Manila Sunday (like a Vanilla Sundae)

It's funny...I've been working 18-20 hour work days, ending each one with less energy than Rosanne Barr after a push up contest, and somehow I find myself with too much awake time on Sunday evening in Manila. Risking Sal's retort that I could stand to loosen up on my Sunday regimen (after all, I am traveling internationally), somewhere between boredom and dinner, I catch myself hoping that Krista magically found some time to update the blog with news from home when it hits me...I have the Blogger app on my phone. Suddenly, Sunday afternoon became slightly more chocolate than vanilla.

With no shortage of culture, I'm amazed at the experiences that encompass me and yet, I'm eager to wrap it up and go home. Maybe it's because I risk my life with each ride I take away from the hotel. Or maybe it's because Nicolas Cage is the face for Mont Blanc...I don't know. All I know is that Thursday is in no hurry to get here, and that bugs me.

Once Thursday comes and I'm on my way to find a Coco's restaurant in the Tokyo airport, I'm sure I'll already miss my hotel, room service, fresh coconut (which tastes nothing like the sweet stuff in the bag at the grocery store, which is 100 times better...on second thought, I won't miss the coconut. No milk, just water, and it WASN'T sweet.)

I am guilty, though. I will miss all the little people. Literally...I tower most of them by a head. These are some of the friendliest people I have met. When it's all said and done, I will be plotting my return trip. PADI SCUBA certification for $60, which includes armed guards to protect you from local pirates and general wrong-doers, real pearls that cost just a few pesos, vendors who express their undying loyalty to their client (until they find someone who pays better, of course), and amazing food, live music, and lots of things to see that are not as common in the US. Like McDonald's sticky rice, Jeepnies (local inexpensive transportation), and guys who relieve themselves in public. I'm told that's the fastest way to become an honorary Filipino, by the way. If you got business to do, you don't wait for the luxury of indoor plumbing...you just get your business done. The bar is set low here, folks. In fact, I need to renew my membership at this very moment.

See you Thursday, US of A, in all your indoor plumbing glory!!

Public Service Announcement

Public Service Announcement

Please use extreme caution when you are untangling strands of lights.

If you're not careful, the plug, as seen here:

...can suddenly take on a life of it's own and fly up and take a chunk out of your eye.

You may then be sick to your wimpy stomach when you closely examine your eye in the mirror. You might feel slight panic when your husband tells you that it looks like you have a piece of glass in your eye. Because you know it's not glass. It's actually several layers of your eye somehow pealed back.

Then you would have to ignore your important and long to-do list that you just made for the day and instead spend 4 hours in the ER. Because of course this can only happen on a Saturday of a three day weekend.

And you would feel kind of dumb sitting in the ER with all those people who have crazy serious injuries. And want to randomly tell someone, "Yeah...me? I have a little scratch. Just thought I'd come get it checked out."

But then you're glad you got it checked out when you may finally hear the doctor say, "Oh wow. You really took a chunk out of your eye. All things considered...you're really lucky...if that had been just even slightly to the left and hit your pupil instead...."

Oh, and it would hurt. Like...a lot. But luckily your little boys are so sweet and can say a prayer for you and it could suddenly not hurt so much.

But luckily, if this did happen--apparently eyes heal amazingly fast. The human body is truly amazing. So life goes on.

But there may be lasting negative side effects--like the fear that strikes your heart when you see Christmas lights or even just plugs thereafter.

And yet, the side effects may not be all negative. It might make you wonder in the future why that to-do list seems so critical all the time, yet when a little injury happens, it can suddenly all be put on hold. No longer a priority. It might make you wonder how often those "critical" to-do items could be put on hold to do things that really matter. Like sitting down to play with your kids more or just playing more Mad Gab with your son (see next post).

End Public Service Announcement

(Please note--The images pictured above are not the actual items referred to in the public service announcement--but do carry a certain likeness that will assist you in recognizing the items in question.)

Mad Gab

Have you ever played that game called Mad Gab? This one?

They give you things to read from a card to your team and your team has to try to figure out what the phrase or word is? Like here's an example on their website:

DEW WINO HUE

You just keep saying it fast and trying to figure out what the phrase is. In this case--the answer is:

Do I know you?

It's hilarious because if you're the one reading it--you know the answer and you keep trying to say it in different ways trying to change your inflection and help them guess it. Over and over. And it sounds SOO obvious as you say it...but it is hard for everyone who is guessing. You wonder how on earth they cannot be getting it and it's really funny. Because they're saying it too. But just don't realize it.

Anyway.

Caleb is a good reader and absolutely loves reading and spelling! But have you ever noticed how helping your kids learn how to read is just like playing Mad Gab? As I listen to him sound out words--it seems SO OBVIOUS what the word is! And it's funny because sometimes I say, "Yeah! Good job!" when he sounds it out. Only to realize that he hasn't figured it out yet--even though it sounded like he had just said the word.

A real life example of Caleb learning to read?

Around

ahh rrrr ow unnnn duh

He says it over and over again.

It totally sounds like he is saying the word "around". Over and over. He just doesn't realize it. I can't help but giggle. Maybe more than I should.

It's fun playing mad gab with my kindergartener each day as he learns to read. :)

The Perfect Storm

Ugh. How can you move less than 10 miles away and have it disrupt your life so much? Crazy.

Our move. It was crazy busy. But you already know that. Next!

Chris's work schedule. He hadn't traveled for work for a couple years. But all the sudden--we moved and then he was out of town three out of four weeks for work. Which normally--wouldn't really be an issue. He loves to travel for work, gets to do fun things that he loves doing for work and sees people he loves to work with that he doesn't usually get to see. So that's not the issue.

So we move--then Chris travels for 3 out of 4 weeks.

Caleb starts a new school. First day--total success! Phew! That was easy! Second day--hmmm...we seem to be missing our old school, teacher, and friends. Third day...Not so good. His new teacher (who is totally awesome by the way) is out for a day or two that first week. The next week, Caleb gets croup. Like a really bad version of croup. He had fevers for 9 days. Kid was mIsErAbLe. And hAtEs taking medicine. Fight. Every. Time.


So we have a house full of boxes, the boys are sleeping in new rooms, Chris is traveling, Caleb is not liking his new school, and then he gets croup and he will not take his medicine without a big struggle.



Then Carson gets croup. Sigh.

But at least he loves to take medicine. :)



So we have a house full of boxes, the boys want their old house back, the boys just want their dad, I just want their dad, Caleb is not liking his new school, and then he gets croup and fights me several times a day when it's time to take medicine and then Carson gets croup (but at least he likes to take his medicine).

We miss our old neighbors and friends. The new neighbors are awesome and have all come over to introduce themselves and they all seem great. But it just takes awhile to make friends.

So...we have a house full of boxes, Chris is gone, Caleb is not excited about the new school--not that it matters because both boys are sick and we miss our friends.

But we also miss our friends at church. In our church--the congregation we attend is based on geographic boundaries. So we changed congregations. Again--everyone has been so incredibly nice and welcoming!! It has been so awesome and I have been so grateful. Heck! We had two dinners delivered from friends at church within 48 hours of moving in! Seriously! Everyone is so nice. But it takes awhile to make good friends. And...we miss our really good old friends.

So...we have a house full of boxes, Chris is gone, Caleb doesn't like school, and is missing a lot of school, both boys are sick, we miss our friends in our neighborhood, and we miss our friends at church.

Usually--my boys are the best of buddies. They have their moments where they're not...but not really. But after we moved? Wow. It was awful.

So...we have a house full of boxes, Chris is gone, Caleb doesn't like school, and is missing a lot of school, both boys are sick, we miss our friends in our neighborhood, and we miss our friends at church and my boys are suddenly mean and fighting with each other.

Are you starting to see our perfect little storm? ;)

The bottom line--I totally underestimated how much of an adjustment this would be. It really was the least of my worries. Because there were SO MANY other things to worry about. The move seemed like the end of the stress. But in reality--it was the beginning of a whole new level of stress! Each time I dropped Caleb off at school and saw those tears streaming down his cheeks, I just wanted to take him and run and never look back. SO NOT like him! It seriously felt like my heart was shredding into a million little pieces. Or when I watch him walk into his church class on Sunday and shyly sit there instead of making all kinds of mischief with his buddies from our old congregation...I just want to whisk him away and go back.

I expected that it would be a little adjustment for the boys. But really--I didn't even consider that it would be an adjustment for me. I like meeting new people. I thought it would just be fun. And it has. But it has also been strangely hard. I feel like I did when we first moved to San Antonio. Homesick and unsettled and just kind of blah. And I don't like that feeling. I'm not used to that feeling.

We have been so so blessed. We have a house that we totally love. Everyone in our new neighborhood has been so nice. Everyone in our new church congregation has been more than nice. Caleb's new school is heads and tales above his last one. Like really--night and day. And I just absolutely love his teacher. Chris gets to work from home a lot now which cuts out his 30-45 minute commute. So how can I feel blah? That's the part I don't get. It seems so ungrateful. Is this normal?!? Tips? Advice?

Scoot over Caleb. I feel like joining you. :)

I don't want to make it sound like we are all just here moping around and depressed. That's definitely not the case. I guess it has just taken me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to have so many moments where I felt like that. Heck--I didn't really expect to feel any moments like that. And I understand now that it is just going to take time. And things are definitely finally looking up. Caleb seems to be settling in at school finally. Carson actually adjusted the quickest. And the boys are mostly best buddies again. We are meeting people. And it has been fun to spend a lot of time together as a family and just refocus on what is really important in life.

Life Cycle Research

You know we like research at our house, right? Remember this among many others? We are just so researchy. It's a word. Research it.

I've always wondered what the average life cycle of a gingerbread house is. This year...I was bound and determined to find out.












Results show: the average life cycle of a gingerbread house is surprisingly short. 56.2 minutes. That is some mighty fine quality research right there--brought to you by Dial Researchers Inc. You're welcome. :)

Research also shows that camera phones are poor substitutes for an actual camera.

Additional research shows that on the second day in January of 2012, the average number of blog posts one can catch up on is 2.0 before the blogger decides it is bed time. Perhaps that average will go up in later days of January. Stay tuned.

Last Hurrah

I know. I know. It's so shocking. Krista actually has to play blog catch up. I am usually so on top of blogging. But alas...it happens even to the best of us. Ha!

Way back in 2011 (haha) our neighborhood homeowners association asked us to do one last hurrah just before we moved. (Or really--just before we THOUGHT we were moving. Before our move got extended.) Us Dials--we are always suckers for hurrahs. And definitely we are always up for throwing hurrahs. :)

And so...here is a glimpse of some of the fun.

Of course there was lots of food, games, giveaways, and prizes. Even if I didn't take pictures of them. :)




Bounce house.



Obstacle course.



Police car to check out. And not 1--but 2 firetrucks.



Those firemen were so awesome! Letting the kids climb all over the trucks and showing them all the cool stuff.





They even brought equipment for relay races:



A local radio station came and broadcast live on site:



There was also an amazing telescope set up. I could NOT believe the views of the moon and stars that we were able to see! Incredible!! However...the view from the picture below? Not so amazing. But you get the idea.



And well...since the hurrah was so last year and because I am old and senile...that's all I remember. We are missing our friends and neighbors from the old neighborhood. But we also love our new neighbors and are already plotting some hurrahs in this neck of the woods. :)

Violin Recital

Caleb did awesome at his recent violin recital.

At his first recital a few months ago, Caleb was feeling super shy. Luckily, I was part of his performance so I got to go up with him and that definitely helped. But I really wasn't sure if he was going to get up and perform.

What a difference a few months make.

This time, at his second recital when it was Caleb's turn, he popped off his chair, marched up front, nailed every note with that cute big smile on his face and sat back down as if nothing happened. I was SO proud of him! LOVE THAT KID!!!

Whirlwind

You know that game called Balderdash? It's that game where each person makes up a definition to an obscure word and then you try to guess whose is correct? I always use the definition "a swift moving whirpool" and get lots of points. Not sure why...except that it gets me lots of points. And my dad is my all time favorite person to play this game with. He was a toxicologist and all his definitions were very scientific with words that were 23 letters long. But really...that has absolutely nothing to do with this post. Except that the title is whirlwind...which reminds me of whirpool...which reminds me of Balderdash. Which reminds me why my sister and I always say, "This doesn't relate, but..." And Chris laughs at us. But really--everything does relate. We just do you the favor of not explaining the whole train of thought that got us to the next point. Anyway. Such a long post...why not make it longer? So...this doesn't relate...but:

What a crazy whirlwind. Within a 7 day period at the end of August, we
1. Accepted an offer on our house
2. Found a new house just a few miles away and put an offer on it that was accepted
3. Caleb started kindergarten
4. Chris was offered and accepted a new job

Can you fit anymore life events into a one week period? I guess if we were pregnant or had a baby. Neither of which happened.

Oh my gosh. Moving. Wow. What an adventure.

We worked for months trying to finish projects we had started on our house that was kind of trashed when we bought it. I wish I had pictures of when we bought it. Chris has done SO MUCH! New flooring, light fixtures, crown moulding, chair rail, base boards, scraped and painted ceilings, painted every darn part of that house, installed lighting in the living room where there was previously none, new doors throughout the house, new sinks, new toilets, new bathroom cabinets, new blinds, new deck...you get the idea. You name it, Chris probably did it.

And we had come a long way...but there was much to do to get it ready to sell. Which you could only appreciate if you saw the house when we bought it. So all last summer and fall and winter we were doing projects. I'm exhausted thinking about them. If I never paint a paneled door EVER again...it will be too soon. 13 of those darn doors. Just suffice it to say we worked hard. Really hard. And yet...when we left there was SO MUCH more we wanted to do to make it nice for the next family. Especially since we happen to know and love the family that bought it!

But let's back up a bit and talk about the adventures in showing the house. Oh my. Did you know it is hard to keep your house clean with 2 crazy boys? Actually, they were a huge help. It's just hard to live in a house and show it! It was just simply an adventure. Like the time they called at 5:28 and said there was a showing at 5:30pm right in the middle of a dinner I was making to be delivered to a friend and while the house was full of 500 neighbor kids. As soon as I put the phone down, there was a knock at the door. I'm shooing all 500 of the kids out the door, trying to find shoes for everyone and meanwhile shoving food in the microwave and oven. Then there was that time when I was teaching Joy School at our house and had a last minute showing. Let's just leave it that backyard preschool is adventurous. Let's also think of the number of trips to McDonalds and Sonic during other showings.

Bleh. Oh and then there was the time when we were watching a couple friends at our house and ended up having a "movie theater" in the parked car up the street complete with popcorn and juice during another showing. (Ok...that was kind of fun. But still adventurous). A lot of time spent in the car running here and there wasting time during other showings:

Suffice it to say--9 months worth of adventures. Whew! I am exhausted just thinking of all that cleaning and last minute adventures. :)

Oh, and then there are the fun adventures of closing on our new house. And the time when I flew in on Tuesday night after a cancelled flight only to be greeted Wednesday morning (24 hours before closing--3 days before we said we would be out of our house for the new owners) when they called and told us we couldn't have the house. And then by the end of the day saying...oops. Sorry about that. Yes you can. But the closing day is going to be pushed out. Again. Or how about the time when we showed up to closing and they said...you can sign the paperwork...but the bank still doesn't have all the stuff ready.

And then there is the actual move. Of course we move the weekend of our big church service fair that Chris and I were both heavily involved in. Thursday night we pack the truck. Friday morning we go to sign the paperwork on the house, expecting to have the keys by 10am. But the bank doesn't have everything done. Chris spent the entire day babysitting the guy. Signing more paperwork. More babysitting. Did you sent that to the title company yet? Not yet? Hurry up please. How about now? No? The entire day. Seriously. Then we unenroll Caleb in one school. Find out the person we need to talk to at the new school isn't in for a couple days. Wait for keys. Get stuff ready for the Service Fair the next day. Wait for keys. Clean the old house. Wait for keys. Pack last minute stuff from old house. Wait for keys. Start to worry because the truck has to be back by 6pm for the next person. Wait for keys. More babysitting of crazy bank guy who has messed our stuff up through the ENTIRE process. Wait for keys. 4pm. Title company closes at 5pm. If we don't have our keys, we won't be able to get our keys until Monday. Stuff is still on the truck. Truck still has to be back by 6pm. More phone calls. More waiting. Finally get keys! Yay!! With the help of AwEsOmE friends, bust an entire truck full of stuff into our new garage in 50 minutes. Go to bed late. Drag boys out of bed early to be at the church Saturday morning at 7am to set up for the Service Fair. Have fun. Finish cleaning up at 1:15pm. Be at Caleb's violin recital at 1:30pm. Go back to old house to clean. Ugh. More work than we should have left until then. Lifesaver friends help. Go to IHOP with no shoes on because they somehow got packed up with the last remaining stuff. Do NOT care AT ALL. Boys go to bed late. Chris goes back to knock out our final list at the old house. His cell phone dies and he doesn't have the list we made. Does the best he can. Comes home at 3am. After the time change. Up early for church the next morning. Up to our eyeballs in boxes. Caleb's church clothes that we set aside are suddenly lost. Ok...ok...you get the idea. I'm exhausted just thinking about the whole process. I never want to move again.

It was a whirlwind in every sense of the word. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. And yet...we are learned so much and we are feeling totally and incredibly blessed. We can't believe we are finally in our new house and are totally loving it! Already we have almost forgotten all the headaches. And what a sweet reunion we had with our stuff that was packed up for over a year.

Thank you to all of you that helped make this possible and worked along side us tirelessly to help us move. You know who you are--and we love you dearly.

Halloween

A little trivia contest for you:
Which costume did Carson use to trick or treat this year?

A. The cute dog



B. The cute lion



C. Batman on a tricycle



D. Optimus Prime


If you guessed D--Optimus Prime--you are correct. But the boys sure loves to dress up lately! Even when costumes are way too small! :)

Caleb and Carson had a funny little series of negotiations going for weeks before Halloween. They had to have similar costumes...so which should they be. Carson was dead set on being Optimus Prime--but the "bad Optimus Prime." Despite many explanations and clarifications that there is no such thing--he was bound and determined. Caleb wanted to be a knight and have Carson be a dragon. Caleb wanted to be Mario and wanted Carson to be Luigi. Caleb wanted to be pirates with Carson. Carson? He just wanted to be the bad Optimus Prime and wanted Caleb to be Bumble Bee. Finally--Caleb relented. He told Carson, "Fine. I will be Bumble Bee this year, if you will be Luigi next year." Carson agreed. Ha! I laughed for a long time about their little negotiations. Let's see if either of them remember or even want to be the same thing next year!

As usual, I'm kicking myself for not posting sooner since I really cannot remember everything we did to celebrate Halloween. But here is what I do remember (and can find pictures for):

Pumpkin carving




We also went with some of our favorite friends to a fun pumpkin patch with lots of fun activities including a petting zoo, story time, a maze, etc. We had a lot of fun. But shhh...don't tell Caleb! We went while he was at school!



And...that's all I remember. Though I have vague recollections about fun Halloween projects and crafts and treat making and and trunk or treats and school carnivals and....