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Toilet Seat Confessions

For the past two weeks we've been visiting family (and squeezing in a few friends) in Utah. We had a glorious time. I've had the good intentions of blogging all about our trip since we got back on Saturday...but well, you know life!

Turns out Walker caught a bit of a stomach flu bug. Nasty stuff. Monday was a rough day. We thought he was past it yesterday - he was even riding his bike around outside! Early this morning when he crawled in our bed we were told otherwise. We weren't really told...but you can paint the picture yourself.

Today he's been pretty mellow, which if you know his you know isn't normal. One good part is that he is extra cuddly.

Another good thing is that potty time with Walker is like taxi-cab confessional. He sits and tells fables of his day, and every once and a while he admits to something he has done in the past day or two. Today he was full of confessions.

"Um Mama. Yesterday Weeyam (that's what William sounds like) and I. Um. Um. Weeyam said poopoo. That's a bathroom word."

"Mama. Mama. Mama. I took your camera. I took pictures"

"One day Weeyam, he said no to me"

And the list goes on. It was hilarious!

This afternoon, before 'rest' time, he asked if he could take a bath. He was so incredibly tired that he laid down in the bathtub.

And, as the water was draining, he fell asleep. Glad I was in there!

2 by 2

Today, Wednesday, we had our follow-up appointment with Will's Celiac Doc. It has been six months since his biopsy confirming his diagnosis. We've noticed that he has outgrown most of his pants, by length, so we were hopeful that he was on the up & up. Or up and out in terms of height and weight.

We got great news! In the last six months Will has gained almost 2 lbs (1.7 to be exact) and grown almost 2 inches!!! He moved from the 5th percentile to the 10th percentile in weight, and 5th percentile in height to 25th!

This means all the changes in our eating habits have paid off. Those peanut butter rice cakes, brown rice quesadillas, GF pancakes, quinoa lasagna, and all the other good food we've been eating has made a difference.

Doctor Berry expects that Will will always be thin given his stature, but he thinks he'll put on some more good weight over the next couple of years.

Will was grateful for the good news - which for him was that he did not have to have a shot!

The homies in the LBC!

One of the perks of living in G-town is that we are relatively close to each of my three siblings. And living with my parents means that if they come to visit Mom & Dad they cannot help but get a visit with the four of us. We've been up to see Lyndsy & Jon, we're going to Alan & Jen's at the end of the month, and on Monday we got to see Neal and Meleah. They bought a condo in the LBC. We've been there several times - this time takes the cake though! We got to meet Neal at his office in downtown, walk to the Port of LBC, go to their house for dinner, and play lots!

Neal and Meleah are a good mix for our family. They both like to play, have fun, joke around, and have a good time. We had such a blast! I'm looking forward to our next N&M family adventure!

The boys at Neal's office.

Walking across the bridge to the port.

The train that takes the containers from ships to trucks.
So cool, especially for the two little boys.

Helping to wash Meleah's car! Nothing like kid-labor.

"Driving" the car. A favorite past-time.

Getting to take a bath in their bathtub! A treat!

Reading stories in our jammies.

Belly raspberries from Uncle Neal.

It's her birthday and I can cry if I want to!

In about thirty-two minutes a special occasion will occur.  Not one that will be accompanied by fireworks, toasts, or loud cheering - though all of those would be fantastic - but rather accompanied by the soft snores of two little kids, a husband, and possibly her.

See in thirty-two minutes, when April 3rd begins on the West Coast, my best friend, Terina, will celebrate her thirtieth birthday.  Now I realize that this is our family blog and you are accustomed to seeing our kids in pictures and stories, with some Shelly-esque sappy commentary.  In reality this is no diversion from that.  Terina has been my best friend now for over 22 years.  For some of you reading this, it's your whole lifetime.  Even for me it feels like my whole life.  

I honestly don't remember when TJ and I first met.  She probably does.  I know it was sometime around our eighth birthdays.  I know it involved church activities.  Our parents at the time were also having dinner parties with a bunch of other couples they knew.  It could have been that.  

Regardless of that TJ and I made a connection that time has tested over, and over, and over again.  We've been through the ups and downs of life together.  It actually amazes me sometimes that we are still friends!  Then I think of all the million things that make up TJ and I remember why I haven't managed to live without her.

Here are a few:

* her honesty.  

* the adorably obnoxious way that she chews her food.

* her ability to play devil's advocate when I need it, without me asking for it.

* she dips her fries into her shake and finds that delicious.

* the way she twists her necklace or rings when she is nervous or anxious.

* that she gets wigged out when someone else is driving - except (usually) with me.

* our shared passion for old movies and musicals.

* T-Dees

* she's absolutely gorgeous.  And she looks kind of like my real best friend.

* the way she corrects when people say French words.

* Santa Barbara

* she is constantly munching on something.

* her height.  I love standing next to her and wanting to stand on my tip-toes.  It adds to her intrigue and her intimidation factor.

* her personal angst regarding the color pink.

* that we can talk for an hour, get off the phone, and then call back 15 minutes later to discuss something else.

* that she loves socks - especially decorative ones.  (just don't touch her feet)

* she thinks my sappiness is funny.  Wait till she reads this post!

* her craftiness.  She doesn't think she's crafty but you should see some of her cross-stitch. 

* my planned "surprise" birthday party.

* her one or two sentence emails to me throughout the day

* that I can probably guess exactly what she'll do and say when she reads this.  

The thing that I love most about Terina though, and that I value and celebrate almost every day, is that Terina has loved me and accepted me for who I am for all of our 22 years.  I am sure there were times as teenagers that we fought - I just don't remember them.  Instead I have all these incredible memories of trips to Santa Barbara, camping, Utah, double-dates (even when she didn't like my boyfriend!), late night movies, late night In-N-Out (or Applebees, or Denny's, or about 15 other places) and scary moments.  We've talked about sex, motherhood, sexuality, religion, being a spouse, dislikes, missing pieces, politics,  parenting lessons (or lack thereof), our spouses, our current books or TV shows.  You name it and we've talked about it.  

And each time I've come to her with a subject that I thought she'd be offended by, or alarmed by, or even close-minded towards, she has always proven me wrong.  The past few years I have seen her really chew on tough issues (in the same adorable way she chews her food!) and come to her own conclusions.  It has been breathtaking to watch.  And I am so lucky to be part of her 30 years.

Right now TJ lives WAY across this great continent.  We saw each other twice last year, the only two times we'd seen each other in three years.  Time doesn't seem to pass between us.  Except in writing this post - suddenly our 22 years of friendship seem very real.  It is hard to believe that we aren't the same two skinny, hyper, joy-filled girls that sat on the roof of your house, with your parents out of town, watching for boys and singing to Newsies.  Then again, we'd still do that!

My biggest birthday wish for Terina is one I'll discuss with her.  If I could though, here is what I'd send her for her birthday:

* 30 lbs of Jelly Bellys*

* 30 round trip tickets to international locations (figuring 1/2 of those would be to France)*

* me *

* $30 gift cards to Old Navy, that shoe store she loves, Target, WalMart, Etsy, and Shabby Apple. *

* 30 hours of Molly Maid cleaning service *

* 30 round-trip tickets to national locations (figuring 2/3 of those would be from there to here) *

* 30 hours of couples massage *

* 30 fresh-cut daffodils with 30 bulbs to plant for next year *

* 30 lbs. of real Swiss chocolate (not the 'crap' that we like here in the US)* 

* 30 new flip-flops *

* a selection of 30 new books - which she'll breeze through *

* me *

Happy Birthday TJ.    I love you.

Balboa

We were thrilled to hear that my cousin Stephanie and her husband James were going to be in town last weekend. Stephanie grew up in a town near my hometown so we have always been close. It was fun to get to know James before we moved away. They came down to visit her family and have a vacation. We were tickled that they wanted to see us. I actually think James just wanted to see the boys and see if they'd talk about body parts or bodily functions.

We met them at Balboa Beach. It was a ton of fun!

James played Frisbee and badminton with the boys for a while. Well, you cannot actually play the game with them - rather you just hit the ball, they scream with delight, and then you have to go pick the ball back up and hit it again. James was a good sport:


Steph's Mom (my Aunt Cindy) and sister Stacey were there when we first got there. It was fun to get caught up on the whole family:



We couldn't wait to start the campfire though. It was fun to sit around, chat, watch the boys' delight in such simplicity (hot dogs and fire), and enjoy a little bit of nature.

The boys treated us to an original song:


Thanks Steph and James! We had a glorious time!