Saturday, August 30, 2008

going on a "date" with your husband

Somehow going on a date with your husband just doesn't have the same thrill as when you are single and dating some random person you barely know. Jeff always says that is just the way it is. And he's probably right. I mean there isn't the question of "does he like me?" (he obviously does) and there is no wondering "are we going to spend the night together?" (we already have five million times, not to mention he's seen me push two babies out, which probably really changes how you see someone). I have to say though, I kinda miss that rush you get. And maybe it's the whole thing. Your girlfriend would help you pick out an outfit, you'd shave your legs, pick out your best panties and bra, discuss at length how hot said guy is or isn't, rehash any of your previous dates, etc. And this is all the lead up to the date. You've had a ton of fun before you even get started!

Nowadays, I'm lucky if I remember to wear something a little nicer to work and put on some makeup.

BUT all that said, we did have a good time. We went to Harvest Vine which is a yummy little tapas place in Madison Valley. We sat down in the wine cellar where you can image you are in some little place in Europe. The food there is outstanding. It's pretty much all meat and cheese. And, of coarse, really good wines, all Spanish. My favorite dish we had last night was cured tuna with a soft poached egg and leaks with some kind of sauce. We ate it on their bread which is crazy good (although I was bummed they wouldn't give me any butter. What kind of rule is that anyway?).

Unfortunately Jeff was having a migraine so we didn't end up going out to Oliver's Twist after dinner which is a fun little place in our neighborhood that we like to go to on the rare occasion that we get out. They have really yummy desserts and fun cocktail concoctions. But we did have a nice time sitting on the couch and talking without being interrupted every 5 min. I fell asleep at 9:30 since I was up half the night before dealing with the kids. (Kiera needed her back rubbed since she has another cold and then Bob was kicking me in the back all night after he climbed in with us and I was too lazy to take him back to his room. ) I got to sleep for 10 hours without interruption! So, that is a real date from the land of married. It's still fun, but it sure is different.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Contractor and Lasik update

We got a note from the contractor I met with a few weeks back. He's still waiting on bids from some sub-contractors and he gave us his references. Sweet! I'm already liking this guy better than the last couple.

Also, I've decided that I'm maybe, probably, almost definitely, for surely going to call and make an appointment for a consultation re: lasik. Maybe. Messing around with your vision still skeezes me out.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

This is why

Ok, so I realized my last post was pretty snarky since I'm implying that somehow moms are more distracted from their work then everyone else. I totally don't feel that way (like, for sure!).

But now that I think about it, I think this is the logic that often goes into thinking moms aren't as valuable as employees. Really though, I think sometimes moms are better because they want to get home and be with their kids. AND they also realize that their devotion is split. I think we often try to make up for it by working harder while at work. We might not spend 10+ hours a day at work, but I can tell you that most people who spend that much time at work are spending hours doing things that are not work. Uh, like me, right now.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Kids bad for your career? Who knew?

OK, I actually enjoyed reading this article. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/CareerManagement/Story?id=5574529&page=1

But I do think in general kids are bad for your career regardless of when you have them. Even if you ignore them and keep working 60 hours a week there is a perception that you are distracted. And, come on, who are we kidding? Having a baby means you are
a. tired all the time
b. cranky all the time
c. probably spending some portion of your time at work thinking about baby or doing something for baby

In addition, MOST mothers I know are less interested in their jobs and more interested in their babies, at least initially.

Are moms still good employees? I think so, but I'm biased.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

I'm not worthy!

Do you ever read stories about other people or blogs or whatever and feel like you don't really do that much? I've been reading various blogs of people who are starting their own business, writing a book, volunteering to save the world, and make a nice dinner at night. And, I think to myself, they can't really be that great.

I barely manage to get out of bed and get to work and squeeze in being a mom and making sure we all eat. I don't have time to save the world or anything else amazing. But the thing is, I feel bad about it. Do I really not have time, I ask myself? Or am I just wasting all my time on things like this blog?

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Obsess much?

Ok, so I thought when I got married, found my one true love and all that, then I would no longer be plagued by obsessive thoughts about all my old boyfriends. Apparently, this is not true in my case. Perhaps I am entering the 7 year itch? I dunno, but I find myself mulling over what happened with Mr. X, Y or Z and why and what is he doing now and what would it be like to see him and would he still be hot or would he be bald, fat and generally disgusting? Maybe everyone wonders these things, but I think maybe, I'm a bit obsessive. For example, I seem to have a keen knack for tracking people down on the internet. I'm so good at it, it kind of scares me. And at the same time, I think, well, maybe I should look into a new career. It's kind of fun seeing how much you can find out about someone armed with a name and a few facts. If you are willing to pay for records searches and stuff, I'm sure you could have a whole lot of fun! Anyway, I have managed to find a few old college friends, so at least I'm putting my sickness to good use.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Camping + Toddlers = Very Dirty Toddlers

We took the kids camping last weekend. Two nights at a campsite up near Mt Rainier. The kids had a blast. It was really fun seeing them enjoying being outside, eating at the picnic table as a family, going hiking, sleeping in the tent together. We got to christen our giant 6 person tent!

The place was pretty nice. Lots of big trees and on a river. There was a bit of a hike down to the river but it had a nice swimming hole. Jeff, Bob and I went swimming but Kiera went in up to her ankles and said "No, no, no, no, no!" It was freezing cold water but felt good since it was so hot.

We were also lucky that the wildflowers were out in the mountain meadows. It really was beautiful and we had a great time. Kiera managed to get completely covered in ashy dirt and both Bob and Kiera enjoyed climbing the big rock in our campsite.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

contractor hope

I ended up meeting with the contractor by myself last night since Jeff is off in eastern WA supposedly working, but I suspect there is some partying going on since he's with some friends. But I cannot hold that against him since whenever I travel for work, it's always mostly fun and very little work.

Anyway, the guy and his assistant came and asked knowledgeable sounding questions. What do I really know anyway when it comes to this sort of thing? I make software. They seemed nice. The architect said they have great references. We'll see what the bid is.

I also quizzed the architect about the super high bids we've gotten for a porch! I mean, come on, for a 100K, you should be able to do more than an unfinished porch and a deck. Sheesh. He seemed to think the bids were ridiculous too so I'm hoping this new guy will be lower. If not, I'm going to start wondering what kind of building materials are specified? Is the whole porch supposed to be gold filigree?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

remodelling is NOT fun

So, we have a house that was built in 1916 and pretty much I hate everything about it, except
1. Location, location, location
2. Size

We bought it knowing it would need a lot of work. We finally got around to hiring an architect to draw up plans for the "dream home" and discovered it's going to be a lot MORE work and money than we thought originally. I think we rolled with this info pretty well considering. So, we scaled back and we're going to work on fixing/adding a real back porch and a deck. However, even this has been a pain in the butt and is costing way more than we thought.

We're interviewing yet another contractor next week and waiting for an estimate on our custom windows (ugh) which will hopefully get us closer to our budget. I was hoping the work would be done by now, but I should have known better. Sigh.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Will Lasik destroy my eyesight?

Warning: I haven't yet done ANY research on this topic so everything I'm going to say now is complete hearsay and I might even have made some of it up in my head but now I think its something someone actually told me.

So, I've been thinking a lot about getting Lasik. I'm super tired of glasses. Not only is it just annoying to have to wear them all the time, but I'm tired of how I look in them. I think they add about 10 years, which I really don't need.

So, here's what I'm afraid of:
1. Lasik will completely destroy my vision
2. It won't completely destroy my vision but will not really fix it AND leave me with spots or halos or something equally unappealing.
3. It will work but I'll still have to wear glasses for reading or something stupid like that. I mean, who wants to spend 3-4k dollars only to have to get new glasses too!

Another rumor I heard is that it doesn't work on astigmatisms. That would be lame because that is the same reason I can't wear contacts. Well, that sums it up. Now I must go find out the truth about Lasik.

Monday, August 11, 2008

The worst thing about being a new parent

By far, the worst thing about having a baby is sleep deprivation. There is a reason it is considered a form of torture! If you've ever been forced to survive on 4-6 hours of sleep at night in blocks of less than 3 hours, you'll know that you turn into a different person. I turn cranky and mean and say all sort of horrible things.

Luckily, with Kiera getting older by the minute and Bob over the not-sleeping-hump, I think I see some light at the end of the tunnel. I think I'm going to be a nice, patient, loving person again someday. I hope that my husband will still love me when that time finally arrives and he won't remember enough to hold against me. I know I've catalogued all sorts of offenses that he's committed but I no longer remember any of them so I won't have any ammunition if war breaks out.

The best part about the kids getting older is that I'm done breast-feeding and I at least feel like I'm getting closer to the person I was before kids. I actually want to have time for my husband again. I'm interested in something besides every last detail of my kids daily activities. I think we might actually be a real couple again someday soon, that is, if I can ever get some sleep!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

waterproof in seattle

It's funny how rain doesn't seem to bother people in Seattle. I went to Carkeek park today thinking that no one else would be there since it was raining off and on. But I should have known it would be packed on a Saturday afternoon regardless. I had to drive around the loop twice, which really concerned Bob since I was driving away from the playground. "It's back there, Mommy!"

I let the kids get really dirty and wet, especially since Kiera tried to crawl into the Sound. We stood on the overpass as a big train went by which Bob thought was super exciting and Kiera thought was a little scary. I love taking them out and playing. It always makes me smile.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Kiss and tell

So revisiting all that old stuff made me try to remember all the boys I ever kissed. I'm leaving off the last names mostly because I can't remember them but partly to protect the not-so-innocent.

  1. Adam (I'm almost positive during our 13 year old "going out" that we kissed. I can't remember for certain so it obviously wasn't memerable.)
  2. Joe (He was very hairy and it was NOT good.)
  3. Steve (let's just say he knew what he was doing)
  4. Dorm guy (I can't even remember his name but what I do remember is that he wasn't nearly as hot as he thought.)
  5. Jon (He was sweet and my friend. I was a jerk. But to my credit, he had something stuck in his braces.)
  6. Tori (he was nice but a bit too nice)
  7. Chris (2 years too late)
  8. Ryan (he was as hot as he thought he was)
  9. Tim (nothing to write home about)
  10. Random guy at bar on New Years Eve #1 (don't remember anything about this except that it happened)
  11. KC (lalalalaaaaa, I kissed a girl)
  12. Chris (again, yeah I'm counting him twice cuz I liked it better the second time. He still wasn't much of kisser but he had other skills)
  13. Mick (trying to make #12 jealous and it didn't work at all)
  14. Groomsman at Amy's wedding (this is why you shouldn't let bridesmaids drink too much)
  15. John (oy)
  16. Zan (had too many old fashioneds, but it was fun)
  17. Random guy at bar on New Years Eve #2 (I think his name was Andy but all I remember is that I was really drunk and Holly's friend was really annoying.)
  18. Steve (onion breath is NOT good)
  19. Jeff (I married him so that should tell you something)

    Wow, that is a pretty short list and unless Jeff has an untimely death its not getting any longer. Maybe in my next life. :)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Treasure hunt in the basement

I was going through a bunch of boxes in the basement and came across one that had a bunch of old photos and letters. It was pretty interesting reading. I can't say I read everything but I picked letters at random which was fun. I found all the things I saved from my trip backpacking through Europe with Nicole and Lara (Lara Miller, where are you?). I forgot that I met Raina there and saw Leslie and Julie. I also discovered strange things like I have Ryan's social security number (oooh, what I could do with that!) and I saved some random notes that KC and I had exchanged during a history class.

Anyway, it was pretty entertaining. I'm glad I saved all that stuff. Maybe someday I'll actually read it all.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Return of the in-laws

So the in-laws are back today for 4 days. Really not too bad in terms of duration. However, my in-laws don't seem to get that people need personal space. They show up as soon as they awake and dressed and don't leave until they want to go to sleep (usually my husband and I are practically falling asleep on the couch at that point). Its nothing personal (ok, maybe a little bit personal) but they drive me insane. All I want is for them to find something else (besides me and my children) to entertain them for a few hours everyday. Is that really too much to ask?