going on...and on

we just got back from a celebration. as a couple with children it is not easy to attend very many celebrations...ones that are for adults only...we can no longer accept that phone call with the request of going to a movie or getting together to play cards (although no one here really plays cards like they do in Michigan...i miss that). in order to attend this celebration we had to email for a babysitter weeks in advance. we have one high school gal who has been pretty good about coming to watch the kids. she's 17 which is nice because it means she drives here. anyway, she said she could do it but then a few days later said that she couldn't because she was working with the jr. high youth group.
but.
she has a sister who babysits as well.
look.
beggars can't be choosers and i didn't ask any questions.
yes.
we'd take the sister.
the sister is 15. this is true family commitment on their part because the mom said she would pick her up and drop her off. but i 'm rambling...this isn't about the babysitter. this is about the celebration. (the baby sitter was great. she managed both the kids and the dog...and emptied the dishwasher...no i will not share her number...she's mine...)
the celebration.
we were getting together because some friends of ours have been married for 10 year.
TEN YEARS. it's a long time people and worthy of a party. trey and i are coming up on our 9 year in May. i really think we've been lucky. some of our married friends have been through some horrible experiences. some have divorced. it's been rough...marriage...not the party.
towards the end of the evening we all sat together in the living room and toasted the couple. various people said various kind and/or encouraging and/or sentimental things about them. it was very touching.
i sat on the couch and looked around the room at the gathering. i really didn't know many people but would count myself as a good friend to the couple. this got me thinking about how we all know each other in part. no one really knows all the sides of us.
many of the friends gathered were in or at their wedding. the walks down memory lane were entertaining to hear. some of the friends lived with the couple at one point or the other, some just knew them from social events throughout college. i met them on a tour with Velour100. we met again when they moved back to Seattle. i worked with the gal for a while and we became very fast friends.
we had struggled through some of the same issues with motherhood. it was refreshing to have a real ear to talk to about the things i did not enjoy about being a mom. she did not judge me. she agreed with me and supported me and made me feel normal.
we've had our ups and downs in this relationship. it has not all been a meeting of the collective mothering minds but we have found our way back to one another. this friendship, like a marriage has been a choice. there was time when we could have walked away from each other but we chose to fight our way through some uncomfortable conversations and uncomfortable silences.
i enjoyed being counted among the many friends this couple has. i enjoyed hearing stories of their youth and folly. i will continue to enjoy their friendship.
being married is not an easy task and this couple does not pretend that it is. they have been a source of comfort for other couples and a source of encouragement for their single friends.
here's to another 10 years and another and another.

DUDE!

August plays with Trey's computer camera!

personality

my sister-in-law posted about taking a personality test which inspired me to do the same...so...here are the results:

You Are An ESFP

The Performer You are a natural performer and happiest when you're entertaining others. A great friend, you are generous, fun-loving and optimistic. You love to laugh - and you like almost all people equally. You accept life as it is, and you do your best to make each day fantastic. You would make a good actor, designer, or counselor.

What's Your Personality Type?

2 sunny days in a row!!!

we spent most of yesterday outside in the queen anne neighborhood of seattle:


and today i feel very lucky to be the mother of these two wonderful children:

GO PILOTS!!

game 1

last practice...bring on the games!

yesterday was august's very last practice before his little league games start. the sun was out. the dog was tired and hazel was high on motrin:

august took his turn as the catcher...you can't really see him under all the gear:

both these pictures were taken with my phone...they'll have to do until i get a new camera. i think they look alright though. august's games start on saturday. he'll be wearing the whole uniform...including the smallest cup known to man...it's so cute...i won't be posting pictures of that...

you can ring my bell

for the last 24 hours we have been taking Tank to the back door and making him touch a bell before we take him out to go to the bathroom. it has been funny watching him try to figure out what we're asking him to do...he noses it one time, head butts it another and hits it with his paw the next time.
this morning as i was fixing my second cup of coffee (yup, it's a 2 cup kind of day as hazel woke up with a fever) i heard the bells ring. for a second i thought it was an odd sound and wondered which toy hazel was playing with, then it hit me...it's the potty bell! i dropped my spoon and ran to the back door. sure enough there was the dog waiting patiently. i opened the door and he went potty (i'd show you a picture but...my camera is broken...have i mentioned that? birthday). it was a good feeling to see the fruits of our 24 hour labors.

last night we took the kids to the triple door to see Rosie Thomas play. hazel loves her new CD, i think i've mentioned that before. we didn't tell her what we were doing, just told her we were going somewhere special to see something special. when she figured it out she seemed pleasantly surprised. Rosie came over to say hello and gave hazel a teddy bear.
we stayed for the whole show which was good because she sang the last song (which was hazel's favorite) and thanked hazel for coming. hazel lit up and acted as though the very verbalizing of her name from the stage made her famous.
it was a good night.

mybrotherscott

hello?!
my own dear brother has a spot on IMDB!!
trey and i spend WAY too much time looking things up on this site.
congratulations to my very talented brother Scott Reynolds! (now get your picture up there brother...)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2385065/

week one

well, we lasted a week with the puppy. it's like skipping the infant stage of parenthood and jumping right into toddler life. for those of you who have not had kids that means that the puppy can not be left alone...ever...even for a second...cause you just don't know what he'll do...like chew the couch...or...poop on the rug...or...attack one of hazel's limbs...it's been fun.

i took a trip to ikea during spring break. didn't really need anything, just wanted to put the kids in the play area for an hour so i could walk around by myself...well...tank and i walked around together. he was purdy cute in the cart:

i continued working on my coffee making skills to impress my friends and family. i may have gotten the foam issues resolved:
look at that foam would ya! almost as good as uptown! ok...not even close...a girl's gotta dream right? mmmmm, that uptown coffee looks soo good, i might have to go git me some one day this week...anyone wanna join me? during school...no kids...any takers?

guess what? my camera broke (my birthday is coming up) yup, it was in my purse so i could catch all the funny things the kids and dog do during our day (my birthday is coming up) and somehow it done broke. so. no pictures for a while. (my birthday is coming up) i may start to recycle old ones that haven't been used (my birthday is coming up) but i'll let you know if they're old ones so you don't think my children are shrinking. (my birthday is coming up).
that's all for now.
birthday

TANK

please do not send TANK Jamiroquai singles.

this morning as i was checking my favorite websites i left the TV on that THETUBE station...it has very random videos throughout the day. right now it's playing "ain't no mountain high enough", OK, now it's playing "turn/turn/turn". it's great for background noise. anywho- the TV was on. i was sitting on the couch with my computer and TANK was laying down on one of his many beds in front of me when "virtual insanity" by jamiroquai started playing. TANK's head raised to look at the TV. the dog would not stop growling at the TV. i even sent one of his favorite toys across the room, a game both he and the kids never grow tired of, nope. he would not be distracted from that crazy looking guy wearing that crazy big hat.

no jamiroquai for this dog. now what will trey listen to?

picture blog of our day

such great plans

i had such great plans set out for our spring break this year. the kids and i were packing up to visit with my brother and sister-in-law out in sunny california. the night before we were to fly out the phone rang with bad news and we had to re-schedule our trip.
a full week with absolutely nothing to do.

thankfully an old college friend was coming for a visit, one that i would have missed out on had the kids and i gone to california. Matt Hudson, or Hudson as he was called back then, and his wife Sarah have some family in the area and fit us right in with their vacation plans.
Hudson was my brother's room mate for many years back at Eastern Michigan University as well as a band mate with my husband. we go way back.
on their first full day here we spent a few hours knocking back some yummy girly drinks in the back yard. the sun was out, the kids were playing and the adults were chatting about how we've all changed so much since our college days.
there was comfort in talking to Hudson. he knew me a lifetime ago. i would say something and he would laugh and comment that i sounded like my old self. i kinda liked hearing that.

we've all lived such varied lives. i feel like i've been at least four different versions of myself throughout my life. it's very self centered of me but i would love to get some key people from my past together and compare notes. what would my best friend from Chicago say about who i was when i lived there? what about that year i lived in Willowbrook, what would my closest friend say about me? and then there's my South Lyon life. i was fortunate enough to get together with some of my closest friends from there and was amazed at some of the things they remembered of me. life changes us. i have been changed and part of me wishes that i could have held onto the fractures of me that i left behind.

Easter

the bunnies are multiplying! don't be surprised if one pops up in your Easter basket...

today has turned out to be a beautiful day. i opted for a long walk around greenlake this morning. it was a bit cold but the sun was pouring down and it felt good. i brought along my trusty ipod and listened to Erwin speak on his book Soul Cravings.
it was super great. he spoke of love. i've been hearing a lot about this lately. that God has asked us to love Him and to love our neighbors. not just the people i like, but everyone. i could use a little reminder to love people. the bag i've been carrying around lately says clearly, "I HATE PEOPLE". i started carrying it because, for the most part, it's true. i expect the worst from people. i've gotta work on this. as i listened to him speak i was reminded of a verse i memorized as a child, 1 John 4: 7, 8 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love."
clear.
as.
a.
bell.
it doesn't say that if we know God we will judge and hate and exclude people. it says if we do not love people than we do not know God.
i'm constantly depressed and embarrassed by the actions of people who call themselves Christians. i've struggled for years to forge my own way within Christianity. i've even gone so far was distancing myself from those who call themselves Christians.
i'm a long way from figuring it out but i think i'm making baby steps towards how i believe God wants me to be.

an open letter

Dear woman on the treadmill next to me this morning,

i see you at the gym every day. you are very committed to health and fitness. you are also very committed to everyone else following the rules as established by the gym. i heard you complain to one of the personal trainers when you noticed that a member forgot to wipe down the equipment when they were done. i also saw you peek into my shower stall to inform me that i was taking a bit too long, thank you for informing me that you were waiting. i found it very helpful.
today i was lucky enough to walk next to you for 20 minutes. i'll be honest with you, i was a bit worried that i'd do something not quite right. but that was the last available treadmill in the gym so i grabbed it. i was sandwiched between you and an elderly gentleman. you were watching The View and he was watching CNN, i opted for switching between The View and Martha. everything was going well until you let one slip. it was indeed both silent AND deadly. when the scent crept into my nose i thought i was going to dry heave. i quickly put my hand up to my nose so i could smell the hand soap from the gym. you slyly glanced my way and i thought that maybe the gent on my left would think that i was the deliverer of that smell of death. i was not pleased. the smell subsided and we all continued our walk enjoying the TV in silence.
i want to thank you for holding the next one in for a good 10 minutes. it was a nice chance for me to clear my nose from the memory of your anal cavity.
when you did let the final blow go i believe i couldn't hold in my unhappy surprise and actually made a sound as my hand raced to my nose yet again. i'm sorry to be so rude yet i must thank you for taking your leave. i suppose i could have simply looked you in the eye and asked if you needed to see a doctor, but i thought it would be a bit more polite of me to air my disgust to anyone who could hear me through their ear buds.
when you left the air seemed a bit cleaner and everyone took a visible sigh of relief.
i am hoping you made it to the locker room and that you will be better tomorrow. please do not take it personally when i decide to work the stair master if there is only one treadmill available and it is positioned next to you.

signed,
jennifer