How far does a dollar go these days?

The Dollar Store is a great place. Some of the merchandise is junk and not worth it, but other items, like toothpaste or a 2-pack of toothbrushes are well worth it. The nice thing about the dollar store is you don't need the cashier to tell you how much your total is going to be. If you have one item it will cost you $1.08. Two items cost $2.16, etcetera.

Jeff and I stood in line with our one item chatting about my day at work and what movie we were going to see that evening. When we got to the cashier I pulled out my wallet and Jeff grabbed a handful of change from his pocket. For those of you who carry cash, you know the art of getting rid of change is a priority. No one wants to carry around pennies, nickles and dimes. Both Jeff and I were laden with change that we were eager to get rid of.

Jeff's solution was that we split the total cost. Jeff put down two quarters, a nickle and three pennies. I contributed two quarters. When we got outside with our purchase I was giggling. "Do you realize that we just went dutch on a pregnancy test?"

It was amusing to speculate about how the people in the store might of perceived us. They had no idea that we've been married for eleven years with two kids at home. By all appearances we were out on a date and needed to stop at the store first. Did they think that my boyfriend was chivalrous for helping pay for my pregnancy test, or did they think he was a louse for making me come up with fifty cents. Maybe they thinking, much like you, "Wow, you can get a pregnancy test at the dollar store? What a great deal! I wonder if they are accurate."

Why yes, they are accurate. I have spent $3.24 on them over the last several months and they have been right every single time.

Mexico was wonderful.

The week I spent with my husband in this paradise was glorious.
It was everything I expected it to be.

Fun
Relaxing
Romantic

It was everything a week with my husband should be.

In all the world there is not another person that I would rather spend my time with.

Every minute.
Every second.
We are in tune.

This man I married 11 years ago is my best friend, and I am his.

I am blessed.
I am in love.
I am grateful.

Mom's are getting a bad rep

USA today wrote a story about it. Bloggers are talking about it. I am refuting it.

Momnesia - the mental fuzziness and memory lapses that set in shortly after childbirth.

Here is an example:

Your spouse is going to watch the kids so you can enjoy a couple of hours by yourself. You go into the garage, get into your car and back your car right into the garage door that you forgot to open.

Momnesia?

No.

The driver of the car is a stay-at-home dad.

The act of being a parent sucks your brain power and causes you do seemingly stupid things. This “condition” is not exclusive to moms. Any person who spends 90% of their time with little people is susceptible.

Let’s call it was it really is – Parentdumtitis.

On This Day in 1997

This weekend Jeff and I celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary. The girls spent last night at my brother and sister-in-law's house. Jeff and I had box seats at the Portland Trailblazer / LA Laker game. After the game we went out for drinks and then returned to our very empty house in the early hours of the morning.

We usually go away for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary. This year we enjoyed sleeping in our own bed without worrying about which of us was going to get up in the middle of the night with the kids. We slept in. It was luxurious.

This morning we went to a very popular breakfast spot in Portland and then walked around downtown. It was nice to spend a day without our children, to make decisions based on what we wanted to do instead of what we needed to do. It was also nice to pick up our children this afternoon, to hold them tight and recognize that in eleven years of marriage we created a family.

We started out as two people from different backgrounds and melded into one. In our oneness we created new life, our daughters, who look to us to be everything they need and want. Our marriage is more than it was because we are more than we used to be. We are now the basis for the different background that our children will carry into their marriages. That is humbling.

Today it is my eleven year anniversary. My love is waiting for me to curl up beside him and watch TV. I better go now.

Wordless Wednesday: Why He Needs a Son

For more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

I've got my cupid, where is yours?

According to Wikipedia Valentines Day is “The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid.”


Do you like my Valentine?
It's for you!

Yes, you!

You take time from your day to look into mine. For that I love you.

I also want to apologize to you. You may notice that I am behind on my blog reading. You may wonder why I am not responding to your comments via email. I have neglected you, and for that I am truly sorry. I won't bore you with the details of my deadlines at work. I will just say, you are important to me and I haven't forgotten about you.

Romantic Plans

This is the first Valentines Day since Jeff and I reversed roles. Now that he is the stay-at-home parent he deserves much love, respect and pampering.

How do you pamper a man?
This is my plan.

First I will go to the specialty beer store and select a rare and tasty beer that will be the benchmark by which he compares all future beers. Next I will rent an action packed movie with great special effects and large explosions. Finally I will buy chocolate. Nothing fancy, probably a very large bag of peanut M&M’s.

After the girls go to sleep we will open the beer and cuddle in our theater room. I won’t complain when he watches his movie at volumes not usually allowed. I will make sure he always has an ample supply of M&M’s and beer. I’m pretty sure he will love it.

What are your Valentines Day plans?

Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam...

Latte Mommy tagged me for the Marriage Meme. Thank you Latte, it was fun mulling these memories over in my mind.

1. Where/how did you meet?

I posted about this before. The short answer is a Cutco interview. For the full story go here.

2. How long have you known each other?

We met in January of 1994, so 14 years. Gosh, that makes me feel old. Jeff was 18 and I was 20 when we met, so really we are not that old.
Okay, well HE is not old.

3. How long after you met did you start dating?

Our first date was on January 16, 1994, a couple of weeks after we met.

4. How long did you date before you were engaged?

We dated for 2 ½ years and got engaged on July 9, 1996.

5. How long was your engagement?

About 9 months. We had to give Jeff a chance to turn 21 before we got married.

6. How long have you been married?

Almost 11 years.

7. What is your anniversary?

We were married on March 1, 1997

8. How many people came to your wedding reception?

I’m guessing 130 or so.

9. What kind of cake did you serve?
My Mom made the cake and it was delicious. I wonder if anyone took a picture of the inside of the cake. I cannot, for the life of me, remember what flavor it was.

10. Where was your wedding?

We got married at Morris Chapel which is on the University of Pacific campus in Stockton, CA. It was the same place my grandparents got married.

11. What did you serve for the meal?

We had a choice between chicken and fish (maybe). It was served with garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus and hollandaise sauce, scrumptious.

12. How many people were in your bridal party?

My sister-in-law Amy was my matron of honor. My friends Andrea and Melanie and Jeff’s sisters; Jennifer and Julie were the bridesmaids. Jeff’s friend Jesse was the Best Man. Jeff’s brother Jon, brother-in-law Rob and my brothers Tod and Kurt were groomsmen. Our niece, Samantha was our flower girl; she is Rob and Jen’s daughter. Our nephew Cory was the ring bearer, he is Julie’s son.

Oh, you wanted a number! Twelve.

13. Are you still friends with them all?

Considering that most everyone was family – absolutely. The only person we have lost touch with is Melanie.

14. Did your spouse cry during the ceremony?

Oh, yes. We both did. There was a very sweet moment when my Matron of Honor handed Jeff and handkerchief that he used to dry my tears before he dried his.

15. Most special moment of your wedding day?

Walking down the aisle, exchanging vows, our first kiss, it was all very special.

16. Any funny moments?

After our first kiss we hugged and I buried my head in Jeff’s neck. I accidentally got my bright red lipstick all over his collar. Since it was the side facing our wedding guests, I didn’t want to lift my head until I managed to wipe it all up, which was impossible. So when we walked down the aisle as husband and wife, Jeff had lipstick all over his collar and I was bright red from embarrassment.

17. Any big disasters?

A couple of small things like…
-Jeff arrived late to the rehearsal because he and the best man forgot to pick up their tuxedos.
-Someone stepped on my train with a muddy shoe before the wedding. The wedding planner covered it up with white chalk.
-During his toast, my new Father-in-law couldn't remember my name. He was a little tipsy and everyone thought it was funny, including me.

18. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

We went on a cruise to the Virgin Islands, returned to San Francisco for a couple of days and then went to Maui. The week in Maui was part of a company trip that Jeff had won through Cutco, so it was free and many of our wedding guests and some of our wedding party were there also.

19. How long were you gone?

Two weeks.

20. If you were to do your wedding over, what would you change?

Invite more people. The chapel could only hold 150 people, so there were a lot of people that I couldn't invite.

21. What side of the bed do you sleep on?

I have to ask my husband because I don’t know my right from my left.
He says, “The right side.”

22. What size is your bed?

Queen

23. Greatest strength as a couple?

We are usually on the same page. We enjoy the same things such as; tennis, skiing, basketball, biking, hiking, and camping so we spend a lot of time together.

Just for fun let me ask him.

He says,” That we don’t give up even when things are tough, that we share the same faith and we are 95.25 % on the same page as far as life goals.”

See, we are pretty compatible.

24. Greatest challenge as a couple?

I have sabotaged several friendships because I am a terrible roommate. The fact that Jeff hasn’t strangled me yet, is a testament to his love for me. I have also made drastic improvements in my ability to clean up after myself because I want to please him. But sometimes he gets fed up with doing all the house work, while I flit around from one thing to the next with no clear agenda and nothing to show for my efforts.

25. Who literally pays the bills?

That would be me.

26. What is your song?

James Taylor “You’ve got a friend”

27. What did you dance your first dance to?

Same song, since I get to talk about this song again, here are some of the lyrics.

“When you’re down and troubled
and you need a helping hand
and nothing, whoa nothing is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest nights.

You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am
I’ll come running, oh yeah baby
To see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You’ve got a friend.”

28. Describe your wedding dress.

Off the shoulder raw silk with a beaded bodice and scalloped edges on the train. The pictures from the wedding really don't show the detail and beauty of this dress, so I rummaged through the back of my closet and took pictures of the bodice. I still think this is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.

Doesn't it look like something Cinderella would wear?

29. What kind of flowers did you have at your wedding?

Red, white, and fire and ice roses.

30. Are your wedding bands engraved?

Mine isn’t. I engraved Jeff’s with, “My love, My life.”

Now I am in serious trouble with him, because I had to ask him to remove his ring so I could see the engraving. He knew it from memory.

Hmmm, who to tag.
I don't know if I have ever seen Kellan do a meme, but I would be very interested to hear about the wedding to her Texas cowboy.

I would love to tag some more people, but I have some serious kissing up to do to my husband, so feel free to grab this meme and leave me a comment when you are done.

Wordless Wednesday: Trashy

Six years ago, before kids, my husband and I went to a rocking party.

We had a fabulous time. Sometime after 2 am the cops came in response to a noise complaint so we decided that it was time to go home. We were tired, but determined to make the 90 minute drive home and sleep in our own bed. About half way into our journey, it became impossible to keep our eyes open so we checked into the first motel we could find.

The next morning we woke up, in our party clothes with unwashed faces, bed head and at the trashiest motel I have ever seen. Even though we had been married five years, it felt very much like a walk of shame.

Thank you to Mrs. Fussypants for setting up the League of Extraordinary Wives and Rachel for inviting me. Without you, I would not of had a reason to dig so far back into my photo album and find this jewel.

Go here to see more Wordless Wednesdays that follow the rules by posting pictures without any explanation.

Reasons He Rocks

Jeff and I had a little tiff. Just a tiny disagreement that had less to do with him or me, and everything to do with money. I feel bad, because I should not hassle him. I would be apologizing instead of blogging, but he had to rush out and return a movie to the Redbox.

In honor of my husband, who didn't deserve to be the target of my stress induced frustrations, I present to you 6 of the reasons he rocks:

Reasons 1 & 2: I made a discovery tonight when I was cooking pork chops. We have breaded pork chops once a week. He does all the cooking so, I couldn't find the shake-n-bake. After tearing through the pantry I discovered there was no shake-n-bake. Then I looked for seasoned bread crumbs. None of those either. Google helped me find a recipe that uses saltines.

As we were eating my "not as good as his" pork chops, I let him know about the bread crumb shortage. He told me that he doesn't buy bread crumbs. He makes his own. Yep, that's right. Once a week he toasts bread, works some magic with a knife and spices and creates an amazing pork chop dinner from scratch.
Amazing.

Reason 3 & 4: Most of you know that Jeff is a stay-at-home dad. What you don't know, and I find utterly insane, is that he takes our girls to the gym so they can go swimming. By Himself. Just the thought of a lone parent taking two young kids swimming makes my head spin.

Think of the logistics. Putting swimsuits on. Getting in the pool. Making sure no one drowns. Making sure no one pees (or poops) in the pool. Convincing them to get out of the pool when it is time to go. Showering. Getting everyone dressed again.
Would you do it? I wouldn't.

Reasons 5 & 6: I am a little biased, but I think he is good looking. Every week this handsome, witty and interesting man takes me out on a date. Yes, a date with my husband should be the number one reason he rocks, but I am still amazed by his pork.

Christmas Poem

I am struggling with gift giving this Christmas. I want to go Christmas shopping but, I don't have any money to spend and I really shouldn't rack up any more debt.

The problem lies in my love language. When I read "The Five Love Languages of Children" by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell, I was appalled that one of the love languages is gifts. My exact reaction was "I hope none of my children have this love language, how would I deal with that!" I read a little further to find that the gifts love language manifests itself in a child treasuring each gift and remembering who it is from. Then it hit me, "Oh my gosh, that's totally me!"

I remember the sweater my future father-in-law picked out for me the first Christmas I spent with Jeff's family. I remember my dad bought me CV joints when I was 19 years old and my car was on it's last legs, literally. I remember Jeff hawked his ski's one Christmas so he could buy me an engraved locket with both our baby pictures in it. I remember the smell of the Coach Diaper Bag that Jeff surprised me with when I was pregnant with Belle. I remember the huge stuffed dog that my Aunt Gayle gave to me for my birthday when I was in High School.

I also remember the gifts I gave. The first Christmas after my parents divorced, I got my dad a coffee maker from Starbucks. When my younger brother was in high school I pitch in with my parents so we could buy him a car stereo. I remember buying my nephew a stuffed lion puppet when he was a toddler and before he was my nephew. I will even admit that for my first Christmas with Jeff, I bought him a shirt that matched mine.

Admittedly, I don't always picked the best gifts, but I have always given something. This Christmas, I want to find something for everyone and pay for it on credit even though I know I don't have the resources to pay off the credit cards. The only resource that I have is a Disney gift card earned with reward points from my Disney Visa purchases.

Here is a short Christmas poem to my family:

My heart and pocket book are having a tug of war.
I hope you want something from the Disney Store.

Joy To The World, My Dinner's Fun!

My first Christmas Miracle of 2007:
We had dinner. In a restaurant. With the girls. And it was enjoyable.

I swore that I would not be one of those parents that stopped dining out when I had kids. After Belle was born, I had no problem keeping that commitment. Dining out with one child was easy, even desirable, just for the simple fact that I didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning up afterwards.

Dining out with two children is not pleasant. Especially my children. Its not really their fault, I'm the one who thought it was a fabulous idea to get pregnant with my second child before the first was even nine months old. In the last two years I have had several restaurant experiences with my children where I either needed a drink or we needed to head for the door. Most of the time I was downing my drink as we ran for the door.

We have found two restaurants that we risk going to with our children. The first is a pizza parlor, so it doesn't really count. The second is a restaurant called Beaches. The big selling points? First, it's loud. Second, it is located on the Columbia River. The kids can watch boats and airplanes all dinner long. Third, for dessert the waitress takes our children away from us. The kids get to pick out a toy and make their own ice cream sundae. It is wonderful, but we have never had a perfect dining experience there.*
*Our failure to have a idyllic dining experience at Beaches is completely our fault and should not reflect negatively on the restaurant.

This weekend we celebrated Jeff's birthday. Jeff wanted to go out for dinner, but wasn't in the mood for pizza and we didn't have a reservation at Beaches. We decided to brave the unknown and go to Big Al's. It wasn't that much of a risk, It's a bowling alley with an arcade, bar and restaurant. What we were really risking is terrible food and kids who didn't want to stay at the table. What we got was a completely different experience.

The restaurant is really a sports bar. Luckily we arrived during the first overtime of the Oregon verses Oregon State football game. The sports bar area was filled with people in orange shirts yelling and screaming. Our table had a wonderful view of all the craziness, perfect kiddie entertainment until their food arrived.

We were not expecting the diverse and succulent sounding menu that Big Al's had to offer. Jeff ordered braised ancho honey pork and I went for the feta vinaigrette marinated chicken breasts topped with a Kalamanta olive, tomato, cucumber salad. Yummmm.

The kids were losing interest in their dinners by the time our food arrived (we ordered the kids food right away so we could avoid a hunger meltdown). Belle discovered that if she stood up in our booth and look over the wall she could see pool tables. Jeff was concerned that she would drop a french fry on some unsuspecting pool player. Once we set the ground rules (perfectly okay to stand up and watch other people, not okay to drop your food on them) everyone was happy. Jeff and I enjoyed our dinner, engaged in adult conversation and marveled at how well the whole experience was going.

We had a wonderful evening. After dinner we played in the arcade. They have a great selection of kids games that yielded tickets that we later exchanged for prizes. We spent $10 on games and went home with a lipstick and crown for each of the girls. Now we have enough crowns for everyone, even the dog.

Happy Birthday My Love.

Thank you for your love, devotion and understanding.
Thank you for pouring all you have into this family, your family.
Three girls who love you, adore you, admire you and need you more than you'll ever know.
To a good man, a great husband and a loving father.
Today we celebrate you.


Happy 32nd Birthday, Jeff!
Love,
Your Girls

Flaunt It Friday: How I Met Your Father

The Mommy Kelly's Flaunt it Friday challenge this week is to give insight into perhaps the most significant relationship in my life: a peek at me and my significant other. This challenge is to be less about the pictures, and more about the story.

It was January 1994. I was in my sophomore year at college and had a job selling Cutco Knives via in home presentations since the summer. I was doing a pretty good job selling knives, in fact I had just won a scholarship from the company for being in the top 25 in the nation for sales while attending school full time. This had earned me some prestige and a position as assistant manager in my office.

One night I had just finished a sales demo, and decided to stop the office on my way home. When I got there my manager, Steven was just finishing up an interview. We called them interviews, but really it was a huge group of people who just sat through an hour presentation about being a Cutco sales rep and anyone who wanted the job would be hired.

Steven was happy to see me. His “interview” had been pretty large and he wanted me to keep the group occupied while he pulled each of them out of the room to offer them a position. My job was to keep anyone from leaving before Steven got a chance to talk to them. Steven pointed out one boy in particular, he told me to make sure the boy didn’t leave.

The boy was Jeff. I can call him a boy, because he was 18 years old at the time. I focused all my attention on Jeff for at least 90 minutes while Steven sorted through the other job candidates. It was a strategy of Steven’s to “leave the best for last.” So, Jeff was left for last and of course got hired. Now he was scheduled for a 3 day group training seminar for that weekend. Steven asked me to stop in on the training whenever I wasn’t on sales demos.

Usually when I am telling this story, Jeff is around to interject. He isn’t here now, so I get to tell this next part my way.

Jeff followed me around like a puppy dog. If the training group went out to lunch, he would make sure he was in my car. The group went bowling one night and Jeff insisted it was easiest for him to come to my apartment first. When the next semester of classes started, Jeff managed to add himself into two classes that I was already enrolled in.

I didn’t mind Jeff ALWAYS being around, but I wasn't particularly interested either. Truth be told, I had a crush on someone else.

One night my parents called to tell me that they bought a new TV, and I could have their old one. I was ecstatic. I was a poor college student who had been living without a TV for months. I needed help picking up this TV and moving it into my upstairs apartment so I contacted Jeff and the other boy I had a crush on. Jeff said yes, the other boy said no. Jeff and I spent an hour in the car together driving to and from my parent’s house. It was then that I started to realize how much fun I had with Jeff, and what a jerk this other boy was.

The rest they say is history. We dated for 2 1/2 years before we got engaged. In March of 1997 we were married. And we lived happily ever after. The End.

Wordless Wednesday

The House we flipped last year

Outside got all new siding and windows.

Ripped out the carpet and refinished the original hardwood floors.

Notice the new tile floors in the kitchen.
Jeff and I tag teamed that project. He worked on it all day until 2 am. When he came home to sleep, I went to the other house and worked on the floors from 3 am until noon. Jeff then brought the kids to the house with him and we worked on the floors together. I am very proud of that accomplishment.

To see more Wordless Wednesdays go here.

I know, I know, "Wordless". Sorry, this is as wordless as I get. Just call me gabby.

Thankfulness Part 1

A look at last year - My Marriage

January 2007 – It is Monday, Jeff is taking the day off from flipping the house so I can go to work. I am taking a shower and trying to focus on what I need to do today. My mind keeps drifting to the argument I had with Jeff last night. The financial and emotional strain of flipping a house is pushing us apart. I told him that we are going to run out of money unless we sell the house by March. He told me that there is still so much work to be done. Why can't he get this house done?

My life is out of my control. Flipping this house is Jeff's project. He makes all the decisions while I stand by and pray for results. I don't like not being in control, especially when things are going badly. I am so mad. Mad that Jeff is working six days a week on the house and not getting anywhere. Mad that he is spending all our money. Mad at him for not being able to find a job for 3 years. Mad at him for getting fired from a very good job in the first place. Every decision that Jeff has ever made is now under my scrutiny.

And then a little voice in my head says, “Why are you blaming Jeff for everything that has gone wrong, while you praise God for everything that has gone right?” It’s a good question. I gave God all the credit for the job Jeff had in Sacramento. I attributed all our sound financial decisions to God. I thanked God for providing for our needs, regardless of where the provisions came from. Why does God get all the credit and Jeff get all the blame? Why do I assume that Jeff has a handle on the events that are out of my control? Isn't his life being turned upside down just like mine?

My bible study leader recently said, “It’s okay to be mad at God, he can take it.” So I shifted my anger. I got mad at God for this mess we were in. I ranted at God for all the things that had gone wrong. I got pissed at God that Jeff lost his job. I was furious for the lost of our financial security and for the delays on the house we were flipping. I screamed at God for putting all this pressure on my marriage. I vowed to never forgive Him if my marriage fell apart.

Two noteworthy things happened when I got mad at God. First, I didn’t get struck by lightning. Second, I wasn’t mad at my husband anymore. Instead I became sympathetic to Jeff and the challenges he was facing.

My reflection:

In 2007, Jeff and I celebrated ten happy years of marriage. My realization in the shower that morning was a significant event for me. In the months that followed our situation got much worse before it got better. We were able to face these events as a team, supportive of one another. I am thankful for that.

What have you learned that has significantly affected the way your relate to your loved ones?

Catch and Release

Driving to work this morning, I saw most unwelcome site in my rear view mirror, flashing red and blue lights. It’s been awhile since I have seen this phenomenon, so in case I didn’t remember what to do the officer kindly told me to pull over. You know what happens next. Same old song of “License and registration please” and “do you know why I pulled you over?” Usually I know why I’ve been pulled over. But this time, I was clueless.

Me: “I have no idea.”

Officer: “You were traveling southbound on Main at 40 mph. The speed limit is 25”

Me: “Oh…”

Officer: “Are you in a hurry today?”

Me: “No….”

So I told him my very elaborate story about a white van. Not one of those soccer mom white vans. More like a child abductor white van, you know the one without windows in the back. And how this white van had freaked me out and I wasn’t paying attention to the speed limit. The story ended with “If I would of known I was speeding I would have slowed down and let the van get ahead of me.”

The officer was very kind. He noticed the white van was speeding too and if he would have known all the trouble this white van caused me, he would have pulled over the van instead of me.

So, I got off with a warning and “never let me catch you speeding again”. Now I really hope this officer is not a blog reader, because what I have to say next might make him regret letting me off with a warning. I haven’t gotten a ticket in 8 years. I have been pulled over three times in the last eight years and no tickets. I don’t understand why I don’t get tickets. It may have something to do with my fear of authority, and that I end up getting all shaky and talk too much. Maybe the officer wants to let me go on my way before I burst into tears.

Now, I know that getting let off the hook for speeding three times in eight years is not all that impressive. But wait until you hear the story behind the last time I was pulled over.

It’s the summer of 2002, on my favorite day of the week, date night. Usually my husband and I meet at home and drive to dinner together, but this week he had something after work, so we met at the restaurant. After our dinner and a movie we got into our separate cars to drive home. My husband still had his 2001 BMW 525. I was driving my brand new BMW X5 that we had recently added a Dinan package too. (For those who aren’t car buffs, Dinan is BMW's way to get an already fast car to go very, very fast.) It was natural that my husband and I would want to race our cars home, just to see if the Dinan had indeed made my car faster.

The race home was very close. The 525 was faster off the line, while my car did better on the long stretches. We were racing down a four lane avenue neck in neck. There were no other cars around and only green lights ahead. The speed limit is 40 mph. Needless to say we are not following the speed limit.

As we approached the last major intersection before our house, I put the pedal to the metal and passed Jeff. As I am flying through the intersection at 80 mph, I notice Jeff falling behind significantly. I was just reveling in my victory when I saw the police officer behind me. Apparently, the officer was sitting at the red light. My husband had noticed him and slowed down. I was too busy thinking I had won the race to notice.

So now I’m pulled over waiting for the officer to right me a huge ticket, and my husband is driving idly by laughing his ass off. You know the end to this story. I didn’t get a ticket. Why? I have no idea. It might have been because I was in a nice car with tinted windows, and the officer thought he had pulled over someone important. It might have been the inadvertent sexy clothing that I had donned for the evening. I choose to believe that it was my apologetic demeanor and the fact that he had no opportunity to clock me because I came out of nowhere and was gone just as fast. Hell, he was probably surprised he even caught me in the first place.

Flaunt it Friday: Office

My home office:



My husband and I didn't want to waste our Formal Living Room space with fancy furniture that we would never sit on. Instead we created a sitting room/den setting. We fold down the laptop when we are being formal.

I love this desk. We bought it right before we left Sacramento. The store we got it at is called Encore Model Home Furnishing. If you live in or around Sacramento you HAVE to check this store out. Beautiful items that used to be in model homes. Great prices.

Here is the view from my seat:



Notice the empty plate. I just finished a slice of delicious Chocolate Merainge Pie. My husband is practicing his baking for Thanksgiving. I love him and hate him for it!

Happy Flaunt it Friday, I can't wait to see yours!

Click here for more Flaunt it Friday.

100 things you should know about me:

1. I Grew up going to church
2. in California
   
3. I was overweight growing up
4. In my early 20's I lost 50 pounds in 9 months
5. And kept it off
6. I have been evicted from my apartment
7. I had nowhere to go, so I slept at my office
8. and showered at the gym
9. My husband and I married March 1, 1997
   
10. My parents got divorced
    
11. We got a puppy, Hercules
    
12. My drivers license got taken away for too many tickets
13. I got my car impounded for driving without a license
14. We never got the car out of impound
15. we moved in with my in-laws
16. for 3 months
17. My husband got a job, we saved our money and moved out
    
18. I stayed at home so my husband could prove himself as a provider
19. He made some money and we bought a 2nd car
20. I got another puppy, AJ
    
21. I would temp whenever I got bored
22. My husband was really good at his job
23. He was in sales
24. He sold a lot
    
25. We bought a house in Fair Oaks, CA
26. 1150 square feet with a pool
27. It was cozy
28. He leased a 2001 BMW 525
29. Crashed it 3 months later
30. then got another one
31. My husband ordered a 2002 BMW X5 for me
32. It arrived from Germany the day we got back from Maui
33. Possibly the best week of my life
34. I once spent $1000 in one day on clothes
35. All for me
36. I was retaliating against my husband
37. He spent $1000 on clothes earlier that week
38. We’re talking cash, no credit cards
39. You get the point
40. I got a job working for a home builder
41. I made a lot of great friends
42. Husband lost his job
43. I wanted a baby
44. As soon as he got a new job, we got pregnant
45. I love being pregnant
46. Except for the weight gain
47. I gained 70 pounds
48. I made my husband get rid of his BMW
49. I told him to get something more affordable
50. He bought an Audi
51. Our Firstborn arrived Jan, 26 2004
    
52. Husband lost his job 2 months later
53. I went back to work
54. We decided to move to Washington
55. Sold our house for twice what we paid for it
56. Bought a house in Vancouver
57. Husband looked for work
58. And looked
59. And looked
60. I lost all my baby weight within 9 months
    
61. and found out I was pregnant again
    
62. I got a temp job
63. They eventually hired me part time
64. Our second daughter was born July 4th 2005
65. No job for husband
    
66. He enrolled in classes to finish his college degree
    
67. We were on WIC
68. Kids and I were on state medical insurance
69. and food stamps, too
70. Cashed out my IRA
71. Husband got a job!
72. We refinanced our house
73. Husband got fired
74. Husband looked for work
75. And looked
76. Someone said “you should flip a house”
77. Seemed like a good idea
78. Cashed out my husband’s IRA
79. The flip took longer than expected
80. And cost more
81. The housing market started to tank
82. It was a huge strain on our marriage
    
83. I asked my boss if he would hire me full time
84. I asked for a raise too
85. He gave me more money than I asked for
    
86. and a bonus
87. The bonus saved us from having to sell a car
88. We had a really hard time selling the flipped house
89. It sold 1 week before we were going to run out of cash
90. We lost money
91. I don't even want to count how much
    
92. We now have $57,000 in credit card debt
93. My husband crashed his remaining BMW
94. He mourns that car
    
95. Our Marriage is stronger than ever
96. My husband is a great stay-at-home-dad
97. I love my life, and wouldn't change a thing
98. I still go to church.
99. I praise God for all these experiences
100. And the ability to write about them
     

Ode to the Stay-At-Home Dad

Being the stay at home parent is a job that does not end. Ever. Especially at night when everyone should be sleeping.

A couple nights ago our Firstborn came into our room at 3am asking her Dad for a pony tail. SuperDad calmly told her to go back to sleep and he would take care of it in the morning. This was after helping LittleOne go potty at some ungodly hour between midnight and 2 am.

Why is it that we could get our infants to sleep through the night at 12 weeks, but we can't get them to stay in their beds at 2 and 3 years old? I digress.

My husband is amazing. He does what some people say a man is incapable of. He provides superb care for our children, cleans (better than I ever did), grocery shops, has dinner on the table every night and has yet to run screaming from the house the minute I come home.

When I was the stay-at-home parent I had a monthly girls night out, a weekly yoga class, bible study with childcare and a babysitting swap with another mom so I could get an additional 4 hours free of children every other week. Superdad has none of those outlets. He has no other Superdad's to hang out with. He is with the kids all day, every day. Alone.

What an amazing and wonderful man I have been blessed with.

12 Years of Dating, and this is what I get.

I have to extend my gratitude to Brad and Paulette, who gave my boyfriend and I the best advice in 1995.

"Have a date night," they told us. "It doesn't matter how much you spend or what you do. Just do it every week, and on the same day each week."

So we did. The boyfriend became my husband 2 years later. We kept having our date night. 8 years after that my husband became a father and I became mother. Date nights haven't stopped.

In the beginning we were poor. Our date night was Tuesday. I remember this because it was "Tightwad Tuesday" at the Birdcage Cinemas, where we could watch a movie for $4.

Years later we were DINKs in the middle of the dot-com boom. Money was not an issue. We would have Sushi at Mikuni's, and then walk over to the movies. We'd go to Arco Arena and watch the Sacramento Kings play from fabulous seats.

Our time as DINKs ended and the adventuresome NIWK (no income with kids) era began. This era began with a baby, followed shortly by moving to a new state and the inability to find work, followed by another baby. Luckily NIWK transitioned to the more common single income with kids lifestyle that we now enjoy.

Money has been tight. The addition of children has caused the cost of of date night to increase substantially. We have made a lot of changes to our spending over the years but date night has never been compromised.

The keys to our success in keeping date night going are these:

1. Years developing the the habit of having a date night.
2. Having a "family" date night when our babysitter is not available.
   
3. Finding a babysitter who comes every week and charges us a reasonable rate (Thank you Lydia!)

Last night I had a wonderful date with my husband. Lydia arrived at 6:30. My husband and I pooled our resources to come up with $28. We made plans to be home by 8:30, so we would only need $12 for babysitting. Then we went to Albertsons to rent a movie. They have a redbox so the movie cost us $1. We went out to our car and tried to figure out how to spend the next hour and half before we were expected home. Husband suggested drinks. I was of the opinion that drinks would end up costing us more that the $15 we had remaining, and we were likely to loose track of time and need to pay the babysitter for an extra hour. We decided to go BACK into Albertsons for beer. The selection wasn't great and our tastes in beers differ (He likes hops, I hate hops), but we were able to settle on Henry Weinhard's Belgium Style Wheat ($9 for a case).

Next we went to the Vancouver Mall where we returned a pair of tights at Gymboree, tried on boots at Nordstroms and had a Cinnabon($4) (Husband's reward for letting me try on boots). At 8:30 we returned home. The kids were asleep! We paid the babysitter, put The Pursuit of Happyness in the DVD player and drank our beer.

I love date night!