Speak Engrish

A friend gave me a link to this site and I thought I'd share. Engrish
I found it so amusing, don't be surprised if your next holiday card from me looks like this:

family's first football game

Last Saturday a coworker of Reed's gave us tickets and a parking pass to a Cardinals game. Since we pass the stadium a lot, the boys have been very curious about it and what happens in there, so we decided to take a family trip.

Even with a parking pass we had to walk quite a ways, it seems they are definitely not ready for the superbowl traffic they will undoubtedly encounter and are working hard to rectify this--but meantime the parking lots and surrounding areas are absolutely a mess. It was VERY hot that day, and we were sweating like we were IN the game by the time we got to our seats. The inside is pretty neat, the retractable roof and retractable grass I guess are cool features if you are a stadium hopper, but we're not. We were just grateful to get out of the sun.

The game started and the boys really got into it, cheering with the crowd and booing appropriately. The man a few seats down had key phrases like "What game are YOU watching, ref??" and "You must be blind!!" which Carson picked up pretty quickly and the people around us that that was cute.

Both boys danced at halftime along with the cheerleaders and were sad when that portion ended.

Back in the parking lot, our car thermometer read 122 degrees!

Big Surf

Sunday we took the boys to Big Surf because Reed's work bought out the place for the day just for employees. It was so fun! I'd already figured we'd be stuck at the kiddie pool the whole time but the boys surprised me. They LOVED the water slides. They had some "smaller" slides, but they were still huge in my opinion. after the first time, that's all they wanted to do. they were such daredevils! the pool at the bottom was only about 2 feet deep so it was high up on Trevor but shallow enough that he could touch. he swam around really well--he's such a fish!

we were really proud at how "big" they were. Then we went to the wave pool and poor landlocked Trevor said "Is this what the ocean is like, mama?" I didn't realize he's never even been to the beach! We'll have to rectify that soon. once the first wave went past us, Trevor demanded that we go deeper to catch the waves better! such a daredevil!

This week has been really busy and is flying by. the school day starts and ends before we know it. Carson is doing really well and the teacher says that the other kids listen to him so he helps her get everyone lined up and quiet sometimes. LOL every day he comes home with a stamp on his hand a treasure from the treasure box, which means he was a good boy all day. Woohoo! we're really proud of our big boy. some people voiced concerns that he was starting kindergarten from home and not preschool, but we knew he'd be great. Go Carson!

just a few more weeks until our Disney vacation! we're really excited to get away and I cannot wait to see my babies' faces when they see Disney for the first time. Trevor gets excited at the Disney store just seeing the characters at the front door. LOL he'll really be ecstatic to see Disney.

have a great week!

4th day of no soda

I have had a nagging headache all day that won't go away. I took a few tylenol, but I was too lazy to make a cup of tea this morning so that's probably part of it. I have the water going now. :)

I went to pick up Carson from school today and he actually asked me to wait a minute, he wasn't ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a very pretty blonde girl that he is assigned to sit next to. When we left I asked him how his day was and he said "Did you see that girl I was talking to? Her name is Aislynn, and she's the prettiest girl in class. She is sooo beautiful. She has blonde hair like me and blue eyes like me, and we are best friends."

I was kinda hoping he'd find a boy to play with that we could invite over and meet at the park, but a girl works too. She really is cute. He has good taste. :)~

Trevor and I had a busy day playing pirates. I gave us eye patches and I had to use a hook (end of a kiddie clothes hanger) since I was the evil Captain and Trevor is always "Petey Pants" (peter pan). He wants a green outfit and I wish I could find one for him for Halloween. I may have to break out some sewing skills. It doesn't look all that hard to make.

He is very dramatic and "dies" very convincingly although staying quiet after he's supposedly dead is obviously much harder. He grabs the "sword" and sticks it under his armpit and staggers around. Oscar worthy. It's funny, 2 pm comes very quickly every day and I don't get as much done as I thought I would with one less kid around.

Trevor is potty trained!

I picked up a training toilet (The Royal Flush, lol) from a neighbor the other day and it's so cute! I had a feeling Trevor didn't like the feeling of dangling over the toilet because he's still small enough that he can't balance across the hole. I was right. The first day we got the potty, he went right away. It makes a noise (think trumpets announcing a king arrival) whenever anything, um, solid passes the sensor in the pot and he thinks that's hysterical. So it's been a few days now...and...we're potty trained! no diapers at all during the day! He even pottied out yesterday when we were running errands. Woohoo! He still wears a diaper to bed because he is too short to really get out of his bed easily by himself, especially in the middle of the night.

Carson is taking to school well. He's gotten all good notes so far and is excited to go and make some good friends. He asked Reed if he wanted to help him "pick out his new girlfriend" from his classmates, which got a big laugh. Slow Down, ladies man! Every morning when the class lines up he goes up to the teacher and says "Good morning, Mrs. Smith. How are you today?" which I have not seen one other child do. It's crazy how adult he acts sometimes. I think the teacher is very tickled with him.

Caffeine, First day, and black eyes

Okay, so I did have part of a soda yesterday. I wasn't thinking and it was just automatic. But that is significantly less than I usually have, and I didn't drink any at all on Sunday or today. I woke up this morning with a bit of a headache, but I'm trying to stave off really horrible withdrawls with a small cup of tea in the mornings. At least I know what's in that! LOL

Reed thinks I'm nuts but I think he's also waiting to see if I do feel better without the soda...who knows? Maybe he'll quit it too!

Our new Kindergartener!
Carson's first day of school yesterday went very well. I was a little teary eyed but nothing major. I did miss him and the house was so quiet without him! Trevor fared the worst, I think, because he was so sad he couldn't be there playing with "Sha Sha" after he saw all the fun toys they had in their classroom! He and I took a little trip to the mall and then to meet Daddy for lunch so we wouldn't feel so sad on the first day. It was very fun! I have to get used to just having Trevor around, and boy, does he talk when big brother isn't here to talk for him! I'm not sure I've ever heard him say so many words in one sitting. He talks in circles and repeats himself and it's very silly. But oh so cute! I'm glad I get to stay home with him for a few months just the two of us before he goes to daycare in January (while I'm in school)--we get one on one time that we've never had before!



Unfortunately, he started school with a black eye, given to him courtesy of his little brother. Trev accidentally knocked him in the eye with a plastic blow gun--which is a long black tube that you put darts in and blow really quickly to shoot them out. To Trevor, this is a really good pirate stick. We had to take it away and tell him that pirates really just use their fingers to fight each other, but he didn't believe us. He'll be getting a foam sword for his birthday (the only thing he asked for) and I'm grateful knowing that foam can't possibly give black eyes...can it?
poor black eye-doesn't show up as much in this pic

Another thing I love

Burt's Bees--having been in North Carolina where this line was originated and originally introduced at little country stores, I of course feel some pride at something from my home state. But even if I didn't have that attachment, I'd still love this stuff. They have make-up, skincare, and...sunscreen! I might try that next.

And please don't think I'm a hypocrite. I am also trying to do as much whole foods as I can to help our family quit using processed foods and soda! I decided yesterday after reading some very convincing arguments to quit it cold turkey. I'm sure that I will have some withdrawl, but I can live with that. I can't live with my children developing bad habits because of mine.

The sun and me

As most of my friends and family know, 4 years ago this summer I was diagnosed with melanoma. It was a horribly scary experience and changed our lives in many ways. I was never a huge sun seeker, I just enjoyed it moderately on weekends playing volleyball on the beach, going for walks, hiking, etc. I never laid out all that often and didn't care about being bronzed to perfection.
Since being diagnosed, I've been literally quite scared of the sun's rays and what I thought it could do to my body. I certainly don't want to have to go through that experience again, for my sake and my familys sake. But in the years since I quit enjoying the outdoors, too scared to venture out during daylight hours for any length of time, too worried about protecting myself fro UVA and UVB rays to go for walks unless it was extremely overcast, early in the morning or very late evening...I've noticed that I've had a number of issues that could possibly be attributed to lack of, well, sun. I've been very susceptible to depression--which, I realise could easily happen with the life changes we've had through the years, but hey, doesn't everyone?? I've gained a significant number of pounds without much being changed diet wise--and I even exercise more routinely NOW because it's more of a scheduled event than before my children arrived. I know metabolism slows down as you age, but heck, I'm not even 30 yet! And surely it doesn't slow that much this soon.
My skin is pasty white, and I realise I'll have less wrinkles and age spots than those who are tanning vigorously...but I miss it. I miss the sun, being outside in the DAYTIME and I miss being able to play with abandon outside with my boys the way I did with my stepdaughter.

Then my friend Marie sent me some links and I have to admit, they make a lot of sense. http://www.newstarget.com/021903.html
From the article:

more people use sunscreen products, the more they'll get cancer. And that's due to two primary reasons: 1) Sunscreen blocks vitamin D production, a nutrient that strongly prevents cancer, and 2) Sunscreen products almost always contain cancer-causing chemicals that are absorbed through the skin and enter the bloodstream where they cause severe DNA damage, leading to cancer.

Basically it's saying that by blocking the Vitamin D you get from natural sunlight, it's actually helping PROMOTE cancer in your body. It certainly doesn't say "Go to the Tanning Bed until you fry!" or "Stay out all day without so much as a hat!" but it does say that sunlight in moderation very often is absolutely essential to your wellbeing, and that the sunscreens that are so highly touted are actually full of carcinogens that we are not only letting absorb into our skin, but putting into our environment via rivers, oceans and drains.
I was amazed at all the symptoms lack of sunlight could cause, including but not limited to the ones I mentioned I have. Obviously, I don't think just going outside more often is going to make me happier all the time or help me drop this 20 lbs...but I think it's a valid point. It also encourages people to eat berries, spirulina, carrots, and more to increase your skins own natural SPF, which allows the good rays in without being damaged by it on a cellular level. Makes sense to me! I've already begun introducing some of these things into my diet, and I plan to replace my sunscreen with some of the natural alternatives they suggest and throw out mine (which after inspection, I realised contains alot of chemicals that have been directly linked to cancers and birth defects--scary!) and see how it goes. Any thoughts on this? Email me at smithstation@cox.net
I'd love to hear opinions. And I'll let you know how my own experiment goes. I know I'm happier already...I get to go outside!
**Edited to add: when I say throw out my sunscreen and use natural alternatives, I mean I will still be using sunscreen--just ones that they reccomend with lower chemical compositions--mine is called UV Natural SPF 30. Here's one of the ones we used to use and it's score is "7" of "10"...10 being the most dangerous for use by their scale. The one I switched to is a 1. Almost everything man made has some sort of chemical in it, and some risk. My plan is to try to minimalize those risks as much as possible. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product.php?prod_id=49576&refurl=%2Fbrowse.php%3Fatatime%3D500%26sunscreens%3D1%26worst%3D1%26
Here's the list to see what yours has in it. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens/summary.php

August

I can't believe August is here already. Time just flies by...faster and faster it seems.

My sweet friend Brandy is celebrating her birthday tomorrow--won't mention any numbers, kay? Happy Birthday Brandy! She is one of the few people I met in Asheville (at a dinner/movie house, to see Miss Congeniality 2, LOL) that I liked almost instantly. I'm usually more reserved about making friends. But she's bubbly and vivacious and just easy to gab with. She's also a surrogate mother for a couple that can not have their own, which I think is just amazing. I certainly couldn't make that sacrifice (plus I'm a horrible preggo). Enjoy your day, girl!

School is kicking my behind...I'm on an accelerated program and working my tooshie off to get things done early. I'm doing really well though, still have my 4.0! I should graduate next summer...unless I decide to go further. Yes, I know I am insane.

Carson starts school on MONDAY! Kindergarten, here we come! His teacher is named Mrs. Smith. Easy to remember! She's already sent several cards and postcards as a countdown to the day and Carson is already smitten. He says that his teacher is gonna love him, and that he wants a girlfriend. Lord, help us. We've been working hard the last few weeks doing our lessons and he's doing really well. I used to teach him some Spanish, French and English words at the same time and I'm not sure why I stopped. I've sort of picked that back up but not like I used to do. I'll get more serious about it, but I think I'll let him soak up some Kindergarten first so he can just concentrate on enjoying that. He's so smart and quick to learn, it's crazy. Lately he's been sitting next to me while I do my homework (anatomy books) and asking questions about organs and he remembers things really well. I have started giving him more info and he still seems interested and says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. We'll see!

Trevor is still stuck on Aladdin and pirates right now. For his birthday he says he wants Pirate stuff. I know that means a sword (foam, please!) but what else does a pirate need? He goes around poking us all with imaginary swords* and saying ARGH!!! and Walk to Bank! which in Trevorese should be "walk the plank", but now he gets very excited anytime I tell him we have to go to the bank. Maybe there are pirates in the credit union that I don't know about, who knows?

(*I had to take away all hard stick-like objects because the game was getting out of control--see earlier posts about his game)

Argh! I'm so cute even my pits are cute! No, I didn't ask him to pose this way, honest!