Have you ever thought about your twin family? Somewhere out there is that other family with exactly the same names. Come on, some where in this wide world there has to be another couple named Jared and Naomi, and they have a daughter named Sophia. This is a big world. I wonder where they live? What they are like? If they truly exist. Are they African? European? Australian? Or do they live two blocks over? I don't have much hope of ever meeting our twin family. Twin famlies are really good at hiding.
Now, of course, I am talking about something completely different than name twins. Name twins are much easier to find. In fact, when we lived in Richfield several years ago, my dad found his name twin. He only lived 4 blocks away, and they kept getting eachothers mail! Small world? Well in the area of name twins, yes.
Have you ever found your name twin? Or even more impressively, your twin family?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
I'm Tired
I am tired.
Sophia, Poppy and I are all contributing to my fatigue.
Sophia= Sicky bear. She has been having a rough couple of days (and nights), and has been my Little Miss Crankypuss. She frequently awakens at night. Yesterday, she was fighting off her cold big time and ended up sleeping ALL DAY, and so last night was playtime. :(
Poppy= Need I even explain how Poppy is contributing? I am growing a human. Enough said.
Me= We are moving. In two days. I have been staying up all night with Sophia. Packing. Organizing. Labeling. Cooking. Cleaning. Blogging. It takes a lot out of ya.
I am very excited to move, and be done with it. I look forward to being settled in at Gary's for the year, and not having to think about packing anymore! I hate moving. It is a lot of work. Especially while also caring for a 4 month old, and brewin' another. So, yes, I am tired. Caffeine would be my best friend, but not Poppy's, and my devotion lies with me kids.
Okay. I am done whining.
Thankfully, Cara and Josh are stocking us up on boxes, and Mom and Dad are coming to help us pack this weekend. Yipee! Thank goodness for friends and family!
Sophia, Poppy and I are all contributing to my fatigue.
Sophia= Sicky bear. She has been having a rough couple of days (and nights), and has been my Little Miss Crankypuss. She frequently awakens at night. Yesterday, she was fighting off her cold big time and ended up sleeping ALL DAY, and so last night was playtime. :(
Poppy= Need I even explain how Poppy is contributing? I am growing a human. Enough said.
Me= We are moving. In two days. I have been staying up all night with Sophia. Packing. Organizing. Labeling. Cooking. Cleaning. Blogging. It takes a lot out of ya.
I am very excited to move, and be done with it. I look forward to being settled in at Gary's for the year, and not having to think about packing anymore! I hate moving. It is a lot of work. Especially while also caring for a 4 month old, and brewin' another. So, yes, I am tired. Caffeine would be my best friend, but not Poppy's, and my devotion lies with me kids.
Okay. I am done whining.
Thankfully, Cara and Josh are stocking us up on boxes, and Mom and Dad are coming to help us pack this weekend. Yipee! Thank goodness for friends and family!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Our Family Valentines
Daddy knows how to treat his girls on Valentines Day!
He surprised both his girls with beautiful flowers (see Sophia's? She is holding hers so nice!)
Sophia is showing me her pretty flower from daddy.
Sophia is such a big girl and holding her pretty flower so nice. She said is smells really yummy too, but does not taste very good.
Sophia wanted her flower tucked into her long, flowing locks. Then she wanted to help me display my flowers for Daddy! Such a little woman already;)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Lexus Shmexus PART II
When we bought the car, we were getting 21 mpg (according to the digital display in our luxury vehicle). Over the past 9 months, that number has slowly been declining. It is now at 17.6 mpg. Jared has also been noticing a rather disturbing increase in oil consumption. So we brought it in to have it diagnosed. They gave her an oil change, and filled 'er up, then told us to come back in 1,000 miles to see how much oil we had lost. When we came back, the oil wasn't even registering on the dipstick anymore (their oil changes are guaranteed for 5,000 miles)! They dug around in the engine and came back to us with the report that we should replace the short block (the heart of the engine) and that it would only cost us $9,500 (about how much we still owe on it)!!!
Now, hold up. This is a frickin' LEXUS that has 73,000 miles, and an impecable service history? You're serious? There is NO WAY the engine should be bad. We are not paying for that. You should, Lexus. You stand behind your name? Stand behind it now and deal with this. Their only suggestion was to call corporate Lexus and see what they would do for us. That call began the biggest game of pingpong (us being the ball) I have ever played. Jared called one guy and they would tell him he had to call this girl. He would call that girl, and she said it wasn't her decision and he should call this guy. Back and forth, on and on for three weeks now. Finally last week, Jared gathered names and phone numbers of managers and manager's managers. He made at least a dozen phone calls. Nothing. So we stopped by Lexus to confront them face to face. Once again, they told him it was not their decision. He did, however, finally find out whose decision it was, and called her. After three calls, and an email from the Maplewood service manager, this lady finally called Jared back and said they were reviewing the case and she would DEFINATELY call in two days. That was over a week ago. She has promised to call three times now, and has never yet called.
Somehow this blows just about everything Wikipedia said in the description of Lexus.
Reliablilty? What's that?
Dependability? I don't think so!
Customer service? YEAH RIGHT.
Now, hold up. This is a frickin' LEXUS that has 73,000 miles, and an impecable service history? You're serious? There is NO WAY the engine should be bad. We are not paying for that. You should, Lexus. You stand behind your name? Stand behind it now and deal with this. Their only suggestion was to call corporate Lexus and see what they would do for us. That call began the biggest game of pingpong (us being the ball) I have ever played. Jared called one guy and they would tell him he had to call this girl. He would call that girl, and she said it wasn't her decision and he should call this guy. Back and forth, on and on for three weeks now. Finally last week, Jared gathered names and phone numbers of managers and manager's managers. He made at least a dozen phone calls. Nothing. So we stopped by Lexus to confront them face to face. Once again, they told him it was not their decision. He did, however, finally find out whose decision it was, and called her. After three calls, and an email from the Maplewood service manager, this lady finally called Jared back and said they were reviewing the case and she would DEFINATELY call in two days. That was over a week ago. She has promised to call three times now, and has never yet called.
Somehow this blows just about everything Wikipedia said in the description of Lexus.
Reliablilty? What's that?
Dependability? I don't think so!
Customer service? YEAH RIGHT.
Lexus Shmexus
Lexus:
Since its debut in 1989, Lexus has developed a reputation for the luxury and reliability of its vehicles, along with the quality of its customer service. In 2007, consumer ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates named Lexus the most reliable brand in the U.S. based on its Vehicle Dependability Survey, a measure of over 53,000 vehicle owners and the problems they experienced in the first three years of vehicle ownership. It was the thirteenth consecutive year that Lexus achieved this top rating. In recent years, Consumer Reports has also named Lexus among the top five most reliable brands in its Annual Car Reliability Surveys of over one million vehicles nationwide. -Wikipedia
These were the expectations we held when we researched cars every single day for TWO MONTHS last year. We even subscribed to Consumer Reports to get their take on who was making the most reliable car. Jared wanted to buy a car that would run for years to come, give us minimal problems, be very reliable, and very safe for baby and me. Lexus fit the bill in every way. We heard stories from people and the amazing qualities of a Lexus. Consumer Reports gave us rave reviews. Co-workers firmly stood behind the Lexus name. We were sold. So we bought our very own amazing Lexus. We were so sold on Lexus that Jared even flew to Michigan to pick it up, and drive it home. We bought a beautiful RX300, with 63,000 miles on it and a sparkling clean service history. We bought it from an older couple, so we assume it was treated pretty well. This car was perfect. Every oil change had been done at a Lexus dealership. The service history records couldn't be cleaner.
We have owned it now for 9 months. We have brought it in to the dealership for two oil changes in that time, and have always been blown away by the customer service. There is a lounge to wait in while your car is being worked on, complete with free coffee, juice, cappiccino, soda, cookies, donuts, granola bars, magazines, internet, telephones, a large fire place, tables, couches, a flat screen TV, and a child's playroom. Very impressive, right?
TO BE CONTINUED...
Since its debut in 1989, Lexus has developed a reputation for the luxury and reliability of its vehicles, along with the quality of its customer service. In 2007, consumer ratings firm J.D. Power and Associates named Lexus the most reliable brand in the U.S. based on its Vehicle Dependability Survey, a measure of over 53,000 vehicle owners and the problems they experienced in the first three years of vehicle ownership. It was the thirteenth consecutive year that Lexus achieved this top rating. In recent years, Consumer Reports has also named Lexus among the top five most reliable brands in its Annual Car Reliability Surveys of over one million vehicles nationwide. -Wikipedia
These were the expectations we held when we researched cars every single day for TWO MONTHS last year. We even subscribed to Consumer Reports to get their take on who was making the most reliable car. Jared wanted to buy a car that would run for years to come, give us minimal problems, be very reliable, and very safe for baby and me. Lexus fit the bill in every way. We heard stories from people and the amazing qualities of a Lexus. Consumer Reports gave us rave reviews. Co-workers firmly stood behind the Lexus name. We were sold. So we bought our very own amazing Lexus. We were so sold on Lexus that Jared even flew to Michigan to pick it up, and drive it home. We bought a beautiful RX300, with 63,000 miles on it and a sparkling clean service history. We bought it from an older couple, so we assume it was treated pretty well. This car was perfect. Every oil change had been done at a Lexus dealership. The service history records couldn't be cleaner.
We have owned it now for 9 months. We have brought it in to the dealership for two oil changes in that time, and have always been blown away by the customer service. There is a lounge to wait in while your car is being worked on, complete with free coffee, juice, cappiccino, soda, cookies, donuts, granola bars, magazines, internet, telephones, a large fire place, tables, couches, a flat screen TV, and a child's playroom. Very impressive, right?
TO BE CONTINUED...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
On the Move
Jared and I made a big decision recently. We are moving. That's not even the "big" part! Here it is: we are keeping our place in Hugo as a rental property and moving back in with Gary for a year. With this plan in action, we will be able to pay off all our debt very quickly (with the extra income from renting out the house) and within one year, be in a position to buy a new (hopefully larger) home! I am pretty excited to embark on this new adventure. It is all going to happen fast too. We are planning to be out of the house by March 1st. Then we are going to take the month of March to fix everything up and make is sparkle. It will be ready for renters April 1st!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Our Upscale Ghetto
We live in a nice development, in a nice little growing community. All the houses are new. Everything looks polished and clean (thanks association). The yards are trimmed in the summer. The sidewalks are cleared in the winter. But it just so happens that the street we live on is the ghetto of this nice little growing community. I walked out of my pretty little kitchen this afternoon, and glanced through my pretty little bay window. My eyes were greeted by what is becoming a familiar sight-- a police car parked across the street. Remember last May when our cozy little ghetto was swarming with cops when they busted the meth lab? That was only one of the six times the police have visited our ghetto in the last year. Know what? The heart of the ghetto lives across the street. Know what else? We live in a garage-door community. I have only seen 5 of our 16 neighbors in the past year-and-a-half that we've lived here. I have never even SEEN whom else lives in these houses surrounding us. I guess that's okay. You don't want to make too many friends in the ghetto.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Sleep Walking
Sophia has been doing GREAT sleeping in her crib. I think I am still adjusting though...
It was 12:30 AM, and I was tucked snuggly under a bed of warmth, when my super-radar-mom-ears perked up. Was that a whimper I heard? Better go check. I unwrapped myself from the tangle of blankets and flew out of bed. I carefully creaked open the door of the nursery and peeked inside. There lay my angel, sleeping soundly, not moving a muscle. Now this is the point when I ease the door shut again, and go nestle back into my nest, right? Wrong. Instead, I open the door farther, slip through the crack, and plunk down in the rocking chair. I begin to rock back and forth, and look at my little girl, confused. I just know I heard her cry and now she looks so peaceful. I better wait in case she wakes up. So I continue to rock, back and forth, back and forth. After about ten minutes of this foolishness, I awake from my stupor and realize I am in the nursery. What am I doing here? Why am I not in my cozy bed? I check the baby. Baby is fine.
Dumb.
That's the last thought I have as I trudge back to my room.
It was 12:30 AM, and I was tucked snuggly under a bed of warmth, when my super-radar-mom-ears perked up. Was that a whimper I heard? Better go check. I unwrapped myself from the tangle of blankets and flew out of bed. I carefully creaked open the door of the nursery and peeked inside. There lay my angel, sleeping soundly, not moving a muscle. Now this is the point when I ease the door shut again, and go nestle back into my nest, right? Wrong. Instead, I open the door farther, slip through the crack, and plunk down in the rocking chair. I begin to rock back and forth, and look at my little girl, confused. I just know I heard her cry and now she looks so peaceful. I better wait in case she wakes up. So I continue to rock, back and forth, back and forth. After about ten minutes of this foolishness, I awake from my stupor and realize I am in the nursery. What am I doing here? Why am I not in my cozy bed? I check the baby. Baby is fine.
Dumb.
That's the last thought I have as I trudge back to my room.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Our Love is Electric
I was kissing Jared goodnight before he crawled in bed last night, when suddenly a bright light flashed between us, and a shooting pain zapped through my nose. It was a spark! And it traveled through my nose ring. Not cool.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Great Minds
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Soup of the Day
Waitress: "Soup or salad?"
Naomi: "What is the soup of the day?"
W: "Tomato basil, chicken fajita, and chicken noodle."
N: "Okay, I'll take the salad if there is no cheddi broccler. "
Man, I need some sleep.
Naomi: "What is the soup of the day?"
W: "Tomato basil, chicken fajita, and chicken noodle."
N: "Okay, I'll take the salad if there is no cheddi broccler. "
Man, I need some sleep.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Bag or Baby?
As a new mom, and nanny, I have been struggling with an important problem. This problem arises every time I pack up the girls to go anywhere. It is a question that I am sure every parent had to ask themselves at some point... Which do I load into the car first-- all my bags, or the babies? Now, hold it! Before you go shouting out some answer, and thinking you are so smart, you must stop and realize that you must consider the circumstance. Let's play out some scenarios...
(Important information: Emma is 2, Sophie is 4 months)
Scenario #1:
I am at home with Emma and Sophie. It is time to bring Emma home. I have two girls to put in car seats, and two diaper bags to tote along, thus making it impossible to do all in one trip. Do I (a) bring the diaper bags out to the car first and go back in to get the girls, thus leaving the children unattended in the house, or (b) bring the girls out to the car first, and go back in for the diaper bags, leaving the children unattended in the car? Now it being winter throws an extra kink in things. My car takes a long time to heat up, and so I need to go start the car ahead of time. This means that the car is already running, and makes it more of a danger to put the girls in the car first, because some evildoer could drive away with my babies while I am in the house getting the diaper bags. For this reason, I usually choose option (a). Am I correct in doing so?
Scenario #2
I am at the grocery store, getting the girls out of the car. Do I (a) get Emma out first and have her stand next to me while I detach Sophie's car seat, risking the chance that she may dart away from me into the parking lot, or (b) get Sophie out first and set her next to me on the ground while I untangle Emma from her seat (something just seems wrong with setting the car seat on the ground in a busy parking lot), or (c) go get a cart right away (leaving girls unattended in the car), get Emma out and put her in the cart, get Sophie's seat out and put her in the cart???
I need some serious wisdom here from mothers who have been there. Please share!
(Important information: Emma is 2, Sophie is 4 months)
Scenario #1:
I am at home with Emma and Sophie. It is time to bring Emma home. I have two girls to put in car seats, and two diaper bags to tote along, thus making it impossible to do all in one trip. Do I (a) bring the diaper bags out to the car first and go back in to get the girls, thus leaving the children unattended in the house, or (b) bring the girls out to the car first, and go back in for the diaper bags, leaving the children unattended in the car? Now it being winter throws an extra kink in things. My car takes a long time to heat up, and so I need to go start the car ahead of time. This means that the car is already running, and makes it more of a danger to put the girls in the car first, because some evildoer could drive away with my babies while I am in the house getting the diaper bags. For this reason, I usually choose option (a). Am I correct in doing so?
Scenario #2
I am at the grocery store, getting the girls out of the car. Do I (a) get Emma out first and have her stand next to me while I detach Sophie's car seat, risking the chance that she may dart away from me into the parking lot, or (b) get Sophie out first and set her next to me on the ground while I untangle Emma from her seat (something just seems wrong with setting the car seat on the ground in a busy parking lot), or (c) go get a cart right away (leaving girls unattended in the car), get Emma out and put her in the cart, get Sophie's seat out and put her in the cart???
I need some serious wisdom here from mothers who have been there. Please share!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
F in Driver's Ed
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Make Over
I love makeovers. Pretty much any kind- on people, houses, whatever. I love watching something plain transform into something beautiful. I love watching shows like "Flip That House," "What Not to Wear," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and especially "America's Next Top Model." I hate all the drama included in the model show, but I love watching girls who are not much prettier than me (sometimes less pretty), transform before my eyes. My favorite part is at the end of the show, after the models have done a photo shoot and they display the before and after pictures. Wow. I am amazed every time.
Yesterday I was pondering why I love these makeovers so much. After a lot of thought, I realized that these makeovers are a reflection of the spiritual makeover every Christian has undergone! God took my dirty, sin-stained heart, and made it beautiful in his sight. He cleaned me up and now I am beautiful to Him. That just might be why.
Yesterday I was pondering why I love these makeovers so much. After a lot of thought, I realized that these makeovers are a reflection of the spiritual makeover every Christian has undergone! God took my dirty, sin-stained heart, and made it beautiful in his sight. He cleaned me up and now I am beautiful to Him. That just might be why.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Happy Birthday
Today is my twin brothers' birthday! I wanted to take a moment to honor them on this day. I love my brothers so deeply, and miss them both to the extreme since they moved away last year. We were all very close growing up, and I remember a time when I called my brothers my "best friends." Here's to you, Andy and Ben, on your 26th birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY AND BEN! I LOVE YOU BOTH SOOOOO MUCH!!
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Five Minutes Peace
I have just enjoyed a small miracle... both of the girls were sleeping at the same time! I put Emma down for a nap, and then commenced to nurse Sophie. Sophia fell asleep while eating and I ever-so-carefully laid her in her swing. She stayed asleep... for five whole minutes. During those precious minutes, the house as silent. I was free to do anything I wanted. I could go to the bathroom now! Or quick finish sewing the mitten I had been working on for days. I could even enjoy a little bowl of ice cream. I did all three. Then midway through the third bite of creamy goodness, I heard a whimper, which quickly gave way to all out wailing. Those five minutes to myself are now the wonderful memory that will get me through the rest of the day.
Humor
Sometimes I forget that God has such a great sense of humor. At times, I mistakenly view Him as a solemn, loving and tender God, but not one with any kind of humorous side. Today I was visiting my recent memories of pregnancy and childbirth and realized that God sprinkled a good helping of humor into this process. To begin with, ALL of the "private parts" are really funny looking! Then, once a woman is pregnant, her belly gets REALLY REALLY big. When the time is up, she pushes really hard and another human being pops out of one of the holes in her body. It's really is funny if you ponder the whole idea. You've got to sit and think about it for awhile, and suddenly you will see the humor mixed in with the miracle.
What things have you found best display God's humor?
What things have you found best display God's humor?
Monday, January 07, 2008
My Baby Robbed Me...
...of precious brain cells.
Apparently, the forgetfulness and clumsiness of pregnancy does not disappear when the tummy does.
Things That Have Slipped My Mind Lately...
1. Forgetting I let Bumper out... a half an hour ago. (So not allowed in our association!)
2. Misplacing all of the expensive hair cutting tools Jared just bought me for my birthday. (Still gone)
3. Loosing my Visa card at Wal-Mart. I set it down after swiping it, and apparently never picked it up again. (Glad I at least remembered where I used it last)
4. Load after load of laundry, souring in the washing machine.
5. Leaving a soaking wet rug on the bathroom floor, which created a huge puddle.
6. Ordering cocoa for my sister-in-law... a full week after she asked me to do it.
7. Not realizing I left the diaper bag at my friend's house until 25 minutes later when I got home.
8. Forgetting to bring Sophia's blanket, at least 50% of the times we leave home. (NOT a good thing. Babies need their blankets.)
General Clumsiness...
1. Shoving coffee mug onto top shelf next to stemware only to see two wine glasses falling to their death out of the corner of my eye. They SHATTERED. I cried.
2. Tripping over any and every thing in my path, at least 10 times a day.
These lists could go on and on, but frankly, I can't remember everything I was going to put on them.
Bottom Line: Having Sophia is so worth it.
Apparently, the forgetfulness and clumsiness of pregnancy does not disappear when the tummy does.
Things That Have Slipped My Mind Lately...
1. Forgetting I let Bumper out... a half an hour ago. (So not allowed in our association!)
2. Misplacing all of the expensive hair cutting tools Jared just bought me for my birthday. (Still gone)
3. Loosing my Visa card at Wal-Mart. I set it down after swiping it, and apparently never picked it up again. (Glad I at least remembered where I used it last)
4. Load after load of laundry, souring in the washing machine.
5. Leaving a soaking wet rug on the bathroom floor, which created a huge puddle.
6. Ordering cocoa for my sister-in-law... a full week after she asked me to do it.
7. Not realizing I left the diaper bag at my friend's house until 25 minutes later when I got home.
8. Forgetting to bring Sophia's blanket, at least 50% of the times we leave home. (NOT a good thing. Babies need their blankets.)
General Clumsiness...
1. Shoving coffee mug onto top shelf next to stemware only to see two wine glasses falling to their death out of the corner of my eye. They SHATTERED. I cried.
2. Tripping over any and every thing in my path, at least 10 times a day.
These lists could go on and on, but frankly, I can't remember everything I was going to put on them.
Bottom Line: Having Sophia is so worth it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)