Sodermoto

MIA

2012-02-04T21:16:00.000-08:00

I am sorry I have been missing in action. I haven't blogged about Thanksgiving or my visit to Utah, Christmas, New Years or the visits from our parents. Trust me they were all wonderful and the best times we have had. We are also working on purchasing our first home so I have been jumping through all sorts of hoops getting that going. Been super busy, but one day I will pick up the slack again and blog about it. But until then, just trust me that it is going swimmingly! Hope it is all going well for all of you.

Halloween

2011-11-14T06:44:00.001-08:00

I know this is late and out of order,but here are our Halloween costumes. Bub was Brobee, the little green one, from Yo Gabba Gabba. Soder was Mr. Clean and I was a dust bunny. I was originally going to be Mrs. Clean and wear a bald cap, but when I put it on instead of looking bald I looked more like a condom head, which I thought was not the best look for me! So my dust bunny costume took me, literally 30 minutes to do. I was way proud of myself an very happy to get to eat my hair that much! I loved it!

Visiting

2011-11-14T06:36:00.001-08:00

Last week, Bub and I headed down to Utah for a week. It was so wonderful to visit everyone and Bub had such a great time with all the attention everyone paid to him. There was even a day of snow, although I have the feeling Bub is more comfortable with the rain of the northwest!

Sporting events abound

2011-10-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

During the last month, I have been to two professional sporting events. I organized an "unofficial fall office party' for my work at the Mariners Games and I also attended another Sounders game. Both events were really fun because we sat where the 'real' fans sit, in the nosebleeds for the baseball games and by the south end of the stadium for the sounders game.

My boys watching the Mariners

That is Bub's way of saying 'quit taking pictures of me, dad'

I posted some of these pictures to my facebook, and I apologize if you saw them there, but I am still impressed with what the stadium does for the Sounders. It is the most impressive dedication by the fans I have ever seen at a sporting event. CRAZY!

Holding up their scarves as they wait for the team to enter the stadium

Thanks for inviting me!

The were both really fun and it just makes me wish I could afford to go to these events all the time. One day, One day.......

Zoo Birthday

2011-10-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

Peguins are the best!

For my birthday, my boys took me to the zoo. I love the zoo because of all the animals (duh) and the fact that our nearest zoo is really nice. I don't feel bad for the animals there because their habitats are really nice (I know they probably aren't as nice as the real thing, but hey, they have to be close to the next best thing) It was a great day with lots of animals and a great time for everybody.

At the petting zoo portion

Who doesn't love a merry-go-round?

Absent minded

2011-10-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

I am sorry. I have been absent. (again) I know that this has been my excuse as of late, but it is what it is. I barely see my husband, and so unfortunately, my blog is a few rungs below that on my ladder of life. Anyways, enough with the apologies. I have been busy with many things. And I promise that this weekend I will post lots and lots about them all.

The paternity test is IN!

2011-09-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

This summer I have heard more people ask me, "Where does your boy get his blonde hair?" And even though it is hard to believe that my son's father is not Daniel Craig, Brad Pitt or Jude Law here is undeniable proof that Soder is the father. Way back in a different time, called the 80's, Soder actually HAD hair. And when that hair completely occupied his entire head he looked like this....

Awwwwww

And this......

Keep in mind we were children of the eighties

So when Bub looks like this:

Now you know where he gets it from.

31 is fast approaching, but lets focus on 32

2011-09-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

Since my birthday is a week away, I have complied a list of things I would like to accomplish before my birthday in 2012. I believe I am the only women in the world that hasn't cared about dish patterns, or decorating styles, or bedding decor. My home has always just been put together. The 'styling' in it has no cohesion (honestly I don't believe there is any cohesion). I have been ok with this before, until I started realizing that next year I will be 32. (I know cart before the horse since I haven't turned 31 yet, but some things on the list will take time and money to complete so I better plan it out, right? Right!) So I have compiled a short list of a few things I need to work on before I turn 32, I would like to OWN a set of matching dishes that have NO chips out of them. (Sadly, my cupboard is filled with a hodgepodge of dishes given to us from many situations. I think I need to bite the bullet and buy a matching set.) This should include silverware. I have never bought a set of silverware. Ever. Again always given to us, and never matching.

A set of matching sheets with a coordinating comforter should be on this list. To complete this part, it would require a set of MATCHING pillowcases. (Unfortunately, this might mean I will have to 'retire' the old dinosaur pillowcase and set aside all 10 of my mismatched blue pillowcases.)

And lastly on my list of things to do in the next 372 days, I would love to have some cute decorations for our entertainment center. I think the candle holders are a bit weak and I know I could do better.

So there it is all laid out to sit and eat away at me for the next year: my goals before I am 32. (I am not excited about turning 31 this year so I think it is best to just skip over it and move on to the next.) So here is to 2012, may my home be pulled together with some sort of cohesion! Cheers!

Guilty baggage of Summer

2011-09-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have had guilt this summer. Lots of it. I have lost my blogging mojo and pretty much let it fall by the wayside. I have wanted to blog, but the inspiration and time haven't been there for me. (also after hearing that blogging is stupid from family members eventually it make you feel like it is a waste of time, even though I love it) I have had to go back to work part time (about 25 hours a week, which doesn't seem like much but apparently those 25 hours used to be used for my blog and all that it entailed (comments, blog stalking, etc.)) It has been hard to fit everything in, and so my poor little beloved blog has come to a screeching halt. (It has been demoted to remaining a quiet, fly under the radar blog that will never be a powerhouse like so many others.)(So I have guilt from a unloved blog.)

As for my job, (I have been working for this company since last year and just decided to pick up more hours.) I have enjoyed getting out of the house, but am sad that our situation has made it so. I am sure I am not alone when I say thing were getting really tight financially for us. It was getting to the point where we were pretty much barely making ends meet and there seemed to be a new bill every month that had to be paid. (In the last 6 months we have had our cars in the shop at least FIVE times usually costing us at least $100 every time with a couple of the times costing us over $400.) It was pretty depressing and there was no easy solution anywhere on the horizon. I know there are people that are in worse situations than us, but MAN, I would really hate to be them because our situation was pretty gloomy. (So add Guilt from not being able to be financially comfortable . And the guilt of leaving Bub. Oh the guilt!)

Then of course, there was my mother and her health problems. I am happy to say that all her chemo treatments are completed. (And all her numbers are great so she is doing well) She is also in great spirits, but is still super tired which will just take a while to get over. I wish I was in a better situation to fly down there (or drive) to spend time with her but, there hasn't be the funds or time to do either. She understands, but I still wish that things were different. (So add motherly GUILT squared!)

So to sum up, blog-guilt plus financial-guilt times parenting-guilt, with motherly-guilt squared equals Summer of Guilt!

Yeah, I am spent! I hope the Summer of Guilt is finally coming to an end. And hopefully that season will pass like the smoking hot temperatures that are roasting the Northwest. I am done with feeling in this gloomy rut. I am ready and recharged. And now (after this confessional blog post) felling pretty guilt-free.

Small Disclaimer: There is no real reason to worry about my mental well being (Mom I am looking at you!) Sometimes you just need to ramble on in a blog post. So no worrying about Moto! (Mom, I am still looking at you!) Everything is wonderful! :)

Sous-Chef Extraordinaire

2011-09-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

Helping me shred cheese, or more specifically tasting it.

As this summer has begun to wind down, I have realized that Bub is getting so big. He now enjoys spending time with me in the kitchen. It usually only involves pulling all my cookie cutters out of my cabinet, followed by all our tuperware, but occasionally he also enjoys assisting me with actual cooking. Like last week, he was a great sous-chef while I was making pizza. Sure, it takes about 3 times as long, but I love his 'contribution' to the cause. He was very excited when he realized that cooking was about tasting as well. (especially tasting the cheese) And standing on a chair next to Mama. And watching all the process along with listening to the awesome noise of the kitchen aid. I am glad he enjoys the kitchen and hope that he continues to assist because it is always more fun to cook with someone.

Oh they grow up so fast.

2011-09-03T21:28:00.000-07:00

Around 3 months

Around 9 months

15 months old.

Another parenting Gold Star!

2011-08-26T12:24:00.001-07:00

After forcing him to try on a gently used (aka free) Halloween costume, we have come to the conclusion that Bub will probably NOT be a giraffe this year. Or maybe he will be a sad giraffe (there are sad giraffes in the world right?)

A simple day at the park

2011-08-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

A Saturday with nothing to do
A nice day to visit the park
Then we let Bub go and be free at the park.
And what does he do after about 5 minutes of having freedom....
Falls face first into a mud puddle. (these pictures don't show his shirt, but trust me it was caked with mud pies.)
The only mud puddle at the entire park.
And what did his parents do? Ran after him but arrived 1/2 a second too late.
And after we helped him up and realized he was ok. We all laughed so hard we almost started crying.
A nice day to strip my child down to his diaper and put him in a mismatch shirt.
A quiet Saturday to bring my filthy child back home for an afternoon tub.
And I thought this would be an uneventful day.

Summer stuff

2011-07-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

This summer has just flown by. We have done all sorts of things like this:
Park time on the sunny days....
Dragon Festival in Chinatown in Seattle. (I had always wanted to see a Dragon Dance and this one was great especially with the applause-hungry dragon dance teacher kept making the kids dance because the audience loved it. Did I mention it was really hot and they looked miserable, but hey anything for applause, right?)

Went to the Bite of Seattle and got out of our comfort zone for sure this year. The best thing was fried alligator and the homemade strawberry shortcake.

We have also been learning about parenting, of course. First rule of summer, always bring every member of the family their own water bottle because some of them drink open mouthed after eating strawberry shortcake. Yummy!
The other thing is to childproof everything. Even if they don't want to be. (don't worry, he has become a pro at removing these little buggers from the sockets. He thinks it is a game. I wish I could get my money back because it hasn't really child proofed anything.)
What have you been doing with your summer?

Enlightenment

2011-07-12T07:36:00.000-07:00

As I scrolled through my recent posts I came to the realization that I am not who I used to be. While I used to scorn the blogs out there that only talked about their 'my-kid-is-cuter-than-your-kid' posts, I realize I have become one. While in my head I am so much more, in reality I am simply Baby/Bub's mom. All I do revolves around him and his antics. Most of my laughs during the day aren't from customers or something funny I read, it is from him and his little personality. And while I may never become a world famous blogger with tons of followers (which used to be a dream of mine.) I realize that this blog was never meant to be that. It was simply, humbly meant to show everyone the going on in my normal, everyday life (with maybe a little humor and wit along the way.) And so with that anticlimactic revelation, look that face... isn't it just precious?!

He makes this look too cool

2011-07-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lounging by the pool on one of the 5 warm days this summer! Where did my little baby go? And I have no idea where he got all the attitude!

Guilty!

2011-07-11T06:00:00.001-07:00

Bub's fun game that keeps me running around after him is he loves to get into the cupboard and feed the dogs cookies. I managed to grab a photo of him in the act. He doesn't look too guilty, I mean how can you think that he is doing anything wrong with a face like that. And I figure as long as it doesn't exceed 2 cookies per day, it is a lesson in sharing, right??

So this is normal right?

2011-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Bub decided he likes to wear the dog's collars as a crown on his head. Every so often he brings me one and once I put it on his head he happily toddles off.

Ickyness of the Northwest.

2011-07-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

On Monday I went to work. When I came home this 'little' guy was there to greet me. Icky icky banana slug... and you can see that they are HUGE!!!!!!

Crackin me Up!

2011-07-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

When Thing one and Thing Two need to go outside, Bub likes to stand at the window and do raspberries and blow fishes on the window. It seriously has me laughing outside while he is doing it. And the sound is all him. If you need a laugh today this will do it for you!

One year old shots

2011-06-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

It is hard to imagine how much this 23 pounds has changed my life. And the best thing about him is that he is all smiles and so happy! Sorry they are almost 2 months late, but better late than never. Thanks again to Mellor Photography for doing such a great job at capturing his cute personality!

Summer visit

2011-06-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

At the begining of June, we had our yearly summer visit from Soder's side of the family. Luckily we had the best weather during the first half of their visit. So we did a little of this....
Walking along the beach in Alki
Catching a Mariner's game where we almost got pelted with a foul ball (thankfully it hit about 6 feet behind us.)
Woodland Park Zoo, where it is always fun to just wander.

And out favorite, Gas Works park. It was a great visit, but was over way quick. Thanks for visiting us Soder Clan. We hope you can make it up again before the end of the year.

Miss me???

2011-06-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have just been taking a 'break' from blogging for a while since we had visitors and then the catch up game for the last few weeks. It has been a crazy month, and I will post some more about it soon.
All that has really changed is that my mother is half way through her treatments and is doing well. (yeah!) She will be finished with the first (and hopefully only) round of chemo and so far hasn't been vomit-trocious, but just achy and tired.
My inlaws visited and we had a great time, but now we have no visitors on the docket so it might be a REALLY lonely summer. (especially since my mother can't travel up here until Fall.) Pictures of all the festivities while the Soder's were up here to follow.....

Things that make you go huh

2011-05-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

There are many things about being a mother that often make me laugh. One thing that usually makes me smile is play time. I love to play with the toys that often leave me laughing. Baby has two puzzles that the first time I played with them I was wondering what illegal substance the creator(s) were on. They look like two pretty innocent puzzles until you lift up a few of the pieces.
First one is a puzzle of a fire station, police station, and hospital:

(innocent enough)
I enjoy the mother who looks like she just found her children in the lost and found.
I love the exercise training the police are doing... um so which floor do they actually learn to do police things?
Then there is the one legged man of the fire department. (that fireman looks like he can hobble with the best of em.)
Here is another shot of him hobbling to the firetruck... (also is it just me or does that dalmation look like he is half great dane?)

And then there is my all time favorite puzzle....
All looks great on the construction site. It is pretty simple, until you get to the dumptruck....
Dumping dirt from the truck- Good! Worker there to guide him- Good! Lift up the piece and....
What the hell???? Why are they burying those poor miners??? When I discovered this I was laughing so hard I had tears.

Well I am off to look through baby's books now. I am sure there are a couple that have missed the lesson they set out to teach. Hope you all have a great weekend.

The BIG one!

2011-05-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Four days old

Happy birthday  (last week) to my little guy!  He has made my life so happy and keeps me laughing even more than usual (maybe it is all the faces he pulls, like the one he pulled after he didn't want his cupcake when he touched the sticky frosting. The frosting on his face is from when he started rubbing his eyes after he was 'finished' with not eating his cupcake.). How did one person change this much in just a few short months?  Crazy!!!!! 367 days old

Exploring the city I love

2011-05-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Last week, we had some very dear friends come and visit. Like I have said on a few other posts, it was a busy weekend. We saw almost EVERY touristy thing to see... Top Pots Donuts, The Space Needle, The bathrooms at Experience music projects (very clean), Kerry Park (one of the best views of Seattle by far!), Ballard Locks, Fat Burger, The movie: Thor (surprisingly very good... and Thor is HOT!), Starbucks, Pike's Market, the Gum Wall (strangely hypnotic, but makes you crave hand sanitizer just lookin' at it), the Aquarium, The Waterfront, Gasworks park (scene of some bum fight that made it seem a little ghetto), Alki Beach (and Cactus Restaurant, YUM!), The troll under the bridge in Fremont, The outside of the Asian art museum (great place to try to have a picnic of cold cut sandwiches (did I mention my new nickname is FT for Frozen Turkey, a name I proudly earned after I attempted to chisel frozen turkey apart using the handle of a baby spoon. They can't call me resourceful!), and then when the picnic doesn't work out, close enough to a Dick's Drive in to save the day), Bruce Lee and Jason Lee's graves, Chinatown, Uwajimaya, and of course a Mariners Game (which only proved that Seattle's baseball team is at least better than the MN Twins.). After that weekend, I can safely say that we have a great grasp of what makes up Seattle. It was such a great time that I hope they can come back and visit with their cute little one (Baby Beckham, perhaps??). Thanks again Mellors for pepping up the sometimes gloomy Seattle. Seriously, it was a hilarious time!

Happy Anniversary

2011-05-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

OK, I know have been missing in action for the last week. I promise it wasn't on purpose, I have just been so busy. We had some wonderful house guests, a few birthdays, an anniversary and trying to catch up on work. So lets start at the beginning. It was Soder and my anniversary last Monday. We have been married a crazy 7 years! I can't believe it. It has gone by very quickly. (Sometimes during the 7 years it has seemed like it was so slow, but looking back it doesn't seem like it has been that long.)
This is the point where most people would get all lovey dovey, but as Soder knows, I very rarely get that way (if I was all gushy about him, he would know I would either be hormonal or lying.) Instead I will just say that it has been real! (I know too mushy, right?) And seriously thanks for letting me yell when I need to and making me laugh when I need it. You get me, Dummy!

Happy Birthday, Soder!

2011-05-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Top Pots

My Soder turned the big 30 this Friday the 13th! We had a great time sightseeing with Traci and Matt, who are visiting from NE. The best part of the day, (not taking away from any of the beautiful sights or the great weather) was the party hat that I made Soder wear for the day. Space Needle

He was a good sport until we noticed that it was dying his head red from the sparkly stuff around the bottom. (I guess you don't get as good of quality as you used to from a $4 hat!) I loved that complete strangers were telling him happy birthday! It was way more entertaining for me than I think it was for him. Even with red dye around his head, I think it was a great day for everyone. Happy Birthday, Soder! Kerry Park

What Mother's day means to me

2011-05-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

As anyone who has ever had any contact with me over this last year knows, I became a mother last May. I am very proud of my sweet little guy and know that he is the best part of me.
Over the last year, I have learned many parenting rules. (none of these came from those handy books devoted to parenting.)
And as my first official mother's day weekend starts, I would like to pass my wisdom on to you (especially to my friends who don't have children yet... this might be an eye opening event).

Motherhood is the ability to plan 20 different 'snacks' for a six hour period.
Motherhood is picking out outfits that will be changed or altered two to three times a days and that includes your clothes (baby = a messy sponge; they just spread dirty everywhere)

While eating out at a restaurant, your meal is entirely based off of what your child will nibble/graze off of your meal.

Once your child is able to eat solid foods, their meals have three courses: 1) crackers or cereal; 2) main course of food 3)some food that is tasty enough (a.k.a. 'dessert') to hold their attention long enough for you to shovel a few bites of food into your mouth.
A baby will only show love to you when their mouth is messy or their nose is snotty.

No matter how much money you spend on toys, babies will forever be more entertained with box that it came in or the paper it was wrapped in.

The super power for mothers is being able to determine what your child ate by the poopy diapers. (I am sorry that this is so graphic, but it is seriously so true)

While taking a shower, if your baby starts crying, you learn what parts need to be cleaned and what will wait, Example:shaving my legs is like a day spa event. (it happens only every so often because there isn't enough time.)
Now comes the part that sounds like a cheesy Hallmark card. While motherhood is the most rewarding thing in my life, it has also been the dirties, hardest, most tiring, worrisome thing I have ever done. And while I wouldn't trade anything for my little Baby, I want my lessons to be passed on to whoever is listening. Maybe it will help bring the whole parenting thing into focus for some other rookie/or soon to be rookie out there.

(*also I would like to give a special shout out to all the mothers in my life: My mother, my MIL, Yia Yia, Grams, and both my sisters. Thanks for always being such a great examples for me to learn this mothering thing from. Love ya! And Happy Mother's Day!)

Welcome Back!

2011-05-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

I made it. I went a whole week (plus some) without blogging. I survived. And now I can't think of anything to blog about. GREAT! I hope this means that I have made the creative part of my brain lazy. Now it has no inspiration.
Let's see what happened last week...
Soder's computer hard drive died. (spending money is always fun, right?)

I got paid in Starbucks to make cookies for one of Soder's co-workers. (Making 'money' is always fun, right?)

We bought Baby a new 'toy' for his birthday. It is a baby hiking backpack for him to ride in. While I don't know how much hiking we will be doing, it is great for when I want to take both dogs on a walk at the same time. (Taking a baby in a stroller with two dogs in tow is a tricky feat, one, that I will not partake in.) So this is actually a 'toy' for me. (also a great workout accessory, carrying around an extra 30 wiggly pounds has to be great weight training, right?)

My mom had her first chemo treatment and so far not a ton of horrible side effects. (she has had some, but not every one imaginable.) But a positive note, if you are looking for beanies (for when she loses her hair) if you buy them in the springtime, you can get some really great deals.

I guess it is good to be back blogging. I am sure this next few weeks will be easy to blog about, we have my first Mother's day, Soder's Bday, some very dear friends visiting, Baby's First Birthday and our Seventh anniversary. Busy, busy, busy, but in a good way.

Break from my love....

2011-04-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

No, I am not separating from my hubby or anything THAT dramatic. I am going to take a short break from my wonderful blog.
Just for a week or so.
I have been dealing with a lot of things including, but not limited to: my mother's illness, family relationships (family members that I have butted heads with and some some family members' relationship with my blog (meaning they haven't liked what I have written on here)), and coming to grips with some trust issues among friends. I have often wanted to write all about the problems in my life, but have withheld a lot of things because I have been afraid of hurting someone or having the wrong person reading it or not wanting to talk about it in the 'real' world with people.
I have been seriously shaken to my core after the past month and often when I sit in front of the computer I feel like I have to hit the delete button and edit what I really want to say. I know that this 'editing' is for the best, but it doesn't help me when it comes to MY problems. (And the most ironic thing of all is that I don't even know if the people who have effected my life (with the exception of my mother) will even get that I am doing this because of the negative actions they have had on me.
So for my peace of mind, I will be letting it be dormant for at least a week. (I know that doesn't seem like a lot since I haven't been posting a ton, but trust me I LOVE my blog.)
(And I am sorry that I haven't commented on other blogs as well, I have no motivation to do that either.)

Tulips, tulips everywhere!

2011-04-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

I love spring flowers. The queen and king of them would have to be tulips and daffodils. I have planted more bulbs in my short 30 years than most people have. (My parents bought like 60 bulbs one year and I planted them one fall all in their front yard.) Needless to say, they are my favorite. Luckily, I live in a state that has a Tulip Festival every year. This year we were able to go and see the beauty of the area and it didn't disappoint. (Last year we couldn't go because it was too far from the hospital and I was too prego to enjoy it.) I loved the fields of daffodils. There were beautiful gardens there and also a breath-taking field of pink tulips. There was also a cute little boy that was with us that enjoyed all the activities (including tromping through muddy paths to get to the beautiful fields and riding the most of the time in the front carrier.) And of course there was the family portrait taken in front of the windmill (with the slight chance it could end up as our Christmas card come winter.) We had a great time and enjoyed the entire place. Next time we need to bring our galoshes and try to come on a less rainy weekend. (if that actually exists in the Pacific Northwest.)

Exhale!

2011-04-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have been the busiest I have ever been. After my trip to Utah, I had two days to recoup, (ie stock my kitchen shelves again and clean the house) before my inlaws came to visit. It was a great visit and was just the break I needed. Even though we were busy while they were here it was nice to have two sets of eager hands to watch the baby for me. Like I said before, while I was in Utah it felt like I was a single parent, running the show by myself. During this weekend, I got to spend a lot of time meditating in my kitchen, where I think I do some of my best thinking while making some pretty delish dinners. On Friday, we went to the Seattle Aquarium and had a great time because the weather actually cooperated with us and made it into a sunny spring day. On Saturday, we went to Bellevue for a little shopping and Kirkland for a little down time at the Lake. Sunday was a quiet day that ended with us taking them to the airport. It was a great visit and it really was refreshing to have some visitors here to not only get my mind off of everything happening in Utah, but to really make me happy to be back home in Seattle. It is always great to revisit your city with a fresh set of eyes. It makes you appreciate being at home and feeling like things are going to be ok. And now I can just relax and exhale because the next few weeks are going to be boring compared to the last two.

Walkin' Fool!

2011-04-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

Baby took some steps today.... yes, we were setting him up to do it, but we can't just expect him to do it on his own without a camera ready. What a great way to spend a Saturday night.

Long over due post

2011-04-04T19:08:00.001-07:00

This last week has been the most exhausting week of my life (long 8+ hours at the hospital, with one 11 month old and only one parent, TIRING!). It has been filled with drama, family time, and hospital rooms. My mother is still in the hospital, however she was moved out of the ICU last Friday. (thank heavens!) She has been working super hard on physical therapy and has had only a few minor setbacks (not eating enough, and a possible blood clot (that wasn't). Who knew that having your guts mushed around in your belly would make it hard to walk again? (or eat again, or have a clear head again....) I am so proud of her and how far she has come. She is coherent and able to carry on a normal conversation with you now (those drugs took a long time to work out of her system and she was gorked for much of the week.). I am very thankful that I was able to talk with her before I left to the airport today. (also another phone call tonight to her, as well, that made me realize that I need her because she is my go to person.) And while I was down in the 'Tah, I missed my home in the Northwest so much, but now that I am here all I can think about is my mother again. This time my thoughts are selfish ones like, when will she call me to chat again and when will she feel like her old self and we can talk about the unimportant things like celebrity gossip. Thankfully, my thoughts aren't like the ones last week when they were when will she be off the breathing tube or when will dialysis end. I am glad my mother's health is on the up and up and hopefully she keeps moving in a positive direction. Keep up the hard work and I will come down to visit again soon!

Happy Birthday!

2011-03-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

Today is my mothers birthday. She should be at home partying and having a great time but things don't always end up the way you plan. Instead today, my mother will hopefully get her breathing tube out and be able to talk to us. For us, that is a better birthday present than anything we bought her. Also instead of harassing her about getting older today, we are trying to talk to her and tell her she has to calm down and listen to the nurses. All her numbers are getting better and is all moving in a positive direction. Her kidneys are working and she got off dialysis yesterday. The last big hurdle for now is just the breathing tube. So, happy birthday, Mom. I hope that even though it isnt the way you had hoped to celebrate that you will revel in the small victories.

Update with no update

2011-03-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I decided that I would come down to Utah to support my mom and help support my family. I wasn't sure if I would be coming down by driving or flying. My sister A offered to have her husband and family help out with Thing One and Two so I would be able to fly down. It was crazy to call the airlines and get a flight the same day. Now I know why in all the movies when they have to make a quick getaway they don't have kids because it was a frantic packing session to get everything ready in four hours. But before you knew it we were on the airplane eating our complimentary cookies and drinking our cranberry juice.
Today was the first day I got to see my mom. It is hard to see her all connected to all the machines, but I am glad that they are able to help her so much. She is still sedated pretty heavily but she did stir her feet when she heard my sisters and me (shhhh, don't tell them all three of us went back at once.) She is still on dialysis to help her kidneys and on a ventilator (but she is breathing on the lowest setting of the ventilator so it isn't really breathing for her). Her condition is still the same, which I will take if it means she isn't getting worse.
It is slow going here because of all the restrictions on the Icu, and I can see how you can lose track of time in the hospital.
I will keep everyone posted and thanks for all the love and support everyone has shown my family.

UPDATE about my Mother

2011-03-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

As I have said, her surgery to for her hysterectomy was on Friday morning. While they hoped the cancer was only on her ovaries, it ended up being a bit more extreme (It is stage 3c). They ended up scraping off some tumors on her bowel, bladder and intestines. It was a very intense surgery that lasted almost 5 hours. The doctor was still very positive about her condition, but warned that she was going to be in a lot of pain because of how raw the organs had become.

On Saturday morning, we were informed that she had been moved to intensive care unit over night because her blood pressure was really low. After a few more tests and some more waiting, they determined that her organs had become very swollen from all the trauma from the previous surgery. They were so swollen that they had started to restrict the blood flow to her kidneys, which in turn had reduced the kidney function. They decided that they would sedate my mom (and put a breathing tube in) and hope it would promote her body to start healing and reduce the swelling. Also tonight they decided to put her on dialysis to help her kidney a bit. Tomorrow, everyone is hoping that her condition heads into a positive direction. I know she is a strong woman and will be making a comeback soon. Then we can focus on fighting the cancer instead of all these other problems. (chemo will start in 3 weeks)

Please feel free to leave a comment for my MOM because I know that she would love to hear them in a few days when she is doing better. And since I am not there to hold her hand, it is the least I can do for her! Thanks!

*All this information is from what I have heard from my father and 2 sisters, since I am 800 miles away from the situation. I have tried to get the facts correct as best as I can, but I am sure some of it might be incorrect. (trust me when I say that the BIG stuff is correct.)Also as a separate note, some of my family members don't really talk about these things on the internet (or facebook), but I know that my mom understands that I use my blogging as a therapy and would be fine with me putting this information on such a public forum. So I am trusting my instincts and publishing this post.

One more reason to love my mother

2011-03-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

Even though last week she was in pain and suffering before her surgery, she still took time to swing by the book store to buy Baby some new books. We received them on Friday, while she was actually in surgery for her cancer. I loved how she wrote in them for Baby. It was a bittersweet package because normally I would call her immediately to thank her and let her listen to baby play with them, but this time I couldn't. Thanks again, Mom! (and Dad). You are the best!

Mother time

2011-03-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Pringle Face

Since all this ~~crap,~~ I mean stuff with my mother started, I have started to think about all the 'lol' moments. I am sure I have said this before, but she is my best friend. We talk at least 3 times a day. (some days more.) My husband like to call us Lucy and Ethel because whenever we hang out we get into trouble. There have been many times I have laughed so hard I have cried around her. And while we have had our share of arguments and annoying moments, the funny times easily outnumber the bad times.

There was the time that we shoved a queen size quilt (that was at least an inch thick), into the washing machine. It was a tight squeeze, but we MADE it fit! Well, what a surprise when the washing machine started smoking (no fire, thank God.) and making a horrible noise. By this time, my dad, who is the fix-it man was home and was the first one to the washer. Once he yanked the quilt out of the machine, he proceeded to start repairing it (burned out belt). To say he was not happy about the situation would be a little bit of an understatement. For the rest of the night, he proceeded to walk around the house calling my mother "Stupid Woman" and me "Stupid Girl". But he would only call us those names when he would catch a glimpse of us. And he would only say it under his breathe. Even though we knew we were in trouble, we were laughing hysterically when we were driving to the laundromat to finish washing the blanket. And still to this day, if we do anything bad my dad will still call us those names, but they definitely don't hold as much power because it always makes me giggle and think of the over-sized quilt we SHOVED into my parents tiny washing machine.
Another time we were driving on one of our many trips to Montana, when my dad decided to take a nap and let my mom pilot the motor home. She was usually a good driver, but only drove the straight parts that had no real challenges in them. On our family road trips, we would stock up on our favorite foods (candy, nilla wafers, twizzlers) and then drive, play music and have some great laughs along the way. My mom hopped in the drivers seat, I jumped in the passenger seat and we were off. We were singing (I remember singing to the Camelot soundtrack, but I could be wrong) and eating our candy. I accidentally dropped a bag of candy and so my mom, being the helpful lady she is, reached down with me to grab it. When we both looked up, the motor home was headed to the side of the road and was riding on those lovely rumble strips. She got us headed in the right direction again with a quick wheel jerk and we started laughing. The laughter was quickly interrupted by my dad who was jostled off the bed in the back during our antics. You would think he would learn by now that he can not yell at us because all we do is laugh at him and his lecture is lost on us. After that my dad was surprisingly awake and decided to drive the rest of the way himself.
I love to think back on all the times we have laughed at one another. (And there are quite a few. The pictures have nothing to do with the post but they are funny ones of her that made me laugh when I was picking them.) So to my dear Mother, when you are having a 'bad' day please bookmark this page and look at it because I know I will be. (And yes, you can call me, so I can walk you through how to bookmark a page on your ipad!) :) Hahahahahaha!

Times they are a changing

2011-03-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

On a totally separate happy note,
Then....
Now....

Talk of the day

2011-03-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have said (or typed) the word hysterectomy as much as I have today. Today was the big day for the dr. visit and it sounded very promising. My mother goes in for a complete hysterectomy (see, there I go again) on Friday and will recoup for the next three weeks. In April, she will start chemo (one time every 3 weeks for the next 5-6 months). I feel better knowing what is going on, but it still is sucky that I am not going to be there while she undergoes her surgery. I am still waiting for some millionaire to discover my blog and offer to fly my baby, two dogs and myself down to Utah in his private jet. They will be knocking on my door any moment now....

While I wait for the knock, let me just say to all my friends thanks for all the support. All the well wishes have meant the world to me and my mother. (she is my loyal reader after all.) Thanks to you all!

Tomorrow knows

2011-03-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

On 3/11 we found out about the cancer.
The 12 days between the diagnosis and the first oncology visit have been excruciatingly long and emotional for everyone in our family (with the exception of Thing one and Thing two and Baby... I don't this it will really sink in that something is going on until we are all trapped in a Malibu driving the 798.7 mile back to Utah to see my mom)
On 3/23 in the morning, my mom will find out how we can kick cancer's butt!

The Zoo

2011-03-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Soder and Baby checking out the penguins

This weekend we went to the zoo. (I have the feeling a few posts will start with this statement for the next year since we bought a membership pass) It was a beautiful blue sky day in the Northwest and we were itching to get out into the sunshine. Baby is really starting to pay attention to his surroundings and now will look where we point to when we see different animals. And after a nice walk around the animals, we decided we were all zoo-ed out. (Well zoo-ed out and Baby was tuckered out and fell asleep almost immediately when we loaded into the car.)After the zoo, we used a groupon for some frozen custard. It was a great adventure to find the location and then find parking. In the 'tah, we don't have to worry about parking because space is a non-issue, so maneuvering around the city is a bit of a challenge. Once we finally got to the place, Peaks Frozen Custard, our adventure took an exciting turn. One of the flavors of the day was Maple Bacon. Why yes those are bacon bits as a garnish on his maple bacon custard!

Anyone who knows Soder, knows that he LOVES his bacon so that was one of the flavors he tried. It was surprisingly very delicious. (delicious enough that I would drive back there to have their frozen custard again)
It was a pleasant afternoon to have just a sweet treat with my little family and to enjoy the sunshine. It had been far too long since I had had my full dose of vitamin d.

Something happy to watch

2011-03-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

Instead of lingering on the sad/frustrating lets focus on something happier, mainly Baby. He has started to dance and it is funny because he actually has songs that he enjoys and others that he doesn't. I know it is long, but who doesn't love a:Justin Bieber and b: a baby entertaining himself.

Mommy and me swim classes

2011-03-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

This morning was our third Mommy and Me swim classes. While the classes aren't promising to teach my 10 month old how to swim, it is meant to introduce them to the water at an early age and teach some safety techniques. (teaching them to wait to enter a pool and how to float on their back until you tell them to sit up are just a few things they have taught us.)

Today, we got to teach them to go under water. Well, maybe 'teach' is too strong of a word, more like dunk our children at the count of three. Baby did a great job and no tears were shed. He didn't even pull any odd faces or anything. I was very impressed. It is an odd feeling to know that you are doing the right thing, but it feels so wrong because they don't understand what the heck is happening. (similar feeling when your baby gets their immunizations.)

While the guilt has subsided, the best reward for all involved is a nice nap when we get home. And while my guilt won't let me lay down, my little tadpole is sound asleep in a fleecy warm outfit covered with his favorite blanket. In my book that is a well spent $50 for classes.

And the news...

2011-03-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

Is not the best news. It is ovarian cancer. And apparently, the next step is to send her to a Gynecological Oncologist. (her appointment is in a week and a half. An ENTIRE week and a half. I get that doctors have to go to conferences to learn stuff, but don't they realize that this patient is not some nobody, but MY mother?!)

And it is funny but I don't really WANT to talk about it, but I NEED to put it out there SOMEPLACE (thank God for Blogs). It is kinda like how you have to write something down so you can move on. So let put a pin in it for now and try to move on to a happier place for a while. At least until I can wrap my brain around it.

Ups and Downs

2011-03-08T17:10:00.000-08:00

A happier time in Edinburgh

This week was suppose to be a super happy one. But things change. It was suppose to be the one where my mom and dad were to come up to visit and help my sister out by watching her two children. (My sister is headed to watch a tennis tournament in sunny Palms Springs, CA where it is 85 and hot.) My mother hasn't been feeling the best for the past little while and about a month ago decided to go to the doctor to find out what is wrong. At first they thought maybe a gallbladder attack. After an ultrasound, they ruled that out, but saw something on her liver. After a cat scan, they ruled out any problems with her liver, but they saw that her abdomin is filled with a liquid. So now she has to go today and get the liquid tested and have an ultrasound again because this time they think it could be something wrong with her kidneys (scary) or ovarian cancer (scarier). I am under the firm belief that it isn't freak out time until we know what we are dealing with (other family members choose to freak out at everything, and that is their choice) So on Friday, after they make you wait for the results a few days to get your paranoia level to just about crazy level, she will find out. All this changed all plans on the calendar. Since they wanted to find out what was going on and do more tests, they won't be visiting the Northwest for the near future which is sad for me because I hate to think of anything wrong with one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. So now we wait until they either find out and treat whatever is her ailment or I buck up the courage to drive the 800+ trek with a 10 month old Baby and two dogs all by myself. And so until Friday we just wait or I can scare myself even more by picturing myself in a rest stop somewhere in Oregon in our Malibu stuffed to the brim with dogs and baby. I don't know which is worse.... seriously, Mom, please don't have anything bad wrong. I don't want to even imagine it.

You can take the girl out of the ghetto....

2011-03-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am not really from a ghetto, at least not the typical kind. I was raised in a small town in Utah that has 2 stop lights and one grocery store. It was on the wrong side of the freeway when it came to high school, so I like to think I came from a Utah- ghetto. I am actually proud that my family was resourceful (I think that is ghetto talk for economically challenged.) We weren't poor, but we weren't rolling in money. When things broke we fixed them, or let me rephrase, my dad fixed them or jerry-rigged them to work again. My dad was so good at repairing things that during my life at home (roughly 22 years) we had ONE vacuum and only two lawn mowers.(when we bought the second lawnmower we actually all stood around it and got a picture with it, like it was a new car.) That is what I have inherited. I love to jerry-rig things to work, especially if it saves me money or I can get a SCREAMING deal on it. (I hate to pay for things to be fixed, seriously it is one of my biggest pet peeves.)

When I found that I loved to take walks with the baby and the dogs, I also realized that there was a certain weather phenomenon that happens up here all the time, rain. I went online and looked for a rain cover for the stroller and to my shock, they wanted almost $50 bucks for it. I found the stroller/car seat on sale for around $100 buck so I was NOT going to spend half the original cost for a piece of plastic to keep it dry. I would sooner use a garbage sack to keep the baby dry. Since I didn't really want to look like a hillbilly with a hefty sack as a rain tarp, I decided to go look at a local gently-used kid store to see what they had. They didn't have many choices, but one of them that I figured would work was a mere $3. I figured for that price I could either make it work or it wouldn't be that big of a financial risk if it didn't.

Today, I got it out and hooked it up to the stroller. Why yes, those are pipe cleaners holding it on. And yes it did it's job and only looked a little hokey. And yes, my dad would be proud!

Bloggers block

2011-03-01T19:27:00.001-08:00

I have a serious case of writer's block. I have been wanting to write so badly, but have nothing to write about. I find that most of the stuff I do everyday is a little, um, dull... I don't think you all want to hear what baby food I feed baby or if I get to go on a walk or how many loads of laundry I did today. My creative brain has shrunk so much that I am contemplating asking Soder for idea advice. (It is getting serious people!)

Blogging is my therapy and I am failing at it because I have nothing noteworthy to comment on.... so bear with me for the next little bit. That is your warning, my next few blogs are going to be very random, because I am going to power through this and find my funk again! Hopefully!

Let the sunshine!

2011-02-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

When the sunshines in the wintertime in the Northwest, you make sure you enjoy it. Everyone gets outside when the weather is nice especially since it has been so cloudy and rainy (I know, I know what do I expect when I live in wet Washington.) We took a long walk when we had some beautiful weather last weekend. (notice the baby sleeping bag and extra blanket on Baby... I said sunshine, I didn't say warm temperatures.) And then we all just hung out in the sunshine by our sliding glass door. I think everyone, especially Thing Two really enjoyed it. (Thing one was happy to have the couch all to herself while we were all on the floor)

It was just a great time and we all were in better spirits after we had a little vitamin D boost. Can't wait until the next sunny day, hopefully it will include some higher temperatures too. I am itching to break out my flip flops.

Where have I been hiding?

2011-02-24T21:19:00.001-08:00

I have been hiding on the most famous street in all the world. I have no idea where the week has gone. All I know I have been watching this to get my baby to eat.

A lot. I have watched this a lot.

Also this one gets stuck in your head like some happy little burr.

I guess I will continue to be distracted by this kinda stuff for the next little bit. But it is a good distraction, because it means that he is growing up. And learning and becoming his own little person. And while I am sad that the last nine months have flown by I am super excited to see him turn from a baby to a little boy.
So if I disappear again and you are wondering where I am, you know where to look.

Randomness for the week

2011-02-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

Some very random thoughts have been running through my head and if I don't get them out soon, I might go crazy.

My ideals about short hair styles for women over 30 has changed. While I would love to be one who sticks by my guns, I will have to let my hair grow out a bit because there isn't room on my debit card for my expensive haircuts every 6 weeks. (right now I am going on 3 months) I will keep it short-ish (if that is a word, which I don't think it is, but oh well) See I have gotten wiser with age.

Tonight, my hilarious son was swinging his arms around after getting out of his high chair. As he was acting like king of the wild things, he knocked over a glass of water. The glass of water went all over the table and all over my phone. My nice phone. My nice phone that did everything. My nice phone that did everything including video and photos. Now my phone is in pieces on a towel just drying out. I am hoping my phone will think I am treating to a 'spa day' and work better than ever tomorrow when I try it out. Oh, did I mention that Baby laughed hysterically after this happened. Like full on laughing. It was a mixed emotion kinda moment because he was so cute, but I was so sad about my phone. Speaking of tomorrow, my baby has his nine month appointment in the morning. It has gone by so fast. It is amazing how much has changed in that time. Nine months.... crazy. I still can't believe I am a mom. He has totally changed my life, but in a weird way he hasn't. He has simply fit into our lives almost effortlessly. It is like I don't really have worries or doubts about motherhood because this is what I was meant to do. I still don't think I am describing it correctly, but it is the best I can do.

My parents come up in three short weeks. I have been counting down the time since they will visit and I think that it has been entirely too long. (The last time we saw them in person was in November.) Then after their visit it will be our friends from Nebraska, then the Inlaws. I don't know what to look forward to after that. I guess I am now taking bookings for the Sodermoto abode for the fall time. Any takers?

We belong in the zoo

2011-02-14T21:30:00.001-08:00

This weekend we took Baby to the zoo for the first time. He was very excited about it especially when he slept for the first hour of it. Thankfully, he woke up after the lions and was way excited to see the river otters. Maybe excited is too strong of a word... he was enthused. Maybe it was the fact that he likes to put his hands on the glass (along with every other germy kid this side of the Rocky Mountains) and stare at whatever is on the other side, or maybe it was the actual fact that he was amazed that there was something moving on the other side of the glass. Either way, the otter house kept him entertained for about 10 minutes, which is a ton of time in a 9 month olds life. He also enjoyed the emus, and seemed to want to interact with the gorillas. It was great 'family time' and I am even more excited that we bought a zoo membership so I can go there an spend time with the other animals.But the most memoriable thing of the day was what Soder got on film. To set the scene: Soder is filming a normal looking black crow when I come out of the bathroom with Liam. There are no other people around and no other birds.

After watching the video I was laughing so hard because it is so innocent when he says, "That bird said hello." I am just really happy at the end of the film it actually does.

Two great guys + one holiday = one fantastic night

2011-02-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

We were all dressed up...

With weather like this... a downpour!
Heading to restaurant that had ambiance like this.....
(I don't know what other cities are on this website, but it freakin' rocks. We got our $25 gift certificate to this yummy restaurant for only $2 (our total Valentine's date dinner, a rocking $18 including two dinner entrees and dessert, what a SCREAMING deal!!!)

Drinking and eating a fabulous meal that made us all very happy....
Taking a stroll in the freezing cold wind....
Ended the night at home having a great laugh (playing 'jumbo elephant' with a 9 month old will make everyone happy including Thing one and Thing two.) and our warm pj's.
Great dates, great meal, great night. Thanks to my boys, and here is my mushy quota for the month, Love you both and you make my life the best! Happy Valentine's to the ones that matter in my life!

AWWWWW moment of the day

2011-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have no idea where this came from or how he figured that this was the way to sleep, but somehow Baby will fall asleep with his fingers woven into his afghan. He doesn't need it for every nap, but it is so cute when he settles right down when he has it. At nights after he is put down to bed, I go in to check on him and he often has his little fingers poking through the blanket with it pulled right up over his face. When I pull it down off of his face, he simply grabs on tighter and pulls it right back up. It is a losing battle to try to fix so I let him sleep however he is comfortable. It is great to know that he is even stubborn when he is asleep. I was able to pull the afghan off his face when I was holding him when he was napping one day... he is so cute and peaceful when he naps.

Not for the squeemish!

2011-02-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

About a year ago a very pregnant Moto got out of bed to help a sick dog throw up in the bathtub. When she mustered her big body out of bed, she managed to step on a needle in the carpet that was from a previous tennent. She found the needle in the carpet after the fact and saw that part of it was missing. (the tip part) She thought to herself that there is no way that it could have been lodged in her foot, but she took precautions and put ointment on it and a band-aid and moved on with her life. (it would twinge pain every so often, but nothing horrible.) It took a LONG time to heal.
And after Baby was born, she did make it into the doctor to get a booster shot for Whooping Cough, (which also has a tetanus shot with it, coincidentally) and she asked the Dr. about her toe. He poked it with a needle (ironic) and checked it out (there was a tiny blood blister looking thing on it.) The Dr. said that the chances of the needle being in there is very slim and not to worry about it, toes take a long time to heal.
So Moto didn't worry about and went on with her life. Then one morning almost a year after the first event, Moto woke up and her toenail was bugging her. So she pulled out her toenail clippers and trimmed the nail. (this is the part where it get seriously icky). After she trimmed it, she noticed there was puss on her finger from her toe. So she squeezed her toe and a black object poked out of an invisible hole on the tip (under the where the trimmed nail previously was). She pulled on the black object and out came about a centimeter size needle!
ICKY! ICKY! ICKY!
Now Moto's toe feels fine and she has an unbelievable story to blog about. Moto took a picture of the needle she pulled out of her toe, but only after she figured the only way to guarantee she wouldn't step on it again was to flush it down the toilet. So before the flush, this is the picture of the evidence...One more round, of ICKY! ICKY! ICKY!

Last Art Class

2011-02-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

This Sunday was Soder's last art class. (he would love to take them all the time, but since the wishing fairy hasn't been around lately, this will have to do it for him for a while.) So this Sunday was Baby and my last 'exploring' weekend. (at least our last one with just us.) We started at the same art store, located below the Petsmart in U-village. We got our coffee and scone (Baby's new favorite thing ever). Since I didn't want to wait around for the stores to open at the mall like I did last weekend, we decided to take a drive. A while back (way back in the summer), Soder and I had taken a drive around and had found this yacht/sailboat club in Ballard. I decided I wanted to see the water today, so we drove around to find that same place. I eventually found it (after about 20 minutes) and decided to take a walk along the water. It was a little drizzly and cold, but it was nice to be out and walking around. I love to look at all the boat and read all the names (like The Dude, Soul Catcher, Arthur, The Raven, and Fishful Thinking) . I don't know what I would name a boat if I had one, but that thought kept me busy for most of the walk. It was a great time to just relax and walk along with my little jabbering baby. Before I knew it, it was time to leave and try to find my way back to Soder.
I know my way around Seattle (and the outskirts) pretty well and can get myself out of pretty much any problem, but Ballard is a whole nother story. I swear that the streets in Ballard move around just enough to get me completely turned around (this did happen when we visited in the summertime as well). What should have taken me only 20 minutes to get back took me almost 35. (Maybe this is the reoccurring theme of my explorations of Seattle, I get lost a lot more than I realize.) I had a great time and was only a couple minutes late picking up Soder.
Even after getting lost, I can't wait to go back and explore when it is all sunny and warm... I hope that day comes one day.

Shhh, don't tell Soder!

2011-02-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

While I was doing a bit of spring cleaning today, I let Baby play with one of Soder's toys. In case you don't know, my husband loves comics and superheros and 'collects' some of the action figures. He isn't like those crazy collectors that keep them in the boxes, but he does keep them on a shelf and doesn't usually play with them. I have warned him that this would be changing, and now it has. (The one that Baby is playing with is one that has no tiny parts that can fall off.)

It looks like he is contemplating how to go about getting Wolverine.

Wow, I wonder what Adamantium tastes like?

Huh, tastes very plastic-y.

Winner! Winner! Winner!

2011-01-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

According to my random number generator...
Our lucky winner of a $35 dollar gift certificate to CSN is Digger. :) Thanks to everyone that entered our drawing for our CSN giveaway! Also a big THANKS to CSN for offering up the gift certificate!

Who wants free stuff

2011-01-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $35 dollar gift certificate to CSN. Go HERE to enter by leaving a comment. It ends Monday Jan. 31st at noon PST. So hurry! And tell your friends. Because who doesn't want to win free stuff!

Adoption

2011-01-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

As I blog stalked this weekend, I found a whole bunch of blogs that were talking about adoption. I am not one to take on a 'cause' or to let my opinion really show, but this is one I can totally get behind for many reasons. The first reason is that I know how important adoption is because my older sister is adopted. I can't imagine our family without her. She just fills a void in the family and it wouldn't be complete without her. I am thankful for her being my sister.The main reason I will vocally support adoption right now is that our very dear friends, Matt and Traci have also been looking to adopt. I have never met another couple that is more deserving. Soder met Matt while they were working at Parking Services at Weber State. They hit it off perfectly and have become very good friends. Traci is the sweetest person I have ever met and is always full of laughter and smiles. She is a nurse and seriously, it is the perfect job for her because she is so understanding and caring (which is also why she will be a great mother, too). Matt is a hard worker and is focused on becoming a prosecutor. I know that he will be a great dad because he is patient and funny. He always has a great point of view and is so positive when times are tough.
The perfect baby is out there waiting to find them and I can't wait until they find each other.
If you have a second, please check out their profiles here AND here.

$35 DOLLAR GIVEAWAY!!!!

2011-01-25T21:13:00.000-08:00

I have been having some bad karma/luck lately. It seems to be pouring down some bad ju-ju along with the buckets and buckets of rain up here. I haven't really been in the blogging mood. I have had a teething/whining baby. Also a dog that won't stop getting into trouble. We are poor, especially since the holiday is over (but who isn't this time of year?) and to top it all off, I pulled my back out AGAIN while trying to move boxes for my job. So imagine how happy I was this morning when I got an email from CSN to do another giveaway or review. Even though I really wanted a pizza stone for me, I decided that I should pass my good fortune on to one of my loyal readers to make their day bright. (I believe in karma so something good for me with be right around the corner.) I hope you all remember CSN from my previous giveaway in November. They were the website that had everything from a corner TV stand, to flip flop shoes, to lemon zesters. This time they are offering a $35 gift certificate for me to giveaway.

So in the spirit of making someone else's day brighter, please leave me a comment telling me a time when you made someone else smile. And hopefully, just hopefully on Monday January 31st at 12:00 Noon PST I will draw your name and make you smile with a $35 dollar gift certificate from CSN! Of course, you can get more entries by blogging about it on your blog, or posting on Facebook about my giveaway, or tweeting about it. (make sure to leave an extra comment for each one that you do.) Good Luck!

Please leave an email where you can be reached with your comment and a link if you blog about it or fb or tweet about it. If the winner can't be contacted, I will draw a new winner. Seriously, Good luck!

No place to go

2011-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Soder has been taking an art class. It happens to be in Seattle and this week, since I was a good girl and finished all my work before Sunday we went along with him. After a long discussion between baby and I, we decided that we would go and hang out at Gas Works Park, one of our favorites. It was so great to get out of the house and actually be in the city. This has been a long, long winter (so far) with many days filled with rainy goodness that has kept us trapped in our house (that and the fact that there isn't very much extra in the bank account to go and wander around aimlessly. I find when I wander I spend, and when there isn't any to spend it is better to stay home.) It was cloudy and thankfully didn't rain on us. We were able to take a few pictures and wander around, through the tons of goose poop and mud. It was a great time. We still had time to kill before we had to pick Soder up, so we took a little drive up Queen Anne Hill. It is seriously such a great area. I loved all the stores and neighborhoods. I was scouting for a park up there (for when we have some visitors this spring), but didn't find it and ended up driving around longer than I had expected because I got a little lost. My partner fell asleep on the way back to where we were picking up Soder so I didn't do any more fun exploring, like get a cup of coffee. So our exciting adventure ended up with Baby asleep in the back, and me reading my magazines in the car while we for class to get out. Regardless, it was a great time to be out from these four walls. I really needed that, and I think the cabin fever has left for at least a few more weeks.

Saturday Night = Movie Night

2011-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

We have always loved watching movies. It was the closest thing to our hobby. Now things have changed, but are kinda the same (most of the movies we want to watch aren't very 'family friendly'). We still try to do movie nights, usually on Friday or Saturday, but now they are usually more kid friendly. Like this weekend, we watched the movie Ponyo. It was pretty good with a lot of great voice talent (Tina Fey, Matt Damon, and Liam Neeson), however, it was originally a Japanese animated movie. The story was pretty fairy tale-ish, but the characters they had in it were a bit odd. (those Japanese are a crazy and imaginative bunch!) There were a couple of head scratching moments, but overall it was a cute movie.The best part of the night was definitely the popcorn. I have been giving Baby a lot more new foods and so I decided to give him a few small bits of fluff off the popcorn. He loved it. And took it really seriously. If I didn't move fast enough he would get mad and bounce off my lap and try to grab his own handful of popcorn. I love introducing him to new foods, and this was definitely one of his favorite. I have the feeling he is going to love movie nights too!

I love how he looks like, "Dad, can't you see I am busy eating popcorn, can you get that camera out of my face???"

Just because he is so stinkin' cute

2011-01-23T21:13:00.000-08:00

I seriously don't know what my deal is with taking pictures of him in laundry baskets. I am a weirdo, I know. The picture below was two months ago in the same basket. I guess he just always looks so cute in there.

The faces they pull

2011-01-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

I was playing a 'fishy' game with Baby the other day and Soder was able to video some of it. It is about 45 seconds long, which for me will be followed quickly with my mother and father calling me saying they saw the video on my blog. (which to me is so cute because they are getting more tech savvy everyday.) I love the faces he pulls and just to clarify I was clapping by his face and not snipping his nose every time.

Faces of Motherhood

2011-01-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

All those faces from feeding him one cracker... no wonder I am so tired at the end of the day, I am all expressions!

Golden Globes

2011-01-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

Sunday was an annual event on the Plateau, The Golden Globes Girls Night. My sister hosted a wonderful time with yummy appy's (which makes my husband laugh every time I say that) delicious Lobster Mac and Cheese for dinner, and champagne (with raspberries, yum!) It was so great to get out of the house without Baby and just have a good ol' fashioned girls night, complete with gossip and catty remarks about the movie stars dresses and hairstyle. Great time and Ricky Gervais was cracking us up. I can't wait for next year, maybe we should all dress up and walk our own red carpet, on second thought with all the champagne that was poured that might not be a smart idea.

Randomnesss of the days

2011-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thing Two is now accustomed to the rainy weather up here. He offered me 3 of his 4 feet (not at the same time) when I was wiping them off and didn't even struggle. Thing One has a ways to go yet, she will only do her business under trees when it is raining and will seriously look at you like 'I am not going out there' when you tell her to if it is stormy. She is a little diva.

Most entertaining thing of the weekend is watching Baby eat his first finger foods. I never knew Cheerios were that entertaining.
Thing Two has also become quiet the nosy neighbor. He is so concerned with the comings and goings of our neighbors that very often during the day you find him with his nose pressed to the bottom of our front door. We might have to rename him Gladys Kravitz.

I have also determined through a very scientific process, that we are not in a recession. The problem our society is in is that there are entirely too many addictive games out there like Angry Birds and we are all playing instead of working. I am sure you have heard of it, and if you haven't played it yet, DON'T! Your productivity will be reduced to zero and stay that way until you have passed a significant number of levels. I speak from experience.

And lastly, I have to tell someone my dirty little secret. I have watched the entire season of Toddlers and Tiaras on Netflix. It is such a train wreck of a show with little girls (and boys) participating in beauty pageants. Shocking to see all the fake nails, hair, eyelashes, tans and TEETH! (yeah, unbelievable, but they give the girls fake teeth to cover their kid teeth), but somehow watching the parents be so crazy helps me find my sanity. Yes, it is a bad show to support, but the fix it gives me feels so good. I wish I was addicted to something far less embarrassing than this but we can't choose our dirty little secrets can we?

It sounds like I have had a very 'efficient week' from this post (Angry Birds and Toddlers and Tiaras), but I really was productive. I worked and I guess I just must have needed more of a mental break so I definitely found the ways to be completely brainless.

Long overdue Starbucks 'date'

2011-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, we took a short little break and enjoyed a quick cup at our favorite 'date' spot, Starbucks. It was a far cry from the last time we really hung out there when Baby was a mere 3 weeks old and it was hot and sunny. It was fun because Baby has started eating dry cereal so he kept snacking on those while we were people watching. (our favorite past time) Great break from our normal Saturday routine. I wish we could do it every weekend.

Rainy Days

2011-01-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

This last week has been so rainy. So that means no walks for us, which means by the end of the week we were going crazy. On Friday all the toys were pulled out. All the book on his little shelf were read and we were sitting there with cabin fever. I usually don't care, but this week was a tough one. Next week can be as cold as it wants, but please, for my sanity, please be dry!

They are called Gomoku no Moto

2011-01-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, like a good little Japanese girl I had to eat my mochi. It brings good luck for the new year and it is a family tradition. The only thing problem was that I didn't have any homemade mochi (which I have always had when I was in Utah or if my parents come and visit) so off to the Asian market I went. I quickly found the mochi, (I could tell it was the display because of all the other unprepared Asians swarming around it.) As I was walking around the store, I decided I wanted some other Asian comfort food. During the holidays, my dad usually will make 'gunny sacks'. They are seasoned fried bean curd that looks like a little sack that you can stuff with rice and prepared veggies (from a can) I walked down the aisle that it should have been on and looked all over. I could find the gunny sacks, but not the veggies. This is where I do not represent the Japanese people very well. I had no idea what the veggies were called, or what they actually were. So I decided to phone my dad and ask him. (he knows everything right?) Wrong. We both sat there trying to remember what it was called while I wandered aimlessly through out the rest of the store. By the end of the conversation, I was no closer to finding the missing veggies and my dad had displayed that he is no better of a Japanese person either! (but it was nice because we could laugh about it and give each other a hard time) My dad had decided that he would bring me a couple of cans (he knew where they were located in his local Asian Market in Utah) up in March when they visit next and I was happy with that.
But what came in the mail today? A sweet little care package filled with all sorts of delicious Japanese goodies, including Gunny sacks (which for future reference are called Inarizushi no Moto, seasoned fried bean curd) and veggies (called Gomoku no Moto, prepared vegatables)! Also in the pack are some ginger cookies, wafers, Mochi, some Botan rice candy and, of course, fortune cookies (my favorite. Where else can you get a great bit of advice from a dessert!) Thanks, Dad and Mom for the wonderful care pack. It just makes smile to see all the great treats! It also makes me hungry, off to cook....

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Wow, this last month has flown by. I have had blogs that I meant to post, but something, namely Baby has usually come up. So while I have 2 minutes to myself while my husband wrestles with a wet baby in the bath tub and two dogs in the bathroom as well, let me just wish you all a Happy New Year.
Our New Year, started off very quietly at home with a homemade pizza and a movie. Very quiet. It is hard to be party-ers when you have a 7 month old that goes to bed at nine. Maybe next year. I hope everyone else's night was fun and eventful.
I was thinking about the good ol' resolution. In the past they have just been to be happier and stuff like that. This year I am hoping for more efficiency. Ever since I started to work part time again with a baby, my blogging has been on the back burner. I want to find a nice balance where I can have it all with this. Of course baby comes first, then work has to come second, but maybe I could be a little more dedicated and work out some blogging schedule that works too. That isn't asking too much right? Blogging to me is like my 'out'. It is my zen moment on my crazy days. Maybe for the family's sake they will work with me to make this work. Trust me when I say it is to their benefit too. A sane mama is better than a crazy one any day.

Christmas Day

2010-12-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

I know some of these blogs are a little out of order, but when you might have 20 minutes or you might have an hour to post, you take what you can get. Santa was very good to Baby this year. He got a lot of presents and I have the feeling this year the givers of the presents were more excited than the recipient. (I know that will change next year.) He was very happy to have so many new things to taste and eat. I had never realized that parents get a totally different experience than the kids. The kids get to open and play with all the new toys, but the parents spend most of their time prying the new toys out of the ridiculously difficult packaging. Who comes up with the way they package toys? I don't really think the toy truck needs 10 twist ties on it, but hey what do I know. Then after you have pried all the buggers out of their respective packages, then the clean up begins. I swear I am still finding bits of cardboard lying around. Amazing. It was a great time for all and we received some wonderful gifts.Even Thing 2 was excited...or maybe he just wanted me to leave him alone with the entire box of dog biscuits. But I can see why it only comes around once a year, it took us two days to recover and we are definitely broke now! Ahhh, the holidays are almost finished and on to the gloomiest part of the year, January. Sorry January, you just can't compete with December.

Christmas is over.

2010-12-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

This morning I was greeted in the hallway by the decapitated remains of one of the dogs' Christmas presents. It was ironically a reindeer. So I guess they are done celebrating the holiday too. Thing One
Thing Two

Merry Christmas to all....

2010-12-24T15:00:00.000-08:00

Garden D'Lights

2010-12-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we got a night out as a family to dinner and a short walk around the Bellevue Botanical Gardens and the Garden D'Light. We started at dinner at the Pomegranate. I love this bistro and Soder had never eaten there. It was so good. Unfortunately, Baby didn't get the memo that we would be eating at a nice, little, trendy place. This was the first meal where he didn't perform up to the bar that he has set for himself. He is usually wonderful and sits and keeps himself entertained. I know that that is not normal for a baby to act so great, but trust me when I say that he is past that. He was just like any other 7 month old that was squirmy and noisy and not happy to be strapped into a wooden high chair. So we ate in shifts and had dessert in the car on the way to the Botanical Gardens. At the Gardens, it was beautiful to see all the lights and was amazing they could create all those displays with just lights. They had all kinds of different flowers, trees and animals created from lights. It was a great time and we can't wait to take him next year when he can really enjoy them.

Merry Friggin' Christmas

2010-12-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

This week we had to have a few repairs done on our car, to the tune of over a grand. That is right, our Christmas has a great big new present parked outside our little home, in the form of the intake manifold. It is even wrapped in a big red package. Yeah for us! I feel like the Grinch after he has ruined Christmas. I am hoping to hear the Who's down in Whoville start their carols so that the spirit can return.

Ninja bread are coming to town

2010-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

This year, while we were Christmas shopping, we found a perfect addition to my cookie cutter collection.
So after a long day, I had a little fun with my first attempt at gingerbread. (I also had limited colors of frosting so that spurred the story on a bit more.)First I frosted the 'gingerdogs' but they looked a little rabid after I used red frosting for the eyes. So they were classified as rabid, gingerdogs and they proceed to attack my ninjabread.

A great fight ensued....The gingerdogs started to multiply...There was a lot of carnage. (actually a lot of my ginger bread broke so I had a pile of broken cookies.)
During the battle there were other casualties as well.
Eventually the battle was won because of a few good ninjas.

And this is why I shouldn't be left alone for too long.... otherwise my imagination runs wild!

FINALLY......

2010-12-16T23:45:00.001-08:00

Took me 3 months to complete and now it is ready for Santa to fill it with goodies. Now that that is finished I can relax for the rest of the holiday. (I haven't even started to work on Travis' one, but that might just be saved for either child number 2 or when I have time in the middle of summer to work on it.)

Miscommunication

2010-12-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

Lately, Soder has been working a lot of overtime. Great for us financially, but sometimes I feel like I haven't communicated the best with him. So as opposed to carrying on over text message like we have been talking lately, I thought a blog post would be more efficient.
I have been a little short with him, but have bit my tongue so this might clear up some confusion for him as to why I have been annoyed.

The baby is not attached to a cord at any time. So when I ask if you have eaten breakfast and you say I need to make some toast then look at me like I need to take the baby, he can actually be transported with you to the kitchen and be in your arms while you take the bread out to put in the toaster. The same applies when you need to get something from the bathroom or the bedroom. He has not been attached to any body or thing for over 6 months... I don't think my uterus wants to reattach to him.

When I ask if you want to change his diaper, that means that by some crazy mother induced smelling ability I know that Baby needs to be changed. Like now, like 5 minutes ago, like really, really soon. A little hustle is all I ask.

When you ask me to go take the dog out to poop, and when I say I can't because I am in my pajamas that is code for I am in my pajamas with no bra, a thin little top, and my sweat pants, with my hair all disheveled and looking like I just woke up. You on the other hand were completely ready for the day so I think you should go out with Crazy Thing Two to take care of business. Yes, I will help you get your toast ready that you managed to finally put in the toaster while holding the baby.

When I asked if you would watch the baby while I took a quick shower and your reply was you might want to wait because you have took a really long shower this morning, I was annoyed. I am not going to lie. Annoyed. All I wanted to do was take 10 minutes completely to myself before you go off to work till two and rinse the baby grime and dog slobber off of me and you had used all the hot water. I think you understood this because of the darting, scuzzy look I gave you.

I know that this will clear up any confusion we have had so I hope this helps. And for everyone who thinks that it might be a little harsh to tell him this over a post (also, in case you don't really know me, my middle name is sarcasm and inspite of everything, I do still love my husband.), everything I have typed on here is something that I would say to his face.... if only I could see it instead of him being at work all the time.

Ho, Ho, Ho?

2010-12-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

So hopefully he feels different about Santa after he get all his presents. My sister said that a picture of him crying would be much cuter than a picture of him smiling. (we didn't really have a choice because all he did was cry.) She was right.

The dreaded Work party

2010-12-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

The first weekend of December, we had to go to Soder's work party. We were both pretty happy because it was going to be a free meal in a nice convention center. In Utah, the 'cocktail' hours never consisted of actual cocktails and there were never any appetizers. At this party it was clear we weren't in Utah any longer. Cocktail hour consisted of a completely free bar (yeah!) and many, many appetizers to munch on. (Soder was especially happy about this). I was surprised at how many people were there and it was great to visit with a bunch of Soder's friends. He has a group of guys who go and play Halo every day at lunchtime. (one of the guys lives like 5 minutes away from work so it is super convenient.) It was nice to see his Halo Buddies and meet their wives. I had heard so much about their lives it was great to put faces with stories. The food was good, but the entertainment was where it dragged a bit. (I love the company he works for as much as the next guy, but I don't need to hear about it's history or the employees who have been working there for 10 year.) After all the boring stuff was out of the way, there was a dj and dancing. I felt a little goofy out there on the dance floor and I am sure we looked like fish out of water, but it was fun. I actually didn't let the fact that I was dancing like a dork in front of Soder's work party bother me, in fact I used it to my advantage by convincing myself that I wouldn't see these people ever again so I should just relax and have fun. It was a great time and really nice to have an 'adult' date night.

Winner winner, reindeer dinner!

2010-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday night was my sister's annual Bunco Christmas Get-together. It was so much fun because everyone brings a gift of their favorite things. (like Oprah but with a $25 limit) It was great to visit with all the ladies and drink a really yummy sangria. I love to have someplace fun to go to at night especially when there is a chance to win money and you leave with a belly full of delicious food and a present. It must have been my lucky night because I won $25 for the most wins, (I have the reindeer antlers on in the picture because I had the last bunco of the game.) and I drew a number one for the present pick. (that means that you get to choose the first present and then at the very end you can steal the last present as well.) For my present I won a gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants, Pomegranate. Soder has never been there so I was happy to steal this present at the very end so that we could have a date night. (conveniently I stole it from my sister, I wonder if she will still babysit for me after I took it from her?) It was so much fun and definitely was a great ab workout because we were laughing so much. Thanks girls, and Thanks Am, you sure know how to throw a great party!

Finally out of the the void

2010-12-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Last week has been a blur. Yes, I did fall off the face of the Earth, apparently. I have been so busy with work, and coming home from vacation, and getting everything ready for Christmas. I have been feeling like I am playing catch up. I still feel that way. I finally put my foot down and said that I was going to blog today if it killed me. My son is sitting on the floor next to me playing with every toy I can muster up just to keep him happy. This is a top priority today.
Christmas has been in full gear at our home. The tree is up (sadly an artificial tree instead of a wonderful fresh cut tree, but with two dogs I fear the mess from the fallen needles would be a bigger tragedy.) Most of the presents are purchased. (I think there is only one or two small things that still need to be bought. Yeah, me!) And now it is just having fun in the holiday season. I have been looking for fun stuff to keep our weekends busy, and now it is just getting to do them. Hopefully, a visit to some Christmas lights, the personal favorite of mine the Nutcracker ballet, and a sit on Santa's lap. It makes me tired just thinking of all that we are hoping to do..... (I had to throw that picture in, he looks so angelic and sweet asleep like that... not like the teething, screeching monster he has transformed into on more occasions than I would like to admit.)

Craziest thing I saw in the 'Tah

2010-11-29T20:35:00.001-08:00

It wasn't the fact that my sister finally got to meet my boy.
It wasn't the fact that Soder's extended family finally got to meet the boy.
It wasn't the fact that we survived the Blizzard to end all Blizzards in the 'tah.
It WAS the fact that my mother got an early Christmas present from my dad.
It was a beautiful Ipad.
It was to give her the chance to read more books online (she is a big reader anyways.).
It was also a great toy for her to play games on.
It is a little unfair.
It seems like that graceful piece of technology has found a new, loving home.
It also seems like she at least appreciates it. It seems my number is on speed dial to act as her tech support.
It is nice to be needed by my parents 800 miles away. This blog post will be a test to see how much she uses her ipad.
It will be interesting to see if she says something about it tomorrow on our daily phone call.

The images I love....

2010-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Out of the tons of pictures we have taken here are some of my favorites so far, simply spending time with my parents at our house in Sunset. My dad love to walk around with baby and show him stuff around the house.

Baby is eating up all the attention and all the love and kisses from everyone. It is only half over so I am sure we will have many more sweet moments to blog about.

The reason for the visit...

2010-11-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

SNOW!

2010-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

We came down to Utah and, of course, what happened? It starts snowing. It is great for now that we have a great day to relax and wait out the snow, but not so great when I am planning on driving all along the Wasatch Front to visit people. It is refreshing because we haven't seen snow in over 2 years and Baby has never seen snow. I have missed how beautiful it is after a nice snow storm. It is nice to be here to experience it. And who knows, maybe we will go out and make Baby his first snowman!

Cutest find

2010-11-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

As I was shopping for other things, (of course) I saw this cute shirt that fits the blog great. (and that is all that matters.) I can't wait to get a picture of him in it, but it is still a little big.

Baby's Blessing

2010-11-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we had Baby blessed. He was really wide eyed as he watched the Priest read the blessing. Baby was so amazed by all the gold icons on the doors of the alter and was excited when the Priest allowed him to touch the icons. And of course, the thing that made me happiest was dressing my boys up. I think my new drug of choice is putting ties on my baby.

Pictures speak loudly

2010-11-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

I am in big trouble. I took some photos yesterday and when I looked at the shots today I realized I was in real trouble. There it was, looking at me right in the face: the bad situation that is looming right on the horizon. While the baby looks innocent enough now, the resemblance to the biggest troublemaker so far in our house is uncanny. My worst fears have been realized, I fear that Thing Two and Baby are on the same brainwave. It is only a matter of time before they are co-conspirators in trouble. You see it too, right? I am not going crazy, right? Please tell me you see the resemblance too. *sigh*

Weekend of nothingness

2010-11-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

Well maybe not complete nothingness. This weekend was mostly errands to prepare for our trip to the 'Tah next week. I am at least finding some sanity in the fact that we aren't going to the wilderness and that if I forget something I can go to the local Target and pick it up. We did end up at one of my top 5 fun gift places in the Puget Sound area, Molbaks. I love that it just SCREAMS Christmas this time of year. They have a sea of poinsettias, tons of ornaments and lots of cute little knicky knack things.All the sensory overload created a little boy that looked like this...
Soder looked a little glazed over too because of all the crazy women snatching up all sorts of trinkets from candles, to bird ornaments, to anything holiday related. I love to visit places like this and they both played along wonderfully. Thanks, guys for putting up with my craziness.

For my trip, I have a mental list in my head that will be worked on for the next few days until we leave. I have stressed out more about my poor puppys being boarded in at the 'Pet Hilton'. (it really isn't the pet hilton, but it might as well be considering that we are paying an arm and a leg for them to stay.) I feel so much guilt that i haven 't even been able to talk about it with them. (yes, I am one of those crazies that talks to her pets. And yes, they do know what I am saying.) I know my little Thing One will take it the hardest and that just breaks my heart. She will think that she did something to be left with the crazily happy Thing Two. (I swear Thing one is a reincarnated Catholic because she has so much guilt.)
I had to laugh when Soder tried to help me organize by asking what I was going to be bringing to 'entertain' myself on the plane. Um.... I think the Baby is all I will be paying attention too, but thanks for thinking that maybe I should pick up a People Magazine because I might get bored. Haha, he tries so hard! He gets an A for effort and an A for putting up with me and my mental state. Now, I know why people don't do 'vacations' very often and most times it isn't the mother that is thinking travelling will be a great idea. Sorry for the disjointed blog post.... I might be more mentally organized once I get some packing done. Yeah, that will help the situation, right?

Weekend of Freaks

2010-11-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, while I was at home with Thing one and two, and the Baby, Soder went off to explore the anime convention, Aki Con, that was taking place in nearby Bellevue. While I opted out again, (like I did at the comic convention in April) I was more than happy to look at the photos of all the weirdos that dressed up. I am more of a make-funner than a participant of such events. (I am not proud of that, but I am at least honest.) While Comic con was made up more of middle aged virgins dressed up in spandex, this was not the case for the Anime convention. Apparently, this is where all the 20 something girls come to show off their poorly put together costumes. (which my husband did not know about until he got there. Trust me when I say this, there is no jealousy on my part, especially after you see the pictures.) There were a few guys there as well, that just seemed a little out of place. I find it funny that it seems that there was no real cohesion about anything that happened at Aki Con. There were characters from video game, anime, tv and comic books. And while, Soder could name some of the characters, there were quite a few that were humorously, unrecognizable. So let me know if you know or recognize any of these costumes?Of course the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are there.
This is a GUY in drag in the white, with his poor monkey child on the leash.... there are entirely too many things wrong with this picture.
Um, Spidey, I think you are at the wrong convention.
I don't know if she is one of the cleaning ladies or what. Soder couldn't identify her either.
No, the Furry convention was at the other Hilton in Bellevue.
They are, we think, from the video game Kingdom Hearts.
We have no idea how this horse got a bow and arrow, but I think it is dangerous for him to have because he can't have much control of the arrow with a hooved foot.
Naruto and his Gang

A disclaimer: While my husband enjoys Anime, even this event was a bit weird for him. I am glad he can find the humor of the situation and laugh with me. He even encouraged me to blog about it. I do support the fact that he enjoys Anime and respect his hobbies, mostly because it is more entertaining for me if I do.

Fall Time is here

2010-11-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

Baby Loves his backpack

Last weekend, I didn't really do much (because I was working) except we did take a walk around our neighborhood with our entire brood. I have started walking the dogs on a more regular basis. I finally feel like I have a little bit better of a schedule going on with Baby and the Things have been so understanding this summer. I call him 'Hannibal' because he wears a muzzle when we walk (and very vaguely you can hear him say 'Chianti' and make a sucking noise like on the movie Silence of the Lambs.)

When I am alone with them, I have to take them one at a time on a walk. (I usually only take them around our apartment complex because it is a nice walk and then I can keep it fair. I don't need any sibling rivalry coming from the Thing department.)
It has been such a beautiful fall here in the Northwest, that I will forgive it for the crappy summer. I love fall. It has to be my favorite season (until of course I see Spring then I forget the beauty of Fall and become infatuated with all the new growth and colors.) But back to Fall, I love all the leaves and especially love to crunch the fallen leaves on the sidewalk and gutters. That is right, I still walk in the filthy disgusting gutters to satisfy my need for that crispy sound that only comes once a year. This picture just makes me smile and want to walk back down there to stomp and kick through one more street before this fall turns into the swampy cold, rainy winter that is just around the corner. It is definitely the little happiness in life. I am glad that one thing that has carried over from my childhood is the leaf crushing thing (well that and my horrible bad habit of chewing my nails, but that is for a different day.) I think I better leave the laptop and head out while the sun is shining......

Reposted with Video: Jabbering on

2010-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Recently, Baby has started to find his voice. He loves to sit and just jabber. He actually reminds me of my Grandpa Asao. I was very young when he died, so I only have a few memories of him. I was always amazed that he didn't have many teeth (I don't think he had any in the back to tell you the truth), but could still 'eat' any piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken. So with the greatest respect, this video happily reminds me of being a kid watching my Grandpa eat, surrounded by all his grandkids and family in his tiny house on Wall Ave. No fried chicken yet for him, but great memories to talk about with my jabbering Baby.

And the winner is.....

2010-11-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

And that makes the winner.....Congrats, Hillary!

Thanks so much for everyone that entered and Hillary I be emailing you all the info to use your fabulous $35 gift certificate from CSN!

ALSO a big THANK YOU to CSN for the gift certificate.

Lookin' Good

2010-11-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

You know how one day you look up and things have completely changed. Today was that day for me. I had my camera out and was able to snap a few pictures of a very cooperative baby. I have know for a while that he is no longer a newborn, but today, as I was editing the pictures, I realized he is getting so big so fast. (as I know everyone always said, but you never believe it until you are living it.)He is smiley and happy (unless he is hungry, but as you can see, he doesn't miss many meals on my clock). His little personality is starting to shine through more and more. He finds our crazy Thing 2 hilarious. I love that he finds laughter contagious, and if we are laughing he will bust up as well. And of course, it is common knowledge that baby's laughter will heal any bad day that the real world can throw at you, so we are in good shape at the Sodermoto house!

One last reminder.... Friday is the last day to enter my wonderful giveaway from CSN from Monday. Don't be left out and Good Luck to all that have entered!

So this is ok right?

2010-11-02T19:06:00.001-07:00

I was impressed that he would go cross-eyed for it.

I figured that since he had to dress up like a monkey he should reap some of the benefits, right? I only let him suck and break apart the candy bar from the outside of the package. No chocolate this year, but definitely next for sure. Until then, the fun size candy will only be moving straight to my hips.... maybe I should try sucking on a few of the candy bar packages too. I don't need to open any more.

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway from Monday...