February 27th 2002

That's the day my baby boy was born. He's turning 7 on Friday. I thought it would be fun to put in some photos of him. The early baby pictures aren't on the computer, so these pictures are from 18 months on...Enjoying the beach. Giving his little sister a hug.

All of his animals.

Taking his bear, Fred, for a hike.

Proud cookie maker!

First day of 1st Grade.

I could go on and on. There are so many fun pictures of my boy. Hope you enjoy them too!

This is an I Don't Think I Will Ever Be Able to Catch Up Post

The days are whizzing by...I have been working a lot, and trying to manage being a wife, mother and housekeeper as well. I've been tired. The kids have been sick. Katie has had a cold for over a week, (Jonathan almost a week), and today Katie started throwing up. Jonathan went to school one day last week (Friday), I only worked two days.

That kinda sums it up.

I did enjoy just sitting on the couch holding my girl today. Sick kids bring out the nuturing in me. She looked so pitiful. I'm hoping tomorrow is a better day for her--and that we don't get what she's got.

"Rock On!"

A fun thing happend to me on Tuesday. At our weekly Sales Meeting I received a trophy. It was in recognition of getting a major price reduction on one of my listings that needs to sell soon. It is actually this silly little statue of a hand doing the "rock on" sign. When fellow agents walk past my office, they give me the "rock on" sign as encouragement. (This happens to be a new motivational technique that one of our principal brokers has come up with.) And indeed, it has been a fun and encouraging week.

Showing Homes

Today was a fun day. I got to take some friends out to look at homes (you know who you are). I LOVE looking at houses. Maybe that is one reason why I got into real estate. Maybe that is also why I have been the one to instigate moving each time we bought a house!

Anyhow, since I was with friends, I took the kids along with me. (One great perk about this job is the flexibility. I would never take my kids with me when going out with clients I don't know.) So Jonathan and Katie got to hang out with me.

The first house was very interesting...a major fixer. The second house was also very interesting...a total dump (the house was loaded with stuff.) Trust me, if you want to SELL your home, clean it up first, and get rid of clutter.

The third house was cute inside, but you could scratch the back of the neighbor next door through your window. The fourth house was okay. The 5th house was a lot more promising. We were going to look at a sixth home, but I forgot to call the realtor ahead to get the key. We'll try again.

All this time the kids are doing great, mine and theirs. Jonathan is going to be a great salesman someday. I should take notes from him. As we were leaving the third house he turned to my friends and said, "So far, I think this is the house you are looking for." What a line! Maybe I'll use it on other clients! Maybe I should just bring him with me when showing homes. He is very cute and charming!

Catch Up Post

Rob's mom was with us for Christmas this year. The kids really enjoyed that. She actually drove up here from San Jose several days before Christmas (in all the snow)!

Jonathan and Katie had a great Christmas break, and holiday. It was so much fun to play in the snow, and just hang out at home as a family. For Christmas, we gave Jonathan a Magic set. He absolutely loves it. He has been trying to practice all the tricks and gives performances to everyone who comes to our house. Katie got some fun gifts too, but the thing I will remember the most is something she said while opening a gift from my parents. One of the gifts my parents gave Katie was new "Princess" underwear. Katie could not contain her excitement. As she unwrapped each individual pantie, she would exclaim, "Look, I got bigger underwear!" Now that is not something you would hear most women say, that's for sure!

My Christmas gift from Rob's dad just arrived today. It got lost somehow with all the crazy weather, and UPS not delivering in the snow. According to the tracking information on the internet, the package arrived in Portland on Dec. 24th. Hmmm. Well, I'm happy it has arrived. (It's a gift card to Bed, Bath & Beyond.) Can't wait to go shopping.

Jonathan is back to school, Katie is back to her routine with the sitters, and Rob and I are back to work. It's good to be back. I'll have to add pictures to my next blog post.

Today's Numbers

0-How many times I went outside today.

4-How many times Rob went outside today (to take care of our chickens, and for other reasons).

8-How many steps Jonathan took outside before he turned around and came back in the house because the snow was too deep.

2-How many steps are now showing leading up to our front porch (out of 5).

5-How many people I saw walking on the street in front of our house today.

10-How many snow mobiles drove past our house today. (Now that's the way to go!)

25-The number of laps Jonathan ran around the inside of our house.

55-The number of books Katie "read" to herself.

15-The number of books Katie wanted me to read to her.

20-The number of times I sat down to rest and then remembered something that I needed to do right away.

8-The number of times I sat down to rest and then two children climbed up on me to be tickled.

1-The number of times I sat down to rest and actually rested.

100-The number of times I blew my nose today (this stupid cold!)

45-The number of times Katie asked me what was wrong, and if I was sick.

24-The number of times Jonathan sneezed and I had to remind him to get a tissue.

1-Train set around our Christmas tree.

20-Days it will probably stay out.

2-Map makers planning where to put the other train track around the house. (I will keep you posted on this.)

9-Days that I have been enjoying this winter weather. It's been a lot of fun!

25 Hours Without Kids

We were able to take Jonathan and Katie over to my parent's house yesterday afternoon so that they could stay overnight. That is always a treat for them, as well as for Rob and I. So how have we been enjoying our 25 hours without kids?

I had a raging headache all day yesterday, which did not go away until late this morning. (I still have a slight headache.)

We ventured out to the craft store and to the bank after dropping off our kids.

Had a quiet dinner together (of breakfast cereal since I didn't feel good).

Went for a very fun drive through the area looking at Christmas lights. The homes look so fun in the snow!

Foot massages!!!

Sleeping in until 9:00 (for me). Mostly because of my headache.

Watching the snow blow around and feeling so glad that I can be inside where it is warm.

Rob and I working on our own individual projects around the house. It's amazing how much more you can get done when all persons under 7 years of age are not present!

We were hoping that maybe the kids could get snowed in at my parents so we could get another day home alone, but they only live 3 miles away, so that's not going to happen. (Plus they have a huge 4-wheel drive truck that I'm sure could handle the snow if we can't pick them up. sigh.) I guess I'll be grateful for what we got!