Black Friday...

I have never been shopping on "Black Friday" before, so my mom and I decided to head into the big city of Wenatchee with Olaf yesterday morning to try to score some deals. I was anticipating a crazy madhouse of people being rude and rushing to get the last Tickle Me Elmo or whatever it is this year. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find organized lines, lots of the products I wanted still on the shelves, and nice people! How could this be?! Well for one we avoided Walmart, which I hear is the craziest of all stores. Two, we didn't get there until about 8am (even though I got up at 5:30 like usual...). So apparently we missed the long lines and the rushing. And three, we went prepared with a list of what we wanted from the sale ads so we had a "plan" in place.

I finally understand why people like shopping the day after Thanksgiving - there are some INCREDIBLE deals! Carters childrenswear for 60% off? (Less than an outlet price). Electronics at 60% off? Flannel at $1.47 a yard? I know. Seriously Good deals all around. I didn't spend much, but sure got a lot of goodies. Not to mention the deals I can't mention because the recipients may actually read this blog.

Anyway, I just had a really fun time with Mom and Olaf (who was a champ by the way! aside from his blowout at JCPenny's). I know it's easy to get caught up in the mayhem and "consumerism" that sometimes surrounds the holidays... but I more feel like we just had a fun day picking out some simple gifts for people we love. Thanks for coming with me Mom!

kisses...

So to continue my fun day -- We got home at 2:00pm ish and Steven had our bikes all ready to go. The two of us packed up Olaf in the Chariot and went for a nice ride in the semi-freezing hail/rain/snow/sleet weird weather mixture. It was just nice to get outside and exercise in the crisp air while warming up our bodies. Oly slept most of the ride - he was so bundled all you could really see was his little face poking through. Lucky duck :)

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving holiday full of family, friends, laughter and too much food. I know we did!

we still love you seahawks!

Reminiscent of Thanksgivings past... I had to sit next to the guy eating off the bone :)

4am wakeup call

No this post has nothing to do with my son... I was relating this story to my friend Annie who is a great blogger and she said I should post it. I guess these crazy everyday things are the interesting types of posts!

So we are hanging out in our (huge) home the other night and Chelan keeps passing gas. It was VERY loud, but strangely didn't smell at all, like dog farts usually do. Steve mentioned that perhaps we should put her outside for the night but it was FREEZING and I felt bad doing that just because she was farting, so I said, "no, she ALWAYS wake us up when she needs to go out." So she stayed in.

Steve and I went to sleep. At about 4am I hear this crashing in the hallway and we both sit up in bed and turn our heads to the right. Chelan had her head on the foot of our bed, just staring at us, and the laundry basket, which had been precariously positioned on top of Steve's travel bag in the narrow hallway had crashed over into the shower door, and had spilled dirty laundry everywhere. (note - I can no longer actually store the dirty laundry in the shower because it is now useable for showers - yay!) I say to Steve "She NEEDS to go out honeY." "No, she's fine," he mumbles... "Chelan - go lay down - go on - lay down" and he falls backwards and proceeds on with sleep... I think I may have dozed too off for just a minute but my brain woke me back up and I thought, "no, that was bad 4am analysis from a man who is a super hard sleeper at night, I better let Chelan out." I sat up and her head was again perched on the end of our bed staring at us. So I got out of bed and she ran ahead the three or so steps to the living room. I was greeted by a slightly sour smell, but couldn't see anything on the floor anywhere. So I let Chelan and Rosie outside and started investigating. Turn right, nope, not there, turn left, wait, WHAT? Is that really dog poo IN OLAF'S CARSEAT? GROSS! I yelled back to Steve what I found and all I heard back was a muffled grunt. So I spent the next 15 minutes deliriously bagging up the carseat cover to wash later and lysol wiping the hard shell. My husband, though a rockstar helper during the day, is less than responsive to urgent poo requests at night...

Oh, to have a house again with tile floors next to the door where accidents will be slightly easier to clean up. Ah well, it makes for an amusing story later.

How the heck she aimed it so well right into the carseat I will never know...

No I do not have a picture of the mess. Gross.

Recommendation - if your dog wakes you at 4am NO GOING BACK TO SLEEP. I learned my lesson!

mini steven

Oly looks just like his daddy - everyone says so :) I think maybe he has my eyes? Color anyway. Every now and then he scrunches his face just right and I think he looks like my dad, but most of the time he is a Steve look-alike. I think it's very cute.

So I am thinking that he can't possible look any MORE like Steve... but I was proven wrong! He finally fits into his peewee sized carhartt overalls - and the effect is quite adorable if I do say so myself! Steve had to put his hands in his pockets, but he left them there and just enjoyed hanging out like a real man. Since (also like his father) his torso is long but legs are short, he will have rolled up pants for awhile I think.

FINALLY a new post for y'all

The reason I hardly post anymore is because I don't have an internet connection most of the time. Kind of a bummer when I've been used to high speed internet for about 10 years now... ah well. Steve bought a nice modem that just plugs into a USB port and voila, internet! But usually he takes it with him to work, which has been the last three weeks straight. But he's home for a week now, hopefully, so I get to play. Nice!

Here's a few recent-ish pics of my favorite kiddo:



We moved the 5th wheel into the semi-completed pole building today. It's missing a concrete floor (not a huge deal) and doors (also not a huge deal, since we don't have walls either). But we now have a roof! It was SO SO rainy this last week that a roof is a huge blessing. Although the sound of rain drumming 2 feet above your head is nice... i am happier to not worry about whether we will stay dry. Plus the Subaru is parked under the roof too, so technically I never have to get wet in the mornings unless I am shoving my path to leave.

I never had a chance to write a post after Olaf's 4 month check-up, so if you are wondering, here is the growth stats on the kiddo from October 20th:

Height -- 27 inches
Weight -- 15 lbs, 9 oz
Head -- 17 inches

...and gaining. We recently had a bath where I think I counted 8 little rolls on Oly's tummy. He LOVES to splash in the water, though I think he still surprises himself when he gets water all over his face. I just had to post a video of him.




Also a recent discovery is his right foot, which is apparently delicious! He has yet to take an interest in the left foot... ah well, it doesn't seem to feel left out at this point.