Resident Evil

Merriam-Webster defines "evil" as morally reprehensible, sinful, or wicked. I define "evil" as Trader Joe's All Natural Dark Chocolate-Covered Joe-Joe's with Vanilla Bean Cream. And when they're frozen (thanks for the extra evilness, Tracy), they are even more devilishly delectable. So, since misery (of the marvelous kind) loves company, go out to your local Trader Joe's and sample one - if you can stop at just one. If evil was round, these Joe-Joe's would be Satan himself.

Father's Love

So I 'm a little late in wishing all you dads out there a Happy Father's Day! We celebrated with my brother and his family and my dad with a very informal barbeque, watching all our kids play in the pool. Justin had last Saturday "off" to do what he wanted to do , which was sleep until 10am and watch movies on his laptop - in peace. Later that day he took Jonah and James to see Kung Fu Panda. For one of his presents, I made him a slideshow, and due to technical difficulties, I am unable to post it, but here's the song I used: "Father's Love" by Bob Carlisle.

So thank you, Justin, for being a faithful and loving father to our Fantastic Four.

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1John 3:1

$150 Ahead

Yay, yay, yay! We just started saving about $150/month in a matter of minutes. Jed and Jack just finished their LAST can of formula! Many of you know the story - I nursed both of them as soon as they were born but 1)this Bessie just didn't produce enough milk for the calves and 2) since the babies were preemies the doctor instructed us to put them on high calorie formula to supplement the breast milk. Well, they had reflux and despite emptying out their stomachs on our favorite t-shirts time and time again, they still managed to grow. I think I was about to throw myself off Suicide Bridge in Pasadena, up to my ears in baby vomit, when the GI specialist finally recommended this formula, and they finally stopped all the throw up (HELLO, could Dr. Tran have mentioned this MONTHS before every piece of clothing I owned had inadvertently been acid-washed??!!). So, the twins had been on this formula and, mind you, feeding two babies ain't cheap, even when you get this stuff at Costco! Anyway, they're on whole milk now. Since we prefer organic and there's still two of them to feed, I hear my bubble bursting as I write - that $150 in formula just might turn into $ for organic milk, with any change to spare going toward gas. Well, so much for new clothes - let's just hope that 80's acid- wash look comes back real soon.

Happy Birthday, James!

Another milestone in our family - James turned 4 years old yesterday! His birthday party last Saturday was a long time coming. We didn't celebrate his birthday last year because the twins had just been born and life was SO crazy (not that it isn't now) since we were adjusting so many new things. No, we didn't actually forget the day last year, but he didn't get a chance to celebrate it. So this year his request for a "Speed Racer" party was fulfilled, complete with a custom car craft and race car races. Here he is holding his very own Mach 5. He also got a tower of racer-decorated cupcakes, way too many Speed Racer Hot Wheels, and a little bit of a tan from playing outside. I think he's forgiven us for not celebrating last year, but, knowing this little guy, he'll bring it up when we least expect it as leverage for something he REALLY wants. Happy Birthday, Minis!

Livin' Inside Out

On May 16th and 17th, Sonrise ISP (our homeschooling group) presented the musical "Livin' Inside Out". They do musicals every year, and it's a great experience for all the kids that participate. This was Jonah's second year in the choir - see him singing his heart out? But what this picture DOESN'T show is what he was doing most of the time he was up there. I suppose all that singing was boring him - he kept looking down picking his nails! And he was in the front row! HELLO! I dont' know - maybe he felt that two years of this was two years too many, or his concern for good hygiene took over. But considering he could have been picking some other part of his body, I guess it could have been worse. I just hope next year he doesn't pull out a crossword puzzle to work on during the performance.

Riddle

I told a few of you about this, but figured it was time to share it with everyone.

Question: How is it possible to be in the bathroom standing in front of the toilet and still get your pee all in the hallway?

Answer: Ask James.

Victory

I did it! I did it! I survived the day (so far), venturing out and accomplishing a few firsts with the boys...

I took them all to our homeschool group's park day. Now, I've done that before, but for the first time I let Jed and Jack sit in the stroller out of their car seats. I think they enjoyed the freedom to squirm around more, stretch their legs, and feel the breeze and fresh air. Thanks to other moms Norma and Valerie for holding them when they finally wanted "out" for a bit.

Then, we went to the grocery store. Yes, the GROCERY STORE. BY MYSELF. Amazing what boneless skinless chicken breast at $1.99/lb will make you do. So, after an afternoon at the park, we went to Albertson's for the last day of the sale, and to pick up a few other things. I had both babies in their car seats this time, Jack in the main part of the cart and Jed in the front, with Jonah and James orbiting around it. I loaded the bottom rack of the cart with as much as it could hold and we paid and left. Other than the few whines from Jed, who was either dissatisfied every time the cart stopped moving or unhappy that he was back in his car seat, the trip was very manageable.

So by the time we got back home I had thanked God profusely for enabling me to handle the park and the store with the boys. Of course, coming home was made more bearable after a quick drive through Starbuck's for a venti mint mocha frappuccino - a treat just for me and my thighs.