Jade's Favorite Things, #11

The smell of Chlorine.

Probably why I am getting more dumb with age. The chemicals can't be good for me, but I will take the risk. I recently started swimming laps again and I can't figure out why I set it aside for so long. I LOVE it. I love being in the pool and shutting the world out. I LOVE the smell of chlorine on my skin that I can't seem to get rid of, and I LOVE that my swim cap has become the favorite fashion accessory in our house. Since they re-modeled the Oceana Pool here in Pacifica, the water is warm, and with a monthly pass I have access to it at the times I need it open. I know my hair will suffer from all this, and my body will start to look like a swimmers body, but it is all well worth it. I will just have to take up yoga to try and avoid the bulging arms and thighs from all the swimming.

Happy Easter!

From our family to yours.

I would love to say our morning was full of thoughts about our Savior and his resurrection, but that would be a lie. It was full of rushing to get to church on time, excess amounts of candy which lead to messes all over the floor. A grumpy husband because of the messes, and a little bit of arguing.

We did manage to get a picture before we left for church and I can't help but laugh at the reflection above Tom's head that looks like a halo. Last thing we need is to boost his ego.

I am thankful we made it to church which allowed me to stop and reflect on the Savior, if only for a few moments.

Point Reyes

Andrew attends a local public elementary school that requires we do 95 volunteer hours per year. There are days when I wonder if all the time is worth it, then they do something great like spend 3 days at Point Reyes to learn about the Miwok Indians. Thankfully, Tom does the overnight field trips, so he got to join in on all the fun. They both had a blast, but boy did we miss them. Sean moped around the house for 3 days asking where they were.

Next trip, we might have to send Sean as well.

Caught!

Thankfully.

All it took was a call to Animal Abatement, $275.00, a large cage, and cat food for the bait. This morning Tom checked the trap and I am happy to say the possum was trapped inside. I almost felt sorry for the little possum knowing he was being taken to his death, but still so happy to know he was out of our house.

Here is Ray from Animal Abatement leaving with our unwanted house guest. Goodbye to Ray and the possum, I hope we won't meet again.

Now off to clean up the horrible odor this rodent left behind in Andrew's room.

Meet the 6th Member of our Family

For the last month we have been finding traces of a rat in our house. We have been trying endlessly to catch it and have even signed up to have Clark Pest Control come on a regular basis and they have yet to catch it. The last few nights Andrew has been telling us there is some rattling in his closet. Last night Tom open the doors of the closet to find, not a rat, but a Possum. I am not sure who was more surprised, Tom or the Possum? I do know the Possum was quicker since he disappeared into the crawl space between our first and second floor. I don't think Andrew will be returning to his room anytime soon, at least not until we catch this thing. The fear on his face after finding this was quite obvious. I am figuring it got trapped under our house when Clark screened off our crawl space and has found a way inside. I am not sure how long he has been living in our house but chances are, my house guests this past weekend slept with him... sorry to all of them.

I am hoping to catch him soon. I don't mind the idea of increasing the size of our family, but a possum is not what I had in mind. This almost makes me consider getting another cat. At least with Max around we never had this problem.

Oh the joys of an old house in the "country."

Friends

I am a lousy friend. I am terrible and keeping in touch, I rarely visit those that move, I never remember birthdays, and I easily get sucked into my own life I often forget about other lives that are not right in front of me. For some reason, despite my lousiness, I have been blessed with amazing friends. This past weekend, I got to celebrate those friends. Since 1996, and at Stephens College in Columbia, MO, I've had 4 of the best friends. We started having reunions every 5 years, and this past weekend was our 15th. I sent Andrew to the Hanaikes, Kira to her moms, and shut Tom and Sean in my room to clear room for the crowd in our house. Eric and his wife Sarah came from Kansas City, Brenda from WA, Suzie from Colorado and Meggan and her husband from Utah.

We started with dinner at The Slanted Door Friday night. Hit up Fisherman's Warf, China Town, and North Beach on Saturday, and artichoke bread in Pescadaro on Sunday. Honestly, we could have just laid around in my living room in our PJ's and had just as much fun. It seems when we get together no time has passed, and we are still college students in MO. We also seem to revert back and act like college students which is why I sent my kids away for the weekend.

I have amazing memories of Meggan, Suzie, Brenda, and Eric. Yes Eric hung out with the girls back in the day. He was the token sugar daddy since he had a job and a washer dryer in his house. I love that we include him in our reunions to show him he meant more then just free dinners and laundry.

The only bad part about this weekend was no one thought to take one picture all together. Lame, I know. Maybe at our 20 year reunion?

Here is to college friends and to me working on being a better friend this year.

More Tidbits about our Sean

I am a lousy mom when it comes to scrap booking, crafting, or charting the growth and progress of my children. With out the existence of the blog, there is nothing but files that I throw things in for the kids.

Sean is growing quickly, some days not quickly enough. I had forgotten about the challenges of having a 2 year old and for many reason I have come to believe that Sean is most challenging in comparison to many 2 year olds. We all love him dearly, but there are more lines on my face, and bags under my eyes directly linked to raising this kid.

For those who are living far, here is what Sean is loving and doing these days.

1- He loves to watch all super hero cartoons, but seems to favor Power Rangers and Iron Man. I am thankful every day that I have Comcast OnDemand and all the shows are at my finger tips.

2- The phrase he uses the most, "NO! I do it!" as he is shoving you out of the way.

3- He LOVES to watch sports, play sports, talk about sports. He also thinks all teams are the Giants or BYU.

4- He is a fighter, not a lover. I have yet to get good cuddles out of this kid.

5- I think he believes he is a 9 year old. He prefers Andrew's friends and is convinced he is one of the BIG kids.

6- Will do anything to get to use Andrew's iTouch.

7- He loves to Sing and Dance. You have seen the dancing, I will try to get video of the singing. The singing mostly happens in the car along with the radio. When I am singing, he will ask, "Mom, what you singing?" over and over again until I teach him the words.

8 - He loves honey, syrup, ranch and catsup. He calls all of them dip.

9- He has refused to be potty trained. I have been trying for months and we have pretty much just given up.

10- His hair is turning out really curly. There are moments when I see Tom's brother Vern (older pics of course) and other times I see Richard Simmons.