Me Time can be hard to come by when you have children. Unquestionably it comes to some parents easier than others. I get me time, I just never do anything interesting. I surf the internet, encode movies, update programs, update my computer, tweak our blog, fiddle with photos, read, etc…

I made a weird decision recently that it was highly unlikely, unless planned well in advance that Heather an I can have a date. Admittedly we have an easier time than most with out wide open baby-sitting options, but it’s still difficult to have time to ourselves and go share an activity together that might not interest the kids. I have found that once the kids are in bed, as a grown up with a license, I can go to a movie. Heck, I can even go grab some sushi. Add that to the fact that we’ve done a robust budget and assigned ourselves an allowance of discretionary no questions asked spending for Heather and I separately, and you have a lone wolf ready to watch stupid movies on a whim, eat seafood/sushi (Heather is not a fan of any incarnation of fish), or save my allowance for camera gear.

This is a huge life changing deal here people. It was like the day I found out I could cook bacon anytime I wanted. Here’s the XKCD comic showing a heinous correlation of the above fact.

Tags: allowance,bacon
Categories: BJ, BJ's Life
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Yesterday I was in Houston helping to wrap up my project and create training materials. I was scheduled to fly back home on the 4:30 flight to Dallas-Love Field. I arrived with plenty of time to spare. What I haven’t mentioned is the torrential downpour that had been happening in north Houston on Thursday. Apparently the weather delayed the flight… and most every other flight flying into Houston. For the flights that it did not direclty delay it delayed the crew who were to work each individual flight so everything just went crazy.

By about 3:30 my flight had been delayed until 5:11, which was fine. However the gate changed from gate b70 to b65 which was in another hub. So I walked there. Once I had arrived I noticed that the gate had then changed to b81, which was in another hub. I walked to b81 to find that the flight had been delayed until 8:20… OK. I waited in line and spoke to a service rep ho gave me a standby pass for the 6:30 flight (which was previously the 5:30 flight). It was in b84f, which was an extension hub of another hub on the opposite side of the terminal. I walked down there. b84f. After walking down there and going to the bathroom I thought I would go have some dinner. Schlotzsky’s. It was good for airport food. I then walked out to double check which flight was doing better. My first flight or the flight that I was on standby for. The standby flight had been moved to b63 or something so I walked there. After reading for a bit I looked up and the gate no longer had info on it for dallas-love. I walked and checked the monitor… it had been cancelled, but my original flight had been moved up to take it’s place at 6:30. It was in another hub.

I walked there. At this point everything becomes fuzzy. I think I remember having to swap to another hub only to find out that it was still going to be taking off from b81a. I had a nice relaxing sit in the b81a hub area. To my consternation my flight was now listed on the monitors as departing from terminal b-… yup b-, no number. I asked the service rep what was going on. He said the dallas flight was still taking off from there but the terminals were now overbooked so it was left without a number. I sat and read. After sitting waiting at b81a for flight 2155 to Dallas-Love it turns out that that it is to take off from b83… but it was only a few feet from my current sitting position. The plane took off at about 7:20, and I made it home safely.

You might be wondering what the title of the blog post has to do with anything. I always keep a magazine or two with me on these business trips. In situations like this I can’t read a novel as easily, and magazines are perfect since I can devour an article in a few minutes. “The Economist” got a good read from cover to cover and “The Atlantic” was about 3/4 finished when I landed in Dallas. If you have never read the economist, let me describe it to you. It’s dry. There is no fluff. Imagine a magazine full of editorials on politics, business, trade, and world news. No celebrities, no movies, no entertainment, no fluff pieces, or even embedded reports (there may be embedded reports but the they avoid personalizing any articles). It consists of stats, projections, opinion, and politics. I love it. It’s concise and it’s now my first line of world news. This last issue was the energy issue. There was a proud number cruncher feeding the writing staff, and the writing staff ate it up. Their consistency has thoroughly convinced me that a $30 tax or offset per metric ton of carbon equivalent emissions would represent a proper counter to the negative externality of climate change on the energy market. They mentioned it about a dozen times.

I agree. Seriously. After Bailey argued for it, I’m for it too. Except that I’m not. I can’t figure out how the poor would cope, with such a substantial increase in their already high energy prices.

Tags: airport,flight,global warming,hub hopping,silliness,the economist,walking
Categories: BJ, BJ's Life
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Yes, that is a paramedic van and a firetruck. Heather locked the keys in her parent’s van with Sophia inside the van. I admittedly bent a knife attempting to break the window before we realized the fire dept might be able to get into a car without breaking something.

Sophia had a good time but was pretty sweaty when we they got her out.

Tags: firetruck,locked in the car,paramedic,Sophia
Categories: BJ, Sophia
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The Supreme Court handed down the 5-4 ruling that the Washington DC gun ban is unconstitutional. It also affirms the individual right to keep and bear arms. Read the decision here.

It’s all over everything so I’ll refrain from posting a hundred links to reason, Andrew Sullivan’s blog, Cato, and everywhere else. I need to go check and see what the kossacks think about it.

Tags: dc vs heller,gun,gun ban,SCOTUS,supreme court
Categories: BJ, Philosophy etc
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Phoebe has found her voice—mostly in the evenings. It is usually after dinner and a bath but just before bed she just jabbers and jabbers with a few squeals mixed in.

Phoebe turned 11 months this week. Still no teeth but getting very close on the walking. She is much more cautious than Sophia was. She can walk alongside me holding one hand. The farthest we have gone is from the couch to the fridge, which for a little girl learning to walk it is pretty far! I am so proud of her and just know she will be walking independently by her 1st birthday.

BJ enjoyed a night out with himself and picked up some books at Barnes and Noble and then watched Incredible Hulk. He didn’t seem too terribly impressed with it but enjoyed seeing a movie in the theater more than anything I think. The books purchased were: American Gods by Neil Gaiman (which I am reading and thoroughly enjoying right now) The Road by Cormack McCarthy (BJ currently reading),The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, and lastly Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card. It seems like it has been MONTHS since I sat down to a good book that I read every night before bed. Actually, come to think of it the last book was winter last year—Empire by Orson Scott Card.

Sophia and I went to the same pool we have gone to the last few weeks with the same group of friends. We had such a good time but I added to my sunburn from the week before. Sunscreen WAS put on my back but my neck and shoulders still burned. Grrrr, I am tired of hurting and itching. We went Phoebe free this time (daddy worked from home and helped watch her). I think it was totally to Sophia’s benefit. She spent the first hour in the same floaty and unsure of herself. Without Phoebe I was able to commit all my attention to her and by the second hour I had her out of the floaty, not clinging to me, and running from the edge of the pool to about 5 feet from the edge. I was also able to finally take some pictures!

BJ and I have mentioned here and there before about Sophia being a little GIRL and others also being girls or BOYS and such. She has really taken to it this week and we took the opportunity to clearly define boys from girls. She can almost always accurately identify each gender now and seems to be very proud of herself.

I am a clean, organized person and have tried to instill some of this lifestyle into Sophia. Teaching her to pick up after herself, don’t touch things when your hands are dirty, clean up spills on the carpet and tile, etc. One morning just before she got into her seat for breakfast she seemed distracted and upset by something on the floor. I finally saw what she was looking at….it was a dime sized spot of marinera sauce from a couple days before. She was determined to clean it up so I had to wet down a rag and let her (by herself) wipe it until she was satisfied with the results. I thought it a little neurotic of her, but hey, look at her example! I also thought it good and sweet of her to do so and try and help.

Working for my mom one day this week I allowed Sophia to play in the packing peanuts. She has a HUGE container full of them so I plopped Sophia into them. She wiggled around and stomped for a bit until it tipped over and she hurt her head. Granny had the good idea of getting her a smaller box to sit in and fill it up. We did so but while transferring some peanuts we realized what all her stomping around in the big bucket did. It was slowly shredding the peanuts into a fine pulp. So instead of big ones that were easy to pick up and clean I had fine little bits everywhere that were sticking to everything! I took a picture of some of the mess with my camera phone. It was exhausting to pick up and only vacuuming in the end really did the trick.

Sanctuary! Phoebe is consistently sleeping through the night! We had a couple nights where Sophia wandered in and that was about it.

We have tried to crack down on potty training and decided to use M&M’s as enticement. The first day I sat her on the potty and explained the reward system to her. She went tinkle and was given 2 treats. The next day she sat on the potty and wasn’t doing anything but asked for a treat. I was surprised she even remembered, but unfortunately she did not earn any that time but was not upset when she didn’t get a treat since she understands the terms.

Saturday we went to the Dallas Zoo and had a blast. We went as soon as they opened at 9am so we were able to leave by 12:30 when it started to get really hot. We rented a double stroller from there and hoped that with them sitting side by side they wouldn’t fight too much. It worked perfectly with only minimal fighting. (BJ, this makes me feel even stronger about wanting to buy a doubler stroller or a sit and stand!) Sophia got to ride a pony and pet a guinea pig and rabbit. Sophia got to bring home a large blue and white snake we have named “Hissy Fit” and a giraffe shaped sports bottle. Phoebe got a zoo keepers shirt with lots of animals on it. We can’t wait to go back!

Tags: Dallas Zoo,Phoebe,potty training,Sophia,Weekly Family Update,weekly update
Categories: Heather, Weekly Family Update
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I love the internet. I love it’s ability to find the idiocy of the world and clutch it to its bosom like a child. Denon just released the Denon AKDL1 Dedicated Link Cable. It costs $500. What sort of marvelous cable could this be that would cost $500.99 $499.99 (save a dollar by shopping amazon). Here’s a picture.

Yes, that’s right. It’s an ethernet cable, a 5 foot one.

The best part isn’t the audacity of a company to sell audio snake oil but the reviews being left. They’re hilarious. Awesome. The internet stands triumphant. Read some of the reviews.

Tags: amazon,audio gear,hilarity,scams,snake oil
Categories: BJ
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I feel like some explanation needs to be given to who this foul mouthed wonder is. I always say “those that know me know that I cuss”, but it didn’t really used to be like this. In fact, it was the complete opposite. In high school my friends knew that I did not cuss and that I did not like to be cussed around. So they would try and avoid using bad language around me. Even after high school I was on a good roll, but then we moved to Texas and it all drastically changed. In Phoenix I was a high school student and nothing else. No job, no car, no college admissions (since we were moving anyway), no bills, etc. I didn’t even drive really. I had my learner’s permit and drove occasionally with my parents in the car.

We moved to Texas and I got a cell phone, I got a credit card, I got a car (that I shared with my sister) and the biggest one of all—I got my very first REAL J-O-B. Yikes! So the stress was immediately piling on. I was going to work through the Fall, save some money and then pay for and attend school in the Spring. This new job was at Mervyn’s working in their shoe department. Anyone not familiar with Mervyn’s it is a retail store like Kohl’s or Target. I can say after having been there that retail sucks. It is hard enough being in retail on any given day of the week, but then you add in working around Holidays and tax free weekend and your head could literally explode. So, out of hatred and frustration of my job little words would come out here and there. The longer I was with the company I got to move from department to department and got more training.

I ended up on the logistics team where we work the back stocks taking product off shelves to take out to the floor or assign products to a shelf. I was pretty much by myself in this HUGE backstock. No one was around to hear me piss and moan about little things that might happen during my work day with the product. However, on some days, when it was ‘truck day’ there would be all guys in the back off loading the delivery. Well! They were cussing up a storm! So, you take hearing it almost all the time at work, mixed in with privacy and absolute ability to cuss, add in a little stress from school and life (and horrible, insane Texas drivers)and there you go–presto–chango–a new foul mouthed individual has joined the rest of the society of dirty mouths. I quit this job about 5 years ago, but the cussing became such a part of me and my daily language and way of expressing frustration. I feel like any other person with a bad habit, gambling, drinking, smoking, etc., to break but just have had no luck so far. Having children has affected me some, mostly in the sense that I am getting better at not cussing AROUND THEM, but I would love to one day be my old high school self. Until then…….. *sigh*

Tags: cussing,job stress
Categories: Heather
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I forgot to mention this last week. Sophia loves watering the flowers we have in our entryway/porch. One rainy day a week or so ago I walked out to see the rain. Sophia followed me since she was very, very interested in the rain noise. When I made it out the front door and stood looking at the rain, Sophia picked up her little watering can.

“Water, please.”
“Water flowers.”
“Sophia, do you want me to put water in your watering can?”
“Yes… water, please…”
“But there’s water falling from the sky.”
“RAIN!”

At this point she walks out into the rain and holds the watering can out so she can fill it with water.

Tags: flower,photo highlight,rain,Sophia,water
Categories: BJ, Photo Highlights, Sophia
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I forgot to mention this little story in my weekly update so decided to post it entirely separate. Sophia, being the climber that she is, climbed up onto the couch armrest and promptly fell (very awkwardly it seemed) right off of it. She landed on the handle of her toy stroller that had fallen over and was facing upward. OUCH! Well, she was very scared and had an abrasion just above her hip. I went to calm her down and told BJ to get her ice pack from the fridge. Only seconds later I heard this loud crash and moan come from the kitchen, followed by laughter. BJ had slipped on a little bit of water and tried to brace himself (very unsuccessfully) on the counter and dishwasher. He had really hurt himself and would have cried but for the fact that Sophia had fallen only moments before and this injury came about in the process of trying to help his child. Sophia was still in tears while mommy and daddy laughed as we continued on with soothing the booboo.

Tags: bj,climbing,falling,getting hurt,Sophia
Categories: Heather, Weekly Family Update
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Sooooo anyone who know me well knows I have a “sailor’s mouth” problem. I occasionally have it around my kids and have been working on not saying bad things around them, and then I can eventually work my way to not saying bad words at all. THAT will be a glorious day! Anyway, I am at my worst in the car because I HATE traffic and I think all other drivers are stupid but myself. Typical, right? On one particularly hard driving day something happened that caused me to say “shit” five times in a row. Sophia overheard me and and immediately started saying “shit”. I didn’t want to make a huge deal of it to bring a lot more attention to this new word of hers so I simply told her not to say it and went on with my exasperated attempt at driving. Days passed and no problems. This week we had return of ’shit’. I was driving to my mom’s house for work and we went over a bump in the road. A soft voice comes from the back–”Shit.” I redirect her and say, “Oh, you mean shoot. Shoot is what you are trying to say.” She pauses for a bit then says “shoot.” A few minutes later and another “shit” so another redirection back to “shoot.” At least for the rest of the car ride we managed “shoots” instead of “shits”. After this day we have had no other problems but I don’t put it past Sophia to have that little word still locked away somewhere in her tiny head to pull out a anytime. My ears are on alert. (BJ: and your mouth is on notice :p )

Phoebe has taken to saying “dada” completely. She has also learned to say “hi”. She says “hi dada” real soft one day when BJ got home from work. I am both proud and jealous.

Sophia enjoys playing with wooden clothes pins. She puts one in her mouth and uses her teeth the open and close it. I get a surprise on my bottom while doing the dishes when Sophia decides to pinch me with one using this wonderful mouth technique. She was so excited by my reaction she kept trying to “attack me”.

The same friend I visited last week at the airport called me in tears saying flights had been rearranged due to bad weather. She would miss her connecting flight at DFW. Her option at the time would be to spend the night at the airport. Hell would have to freeze over before her parents and I would let that happen so I picked her up at the airport Monday night. I did not get home until almost midnight and we were both up the next morning by 5:45am. I got her to the airport only for her to miss the 7:20am she was scheduled to be on, but she got bumped to a 9 something flight and eventually made it home! We were both exhausted but glad to see each other again and I was happy to help.

All I have to say with regards to the below photo is “Thanks daddy for leaving the permanent marker out where Sophia could reach and do this to herself.” The one small blessing is she ONLY colored herself–carpet and couches were spared.

I enjoyed another morning at the wonderful Sunset Pointe pool with some friends of mine. I very regrettably did not have sunscreen put on my back (this was the morning after just having had an Enrichment Night discussing Summer safety where sunburns, skin cancer, and the use of sunscreen were discussed). I suffer a terrible sunburn because of my stupidity and by the weekend I am peeling horribly and itching even worse. Phoebe had such a wonderful time and really loves the water. Sophia was once again being a water chicken and had to be in a floaty with my hand on the floaty at all times. Slipping under the water for a few seconds (about 2 weeks ago) has really affected her more than I could have ever imagined.

Sophia and Phoebe are playing so wonderfully together. They are getting along better and better each week it seems. Although, Phoebe (unknowingly) can really freak Sophia out. If Sophia is doing something or walking somewhere, Phoebe will inevitably follow. When Sophia sees her coming at her at a fast crawl she screams out in a terrified or anxious voice. There was one day in particular Sophia was leaving her room and coming down the hallway. I was standing near the hall closet watching over her. Phoebe came around the corner, pretty quickly, to get to Sophia’s room. It was so unexpected for poor little Sophia she gave the most high pitched, intense, frightened scream I have ever heard come out of her mouth. She even jumped! I had to reassure her and then we were all on our way to play. I can’t wait until Phoebe is steadily walking and then eventually running. Then they can REALLY chase each other!

Speaking of Phoebe walking…..she is still being pretty lazy and crawls everywhere. I have really begun to work with her on strengthening her legs and getting used to walking. I will walk behind her and hold her hands and help her walk. Sophia sees me do this and has tried to ‘help’ Phoebe do this as well. However, Sophia’s arms, obviously not being as long as mine, ends up right behind her sister with no room to spare so their feet just get tangled up with each others and I know it can only end badly. I have taught Sophia to guide her by holding her hands in the front. We had a very sweet moment on Sunday of her guiding her little sister around the living room for quite some time.

To also help Phoebe walk she uses the baby stroller as a stabilizer and toddles around the house with the babydoll in the seat. It is so cute too, if the babydoll falls out for whatever reason she stops and puts the babydoll back in then goes on her way.

Sophia has really taken to parenting BJ and I. If we are reprimanding her for something or yelling at her she “shushs” or “shhhhhs”. One day this week I was (very calmly) scolding her for something she did to Phoebe. She gets a scowl on her face, points her finger at me, and says in a low growl “TIME OUT!” I respond to her, with a bit of a giggle, “No, I don’t get time out. I am your mama. Only YOU get time out.”

BJ and I attend the temple again this Saturday to watch the Grumbles Family be sealed. BJ takes the family photos afterward and thoroughly enjoyed doing so. However, now it has him clamoring on how he can get more camera equipment to do more photos or portraits. He really has taken this camera and photography thing and run with it.

Happy Father’s Day to BJ! He enjoyed sleeping in, changing no poopy diapers (totally not on purpose though) and a long nap after church. I made baked parmesan chicken for dinner (which was fabulous and so delicious, will give the very simple recipe to anyone who wants it). It was a new recipe from a cookbook I had received for my birthday. We enjoyed trying out the new meal and were so delighted it turned out so well. We then ended the night with a homemade chocolate cake. Also a first time recipe from the Hershey’s website. The cake was so chocolatey and fudgy we almost couldn’t finish the slices we had. We are going to end up giving away half the cake to my parents because it is too much and too rich for us. Oh so sad, right? BJ and I eat too well and it shows.

Tags: Heather,Phoebe,Sophia,Weekly Family Update
Categories: Heather, Weekly Family Update
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