A "Real" Post - to catch up

OK, so I just went back through a month of posts to find I didn't write anything of substance. Not that my posts usually are, but still. So, for the sake of recording things that happened without making this a ridiculously long post...bring on the bullets!

• This week is Spring Break for the kids, so they've been home driving each other crazy all week. My mom took them on Wednesday to the theater to see Hotel for Dogs and Bolt. It was good for them to get out of the house. Plus she bought them hot dogs, popcorn, candy and soda. Yesterday (Thursday) we got hit by a spring blizzard that brought over 10 inches to our house. I got to leave work about 10am and spent the day rearranging my girl's bedroom. It looks great and I hope it gives her reason to keep it clean. Then we went to my parents' house for dinner and pie for Shell's birthday. We watched Kung Fu Panda before heading home so Shell could get ready and leave for work early. It was still snowing and the roads were horrible, but she made it okay. Whew! It takes a lot to keep her from going to work. I didn't leave for work until after 10am this morning to allow the snowplows to clear the roads a little. It was well worth it, as I had no problems getting through. When I left, the kids were starting to shovel the driveway and sidewalk. When Shell got up, she called to tell me that the driveway was so well done it was dry and they had even shoveled halfway out into the street. Plus had cleaned off her car (she drove mine to work last night). They'll definitely be rewarded for this. They're really good kids, when they want to be.


• Shell's birthday weekend was great. Her actual birthday was on Friday (the 13th), so I took the day off as a surprise. We spent the morning being lazy then went to Old Chicago for lunch, did some shopping at Lane Bryant, went home to "celebrate" before the kids came home and then I made egg rolls for dinner. We saw Race to Witch Mountain that night. We all liked it. I had two free tickets, so we got 4 for the price of 2. What a deal! Saturday night we dropped the kids off at Dana's for the night and we went to Red Lobster for dinner then to the "adult toy store". This was actually a first for us, and it showed! It took us a while to figure out what we wanted, then we went home to play with our new toys. We picked the kids up around 11 on Sunday and then we all got ready for my company dinner that night. It was in Monument, which would normally take a little over an hour. Except that there was a big accident on the highway, so it took us over 2 hours. Luckily, we only missed the appetizers and socializing. We walked in just as dinner was starting. Two hours later we were on our way home, which took us almost exactly an hour. It was quite a weekend!


• Last weekend, the excitement was the "locking my keys in the car at the adult toy store and had to call my mom" incident. And yes, we had just been there a week before, but we are adult toy rookies and had to go back. Enough said...


• The kids had their annual physicals and are doing great. They are tall and thin and healthy. They passed their hearing and vision tests with flying colors and got vaccinations. My girl freaked out when they did hers. It didn't help that a tiny amount of blood trickled out when the needle was pulled out. She's NOT a fan of needles... My boy hardly flinched. He's a stud.


• Their musical was fantastic. My girl's performance was a hit. I have pictures, so I'll make that a post of it's own. And they brought home report cards with straight A's. Needless to say, we are very proud of both of them.


• I'm getting a new desk at work next Tuesday. I am really excited about this as it's been in the works for over a year now. Plus, I'm moving to a different area of the office, so it'll feel more like my space as opposed to the middle of everyone's space. I can't wait.


• My boy's fishtank has had a few changes, and now houses the snail, 3 neon tetras (only 1 is from the original batch), 4 guppies(the original 1 plus 3 from my co-worker), and an algae eater. He loves his new fish, and I find myself in there watching them too.


• My boy has continued to keep his room clean and makes his bed most days. He's quickly outgrowing the toys he keeps in bins under his bed, and is more interested in video games, Pokemon cards and television shows. He doesn't care to discuss the puberty video they watched at school, but knows that he can come to us if he has any questions or concerns or just wants to talk. He's growing up fast and I'm running as fast as I can to keep up.


• My girl had many questions after the puberty video and has continued to talk to us about things that she wonders about. I'm very grateful for this, as my mom didn't say a word about puberty or sex to me. I learned everything from books, my friends and experience. I told my girl that I want it to be different for her, and although she told me that she might not tell me everything, she does feel comfortable talking to me now. I'll take what I can get.

I guess that's it for now. Guess the bullets didn't make it as brief as I hoped... I can't believe it's almost April, but am happy that Spring is here. Well other than the snow...

Meme Retraction

In this meme, I named an embarassing moment in my life. Well, had I waited just a little longer, I could have named this new one. It's good for a laugh, enjoy.
Yesterday we dropped the kids off at my parents house so we could go grocery shopping and run a few errands. One of these errands was a trip to the "adult toy store" as we refer to it. Since Shell was using one of her credit cards for our purchases, I wouldn't need my purse so I put it in the trunk. Once done with our shopping, we returned to the car and I realized that I had dropped my keys in my purse before locking it in the trunk. We quickly realized that the only option we had was to call my parents and ask if one of them could get Shell's keys from our house (they have an extra key) and bring it to us. I hoped to get my dad to come, because I knew he wouldn't say anything about where we were. But he was busy, so my mom decided to come instead. I was HORRIFIED! Somewhat luckily, the shopping center where the store is located also houses a movie theater that my mom is aware of, otherwise she would have balked at having to drive the 15 miles away that we were. When I called her, I told her that we stopped there to eat (there is a Popeye's Chicken next door), after picking something up from my work. After she agreed to come, I asked the very understanding employee at the store to hold our purchases until after my mom came, you know to back up our story. Except that while waiting for her to get there, we realized that we would be found out. Not only were we parked directly in front of the adult store, but we were in the 1 Hour Parking.
Shell wondered if my mom would know what the store was just by the name. It's Fascinations, what do you think? So we waited, deciding that she wouldn't say anything when she got there, but would probably say something at another time so that we would know that she knew. We were fine with that, what choice did we have? Then it got slightly more horrifying when she pulled into the parking lot with our daughter in the car! At least I know SHE won't know what the store sells... With keys in hand and thinking we might still be able to pull this off (you know, MAYBE she wouldn't see where the car was parked), we took a couple of steps toward Popeye's figuring that she'd drive off. But no, she sat there waiting. We took a deep breath, walked to the car and got in. Then she drove away. We ran back into the store, got our bag and left.
When we picked up the kids later, she didn't say a word about it. Although when I thanked her again for bringing the keys to us, she changed the subject pretty quickly. I know she's just waiting for the right time...

The Mom Survey

Saw this one here and just had to do it. I gave each of my kids these questions and asked them to write their answers to each. Here's what I got.

My girl's answers are in yellow, my boy's are in red. Those are their favorite colors.

1) What is something that your Mom always says to you?

I love you

Quit the attitude or brush your teeth (I tell him I love him all the time too, I swear!)

2) What makes your Mom happy?

Seeing our family happy, books

When everyone is happy (I'm kind of a sucker for happy, it's true)

3) What makes your Mom sad?

When our family is fighting

When everyone else is sad (Guess those answers were pretty predictable after the #2 answers)

4) How does your Mom make you laugh?

By making me imagine Noel (her chinchilla) doing funny actions

Tickles me

5) What was your Mom like as a child?

I don't know but I would think nice and kind

Smart (I've got them completely brainwashed...)

6) How old is your Mom?

34

35 (This is pretty funny. I won't be 35 until May.)

7) How tall is your Mom?

Taller than me

5'7" (He is exactly correct. Well so is she I guess)

8) What is her favorite thing to do?

Spend time with our family and read

Read (Again they are completely right. I LOVE to read!)


9) What does your Mom do when you aren't around?

How am I supposed to know? I'm not around! (These are their written answers, word for word)

Work

10) If your Mom became famous, what would she be famous for?

Being a great person to everyone (sniff - I totally love her more now...)

Spelling Bee champion (I'm kind of known for my spelling skills)

11) What is your Mom really good at?

Being patient (This is something I try to do as much as possible. Guess it's working)

Spelling (See, I told you)

12) What is your Mom not very good at?

Flying (Not exactly sure what this means. Was she being silly and referring to my lack of wings? I don't know...)

Exercise (Nothing gets by that one!)

13) What does your Mom do for her job?

She cleans the office, answers calls and sets appointments

Answer phones (They are both right, although they left out the other 75% of stuff I do.)

14) What is your Mom's favorite food?

She likes a lot of foods (so true... I really love food)

Mama's chicken noodle soup (it's so yummy...must beg her to make it again soon)

15) What makes you proud of your Mom?

Everything (awwww)

She can drive a lot ( I drive him all over the place for karate events)

16) If Mom was a cartoon character, which would she be?

Dawn's mom in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (From what I can tell, this is a compliment)

Dexter's mom (Dexter's Lab) (I'm not sure about this one. His mom is a perfectionist germaphobe..I assure you I am not)


17) What do you and your Mom do together?

Go to the library (I love watching them get lost in the stacks, just like I do)

Go to karate (I watch almost every class he has, plus the drive back & forth)

18) How are you and your Mom the same?

We both love animals (This is almost an understatement. Our love for animals runs very deep)

We're smart (He's had straight A's on every report card since kindergarten. I think he wins)

19) How are you and your Mom different?

I'm 10 and she's 34

I'm a boy, she's a girl (they didn't get very creative with this question...)


20) How do you know your Mom loves you?

She says it and acts like it

I just know (Hmm, I must be doing something right)


21) Where is your Mom's favorite place to go?

Library (I do love it)

Her room (It's the only place I can get (mostly) uninterrupted time with Shell)

Meme about My Wife

I saw this meme on Jilliebean's blog and since I'm a sucker lately for meme's as blog content, decided to answer these. It's a fun one. And I promise I'll get to real posts again soon.



How Well Do You Know Your Spouse/ Significant Other
She's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? She is a slave to the television. Her favorite shows are Bones & CSI, but she oftentimes has it on the Food Network for hours or Country Music Television. She watches General Hospital religiously. It's a sickness...

You're out to eat/what kind of dressing on her salad? Ranch. Always.

What's one food she doesn't like? There are so many, but she hates onions in their raw form. And if they're cooked they must be minced almost to a paste so she doesn't notice biting on them.

You go out to eat and have a drink. What does she order? a Shirley Temple

Where did she go to high school? Western in Anaheim, CA

What size shoe does she wear? 10 or 10 1/2

What is her favorite type of sandwich? ham, pepperoni & swiss on white. No condiments. Just lettuce and black pepper.

What would she eat every day if she could? pizza

What is her favorite cereal? honey bunches of oats

What would she never wear? define "never". I would say a dress, but she did wear one about 7 years ago when she was a bridesmaid. If she has any say in it though, she'll never wear one again. It's best that way...

What is her favorite sports team? she's a lifelong NY Mets & Denver Broncos fan, but if the Broncos aren't playing, she is 100% behind the Indianapolis Colts.

Who did she vote for? she voted for Obama, but only because Hilary wasn't an option

Who is her best friend? Dana

What is something you do that she wishes you wouldn't do? procrastinate when balancing the checkbook

What is her heritage? she is African-American, but more recently in her heritage is Scottish and Native American (Blackfoot Indian on her mom's side and some-kind-of-Indian-I-can't-remember on her dad's)

You bake her a cake for her birthday; what kind of cake? Rainbow Chip cake with Rainbow Chip frosting

Did she play sports in high school? Yes; volleyball, softball & basketball.

What could she spend hours doing? watching T.V. and sleeping

What is one talent she has? well there's this one thing she does... um, and besides that, she's a really great cook

What's her favorite color? black or gray

More Interview Questions

My friend Teaberry sent me interview questions in response to the ones I sent her. And since I can't seem to get enough of this stuff, I will happily answer them. Thanks T for the very thought-provoking questions!

#1: If you and your family could go on any vacation anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go and what would you like to do there?
This was very hard to decide. I would love to go to Hawaii, but wouldn't want to take the kids as I'd like to enjoy it with just my wife. Same with Paris. I've always wanted to go to Australia and although I'm sure my kids would enjoy it, Shell doesn't have any desire to experience it. So, it may seem silly, but I choose New York City with a stop in Washington D.C. We've said many times that we'd love to go to NYC, but would need 2 weeks to do & see everything. And if all expenses are paid we can see many Broadway & Off Broadway shows while there. Same with D.C., albeit without the theater.

#2: What is the best way to spend a weekend in the summer with your kids?
This changes every year. When they were little, we loved to slather them with sunblock and take them to the park. Their endless energy was such fun to watch, and their smiles were contagious. They loved being outside, and as long as we were vigilant with the sunblock it was a good time. Now that running around in circles outside is not the entertainment it used to be, we like to take them to Boondocks to ride the go-carts and the tugboats, play miniature golf, play in the arcade when the heat gets to be too much and play laser tag. Unfortunately, we still have to be vigilant about the sunblock, but they're pretty good sports about it.

#3: If you had to pick a different state to live in, one that you've never lived in before, which would you choose and why?
Again with the difficult choice. I've only lived in two states in my life and have only visited a couple others. I'm pretty sure that the only reason we'd leave Colorado would be to return to California, but if we were going to pick another it would have to be somewhere that gave same sex couples equal benefits and rights.

#4: If you had 1 hour to spend unlimited money (sort of a shopping spree--no charge to you!) in any store, what store would you choose and what kind of stuff would you pick out?
I want to go to a home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowe's, etc) and buy window coverings, paint, pick out laminate flooring, and arrange for someone to come put it all in. If there is time left, I want to pick out flowers & plants and the stuff necessary to get them planted. Maybe a tree or two also.

#5: If you could go back in time and live in any time period, which would be the best one for you?
I think that this is the best time in history (so far) to be an out lesbian with a family, so I wouldn't want to be in any other time because of that. But if that weren't a factor, I think I'd choose the 70's or 80's. I was born in 1974, and have done a lot of reading about that time in history. I really wish I could have experienced it as an adult. Same with the 80's. At the end of that decade, I was just entering high school and really just becoming aware of the world outside of my family and friends. I wish I could have seen it through older eyes to realize the impact of events that occurred.

Respond & Rework Meme

Denise tagged me for this meme. I have to admit that I really like doing these, it's a pretty easy way to post something when you don't think you have anything interesting to write about.

Step 1: respond and rework -- answer the questions on your own blog , replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention

Step 2: tag - eight other un-tagged people.
I'm going to break the rules here. If you want to do it, go for it.

1) What do you do for a living? liv-ing, -noun, def.the means of maintaining life; livelihood.
My job title is Receptionist/Office Assistant. What I do for 9 hours a day is, well, it's basically to be the office...everything. From answering the phones, to data entry, to making coffee, to ordering lunch for meetings, to mail processing, to cleaning the bathroom. Everything except for selling and maintenance... I do.
But what maintains my life is my family, hands down - no question.

2) What is your biggest fear?
Outliving my children

3) Do you nap a lot?
Naps don't really agree with me. I wake up from them feeling groggy and usually with a headache and that feeling usually last for a couple of hours after. It's not fun. So, no.

4) Who is the last person you hugged?
My wife. I've been hugging her for longer than we've been a couple and I never get tired of it.

5) What websites do you visit when you go online?
email, blog reader, afterellen, bbc (world news), denverchannel (local news), myspace. in that order, every weekday.

6) What was the last item you bought?
A breakfast burrito this morning

7) What was the first concert you went to?
I saw the Jacksons at Dodger Stadium in 1984. I was in 5th grade and have almost no recollection of it. This makes me very sad as I doubt I will ever have the opportunity to see Michael Jackson live again and I really would have liked to.

8) If you woke up tomorrow and were a boy, what is the first thing you would do and why?
I think I would cry a little at first. Then I would have sex with my wife. I'd really like to know how that feels.

9) Has a celebrity's hair cut ever influenced your own hairstyle?
Nothing is coming to mind, so I don't think so.

10) What is your most embarrassing moment?
I went to the beach with my best friend & his family, got knocked down by a wave and the top of my bathing suit fell down. It was not fun.

11) What was the last movie you watched?
Andre

12) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments, or interruptions what would you do?
Read and do all the laundry in the house. I'm so tired of never getting caught up on it. I also want to scan all my old photos. That will take much longer than one day though.

13) Do you like scary movies?
I LOVE THEM!! But they must be scary, not just gory.

14) What would you want your last meal to be?
steak & lobster, roasted asparagus, tirimisu.

Weekend Fun

So the plans for the night out on Saturday changed a little, but I think it was for the better. The Girls Only show was hilarious. I would recommend it to any woman, even us gay girls. The women in the show were great. We laughed so much, our faces hurt a little by the end. We decided to walk to P.F. Changs from the theater. Jeannie had never been, so we broke her in. It was delicious as usual. We were all way too full after eating to even think about dessert, so we called it a night.
After sleeping in on Sunday, we went to pick up the kids and watched the video from their musical. Which I haven't written about yet... I'll get to it, I swear! I hope my dad can transfer it to DVD, so we'll have a copy. I cried when my girl sang her solo, it was beautiful. After we left, Shell took the girl to go grocery shopping and I took the boy to my office to clean. Then we stopped by Petsmart to get an algae enter and another neon tetra to replace the frog and the tetra that have died. Hopefully the current occupants will stick around for longer. After dinner the kids climbed in bed with us and we watched Andre. I love that movie, and now my girl does too.
After the kids went to bed, we watched the series finale of The L Word. I am really sad that the show is over, but the way this season went makes me glad also. It was a really bad season, and the finale mirrored it perfectly. I really hate what they did with some of the characters but I'm happy that now I'll be following the careers of these amazing actresses to see what they do from now on. I'll miss me some Shane, Alice, Tasha, Helena, Kit, Bette & Tina though.

I signed permission slips for my kids to see the videos about puberty next week at school. I can't believe that they're already old enough for that. I still remember when I watched that video. Unbelieveable...

I blew a gasket...

Well my car did anyway. Which is going to cost me $1000 to repair. Which will have to go on the credit card we just paid off. Stupid car...

In other news, we're going out tomorrow night for Shell's best friend's birthday. We're going to see "Girls Only" at the Garner Galleria theater, and then to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert. The kids are going to spend the night at my parents house, so we won't have to hurry home. Then next Friday is Shell's birthday, so on Saturday we're going to see "Race to Witch Mountain" and then go to dinner. So a couple of fun weekends coming up, with a car repair bill to calm the excitement.

Interview

I was interviewed by All About Austin.
If you would like for me to interview you, just leave a comment and I will e-mail you the questions! Here are the directions (don't forget to leave your e-mail!!)

1) leave new a comment saying, "interview me."

2) I will respond by e-mailing you 5 questions (I get to pick the questions)

3) You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4) You will include the explanation , a link back to me, and offer to interview someone else in the post

5) When others comment asking to be interviewed you will ask 5 questions.

Here are the questions I was asked and my answers.

1. How long did you try and get pregnant with your twins? We were really lucky. We made the decision to try in April '97, but had no idea where to start. I called customer service for Kaiser (my insurance) and they didn't know either, but suggested we start with an appointment at an OB/GYN. We saw that Dr. on 4/30 and he referred us to the Reproductive Endocrinology department. We had to wait until 6/11 for our appointment with them. Our consultation was awesome and we had blood drawn at that time with the instruction to pick a donor so when my next period started we'd be ready to go. Unfortunately, the blood tests revealed that I had no Rubella antibodies and would need to get the vaccination before moving forward. And then we would have to wait 3 months after the vaccination before inseminating. The good part was that during those 3 months, we went through all the motions. I took Clomid and had all the blood drawn to track everything so we were in a great position to start for real. On 10/19 I had my first IUI and got my period 2 days before the test date. We did our second IUI on 11/18. Two weeks and one day later (12/3), I was too afraid to call for the test. I was SURE that I would get my blood drawn and my period would come. The next day came with no blood, so I called. Did the blood draw, went home and waited. Then I got the call that I was pregnant. It took two tries. We were very lucky. I had my first ultrasound on 12/17 and that's when we found out that there were two babies on the way.

2. How did you pick their names out? We bought a baby name book and read every name aloud to each other to see if we liked it. We both kept a list of names we liked and then would compare to see which ones we had in common, then we made a list of those and eliminated them until we finally had 1 for each sex. Our girl is named after Shell's sister who died when she was young and her middle name is Michele which is both Shell's name and my middle name. Our son's first name is a variation on a name we both liked but hated the nickname for. So we chose a very close variation instead. His middle name is Dean, after James Dean who Shell has always been a bit obsessed with.

3. Since you have both... do you think girls or boys are easier to parent? I don't think I'll be able to really answer that until we are out of the teen years. As of right now, they are equally as challenging in completely different ways. My boy is very determined, strong-willed and all-boy. He is full of energy and frequently "forgets" the rules because he is so involved in what he's doing. He can be loud and confrontational at times. Our girl is pretty much the opposite of him in all ways. And up until about a year and a half ago, I would have said that girls are easier, no contest. But she is very sensitive and emotional and her feelings get hurt easily. She's starting to feel the importance of friends and the pain of mean comments by them. She is very introspective and observant, so not much gets missed. We are starting to get the feeling that parenting her for the next 6 or 7 years is going to keep us on our toes. So I guess my answer is that girls are easier for the first 8 or 9 years, but I think that boys will be the easier one for the next 8 or 9.

4. If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it? Pay off debt including the house. Decorate and landscape our house. Buy new cars. Put the rest in savings toward college for the kids. I'd love to go on a R Family Cruise, but it would need to be soon so the kids would still enjoy it. And take my wife to Paris, her dream destination.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? That's a hard one. I think I'd like to try out living in many places first and see what I like the best. I love it in Colorado, but Shell dreams of moving back to California someday. I'd love to be one of those couples who "lives" to travel. That would be such a great way to live.