r e p o r t . c a r d

whenever i seem a little frazzled or disappointed at my lack of ability to keep things in order and on time around our house, my mom reminds me that, "a C+ day is okay every once in a while." you know the day... tv's been on {and on and on}, the children are still in their p.j.'s at 3 and it looks like dinner will be a repeat of breakfast or lunch {cereal or p.b. + j.}. maybe that's more "D+" work, but regardless, i wholeheartedly agree with her.

today, however, is an A+ day. as i write this, m.j. is sleeping and ozzie and espen are playing {laughing hysterically} with a balloon in the next room. they have all been bathed, the house is more clean then dirty, and laundry is washing and drying. we also have grocies in the house, i overheard ozzie tell a lady at the store, "cute baby" {so sweet}, tilly's diaper rash is going away, i got work done, we had cereal for dinner {no dishes = A+} and i have time to sit and listen to ozzie read before he goes to bed.

yup, that is A+ material for sure.

point of view part DUEX

C O N T I N U E D... So, just to recap, it was 3ish pm, there was a line forming outside the fire station, there were too many applicants, not enough applications, yoder was working until midnight to support our family, and I was taking care of our three children. There was only one thing I could do.... I called our parents... and asked them to watch the kids and they, despite a long day at work, agreed. I hurriedly packed an overnight bag for the children, set m.j. up with a bottle, picked oz up from the bus, stopped by applebee's to fill yoder in on the plan, dropped the kids off at bestemor and bestefar's [who saved the day as usual!] and headed to auburn way. Armed with my cougar chair, laptop, ipod, cell phone, quilt, gum and water bottle, I joined the line of firefighters [tripping on the way . in plain sight . with the line faced and watching me from the other side of the street . there was some laughing and "ohhhhhs"... really embarrassing] [ as number 100 and waited until 12:45 am when yoder relieved me. Since I totally totally look like a person that could save people from burning buildings [especially in my cardigan, paten leather shoes and designer jeans] nobody looked at me funny, asked strange questions or stared. It was a fun night.

You may be asking yourself, "what is so exciting about standing in line?" And so, in my usual fashion, I have compiled a list. 1. my typical weeknight consists of hanging out with our children, making dinner, helping with homework, putting the kids to bed, doing some work and tucking myself into our nice cozy bed. I love our routine, but enough said. 2. I ditched my children and stood in for my husband and his dream. 3. people asked me if I was a firefighter. 4. when yoder showed up and we were hanging out on a random street it reminded me of the days when I would sneak out of the house to meet my friends and go T.P.ing. SO fun. 5. the thought that yoder might get hired by auburn and that I may have played a necessary role in getting him the job.

Sorry to end so abruptly, but if I have kept your attention thus far, return tomorrow for part III of this post. :) There is MORE...

point of view part UNO

So, yesterday morning I prayed and asked God to do something exciting during my day. Maybe He could pull some strings and arrange media exposure or an investor for ARMOMMY, hook us up with another weekend get.a.way, a fat check in the mail, or a shopping spree in NY with Stacy + Clinton... You know, the usual. However, as usual, my prayer was not answered how I had pictured.

At 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon a church friend of ours, who works for Valley Regional Fire + Rescue in Auburn, called to tell me that a line had started to form outside the department. You see, the Auburn Fire Department planned on passing out 200 applications at 7 o'clock the next morning. Per the law of supply + demand, what happens when supply is low and demand is high? People camp out - [tents + sleeping bags] - on the side of the road, next to the local Applebee's [ironically], Jack in the Crack, and Albertson's. No kidding. I explained to our friend that Yoder was pulling a double at work and would not be able to get in line until around midnight. She urged me to find some way to get him in line... to be CONTINUED...

. i do .

a couple weeks ago we ventured across the puget sound to roche harbor, san juan island. the entire family in tow {bestemor + bestefar, aunties, uncles, + cousins}, we had a wonderful weekend and witnessed the wedding vows of auntie venka and uncle mark. we love them VERY much, our children adore them VERY much and we think they are a match made in heaven.




there are few things that i enjoy more than a quaint town full of character, especially when they are by water. family owned restaurants . small ice cream shops . slow pace . church bells . friendly people . brick . cobble stone . architectural detail . old buildings and homes . landscape . simple pleasures . quiet . feeling like you are miles away from home . golf carts . walking everywhere . bad cell reception .
W E D I D N O T W A N T T O L E A V E .


we are grateful to bestemor and bestefar for covering our expenses. it was the most enjoyable weekend i've had in a while. thank you . thank you . thank you . i can't wait to go back.

There is a first for everything, but never quite so many so often as when you have a new baby. Here are some of Tilly Mac's firsts over the last couple of months.




F I R S T . ponytail . watermelon . wagon ride . ferry ride . smoothie . wedding . teeth . campfire . cheerios . babysitter {other than family or friends} . family vacation {roche harbor for auntie venk and uncle mark's wedding} . ride from biggest brother down the stairs . jars of baby food . homemade baby food . baseball playoff game . basketball game in the front pack . kiddie pool . {i know there are more} .

looking forward to many more firsts and dreading others...