The hardest part

There are so many things that make being a parent difficult. The messes, the lack of privacy, the lack of down time, so many things. I think the hardest part, though, is dealing with kids when they lie. I don't know if it's harder when they are foster kids or if all kids are liars, but it makes things so frustrating. The funny thing is, kids are horrible liars. I used to think my parents were amazing detectives when I was younger, they found out everything I did as if by magic. Now I realized it's because kids are stupid. I guess stupid is the wrong word, they're just terrible liars. Any by terrible liars I mean stupid.

Last night, we got home from the BBQ and Mercedes told me to look at the fish tank because the water was cloudy. I looked at the water and sure enough it was like pea soup (has anyone actually seen pee soup? I haven't but I can only imagine). Then I noticed that the bottom of the fish tank was absolutely covered with fish food. I had shown Mercedes how to feed the fish earlier in the morning, a TINY pinch of food. Well, assuming that Aimee didn't get hit in the head by a stupid hammer, Mercedes must have been feeding the fish constantly during the day and not telling us. That, or Mariah figured out how to bring in a ladder, feed the fish, and then hide the ladder. So Mercedes lied, lied, lied about putting the food in. Then she admitted it after I grilled her long enough. One of the fish died despite by best efforts to get them in a tank with fresher, un-poisoned water.

Then, it was morning time. I woke up and cam out to my computer. Out prances little Mercedes and tattles on Mariah. "Mariah is eating chips." So I go look and sure enough Mariah has two fistfuls of BBQ chips and is chowing down. I take them from her and put her in time out (and managed not to laugh at the site...it's pretty funny to watch a 2yo double fisting BBQ Lays). Anyways, I put Mariah in time out and went on my business. Then Aimee mentions that I might want to check Mercedes and see if she had any. Sure enough, the kid stinks to BBQ heaven. Dangit man. Lies lies lies. I don't even understand what makes her lie...I hardly ever get mad at her for being stupid, I really only ever get mad when she lies.

Anyways, this is life. Hope this winds up being a good week. I'm ready for one.

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Posted in: family

Your entertainment for the day...

This is Aimee haha. I am posting on Chris' blog. He never posts so I thought I would give everyone something to read.
Today we are switching all of our bedrooms around. Except for the master every room is changing. Mercedes and Mariah will be in the same room, and that opens up two other bedrooms. One for our friends who are going to move in with us, and another for an office/study area. It's going to be nice. I'm not sure why it never occurred to us to use our biggest bedroom as a kids bedroom. Oh well.
I love change. I love changing things around. I always want to move my furniture around. I love switching rooms and moving things all over. I kind of thrive on change. That isn't typical though. Most people hate change. Not I.

Later we have a birthday partay. It's going to be fun. BBQ type of thing. I love BBQs. I miss them. I love BBQ chicken with tons of BBQ sauce. How many times can I say BBQ? I would love some BBQ pizza right now. Instead I will have pepperoni.

Ok, I hope you have enjoyed this quite meaningless blog.
Aimes

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Well, it's Saturday

Today is going to be a busy day. Our 4 best friends are all moving (luckily they only live in 2 different houses :) and I'm looking forward to a big day of helping. I love moving. It's weird, I think it's because my whole life people in my family have moved constantly. It's like a big fun family thing when people move. It's also Memorial Day weekend, which will bring welcome relief from work. The weather is also beautiful, which is really strange because it should be hot as balls right about now (knock on wood) in Phoenix. Seriously, last night we were freezing, it dipped down into the low 50's overnight and I don't think it's slated to go much over 70 today. It must be all those college kids bringing their midwestern weather back for us (thanks nicole!).

Speaking of work, yesterday was so hard. It seems like things have been coming to a head for 2 weeks at work and nothing happens (that's what she said). Yesterday there was a big ordeal about some stupid database userid and it caused a commotion in 3 different teams that wound up getting a bunch of directors in a room arguing for an hour. There are things I love about my job and things I hate, yesterday I hated it. It didn't help that during the middle of the day I had to take Mercedes across town for a hair appointment during my lunch break, which meant I didn't get to eat lunch, which meant I was cranky and irritable all day long. There was also a huge mixup around the payment for said hair which I won't get into but it did not help things at all. I have such mixed emotions about weddings in general, I won't get into it because I know it's not a good time to talk about it. It makes me a bit nervous because I'm officiating a wedding in October for one of my best friends who shares my opinions on marriage almost to a tee. This would be a great thing but I'm not sure his wife does and it might be incredibly stressful for everyone involved if things don't go well. I'll just say for the two of them that I hope they can remember that the wedding is supposed to be a joyous occasion that is about sharing your love and commitment with God, family, and friends. No one will remember whether you had wine from Costco or some fancy vineyard in California. Also, I really like cream puffs and shrimp, I have never been to a wedding that had creme puffs and shrimp that I didn't thoroughly enjoy.

Enough on weddings, I'll just say that I'm glad it's saturday and I don't have to think about weddings or work for 3 whole days. I'm really excited to get to moving, so I'm gonna jet and start getting Mercedes' new room in order!

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Posted in: family,florida,friends,work

Last night

Was strange. All of my friends were either at a bachelor or bachelorette party. I was home alone with the kids. Strangely, I was totally ok with that. I scored some free carpet at Mercedes' school and hopefully it will be enough do our storage room turned get away room. One thing I love about being at home alone with the kiddos is cooking for them. I know Aimee's palate and it is just a wee bit on the shy side, but I can pretty much try anything with the kids. I thawed out some cube steak and made a quick marinade of soy sauce (thanks Jonathan!), garlic, onion, white wine vinegar, basil, and just a hint of cumin. I boiled some potatoes and mashed them with milk, garlic, and butter. I also steamed some green beans and served them up with olive oil, salt, and black pepper. The steak I sautéed in half butter and half vegetable oil (and maybe just a liiiiitle bacon fat for flavor). It was delicious. I love cooking for the girls. They are brutally honest. They will both wrinkle up their little faces if they don't like something and push it away. The other night Mariah was actually gagging while she was eating asparagus. I think it's cool that they are being exposed to vegetables like asparagus, okra, collard greens, brussels sprouts, and just about every kind of bean you can think of. It will be good for them later in life I think. Anyways, they loved dinner last night, Mercedes had two helpings of meat and cleaned her plate. You know you've done the vegetables right when they wipe them out within the first few minutes of dinner. Even Mariah plowed through her meal... something quite rare if you can believe it. Then the girls took a shower together, something they love to do, and we got ready for bed. There was no crying and we said our prayers and sang for a few minutes, then Mar rolled over and went right to sleep (Hallelujah!) All in all, it was an easy night to have them alone. Then I pretty much watched tv (American Idol!) and texted the night away.

The only hard part about the night was really the sleeping part. It is so hard to sleep without Aimee. I tried sleeping in our bed because I knew I needed a good nights sleep and it was miserable. I woke up like every hour and kept hearing noises. I have bad dreams when Aimee isn't here too... mostly snakes though there is the ever present 'I can't see' dream that I have had since childhood. Last night it was rattlesnakes in the garage at my parents house and then also in a swamp chasing me. Who knew they could climb trees. I did have fun bashing in their heads with a baseball bat in my parents garage, but I paid for it later. I really wish I knew what it was about snakes that terrifies me. I mean, they make me physically ill when I see them move and they haunt my dreams continuously... this is not normal behavior. Also, Mariah is funny because she talks in her sleep. Sometimes, she will let out one really loud yell and then just go back to sleep. She did this last night. It freaked me out. Normally she doesn't wake me up at night, Aimee just gets up with her. I think I can normally sleep through it because I know Aimee is solid when it comes to getting up with the baby. I should be clear, I didn't get up with her, I just woke up when she screamed. I laid there and she fell back to sleep...so I didn't get up :)

Anyways, pray we have a good morning, Mar if finishing her breathing treatment and we have to get ready and get to school. Peace!

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Posted in: family,friends,home improvement,interests

And my pool

And I can't sign off without commenting on my pool. We had to drain our pool this weekend - it was a disaster. I should have drained it last year but it is such a hassle. The water in Phoenix is so hard that over time it's like you're swimming in chalk. It just about becomes impossible to maintain the chemistry in the pool. So, we drained it. It was stressful. I think our main drain is seriously clogged ( I have never noticed any water movement down there) and so I had to rent a drain pump from Home Depot. Holy crap that thing was awesome! The downer was, of course, that the discharge hose from the pump didn't come close to fitting into our cute little sewer clean out pipe and even if it had I don't think it could have handled the flow. So, I went into my alley, located a manhole cover, and popped it out. Down goes the hose, on goes the pump, away goes the water. I was seriously stressed out about it because my neighbor on one side is a cop and the one behind me has gotten on me about pool water and trash and stuff...so I didn't want to piss him off. All things considered, it was pretty cool watching it drain away. When it finished, Aimee and I spent a few hours (late at night) cleaning the surface and pressure washing away the scum that accumulates over the years. We were really hoping we might find someone to resurface it for us but the bank said NO THANK YOU when we looked into getting some money. I guess we're in a recession and a housing crunch. I can't wait until things cool off and people get back on their feet...it's going to be hard for us to sell this house unless we can do some things like resurface the pool and what not. Anyways, it was empty and clean and we decided to just fill it back up this evening after getting some CRAZY quotes to resurface. So, as we speak I have two hoses spilling forth into the depths and hopefully tomorrow night it will be full. What a freaking crazy week. At least now the pool will be nice and clean and we can start having some parties :)

I also got some cute pictures of Aimee sweeping the pool. She is the coolest wife ever!

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Posted in: home improvement,real estate

The end is near

Well, tomorrow is officially the last day of my Spring semester. I did take an incomplete in my New Testament class because 3 classes was just way too much for me with all that has gone on so far this year. I was looking back and I had a hard time convincing myself that it really was during this semester that I went to Florida twice in one month. I can't believe how difficult it has been to deal with the loss of my grandmother...even though I knew it was coming, it still hit me like a ton of bricks. On top of that, this whole business with my reproductive system and the "C" scare (I am not superstitions...I just can't say the word) has just made it impossible to think. So, in the end, my final paper for my history class isn't what I had hoped it would be ... but it is. I will really just be glad to get out of this semester with passing grades for my classes (crossing my fingers).

On that note, I'd like to comment on one of the classes I took. I have sort of always referred to it as my 'hippie' class and I really didn't have much faith in it being interesting back in September. Turns out, as these things often do, that it was the most important class I have ever taken in anything. I am pretty sure that I would have quit school and given up on being a pastor if it hadn't been for this Discernment class. I realized that I have never sat down and just listened. Not thought, not grappled or wrestled, just listened. It's amazing what your lower intestines will tell you about your path in life. It sort of sounds weird to me to think that God speaks to me through a tense upper back and a rumbling stomach... at least it's better than a burning bush or a staff that turns into a snake (AHHH!). Anyways, I won't go on and on about what it was that I got out of this class (it's hard to even describe) but I'll just say that it was great and I'm going to do my best to try and spread some of it in my ministry (such as it is) to young adults. So if you're a young adult, beware! I come armed with a new hippy manifesto.

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Posted in: family,florida,friends,school

I am so stimulated!

Thank you George Bush, thank you for the $1200 check. All is forgiven, I promise. Now I will always remember you as 'one of the greats'.

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Posted in: sarcasm

Another day another ...

sick stomach. Really, what the heck is wrong with me? I guess I should go to the doctor at some point since I have a sick stomach every day. Is it normal to have guess all the time? By all the time I mean I could literally pass gas at any moment during the day, every day. And every time I eat something other than rice and plain white chicken I get a sick stomach. Is this out of the ordinary? I think that I have a serious problem trusting doctors since every doctor I have ever been has told me that there is nothing they can do to fix what is wrong. Oh, and for like 10 years I had the same doctor and he always told me that my problem was I was too fat. Didn't matter why I went to the doctor: allergies - you're too fat, sprained ankle - you're too fat, back spasms - you're too fat, and of course chronic stomach ailment - you're too fat. I know I'm too fat. I've been too fat since I was in 9th grade. This is what happens when you are skin and bones until you're 12. Everyone in your family forces you to eat. A lot. It doesn't help that my family is from the south and we had gravy with every meal. And, of course, my dad grew up in rural Montana at the tail end of the depression so we were an 'eat everything on your plate' kind of family. But I don't think I'm so fat that it's the cause of my every illness. Seriously, when I would get strep throat Dr. Salazar (Oh MIMA, how I miss thee...NOT) would tell me I was too fat.

Anyways, that was not at all the reason I decided to blog tonight. What I really wanted to say was that we got the window framed in and drywalled. It kicks ass. I think that room is going to be amazing. I am going to put in a solar-tube type skylight and throw some recessed light cans up in the ceiling for night time 'mood lighting'. It will be a great 'media room' and I think a bonus when we go to sell the house. Also, it was highly necessary if we were ever going to wall in the carport. Along those lines I hired a guy off of Craigslist to do help with the job and it was fun working with him. It reminded me of the 3(!) years we spent remodeling our house in Florida and our kick-ass neighbor Curtis who taught me just about everything I know when it comes to construction. Dean was super cool and we had a lot of time to chit-chat while the mud was drying. His wife was dilated and contracting last night but he came anyway and today she still hadn't given birth. I told him about my schooling (hey, it came up) and that I was hoping to be a pastor and he thought that was super cool. He asked me a lot of questions and it made me realize that to a lot of people that's A Really Big Deal, I forget that some people really have a thing about clergy and the way they treat them. He told me when he left tonight that it had been a real pleasure to work with me and it was great to have clients that were friendly and cared about him. Of course we talked a bit about Scottsdale people (heh sorry if the shoe fits) and what it's like to work for them. hhhhhhh (that was me cleaning a bit of grease or something off of my 'h' key).

Well, off to bed, I'll do my best to get some pics up of the finished wall and maybe a few pics of it in the process. I told Dean (the guy from Craigslist) that I would pray for his wife and their baby and I certainly will, it seemed to really mean a lot to him. Still no word on the medical testing, hopefully there is nothing really scary going on or they would have called me. I'm probably still just too fat.

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Posted in: family,home improvement,interests