Yellow Wallpaper

It's still a little over two months until Christmas, but we've already had some people ask about presents. I just updated everybody's wish lists on Amazon, so everything should be current. S-Boogie and Little Dude share her list, so you can find it under her given name (ask us if you need help finding it). Amazon now lets you make sublists, so the books are for both of them, the one marked "toys" is ideas for her and the one marked "stuff for baby" is ideas for him. Both of the toy lists are just an idea of the sorts of things we want, since neither of them is old enough to get real specific about what they want for Christmas yet. S-Boogie could also use some warm clothes for winter, but Little Dude is pretty well stocked on clothes. My wish list is also updated, and I also wouldn't mind new clothes or money to get them either. If you weren't already planning on getting us stuff and think this post is a plea for gifts, just ignore it. Your happy ...

You are a Social Liberal (61% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (18% permissive) You are best described as a: Socialist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

I have to try really hard not to laugh every time S-Boogie asks for one of her new favorite snacks--peanuts. She can't pronounce the T very well and it usually sounds like something else... And the other day I exclaimed to Little Dude "You have big balls!" (on his shirt, I meant) Yes, I really am almost 30 years old and a college graduate....

I haven't been posting very much over the last few weeks. Part of it has been the whole chaos of moving, plus people visiting and me going out of town. And I haven't been feeling very inspired as of late. As much as I've been trying to fight it, I really feel down lately. Some of that is due to adjusting to a new area, difficulty getting our finances in order and finding jobs that will cover the rent, the fact that Little Dude still just wants to spend all day in my arms, etc. But I also realized the other day that my life doesn't have to be as hard as it feels. I have way too many days where I don't even want to get out of bed, where things like getting dressed or brushing my teeth feel like they take too much effort, and I just want to go hide under a rock somewhere. I also realize that I can't fix this myself--it's there in my brain and I can't make it go away. The other day at a bookstore I stumbled on a book about post-partum depression and it was l...

Thanks to Google I found advice on how to remove unwanted crayon from clothes. We soaked them in Borax for an hour or so to remove all the wax and then washed them in hot water and color-safe bleach to get the color out. Most of the pink spots are gone, although I have still found a few here and there. Taxi rides cost a lot of money. So does eating every meal at a restaurant and doing things like buying an umbrella just because it's pouring rain. But, BYU was very generous and paid for a very nice hotel room with a beautiful view of the Potomac river in the rain and I got reimbursed for all the taxi rides. Traveling with a baby is hard, but I was grateful for my spiffy new stroller with the rain cover. Little Dude was very pleasant during the conference and a number of the other participants commented on how cute he was and how much he reminded them of their kids or grandkids. I wonder if it would have been different at a conference that wasn't on feminist literature and theref...

In preparation for packing everything to go to DC tomorrow I washed all the laundry today. I just went to get the enormous load of all the kids' clothes out of the dryer and realized that there is hot pink crayon melted all over everything . I didn't think S-Boogie even had pockets big enough to put crayons in. I just got a nice email from Geico informing us that our premium has now doubled since we moved to Seattle. I also realized yesterday that I haven't looked at the paper I'm reading since March, so maybe I should read through it once before I read it to a crowd. I haven't had time for a haircut since July and my hair looks terrible. I've also broken out majorly this last week and I never managed to get some decent brown dress shoes to replace my beaten down Doc Martens from my mission. I feel so professional. I've gotten several nice emails from people over the last few days and I won't have time to respond before I go. Sigh.

I usually hate those talks that use comparisons to help you understand how blessed you are; the fact that other people's lives suck more than mine doesn't necessarily make me appreciate mine more. Plus, I think the suckiness is relative. Anyways, the other day was reading about a girl who had only been married for a few weeks when her husband was in a horrific car accident. He suffered brain damage that doctors aren't sure will ever heal. For the last year they've lived in his parents' basement and she has to do things like give him liquid feedings every 4 hours and change his diapers. He can't even talk to her or walk on his own. Or how would you like to be the poor girl from Provo whose parents are now in court on kidnapping charges because they forcibly drove her to Colorado the day before she was supposed to get married? That's a way to get off on the right foot with your inlaws. Or what about the poor wife of this guy in Pennsylvania who went nuts and s...

A few years ago, Master Fob and I attended the annual Evergreen conference together. While he went to workshops specifically geared towards his situation, I attended a few that were for spouses (in reality, wives--I didn't see any husbands there). I actually felt out of place with many of the women there, because for most of them learning about their husband's homosexuality had been a traumatic experience. One workshop focused on healing ourselves so we can be stronger to support our spouses. The facilitator pointed out that any trauma requires a period of grief so we can deal with the change in our life and move forward. At the time, I tuned out that message, because I didn't have to mourn my old idea of our relationship and I didn't think I needed to deal with any sort of trauma. I haven't been feeling very happy lately, either with myself or with life in general. Some of that is, I'm sure, biochemical, since I just had a baby a few months ago and have had tr...

That's my latest nickname for Little Dude--he's getting very fat and he's slowly learning how to be jolly. He just turned four months old yesterday and it's amazing how fast time is flying. And if I've learned anything from fairy tales, it's that if you get what you want there will always be a catch. After spending S-Boogie's entire first year in a sleep-deprived stupor, I hoped for a child who would do a better job sleeping at night. And I got it: Little Dude will go to sleep around 8 or 9 (10 on a bad night) and sleep until at least 7 the next morning. Bliss. But he still doesn't sleep much during the day and we aren't on much of a nap schedule yet. He also hasn't yet discovered how to be awake and happy either, so there is much crankiness. And my body has been having some trouble adjusting to the long stretch of sleep, so during the day my milk supply has been slow to catch up, resulting in a very angry baby who is miffed because nothing is co...

I just peeked in to make sure that S-Boogie really is taking a nap, and she's sprawled on her back on her bed, surrounded by stuffed animals and clutching two duckies, sucking her thumb, and wearing her paper crown from nursery. So cute.

I've been pretty busy for the last few days; my mom flew up here for a brief little visit on Monday and left this evening. She's been doing all the classic grandma sorts of things, including doing S-Boogie's hair in all sorts of fun styles, buying cute clothes for the grandkids (like an adorable bumblebee suit for Little Dude for Halloween), and spending way too much money on us. On Monday evening we decided to head down to the Chittenden Locks , which is where boats have to pass through to get from Puget Sound into Lake Washington. Master Fob was a little skeptical about the fun potential of such an excursion, but we all had a great time. It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous sunset, and we got to see salmon swimming up the fish ladder, a boat going through the locks, and a train passing by on the trestle bridge overhead. That's the kind of fun S-Boogie goes for--loud noises, machinery, and space to run around. Yesterday morning we headed downtown and went to the aq...

All this talk of spinach in the news has actually made me start craving a nice spinach salad. With dried cranberries, almonds and feta cheese. Or maybe with bacon and mushrooms. Sigh.

Last night we finally unpacked the very last box. Plus we got a free couch yesterday. It's kind of beat up and definitely looks like a free couch, but at least it doesn't smell like one now that I washed the cushion covers. It was the only one I could find on craigslist that would deliver, so we couldn't really be picky. There's no way we were going to fit a couch into our car. We did, however, find a nice dining set, a free desk, a dresser for the kids room, and a nice little bed for S-Boogie. And we managed to furnish our place for just under 200 dollars, with most of that going for the dining set. We liked the bed from Ikea, but it wasn't in stock and we found one on craigslist for half the price. I'm not super happy about our couch, but at least we have one and maybe we can find a nice slipcover for it. I think I would eventually like to get a rug for the living area also, since we have brown carpet, brown drapes and brown bookcases. A lighter-colored rug wo...

At church on Sunday they announced a variety of events coming up over the next few weeks for the Relief Society. I was excited, because I like getting to know people in the ward and things like parties are an easier way to do that than trying to talk at church. But, now things keep coming up for the same times and I'm trying to decide what to do. Next Tuesday night is a social/party at a lady's house from the ward. But my mom will be here so we'll probably be doing something else. I wasn't super excited about that one anyway--it's an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party and for some reason that weirds me out. This Saturday night the stake is having a dinner before the women's broadcast, but we got invited to a party by some of Master Fob's friends from work and I think it would be nice to go meet them. Of course, I'm a little nervous because we're the only ones with little kids, but they said it was OK for us to bring them. And tomorrow night is the ...

As Master Fob stated , we really are becoming groovy people. Yesterday morning we decided to try walking over to the library. I was a little nervous because it's a mile and a half away and I've been in pretty bad shape for the last few years. But, we made it in a little less than half and hour and I didn't die on any of the enormous hills. We actually didn't spend very long in the library because once you get S-Boogie out of the stroller it's quite difficult to get her back in. We did pick up some new books and a cool new Veggie Tales: Lord of the Beans (watch out for Lord Scaryman and his army of Sporks!). After the library we went to the park across the street and ate our picnic lunch, then stopped by the Saturday morning farmer's market on our way home. The farmer's market was really cool, but the only thing we bought was a loaf of bread. We'll come back next week with a little more cash. Yesterday afternoon we got our washing machine hooked up and we...

I know I've posted before about how wonderful my sister is. But, today is her birthday and she is celebrating it all by herself in Morocco. I had meant to send her a little package with fun things like trashy celebrity magazines and nice-smelling lotion, but that didn't happen. I'll try and get a package sent for another holiday, like Christmas or Groundhog Day or something. But, we can send our love and I hope she's having a great birthday. If you haven't read it, you should check out her blog and send her a birthday greeting. I love you Skye!

Actually, the move has mostly not sucked after all. I'm just feeling tired from too many late nights and too much stress. We are in Seattle, and our apartment is partially unpacked. We still need to track down furniture, but at least we have internet access. And S-Boogie is overjoyed by the fact that we have a playground right outside our front door. On Tuesday we met one of our new neighbors as we were moving in, and when we pointed out which apartment we would be in he knowningly replied "Oh, the fishbowl". Yeah, I think we know why this one was vacant for a while and why we were the ones who got it, since we were willing to take it without looking. We have a nice big sliding glass door and a little patio off our living room, and about 10 feet away from our door is a walking path. Just beyond the path is a fence and then the entrance to University Village, the large outdoor mall that's right behind our housing complex. There are a few trees, but they don't do a ...

But they're changing for a really good reason! University housing somehow managed to find an apartment that's available for us next Tuesday, September 12. That means no temporary apartment, no storage for a month, etc. We're still going through with the move on the schedule that we had planned, since we've already arranged for our utilities to be shut off here this weekend, and I have plane tickets, and Master Fob has to be there on Monday for his job. We'll just get to stay in a hotel for Monday night (well, Master Fob gets to stay in a hotel for a few nights). We actually have a real, confirmed address and we're going to be able to move right in. Whew--I think this is the craziest move ever! (Hopefully it's still not going to be as bad as the time my family moved from California to Idaho and all five of us kids managed to get the stomach flu at some point during the three-day drive).

I can't believe this week is already here! We've already started packing up some stuff and have quite a few things in boxes. All the furniture we wanted to get rid of has found a home--a few things went through craigslist (I'm typing on top of a box since our computer desk has a new home), a few more pieces went to our next door neighbors that recently got married and have no furniture, and our lovely futon couch is going to a new home with friends in Salt Lake. I would have liked to make a little more money on our furniture, but it's all so old and junky and we'd rather be kind and generous than make a profit. We'll just look for free junky furniture in Seattle. Today and tomorrow Master Fob is working, so I don't know if I'll get any more packing done. Plus we're temporarily out of boxes for the moment. Thursday is our big day for packing everything up. Friday morning we get the truck, load it up, and Master Fob and his brother leave for Seattle. I...

We heard from university housing in Seattle two weeks ago that they actually had an apartment available for us, and were astounded because it was much sooner than we thought it would be. They didn't give us any details at that time, and it took them nearly a week to get back to us. Unfortunately, they finally replied that we would have an apartment ready in October, over a month after we need to be in Seattle. After much deliberation we decided that the best option would be to forget the idea of university housing and simply find another place, even though it would cost more per month. Well, the housing market didn't change much during the week we weren't looking for places and we still could find no one willing to even consider renting to us without meeting us in person. And it would cost us $400 each to fly up there and look at places. Then university housing got back to us with a firm move-in date of October 5, which really isn't too bad, especially since we are pret...