blake's on a two-wheeler!

I am quite possibly the laziest parent ever. I delayed attempting to toilet-train Blake because I just wanted him to "get it," without a bunch of clean-up on my part. Believe me when I say that I have paid DEARLY for that decision, in years and years of dealing with clean-up (not on the floor - USUALLY - but in the britches) anyway. Who's the fool now?

I took a similar tack with two-wheelers. Running after one, hoping he got the feeling of balance while I exhausted myself sounded suspiciously like work. I kept training wheels on for a ridiculous amount of time, finally getting embarrassed at the tiny bikers pedaling themselves furiously to school. Last summer, I borrowed a pedal-less bike from the Bozeman Bike Kitchen and told Blake it was his ghetto version of a (pricey) Strider Bike. I will call it the g-strider.

He loved it, whipping round corners on the sidewalk, running himself ragged and getting tired rather quickly. Still, when I asked if he was ready to pedal like his friend (fully nine months younger), he was confident that he would be on his g-strider forever.

B: "I think we should go on a bike ride. I'll just use my Strider bike."
A: "I will not go on a bike ride when you're on that. You won't be able to keep up. I WILL go on a ride if you're on your pedal bike."
B: "I am pretty sure I should bike to school on my Strider bike."
A: "What part of what I just said didn't make sense to you?"

We were all outside today, and he beelined for the g-strider bike, looking at me. I shook my head and pointed to the Transformers bike that he got as a gift for our wedding. Crestfallen, he wheeled it out and started trying to use it like his beloved g-strider, which, predictably, didn't work. I told him to get comfortable with it on the flat part of the sidewalk while Rob and I worked on some things in the garage.

Suddenly, we hear a loud "WHOOP!" We look at each other and smile, and I walked to the door just as Blake rolled by, wobbly and cautious, but definitely pedaling.

"THIS IS AWESOME!"

loving right now

Because it is raining and forecast to continue raining all week, I need to remember what has thrilled me lately so I don't become a big old bag of complaining crazy. A small bag is perfectly acceptable.

• Focusing on the roast, I inadvertently brought home a bag of decaffeinated coffee a while back. It's languished in our cupboard, because Rob and I don't ever drink coffee at night, and as far as we're concerned, there's no reason decaf should exist. I got CRAZY last night and made myself a decaf white chocolate latte while doing paperwork and it was AMAZING. I will be drinking more of those, you betcha, and might even find myself buying decaf on PURPOSE so I can keep drinking coffee after 3:00 PM. At rate I'm going with milk, I need never worry about calcium deficiency.
• Real print cartridges. Okay, this is really nerdy. But I love them. We've been playing the budget route on ink cartridges for our printer, and they simply do not work. Perhaps HP has sabotaged things so that you must buy the new ones (not refills) to get black ink that is not green, or to get your magenta to actually work... who knows?! To be able to print something and have it look correct was giddily exciting last night, and I even printed out decorative things I have been SAVING for when we got new cartridges. I now have the foxiest little bookmarks around.
• The rhubarb we pulled out of the garage. It was neon yellow and hot pink due to lack of sun, but fully two feet tall, growing like mad in the enormous pot we have it in. I have a picture I'll post later. It's greened up nicely and looks like it is going to explode in a riot of happy growth here soon. Rob's delighted, but the odd man will eat it RAW and plain. It makes my mouth pucker just thinking about it.
  
• Almond butter. It's a little taste of heaven, especially for this girl who has never been particularly fond of peanut butter.
• The great reports we keep getting on B's eyes. He's got at least another year of patching, but we went from 20/250 on day one to 20/40 six months later, and it's continued to improve. That's AMAZING to me!
• We may have sold the condo (haven't gotten the results of the inspection yet, nor had it appraised, but we're prayerfully confident it will all work out). The new owners will let us live here rent-free for up to six months while we figure out what to do with ourselves and where we'll go. HALLELUJAH! Now praying for the perfect home that will be big enough and cost little enough for us to continue doing fun things, like eating.
• Rob's job. Having weekends off with my fella has been really pleasant, even if we haven't done much with them. He'll change to his normal schedule just in time for B to be done with school, which means he and B get days together while I work this summer, and I'll get nights. AND he should be pulling 4/10s, which means he'll get three days off in a row. There's a lot to love about this scenario, not least of which is that he isn't as tired anymore and has more energy to pursue things he loves. LIKE ME.
• PhotoShop. I have more photos of Hawaii to post, and more videos too. And more stories, of course, because THAT IS WHAT I DO!
  

just like molly said: yummy

Either I want my hips and arms to move like the women, or Rob wants permission to dance like the men.

A: Wow.
R: Yeah. Do you think I could dance like that... FOR YOU?!
A: Only if you do it with authority. And maybe a tan.
R: (sunburnt by now) Ouch.

These gals gave us some pre-dinner entertainment. Their arms and legs are pretty ripped, as you might imagine.



Everything was so graceful when slow and HOT when fast!



More clothes in this one as they progress through telling the history of Hawaii. I think this is part of colonial days.



Unfortunately, the first videos of the night weren't as good as these ones... with all the clothes on. ;) But still, these guys can shake it.

Here's some of the pre-colonial garb. Wowza!

Very tasteful.

I love how they apparently enjoy what they are doing. It was really fun to watch!



The only drawback to Old Lahaina Luau is that, because they strive for authenticity, they don't include Tahitian fire dancers or Maori warriors mingling and threatening the guests. I have never been to a luau where these things were included, but they sound GREAT!

aloHA!

We arrived at 8:00 pm, and by the time we remembered which rental car company we'd used, got squared away, and made it to the condo, it was 10:00 pm, which was 2:00 am for our bodies. Still, with the warm night, the excitement of upgrading to a convertible Mustang, the fun of being in HAWAII, and the roomie we discovered upon walking in, we didn't go to bed for a few hours.

The view from the lanai. The beach is just to the left (brown water from sugar cane runoff, but who cares?! IT'S A BEACH!), the road immediately before the beach, and the green lushness was everywhere. I did a bunch of BSF homework on the table on the lanai, sipping a pina colada, of course!

Our roomie! I named him "Kevin," and when I told Blake about him during a phone call, I could instantly tell the kid was NOT LISTENING to me.
A: We have a roommate here at the condo! He's a little lizard, and I named him Kevin.
B: What? You had my baby brother there in Hawaii and named him Kevin?
A: WHAT?! For crying out loud kid: Pay attention to me!

The enormous banyan tree in Lahaina, on the other side of Maui from us (we stayed in north Kihei). It's one tree and covers over an entire city block. None of what you see is even the main trunk - they are just roots it sends down to anchor and support itself.

Things I cannot even grow indoors in Montana grow wild here. It was crazy to this gardener.

We didn't take many pictures until Friday (we arrived Wednesday). The piggy we're going to eat at the luau is under all that sand, and had been roasting all day. It was very tasty.

This was one of the only "ugly dude" carvings I liked. It was not for sale.

All of these were. We brought home almost zero souvenirs though, and what we did bring was mostly food!

Cool grass folding dude. He worked so quickly I was afraid he was going to give himself a grass cut (those are the worst).

One of his creations.

They handed out tuberoses. Over the left ear if you're married, right ear if you're single.

Sailboats fascinate me. I have almost no desire to ever be on one, but they are just so cool.

When you tip the bartender yourself (and generously) instead of using the servers, they double up the booze in your tasty drinks. I could still barely taste it, which was just fine with me.

Three days in, the first picture of both of us in Hawaii. PROOF! We were there together. This is one of perhaps four total. Neither Rob nor I are fond of being in photos, unfortunately.

They hand out an orchid lei to everyone that attends the luau. I cannot imagine how many orchids they go through each night.

Pre-dinner dancing and percussive entertainment.

Shake your tail feather!

Sunsets on the beach are just spectacular...

... and both Rob and I got some great shots...

... see?

The Old Lahaina Luau was great. The dancers seem to truly enjoy what they're doing, and the story-telling was fun and informative. This dancer represents Pele, the fire and volcano goddess.

Videos of luau dancing to follow.

appeasement

I fully intend to continue the process of getting photos from Rob's computer to mine (first step: deleting the duplicates or uglies or whatever, but when there are approximately 300 photos PER DAY, that is a daunting task).


Ok, it averages out to about 50/day, plus videos, but we were still gone almost two whole weeks! I'm not TRYING to string you along. It's just working out that way.

So here. Be happy - these are funny.

*****
From Bunko
*****

L: (entering the bathroom) I'll just be a few minutes.
M: Turn on the fan!

*****
C: You only do it once a month?!
M: We were talking about grocery shopping.
C: Oh. Well, STILL!

*****
A: I mean, yeah, sperm meets egg... it IS a miracle.
S: Our bodies are ridiculous.

*****
N: Because every once in a while I just get nasty.

*****
L: Wait, you're drinking?! I told C you thought you were pregnant and that you'd be able to drive tonight.
A: WHAT? I never said that! I'm on my fourth beer! (side note to Mother, if you're still reading: this was over the course of several hours) It's cool. M will be our DD.
M: I'm saving myself for tomorrow night. It's the Gloves Off Gala. It sounds like a BOAT thing. (it's hockey)

*****
That's What He Said
*****

B: (pondering the new-to-us car Rob was in the process of buying) Maybe Dad will come home with a police car that they have. And MAYBE it will have DONUTS in it. Cops like donuts when they aren't out copping. Grammie Gee got copped.

*****
R: (quietly, in a restaurant) I think your mammary glands are getting bigger.
A: (loudly) My memory glands are getting-? OH. Oops.

*****
B: (quietly, to himself in the car) VeterinARian.
A: What?
B: Nothing.

*****
A: Look! They tore down that huge building! Wow.
B: Did they do it in one day?
A: Uh, probably not.
B: Then it's not very impressive.

for pete's sake, don't anger it!

I have been on the warpath the last few days. I warned Rob that I'm either pregnant or that this is what my PMS looks like. He has already indicated he prefers the pleasant me, from the before times.

DON'T WE ALL?!

hawaii: part 1, where precious little is said about hawaii

The obvious: it was wonderful. We didn't do anything really completely epic, which was fine. We got to be honeymooners and just relax with each other. We learned we still like each other an awful lot and that the island kind of change of pace is perfectly lovely!

On our first day, Rob got picked for some extra "random" screening. He subsequently was tagged for additional screening every time we went through security, and my man got full body scanned. MMHMM!

The flight from Seattle to Maui was changed a few months ago from a one-hour layover (awesome! getting to Maui by noon!) to a nine-hour layover (WTF? Maui by 8:00 pm?). However, God is kind. He redeemed a potential murderous rage by yours truly, witnessed by Sea-Tac, by the providence of Lane and Bing being in Seattle that very day.

They picked us up. We had lunch, coffee, shopped around a little and...

... went to a Mariners game, natch!

They played the Toronto Blue Jays. Rob unapologetically cheered for his Canadian brethren.

We weren't behind home plate, but were RIGHT ON the field.

It was Lane's and Maddox's first professional game. He was quickly bored of watching and declared he'd like to go play catch now.

Bombed by Julian and the Mexi-stache!

It's so nice that we like each other as adults. I can't tell you how much I love this girl!

It was cold, so Maddox preferred not using his hands, simply letting Momma lift the hot dog to his waiting chompers.

The crew. Rob shaved his head bald just before we left, so he's the grouchy looking one on the far left. A couple of Bing's and Julian's friends are behind him, and then Julian's lovely lady, Jennifer. It was chilly (very glad to have had my down jacket), but such fun to see them in such a random, weird occurrence, capped by the great news that Bing's heart is in astounding health!

Conversations:

M: Okay. I'll go play catch.

*****
J: The place to get hot dogs and the bathrooms are right next to each other.
L: Uh... that's not a good sign.

*****
B: Can I buy Jetty this onesie that says "I love boobs?"
A: Why buy it when I can make it with iron-on transfers?
L: Why do that when I have Sharpies at home?

one woman claimed no maternal instinct whatsoever

Right after Rob started, RightNow had a social in town for their current batch of trainees. Since most of the trainees were from far-flung places, they were there solo, but Rob was quietly authorized to bring me. It was a little intimidating until I started chatting with people and understood why "culture" had been so heavily emphasized in his brief interview process. These were geeks, yes, but they were PERSONABLE geeks. We joked with his trainer, who appreciated that I understood and laughed at a He-Man reference.

"By the power of Gray Skull, you've got to be kidding me!"

I found out that the pool table had been reserved for this shin-dig and lamented that I'd left my cue at home, but promptly began wheedling games out of others. As I fumbled my way back into remembering what I was doing (did I ever tell you I worked at a pool hall in college? I used to be pretty good!), I had a few conversations with the handful of females there.

Being able to say that I am the managing editor for a locally based online magazine was unexpectedly gratifying for me. I'm not sure if these women were expecting someone slightly less technical/geeky (dare I say smart?) than them, or if they expected me to say, "Oh, I'm just a mother," as if that were a less important use of my time than working for someone else. Their countenances visibly changed as I was able to discuss some facets that overlap on our jobs with knowledge and insight. On one hand, I was quite proud of what I do and proud of the fact that I have a grasp of current business and technology trends, and on the other, I was very aware of that pride and how differently I may have felt if my current occupation HAD been stay-at-home-mom.

I'd still know about cloud computing and how to manage a customer support interface, but would they know that or would they have written me off as someone with whom they had little in common? And more importantly, would I have cared? I've been thinking about these things a lot since then: about my self-important pride, about what's important to me in life vs. in social situations, about how complex and nuanced my desires are about working in or outside of the home, and about parenting losing status as a meaningful "job" in our society in general.

While that evening was a giddy rush of feeling relevant, ultimately, the most important thing about me is not what I do, but Whose I am.

remembering God's faithfulness

So much to say! I will start with something NONE OF YOU expect:

It was our second anniversary on April 11th. We were simultaneously amazed that it has only been two years (FOR-EH-VER) and shocked it's already been two years (didn't I just meet you?). As we were in the throes of getting ready to leave for Hawaii (we're back, it was great, I might discuss it more later), the day itself was pretty anticlimactic. We made pizza and drank very nice wine.

However, in the lead-up to the tasty pizza, I had to get ingredients from the store first. While there, shopping cart as empty as I could keep it while still getting the bare necessities, the woman in front of me in line turned and said simply, "I know you."

"Yep. You're Pam, you worked at Camp on the Boulder, and I usually see your husband Greg around town, but I never say hi because I don't think he'd remember me. I'm Addie. I might have been going by 'Adele' when you knew me. How are you?"

I felt like kind of an ass saying all that, but I truly didn't expect her to remember me like I CLEARLY remembered her. She agreed that Greg might not remember me, or might be too shy to ever say hello, I asked about their kids - they have four, the eldest of whom is named after a childhood friend of mine who died quite young from complications of Down's Syndrome and his heart. She hesitantly started, "And you have one child, is that right? I know your husband died before he was born." Her eyes were full of sincere love, and she was just the right amount of direct.

"Yes, his name is Blake, he's already SIX, I remarried, and we're all celebrating our second anniversary this very day."

I honestly think I saw answered prayer written all over her face before she wrapped her arms around me in a really good hug. We didn't linger, but it was absolutely a glimpse of heaven and a precious thing, to delight in this great big family God's given me on a day that has answered prayer written all over it.

guess it's fair - i sometimes call him "blake"

R: (overheard while booking something on the phone) My wife's name is Addie. A-delta-delta-I-E, same last name. Yep... Yep... Well, I think her full name is Adele.
A: YOU THINK?!!