Mommy's Vacation

I went to the Women's retreat near Santa Cruz through our church this past weekend. It was great to get away for two nights! Of course, I didn't sleep much because we were a bunch of mommys who could actually have a conversation without being asked for more food or to be picked up or anything else. When I returned, I was downloading some pictures from the camera that Tony had here at the house .... here's a photo of Michael over the weekend. This was taken after they had spent the day out in the backyard digging holes for posts and cementing them in. Tony says he ate a little bit of bark, a little dirt and a little bit of cement. But he had fun! I don't want to know if Tony washed Michael's hands before he fed him!

During our "free time" at the retreat, we had the option of going on the ropes course ... so my friend Melissa and I were trying to decide if we should do it. I wanted to do it, but didn't want to be the only one from our group doing it. I was a little concerned when the guy told us that it wasn't their most strenuous course, but it was their highest course. So, Melissa said "I'll only do it if you do it". To which I responded, "okay, let's do it". While we were hiking up the hill, Melissa said "I'm only doing this because you are doing this and I'm so competetive that I just agreed" and then I told her "that's exactly why I'm doing it!" We just looked at each other and said "what were we thinking!!!????" So here are some pictures of us/me on the course. Man, when I did these things in my early 20's I wasn't bothered by the way I looked in a harness!!

Waiting our turn to climb. See that cargo net in the background? That's what you climb up, NOT ATTACHED to anything to get up to the rest of the course.

This is the part where I had to straddle the board and hook myself onto the tree so I could get to the rope bridge for the next section of the course.

Here's the balance beam part ... they suggested we go across not holding onto anything, yea, right! The only thing to hold onto was the rope connecting my harness to the cable above, but I wasn't crazy enough to think I have that good of balance! The guy did make me sit and swing in the harness there though, and then I had to get back to standing on the beam ... I guess it really was just a telephone pole.

I'm actually standing on a cable here and walking across it with just a loose rope to hold onto. I figured that the only way that rope was going to be of any use to me was if it was taught ... so I had to lean forward a bit to do that and then just slide my feet along the cable.

This is when I found the true meaning of "tree hugger". I was told to stay on that platform until the person in front of me got across the next cable. I had no intention of standing there without holding onto something.

The final portion of the course was the zip line. This is me jumping off ... like how the guy looks like he's pushing me??? I think he was doing that because he told me to just lean forward and go ... if I leaned backward I might have hit my head on the platform as I fell downward waiting for the slack in my rope to go away. I thought it was pretty funny that the person taking the pictures actually caught this with the camera and got the guy "pushing" me!

All Done. This is me suspended in the air after the zip line ...

So, after we did the ropes course Melissa and I went on a hike and then we found the super slide at the retreat center. It's a really long, windy water slide set up on the side of the mountain. They don't put water in it, but you go down on a burlap sack. It was a blast! We would go down it and then run (yes, I said run!) back up the hill to go down again and again. We were like two kids in the world's largest, bestest park ever! My body didn't stop hurting until just yesterday! (3 days later)

She's Back!

Yes, That's Echo. She's visiting us while my parents are back in New Jersey seeing their new granddaughter. NO! My mom hasn't stopped asking for a granddaughter from me ... she says it's not the same if the granddaughter doesn't live nearby. Whatever.

Anyway, this is the "woof woof" "Uh Go" as Michael likes to call her. She's behind the gate during a lot of the day, unless she's outside. Michael is too much "in love" with her and wants to go up and touch her face. It makes me nervous when he gets his face down close to hers because she doesn't like it when kids do that. She's been fine with him, but I don't need to have something go wrong before I just keep them separated when I can't keep a close eye on the two.

I know this picture is a little blurry, but the look was cute!

Can We Sell It On Ebay Mommy???

We've had a clogged shower drain for a REALLY LONG TIME. Months and months. We tried a lot of things to unplug it, none of it worked. So tonight, my son-of-a-plumber husband got the snake out and ran it down the drain. We've decided that Cousin It was living down there! "Do you think we could sell it on Ebay?" Tony said as he pulled the large chunk out. Michael was standing there saying "oooohhhhh" while he did. Caution ... gross picture is below. Tony is now cleaning the bathtub ... hopefully with lots and lots of bleach or something to sanitize the thing!!!

I guess this is what I get for 10 years of losing hair and not cleaning the thing out, huh?

Thanks for listening to my gross story ... I couldn't pass up the chance to share it with the world. You'll notice that I threw in a couple pictures of Michael "helping" so I could justify posting this story!

Oh Mommy, it's so gross I think I'm going to throw up!

Laughter

My Mom just sent me this picture ... I think it makes us all laugh. He's such a happy boy. This is pretty much how he is during most of the day, unless he hasn't had a nap! I haven't posted anything lately because I've been sick and just getting myself out of bed and off the couch has been a chore on most days. When I have done something, it's been getting out of the house so Michael can go see people and things ... so I've stayed away from the house so I can ignore the mess that is happening! My "maid" didn't show up while I was gone, so things have piled up around here. I'm feeling better now, so maybe I'll start getting some things done, and be my own maid.

Michael's First Haircut

We went to Cousin TJ's birthday party today ... he turned 15! ... and decided to have Grandma cut Michael's hair. (since TJ was more interested in hanging out in his room with friends instead of hanging out with us) Yes, I'm a cheap mom! I decided that as long as we took pictures and saved a bit of his hair, it would be as good as paying the $15 (or whatever it costs!) to get it done "professionally". He did a very good job of staying still so Grandma could cut ... it didn't hurt that Grandpa was making silly noises and faces while he took the pictures.

Funny story for the day ... I was in the kitchen and Tony was working on his computer. Michael was quietly playing, which should have clued us in. We both noticed at the same time that he was standing on what we call his "snack table" .. it's really just a small square coffee table we use for him to put his toys on and put his cheerios on. He had a huge smile on his face as if to say "look at me! I'm king of the table!" I so badly wanted to laugh and take a picture, but realized that would only encourage him to continue climbing up there. So he got punished and we kept our eyes on him until he decided to become obsessed with a toy... which didn't take long since his attention span is very short! But, I guess the climbing has begun. I'm sure he'll be climbing on the table many more times in the future ... I just hope he doesn't break his neck before he learns that it's not okay to get on the table! Notice the blue empty box he's standing on to help him climb!

Okay, so I included this picture just because it's cute. But I'm not biased! My mom took the picture because she has been desperately trying to get a good picture of his face so she can blow it up into an 8X10 for her picture wall.

Michael's Birthday Part 2

It's been a while since I've put up Michael stories ... we've been busy with getting new teeth and getting shots at the Doctor. It seems we get through one molar tooth coming in and then we're on to another tooth. I think he's working on two bottom teeth now... oh joy! Anyway, Tony was out of town for the week after Michael's birthday and Michael was a perfect little angel! He went down easily for naps and at bedtime ... then the day Tony came home, he stopped sleeping well and it was all over! I think it was just a way the Lord blessed me while Tony wasn't able to be here to help at night. I actually thought "man, this is easy this time". So ... I'm telling you all of this because we haven't really had any fun stories to share ... just horror stories, and no one wants to hear those! Hopefully these teeth will come quickly and he'll be back to his normal funny self.


Here are some pictures of Michael's birthday cake at Grandma and Grandpa Brower's house. When we put it in front of him, he knew exactly what it was so said "more! more! more!". He was a happy little boy. Notice, the first thing he did was get all the frosting off of the cake!











And now the pictures of him opening a gift. He pulled out the bubbles all by himself. Then he saw that there was more in the bag ...

Michael's First Birthday

This is what happens when Michael is in charge of his own Easter egg. It didn't rattle like the plastic eggs with quarters in them, so he threw it on the ground and walked away. When he walked away, he stepped on it. Hmm.

After telling everyone she didn't want to have to be "in charge" of Michael while opening his gifts ... Great Aunt Lisa was "chosen" by Michael to be in the middle of it all.

And his first, first birthday cake. We had another cake at Grandma Maria's house, but we'll post those pictures later. I don't want to sound like a bad mommy, but we left the camera in the car at Grandma Maria's. So fortunately she got some pictures and is sending them to me.

He wasn't quite sure what to think of the cake until he got it in his mouth. Then he had fun. After only a few minutes though, he announced that he was "all done".

The new play table Lisa and Larry gave Michael ...

And last, but not least .... the gift that was in the box that drove me nuts for a week!!!! It's a Mickey Mouse airplane toy. He loves hiding things in the seat that flips up. I'm sure there will be a morning when I'll smell the sippy cup of milk he puts in there! Every once in a while, he hits a button that starts the propeller and he gets a little nervous about that. He tells it "all done!" and thinks it should turn off at his command.

Mac N Cheese Hair Gel

Yes, he used the macaroni and cheese as hairgel! I guess he was right when he announced that he was "all done!". This is the reason I don't bother to bathe him until the night before Easter!!!! (after he eats dinner) If I give him a bath today, he'll just do this to himself tomorrow ... and I don't have time to bathe him two days in a row!

What!!!????

The Mess

Am I doomed to be tortured, or what???? After dinner tonight, we were sitting at the table while Michael was wandering in the room. He finally noticed the large gift sitting on the couch. He started tugging at the paper and found that it came off! So we watched for a while as he tore off piece by piece ... slowly .... and in very small pieces! He was so excited every time he got a piece off, it was hilarious. At some point, he took a break and came over to us ... then we smelled the poopy diaper. Game over. And I STILL don't know what the gift is ... it's in a box that doesn't tell me! I guess I'll have to put a bug in his ear tomorrow night and get him to tear some more paper!

Like Father, Like Son .... need I say more?

this is Jim (Tony's Dad)...

Surprises ...

Lots of "exciting" things happening here ... it seems like it's been a while since I've posted pictures so I have several to post!

We've had some problems with the neighbors behind us watering ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT LONG!!! They have their "garden" in the back corner of their yard which is where Tony is in this picture (back along the fence). Tony has a plan for changes in the yard that will essentially push the water back into their yard rather than flooding our yard and having the water flow out through our front yard. And I mean FLOW out our front yard. It's like a river flowing out into the street! I think they got our message when I called them at 8am on Saturday morning to inform the homeowner that they are once again flooding our yard. It's her elderly father who is doing the watering, so she was surprised when I informed her that this was the 3rd time this week he has left the water on all night. I asked her not to let him water for a couple days last weekend because we were trying to do some work in our yard but couldn't because there is so much water. They haven't watered since Saturday. Okay, now that I've "vented", Michael couldn't stand being inside while his Daddy was playing outside so here he is walking toward his Daddy to "help" him.

Aunt Jenny came over the other night and brought her bag ... Michael promptly took off with carrying it around the house. It's his new "man purse"! Tony will kill me for saying that ... so nobody tell him! ha ha!

While we were printing something for Aunt Jenny, the printer started smelling like it was going to catch on fire. So Tony started taking it apart to fix it. He had a very interested helper. There were several times when Michael would "crouch" down and look at the printer just like his Daddy was doing ... my camera wouldn't take pictures quickly enough to really catch that.

I LOVE surprises! Only I don't like to wait. UPS showed up at our door today with a huge box. It said it was for Michael. I thought, "well his birthday is in a couple weeks so maybe that's what it's for". It's from the McGaughy's in Fresno (Brower family friends) so I thought I'd wait to open the box until Tony got home from work. My intention was to completely open the box ... whatever was inside would be opened too. Michael doesn't know that it's not his birthday yet. He probably won't know it's his birthday when it really is! So, Tony comes home and after dinner we decide to open the box. The above pictures show what was inside the box. Tony takes the shipping box and puts it in the garage and walks away. I said "aren't we going to open it?" He says "what is today's date?". Darn. It's not the 23rd yet and I can't open it. BUT IT'S KILLING ME! I NEED to know what's inside. Again, I LOVE surprises ... even when they aren't for me! So ... I'm going to be TORTURED and have to look at this wrapped gift until Easter morning when it's finally Michael's birthday and he gets to open it. Of course, he's very happy with the wrapping here .... he has no idea how much fun it is to unwrap gifts! So McGaughy's, if you read this ... thank you very much for sending Michael whatever it is you sent him and for wrapping it so nicely (I can't even peek to see what it is) and having the fun curly thingies on top (Michael loves that part). I will enjoy looking at this wrapped gift for a bit and will probably have dreams about what it might be ... I do know what it is NOT ... a real-life toddler sized quad outfitted with a really cool engine to race Dylan at the beach! I do know that I am looking forward to watching Michael open his gift on his birthday and that I will be a more patient woman in the end for waiting. Tony even told me I could peek if I needed to ... but then I felt really guilty and knew it would ruin the whole thing! So now I'm determined to be good and not peek.

The Bubba Dance

Here's a video of Michael dancing ... careful, I had to hold the camera and dance with him so you might experience a little motion sickness! He's much more hilarious to watch in person doing this ... when he doesn't know anyone is watching, he gets more into the dancing.

It's March! You know what that means? Grandma and Grandpa Brower come home this month! Yay! I decided to try to get some good video of Michael to post today so the Browers could see more recent video ... for some reason, he's decided not to be his normal silly self when he knows the camera is on him! I'm posting a few videos ... but it will be much more fun to see him in person!