Puyallup Fair

Jade and I went with friends to the Puyallup Fair today. We had a BLAST! After looking at animals for awhile we all headed over to "Al's Brain" exhibit. They had us wear these funny looking glasses then herded us into a viewing room where we watched a silly movie about how the brain works...in 3-D. Part of it may have been a bit scary for the 2yr olds in our group but it did prove to be entertaining.
Jade and Ben had a great time doing some rides together. The first one we tried out was the canoe ride. Jade would have liked it better if I didn't keep telling her to get her hands out of the water.
Next they tried some super cool car to drive on a track. Jade took this very seriously even though she couldn't see over the windshield, hee, hee.
The airplane ride was her favorite as well as the longest. A girl (who actually road with her in the car ride) wanted to ride with her again on the plane ride, but Jade (apparently) kicked her out and told her to sit in the backseat. lol...my little bully.
The last ride of the day was sparkly four wheelers. Jade would have been happy doing all of these rides all day long. Sadly, mommies money ran out faster then was expected. lol
Next we headed over to the kids food court. Fair food normally is pretty expensive but we found some mac and cheese for only $2.50! And the kiddos loved it!
Ben wanted to take Jade's and my picture, he said to say "cheese"

Then he said "do a silly face!

We spent so little on lunch we had enough leftover to get the kids dessert. So Jade got to have her first ice-cream cone. Look how sweet and clean she looks here
This shot doesn't do the chocolate all over her face justice. Or the chocolate on her shoulder, dress, pant legs and hair. Needless to say Jade enjoyed that ice-cream cone!
Great time at the fair, we can't wait to go again next year!!

I made SUSHI!

So my MOPS group this year has an "International" theme going on. Each table represents a different cool city around the world. The table I am meeting at is Tokyo, Japan. Tomorrow I have to bring a dish to share with the group and I was asked to do something along the theme of my table.

So...I called up my good Japanese friend, Yukiko and she came over with her cool bamboo rolling mat to show me how it's done. I did these myself! And I'm very impressed. hee, hee
The ones above I made with imitation crab, avocado (drool) and cucumbers. I'm so happy!
I'll also bring some "American" friendly food, such as scrambled eggs and mini sausages...but this is my nod towards Japanese:)

I can't sleep. waaa!

Well, actually I CAN sleep. In fact, I sleep very well. I think I hit the pillow last night at 10:45 and was out the instant I pulled the covers to my chin. But...then...this MORning. The constructed started bright and early. I swear, they must have started at 5am! It is crazy.

The main road, that is almost right in our backyard, has been going through a repaving over the past couple weeks. Usually I can sleep through the noise and it doesn't bother me. But this morning it was to much. I tried to sleep through it, but gosh it was just SO LOUD. My head is pounding so hard I think it just might explode.

And people say I'm dramatic? whatever. lol

Needless to say being woken by tweeting birds has it's own annoyances but being woken by bulldozers can make a grown, pregnant woman, go crazy. I'm "this" close to going out there and strangling all of the law abiding construction workers. grrr

Okay, my rant is done. The road will be paved soon enough and they will all go away and annoy some other home and some other temperamental pregnant lady...no. doubt.

Greek yogurt and bible studies!

The past couple days I've been adding greek yogurt to my fruit or granola as part of my breakfast. It's really yummy and has a cool texture. I like it better then regular yogurt. But now I'm curious, what IS different from normal yogurt and greek yogurt? What makes it greek?

I just started two bible studies this week. The first is called "The Lord's Table" and is all about learning to control bad eating habits and coming at it from a biblical perspective. So far it's been really convicting and really encouraging.

The second is about giving your whole self to God. I just did the first lesson this morning. It required a lot of scripture reading (not to intense just one or two verses at a time, but lots of verses!). I've started to do both of these bible studies in the morning before Jade wakes up. It's been so relaxing and such a great start to my day. Wish I had started this routine sooner!

Off to get Jade up and then going walking with a friend!

Three months and showing

Okay, okay, so maybe I'm sticking my belly out a little bit. But mostly, that's what I look like already. My loving friends keep telling me "oh the second baby pops out so much faster" and that I look so "glowy and happy" and I thank them for their sensitivity and lies.
I'm at the three month mark, going to embark on my second trimester in just a few days and hoping that means "Goodbye" to all day morning sickness and hopefully a return of some much needed energy.

Jade now asks me on a regular basis if "You sick today momma?" and when I say "yes" she'll say "because of the baby in your belly?". When I say yes again she'll proudly pat her own belly and say "I have a baby in my belly too, see" and then she'll push her tiny belly out as far as it will go. hee, hee

Current mommy struggles of late have been Jade's complete and utter fear of public restrooms. While she is potty trained completely at home (including nap times and through the night) the thought of using a public potty (even at a friends home) freaks her out. We are working on this "problem" and will take any and all prayers regarding this. As it makes outing a bit more stressful then needed. lol

Fall weather keeps teasing us, cool one day warm another. I'm not sure if I should pull out sweaters and start buying Jade winter clothes or if I should wait another week or two. Tricky weather.

There is my up date for now. Off to go do some yoga and then have some friends over!

Not much happening

I feel like I have nothing to say these days. While I've been really busy with life it all seems pretty mundane and not worth blogging about. I think I'm just tired. The first trimester is always a hard one...blah. oh well

Looking forward to the Fall, it seems to be right around the corner. I've enjoyed the few football games I've watched this week and I'm really looking forward to bible study starting on Wednesday.

Hopefully I'll have something fun to blog about soon!

Portland Zoo Trip

Yesterday my friend and her kiddos invited Jade and I on a trip to the Portland Zoo with them. We drove up to Portland and then took the "MAX" train to the zoo. Here are our silly kiddos waiting at the train stop.
The kids loved the zoo, Kyri and Jade are pretending to be baby eagles in this massive nest.
We weren't sure if they would see any sea life at this zoo, but all the kids were thrilled to get to look at fish under water.
I've seen polar bears laying around acting pampered, but I've never seen a polar bear swimming around showing off. You can't really see it, but if you look close you can see the polar bear's rump in this shot. This bear was swimming on his back, playing with his ball and being an all around show off for all the zoo goers. It was pretty exciting.
We couldn't leave the zoo without stopping by and seeing the elephants. It was a request for Kyris and Jade's from the very first. We got to see a lot of elephants, plus a baby elephant.

I think it was a worth while trip. A memory maker for sure. Thanks friends for inviting us!

Rain drops keep falling on my head

The past week and a half we've started on what seems to be the fall rainy season. Normally I go all depression with the world when rainy season returns. But this time, it hasn't really happened. I think the main reason is I've been sick. I'm pretty sure I've been fighting bronchitis and when one has a nasty, throaty cough that sounds like you just may die...you can't get out much. And if you have to stay in, and indoors, rain makes it not feel so bad. Everything is all cool, and so you feel you need to be all warm and cozy. Plus the million gallons of tea and water I've been drinking is all the more welcomed, because it's cold and rainy out, so why not have another cup of tea?

I'm starting to feel better, the cough is finally subsiding and my lunges seem to have cleared. Maybe this week I'll be able to accomplish more, more then just finishing season 2 of "lost" on hulu. lol

Our long weekend has been fairly productive considering I've been sick. While we didn't get together with friends (which I was super bummed about) I did get to spend lots of quality time with my man.

Saturday morning I actually helped him clean our garage. I don't clean garages. So the fact I offered to help impressed me. I organized a bit, dusted, swept, threw trash away. I found myself actually having a good time, it was surprising. It does feel nice to get a nasty area like a garage all clean and neat. Plus, I found this really cool car cleaner that did wonders on some scary spots on two rugs I owned. Two rugs that I had been hiding in the garage because of their unsightly spots. But I got those cleaned and they are now back to use in my home. Nice.

Then my man, without me saying a word, put up a curtain rode for the new curtains I bought for the loft. And I was able to hang those, which look very nice.

We took a bunch of junk to the dump and some not so junky, junk to Goodwill.

Sunday my man went to church while I stayed home and "Rested". When he got back we ran some errands and did some "window" shopping for office furniture. Granted, I did stumble upon a clothing coupon and ended up buying myself three new shirts *huge grin of delight*, but it was mostly window shopping.
Then we headed to his work office and started painting an "Accent" wall for him. He did most of the work, but I did help some.

Today it's mostly been my man who has accomplished a lot, he's taken my car to get an oil change and gas. Washed and vacuumed both cars, did work, painted the second coat on his office wall, ran errands, made coffee and spent quality time playing with Jade. I went walking and put a load of laundry in the washer. That's about it. hee, hee

Anyhoo...I'm looking forward to being perfectly healthy again and having energy to focus on my home, family and this new little baby inside me. Yes, that would be nice. Hope everyone had a lovely Labor Day weekend.

The end of my birthday

I had a fabulous birthday! I spent the morning taking it easy and then I met two girlfriends at my favorite coffee shop for coffee and talking!

Jade and I biked to the coffee shop and weren't expecting gift, so after I had to have Kristen drop off the lovely flowers she brought for me at my house.

My afternoon was mostly filled with reading, watching movies and chillin' with Jade.

When my hubby got home from work he sent me upstairs with Jade for a short time while he got "Ready" for my birthday. When I came downstairs he handed me my birthday card, on the card was a sticky note with a riddle, or clue. I had to follow the clue to find my present. But when I got to my present, there was another sticky note, to another gift, and so on. I couldn't believe how much stuff he got me! And it was so fun runny all over the house like a crazy lady!

He bought me a bunch of maternity clothes (tank top, skirt, top, scarf, and a dress!) a movie that had four fun musicals included (I LOVE musicals) the most adorable tan clutch you ever did see and a HUGE bouquet of gorgeous yellow roses.

After my fun present opening expedition he sent me on the couch with my musical and started cooking up some gourmet grilled cheeses and split pea soup (because, I have a cold after all). We watched our movie and ate our yummy dinner. Then after he went off and returned with a super yummy Boston cream cake.

We ate our cake (which he had Jade serve me, SO cute!...she's all "here you go mommy, happy birthday") and then chilled until Jade had to go to bed. After bed time we watched "Duplicity" and then went to bed. All in all it was a really great, relaxing, super fun, birthday! Hurray year 26, I'm looking forward to you!"

p.s. if you want to see pictures of my fabulous gifts go check out my Facebook and my "birthday" photo album

It's MY BIRTHDAY!!

Hurray for me! It's my birthday! I love birthdays! I don't have huge plans today, but that doesn't matter. I'm just happy it's here and I get to eat cake tonight!

A few things I am looking forward to this year:

1. Starting up Bible Study Again

2. Hopefully having a really good year helping with MOPS

3. Getting to have my sis, Jo, spend Thanksgiving with us (since she now goes to school in Spokane)

4. And since Jo will be here getting to wake up at an ungodly hour to go shopping with my hubby the day after Thanksgiving

5. Getting to welcome a new baby to our family in March

6. Hopefully getting to have the whole Bechtle family up for a visit

7. And going to "Wildwaves" in the summer! That HAS to happen this year! lol!

Those are my big "look forward too's" I can't wait!