Indy the Gardener

Many of our neighbors in the apartment complex have planted flowers and hung wind-chimes to beautify our buildings for the summer. Indiana is such a "fixture" in the neighborhood that he is allowed by nearly everyone to touch and smell their flowers. Many of our neighbors will even come out to visit with him and jangle their wind-chimes for him to marvel over.

Happy Child

Ever have one of those days when having one shoe on and one shoe off is totally fine? When playing on the floor with dad's shoes is pretty darn cool? When lunch is served to you and its all groovy to you? Indy loves those days. So do I.

NW Racing Faces Loss

Fred Brownfield, best known in the Northwest for his promotion of the Northern Sprint Tour, and also his hard work at the speedway in Elma, was killed last Friday night. He was struck by a "modified" car. For the full story... Click Here. (that will link you to the full news article from the Olympian newspaper from Olympia, Washington)

Racing in the Pacific Northwest will never be the same.

Cute

Indiana does so much cute stuff, its hard to know where to start.
He has started getting the pots pans and colanders out of the cupboard and wearing them.

He isn't always perfect, but then, who among us is.

Boys will be boys...

Duck has been hanging out lately. It is so awesome. Indy likes his brother a lot. Indy sneaks across to where his brother is occupied with video games, grabs hold of him and giggles! Man these boys are beautiful.

it is that time of year again

Happy Birthday, Mom.

Confidential

Indy and I were watching one of our favorite morning shows, Sesame Street this morning. When I was a small child my favorite character was Snuffaluffagus (He used to be Big Bird's invisible friend). He has been visible for probably twenty years but this morning he was not. Why? Because the thing that makes him visible was broken. What keeps him visible? His magic ukulele. I am not making this up. Anyways, I guess I know TWO ukulele playing New Yorkers....

Life Saver

I got sick. I am terrified of getting sick again. I haven't been sick in a while, so the trip to the hospital was rather daunting, but finally we went. Thankfully after an IV of fluids and two doses of drugs to curb symptoms I was released to go home. If I get worse, I go back, but in just two days I already feel better. Seems it is just some virus and there has been no enlarging of my lymph glands. Thank heaven for small wonders.
Chris stayed home with me, to watch over me, just in case. What really helped though, was Indy's babysitter. She came and kept Indy entertained most of the day. She is such a wonderful girl. I didn't know that teenage girls could be both pretty and nice, but this one is. Anyways, I am feeling much better.

Part of a balanced diet...

Every growing boy needs fuel. Ours prefers spray can cheese. Straight.
Actually, Indiana's diet is awesome. He eats anything that gets near his mouth. To test this theory, well, I let him try everything. This includes dry dog food. Sad, but true. The neighbor had a baggy of dog food sitting out on their porch while Indy and I were visiting. Indy HAD to try it. We finally hid the bag after he "woofed down" his fourth piece, without showing signs of stopping.

Hard Day's Night

We got up early yesterday and had such a long busy day that Indy missed his nap. Around about 7pm, I came into the living room and all was quiet. When I looked for Indy, I found him sitting on the sofa, sound asleep. A peaceful evening ensued, since Indiana didn't get up again until morning!

Strolling Along

Indiana loves strolling through the zoo. It amazes me that other parents of small children will stop us to tell us how beautiful Indiana is. He enjoys being out of doors, and it shows!

Pictures

Pictures may be forthcoming! I borrowed my moms old digital camera (her Kodak) and took some pictures while we were at the zoo today. Mom has an awesome new Cannon Digital Camera that I am afraid of even looking at, let alone touching or using, but I LOVE her old one. I want to get one like it when we buy our new camera. Anyways, The wonderful-husband-type-person hasn't put the "dock and all that software stuff" in to the computer yet, so I am unable as yet to post the pictures from the zoo today.

I fully intend to badger him tomorrow until he gets it in so I can post a new picture of Indy!

Sweet

Dakota has been by three times this week! He has been playing Grand Theft Auto San Andreas with Chris and today he and his dad rented Liberty Cities for the PS2, so he came by to show us the game. We hadn't seen it yet, but I think that GTA:SA was better. I don't actually play the games, but I watch and that was my thought.

Indiana got to meet the neighbors granddaughter today. Her name is Mao and she is 4 years old. Her mother was at the hospital today for a scheduled cesarean section. Mao had a new baby brother this afternoon. His name is Adrian, and he will be coming home on Monday. She is very excited. She liked showing Indy how to play with this toy or that, and then tell us all that soon she will be teaching her baby brother these things.

Tomorrow we head to the zoo! We are taking Indy's babysitter with us on the trip, since she hasn't been there. I am aghast at some people who have never taken their children out of this town. No plays, no zoos, no museums, never even a trip to the beach. I am so glad this girl has come into Indy's life. We will be good for her, gallivanting across the state the way we do, and she is Excellent for Indy.

6 Things about ME!

So, I sat down at the computer and stared at my blank blogger screen and thought... I don't have a thing to say today. So, I decided to visit my blogroll and hope something came to mind. Luckily for me, Hoss, that old horse-tail snake, gave me inspiration.

SO here it is... 6 things about me.

1) I weigh more right now than I ever have before in my life. Yes, that even includes while I was pregnant. Yes, I have a problem with it. No, I am not actively doing anything about it.

2) I am allergic to marijuana smoke. My doctor, and the one at the ER who (along with a wonderful crew of paramedics) saved my life, said that allergies like mine can develop from prolonged exposure to an irritant. My allergy was discovered at a party several years after I had stopped using the substance. Several Party-Goers smoking marijuana exposed me to enough of the smoke to send me, via ambulance, to Emanuel Hospital where it took over 4 hours to get my heart back into a normal rhythm and to reduce the swelling in my throat enough for me to breath on my own. Some have called that poetic justice.

3) I have been quoted as saying that "if I have another child, I will name it Desmond or Molly" (because the child's last name would be Jones). Not very many people get that joke... Even when I tell them the last name thing. Be honest, do you get it?

4) I knew I was a full blown grown-up the day I had a twenty minute phone conversation about "which dish soap works better as a pre wash for dishes before you put them in the dishwasher" with my best friend. I enjoyed that conversation.

5) I live in my hometown and am happy about it. When I was growing up I couldn't wait to get out. When I was in my twenties I left my small town for the nearby city(s). I tried Portland, I tried Seattle, I tried San Diego; in the end, I am happiest living right here, in the small town I couldn't wait to leave.

6) I like me. There were times in my life when I did not. In fact, most of my life, I did not. I had a lot of trouble coming up with 6 things about me that might be interesting enough to blog. I like that my life is so mellow and even that finding 6 things that other people might want to read is difficult. Too much "drama" is for losers.

(this post took me an hour to write!)

Hostess?

mostly I needed a safe place to host this picture long term, but honestly... Isn't my spouse a fine looking guy!?! Several people have mentioned to me, not only here on the blog, but out in the real world things to the effect of ... "WOW, how did YOU get HIM!?!"

Brilliance...

Today, I ran out of the bathroom, rubber ducky in hand bragging to Chris that our son is brilliant! Now, when he sees the duck, he smiles and shouts "QUACK, QUACK!" The reason this impresses me so much is that we have never done the quack quack thing with that duck. He learned that ducks go quack from a book with a picture of a duck and he associated it on his own. SO, yep, brilliant. He still sticks his hands in the toilet if you don't close the lid, but nobody's perfect.

The Alphabet Game

So I was cruising my blogroll, and missing the Pirate. I visited a friend of his, Oregon Celtic Lady, and not only did she let me know that the Pirate is just really busy lately and has no time to blog... She is also playing a game. I LOVE games (especially now when I don't have pictures to post of Indiana).

here's the game: She gave me a letter. I have to come up with 10 words starting with this letter. Not just any words though. No. That would be too easy. The words have to be meaningful to me. And, I have to explain why. She gave me the letter B, and instructions to hand out letters to anyone who leaves a comment that wants to play along. Here Goes:

1) B is for BOYS! This one was so obvious! My boys are both, in their own very special ways, the best thing ever to happen to me.

2) B is for Beauty! Not just the beauty all around us, but the hard road my husband has been down, trying to convince me that I am still worthy of the epithet "beautiful". He tells me everyday that I am still beautiful, regardless of how much I weigh. I believe him now. It wasn't always easy.

3) B is for Backyardigans! Backyardigans is a great pre-k show on Nick Jr. That Indy and I watch everyday. Its a great great show with music and values. Backyardigans is exactly what a kids show should be.

4) B is for Basketball! Dakota has been playing Basketball since kindergarten. I love to watch his games. Whether he wins or loses, scores 200 points or just 2, I am so proud of him.

5) B is for Baby! My old friend Philip and his wife just had Baby Boy! last week. They named him Brock Walter.

6) B is for Bread-winner! (or bacon... He brings it home!) Since I have become a stay at home mom, working only part time from home, I no longer bring home the bacon. Indy's dad is the bread-winner now. It is one of the many things I love and respect him for.

7) B is for Bose! (I am really reaching for words here, but C'mon, B is hard..). We bought a Bose system for our big screen. It has such incredible sound that now, my neighbors can sit in their homes and listen to whatever I am watching.

8) B is for Brilliant! I am firmly convinced that both of my sons are Brilliant. Nothing will ever convince me otherwise. A wise old friend of mine is quoted as saying "Every crow thinks his own is the blackest" (Thanks Mike). Mine are.

9) B is for Balance! We strive very hard in our family for balance. We try valiantly to achieve harmony and peace in our home. That may sound weird, and I can't really explain what I mean, but there it is.

10) B is for Zoe and the runaway Ball! Someone thought that the alphabet books from sesame Street would be a good gift for Indiana. He agrees. His favorite is Zoe and the Runaway Ball. He will smack me with the book if I don't take it and read it right away when he tries to hand it to me. I have it (and a few other of his favorite books) memorized so that I can keep reading even when his little head is in the way.