Ka-Chow!!

Okay, if this can put a smile on my face these days it has to be funny! You have to watch the whole thing...."Its like a magician trick...." HILARIOUS!

bath junkie

Two weeks ago today I celebrated my 30th birthday. When it comes to my birthday I never really realize it is coming until a day or two before and for the most part they have always been free from what I now call "birthday anxiety". First of all, I don't think 30 is old. Lots of my friends are in their 30's (and older) and I have never given it a second thought. For me however, I have to admit that for some reason now I just feel different. I guess I just never really pictured myself 30 something. I keep thinking... I am 30 now and before you know it I will be 40...then 50...etc and for some reason there isn't a huge distinction in my mind. Well, I am determined to be optimistic. I mean look at all that I have experienced and accomplished in 30 years! Ok, maybe I shouldn't think about that. ;)

Well...we had a wonderful day. It started out with a suprise breakfast in bed... eggs and cinnamon rolls! I have always said that Weston is interesting and Warren is creative so there you have it! Then we headed up to the Woodlands, a city just north of here that has great shopping. I was sporting my 5 month pregnant belly, newly purchased white linen maternity capri's & tissue tees, 2 handsome devils by my side and just a teeny weeny bit of "birthday anxiety". The boys took me out for Mexican (my personal fav) and we did some shopping.

There is a great outdoor mall that I love in the Woodlands but often times I miss all my favorite shops because I have Warren with me. I would call myself an ambitious shopper but attempting to take a toddler into Sur La Table or Z Gallery just isn't the kind of challenge I wish to waste my energy on. Weston entertained Warren outside while I wandered around as long as I wanted. It was fabulous! I even discovered my new favorite store. I saw it from a distance and from the first glance it beaconed me. bath junkie. I think they must have named the store after me! (Hey now, it WAS my 30th and so I am allowed to be egocentric for one day!)

Well, I just fell in love with it. I describe it as a celestial bath laboratory. They have the greatest product line made from all natural ingredients and a fragrance bar to choose from. You pick out what you want, mineral scrub, bath salts, lotions ,whatever and you design your fragrance and pick a color and wah lah! Bath Heaven. I promise this is a real franchise, you cannot sell it out of your house and you won't start getting sales calls from me in a day or two.

After shopping I went and had a pedicure done at the Aveda Institute. I don't normally do sparkles but I was feeling like I needed a little shimmer somewhere below that belly so I picked out a hot pink base with orange sparkles slathered on top. I did leave with a little bounce in my step. Afterwards we headed for home because as great as the guys had been they were both worn out. After a gourmet homemade dinner ( a take and bake pizza) ....I disappeared. I shut the door and sunk into some bath salts and bubbles. It is the best and cheapest therapy that you can invest in...it did the trick for me. Thirty shmirty.

The "Man Club" Award Goes To...

This morning we had our ultrasound and we found out that we are having another little boy! It is so exciting to finally know! We are both thrilled. Weston has been rooting for a boy and so he is extra happy. He left the Dr office with an extra big grin...strutting his man stuff...like the next stop was the official "man club" where he would be officially awarded. He makes me laugh. We brought Warren to the ultrasound so he could see the baby. He has been convinced all along that we were going to be having a baby sister. I kept picturing another boy but I think Warren convinced me it was a girl too. Weston was really hoping for a boy and so he would often tell Warren that he thought it would be a baby brother. Warren would get upset and correct him..."No! It is going to be a baby sister!" During the ultrasound, Warrren kept repeating emphatically..."It is going to be a baby sister", "It is going to be a baby sister"! Finally at the end of the ultrasound the tech remained silent, she smiled, pointed to the genitals and then typed the word "brother" on the screen. When we told him it was going to be a baby brother first he seemed a little confused, then a little disappointed. After we explained that he could do all the same things with his brother (and more I'm sure) that he had been talking about with his baby sister, he seemed content.

Weston, you gotta love him baby....

I was tagged by Misty and so I get to tell you a little about Weston.

1. What is his name? Weston Lynn Hall or Hao Wei Lin (in Mandarin)

2. How long have you been together? I have known Weston for almost 13 years. We have been together for 11 years and married for 10.5 of them.

3. How old is he? He will be 32 in a month and a half.

4. Who eats more? Hands down...he does.

5. Who said I love you first? That would be Weston. Except it sort of slipped. I think he said something to the effect of "...then I realized that I was falling in love with you. " Blushing, I responded.."You are in love with me?"

6. Who is Taller? Duh

7. Who sings better? Currently, I do. Although, Weston does have a little song bird in him and I keep trying to recruit him to join choir with me. He was in Laytones in high school, so he CAN sing.

8. Who does the laundry? It is a team effort. He usually sorts, washes and forwards. I fold and put away. This is one chore that I have trained him really well in and I appreciate his willingness to help. He knows what can be put in the dryer and what I want air dried. He can differentiate between "special darks" and "regular darks" (you cannot wash these together you know) and has only shrunk 2 sweaters our entire marriage. Now, when it comes to his dress shirts, I am not even allowed to touch those at any stage in the laundry process. Only HE can wash and dry them...it is an unspoken rule. Pretty lucky, I know.

9. Who pays the bills? Well, actually auto deposit, pay & transfer pays the bills. It is wonderful and would recommend it to everyone. I am the "official" bill payer. During school, I was the checkbook Nazi and was the branch manager of a bank. If he ever splurged one day for lunch he could always count on a phone call from me about an hour later. Poor guy. I have become much more lax these days.

10. Who sleeps on the right side? If you are looking at the bed from its foot...he does.

11. Who mows the lawn? Primarily, he does. I will mow, if he can't get to it.

12. Who cooks dinner? That would be me 99.9% of the time. I do like to cook but it can be monotonus. Occaisionally I revolt and then he usually grills something or makes cheese spagetti. He actually can cook when he wants to. He has been known to make some fiercly delicious meals for me on our Anniversary and Valentines Day. Maybe the romantic deep inside brings out his culinary skills.

13. Who drives? If we are going anywhere together or as a family Weston believes it is the "man's duty" to drive. He makes me laugh.

14. What does he like to do? He loves politics, golf and eating out. He loves spending time with us and playing with Warren. He is a wondeful father. He also likes spending time with his brother Dustin.

15. Who is more stubborn? He takes the cake on that one.

16. Who kissed who first? It was one of those little mermaid & prince in the boat moments. We kissed eachother.

17. Who proposed to who? Weston proposed to me. Although it took him long enough...meaning, the day he did it I had no idea initially what he had planned. He was trying so hard to be romantic but I think he was really nervous. I finally caught on and after a 14 hour day together, he finally mustered the courage!

18. Who has more friends? That would be me. I am the social butterfly and he tends to be a little more reserved.

19. Who is more sensitive? I am, although there is a teddy bear way deep down inside that big man aka "fierce liberal fighter".

20. Who has more siblings? I do. I have 9 (3 full, 2 half and 4 adopted) and he has 6 (3 full & 3 step).

21. Who wears the pants? It depends on the issue. He usually wears the pants but if the pants get too dirty... I make him wash them and hang them out to dry. Once they are clean and dry I let him put them back on again. ;)



I tag Emily F, Kierstin, Ronna, Katie, Janelle, Cheri, Caryn, Kamie & Sarah and anyone else who wants to do this.

Easter Fun

Easter Sunday-The bunny visited our house while we were at church. It was a fun filled day. After we hunted Warren's loot we made Easter Cookies, ate dinner and visited some of our good friends.
Saturday we took Warren to the Easter Egg Hunt at Towne Center Park in Kingwood. It was such a gorgeous day. It was about 68 degrees and sunny.

After the hunt they had a carnival all set up for the kids and Warren had a blast. He got to ride the train, hold some real bunnies, baby chicks & ducklings, and feed some reptiles. A man from the Houston Chronicle took our picture to pulish in Sunday's paper.

Happy Birthday Warren!

Last Sunday (March 9th) Warren turned 3 years old! It is so hard to believe how time flies and how fast he is growing. It seems just like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital in his Michigan winter attire.

What can I say about this little miracle that we have in our lives...except we are the luckiest parents in the world to have him in our family. I don't think a day has ever gone by that I haven't thanked my Heavenly Father for him.

Warren has always been a little man. Even as a newborn people always commented on how mature he looked. Friends and Family almost immediately started calling him Master Warren Maxwell Hall just after he was born. He has always had a very strong spirit about him. It is interesting as a parent to hear the things that people pick up on and tell you about your children. Most parents think their kids are perfect (rightly so) and so I realize that I may be biased, just a little. One thing about Warren that people have always said is that there is just something really special about him, that you can feel his sweet spirit. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this. As a mother I have always felt this about him (even when I was pregnant) and so it is endearing to hear that others pick up on that too.

As a toddler he didn't walk until he was 15 months old (and we were getting pretty worried) but by the time he was 19 months old he could recite his ABC's and was very articulate for his age. He continues to amaze us with his memory and imagination. He LOVES to read. It was about 9 months ago that we discovered that he could recite to us nearly all of his "reader" books, word for word, paragraph by paragraph. I have read those books at least as many times as he has and I could never do that! He has always been a sharp little cookie but we were stunned. Just after Christmas, over a matter of about 3 days (and very little practice) he shocked us again demonstrating to us that he knew all of his letters and letter sounds. He has an incredible imagination and comes up with the most entertaining stories.

He is a tender heart by nature and is very sensitive to people he around (and their moods) as well as his surroundings. He loves music and is obsessed with the violin and cello. At Christmas he saw a boy in our ward play his violin and ever since its all he talks about....and his trains (Thomas and Friends) and Lightning McQueen. He loves to cuddle on the couch and go to the gas station with dad to get cheetos and a "bug juice".

He is the light of our world and we are ever grateful for the joy he brings to us in our lives.

Happy Birthday Tiger!

A lightning McQueen Fishing Pole!

A remote control dump truck!

Birthday celebrations at Aunt Julie's house. They were so thoughtful to remember him on his birthday. They gave him a set of contruction trucks and made some yummy cupcakes!

Soul Food

Last Thursday my girls flew to Houston and we celebrated our annual girls weekend! We became friends in Ann Arbor while our husbands attended University of Michigan Law School. If getting through law school together doesn't bond you...I don't know what will. At graduation we all vowed that we would take the time at least once a year to get together and so far we have!

L to R: Me (Houston), Katie (Vegas), Cheri (Austin) and Ronna (San Fran)


They arrived Thursday night. Friday we enjoyed a facial, dining out and shopping. Saturday we went to the Kemah Boardwalk down by the coast. Sunday I dragged them all to 8:30 church after staying up until 2am, plus the time change...yea, they love me. Late Sunday afternoon it was time to go home. I already miss them.
Windy day on the boardwalk. We ate mexican, rode the crickety wood roller coaster (thanks Katie), enjoyed some hot chocolate....oh...and did some more shopping.

Last year everyone (except me) was pregnant and this year we got to enjoy the new babes. Amelia Love Anderson & Eden Rojas. They are both perfect angels all weekend and were content to listen to us all talk talk talk, go a few places and oh yea... and talk some more. This year...I got to be the tired pregnant lady.

Utah Adventures

We visited Utah from Feb 21- March 4. Here are a few of the highlights from our trip. Fasten your seatbelt!!! (In chronological order...)

Warren having a ball playing with Uncle Brian's chickens. I would have never guessed it growing up but my brother has become quite the organic famer/gardner. He has a huge garden with just about everything you can imagine planted in it, he currently has about 29 hens, 1 rooster, raises a pig and sheep every year, fulfills his yearly maximum of deer and elk tags and fishes year round. He is proud of his self-sufficency but I like give him a hard time that he feeds and slaughters his "pets". He just chuckles and dishes it right back. It was fun to see them. Aunt Maridee giving Warren his first real haircut. Usually he has pretty intense haircut anxiety when I cut it but he did fabulous with Maridee.
A little bonding time with my little sister Rachael. (Yes, you will always be my LITTLE sister...even if you are 18 now!) Love you sis.

We FINALLY got to meet my Nephew Jonah (blue eyes)! He was born on St Patty's day 2007...approximately 1 week after our last trip to Utah. I was not happy about that. I have been so excited to finally to meet him. As you can see...he is a cute little stinker. He was excited to meet his favorite Auntie Em too!In January '08, Dustin (Weston's brother) & Natalie had their first baby boy! They named him Henry Dustin. He is the sweetest little guy...and absolutely adorable! We couldn't get enough of him....especially Uncle Weston.

On March 1st, Dustin, Natalie & Henry were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple! It was such a beautiful ceremony. The spirit was so strong and I don't think I have ever seen anything more precious as when they brought in baby Henry to be sealed to them. Weston got to hold Henry while they performed the sealing. We were so honored to be in the temple with them. We love you!Our little family (all 3.5 of us) back on the steps were it all started 10.5 years ago. Henry was blessed the very next day. Warren was so excited to meet Henry and loved holding him.

The Mutha Load...

So...we live in Kingwood Texas and and there are a few trees throughout the city. Ok, maybe that description doesn't really do it justice. I should say...the city was built in/around a lush forest. It is a very private and peaceful place to live. The trees are filled with squirls and birds and all kinds of other creeping things that are constantly singing and talking to each other. I always think that this must be what the Garden of Eden sounded like. So, Kingwood is serene and we love it here....I think you get the point. Well, there is one teenie weenie downfall for living in Kingwood. The leaves. They start to fall in late October and they don't stop until late January and when you live in a freaking forest you have just a few to clean up.

Day 1 of the cleanup yielded a mear 25 bags packed full of leaves (see picture above).
Day 2 of the clean up yielded 13 additional bags of leaves...and that didn't include the strip of grass on the other side of our garage or behind the bushes that sit in front of our house. I probably could have filled another 4 or 5 bags. So, for all you leaf and yard work enthusiasts out there.... that is a grand total of 38 (40 gallon) yard bags of leaves (beating last year's record of 36 bags)!!!

Baby Mugshots

I went to the Dr last week for my re-ultrasound. As you can see these pictures are much clearer than the last. There is good news and bad news. Good news is that all looks well with the little one. Bad News (for me) is that the baby is measuring a little over a week smaller than expected. They haven't officially changed my due date. The end of March I go in for the 2nd trimester ultrasound and hopefully for me...baby will have done some catching up! I don't know if I can bear to be pregnant for a whole week longer in the sweltering mid-August (Texas) heat! Ahhh!

Save the Date...8/8/08 !!!

It is official...we are expecting another baby! I am due August 8th (8/8/08)..Tell me that isn't nifty! Hopefully, for the old timers it will make the date easier to remember! Anyways, our hearts are so full and we can't wait to meet this little spirit! Today was my first Dr appt and they did an ultrasound. Baby is still pretty small (I am 13 weeks) and for whatever reason the Doc said this ultrasound wasn't as clear as she'd have liked. The baby was curled up pretty tightly so she had a hard time getting the measurements she needed. I am going in for another ultrasound in 2 weeks to try again. Baby was pretty active though. You could see the heart beating, arms and legs moving around and he/she even flipped over once. Well, it is no secret that I am a big baby and as soon as I saw the little bambino, the floodgates opened and well you know happens then. The nurse brought the box of tissues and I just watched in awe. It is just the most sacred feeling to know that you have a little life inside of you growing. I am always amazed that Heavenly Father trusts us with the power to create life.
As you can see Weston and I are not the only ones that are excited to meet the new baby. We finally told Warren a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't sure if he would grasp the concept since he is still pretty little. The very next morning he raced out of his room with his favorite monkey stuffed up his shirt beaming "Look mom, my belly is he-ooge!" So, I guess he gets it, huh? Well, he keeps telling us that it is going to be a baby sister (we do not know the sex yet). A few day's after we told him, I caught him dazing off a little. This is how the conversation went:

E: What are you thinking about Warren?
W: My baby sister.
E: Is it going to be a baby sister?
W: (Grinning from ear to ear) Yea (pause)...mom, I am going to take care of her, and hold her, and read her stories, and play trains with her, and play soccer with her...
E: Wow, it sounds like you are going to be an awesome big brother...
W: (smiles) yea.... I am.

If that doesn't melt your heart, I don't know what will!!

It's All In the Wrist

Since Weston lucked out and scored MLK Holiday off, we decided to head out for a little family fun at the local AMC. Warren has been asking us to go bowling since Christmas, eventhough I have no idea how he even knows what bowling is (Sesame Street, I am sure). We thought for sure he would throw a few down the alley and then putter out. No such luck. Weston and I ended up sharing a lane and he bowled 2 full games and was ready for more.
At the rapid pace of 1 roll per minute, the games were a little slower than we anticipated. He, on the other hand, was very patient in his gaming. He kept telling us, "Mom/Dad...look, I threw the ball and bunked some pins (giggle, giggle)!" and " excuse me mom, the music is a little too loud, can we turn it down a bit?"
Warren making sure that he got the "green ball with the 6", rather than the green ball with the 10. Ever so careful...that is our little man!

WARNING...FHE Bowling..a real mess

My friend Megan just posted this on her blog and I just about died laughing...I had to share!

FHE Bowling & Self-Effacing Humor

Tonight for family night we went over to the Texas A&M's student center to go bowling. My score - I finished last - was a measly 63 - my two year old scored 64. Anyhow, my post isn't really about that, but what happened at the end of the game. Andrew needed to use the restroom and since Mike had already made one trip there with him that night - I couldn't really get him to take Andrew so I had to take him. When asking about where the restrooms were located the girl informed me that the first three stalls in the women's restroom were "female urinals".

Female urinals? I was intrigued - no, excited to reach the restroom and see exactly what this meant. I acted like, "Gee, that's strange but I'll never use one of those..." But inside I knew I was up for the experience. (It's kind of been a secret jealousy of mine - I have four brothers and now two sons.) Anyhow, when we got there I got Andrew situated in his stall and headed back to the urinals. Amazingly I found an image of the internet of the actual urinals in that very bathroom - some site catalogs all of the female urinals around the country - most seemed to be at universities.

Well, there weren't any instructions and I was pretty sure I could figure it out on my own. At first, everything seemed to be going pretty well - it was kind of fun - but then suddenly things spiraled out of control(literally) and I was left with a mess.

The thing about peeing on yourself as an adult is that you still have to pull up your pants and move on. It's kind of weird. You just stand there for a second not knowing what to do. No diaper bag change of clothes - no patient mother to sort out the mess. Just mother and her own mess. I actually feel really bad for the janitors.

Oh well...It appears there used to be instructions above the urinal on the wall - I looked and they weren't there tonight. I REALLY could have used those...

In the end, the question is - were people - women specifically - demanding to get these installed in the restroom? Did anyone think, "Man, I sure wish we had female urinals. That would be soo much better..."? And have any of you experienced the female urinal? If so, was your experience much like mine or were you more of a "natural"?

p.s. There's a part of me that wants to go back there and master that thing. Just to regain some self respect.

Dad's New Tower

Soo, one of our favorite things to do (when time and organization permits) is go downtown and meet Weston for lunch. Whenever we approach downtown Warren always points out the skyline and talks and talks about all the "big, heooge towers." His eyes just light up. He just thinks it is the coolest thing ever that his daddy works in one of them. This was our first visit to "Dad's new tower. "
Warren, of course, loves to take his turn in dad's office. He is totally professional for a 2 1/2 year old. He already knows the mantra....talking on the phone, checking his email. We already have a multi-tasker on our hands! With his pointer finger clicking the mouse repeatedly and the phone up to his ear you can here him saying "yes, uh huh, I understand." If Weston and I get too loud he fervently shooshes us and reminds us "um, excuse me guys, I am doing my important work."

Icy Hot 2008!!

On New Years day this year three of my fellow Annarborites (Kierstin L, Amy L & Jan P) came to Houston to run the Houston marathon. Amy and Jan both had family there to support them during their run. Kierstin had emailed me months ago to enlist me as her "support person". It was a lot of fun to see them and get the opportunity to support them on the first full marathon. I have witnessed a few half marathons, but never had the chance to witness the excitement and pain of a full marathon.

First of all...they are amazing. I was so impressed, they all did so well. I also believe that Kierstin finished 89th over all and finished at 4 hours 12 minutes, beating her personal goal. Second, all I can say is that if you ever want to run a full (26 mile) marathon you better have some ibuprophen and Icy Hot in your support bag to numb the pain.

It was so great to see them and catch up! If anyone else is ever in the area I would love to see you....and if you really need it, I will slather icy hot all over your legs, too.