Sorry for the sound quality here. I think we had better replace the batteries in our camera. We're going to get a REAL video camera soon so we don't have to apologize anymore about that! It was quite a fun morning -- the boys are still playing hard 4 hours later. We had a great visit back home to KY! Miss you all already. Merry Christmas!
It's been a while since we posted, and for that I apologize. After Sam turned 6, well, let's see. I turned 37 (boy, that was fun). And then, well, things just went a little crazy.
Let's recap.
On Momday, November 27, Seattl was hit with a huge, rare snowstorm. I managed to get home from work before the snow really hit, but Dave was stranded downtown due to the snow and Seahawks game. I threw the boys in the van headed downtown to pick up Dave.
Sometime during that drive downtown I said "f**kin'" (without the asterisks, of course) because of another driver who cut me off. Instead of ignoring it and pretending that it didn't happen, I instead explained to Sam what I said, why I said it, and why it was wrong.
BIG MISTAKE.
Sam has now made it part of his vernacular, much to my dismay. I'm not sure what we're going to do about it (except laugh about it really hard).
Now, moving on, let's talk about the other storm.
I left the office at 3:30 pm last Thursday afternoon (the 14th), and the forecast at that point wasn't alarming. In fact, I thought that I had plenty of time to get home before the storm hit.
I. WAS. WRONG.
It took me over two hours to get from Bellevue to Seattle. Interstate 90, which is the main route from Bellevue, across Mercer Island and Lake Washington, to south Seattle, was a complete parking lot. And, then, the bridge over the lake (which are pontoons that 'float' on the water) was shaking and moving with the wind. In a word: frightening. Nonetheless, I made it home safely with both boys.
Dave and I managed to get ourselves fed, give the boys baths then tucked into bed, and get ourselves settled at the dining room table to work. I had a big, BIG deadlne at my job--as did Dave--so we both planned to work most of the evening. At 11 pm, the power went out, so we both worked a while longer using candlelight and just pure adrenaline.
We woke up Friday morning to find ourselves still without power. I--naively I admit--I went to the office very early Friday morning thinking that we were the only ones without power and I could take a shower at the office and send my project off to the client. How quickly I found that to be not true. The truth was that most of western Washnigton was withoutpower--about one million people total.
TO BE CONTINUED...
What are your superstitions?
Submitted by lazywong.
Oh my, I have a few!
First, I have to lift my feet whenever I drive over railroad tracks.
I have to swipe my hand on the ceiling of my car whenever I drive under a yellow light.
I hold my breath whenever I drive over a body of water.
I also am plagued by the "bread-and-butter" superstition. If I'm walking down the street with someone, and we happen to walk around opposite sides of a pole or sign, well, then I have to punch that person in arm, make the criss-cross sign on his/her arm, and say 'bread and butter."
I have absolutely no idea where this started or what it means. I just know that I'm a complete and utter slave to it.
And this is only the beginning of my weirdness!
As you might already know, we've had lots of birthdays happenin' around here lately. Mine. Sam's. Meme's. But--let's be honest here--the only one that matters is Sam's. Why? Because he's six. Six!! Don't you remember six? God knows that it's far more exciting than, say, oh, 37. Wouldn't you agree?
Anyway, I have to say, as the parent of said birthday boy, I have to say "Where did it all go?!"
The Friday after Sam's birthday, December 1 to be exact, we hosted a small party for some of Sam's good friends from school and the neighborhood. And what a party it was!
Honestly, if I may be sentimental, we're so lucky to have these wonderful people in our lives.
I composed a post about this two weeks ago, but then I took it down because I thought it was, well, too much. Too emotional. But, since then, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this family. So I'm posting about them again. I really don't know what I can say. The thing is, this could have been us. Seriously. So, since I can't find the words, here is someone who can.
To me, this post pretty much says it all.
We're still thinking of you, Kati Kim and your girls. We hope you'll be OK.
All clean and sweet. I'm guessing Santa will be pleased. And, yes, they got haircuts!
Holy Hannah. Have you seen this? I don't know whether to think that this guy is brilliant or a complete idiot. You tell me.
What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Submitted by Brennan.
My grandmother Harriett's scalloped oysters (it's a southern thing). It took me years before I would even try the dish. But, then, once I did, whoa. I was hooked. And now everytime I smell them cooking, it takes me back to her kitchen. And it makes me happy.
What's your favorite heartbreak song?
Submitted by esta86.
Oh, no question. "Every Breath You Take" by the Police. Just typing the title can make me weep. And, yes, I know that it's a completely stalker-ish song. Doesn't make me love it any less.
We can't count the number of times that Sam has come downstairs just minutes after being tucked into bed and said, "Mama, Daddy, I had a bad dream."
"Hmmmm. How can you have a bad dream if you haven't fallen asleep yet?"
This question would lead to hemming and hawing on his part and a desperate attempt to come up with a good excuse to stay up longer. We, of course, never took the bait and sent him marching back upstairs to bed.
Tonight, Sam tried a different approach.
"Mama, Daddy, I had a bad think."
