The Birthday Boy.

Three in a big way.

Thanks Arizona.

I'm proudly from Arizona.

I spent 28 years there until moving to Chicago.

Arizona is very sunny most of the time. Super-bright sunny. The kind that will make you blind if you don't wear sunglasses. I love this about Arizona.

Because it's so sunny, you become trained to LOVE the rain and overcast days. People get excited when it rains and when it's cloudy. It's new and different from the usual eye-watering light.

Growing up this way is the best thing that could have happened to me now that I live in Chicago.

When it snows, I think it's freakin cool. It makes me giddy.

When it's overcast, it doesn't bother me much.

When it rains, I like to watch it.

I don't mind walking in the rain and snow. I'm still too new here and have all that Arizona training running through my veins.

And now that I live in Chicago, visting Arizona is awesome.

It's sunny and warm!
We can play outside in the winter?!
The sky is so blue!
I get to wear my flip-flops!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is...

Thanks Arizona for being the greatest place to grow up if you live where it's rainy, snowy, and cloudy. You made life easier here and I appreciate you more when I visit.

Christmas in AZ 2010. Isn't that fabulous?! Sunflowers in December!

The Disadvantages:
I think I may hate the cold, winter wind more than any human here. It almost kills my soul. It alone makes me want to move back to AZ.
And I stink at driving in the snow. I go like 15 mph. I'm a nervous wreck. I can feel the non-love from the people driving behind me.
Day-light Savings is still a mystery to me and I never know which clock to trust for at least a day. I now call my friends that morning to confirm the actual time so that I'm on time to church instead of early or late like I've been.

It's The Little Things.

As you know we moved.

I'm still I awe about how much I love our new place.

We originally moved here because of the general improvement of quality, washer/dryer, dish washer, and space. Sometimes I hug the washer and dryer.

But there were some unexpected little surprises that were exciting and make us happy.

First, the oven window and light are rather entertaining. We love to watch the progress of baking. They pull up a chair and stare in amazement. I like that I can check on dinner without opening the door.

She even wears her headband in the tub. We have to pry it away from her to wash her hair.

Next, Hannah especially loves the radiator in the bathroom. She never forgets to put her towel on it before bath time so that it will be nice and toasty when she gets out. I will also admit that I think it's awesome.

And, the bathroom has a very large frosted window. So when you shower during the day, you are surrounded with sunlight. Which is appreciated during Chicago winters. A welcomed and natural anti-depressant. 

In the basement we have our own storage area. Which is great, but then we discovered that we can get to it from our hallway. Surprise! I love that we don't have to go outside to get to it.

Everyday when I go pick up Hannah from preschool I can hear the guy who lives next door practicing his saxophone. It makes me smile.

And after we moved in we realized that the refrigerator and freezer hold twice as much food as our last fridge. And our storage in the house is twice as much as our last house. I love that I can stock up on food and supplies.

Oh... and the fridge has a water and ice dispenser. Hannah uses it the most and thinks it's fantastic.

It's funny how I find myself more excited about the little things than the big things.

But even though all these things are wonderful and bring me happiness...

Our last building had the nicest people living in it.  I miss them. They looked out for us. I don't think any place we ever live in will be able to compare to the social love between all the tenants as that dinky little building had. We were all so different, but we took care of each other.

And even though I lovingly refer to our last apartment as "the hole", it had Jess living across the street. And Liesl a block away. Those were hard sacrifices that sometimes tear me up. We almost didn't moved based solely on being farther away from them.

In Chicago, away from family, friends are everything to me.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is...

MAN, I love my washer!

But DANG, I miss my friends.

Another Lefty?

Jared writes with his left hand. I'm starting to think Asher will too.

Random Facts:

About 10% of the world is left handed.
They are twice as likely to be a male.
Among college-educated people, left-handed people make 26% more than right-handers.
Lefties are more likely to become an alcoholic.
Are more likely to choose a creative career.
They use the right side of the brain the most.
Better at 3D perception and thinking.
Of the 5 designers of Macintosh computers, 4 of them were lefties.
20% of MENSA membership is left-handed.
Lefties make especially good baseball players, tennis players, swimmers, boxers, and fencers. Almost 40% of top tennis players are lefties.
With twins, one will be a righty and one a lefty. Often.
25% of the Apollo astronauts have been left handed. 250% more than the normal level of left handedness in any group.

When typing, about 3000 words are typed using the left hand solely, while only about 300 are typed by the right hand.

Lefties are better at handling large amount of stimuli and multi-tasking. Making them better at video games.

The odds of having a left handed child:

Two right handed parents, 9%
Left handed father, 12%
Left handed mother, 16%
Two left handed parents, 20%

Famous Lefties:
Barack Obama
Benjamin Franklin
Rembrandt
Leonardo da Vinci
Julius Caesar
Issac Newton
Tom Cruise
Tina Fey
Jim Henson
Charlie Chaplin
Whoopie Goldberg
Oprah Winfrey
Bill Gates
Steve Forbes
Helen Keller
Fidel Castro
Babe Ruth
Lewis Carroll
Alexander the Great
Paul McCartney
Mark Twain
Robert DeNiro
Bruce Willis
Henry Ford
Tommy Hilfiger
Edwin Buzz Aldrin
Richard Simmons




*All of this info is subject to wiggle room. I looked at many websites and these facts were the average and most consistant I found.

Sugar Saturday.

I'm doing a fitness challenge with my friends. 

There are 2 teams competing against each other.

The daily rules:

64 oz water

5 servings fruit/vegetable

vitamin

30 min. exercise

No food after 8 pm

No sugar/dessert except one day a week.

And a different rule every week for bonus points.

We are half way through our 10 week challenge. It's the no eating after 8 that kills me.

This challenge makes the day I'm allowed to have sugar very exciting.

M&M Pancakes.

I love Sugar Saturday.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good: Jared works from home. We all love it.

The Bad: 3 year olds are harder to love than other humans.

The Ugly: In Hell, everything is pink. Including your eyes.

Hannah Princess of Plants.

I have a personal gardener that happily cares for my herbs.

I barely have to remind her to water them. It's nice.

We planted the seeds about 2 weeks ago. You were only supposed to plant 4 seeds in one pot. We dumped the whole packet into each pot. It's just more exciting that way. 

Hannah took it upon herself to make signs out of the seed packets and popsicle sticks.

She is a little protective of the plants and won't let me use them for cooking. Even though that is the sole reason I got them. 

She thinks it's mean.

P.S. I'm surprised that Rosemary tree is doing so well. It's gets dressed up like the family pet everyday in all kinds of get ups. Fine by me. I don't do pets. 

P.P.S. Hannah named the rosemary tree Ducky Mo Mo.

Picture of The Month - February

Once again, I cut too much off.

Jared and Hannah watched in horror as it happened.

It changed his looks so dramatically that we all kind of treat him like he's a distant relative instead of the son and brother that he is.

Poor kid. Every time someone sees him for the first time, they mildly scream.

It's been a week. I'm still warming up to him.