| Tanya's profileMike & Tanya's Corner of...PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
June 30 Hot, HOt, HOTTTTT!! Why, Why, Why is it so hot here today?? It has got to be close to 90 outside. And to top it off as though I weren't warm enough what do I decide to do? Garden. Yup, I'm crazy. I went to one of the stores in town today and bought some plants. I got some succulents, a hosta, and a lily. Once Logan was down for his afternoon nap I decided to plant them. I didn't think it would be too much work..........last sane words spoken from me today. Sometimes I forget how crappy the soil is out here - yet you can put anything in the ground and it will thrive. It took me about 20 minutes to dig 2 little holes to plant the hosta and lily. I had to water the soil first so that I could actually dig into it. Once I started digging I think I managed to hit about 35 rocks and I managed to break a shovel. I finally got about 1" down into the ground and watered it some more. I began digging again when I hit a rock - I tried to get it out and thought I was underneath it. Nope. My shovel slipped and flung mud/dirt/water at my legs. I was covered in mud!!  I finally got the holes dug and the plants put in there. They do look pretty good but I think I'll be taking a break from gardening for a little while. Or at least until it cools down around here!This is WAY too accurate!!
June 28 He Has a Favorite Out of the blue Logan has become attached to a specific blanket. I have no idea how this came about. We have never put the same blanket in his crib all of the time - I usually switch them out every couple of weeks. The blanket is a cute one, it's one that my Aunt Jill made for him. It has Winnie the Pooh on it and is made out of fleece - so soft!! For about the last week when Mike & I would go and get Logan from his nap he would be holding onto this blanket. Then yesterday when Mike got him from his nap Logan would not let go of the blanket. He wanted to bring it downstairs with him. He only holds onto it until he's fully awake then he doesn't take a second glance at it. Right now I think it's cute that he has a favorite, I just hope he doesn't need it all of the time. Today he had the blanket and actually crawled over to me so that I could pick him up. Once he was in my lap he laid on my chest, put his fingers in his mouth, and cuddled with the blanket and me.
June 27 New Windows, New Windows, New WindowsThis entry is best viewed by going to the actual "blog" link.
In case you didn't hear we got new windows in our home. They. Are. Lovely. They started installing them yesterday and they are finishing up today. We got nine windows replaced altogether. They look so good!! And boy do they make a difference with the heat we've been having here. Last night it was so much cooler in our bedrooms. I was actually able to sleep comfortably. All of the icky mold that was growing around them is now gone which means Logan is no longer breathing in the ickiness that is mold. I feel like such a better parent.
 Before After
The bay window now has etched glass around the perimeter In the Family Room In the Laundry Room In the Guest Bedroom
I only took one "before" picture because frankly the windows before completely sucked. Don't they look so nice??
June 26 Weekend Wrap-UpFriday
It was pretty boring around here on Friday. In the morning Logan & I made a trip to Trader Joe's. Have I mentioned lately how much I love that place?? Well I
 that place!! I bought the best teriyaki sauce there and I decided to pick up some of their yogurt. YUM!! Saturday
Mike & I decided to tackle some yard work that has been neglected for awhile. He mowed the backyard while I ran the weed-whacker. I also decided to clean out both of our vehicles. And I would like to point out that mine was WAY cleaner than Mike's. Granted - he went on a 1200 mile drive with a yellow Lab who sheds like crazy - but still!! After that because it was so blasted hot out here we decided to buy Logan a kiddie pool. We filled it up, put him in a swim diaper, and let him splash around. He had such a good time in there. I'm sure we'll be spending alot of time on the deck now that the pool is out there.
Saturday night we finally took the stitches out of Pooh from his surgery. Can I just say stressful?? We had let him heal way too much so there was hardly any room to get under the stitch to cut it. Mike did a great job though - Pooh didn't even jump once. I was so worried we were going to slice him - I guess that's why I can't be a doctor.
Sunday
Oh my God the heat.............the heat............I hate the heat!! It's not bad if you have an air conditioner but we live in Western WA - who has an A/C here? Not us, that's for sure, and it's been miserable here! Oh, and what did we decide to do in the heat today, during the HOTTEST part of the day?? We went down to the reservation and bought fireworks. Did I mention the heat? Imagine if you will - 90 degrees outside, 4 adults, and 3 kids out in the blistering heat, in a parking lot with displays of fireworks for sale. One person (Mike) having a blast while the rest of us were sweating in our own sweat. It wouldn't have been bad if we had only been out there for an hour but we shopped for 2 1/2 hours!! In the heat....................the heat! On the plus side though Mike did get all of his fireworks that he wanted so I'm sure we'll have a kick a$$ show again this year! After that shopping we went to Costco to buy the food for the party. Why can't I ever leave there without spending at least $100??
Sunday night out of the complete blue Logan started clapping. It was so cute since it's very similar to how he waves. His whole upper body moves when he does it and he gets so excited when he's doing it! June 22 Update on Taylor Thank you all for the well-wishes for my brother. He is doing pretty good. He went to the doctor the other day and the doctor said he should have full use of his thumb. He'll just have to get used to not have the top 3/4" of it. He even jokingly IM'd me that he can now only give 1 1/2 thumbs up!
Oh, and here's a little tidbit about the company where it happened. The VERY next day after the accident they shut the machine down so noone would use it AND the very next Monday they had replaced the machine with a new and improved one where an accident like this will NEVER happen again. Now instead of using one hand to operate it you have to use both to start it. Which means there is NO WAY that your hand or finger will get smashed by it. So basically, they knew there was a better machine out there but chose not to spend the extra money on it to ensure their employee's safety. Nice that they wait until someone gets seriously injured to fix something.
 BTW - I just found out that another vacation replacement has been injured on the job there. Hmmm, maybe they should invest in some safety training - what do you think?? June 21 Updates on Logan· He is crawling like a madman! He is also getting so good at walking along the furniture – I’m sure in no time at all he’ll be walking on his own. · His balance is also really good. He can balance for about 10 seconds or so on his own and when we “walk” with him we can hold onto just one hand and he’s able to balance. · He is fascinated by his hands. Sometimes he’ll just stare at his hands with the goofiest grin on his face – it’s so funny! · He has learned how to climb up the stairs but we are still trying to teach him how to go down them. He wants to do it head-first. · He knows how to “give 5” to someone. · He can wave bye-bye and does it with such enthusiasm that his whole upper body will move. And if you’re lucky he’ll do it with both hands!! · When he drops something he will make a little “Oh” sound. We’re thinking it’s his way of saying uh-oh. He will also do this if he “accidentally” drops something and we have to pick it up. When he says this he’ll also raise his eyebrows to make himself appear even more innocent. · He is babbling more than ever. He will say Mama, Dada, Baba among other sounds. He likes to imitate sounds that we make too. · Logan loves to wag Pooh Bear’s tail for him. Logan will sit by Pooh and “thump” his tail and if Pooh does it back Logan will laugh. Too funny!! · He is becoming a bigger flirt every passing day. He has the one-sided-eyebrow-raise down pat. He is not afraid to use this to get his way. Damn him for being so cute!! June 19 AmazingTo view this blog entry correctly click on the "blog" tab at the top of my site - thanks!! This is what has happened in the month that I’ve been gone:
Before After
Before After
Before After
It’s amazing how fast/slow things grow depending on your perspective. I love how fast my plants have grown – the slugs are a little out of control right now but the bait has been laid down. Now it’s time for them to eat up. I’ve already seen their slimy trails around their favorite eating places. I hope they tell all their little friends about the yummy food they ate! June 18 Weekend Wrap-UpFriday
Went and did some shopping over in Lynnwood. I got some shirts, Mike got some shorts, and we all got the famous $5 t-shirts from Old Navy for the 4th of July. We also went over to our neighbor's house - their son graduated from high school this last week. It was so nice to see all of them since I'd been gone for a month. Not to mention the food was YUMMY!! Logan had a good time showing off his new speed-crawling and furniture-walking skills.
Saturday
Mike had his last Saturday class for the next 3 weeks. I'm hoping that one of these Saturdays we can take Logan over to the pool to see how he likes it and if he does maybe sign up for the Parent-Tot swim classes. I made some strawberry jam and will probably make some more on Monday.
Sunday
Celebrated Father's Day. We went over to Everett and had lunch at Outback Steakhouse. I had some yummy pasta with scallops and shrimp - it was so good! I got some new shoes while we were over there. We then came back home and I got to take a nap. I
 naps! It was so nice. For dinner we went over to Heidi & Jerome's since again I haven't seen them for over a month. It was nice to catch up with them.It was a nice and relaxing weekend but now that the week is beginning I have a lot of stuff to get done. Our new windows get installed next week. I can't wait!
June 16 Why Him??I don't even know how to write this-my mind is going in circles. Last night I got a phone call from my Dad which was a little weird. I had just talked to my Mom the night before and told her about the flight home and told her I would talk to them in a couple of days. Then last night Dad calls and asks how the flight was and if we're glad to be home. I tell him about the flight and he jokes that it was Logan's way of telling me he wanted to stay. I tell him that it's nice to be home and then I ask what they are up to............and the line gets quiet. Then Dad says, "Taylor had an accident at work". And I instantly think that he had a diabetic reaction. Dad said it wasn't that. He got the tip of his thumb cut off in a press machine. For some reason I think Dad is joking and I can't believe it, but then Dad starts to explain what happened and I realize it's real. Taylor started work this summer at the same place where my Dad has worked for 16 years. I worked there one summer while I was going to college. It is about the worst job I've had. Mainly because my steel-toed boots didn't fit correctly and I had to walk around the whole time unloading things from the paintline. Oh, and did I mention it was about 85 degrees in there with no air-conditioning? Ok - back to Taylor. He has a much better job there than I did. But the bad thing is that his job is very repetitive and boring. When your job is the same day in and day out your mind tends to wander while you're working. I don't know exactly what he does but it involves putting parts into a press, pressing a button, and repeating this process. It's boring but it pays over $13/hour and he's going to a very pricey college so you do what ya gotta do!! I guess it happened around 4 pm - his shift starts at 3 pm. He told Dad that he felt the machine pinch his finger and he hit the emergency stop button but it was too late. Once the press goes down it doesn't stop until it hits the bottom and there was no way his finger was going to stop a machine that deals with pressing metal each day. He ran to the nurse's station and they then took him to the ER. When Mom & Dad got to the ER Dad went in to see Taylor - Mom said she couldn't do it. Dad went in and they were looking at his thumb. The machine cut his thumb right below the nail, at an angle. The doctor said there was no way to save it and he then had to cut the finger off straight across. Taylor is now without the top 1/2" of his left thumb. We're not sure what is going to happen now. The place where he is working is not the nicest company out there and they frankly treat their VR's (vacation replacements) like shit. Hell, they treat their regular employees like shit. My Dad is pretty sure once Taylor is allowed to go back to work they will fire him for some reason or another. Taylor goes back to see the doctor in 10 days so we'll see what happens at that point. There will be some adjustments to make - Taylor plays saxophone and piano and those are some of the main reasons that he is going to St. Olaf in the fall. He will have to learn to adjust his playing. I know we'll get through this - we always do. It's just so hard that once again something happens and I'm not able to be there. June 15 Home Again, Home Again Well we made it back in one piece. Logan did not do as well this time though as he did on the way to North Dakota. He did not enjoy having to sit on my lap for most of the flights. He wanted to get down and crawl. We had some turbulence from Denver to Seattle though so he couldn't move around as much as he wanted. Thank goodness that we had some nice people around us to help me keep him entertained. He did cry some of the time but I guess it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
I'm so happy to be home - my bed was so comfy last night! I was worried that Logan wouldn't sleep very well the first night home bue he did better than expected. He went to bed around 10 and got up at 6 am. Not bad considering he hasn't slept in his crib for almost a month. Now that vacation is over it's back to being a homemaker - I've been busy this morning doing laundry, going through the mail, and making a shopping list for the grocery store. And it looks like the nice weather did not come with us. It's cloudy and drizzling outside, so it's back to wearing jeans for awhile I guess.  June 12 The Reunion & Week-end at the Lake Friday night was a blast! I didn't think I would have as much fun as I actually did. It was so nice to see some of my old classmates. There were only about 10 that showed up - our class had 36 people in it (big town that I lived in huh?). We first met at one bar but they had a band there that night so once they started playing it was too loud to visit so we decided to go to another one. Not all of the group followed but we still had a good time! We got a chance to catch up on what people have been up to the last 10 years, passed around the photos of our kids, and reminisced about high school. By the time they kicked us out of the bars my sides hurt and my throat was hoarse from laughing so much!
Saturday afternoon Taylor & I headed up to the lake cabin. My Mom, Dad and Logan had gone up on Friday. The weather forecast called for rainy days and cloudy skies and of course for once the meterologist was correct.
 We still managed to have a great time though (except from 2-7 am)- we played cards, ate some yummy walleye, and napped. From 2-7 am Logan did not want to sleep. I was up with him from 2-3:30, Mom was up from 3:30-5, and Dad was up with him from 5-7. At that point I got up with him for the day. He went down for a nap at 11 and slept until 2:30. At that point I decided to lay down too since the night was pretty restless. He did really well the rest of the day and we headed for hom at around 5. We got to Bismarck at 6:30 and Logan went to bed at 8:30 and slept until 8:30 the next morning. I guess he didn't like sleeping up at the cabin. My Dad said that better change though because how will it work when Logan stays with Grandpa up there for the whole summer? All of the photos from this weekend are in the "North Dakota" folder. Enjoy!! June 09 A Trip to the Zoo & Other Stuff Yesterday afternoon after Mike left to head back to WA - Logan, me, and my Aunt Shelia went to the zoo. I wasn't quite sure if Logan was old enough yet and that he would enjoy seeing all of the animals. OMG was I wrong!! He had a blast. It was the perfect time of year to go too because alot of the animals had babies in the spring. We saw baby goats, baby prairie dogs, baby ducks, baby moose, baby bison, baby mountain goats, baby camels, and the best of all.........two little baby tigers. They were so cute and playful. The kept "pouncing" on the zoo keepers that were trying to feed them. They would try to sneak up on them and then either attack their shoelaces or their backs. Logan loved watching them. He would just watch them and yell or scream at them in excitement. He was not too sure about the Clydesdale horses though - I think they were a little too big for his liking!
Now that I know he enjoys the zoo I think this is the perfect thing to do once Logan & I get back to the Seattle area. The Woodland Park Zoo is really fun and I think he would enjoy watching all of those animals! Now I'll only have to convince Mike to go with us.
 Sidenotes
June 08 Pooh Bear Had Surgery A couple of weeks ago I had written that Pooh Bear needed to have surgery and that it was going to cost somewhere between $850-$1100. Pooh Bear had the surgery yesterday while Mike and him were back in ND and guess how much it cost here? $190!!! Can you believe how much money we saved having the surgery here? Even after we figure the cost of gas for Mike to get to and from here we will still be ahead by more than half of what we were assuming we would be paying.
Pooh's surgery went really well. He ended up getting two tumors removed and hopefully it will be the only time he has to have it done. He was very groggy last night and pretty much laid in the garage and didn't move too much, but this morning when I went out to take him to the bathroom he was his usual hyper self. Logan and him were even able to play a little. Logan was so excited to see him! If Pooh Bear ever needs to have surgery again we will definitely try to plan on having it done the next time we are back. June 07 What a great visit!! These past couple of days have just flown by! I can't believe it's already Wednesday and Mike will be leaving in the afternoon. We've had such a great time since he's been here (not that we weren't having fun before - but this was such a nice surprise!). Yesterday afternoon Logan & I showed Mike our favorite park. Mike had a great time playing with Logan while we were there. Logan even went down one of the slides and decided to explore a little more of the park. There are some new pictures added to the "North Dakota" album to show the afternoon. Today we went to the waterpark, but unfortunately Logan didn't seem to enjoy it as much as the first time. I think it was past his naptime and he was too tired to thoroughly enjoy it. We stayed at the waterpark for about 30 minutes and this time he liked the actual pool more than the fountains. We didn't take the camera this time though so I don't have any pictures from this visit but there are some from the first one.
The first trip to the waterpark was a blast! Logan absolutely loved it. Mom, Logan and I went last Friday. It was opening day so it was free admission. We figured it was the perfect day to go because if Logan didn't enjoy himself at least we weren't out any money. We had nothing to worry about though because I think he would have stayed until they kicked us out if it was up to him. The great thing about this waterpark is that it is made for kids from about Logan's age up to about 10. It has a pool that gradually gets deeper so Logan was able to crawl around in the water just like he does at home in the tub. The bad part was that he didn't realize if he went in too far he would end up drinking water. Logan drank LOTS of pool water that day!! He loved the pool part of the park but he was also perfectly content just sitting by one of the different fountains that squirted water. He would sit on the floor with his arms raised up and just grunt. I tried to move him once and he just stuck his legs straight out as though to say, " Sit me back down!". I think we'll try the waterpark at least once more - after he's had his nap! June 04 The Biggest and Best Surprise Ever!! Today I had planned on writing about the afternoon at the waterpark with Logan and my Mom but that entry will have to wait - I have one MUCH better!
Saturday Mike & I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. And we were apart from each other as most of you know. This is the first anniversary that we've ever been away from each other and I didn't think it would be as difficult as it was. I tried to keep as busy as possible that day so it wasn't too bad.
In the morning Mom, Logan, and I hit some garage sales and we found a couple of things. More toys for Logan, some clothes for Logan, and a rug for Taylor to take to college to use in his dorm room. In the afternoon Mom, Logan, I went to Kacey's bridal shower. It was a lot of fun - Kacey got some very nice gifts and Logan and Erin were able to play together again. In the evening Taylor & I went to the Devinci Code - it was a great movie! I had read the book and was worried that the movie would not do the book justice but I was mistaken. I would recommend that you watch it!! On the way home from the movie I gave Mike a call so that I could at least talk to him on our anniversary. He said he was just home watching TV and wasn't up to too much else.
On to Sunday: I called Mike at around 10 am his time to see what he was up to. He said he had wanted to get out of the house so him and Pooh Bear decided to take a drive over to Lynnwood. They were going to go to Lowe's and maybe Best Buy. We kept losing the connection and I couldn't figure out why he kept calling back - he knows how bad the reception is on that road. He called back again and said he had found a spot in the road to pull over so he could call me. We talked for a little while and then said our goodbyes.
Charlene (Mike's Mom) had invited Logan & I up for dinner on Sunday afternoon, we left Bismarck around 4 and were supposed to be in Center around 4:30. Needless to say we were running late. We arrived in Center at about 4:45. We got into the house and I was turning around to set down the diaper bag and guess who I saw?? Guess! Come on................any clue??
MY HUSBAND!!
Can you believe it?? Mike had left from school at around 5 pm and drove straight through and arrived in Center at about 2:30 on Sunday afternoon. I can't believe he surprised me! I was completely shocked - it actually took about a minute for it to sink in that Mike was standing in front of me. I was so happy to see him. Logan was a little stand-offish at first but after a couple of minutes he was very happy to see his Daddy. Mike made a very quick trip back - he has to be back in Seattle by Thursday for class that evening. I think this is by far one of the very best anniversary surprises anyone could ask for! I hope you all had as wonderful of weekend as I did June 01 FINALLY!! I was finally able to change the video up on the site - I think it only took me about a week. For some reason FileLodge was being an absolute pain in the buttocks! Today after trying to upload it the 10th time was the charm I guess. Hope you enjoy it since it was so much work to put up here!
 I promise Logan was not drunk during the filming of this - Mike has asked me more than once. I think I wrote an entry about it a couple of weeks ago that he would do this in the tub every once in awhile. Now I guess I have it on film forever to show him you don't need alcohol to act like a weirdo - it comes naturally to some people!
 We are hoping to go to the park this evening and I am going to try to remember to take the video camera. I have no idea how to get the video off the camera so it might be awhile until a new video is put up on the site! |
I won't be around this weekend so I hope you all have a great one!!|
|
