The Stevenson 4

Watch what you say...

2008-08-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, even though I have messed up repeatedly in front of my kids, I don't seem to learn my lesson. Isaac has been carefully listening to everything adults say for quite a long time now, but I still talk about stuff I shouldn't in front of him without even thinking about it. I'm not saying I'm cussing or graphically describing the "marital bed" or anything like that :) I just mean I will maybe say things that kids really don't need to know about. For example: Jarod came home from work and told me that our neighborhood whino (yes, we have one!) was hanging out in the street close to our house. Jarod said he had to act fast and run inside the house as fast as he could before the whino asked for a ride to the liquor store. Jarod has been roped into giving this guy rides around town before. He obviously does not have a car (or a job) yet somehow finds money for alcohol. We are afraid to tell the guy no just in case he and some of his whino friends decide to vandalize our house or something....

Anyway, Jarod was hypothesizing on the guy's life story and I casually mentioned that the guy definitely smokes week outside, too, which really bugs me. At that point, Isaac walked into the room and said "What the heck is that guy smoking weed for?" (he has learned the phrase "what the heck" from my 10 year old nephew, which I don't really like Isaac saying but figure...oh well!) Jarod and I just looked at each other and froze...then burst out laughing. I wish I had it recorded. It was so funny!! I told Isaac to not talk about weed anymore, which prompted him to run around the house saying "smoke weed" for a few days. Elizabeth would even chime in with a few sweet sounding "weed" comments of her own, but I had a theory that if I ignored it, they would stop saying it and it actually worked!! :)

So, the moral of the story is: watch what you say...you never know who might be listening!

6 Random Things About Myself!

2008-08-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Well, my friend Trish sent me this assignment...although I don't think I will "tag" anyone...if someone wants to do it...just do it! :)

Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry or post is up.

6 Random Things About Me:

1) I once saw Richard Simmons at the Newark, NJ airport. He was prancing through the airport in spangly shorts and a spangly tanktop-seriously! :) I tried to get a picture, but my camera was packed away in my luggage and I couldn't get to it fast enough.

2) I think a lot of you know, but I am currently going back to college to become a nurse. I have to take 4 classes this year and then will quit my job and go to nursing school full-time. We are also moving into my parents finished basement while I do this so that we can save money and pay for school without any loans. :) Scary!

3) Although most of you know me as very loud and social, I actually enjoy being by myself very much. Give me a good book or let me reorganize my house for days on end and I am in heaven.

4) My two children were born only 17 months apart. At Isaac's first birthday party I was already wearing a maternity top. Sort of embarassing really! :)

5) My husband Jarod proposed to me on our second date. I told him he was crazy. A month later he proposed again and I said yes. We have been married for almost 7 years and I am still crazy about him. He is a wonderful husband and father!

6) I have been out of the country 4 times. Twice to Switzerland (and several nearby countries). Once to England and once to Haiti. I love to travel and as soon as I am done with nursing school Jarod and I will be going on a celebration trip out of the country!!! Probably to visit Ariane in Switzerland again...

No real point, but here are some pictures and me rambling...

2008-07-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't know if anyone is really reading this anymore, but it is still fun to write and pretend that people are reading, so I will do it anyway! :) I like to try and update everyone on the kids and all the weird things that go on in my head, but time gets away from me sometimes, you know? Can I hear it from all the moms who have "mom-brain"? For anyone who doesn't know, that means that after you give birth, millions of brain cells are destroyed on a daily basis from being overloaded with things to keep track of. That is why there are so many moms in sweatpants at Wal-Mart...to which I say, "Hey! At least they are wearing clothes!" I seriously dropped my kids off at my mom's house this morning before work and as I walked back to the car to drive to work I had a freakish moment where I absolutely didn't know what I was doing. I'm serious. I really didn't know why I was standing next to my car in my parents driveway. Pretty scary, hu? It may happen to you, too, someday, so don't feel so smug.

So here is a great Isaac moment from yesterday. We went to the lovely new Bonner Springs pool for the very first time even though technically it has been "new" for 3 years now and I just wasn't brave enough to take my kids (with them being so little). But I decided that it was time to go for it...Isaac absolutely loved it and so did Elizabeth. It has a zero-entry kids pool with tons of water spraying everywhere. I swear I was almost giddy with excitement. I was splashing around just like the toddlers. I met some friends there and since we have toddlers we could go early and only pay $1 per person. What a bargain!!! :) To anyone out there who lives close to Bonner...go check out the pool. It is great! So anyway, back to the "Isaac moment". I ran into a lady that hadn't seen me since I was about 12. We were catching up and I introduced her to Elizabeth (who I was holding) and then pointed out at the water where Isaac was standing and at the exact moment that I said "that is my son, Isaac" he pulled down his pants, whipped it out, and peed right in the pool as many horrified mothers with babies looked on. Of course Isaac thought he was like the coolest kid in the world and his little 4 year old buddies also started laughing with him and one even high-fived him. I was a bit embarassed, but for the most part thought it was funny. Of course, since other mothers were looking on, I put on my "stern" face and scolded him harshly, making him sit on the sidelines for awhile. Was I scared to go back in the pool? No way! Chlorine kills everything....

ATTENTION FACEBOOK FANS

2008-06-13T07:14:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone, just thought I would let people know that I have now joined the modern world and I am on Facebook. I think most of my friends know, but just in case you don't and you are on Facebook, look me up! :)

Also, is anyone else sick of this weather (in Kansas)? I mean, enough rain already! We are about to get drowned out! I have a wet spot in my basement that has been there for 2 months! AAARRRGGHH!! Well, I guess I should stop complaining because at least my house hasn't really flooded or been flattened by a tornado or anything like that. But this weather is just crazy! I feel so bad for all the people in the midwest who have had their lives turned upside down! For any of my readers that pray, please remember to keep these people in your prayers.

Well, that is all...have a wonderful day everyone!

Movie Review: 27 Dresses & News updates on el kiddos

2008-06-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is for anyone who watched the movie "27 Dresses" starring Katherine Heigl...
Did you like this film or not? I have to admit, I am a sap for romantic comedies, so I definitely enjoyed the movie, but I have to say: not as good as expected! I love Katherine Heigl. She is so pretty and of course I wish I looked like her, so it was a little weird for her to be playing the "mousy" ignored sister....especially since I think her character totally looked better than the little sister's character. Anybody else think the little sister had a weird face?? All in all, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. I am interested in what anyone else thought?

Now on to a new subject: Elizabeth started her first day of preschool today! I am a bit sad because I was supposed to take her but my co-worker could not be at work today meaning I had to come to the office to open...missing out on little Elizabeth's grand entrance into the world of school. I hope she does ok. She is still not potty trained, so I don't know how that will play out. Maybe seeing dozens of other children using the potty will help give the push she needs to throw off the shackles of diapers forever! I am looking forward to cruising by the diaper aisle someday and be able to laugh hysterically because I will be totally done with buying those dreadful things! But I have decided not to push the little missy...I pushed with Isaac and it took 6 months to train him, during which I almost went insane. I have decided that when Elizabeth is ready, she will just start doing it! :) maybe...
Oh, and Elizabeth now officially has a dead tooth. Right before Jarod and I went on our trip to San Antonio, she fell on some asphalt and totally landed right on her two front teeth. Her lip was smashed to bits and her gums were bleeding, but her teeth were not loose at all. They did have black asphalt on them that would not come off for 3 days, though! :) Anyway, all seemed to be healing fine, but then recently one of her teeth started turning brown. I was horrified. I took her to the dentist and they said that her root is dead and that the tooth is dead now. They said it might even turn totally black. There is nothing that can be done. I thought...come on, they do heart transplants on people and they can't fix my little girls tooth? (not that dentists do heart transplants, but you get my meaning!) thankfully, her tooth has seemed to sort of even out at the nice brown color and hasn't gotten any worse. Also, her permanent tooth should be just fine so no big deal. I just hate people thinking I'm some hillbilly that doesn't brush my kids teeth. :) By the way, Elizabeth did great at the dentist. She sat in that huge dentist chair and they put some little princess sunglasses on her so that the bright light wouldn't hurt her eyes. She was about the cutest thing you ever saw. She did everything the dentist told her and it was so funny seeing them polish her itty bitty teeth and then use the sucky thing in her mouth. Every staff member of the dentist office kept walking by and talking about how cute she was. Isaac also was seen by the dentist since I had never had his teeth checked out and thought I should go ahead and do it. He was also perfect and did everything the dentist asked him to do. He got to wear cool black "superhero" sunglasses as he called them. I am so proud of the kids and how well they did!

Also, Isaac's 4th birthday is coming up. He missed the Bonner Springs T-Ball league birthday cut-off by 17 days...poor kid. He had been asking me for months if he could play baseball. I'm sure there is some league I could find for him, but the one here in Bonner that is nice and cheap and close won't take him this year. I told him that he will be one of the bigger kids on the team next year so that will be good. He didn't seem happy about that, though. Besides, I have years of running around to various activities and getting stressed out, so I might as well enjoy one last year of relaxing bliss.

My birthday is tomorrow and I will be 29. One more year of being "twenty-something" I can't believe how different my life is from when I turned 20. At age 20 I hadn't even met Jarod yet and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I still don't really know what I want to do professionally (I know I don't want to sell insurance forever!) but I do know I want to be the best mother and wife I can be. I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a wonderful husband and two great, healthy kids. God is so good!

Well, this is a long enough entry...I will be sure to post some pictures from Isaac's birthday party! Have a great day (or night) everyone! :)

SAN ANTONIO TRIP!!!

2008-05-14T19:32:00.001-07:00

THE RIVERWALK!!!!!!!!!! YUM!!!!

THE ALAMO!!!

WHAT TRIP WOULD BE COMPLETE

WITHOUT SEEING SHAMU?

RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT.....

This trip was great! Jarod and I loved getting some "personal time" away from the kiddos, but I was definitely ready to see them when we came back. San Antonio is a great town for everyone. We walked up and down the Riverwalk a million times, went to Seaworld, and the Alamo. It was about 97 degrees the whole time we were there, so that took a little getting used to because it has been a cold year so far in Kansas. When we came back to Kansas, it was 58 degrees at 2 in the afternoon!!! Blech!! All in all, glad we went, but next year we will probably bring the kids on our trip.

PET PEEVE GRUMBLES: CELL PHONE USE!!!

2008-04-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

OK, at the risk of sounding way older than I am...I despise cell phones! Don't get me wrong, I appreciate accessibility and having a phone if I am stranded on the side of the road, but I just don't get what is so important that people walk around 24 hours a day glued to their cell phones!!! I mean, people have existed for thousands of years without cell phones. They have only recently become so popular, but people can't seem to live without them!!! Here is the number one example of what has peeved me off so bad:

The other day a man came into my office and sat down at my desk. He was on his cell phone as he came in the door and continued his conversation as he sat at my desk. I politely smiled at him and stopped what I was doing on my computer. I assumed he would get off quickly, so I sat with a silly grin on my face and waited for him. He didn't acknowledge me in any way and continued his conversation for another minute or so and I didn't know exactly what to do, so I started working on my computer again. When he finally got off, he put his cell phone away with a flourish and clapped his hands together saying "alright...I got some stuff I need taken care of right away!" I (being the ultra-polite customer-service oriented person that I am) took care of his insurance needs in a timely and professional manner and bid him a good day. When it looked like I would be free from Mr. Rude, he whipped his cell phone out and proceeded to call someone again. I thought--surely he will continue his conversation outside, but NO!!! He sat at my desk (and I was the only one in the office so I have to answer the phone or take care of people coming in) and continued his conversation (which, by the way, I couldn't help but hear and it was nothing important) for 20 minutes!!!!! 20 minutes!!!! AAACCCHHH!!! GGRRRRRR!!! I had to answer 3 phone calls and try to help people with him gabbing away at my desk. It was horrible!!! When he left I was absolutely fuming.... Now, this was not some 16 year old kid, it was a 65 year old man!! This man has lived the vast majority of his life without a cell phone and now all the sudden he has to make a million calls a day??? Of course this was an extreme case, but I can't tell you how many people answer their cell phones and actually carry on conversations when we are in the middle of an appointment or transaction. I just have to sit at my desk staring at the wall and do nothing.

OK, I know I sound very angry and bitter. I'm not, but I just wanted to put this out there: Please do not talk on your cell phone 24 hours a day. Nobody else wants to hear your conversation, and it makes you seem really insensitive and immature. Cell phones can be very handy and wonderful and I don't want to get rid of them or anything, but please: act responsibly!!! :)

Good night, and Good Luck!!

2008-04-06T20:30:00.001-07:00

Ok, I look a little strange, I know.... :)
I am on some blogging kick or something, I know, but I wanted to wish Carrie good luck on her new life in Tampa! For people who know Carrie, they may have heard that she is going down to Tampa, FL for about 9 months for a management program with Tiffany & Co. Congratulations!!! I know you will do great, Carrie!! I am just sad that we didn't see each other more while you lived here in Kansas City, but now Jarod and I have a great excuse and reason to go to Florida! Watch out!!

As promised, some cute Easter pics!!!

2008-04-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...what's in this egg? Give me candy now!! I want candy!!
I don't quite get what is going on, but if I get candy out of it, I'm good to go...
(sing in Wizard of Oz type voice) We represent....the cute gang, the cute gang, the cute gang...
Do we have to take Another picture?
This is from our trip to T-Rex restaurant. Ok, so you can't see anything cool in the picture, just our family, but oh well...deal with it! Thanks to my friend Ronda for taking the picture! We had a great time. Ronda has a little boy named Mason, who is 8 weeks older than Isaac and a little girl named Samantha who is one day older than Elizabeth. They are all "best friends" The boys had a blast pointing out all the different dinosaurs and we sat in the "Volcano Room" which had a video of a volcano projected on a wall and every 15 minutes or so the lights would flash and loud volcanic type noises would play on a sound system. Very high tech. Easy to distract children with! :)

Hello...I have not forgotten about my blog...yet!

2008-04-05T09:01:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it has been a little while since my last update. I'm sorry! I really don't have a lot to say. I mean, I am busy all the time, but with things like work and chasing after kids, which is not the most exciting blog-worthy stuff all the time. I do plan on posting some recent pics of the kids in their cute Easter outfits, but I am at work right now and can't do it. I didn't forget my blog, though. I wanted to let the one person that reads this know that! :)

My online college class is going well. It is Child Development so it is so easy, especially since I have 2 kids to use as examples in my discussion postings and papers. So far I am getting like 125% or something in the class so it should turn out just fine. Unfortunately, the next class I will need to take is a science class. I will actually have to study or something. Hmmm....

Jarod and I are planning a trip to San Antonio!!! yeah! Jarod is sad that it is not this weekend so we could be around all the hooplah for the Final Four, but I actually don't want to be around a million crazy drunk people, so our trip in May might be a bit more relaxed than if we did it this weekend. We are very excited to get out of our routine and leave the kids with Grandma and Grandpa! We will be staying at the "Crockett" hotel...named after Mr. Davey Crockett himself. I think he might be buried under our hotel room or something. Anyone else think the name "Crockett" is funny?

We watched "I am Legend" finally. I had been looking forward to it ever since it came out in the theater, but we never got around to watching it until just now. I have to say, not as good as I was hoping, and it just really depressed me, because I started thinking about how horrible it would be to be living in New York all by yourself and worry about flesh-eating mutants all the time. Not my idea of fun. I also started thinking about how sad it would be if you knew you were dying and your kids were dying and you couldn't do anything. Very depressing. I don't think I will watch it again. I also watched "Atonement" and was not impressed with this one, either. I'm not really into close-ups of people's faces with lots of reflective, artsy music playing in the background. Any one else think this movie was a big disappointment? And how depressing was the ending? Really, after watching those two movies in the same week I almost needed to go get some medication or something to cheer me up! So, no more sad or serious movies. I think I will have to do a "Shrek" marathon or something to get back into my normal groove of happiness.

Tonight we are going to the "T-Rex" restaurant with some friends of ours and their kids. For those of you who are not familiar with "T-Rex" and all its goodness, it is basically like the Rainforest Cafe, but with Dinosaurs. Oh, and you can do "Build-a-Dino" like you can "Build-a-Bear" but we are too cheap so our kids won't be participating in the "Build-a-Dino" portion! :) Also, the KU game is on tonight so we can't linger too long at the restaurant. We will probably eat, run around the place real fast to look at all the dinosaurs, and then load everyone in the car to make a mad dash home to watch the game and the kids will be ignored the rest of the night! :)

I will post some pictures soon of the cute kiddos for everyone to enjoy....talk to you soon!!!

More of Jarod's painting...

2008-01-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Jarod's mural from our hall bathroom. I think the paintings actually look much better in person, but I had to take the pictures really up close and forgot to turn off the flash.

REBECCA STEVENSON: WIFE, MOTHER, EMPLOYEE,...AND STUDENT?

2008-01-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I have decided to go back to school. I know, very scary. I guess I am just asking for major stress and an early heart-attack or something, but I am going to give it a try.

The reason for this major move in my life is because I started looking at my life down the road and realized that selling insurance just doesn't do it for me. Especially for the long run. I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my boss, my co-worker Jenny, and the hours are fine and I get paid pretty well. When I start listing all the things I like about my job, it seems ridiculous to even consider going through the time, expense, and stress of going back to school.

But I am getting bored. Insurance is not exciting, and I don't like trying to sell it to people. Every year we have to meet certain numbers or my boss loses lots of money. I don't like that. I hate starting over every year knowing that I need to get X amount of life insurance policies. That will never go away. (Don't get me wrong...I believe people need life insurance, I just don't like being the salesperson for it!) Also, my boss is a small business owner so he can't give me any benefits. If he retired right now, I would not want to work in insurance anymore, so I don't have a lot of flexibility.

That is why I started looking at nursing. It is a well-paying, fulfilling career with so much flexibility and potential for growth. I can train for it at my local community college and it won't actually cost that much money for school. Sounds good to me. So today is my first official day back to school. I am taking one online class to get my brain going again. I still need a few classes before I can apply for nursing school because my Bachelor's degree has nothing to do with science so I need all my science prerequisites. I hope to actually be able to enter nursing school in about a year and a half, when Isaac starts kindergarten full time.

Please wish me well in my new endeavor...I will need everyone's prayers and good wishes! I will keep you updated!

LIFE AT OUR HOUSE

2007-12-19T19:39:00.001-08:00

You know, this picture about sums it up. Baby doll with a sword. There you go. My son actually positioned his sister's doll like this....

You have competition, Chucky!

FOOTBALL!! WOW!!!!!

2007-11-27T18:57:00.000-08:00

Hi!! from Jarod.

Today, I am going to talk about this whole KU-MU football Border War (Armegeddon at Arrowhead) concoction in perfect hindsight. For all you KU alumni (CCers) who are spread out across the globe and have been wondering what the heck happened this year with the football team since you all went elsewhere, here's my take on it.
MU did what they were expected to do. KU actually did, too. Although MU's schedule was slightly tougher, neither team played a schedule worthy of a top-10 team BCS team. KU's schedule would be considered tough for a Div.-2 school. Their toughest opponent prior to MU was Texas A&M and Colorado, and did either of them win seven games this year? MU did beat Illinois, but that was the first game of the season. I think half the teams in the Big-12 would've won that game, and NOBODY thought Illinois would be the one to dethrone #1 Ohio St. Then they beat Ole Miss. and lost to Oklahoma, followed by a win against Texas Tech. Those were their tough games. Big deal. They should go 11-1; the same for KU.
KU and MU got to their high rankings in a fashion that would be analogous to a company janitor rising to the position of company CEO in a year's time only because every other employee ahead of the janitor kept getting fired or quit. Every team ahead of KU and MU kept losing.
Missouri is good, but I think they'd get their JOCKSTRAPS handed to them if they played a PAC-10 champ this year. The reason they beat KU at Arrowhead is because KU had a really bad case of nerves. You could see it in their faces the whole first half. Suddenly, with #1 LSU going down, this was it: the janitor was being promoted to CEO; 'Do we really deserve this?' Arrowhead, with 80,000 college fans, might be the loudest sports venue in America. It was too much at first, too electric, so they screwed up early. But once they got used to it and settled in, Missouri couldn't stop them. Four consecutive TD drives in the last 20 minutes. If KU were given an extra two minutes, MU fans might have been calling for coach Gary Pinkle's job again. Face it, MU fans: KU misses two FG's, throws two interceptions, falls behind 21-0 and then 28-7, and KU still had a chance to win at the end? MU will either get beat by Oklahoma or get whooped by their BCS opponent.
It will be interesting to see how both teams respond to newfound success next year. Missouri faces three potentially tough games: Illinois, Texas, and KU. That's it. Other than that, they get to sit in the recliner against Southeast Missouri, Buffalo U., Nevada, Baylor.......they should go undefeated. KU, on the other hand will get plenty of battle scars next year: at South Florida, at Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech at home, then MU.

(rebecca wanted me to apologize for the length of this entry. i'm very passionate about football. guy, you know.)

Thanksgiving...fun, and bloating!!!

2007-11-24T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a sampling of the kids...the four boys in the middle were all born within 6 months of each other! Yowza! :)

My gorgeous cousins Julia and Carolie! Someone actually asked us if we were triplets when we were kids...
The fam! We took about 100 pictures trying to get one with everyone smiling and looking at the camera. Didn't happen.
Brother Dave with his wife, Angie. David kept making stupid faces and Angie almost killed him...she's pretty tough to have put up with him for 12 years!
Timmy Tim with wife Carmen. Tim and Carmen are becoming old pros at this marriage stuff now...they celebrated their 1 year anniversary earlier this year!

The food was delicious...thanks so much to mom and everyone who contributed to the meal. The Erickson/Bass family sure can pack it away, can't we? :) Love you all!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIZABETH!

2007-11-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

Well, my baby girl is turning 2 in just a few days. It is a little sad, really. I think about my baby walking around, talking, and running around with the big kids. She doesn't act like a baby at all. In many ways, that is good. I obviously want to see her mature and learn new things. I don't really want her to remain a baby. But, I think every mother knows what I am talking about when I say that sometimes, you just get that ache to hold a baby, or maybe throw caution to the wind and see if you can get pregnant one more time. Realistically, I don't want to have any more children. They are expensive and Jarod and I want to retire before we are 90. But oh, if I were rich and had a nanny... I guess it won't do me any good to think about all the "what ifs" I should just enjoy what I have...which is a wonderful husband and 2 healthy, beautiful children!

Now, totally changing direction...we actually had Elizabeth's birthday party a couple of weeks ago since her birthday is right around Thanksgiving. I have included some pictures from her party...enjoy!

HALLOWEEN!!!! FINALLY!!!

2007-11-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well, Isaac has been asking for about the past 3 months when Halloween was going to get here.

Well, it came. And so did the CANDY!!!! Every house we went to loaded the kids up with more candy than we could eat in 10 lifetimes. Apparently, trick-or-treating is getting less and less popular with the younger parents, who favor safe church or school parties. But not Jarod and I! No siree bob...we prefer good ol' fashioned trick-or-treating: walking around poorly lit streets in the chilly night, knocking on strangers doors and asking for candy, and of course the fun of checking for razor blades and/or drug-laced candy. I wouldn't trade it for the world! But enough about me...let's talk about the kids!!!

You would have thought that dressing up like a dinosaur is the equivalent of winning the lottery or something. Isaac loved that silly costume! In fact, he wore it almost every day for at least an hour or two for about 2 months leading up to Halloween. He wanted to sleep in it and wear it to Wal-Mart and stuff. Looking back, I should have let him wear it to Wal-Mart...I mean, who cares? :) My mom did take Elizabeth shopping at Kohl's on Halloween in her Ladybug costume and everyone loved her! I guess Elizabeth kept saying "hi" to people and pointing to herself saying "big bug" and laughing at herself. She was like a big drunk-acting ladybug.

So, to sum it up, my kids loved Halloween and Jarod and I had lots of fun, too. Yeah! :)

"YES, I AM OLD." HIGHLIGHTS FROM MY 10 YEAR HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

2007-10-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

As you may have guessed from title, I recently attended my 10 year high school reunion. And yes, I am now officially "old." My co-worker Jenny always makes fun of me because I usually seem to put myself in some sort of age category close to high school or something. I have a very hard time accepting the fact that every year that goes by, I get farther and farther from being cool. Earlier this year, I saw a guy I went to high school with and remarked that he was looking "very old, like around 30 or something" to which my co-worker (and very good friend) Jenny remarked with a wicked grin, "yeah, you mean like you?" Hmm...good point. So I am accepting the fact that I am growing older. Married? check. Kids? check. Mortgage? check. Likes to stay at home in sweatpants? check. Takes multiple herbal supplements for regularity and lower cholesterol? check. Well, that does it. I fulfill all requirements to be listed as old.

But, here is the good news....going to my reunion made me feel young again! I actually really enjoyed myself! Seeing pictures of myself from high school and having people remind me of the many stupid things I did back then was hilarious and exhilirating all at the same time! Everyone, including myself, seemed to be a little nicer, a little easier to talk to, and a heck of a lot more mature. I just want to say to everyone at the reunion: I really enjoyed seeing you and thanks for a great night!

By the way, I forgot to bring my camera to the reunion...so the picture of Jarod and I is actually from the night of the reunion, it was just before we went out, but since there aren't any pictures of Jarod and I in this blog...I decided to throw it in!

GIVE ME A HEAD WITH HAIR....

2007-09-30T20:08:00.001-07:00

I'M SORRY...I KNOW I'M HER MOTHER, BUT DON'T YOU JUST LOVE THAT HAIR COLOR? :) ANYTIME I'M OUT SOMEWHERE, PEOPLE LOOK AT HER, LOOK AT ME, AND SAY.. "WELL, HER FATHER MUST HAVE RED HAIR" AND SORT OF LOOK AT ME LIKE MY HAIR COLOR IS OBVIOUSLY SO UGLY THAT I COULD NEVER HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO HER HAIR COLOR... I WOULD LIKE ALL TO KNOW, THAT FOR RED HAIR TO ACTUALLY HAPPEN, BOTH PARENTS HAVE TO HAVE THE "RED HAIR" GENE, DUE TO THE FACT THAT RED HAIR IS A RECESSIVE TRAIT... SO TAKE THAT ALL THE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO THINK I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH MY DAUGHTER'S RED HAIR!!!! ;0

ISAAC WRITES HIS NAME! GENIUS IN THE FAMILY!!

2007-09-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

What do you think of our son's first time writing his name? Keep in mind, he is only 3...and he's already writing better than Jarod! :)

WORDS OF WISDOM: BY ISAAC STEVENSON

2007-09-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT KIDS WILL SAY! :)

"IF YOU RUN OUT OF CRACKERS, YOU DON'T HAVE CRACKERS ANYMORE. THERE ARE NO MORE CRACKERS TO EAT. BUT MOM CAN ALWAYS GET MORE AT WAL-MART" (TELLING ELIZABETH ABOUT THE WORLD OF CRACKERS)

"THE OTHER DAY, WHEN I WAS IN THE CAR, I SAW JESUS. I SAID, 'JESUS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?' AND THEN WE RODE IN THE CAR TOGETHER" (SPOKEN RANDOMLY OUT OF NOWHERE)

"MOM, I LOVE YOU. NOW CAN I HAVE A SUCKER NOW?" (ASKED IN THE BANK DRIVE-THRU)

JAROD'S SECRET TALENT

2007-09-22T21:05:00.001-07:00

SPRING BREAK AT THE STEVENSON HOUSE! WOOHOO! (Just kidding) I just liked this picture so I thought I would throw it in...the real purpose of this post is to showcase Jarod's secret artistic talent! Apparently, Jarod likes to paint, and is actually quite good at it, which he somehow kept secret from me for 6 YEARS! Can you believe it? Anyway, a couple of months ago, he came up and told me that he wanted to paint a dinosaur on Isaac's wall in his bedroom. I sort of smiled and nodded my head, calculating the cost of paint to cover up whatever Jarod was going to do to my poor son's wall... Well....surprise! Jarod can actually paint! Boy was I shocked! :)

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Notice the fine detail of the dinosaurs...excellent work! :) Also, who can beat the Hulk? I mean, come on? What boy wouldn't want the Hulk on their bedroom wall? Jarod actually added to the Hulk painting later...there was a cartoon caption above him that says "HULK BRUSH TEETH"

Isaac reminded us that Hulk also says "HULK SMASH!" Thanks for keeping us on our toes, buddy! :)

Riding in the car with mi mama

2007-09-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody! Mom is busy right now so we decided we would add a little something to this thing called a "blog". We wanted to express our great love for our wonderful mother and all the things she does for us everyday. We especially love to express this love in the car. Usually we try to make as much "traveling noise" as possible...things like screaming, screeching, and singing nonsensical songs at the top of our lungs. Sometimes we also pinch, scratch, and hit each other so mom can know how much we like each other. When we do that, Mom gets a crazed look on her face and pulls the car over, yelling in a threatening voice and saying things like "wait till we get home!" and "wait until I tell your father what you were doing!" We are pretty sure mom enjoys all of these things, so we continue to make noise and hit each other...purely to entertain our mother. Uh oh, she's coming back, gotta run!

Yeah! Blog Time!

2007-09-17T20:50:00.001-07:00

So I decided to try this whole blogging thing, since I am trying to learn how to use a computer at a normal 3rd grade level or above now. I swear, I am the most ignorant computer-user (other than my husband) who was born after the year 1970. Basically, I don't even know if one person other than myself or my mom will read this ever. I sort of wanted to keep people updated on my cute kiddos, not that I want to brag or anything, but this is going to be a bit of an experiment. For people who haven't talked to me or Jarod for awhile, this will sort of fill them in on what has been going on. We're not really all that exciting. We go to work, clean the house, do yard work, sleep, and start all over again (here the music in the background to the tune of pick yourself up, dust yourself off...)

Anyway, I have been busy birthing 2 children in the last 3 years and Jarod has been trucking around the metro in a big old semi-truck. I also work for State Farm Insurance and believe it or not have had lots of fun dealing with insurance. Ok, that isn't really true, but I have tons of fun with my co-worker, who happens to be a girl I've known since we were kids. We get along really well and spend too much time chatting, but it is such a great break from being with the kids all day (warning--for really sappy moms, I am not your woman! I like getting out and away from the kids on a fairly regular basis!)

Jarod is very manly (at his job) and wears a uniform with his name clearly stated for all to see. JAROD. You see, if your name is always on your shirt, people won't forget you. And they will also remember to spell your name with an "o" instead of an "e" or "a" I mean, I guess you could use any vowel and it would sound ok, but it wouldn't be right!! Anyway, Jarod also likes his job and thinks it is great to look threateningly down at other vehicles while driving down I-70 at 70 miles an hour. (yikes!)

Our 2 kids are named Isaac and Elizabeth. Isaac is 3 and Elizabeth will be 2 in a couple of months. Isaac just started preschool and Elizabeth is spending a lot of time saying "bubby" and pointing at the door, wondering when Isaac will get back from school (which he only goes to 2 days a week) My wonderful mother watches the kids while I work 27 hours a week. She is awesome. I actually have my meals cooked for me and waiting several days a week. Can you believe it? It's like I get to have a wife, which of course is the best...men have it so good!

We will learn more about the kids as I update the blog with our daily adventures.... Thanks for looking!