Tyler vs. Brittany

The other day Brittany Spears' song "Womanizer" came on the radio while the boys and I were driving.  I usually change the channel as soon as that song comes on because I don't care for it, but for some reason I didn't that day and Tyler started paying attention.   It's strange to me that my kids are starting to listen to the music I listen to now, and sing along too.  I guess it never occurred to me that they wouldn't want to listen to "I've Been Workin' On the Railroad" forever.  But I digress...

So Tyler starts asking questions, as Tyler is wont to do.  He wanted to know what a womanizer is and I did my best to explain it on his level.  

Then he asked me what the word is for a "man~er~izer".  

I thought he was too young to learn the word "slut" so I changed the subject.  

Saturday Trip to the Museum

We had a short weekend this weekend because I was sick last week and had to make up work on Friday. It started off with a bang as we took Olivia to the vet for a checkup. As it turns out, she's in terrific health... except for one minor issue: she gets carsick! She throws up at least once in a 20 minute trip, if not twice. Transporting her in a pet carrier does not help her motion sickness. So my plans of taking her to work with me are quickly flying out the window. But that's Ok... she does great cooped up in the laundry room while we're gone, though she's REALLY excited to see us when we return.

On Saturday we went to the local Hawai'ian BBQ, to enjoy some Kahlua pork and spam musubi that we fell in love with while we were being wined and dined in Hawai'i this time last year. And we ended the day at the Denver Science and Nature Museum.

Here are some photos of our adventures...

The view behind us was phenomenal, but it was hazy and difficult to see the mountains behind us.

Every time we visit, the boys have to do the water and sand table.... their favorite!

Gavin dressed as an astronaut. He LOVES to dress up in costumes, but unfortunately this one was a wee bit too small for him!

They had a fun metal detector there, too.

Shawn barely escaped with his life!

The fan table is something we must do each time we go, too.

Tyler was building a monster that looks suspiciously like fish.

They love microscopes, too.

But this was the most entertaining part of all...

We had fun with the wall of mirrors.

We tried on the Reindeer ears to see if we could hear better.

We had a great view from the roof of the Denver skyline, but unfortunately it was too hazy to see the mountains clearly.

The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning and doing laundry and cooking for a neighbor who had a baby last week.

Hope you had a great weekend! :)

Random Thoughts

Did you get to watch yesterday?  I couldn't very well... a cross between a slow connection and a crappy operating system.  I caught bits and pieces on Rachel Maddow last night as well as a few youtube videos.  I'm feeling as optimistic as ever but realistic, too.  I think he's a fantastic man but realize that he's got a huge job ahead of him and with so much on his plate, I think we need to be patient.

But to me, this feels like the first day of the rest of my life.  I'm ready to push up my sleeves and get to work!

*****

Olivia came home yesterday.  She's a super sweet dog and 100% lap dog.  The cats don't dig her but I didn't expect they would.  The boys are crazy about her but she's not really playful like we'd expected a 6 month old pup to be.  Hopefully as she gets more comfortable here, she'll come out of her shell a bit.  

She's doing good with potty training so far... two tiny accidents, one of which I caught her mid stream and raced her outside to finish.  

Last night was a bit tough.  She didn't want to stay in her crate and barked for three hours.  We transferred her to the laundry room and she spent the rest of the night there, relatively quiet and content.  

I had a hard time sleeping with all the drama and my stomach is in knots as I wonder if we did the right thing getting another dog.  I hope with time it'll all be Ok... I feel like I owe it to Shawn and the boys to really give this a shot.  But somehow, I've got to be able to sleep at night.

*****

There are some kinks to work out, but it looks like I'll be working from home this summer.  At least for three of my four work days.  Shawn's trying to work out something with his work to take the 5th day off which will eliminate our need for day care for the summer, which I'm totally stoked about!

*****

The twins turned three last week.  It seems like a lifetime ago that I completed my first surrogacy journey.  My life has changed in so many ways (mostly for the better) since then.  The twins are doing awesome ~ I recently received photos from their dad.  They're absolutely beautiful and their family is just perfect.  I'm so thrilled to have been a part of it.

*****

I called in sick today to try to get some rest but I think a hot bath is in order first.  And maybe some tums for my tummy!

Happy Wednesday!

Dog Days of January

If you've been reading long, you may remember that we've tried our hand at dogs before.  We had one bad experience and then tried again.  Miyagi was a great dog in a lot of ways, but the timing was bad and being freshly pregnant, I wasn't thrilled about the constant one on one time he required, the messes he'd make, the camera he ate and being his sole caretaker while Shawn was at work and the kids were at school.  I was tired and cranky in my first trimester and it just wasn't an ideal situation for a dog.  We ended up finding a new home for him, which a Hispanic family who named him Paco.  I kept in touch with them for a bit and from everything I could tell, he was super happy there.

Ever since I found Miyagi a new home, Shawn and the boys have held out hope that one day we'd bring another dog into our family.  Gavin is not keen on the idea of a big, barky, loud dog.  Shawn wanted one that was friendly and happy to see us.  Tyler has fallen in love with almost every cute dog we've seen at the local animal shelter, where we've periodically dropped by.

Before we went to Indiana for the holidays, Tyler and I found a sweet lil girl Pug at the shelter that we liked but again, the timing wasn't right.  I've been determined to make a responsible decision if/when we did decide to adopt another dog because I want to be able to keep the next one for the rest of its life.  I promised Tyler if she was still there when we returned, we'd look into adopting her.  But of course, she was gone.

While we were at home, my mom's dog, Lucy, really hit it off with Shawn.  We also met a couple other cool dogs that we really liked.  The more we thought and talked about it, the more convinced we were that we were ready to give it another shot.

So last weekend, when we were visiting the shelter, we found a 6 month old female Pekingese.  I'm guessing she's pure bred, but she was a stray so we have no way of knowing for sure.  She's super sweet, playful and has a really pleasant disposition.  We got on the "hold list" but were number two.  The next day, we got a call saying the Rescue that had been on the number one spot switched places with us so if her owner didn't claim her, she was ours.  We waited a few more days and her original owner never showed, so Shawn went and adopted her last week.  Unfortunately, we can't take her home until after she's spayed, so we have to wait a few more days.   She should be moving in next Tuesday, though.

I had a video ready to insert here but it isn't working for some reason... so you'll have to wait for pictures.  She's one of those dogs that's so ugly they're cute!  And she "smiles", too.

As long as she doesn't start eating the cats, we're determined to make it work this time.  Hopefully she's as great as we think she is!  We have named her Olivia... which was the girl name we'd picked out just in case, but never got a chance to use.

*****

I know I owe you a glasses picture now that I have them... And holy crap ~ I never knew how bad my eyes were!  I'm going to ask Shawn to take one tonight so I can share.

Thanks for still reading ~ sorry it's a pain in the ass now!

The How

One of my oldest, dearest friends that I've known as far back as 1st grade is now living in Brisbane, Australia. Her job is to look through ads trying to find potential clients for yellow page listings. It was she who came across a realtor's ad that had our family portrait on it. She called me right away to tell me what she'd discovered and scanned the print ad, too, so I could see it.

Our guess is that the advertising company who actually designed the ad for the realtor did a search and found the photo because of how I named it (really generic Family3 or something like that). I don't currently have anything on my blog saying that my content is copyrighted, so there was no reason to think my photographer and I owned the prints, I suppose.

While I wouldn't be opposed to our photos maybe being used WITH our permission, the fact that it was done behind our backs just completely took me aback.

Again, as far as I know, no harm has been done but you never know what could happen if you aren't being careful as some of the comments on the prior post remind me.

Thanks for the invite requests... I'm flattered that so many of you are interested in continuing to visit here. I plan on making the switch by this weekend.

See you on the flip side! :)

In Search of Privacy

I've recently discovered that the photo of my family at the bottom of this page has been used in advertisements in Brisbane, Australia.  I've contacted the owner of the print ad and have asked him to remove our picture, but the whole idea of a private family photo being mailed out to thousands of households in Australia just leaves me unsettled.  I never thought personal photos from my blog might be used and while so far no harm has been done that I can tell, I just don't feel comfortable with this revelation.

I have used this blog for a personal record of events in our lives as well as a way to keep in contact with friends and family that we are not able to see on a regular basis.  While I have enjoyed "meeting" new people that I wouldn't have otherwise had contact with if not for my blog, the need for privacy is becoming more urgent because of this new discovery I've made.

So in a few days, I'm going to make this blog private.  I will send invitations to those of you who are interested in continuing with us on our journey so that you will have access to this spot.  If you'd like me to send you an invitation, please email me at joyfish01@gmail.com and as long as you're not some creepy realtor in Australia that has used my photo without my permission, I promise to send an invite.  

Oh, and by the way, this isn't just my lame way of getting the lurkers to come out... I've been contemplating this for awhile.  Ever since I started following my stats on google analytics, truth be told, and discovered that I have very regular readers that have never introduced themselves.  Regardless, don't be scared to delurk here and let me know you're reading.  I promise not to bite.  

You wouldn't want to miss out on our next adventure: puppy adoption!! :)  More to come... 

Mammoth Sneeze

Last night we took the boys to their (and our) first Colorado Mammoth game. Lacrosse is a sport none of us knew anything about... But tickets are relatively affordable and it sounded like a fun family night out. It turned out to be a good choice! The game itself was won by the other team but all the drama that comes along with the game just added to the excitement.

Motorcycles! A cool mascot! Cheerleaders! Fireworks! A funny announcer! A halftime show with dogs having relay races! And a hot tub filled with bikini clad women!? The boys were mesmerized.

Gavin was really getting into the game... He'd scream when the Mammoth scored a goal and BOO!! when the Jumberjax scored. He also enjoyed all the treats that were available... donuts! churros! popcorn! ice cream! nachos! It was hard to decide.

I think we made a bad impression on the people sitting in front of us... I did my best to keep the boys feet off the seat in front of them but there were a couple times that they slipped. The worst, though, was the sneeze.

Gavin was sitting on my lap, as it was easier for him to see the game there. He was happily munching on some mini donuts, which is a rare treat... as you may recall. It was loud in the arena so I didn't hear the sneeze. I did, however, see the guy in front of us turn around and glare at Gavin for a brief second. Only then, did I realize what had happened. Gavin had sneezed on him.

The worst part, though, was the little tiny chunks of chewed up donut that had landed on the back of the guy's head during the course of the sneeze.

He didn't realize he had leavin's in his hair while we were there... and we didn't stay much longer after that. I didn't have the heart to tell him or attempt to wipe them off, figuring we'd done enough damage for one game. And I wasn't in the mood to get my ass kicked that night...

Four Eyes

I think he's just the handsomest guy ever!

He also lost another tooth.

And guess what? I have an astigmatism. I noticed I was having a hard time with distance and thought I'd have my eyes checked. And in 7~10 business days, I'll have my new glasses, too. After dropping $182 for them (after our insurance paid a bunk chunk), I'm wishing I hadn't made an appointment!

Hello 2009!

I am not sure I've been this excited for the upcoming year on New Year's Day.  

Our holidays were fantastic.  We got just what we wanted and then some.  Shawn, being the expert present picker outer that he is, got the things I'd asked for and surprised me with some goodies I never would have.  Goodies like front row tickets to Phantom of the Opera, which will be here in March.... followed by a stay at the Brown Palace Hotel.  We haven't stayed at that hotel before but every president has, since it was built.  

We got home last night from Indiana, the magical place filled with grandparents, cousins and endless entertainment.  We had a really lovely visit and it was wonderful to spend time with the people we love most!  Our whole week was filled with visits and entertainment so we arrived back in Denver tired, fat and happy.  Unfortunately, we were too busy having fun to take many pictures, so I don't really have anything good to share.

Mom's still doing Ok and it was good to spend time with her and see that for myself.  She is still having occasional chest pains that they think is indigestion from the medication she's taking.  I think she's on the mend and we tried to make sure she got as much rest as possible while we were there, though she doesn't like to rest much.

In other news, Tyler's getting glasses!  We should be able to pick them up tomorrow.  His eyes are bad enough that he wouldn't pass a driving test (assuming he were 16).  He's excited to get them and he looks very handsome and smart when he's wearing them.  And to top it off, he lost another tooth tonight!  

I really do think this is going to be a good year.  I'm filled with hope for our future here in our immediate family and for our country as well.  Here's what I'm feeling optimistic about (in no particular order):

* finally getting back into my size 8's.  I've made little progress since November.

* continuing to build our savings account after finally paying off all of our credit card debt in 2008... and using some of that money for:

* our first family vacation to Disney World!  I've been several times but Gavin never has and we took Tyler when he was merely 7 months old.  Somehow I think the 7 years that have passed will make a big difference in his enjoyment level

* my relationship with Shawn... while we were in Indiana my Grammy made a comment about us acting like newly weds.  I think that might have been the nicest thing she's ever said to me.  Truth is, we do act like newly weds.  Our relationship has had normal ebbs and flows, but right now for some reason we're just crazy about each other.   

* the economy improving and life getting easier on everyone because of it.  I know Obama won't be a miracle worker but I really think things will improve because of him.

* the beginning of troop withdrawal in Iraq.  I'm so ready for this war to be over.

* sledding and snow tubing all winter and hiking all summer.  Swimming, playing at the park and spending time with friends.  

Happy New Year!  What are you looking forward to this year?