ERA For Lab Coats

So Tyler gave me a doctor's white coat as a Christmas present. He is tired of me ruining my clothes every time I paint. I get lulled into this false sense of security that of course a person can paint without getting even the tiniest splatter on their clothes by watching too many redecorating shows on HGTV. I, apparently, can't paint anything, from a small picture frame to an entire wall, without getting paint on my clothes somewhere. I know this about myself, and yet I still feel that changing my entire outfit just to do some quick painting isn't worth it. 15 minutes later I am always thinking how much better it would have been to have just changed my clothes rather than spend the next half hour at the kitchen sink trying to wash paint out of my black capris. Because Tyler knows this about me, he came up with the doctor's coat solution. He figured if I wasn't willing to remove anything, maybe I'd be willing to put something on. I do wear it - sometimes. Usually I put it on over my head - I'm not a fan of needless buttoning and unbuttoning. The other day though I was putting it on and I actually used the buttons for the first time and something struck me. The buttons were on the man's side. Now, I've never quite been sufficiently satisfied with any explanation as to why buttons are placed on alternate sides of men's and women's clothes, but the fact is that they are. I found it -well, a bit offensive actually, that the buttons were on the male side. Perhaps they have doctor's coats in male and female versions and Tyler didn't know this and just got the first one he saw. Somehow I doubt it though. I don't normally consider myself an ardent feminist, but sometimes little things do get me riled up, and truthfully this incident did a little bit. They should just replace the buttons with zippers and the issue would be resolved!(Or use Velcro. What would the world do without Velcro? It's only draw back is the noise. My mom used some super strong Velcro on some activity pages she made for my kids to take to church. Let's just say after one Sunday of repeated "Rrriiippp"s followed by searching glances from everyone in the congregation looking for the offenders they were designated "Not For Church Use".)

Interview with CT

I interviewed CT last Sunday about his Grandpa (my dad) thinking it would be a fun part of my Father's Day gift to my dad. At the very end CT asks me to sing the song that my dad sang to them every night at bedtime when we were at their house. My dad would do a little dance when he sang it, and CT likes to do it too. Here it is!

HaHaHa

I found this on another blog so I did it and the results cracked me up, as I'm sure they will you too...it doesn't bode well for the validity of this personality test does it?

You Are Basil

You are quite popular and loved by most people. You have a mild temperament, but your style is definitely distinctive. You are sweet, attractive, and you often smell good.

What Spice Are You?

The Pool is The Place

I bought the kids a fairly large blow up pool for the back yard this year. I figured thirty dollars was worth many minutes of happy distraction for CT and Lily. CT loves it. Lily stays in for about ten minutes, then she's done and wants to get dressed and have a snack. Amelia hasn't been in yet - too much crazy splashing and "dives" going on, but she really enjoys watching from the sidelines. So do I.

Yes, I'm a Ghostwriter...

*A pre-emptory explanation: Any of you who did not live in the Chino/Upland/Rancho Cucamonga area of California any time between the years of 2000-2007 will not really know what or who I am talking about in this post. To all of you I say - I am sorry. Sorry that this post will not be interesting to you, and sorry that you didn't experience the great times that were had by all in that golden age of kindred spirits.


I keep waiting for Gina to post something on the family blog all about her wonderful visit with me. Accompanied by, of course, a photo of the two of us doing my patented picture pose. Apparently I am waiting in vain...that pesky detail of us not actually being blood relations may have kept me from making the cut on the family blog. This being said, I have decided to write her post for her. So, here is Gina's account of our visit as written by me:

Wow! We had a super busy mother's-day-weekend, but it was also super fun! It was great to have a day to appreciate our moms. Another highlight of the weekend was getting to visit with Wendy and to see her three adorable kids. CT is so big! Lily is so cute! And Amelia is everything a Gerber baby should be. I was also happy to be able to introduce Chris to Wendy's parents. You know if Wendy stopped being our friend (which we know she wouldn't - who could?)we would still be friends with Bi and Suz...and Teri, our best friend from Wendy's wedding. I think Chris got a taste of why we enjoy them all so much, so I'm glad about that. Wendy and Chris and I went out to dinner and just chatted our time away. Chris was worried that all Wendy would want to talk about was a bunch of girl talk, but I assured him that Wendy was much more broad in her interests, conversational skills, and general knowledge to limit herself to one theme. We did, however, manage to talk about each of you. On the drive home Chris and I agreed that the trip to Logan had definitely been worth it. I'm so glad Wendy and I had a chance to visit in person! We should all do it. What's the status of that Round Robin Reunion again?

Sincerely,

Gina (a.k.a. Wendy the Ghostwriter)

Time Flies

I am not a conscientious blogger. That, I'm sure, is abundantly clear to all of you. I honestly can't imagine that anyone really cares...but then I get so much pleasure from reading your blogs that I have to assume some of you would actually like it if I wrote more often.

You may know that I spent nearly the entire month of May in Logan at my parents house with the kids while Tyler was off in India training the people who are taking over the jobs of all the people who recently got laid off at Citigroup.

It was a good visit. The kids were spoiled, obviously. Now that we are back people keep saying things like, "You guys were gone for a long time. Aren't you glad to be back?". People seem a little taken aback when I reply "No, not really". I don't understand their surprise. I mean, sure, I like it much more when our whole family is together and Tyler comes home at night, but now that we're back he's still traveling for work. He's in Baltimore this week and next, so basically I'm just on my own here. It was great having two full time nannies at my disposal. I also feel like it's really important for my children to develop meaningful relationships with other people - for them to know that there is a wide circle of people to love and from whom to receive love. C.T. is at an age when his memories may actually remain with him for life, so I am happy that he's had this experience with his grandparents to hopefully remember.

I made a slideshow for Tyler that I e-mailed him while we were in Utah of things the kids were up to. I'll have to e-mail it out because I can't figure out how to get it to link on this post. Then you can all say how big the kids are getting. It's true. I know it won't happen for 8 more months, but just the thought that C.T. will be FOUR on his next birthday seems absolutely crazy to me.