Where We Are

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about where Will and I are at in our lives and how we came to be here. Not because I wish for anything different; I love my life! I love where I live, my marriage, being a parent, my job - things are WONDERFUL! I think what caused all of this reflection is that we are getting into a good routine and are accomplishing some of our personal goals...I mean a lot of life changing events (milestones) have happened to Will and I in a pretty short period. I moved across the country, we both got jobs that are potential careers, I am finishing my bachelors and have plans for my masters, we got married, had a beautiful son, and are now in the process of buying our first home together.

Buying a house is an exciting time and started me thinking of when Will and I first found out we were pregnant. Will was not at his current job and so we were not really established in the area yet...BN paid OK but not great. He had the idea of rejoining the Air Force as an Officer. At that time we were still not sure if I would be a stay-at-home mommy with future Baby B or a working one. I was leaning more towards a working one. We thought there were positive and negatives for both options, but we felt there were more positives (for the three of us) with Colin being in a daycare with other kids...we feel this was the best option for us considering what we thought was the most important for Colin's growth, but to each their own. OK, a bit off topic, but there are very interesting articles on the differences between kids that were in daycare and kids that had stay-at-home moms...I could write about that topic for a while.

 Back on topic - So, Will had the idea of going back into the Air Force. There were many aspects of this plan that sounded appealing, but along with the good there were parts of being in the military (even as a spouse) that I would not be particularly fond of. I like to tease Will that when I met him he changed my idea of what I wanted in a husband. I always said that I would never marry a police office, a firefighter, someone in the military, or someone whose hometown was far away. Will happen to have been a firefighter in the military whose hometown was in Virginia (far away from Oregon)! What did I know??? He was not in the military when I met him, but I doubt that would have changed things much! Looking back, I am very thankful that we did not go that direction. For many reason, we decided against it. We held out and now have amazing jobs, are in a great area for schools, and have met so many wonderful people!

However, I do have a lot of friends who do have spouses in the military and that have had to wait out many deployments. I even know a lady or two who are currently pregnant while their husbands are deployed. I feel for these people; I could not imagine how difficult that must be, especially during a pregnancy which is such an emotional time on its own. All of you are in our prayers. I have so much respect for your sacrifices and that of your spouses and loved ones as well.

So, this blog is a little different than most...but hey, I have to throw those in from time to time. Be prepared...I leave for California next week (11 days) so I may have some more mushy stuff on the way. I have not been away from Colin or Will that long before. I think the longest from Will is maybe a week and from Colin is maybe 4 days. So as Colin would say...here we go!!! I will also keep you posted on house stuff! We're so excited!!!

Elmo & a Dancing Baby

I finally loaded some of our videos on our computer and found two that I thought would be fun to share. The first one was a few weeks before Christmas in 2008 (Colin just turned a year old) and we gave him a sneak peak at one of his Christmas gifts. When he was younger (and sometimes now) he would freak out when he saw Elmo.  It was an excited freak out, but it looked very bizarre! It use to embarrass us in stores, because people would stop and look at him.  Anyway, so here is a glimpse into what he would do (this one is a milder version of the norm).





The next video is of him dancing when he would get excited about one of his shows. Excuse the droopy diaper!! Colin loves to dance! His dance moves have improved some now that he is older. I will try to post one soon of him dancing to Jack Johnson soon.


So, on a different subject...Sticking with my new year's resolution, I tried my second new recipe tonight. I made tuna medallions. I have never cooked tuna before and was a little nervous.  I was also trying it without a recipe to go from. I put in in tinfoil with butter, lemon slices, lemon pepper and a little bit of garlic - It turned out really yummy! I served it with rice and veggies. I like fish, but I try to avoid too much of a fishy flavor and this one did not have that at all! Colin even ate quite a bit of it, which surprised me, he does not usually eat the tilapia. Well, hope everyone is having a great week...got to say goodbye so I can play Will in one of his new Wii games!!!!

Waking Up Baby

Colin's daycare provider was sick today, so we had a mommy/son day! It was nice. We drove to my work so I could get a few things; I am going to attempt to get some work done today - writing this does not help!  Colin was very well-behaved at the office! So proud :) Since he was such a good boy, we treated ourselves to McD's. Their new (well I think it is new) oatmeal and fruit thing is really good - Colin loved it! It has dried cranberries and cut-up apples. It was nice to have something not so greasy. The rest of the morning we played choo-choos and danced around to some of Colin's fave music. At lunch time, Will was able to come home and we both watched in amazement as Colin ate his soup...boys are so messy!! Bathtime! Thankfully, Colin actually fell asleep during his nap, so I was able to get some work done and after this brief blog, I will try to finish writing my report. It will be nice not to be behind on Monday. Will and I have a busy weekend; house stuff tomorrow and I have this week's homework and a mid-term project. My first trip is the same week as my mid-term so I want to have as much done as possible.

Anyway, the whole point of this blog...I woke Colin up by taking pictures of him sleeping (it was time for him to wake up - he was working on 2 1/2 hour nap! So, I wanted to share some of the pictures. He is so cute!!

Fabulous Weekend

Another wonderful and productive weekend!


Friday night I went to dinner with some of my lady friends! I had a really good time and we even stayed out late - such a wild & crazy mama!! We went to this restaurant called Clyde's - I love this place! Currently, in the DC area it is restaurant week so we got a 3 course meal for a great deal! My meal was delicious!  I had the Apple, Arugula and Goat Cheese salad for starters and then the Chesapeake Bay Rockfish for my main dish. We also got a dessert but I was a sweetie and took mine home to Will (Hazelnut Chocolate Mousse Cake). So, if you ever come across a Clyde's while visiting the east coast - I highly recommend! The restaurants usually have a cool ambiance to them as well.


On Saturday, we took Colin down to see Grandma Liz. His great-aunt Mary Ann was there as well as her husband, Gerre and their son Kevin (and his wife Sarah). We had a great time! This was my first time meeting Kevin and Sarah (so sweet). Liz made a delicious dinner, Mary Ann made a wonderful salad ( I need to get the dressing recipe) and Kevin baked some amazing bread! We brought the wine :) Colin was running around with/or chasing Rusty (Grandma's dog) the WHOLE time! He was so active! Needless to say, he fell asleep very quickly once we were in the car headed home, which was after we stopped by Grandfather B's again because we forgot something. Where Will, Colin and Bill participated in a cherry war  (wooden cherries). Being in mother mode, I was sitting on edge the whole time afraid Colin was going to get hurt but the only time one hit him he said "ouch" then preceded to go get more ammo...such a boy!


Sunday was our productive day. I worked on homework (Pert charts, which I actually like and Will was sweet and helped me) and then Will and I both went through some paperwork for house stuff...so much to do!!! Fingers-crossed that the process is quick and goes smoothly!



Oh, cute story...last night when I asked Colin if he was ready to go to bed he perked up said "Clean up!", which he then preceded to gather his toys (one by one) from the living room and brought them in his room (and even put them away in his toy baskets) while I cleaned up his room. It was so cute! Then he gathered the stuffed animals (one by one again) that usually accompany him to bed and tossed them into his crib! He attempted to climb into the crib but was unsuccessful! It was so cute, he was all ready for bed :) What a nice end to a great weekend!

"Off We Go..."

"...Into the wild blue yonder,

Climbing high into the sun;

Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,

At 'em boyz, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun now!)

Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,

Off with one helluva roar!

We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!

Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!"

I love three day weekends! We started it off by having our friends Amy and Steve over for dinner (Mexican themed), dessert (Will made cookies), drinks and some Wii!! Colin loved having company over and even managed to convince Will and I to let him out of bed and stay up a bit longer...which meant he slept in until 8 am on Sunday, so that was nice!

On Sunday, we relaxed at home...I worked on homework (did pretty well on my quizzes!), we cleaned, and my sweetie took me to the bookstore (sadly not BN but Borders will do) so I could buy a few new books (having new books will make studying harder). Will also had band rehearsal so Colin and I had some mommy/son time, which of course is always a blast!

Today, we took Colin to the Air and Space museum, hence the Air Force song opening this blog. Will educated me on all things Air Force and even sang the song for me! We had a good time and Colin did very well. We attempted the visit without his stroller, so he either walked (he was very good about holding one of our hands) or we took turns carrying him. He loved the planes! Will and I may try to go sometime on our own so we can do the space ship simulator and moon walk...one of our future dates! Plus, it would be nice to read about what we were looking at; Colin likes to keep moving, no time to read!

It was a little weird because they had a lot of Transformer stuff since the second movie had scenes filmed there, but it is nice if it helps bring people in. Below is a picture of the Black Bird which is the really old transformer in the movie. It is a really cool looking plane.

Will got really excited about the space section although that seemed to be the one that Colin behaved the worst, so we had to walk through it quicker than we would have liked...sorry sweetie :(

Such a nice weekend!!!

Haiti Earthquake Relief

Most of you have probably heard about the horrific earthquake that happened on the Caribbean island of Haiti yesterday. I heard on the radio that the number of deaths so far is estimated to be around 500,000...this is such a tragic event. I also heard that Wyclef Jean has a fund to aid his home country, see link for more information:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0113/Wyclef-Jean-Haiti-earthquake-Singer-leads-charge-to-help-through-Yele-Haiti-charity-and-Twitter

After looking through some of the pictures and seeing a father carrying his dead daughter I had to donate...it's only $5...this is so sad...

For the Book Lovers

I have recently read some fabulous books that I highly recommend:
Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

I really enjoyed this book! It was well-written and very interesting. The author decides to spend a year of traveling and just focusing on her sekf after she goes through a divorce. So, she she spends 4 months in Italy (eat) where she focuses on pleasure (which in this case is the pleasure of food), then India (pray) where she stays at an ashram with a native guru and focuses on her spiritual explorations, and in Bali (love), she focuses on putting all that she has learned together; the art of balance...putting together worldly desires and spiritual health. She becomes friends with a elderly medicine man who helps her with this.


In the Time of Butterflies -Julia Alvarez

This story takes place in Dominican Republic from 1938 to 1994 and follows the lives of four sisters, three of which were assassinated during the rule of Rafael Trujillo. Each sister is the narrator of a chapter, which I find an interesting way to tell a story, you get to hear different sides. The story made me cry but was interesting to learn about a country's history that you do not hear too much about in school.

Snowflower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See

The book takes place in 19th-century China, when women were foot-bound and were very secluded. A lady nearing the end of her life is looking back and telling the story about her and her "old sames" (laotongs) and the nu shu writing (a secret women's writing). The foot-binding chapters were a little hard to read (I couldn't imagine the pain) but the story was really good! I loved the characters and the authors style.

Right now I am reading The Blind Assassin (by Margaret Atwood) and Three Cups of Tea (By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin). I am really enjoying both of them. The first one is a piece of fiction and the second is a non-fiction about a man who is building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan (to promote peace through education). I love the books title, which is taken from a proverb: "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family..."

Happy Birthday Liz!!!

I wanted to wish a happy birthday to my "other" mom Liz (or Grandma Liz to Colin)! We hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Liz is the best mother-in-law I could have hoped for! She has been such a blessing to me and just makes being so far away from my own mom a bit easier (mom - of course it is still hard) but Liz is always there if I have questions or need to talk. So...thank you for all you do for Will, Colin and I. We truly appreciate having you so close and for being such a big part of our lives!

Happy Birthday!!!



Really looking forward to seeing Leap Year!!! Girls day!

Virginia Christmas

The past few weeks have been spent celebrating Christmas with Will's side of the family. On Wednesday, we had Grandfather B and Grandma Patty over for dinner.  On the menu was Unstuffed Green Pepper Soup - delicious, if I do say so myself!. We had a fabulous time! Colin loves his new Band in a Box! He was playing the symbols while Grandfather B was playing the tamborine! What a musical duo. So cute! I enjoyed being able to relax and just visit. It felt like forever since we had seen Bill and Patty.

On Sunday, we headed up to Maryland to celebrate with Grandma Liz, Uncle Michael, Uncle Jamie, Aunt Ann and Colin's cousins, Ryan and Brady. Another day of fun! I had a great time taking pictures of Brady (who is two weeks younger than Colin) who kept watching me, probably trying to figure out why his crazy aunt is constantly taking photos of him! He is too adorable!

We were thrilled that one of our gifts for Ryan was such a big hit.  We bought him a robot that ended up by his side the whole night! Success! Ann made a delicious dinner and I tried sushi for the first time! It was a cooked version...and was crab, but it still counts . This will help build me up to raw sushi! I will need to be prepared in case I end up going to Japan!

Thank you everyone for a wonderful holiday season! It was a great start to being home again!

Only one more Christmas to go...

Cliche...Perhaps

High Hopes for 2010!!!!

This year we went to a party at our friends' house (John & Susannah) to celebrate the new year. It was a blast!  We had a great time visiting, drinking a little more than normal, and just having a fun night. Thank you Susannah and John for hosting!! Being parents of a little guy, we needed to leave earlier than we would have liked in order to get C to bed, but we only left an hour before midnight. So, after getting the little guy to bed we watched the Dick Clark's New Year Countdown. I had not watched his show in years..the man has aged! He definitely looks good for his age but I can tell the difference since the last time I watched his show. I really enjoyed ending our evening cuddled up on our couch watching the ball drop together; what a wonderful night!

Not to sound too cliche but Will and I do have some New Year resolutions. I have never really been one to make resolutions each year, but Will and I decided to last year and we were pretty successful. Creating this blog and sticking to it was actually one of my resolutions from last year.  I have been able to keep up with it a lot better than I thought I would. It is "mommy's quiet time", which could be a huge part of my motivation...and it is a great way to share our life with my west coast family and friends. We have also been fairly successful at exercising and eating healthier (with the exception of the past two months - so that is back on the list). Holidays are filled with many temptations!
Here it goes:

1. To keep up this blog

2. PURGE (this will make moving easier when the time comes)

3. Exercise

4. Eat healthier...again

5. Devote time each week to our personal hobbies

6. Be better at date nights

7. Try at least one new cooking recipe every month (this may sound like a long time, but with traveling for work a month may make my failure less likely)

8. Get back into reading more non-fiction (I have been spending a lot more time with fiction lately, which isn't like me...getting lazy!)

Here is to all of our wonderful friends and family...wishing you and yours all a wonderful new year (2010 - can you believe it???) filled with love, happiness and amazing life adventures! Love you all! Best of luck in all of your endeavors throughout 2010!