More like 6 years...

Okay, update on the last tattoo post. Aaron got one full laser treatment. See pictures.

This is immediately after. It got white and puffy.

This was a few days later. Notice the blisters. Apparently, lasers give you third degree burns.

He said it was even more painful than previously described. Here is 1 week later when the scabs started to go away. If this is too much info or too graphic, my apologies.

Unfortunately, the money for the rest of his treatments has been spent on something else. The brakes and rotors on our new minivan went out. So, instead of getting to finish his laser tattoo removal he got to put new brakes on the minivan. Thanks, honey!

And you thought tattoos hurt going on...

Yes, Aaron has a tattoo. Yes, it is Wakko Warner from the Animaniacs. The time has come that he has decided to have it removed. Here is a peek at the results of a test of the laser treatment. They only treated part of the tattoo to show him what it feels like and to see how his skin would react. Aaron says that it felt like "a cocktail of lava and hot kitchen grease wrapped in a needle." Ahhhhhhh, sounds great.



He starts the full treatment this week and will return each month for another dose of pain until it is gone. It should be about 6 months.

Just some pictures of life in January and February...

Ian loves brushing his hair.It was too cold to go outside so we made snowmen in the kitchen.
See Jacen's snowman?

Ian played with his bowl of snow, too.

The abominable snowman, Aaron.Jacen had a slumber party with his cousin, Ella. Here they enjoyed playing with play dough.

We finally started to thaw out!

Nothing better than snow angels.

Good family fun.

Found the boys putting themselves to "bed".

Funky hat hair.

Captain(s) underpants.

Jacen "fixed" my chair with masking tape. He was so proud!

Joy School

Have you heard of Joy School? I think it was Katie G. that first mentioned it to me when she moved to Cincinnati. Here in Columbus there is a group of mothers who do Joy School for their kids. I can't find any people who are interested in doing it with me AND whose child is going into kindergarten the same year as Jacen. So I am doing it alone. Today was day #3. And it felt good!


Curious about Joy School? Click this:
http://www.valuesparenting.com/joyschool/

Thank you!

Thank you all for your comments on my last blog post. I realize I was complaining a lot and I felt so burdened down but after reading your comments I felt so supported. And blessed! Thanks all!

I guess these are my latest excuses...

Lots to say, very few minutes to say it in...

We have been crazy busy for quite some time now. I'll start by telling you that we still haven't put our christmas cards in the mail. We were slackers and got our photos done too close to Chrismas then our computer died completely (it had our mailing list with addressess on it.) Aaron fixed said computer Jan 8th or 9th but by then our plumbing problems were just starting.

To be brief, after many days of super slow kitchen sink drainage the main sewer line clogged so bad that sewer began to spew from a pipe into our laundry room! The stink and mess were awful. Luckily, 2 wonderful women in our ward called to help out. One let me wash all the sewer laundry at her house and the other came over with a super duper steam cleaner that removed all traces of the sewer water. They both top my "respect" list (like Carolyn and Leslie for scrubbing my bathrooms when I was 7 months pregnant.) The plumber came, took out the toilet and ran 100 feet of roto-rooter line down into the pipes. He fixed it and left the place pretty clean afterwards.

A few days later, just as I was finishing the rest of the backed up laundry and dishes our heater began some seriously crazy mini explosions when starting up. Sometimes the whole house would shake and we would get quite scared. It took a while to get a heater man out to fix it 'cuz it was during the crazy low temperatures that Aaron posted about. He was scheduled to come many times but had to to reschedule because he had true emergencies to deal with (people without heat at all.) When he finally came he cleaned out the heater but the explosions were worse! Ian happened to be standing in front of the heater when yellow flames exploded out of the heater grate! Luckily, he didn't get burned. We opted to turn the heater off completely and use space heaters until the next day when the heater man returned with a longer cleaning tool. That did the trick. He said there must have been a small spider web inside. Crazy.

The next week on Wednesday I fell down the stairs while carrying Ian. We were super lucky. Ian landed hard on his bottom on a step and I slid on my backside down to the bottom. I reached my arms back and bore most of the impact on the back of my forearms and on my lower back. I had bruises on my arms and lower back but I consider us SUPER lucky since I didn't bang my big pregnant belly and Ian didn't land on his head!

Two days later I took the kids sledding. I only went down a small hill one time with Ian but my back just wouldn't function after that. Aaron can attest to the fact that my back has gotten in the way of almost all housework functions. It has been 1 week with us living this way. I am currently icing it now. Thank you, Aaron, for all that you have been doing!

Say it with me-How low can you go?

All the more reason to cuddle...

I wasn't sure if I wanted to title this post "All the more reason to cuddle..." OR "Ahhh COME ON! You gotta be kidding me!"

For those of you NOT freezing your tookis off...

Eagles (and definitely NOT the Philidelphia kind)

Last Friday we had a couple of visitors to our office. This tree is RIGHT outside my office window; less than 100 ft. I didn't have a camera so I couldn't take pictures but somebody managed it.

I stole this from my friend Kenny's blog. The idea is to bold each of the things you've done.

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty - I wanted to but the rest of my group didn't :-(
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb - lamb? Heck I've held a baby white tiger!
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold shower
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun - Shanna stop laughing
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Survived a Hurricane
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight - This couldn't possibly happen now
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest - for a couple of years I OWNED my company costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy - this happens once a week for me
70. Found out something significant about your ancestors
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over - hahahahahah
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone - I love that this one isn't bolded (amazed really)
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph - no questions
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days - rafting trip but I'm counting it
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ - I was Z93's Cowboy Fanatic; not the DJ but I'm still bolding it
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people - this seems to be my naturally occuring talent
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap -fortunately this didn't say "recognizable animal"
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe.
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need - Seriously Shanna stop laughing
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in a historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Ran a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class - Singapore to US on Singapore Airlines INCREDIBLE
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo - This one will NEVER be bolded
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon - wasn't this one already on here?
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator - one of the elevators at work is a death trap
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator - we lived 1 degree north of the equator but I can't bold it :-(
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser
186. Joined a union - see #142
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course - and then promptly violated everything I learned a week later and shot a car while riding in it. Kathy stop laughing.
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
198. Built your own PC from parts - I've replaced just about everything (see Shanna's post from a few days ago) but not an entire PC from scratch.
199. Written your own role playing game - Okay this wasn't me it was Jacob Norwood (The Riddle of Steel) BUT I did help playtest it and contributed some of the material. And my name is published in the credits.
200. Been arrested - I said NO QUESTIONS

Must be something in the mix

I don't know what it is about chocolate pudding but there is something about that turns this ordinary family into a house of goons. We CANNOT eat chocolate pudding normally.

Here is our lastest descent into silliness. Please note that not all of these were taken the same day!

Our computer is fixed!

My husband is a pretty cool guy. He did the most amazing thing the other day. So I have to brag.

First, I must mention that when I was single I was computer capable and could set up my computer, plug in all necessary wires and get the thing to work. If I had an internet connection problem I would try to fix it and wiggle wires, push buttons, try to reset the modem, etc. Well, not anymore. Ever since Aaron and I got married I have not had to deal with any of that. It quickly became obvious that Aaron was technically inclined and I was happy to hand over the computer reigns completely. Every time we have moved (which has been a lot) Aaron takes care of it all. I love it. I am free to use the computer, email, blog, etc. but when any glitch arises I simply call Aaron and he comes and fixes it. You could say that I have become computer lazy.

It is not like Aaron is a techno genius. He just likes to figure things out. He will take the time to problem solve any software or hardware issue. He isn't afraid to ask for help and advice from someone else if he needs it. I don't even get concerned anymore when Aaron gets frustrated and wants to quit after exhausting all his ideas. The fact is that he always finds a solution! He always fixes it somehow.

Well, a few weeks ago, I was on the computer when suddenly the computer shut down and turned off. I glanced down and saw Ian pushing the power button. The power button is a bright blue square light that calls to little children and says "push me!" When Jacen was a babe, we had to cover it with black electrical tape. Yes, folks, our computer is old. Anyway, I tried to turn the computer back on but it never came back on! The computer was dead.

Aaron spent a lot of time trying to fix it. I thought that this time it truly was time to get a new computer. I didn't think that it was fixable. It is over 5 years old and has been moved 7 times (including a move halfway around the world and back!) I am not sure how Aaron did it but he somehow took a part from my Dad's old computer and fitted it to ours and it helped him discover what the problem was. He ran out last night, bought a part, squeezed it into our computer and like magic, now our computer is working. Thanks, Aaron. I am so grateful for your efforts that I briefly considered signing up on facebook just for you. I know that you know that that means I am truly grateful.

Well, all you fellow bloggers, friends and family- I gotta go check your blog updates! Later!

Hide your jewelry

The sonogram results are in!

Aaron's intern rotation will move us to...

Houston, TX. That is where we will go for the final 12-18 months of Aaron's Nasa internship. I think Aaron is giddy to know that we will be heading back to Texas, even if it is only for a brief stay. Aaron grew up in Texas, for those who don't know or remember. He is thrilled to know that in about a year he will get to go live in the great state of Texas!

Offine for a while

Just an FYI that we are going to be offline for a while. Yesterday Ian hit the power button our desktop and fried it somehow. I have done everything I know how and can't isolate the problem (I'm thinking new motherboard though). And my laptop is on its way to Circuit City for some long overdue repairs.

Christmas cookie kit

Jacen got a sugar cookie kit for his birthday. He was so excited to make them. The coolest thing about this kit is that it included edible watercolors so you could paint the iced cookies. Here are the photos to map our cookie making journey.

"Look at me! I'm squishing the dough!"

Jacen having a great time!

I love to get get dirty!

Obviously, Jacen is proud of his work. These are ready for the oven!

I love this picture because it shows Jacen out of patience with me. He had to wait for the cookies to cook and then cool. Then, we applied the frosting and waited for it to dry. Then we carefully painted them all. Go back and look at the first pictures and compare his energy level then to this picture. It just makes me giggle! Those of you with kids can imagine the grumbly tone when he impatiently said, "Mom! No more pictures!" and "I'm ready to eat them already!"

Ahh, all has been restored to rightness.

Mmmm, all that hard work finally pays off!

Errr, yes. All my posts are pics of my children!

While Aaron was in Baltimore last week, Jacen and I got extra crafty. Here is the train that Jacen painted. There were actually 6 pieces that he painted but I only managed to get pictures of 3. He loves to paint!

Ian can't keep his hands off the camera. He actually loves anything electronic like remotes, cellphones, dvd players, tvs, air filters, space heaters, alarm clocks, etc.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And more.

Jacen really enjoyed decorating the house for Christmas. I love how his tongue sticks out when he is really concentrating.

Ian missed the decorating activity because he was already in bed. I think that is why we managed to get it done pretty quickly. He loves to be right in the middle of things. He loves to get right in and "help."

Note that Ian finally has some teeth- five, to be exact! He was just fangs for a few weeks and then over Thanksgiving got two on the bottom and another on top. He finally can eat some normal food. He still doesn't have hair, though.

What an angel! I just want to kiss those cheeks!