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.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
New Room, New Fish
This past weekend my boy & I rearranged his bedroom. It's been the same since we moved in, so for about 3 years. He had a plan for where he wanted everything to go, so I told him that as long as it was clean, we'd do it. The furniture in his room consisted of his twin bed, his bookshelf and his dresser. However, on his dresser lives his fish tank. It's a 10 gallon tank and he had 3 goldfish living in it. He's had these same 3 goldfish for over 2 years. I've been impressed many times by the fact that they were still alive. So we had to empty most of the water out of the tank in order to move the dresser, and decided we might as well clean it out really good at the same time. We started with moving the fish to another bowl, and then set in on the emptying and cleaning. We moved fast, and as soon as we got the dresser moved, we started filling the tank back up and moved the fish back in. They were dead within a couple of hours. I think that their age combined with the move and the differences in water temperature probably all contributed. My boy was sad, but held it together pretty well. It didn't hurt that he LOVED the new arrangement in his room. We got stuff hung up on his walls (no we never did that after moving in...) and even moved an old telephone table into his room for use as a nightstand. It doesn't look like a kid's room anymore. He just kept lying on his bed and looking around at his new room. He did a great job.
So, back to the fish, or lack of. I told him that I would take him to the pet store on Sunday and he could pick out some fish. Luckily, the tank was squeaky clean now and unoccupied so it was like starting over fresh. Once we got to the store however, things started changing fast. The goldfish didn't look as appealing as the tropical fish. But he has a cold water tank. Again, changes... He bought a heater to solve that problem and came home with a snail (for algae control), 3 Neon Tetras, a little frog and a guppy. We were very careful to make sure the water came up to the correct temperature before dumping in the new menagerie and then we watched them. My girl was at her friend's house and missed all the excitement, but Shell, our boy & I sat on his bed and watched the new tank adventure unfold. He went to bed that night in his new room with his new fish and was pretty happy about how his weekend had gone.
Monday morning we discovered that the frog had died. This prompted a conversation I had with a coworker where I found out that frogs can be difficult. This particular coworker actually has quite a few fish of his own, so he offered to give my boy a few guppies to replace the frog. He's happy with this. We'll get them next week sometime. It's going to turn out okay.
The best part about this weekend is that my boy has kept his room clean and has even made his bed every day since the rearrangement. He still loves it. Now if I could just convince his sister that rearranging her room would be fun too. Maybe her room could be clean too...
So, back to the fish, or lack of. I told him that I would take him to the pet store on Sunday and he could pick out some fish. Luckily, the tank was squeaky clean now and unoccupied so it was like starting over fresh. Once we got to the store however, things started changing fast. The goldfish didn't look as appealing as the tropical fish. But he has a cold water tank. Again, changes... He bought a heater to solve that problem and came home with a snail (for algae control), 3 Neon Tetras, a little frog and a guppy. We were very careful to make sure the water came up to the correct temperature before dumping in the new menagerie and then we watched them. My girl was at her friend's house and missed all the excitement, but Shell, our boy & I sat on his bed and watched the new tank adventure unfold. He went to bed that night in his new room with his new fish and was pretty happy about how his weekend had gone.
Monday morning we discovered that the frog had died. This prompted a conversation I had with a coworker where I found out that frogs can be difficult. This particular coworker actually has quite a few fish of his own, so he offered to give my boy a few guppies to replace the frog. He's happy with this. We'll get them next week sometime. It's going to turn out okay.
The best part about this weekend is that my boy has kept his room clean and has even made his bed every day since the rearrangement. He still loves it. Now if I could just convince his sister that rearranging her room would be fun too. Maybe her room could be clean too...
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Name Meme
I saw both the previous meme and this one and they looked like fun. I know, it's probably cheating to consider these as posts. But my blog, my rules...
Rock Star Name (first pet and current car): Gypsy Sentra
Your "fly" Guy/Girl name (favorite ice cream flavor and favorite cookie): Cherry Peanut Butter
Your Detective name (favorite color and favorite animal): Green Horse
Your Soap Opera Name (middle name and city where you were born): Michelle Buena Park
Your Star Wars Name (first 3 letters of last name, first 2 of first): Tolty
Nascar Name (first names of your grandfathers): Oscar Ivan
Stripper Name (favorite perfume and favorite candy: Pleasures Dark Chocolate
Witness Protection Name (mother and father's middle names): Jean Lee
TV Weather Anchor Name (5th grade teacher's last name, major city that starts with the same letter): Lowe Louisville
Spy Name (favorite season/holiday/flower): Spring Thanksgiving Bird of Paradise
Cartoon Name (favorite fruit, clothing you are wearing right now and ie or y): Apple Jeansy
Hippy Name (what you ate for breakfast, favorite tree): Burrito Aspen
Rockstar Touring Name (the name of your favorite hobby/favorite element and "tour"): Reading Oxygen Tour
Rock Star Name (first pet and current car): Gypsy Sentra
Your "fly" Guy/Girl name (favorite ice cream flavor and favorite cookie): Cherry Peanut Butter
Your Detective name (favorite color and favorite animal): Green Horse
Your Soap Opera Name (middle name and city where you were born): Michelle Buena Park
Your Star Wars Name (first 3 letters of last name, first 2 of first): Tolty
Nascar Name (first names of your grandfathers): Oscar Ivan
Stripper Name (favorite perfume and favorite candy: Pleasures Dark Chocolate
Witness Protection Name (mother and father's middle names): Jean Lee
TV Weather Anchor Name (5th grade teacher's last name, major city that starts with the same letter): Lowe Louisville
Spy Name (favorite season/holiday/flower): Spring Thanksgiving Bird of Paradise
Cartoon Name (favorite fruit, clothing you are wearing right now and ie or y): Apple Jeansy
Hippy Name (what you ate for breakfast, favorite tree): Burrito Aspen
Rockstar Touring Name (the name of your favorite hobby/favorite element and "tour"): Reading Oxygen Tour
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Meme about us
play along!
What are your middle names? Michelle(me) & Renee(her)
How long have you been together? It will be 17 years in April!
How long did you know each other before you started dating? 2 1/2 years
Who asked whom out? she handed me a note between classes asking me if I wanted to take our friendship to the next level followed by two boxes marked "yes" and "no". I marked yes.
How old are each of you? 34(me) & 33(her)
Whose siblings do you see the most? mine
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? that's easy - financial stuff causes us the most conflicts
Did you go to the same school? yes, same junior high and high school although we didn't meet until high school
Are you from the same home town? yes, we lived less than 2 miles from each other
Who is smarter? I am more book smart, she is more "street smart"
Who is the most sensitive? she is
Where do you eat out most as a couple? in bed...oh, um, I mean... probably Old Chicago
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? we went to the Bahamas a couple of years ago. it was an all expenses paid trip sponsored by her work. It was the chance of a lifetime.
Who has the craziest exes? neither of us really. since we've been together since high school, we don't really have a lot of exes to choose from.
Who has the worst temper? her. no question.
Who does the cooking? she does it during the week and I take the weekends. it's easier since she's home all day and I don't get home until after 6 most nights.
Who is the neat-freak? neither of us. but the mess bothers me first.
Who is more stubborn? her
Who hogs the bed? I do. I have the bed to myself 5 nights a week, so when she's home at night I guess I don't adjust to sharing very well.
Who wakes up earlier? me, always
Where was your first date? it was a double date for dinner at Don Jose's Mexican restaurant for my birthday. my parents almost didn't let me go because it was during the L.A. riots following the Rodney King beating trial. not to mention that Shell & the other couple are African-American and, well, I'm most definitely not.
Who is more jealous? I think we are equal on this.
How long did it take to get serious? we were serious before she gave me the yes or no note. made it a no-brainer
Who eats more? we're pretty equal on this one too
Who does the laundry? I do the majority of it
Who’s better with the computer? me
Who drives when you are together? always me
What are your middle names? Michelle(me) & Renee(her)
How long have you been together? It will be 17 years in April!
How long did you know each other before you started dating? 2 1/2 years
Who asked whom out? she handed me a note between classes asking me if I wanted to take our friendship to the next level followed by two boxes marked "yes" and "no". I marked yes.
How old are each of you? 34(me) & 33(her)
Whose siblings do you see the most? mine
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? that's easy - financial stuff causes us the most conflicts
Did you go to the same school? yes, same junior high and high school although we didn't meet until high school
Are you from the same home town? yes, we lived less than 2 miles from each other
Who is smarter? I am more book smart, she is more "street smart"
Who is the most sensitive? she is
Where do you eat out most as a couple? in bed...oh, um, I mean... probably Old Chicago
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? we went to the Bahamas a couple of years ago. it was an all expenses paid trip sponsored by her work. It was the chance of a lifetime.
Who has the craziest exes? neither of us really. since we've been together since high school, we don't really have a lot of exes to choose from.
Who has the worst temper? her. no question.
Who does the cooking? she does it during the week and I take the weekends. it's easier since she's home all day and I don't get home until after 6 most nights.
Who is the neat-freak? neither of us. but the mess bothers me first.
Who is more stubborn? her
Who hogs the bed? I do. I have the bed to myself 5 nights a week, so when she's home at night I guess I don't adjust to sharing very well.
Who wakes up earlier? me, always
Where was your first date? it was a double date for dinner at Don Jose's Mexican restaurant for my birthday. my parents almost didn't let me go because it was during the L.A. riots following the Rodney King beating trial. not to mention that Shell & the other couple are African-American and, well, I'm most definitely not.
Who is more jealous? I think we are equal on this.
How long did it take to get serious? we were serious before she gave me the yes or no note. made it a no-brainer
Who eats more? we're pretty equal on this one too
Who does the laundry? I do the majority of it
Who’s better with the computer? me
Who drives when you are together? always me
Monday, February 16, 2009
A Valentine Weekend
Shell & I don't "do" the Valentines Day thing. We really haven't since the kids were born. We always get something for them, a little bit of candy and either a new book, or some pajamas. We always say Happy Valentines Day to each other, but that's about it. And we're totally fine with it. We have our own personal "holiday" that we celebrate on February 3, Shell's birthday is in March, we have 3 anniversaries within two weeks in April & May, then my birthday in May. We get to "celebrate" us quite often in the first half of the year, so Valentines Day is more for the kids. This year we decided instead of candy and gifts, we would take them to Dave & Busters and let them play. They have so much fun there. Then we went to a late lunch at Carino's, which was very yummy. My girl even said that it was the best Valentines Day ever. Oh, how I wish she would believe that for so much longer....
I got up Sunday morning and started laundry and then me & the kids left for our day of errands. It turned out that the dress we got for Cinderella wasn't going to cut it. Apparently, I was the ONLY parent who read that this was a "modern" version of the fairy tale, so the casually-dressy dress we bought was completely blown away by the dresses that the "commoners" were going to be wearing at the ball. And we can't have Cinderella upstaged by the townspeople, so we had to come up with another dress. Luckily, we still had the fairy princess dress that was used as a Halloween costume which was okayed by the musical director. She did request that we try to find a hoop skirt to make the bottom fuller, so that was on our list of things to do. We found one at David's Bridal that only put us out $25, which was less than I was afraid we might have to pay. Our multiple errands, which included grocery shopping, had us gone for 5 hours. After we got home, I did my taxes and e-filed them. I love getting them done early. I always get a refund, which definitely helps my motivation. I did Shell's too, but I'll need to wait to e-file them until after payday. Then I made bacon & cheese omelettes for dinner which were a big hit with everyone, watched some shows that were in my DVR and waited for the kids to go to bed so we could watch The L Word. There's something about that show that has always made me...well, um...let's just say it's like porn for me. And last night was no exception. It ended up being a very late night which wrapped up my Valentines Day weekend perfectly.
I hope that anyone with someone to love, whether they be your spouse, your children, your friends or family, had a great weekend as well.
I got up Sunday morning and started laundry and then me & the kids left for our day of errands. It turned out that the dress we got for Cinderella wasn't going to cut it. Apparently, I was the ONLY parent who read that this was a "modern" version of the fairy tale, so the casually-dressy dress we bought was completely blown away by the dresses that the "commoners" were going to be wearing at the ball. And we can't have Cinderella upstaged by the townspeople, so we had to come up with another dress. Luckily, we still had the fairy princess dress that was used as a Halloween costume which was okayed by the musical director. She did request that we try to find a hoop skirt to make the bottom fuller, so that was on our list of things to do. We found one at David's Bridal that only put us out $25, which was less than I was afraid we might have to pay. Our multiple errands, which included grocery shopping, had us gone for 5 hours. After we got home, I did my taxes and e-filed them. I love getting them done early. I always get a refund, which definitely helps my motivation. I did Shell's too, but I'll need to wait to e-file them until after payday. Then I made bacon & cheese omelettes for dinner which were a big hit with everyone, watched some shows that were in my DVR and waited for the kids to go to bed so we could watch The L Word. There's something about that show that has always made me...well, um...let's just say it's like porn for me. And last night was no exception. It ended up being a very late night which wrapped up my Valentines Day weekend perfectly.
I hope that anyone with someone to love, whether they be your spouse, your children, your friends or family, had a great weekend as well.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Monday...Again
Since I'm sure you were all dying to know... we did the 7 day cleanse exactly as we were supposed to and didn't cheat at all. Not once. We were so proud of ourselves and it paid off. Shell lost 9 pounds and I lost a little over 7. Now, I know that it was mostly water, but it's still weight lost and that makes me happy. We finished the cleanse last Wednesday and are now working our own programs. She is doing Weight Watchers and I'm doing Slim-Fast. We eat the same dinner, and modify where necessary. For example, last night we were making fajitas for dinner. She knows with the tortilla how many points they will cost her. I chose not to add the additional carbs and ate my fajita meat, peppers, and onion over lettuce with a little sour cream. It was so incredibly yummy, I didn't miss the tortilla at all. I will weigh myself again on Wednesday, so I'm hoping that the change from the cleanse diet to this one doesn't reflect badly on the scale.
This weekend was busy. Productive, but busy. We spent ALL DAY on Saturday shopping for the kids costumes for the musical. Cinderella needed a "rag dress" and apron, the dress & tiara for the ball and of course glass slippers. The Prince needed a tux/suit for the ball and shoes to match. I thought for sure that we would hit a few thrift stores and have no trouble finding a dressy dress, a boring plain dress and a suit coat type thing for the boy. (We have a nice pair of black pants already) Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans... We went to 5 thrift stores, 3 discount clothing stores and 1 consignment store. And found NOTHING. We stopped to eat lunch and decided that we were on the wrong track, obviously. We would have to switch gears and buy new clothes. So after a couple more stops, we found what we needed. For full price. Needless to say, my kids will be wearing their new clothes not only for the musical but also for Easter and my company dinner and whatever else I can think of until they grow out of them.
We dropped them off at my parents house to spend the night so we could run home, shower and make egg rolls to take to our friend's birthday party. It was so much fun. They have a friend who does Karaoke, so they hired him for the party. It was fun to see people sing and even though I was freaking out just to think about it, Shell convinced me to sing. I was so nervous, but I picked a song and did it. And it was FUN. I sang "I Feel Lucky" by Mary Chapin Carpenter with all my heart. I figured that I'd only do it once, so why hold back? And I only had one drink before I sang, so that wasn't the fuel either. I think I really wanted to, but was just afraid. And then right before we left, I sang again! I chose "Proud Mary", and about 1/4 of the way into the song another woman came up and sang with me. And it was fun again. I didn't realize it, but I guess I like doing Karaoke. Who knew?
We finished up the weekend doing laundry and grocery shopping yesterday and then watched The L Word last night. Oh, that show... It's getting so bad, but like the train wreck it is, we just can't stop watching. I hate that this is the last season, and I'm really going to miss those characters. Bette, Tina, Shane, Alice, Kit, Helena, Tasha... not Jenny though. I won't miss her one bit.
This weekend was busy. Productive, but busy. We spent ALL DAY on Saturday shopping for the kids costumes for the musical. Cinderella needed a "rag dress" and apron, the dress & tiara for the ball and of course glass slippers. The Prince needed a tux/suit for the ball and shoes to match. I thought for sure that we would hit a few thrift stores and have no trouble finding a dressy dress, a boring plain dress and a suit coat type thing for the boy. (We have a nice pair of black pants already) Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans... We went to 5 thrift stores, 3 discount clothing stores and 1 consignment store. And found NOTHING. We stopped to eat lunch and decided that we were on the wrong track, obviously. We would have to switch gears and buy new clothes. So after a couple more stops, we found what we needed. For full price. Needless to say, my kids will be wearing their new clothes not only for the musical but also for Easter and my company dinner and whatever else I can think of until they grow out of them.
We dropped them off at my parents house to spend the night so we could run home, shower and make egg rolls to take to our friend's birthday party. It was so much fun. They have a friend who does Karaoke, so they hired him for the party. It was fun to see people sing and even though I was freaking out just to think about it, Shell convinced me to sing. I was so nervous, but I picked a song and did it. And it was FUN. I sang "I Feel Lucky" by Mary Chapin Carpenter with all my heart. I figured that I'd only do it once, so why hold back? And I only had one drink before I sang, so that wasn't the fuel either. I think I really wanted to, but was just afraid. And then right before we left, I sang again! I chose "Proud Mary", and about 1/4 of the way into the song another woman came up and sang with me. And it was fun again. I didn't realize it, but I guess I like doing Karaoke. Who knew?
We finished up the weekend doing laundry and grocery shopping yesterday and then watched The L Word last night. Oh, that show... It's getting so bad, but like the train wreck it is, we just can't stop watching. I hate that this is the last season, and I'm really going to miss those characters. Bette, Tina, Shane, Alice, Kit, Helena, Tasha... not Jenny though. I won't miss her one bit.
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