strain them out, and then put them in the soy milk to create the yogurt.) Thankfully we found the coconut milk yogurt that is truly dairy free.
Today, at Isaac's request, I was looking for a cheese alternative. I saw two types of soy cheese but they both also had dairy in them (casein, the milk protein). Once again I'm left wondering WHAT'S THE POINT??? The only thing I can come up with is that people who are lactose intolerant might be able to eat these soy versions of dairy favorites, but I know that for a milk allergy they don't work. (But let me do say that if the answer is that they work for people who are lactose intolerant, then obviously it makes sense.)
Anyway, if you know the answer to my question--what's the point of a soy alternative, especially given the amount of estrogen in soy which I don't want in my boys' bodies--or you know a good, dairy-free cheese alternative, I would appreciate it :)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
I am about to cry...
...because there is snow accumulating. It's MARCH 26. We've had days near 80 degrees. And today it's been snowing for several hours, it's accumulating, and it makes me want to cry. Oh, Long Beach. Your monotonous weather was boring but never made me think of curling up in the fetal position, shaking my head, and screaming "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!" at the top of my lungs.
Castle Rock Resort & Waterpark
*Unfortunately this post has no pictures because (1) I didn't take very many and (2) even if I had, I don't know where the camera cord is! I will post some once my friend sends me the ones she took on the trip.
This past week was Jimmy's spring break and we went on our first ever family vacation not attended (and paid for!) by our parents! Now we really feel like adults :) We left St. Louis on Wednesday for Castle Rock Resort & Waterpark in Branson, MO. We went with our friends/neighbors whose son Noah is Nathan's age. Our plan was to spend most of our time at the indoor waterpark, go out to eat in the evenings, and possibly do one other Branson attraction. (Let me take a moment to say that Branson really is what you're imagining--a strange place with lots of odd attractions and shows geared for an, ahem, older generation of people. I referred to it as looking like a cheaper version of Las Vegas, though I've never been to Vegas.)
We got there Wednesday early evening, checked into the hotel, and the minute we got into our hotel room (which had a special alcove with bunk beds--amazing!) the boys put on their swimsuits. We went to the waterpark and were having a great time. The waterpark has a few wading pools, one deeper pool, a lazy river, and two water slides one of which is completely enclosed. Nathan was just tall enough for the water slides and absolutely loved them. Isaac wished he could go down, but he was happy enough to go with us on the lazy river or the smaller slides in the wading pools.
At one point Nathan and I were going to go down the enclosed water slide (not together, but one after the other). When we got to the top I saw that the inner tubes I had for us were both for adults and I asked the lifeguard if it would be a problem for Nathan. He said no, and Nathan put his feet down through it instead of sitting on top (he was too small to sit on top). He went down and everything was fine, until he didn't come out. And didn't come out, and didn't come out.....The lifeguard got really concerned and whistled for all of the other lifeguards to come over which meant everyone in the waterpark had to exit the water. I was thinking that perhaps they should turn off the water in the slide because if he was stuck head down water gushing in his face could present a serious problem. There was lots of running around, and I considered going down the slide anyway to free him, but didn't. After a couple of minutes of confusion and delay (any Thomas fans out there? Anyone?) Nathan came out all smiles. The lifeguard was definitely happy to see him and jumped in the pool fully clothed to rescue him :) Nathan said that his his inner tube had gotten stuck and he had to use his feet to free it. His only concern was that bad aliens were coming to get him!
Wednesday night was routine and then Thursday morning we went back to the waterpark. Everyone was having a grand time until Isaac started screaming. I was with him and Toby in a wading pool and he was happily going down the baby slide time and time again. Well, I was sitting to the side so I didn't exactly see what happened but on one of his times down I heard a THUNK and then Isaac cry. When he got out he had blood coming out of his chin. I thought he'd hit his teeth but it was really his chin. Thinking that they probably wouldn't want me cleaning him up with the pool water we went over to our stuff and I cleaned him up with a towel. I motioned to Jimmy who then took Isaac to the lifeguard station. Well, who do you think attended to him? The same lifeguard who'd "saved" Nathan the day before. At this point I was worried we'd be thrown out! They suggested we take him to the emergency room because the gash looked pretty big. We didn't do it right away, but after calling the nurse hotline of our insurance we decided to take him to urgent care that afternoon. Jimmy took him and the poor boy ended up having 5 stitches! They wanted to use the glue that they can use on some cuts but they didn't think it would be strong enough. Jimmy said Isaac was less than thrilled about the experience, but at least this way he'll heal without it taking forever.
Other than those to slightly traumatic things, our vacation was wonderful! On Friday before we left Jimmy and I took all of the boys, including Noah, to a dinosaur museum (and Nathan had gone with Noah's family to an arcade and go carts place the afternoon before). The dino museum provided extreme excitement.....for about 45 minutes. Then we hit the road and came home after lunch. It was nice to get away!
This past week was Jimmy's spring break and we went on our first ever family vacation not attended (and paid for!) by our parents! Now we really feel like adults :) We left St. Louis on Wednesday for Castle Rock Resort & Waterpark in Branson, MO. We went with our friends/neighbors whose son Noah is Nathan's age. Our plan was to spend most of our time at the indoor waterpark, go out to eat in the evenings, and possibly do one other Branson attraction. (Let me take a moment to say that Branson really is what you're imagining--a strange place with lots of odd attractions and shows geared for an, ahem, older generation of people. I referred to it as looking like a cheaper version of Las Vegas, though I've never been to Vegas.)
We got there Wednesday early evening, checked into the hotel, and the minute we got into our hotel room (which had a special alcove with bunk beds--amazing!) the boys put on their swimsuits. We went to the waterpark and were having a great time. The waterpark has a few wading pools, one deeper pool, a lazy river, and two water slides one of which is completely enclosed. Nathan was just tall enough for the water slides and absolutely loved them. Isaac wished he could go down, but he was happy enough to go with us on the lazy river or the smaller slides in the wading pools.
At one point Nathan and I were going to go down the enclosed water slide (not together, but one after the other). When we got to the top I saw that the inner tubes I had for us were both for adults and I asked the lifeguard if it would be a problem for Nathan. He said no, and Nathan put his feet down through it instead of sitting on top (he was too small to sit on top). He went down and everything was fine, until he didn't come out. And didn't come out, and didn't come out.....The lifeguard got really concerned and whistled for all of the other lifeguards to come over which meant everyone in the waterpark had to exit the water. I was thinking that perhaps they should turn off the water in the slide because if he was stuck head down water gushing in his face could present a serious problem. There was lots of running around, and I considered going down the slide anyway to free him, but didn't. After a couple of minutes of confusion and delay (any Thomas fans out there? Anyone?) Nathan came out all smiles. The lifeguard was definitely happy to see him and jumped in the pool fully clothed to rescue him :) Nathan said that his his inner tube had gotten stuck and he had to use his feet to free it. His only concern was that bad aliens were coming to get him!
Wednesday night was routine and then Thursday morning we went back to the waterpark. Everyone was having a grand time until Isaac started screaming. I was with him and Toby in a wading pool and he was happily going down the baby slide time and time again. Well, I was sitting to the side so I didn't exactly see what happened but on one of his times down I heard a THUNK and then Isaac cry. When he got out he had blood coming out of his chin. I thought he'd hit his teeth but it was really his chin. Thinking that they probably wouldn't want me cleaning him up with the pool water we went over to our stuff and I cleaned him up with a towel. I motioned to Jimmy who then took Isaac to the lifeguard station. Well, who do you think attended to him? The same lifeguard who'd "saved" Nathan the day before. At this point I was worried we'd be thrown out! They suggested we take him to the emergency room because the gash looked pretty big. We didn't do it right away, but after calling the nurse hotline of our insurance we decided to take him to urgent care that afternoon. Jimmy took him and the poor boy ended up having 5 stitches! They wanted to use the glue that they can use on some cuts but they didn't think it would be strong enough. Jimmy said Isaac was less than thrilled about the experience, but at least this way he'll heal without it taking forever.
Other than those to slightly traumatic things, our vacation was wonderful! On Friday before we left Jimmy and I took all of the boys, including Noah, to a dinosaur museum (and Nathan had gone with Noah's family to an arcade and go carts place the afternoon before). The dino museum provided extreme excitement.....for about 45 minutes. Then we hit the road and came home after lunch. It was nice to get away!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
SAD
Yesterday was beautiful; today is even better. (And then there's 5 days of t-storms, rain, etc. in the forecast but I'm trying to live in the present.) I took the boys to the zoo yesterday and was just beside myself with joy. I'm beginning to wonder if I have a mild case of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Our first winter here I was looking forward to months of cold, snow, hot drinks, my afghan, and sweaters. We had lived in Southern California for four years and the monotony of weather was trying. I hated it when it was in the 80s in December. That's just wrong. I should need at least pants and a long-sleeved shirt at Thanksgiving. It should be cold by Christmas. But in Long Beach, you can go to the beach almost any day of the year. In February of our first winter in St. Louis, I remember the first signs of spring weather coming in February and I'd get irritated if the high was not below the 40s.
Now, I'm over it. Big time. I still love fall; it's my favorite season. I was a little excited to see snow this past Thanksgiving and I love a cold Christmas. By the middle of January, however, I'm ready to just need a sweater. By the beginning of March I was beginning to wonder if I was depressed. I am such an extrovert that these endless days of being inside were really starting to wear on me. (And yes, I have a lot of interaction with my children which some may think would satisfy my extroverted needs but I also have a need for adult interaction!)
Then at the zoo yesterday, I could smell the freshly cut grass. I was walking around with only a short-sleeved shirt on. Today the windows are open, clothes are drying on the deck, and I'm about to take the boys outside for what will likely be the whole day until dinner tonight. The difference in my mood is astonishing when the weather is better.
So do I think I really have SAD in the real, extreme sense? No, I think we're all affected by the weather, whatever your preference. But now I know that though my first winter here I longed to move to northern Canada, now I'm rethinking that desire!
Our first winter here I was looking forward to months of cold, snow, hot drinks, my afghan, and sweaters. We had lived in Southern California for four years and the monotony of weather was trying. I hated it when it was in the 80s in December. That's just wrong. I should need at least pants and a long-sleeved shirt at Thanksgiving. It should be cold by Christmas. But in Long Beach, you can go to the beach almost any day of the year. In February of our first winter in St. Louis, I remember the first signs of spring weather coming in February and I'd get irritated if the high was not below the 40s.
Now, I'm over it. Big time. I still love fall; it's my favorite season. I was a little excited to see snow this past Thanksgiving and I love a cold Christmas. By the middle of January, however, I'm ready to just need a sweater. By the beginning of March I was beginning to wonder if I was depressed. I am such an extrovert that these endless days of being inside were really starting to wear on me. (And yes, I have a lot of interaction with my children which some may think would satisfy my extroverted needs but I also have a need for adult interaction!)
Then at the zoo yesterday, I could smell the freshly cut grass. I was walking around with only a short-sleeved shirt on. Today the windows are open, clothes are drying on the deck, and I'm about to take the boys outside for what will likely be the whole day until dinner tonight. The difference in my mood is astonishing when the weather is better.
So do I think I really have SAD in the real, extreme sense? No, I think we're all affected by the weather, whatever your preference. But now I know that though my first winter here I longed to move to northern Canada, now I'm rethinking that desire!
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