9 days and counting- Thankful

If there is anything that going through this with Jonathan has taught me its to be thankful. Thankful I have my and Zack's health. Thankful Grayson is happy and healthy. Thankful that we still have a house (who knows for how long but at this point we still have it!). Thankful for the support of all the people who care about us. Thankful that Jonathan was chosen for us.

Yes, I said that. I am thankful that Jonathan was chosen for us. I would not have it any other way. I may never know the full extent of his touch but he has touched many people in many ways. He has touched me in so many ways I may never know. He has made me more excepting of people, more tolerant. I am thankful that we get to be Jonathan's parents. I am glad we are able to honor the life that he will have and continue to cherish the blessing that he is.

He has brought Zack and I closer together. We made the choice to not let it have the opposite effect when we found out.

I have a friend who is also pregnant. She is younger than I am and she is single. She is due in December and is having a hard time coping. The "biological father" is being very hateful and tries to hurt her and break her spirit at every turn. She doesn't know if she should keep the baby or give him up for adoption. Her family is not being very supportive at all. She is really on her own. And today was a tough day for her, she called me crying. What should she do? This is sooo hard!

I told her that nothing in life is easy, and that while sometimes things look perfect there is no such thing. My life looked perfect for a while and that picture shattered just when I got used to it.
Nothing is perfect. Her child may never know his father (he wants nothing to do with them- has a girlfriend with other children my friend knew nothing about) but woman (and men) raise children all the time with out a spouse. It is hard. But it is ok. It can work. Children thrive when they are loved, no matter who that is. A mother, a father, grandparents. Love is the only requirement for happy children.

Her situation has me thinking about mine. There is always something to be thankful for. I have always been a pretty optimistic person even when it seemed all hope was lost. This is no exception. I honestly feel Jonathan is an amazing blessing of teaching and love. I feel so empowered to be his mother. Sure it will be hard, as it has been, but nothing is ever easy that is worth anything.

I have learned in my life that everything is a choice (or beyond your control completely) and you can be a victim of your circumstance or you can rise above it and and take control of your life and move on. Life is short, you only get one. You better make the best of it.

10 days and counting

Saturdays always mark a favorite for the Buquet family in the warm months. Saturdays mean the farmers market. We almost always go and have breakfast at one of our favorite little Mexican places that sets up a booth. They have these yummy mini tacos for $1 each. I don't know why that seems so great to us, but we have always loved it since we moved to Hillsboro, 6 years ago. I always get chicken and guacamole, Zack gets carnitas steak and spicy salsa. It will be interesting to see what Grayson will choose when he is older.
Today though Zack decided to switch it up and get BBQ from Cousin Kenny's BBQ. We went kind of late today so it was more of lunch. I had decided I wasn't hungry until I had a bite. I ended up finishing Zack's yummy pulled pork burrito. His pulled pork is SO good. I had it for the first time at a barn party we went to recently with the Rotary group Zack belongs to.

The farmers market is the start of my week. I stock up on yummy vegis and fruit. Here is my bounty from today:

2 speghetti squash (only $1.25 each- they are about $5 at the store)
a 5 lb bag of Jonagold apples- $4,
Cinnamon chip bread from Great Harvest Bread Co.
nectarines
pluots
and blueberries

All for $23

We also do a CSA (community supported aggriculture) box with a friend of mine. Basically you pay your money at the planting phase of the growing season and then during harvest you share in the bounty of the farm. This week our families will share summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, pears, apples, onions potatoes and fresh beans.

Going to market almost makes my life seem normal. Life is good when we are there. Especially today, it was gorgeous! Hard to believe fall is here already and the leaves are starting to change. Soon in will be cold and we will huddle around our fire places.

The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house and working on miscellaneous projects. I finished Jonathan's blanket (another post) and a little one for G. Late in the day I took a lovely nap on the couch. It was quite peaceful until Zack tried to find the tv remote IN THE COUCH with me on it. I may be up all night now but thats ok.

11 days and counting

Today I worked at the baby resale event as a volunteer. If you work a shift you get to shop early before the rest of the consignors (which I also did) and before the general public. So today I tried to prepare myself for the comments I would receive on my belly and the answers I would give.

I have come to notice that if I don't make eye contact people generally don't ask me anything or say anything. But if I look up, forget it. "When are you due?" "Is it your first?" "Do you know if its a boy or girl?"


I usually just answer with basic answers and hope they stop asking, look distracted... Sometimes, I feel a small bond with someone and I tell them the truth, giving basic details and let their questions form the conversation.

Today at the resale event I started talking to a gal named Rebecca. My belly never really came up, not that I am hiding it anymore. Then her daughter who is ten came to visit. She asked me if I am having a baby... I answered yes. Then when Rebecca asked all the obviously questions I came clean.

Part of me really likes the educating of people who inevitably have never heard of Anencephaly. Part of me just likes talking about Jonathan. I feel like I make his life a little more important with every conversation I have about him. His story grows a little bit. Part of my just feels relieved to talk in general, its normal, its almost like purging my grief.

Usually somewhere in the conversation I hear how well I am taking it. Honestly, those that know me best know what to look for like the cracks in my voice when I talk. I am taking it the best way I know how. Like a mommy who will lose her child and knows in advance. I am getting to know him as best I can. He is my little boy. He is very active and a fighter. (He might be mine after all. :) His heart beat has been nothing but strong.

Which is why today when I was talking about him, I grew even more concerned. I told Zack last night that I had not really felt him move yesterday. I had felt movement but not any kicks or deliberate movements. I made the promise to myself that if I still had not felt anything significant by this afternoon I would call the specialist.

So after my shift and my talk with Rebecca when I realized I had still not felt him all day, I got in my car and called the dr's office. Dr. Friedman was gone for the weekend but the nurse said if I could get there in 45 minutes (by 5) then she could check for his heart beat. So I raced home, kissed Grayson who was not happy to see me leave again after being gone for 4 hours already, grabbed Zack and rushed to the hospital. 20 minutes away without the "rush hour" traffic we were in. We made it, luckily.

So the little turkey had me in a panic for nothing. His heart rate is fine. 140 which is right about where it has been this whole time. 140-160.

Then I get back home and he has not stopped kicking all night. So much so, that Zack finally got to feel him! Yeah! That was the first time. It was a good strong one too. I just would not have calmed down all weekend worrying.

So that was the excitement for today. I am pooped. Off to bed I go. Thanks for checking up on us. *smooches* all.

12 days and counting

This blog was supposed to be written on Tuesday but our internet was wonky so here it is late.

12 days until we go in to St. Vincent Hospital to deliver Jonathan. I don't know if I am more excited or scared. Mostly terrified I guess. I just want to meet my little boy. I hope that he survives the delivery and the its not too long for either of us.

I am scared it may end in another C section like Grayson's did, after SOOO many hours (77 to be exact) in labor not progressing past 6 cm. I am determined to have a Vbac but what if the cards are stacked against me again? My specialist Dr. Friedman has assured me he will not do a C unless it is absolutely necessary, so my fingers (and toes) are crossed. I missed the first few hours of Grayson's life because I was so tired and drugged from the epidural going so high. My arms were completely numb and I was unable to hold him. That can't happen now.

I get one shot at Jonathan.

I had a dream on Tuesday, maybe anxiety about the 2 week mark? I almost never remember my dreams. In this dream I was pregnant and all was the same, Jonathan had been diagnosed. I was with two old friends from high school, Clint and Aaron in the house and we were sitting on the floor. All of a sudden I gave birth to a perfect, not anencephalic Jonathan. He was very premie (still same time frame) but perfect. I then went to the hospital and they found that I was also pregnant with a daughter. Not anencephalic either.

I know that I myself have seen the 3D ultrasound, there is no misdiagnosis. But I woke up feeling funky.

My friend Elle says its my minds way of letting my know that Jonathan is perfect just as he is and that just because he does not fit in to societies ideals of perfect doesn't make him less so. She says sometimes perfect comes in tiny packages. I love Elle for these conversations. Somehow she helps my mind decipher it self. I really appreciate the comfort she has been in these past weeks.

I know that Jonathan is perfect and amazing and a miracle just as he is. I may not know why he has been chosen to be taken from me so soon but I am comforted in the fact that he has a greater meaning in his life and though I wish with all my heart he would stay with us and live his inperfect life with us mortals I am conforted in the fact he will be an angel and fly free. He will never know pain or suffering or anger or hurt. And for that I am thankful. There is nothing more a mother can ask than that her child be safe from evil. And he is.

My child was chosen to have wings instead of feet. (Kaity- another amazing friend- Thank you)

I feel so blessed.

In the last few weeks I have really learned how blessed we are with the people who care about us. I recently learned that one of the fabric co-ops (my favorite one! Truly! :) I am on was doing a fundraiser for our family.

Fabric coops are large groups of (mostly) woman that get together with the co-op owner to buy large quantities of fabric or other goods so that we can get the cheapest bulk rate. Many companies will only sell in large quantities and many of us just can't afford to buy our diaper fabric or whatever in such large amounts.

Denise is the owner of This End Up Co-op and she rallied the troops to help us. She was able to raise $600 for us and another $150 to be donated to Now I lay me Down to Sleep in Jonathan's name. What an amazing group of gals to pull together and help us out in such an amazing way.

We truly feel blessed to know that so many people care about us. Many of them we have never met in person.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. We truly appreciate it.

Poor Poor Lappy!

What happens when to take a mommy who recently found out her baby isn't going to live, give her a laptop to work on that has pissed her off for more than 4 years and then you have her fight with her husband and send her over the edge?! You get what we have here

This is Lappy. He has been a faithful little lappy who has annoyed me many times in the last 4+ years. I got very upset the other night, very very upset. I just couldn't keep it together any more. My emotions took over and I screamed, I screamed a lot and loud. And then things just had to be thrown. I threw my remote. Didn't make me feel better. I threw my wireless mouse. Didn't make me feel better. Then the only thing left was my laptop. Lappy went flying. Hard. I stood up and slammed it down on the ground. THAT made me feel better. Not so much for Lappy. I shattered the screen, obviously.

All I could do when I realized what I did (I plead out of body experience) is cry. There was nothing left to do. I guess there still isn't.

The first day I thought all was well, aside from the screen "issue", Zack has connected the old desktop flat screen to it and now it has to stay in my craft room. Then it started revolting. The third or fourth day it would get overwhelmed when you opened 2 or 3 windows at a time and then freeze and tell me minutes (hours) later that it had hit an error and shut it self down. It is like it is telling me it has a headache and is just done working for me. It started out doing that once or twice a day. Um now its 4 or 5 times a day and to the point where I just don't really turn it on. I tried to make a baby gift with my embroidery machine the other day and it wouldn't write the design to the card for the machine. ugh. Oh well. Someday I will get another laptop, until then I am told I get old Desky back from the dust bunnies and cobwebs.

sigh.

Unity Stamp Company Blog hop

Heather, one of my dear friends from high school, is a designer for Unity Stamp Co and they do a weekend blog hop. This week they have decided to give us 10% of their profits. What an amazing gift. We feel very blessed to have such love pouring in to us.

This comes at a time when we could really use it. Not only are we going through this with Jonathan but my husband is looking for work. We have had our own insurance agency for 2 years and have finally come to the realization that after two years of accruing debt we need to cut our losses.

Unfortunately, when it rains it pours.

Anyway, I just wanted to share the amazing gift we are being given and say a HUGE Thank you to Unity Stamp Co and Heather for their amazing generous support.

Thank you.

(Don't forget to hop on over to Unity and buy some stamps! And hop a long the blog hop and visit everyones blogs! )

On a lighter note

Grayson was being extraordinarily cute the other day at our friend Libby's house. Here is the result.

Grumpy

GRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrumpy. That is what I am this afternoon. I get that it is probably par for the course but I am just angry today. I am so tired of pretending I am not pregnant in public so people won't ask me or congratulate me. I want to be excited about my baby, I want to be happy that I am pregnant. And granted I do cherish every second we have him but sometimes its just too much to think about.

I just spent two hours at the park with some friends and some acquaintances. The friends know what is going on. The rest don't. So there I sit in a tight top and warm up pants cause when I left I didn't feel like changing into something else that covered better. Lately I go out in public with a big puffy vest on so that you can't see what is under it for sure. So there I sit, slumped over so it just looks like I am fat. I don't want to tell them I am pregnant. I don't want to tell them he will die. I don't want more well wishes. I just want my baby!

The worst I think is the things people say when they don't know what to say but feel compelled to say something anyway. For the record- Say you are sorry and leave it at that. Anything more and you are going to put your foot in your mouth. People mean well they really do so I don't hold a grudge and I have no hard feelings if you are reading this and you are one of the people who said these things, but for the love of Pete! PLEASE don't tell me that God works miracles and just to hope. Um ya, thanks my baby is a miracle but no he is not going to miraculously grow a brain at 6 months gestation and be fine. That is just not going to happen. Yes I am sure he of his diagnosis. I would not take it lying down. And yes, I would get a second opinion if I was unsure. We are not. We have seen 3D ultrasounds, he has no brain. Simple as that and its obvious. Unfortunately, anencephalic babies usually don't form a skull either and sadly he didn't.

I don't mean to be harsh, ungrateful or anything else. I am just angry and grumpy. Off to eat worms.

Update: Dr's apt

Just wanted to let everyone know that our next Dr's appointment is not until September 2 at 11.
The specialist is out of town until then. We also have the counselor and whoever else at that appointment. I may or may not have another Ultra-sound at that time. From there we will have a better idea of the timing of Jonathan's induction and birth. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

R & R- Long Beach Washington

(click photos for larger view)
After we found out about Jonathan we decided it would be good to get away. Luckily, one of Zack's favorite clients had just offered to rent us their lovely beach house, cheap. So off we headed to Long Beach Washington. It is about 2.5 hours away. We left on Friday morning last week (after we picked Zack's sister Melissa and her daughter Allison from California, up from the airport) and came home on Thursday this week. It was a lovely week.

We spent the week enjoying the house, which was fabulous, playing on the beach when the weather cooperated. We went to the Sunday market with our friends Wade, Di and Jeremiah and Melissa and Allie who came up for the weekend. Astoria is an amazing little town on the edge of Oregon, about 30 minutes from where we were staying. That is where the movie Goonies was filmed. We tried to find the house but we were unable to, we did see the jail from the movie though. We also bumped into our old neighbor Brett from our old Jackson st neighborhood. He and his wife moved last year to Astoria for a job opportunity. We ended up finding a fabulous park.

Overall we had an amazing time and it was good to get away and not think about the things at home or obligations and things needing done.

Here are some pics from the trip.
kiddos sleeping on the way there.

Wade, Di and Jeremiah us, Melissa and Allie

Family in the sand













We love you Jonathan! You will always be in our hearts!

Dead Man's Cove at Cape Disappointment. Above the cove is a lovely lighthouse.

The lighthouse above the cove, which is behind the "white" topped rocks

The kiddos at Waikiki Beach at Cape Disappointment. There are these forts all over the beach. The kids had a blast playing in them. This Cape is one of the most dangerous areas for nautical navigation in the world and many many ships have parished.

Baby oh baby.

You know you never think its going to be you. Its never going to be me who has that horrible car accident. Its never going to be me who gets divorced. Its never going to be me who loses a child.

In January my younger cousin Jake and his girlfriend Amanda lost their son to SIDS. He was 8 weeks old. I remember hugging them and telling them I would be there if they needed anything. Knowing they would never call on me because what could I offer? I have never been there, don't know how they feel. And really I prayed I never would. Now I am. So much for it will never be me.

I now know how they feel. You can't decide if you should scream, cry, laugh hysterically (because this HAS TO BE A BAD JOKE!) or run in front of a bus. I never thought it would be me. I am losing a child. I was planning a birth a week ago and now I am planning a memorial service. You can never plan for it, never know how you will react.

My son, Jonathan, will come and go with little more than a breath and yet he has touched so many lives. I will forever be grateful for whatever time I have with him, however long he is in my arms.

I think the things I struggle with the most right now are all the unknowns. As a control freak I have a hard time with not knowing and not being able to "take care of it". Will he know for sure we love him? Does he feel any pain? What are the right choices for him? Why?! WHY?! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?! There are no answers. There may never be.

Jonathan Mitchell- our son

Many of you have received this in email for those who have not:

Hi friends and family,

We went in for an early ultra sound today and found out we are having a boy. His name is Jonathan Mitchell. It means Gift of God.

Unfortunately, that is not our only news. We also found out that our little boy has anencephaly which is a neural tube defect in which the brain does not form. He may not make it to term and will not survive outside the womb. His body may continue to grow as it should because his brain stem tells him so and I provide enough nutrients to do so.

Our current plan is to carry him as long as possible at which point I will birth him and Zack and I will hold him for as long as he is alive. Usually its only a few minutes.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. We prefer to communicate over email at this time as talking tends to be harder. But in a few days or so if you'd like to call we'd love to hear from you at 503-352-4180.

Love, Jaimey, Zack, Grayson and Jonathan

Picture This!

I recently switched back temporarily to my fabulous film camera because my digital is acting up. (stupid slow ass, annoying thing that it is! arg, not bitter or anything) Funny thing is I have not really used it in months, really like 6. So I had 12 rolls of film to process after last weekends camping trip. So The next few posts will be misc cute things from the last year or so... I will try to stay in order so as not to confuse anyone. LOL

Starskey and Hutch to the rescue!

First the background:

Update: Hillsboro police find man they say drove at officers

Posted by Holly Danks, The Oregonian July 25, 2008 17:45PM

Categories: Breaking News, Washington County

Shawn Hankins

HILLSBORO -- A 32-year-old Hillsboro man with a history of driving and theft-related crimes was caught Friday evening, more than 15 hours after police shot at him when he allegedly tried to run over several officers responding to a domestic violence call.

Hillsboro Police Chief Lila Ashenbrenner said a resident reported seeing a bloody man walking down Southeast River Road near Thrush Avenue shortly after 5 p.m. Police responded and took Shawn Michael Hankins into custody without incident.

Ashenbrenner said it wasn't immediately clear if Hankins was suffering from a gunshot wound or if he had been cut by flying glass or some other means.

Lt. Michael Rouches, Hillsboro police spokesman, said one officer fired at least one shot as Hankins drove toward him at about 30 mph in the 800 block of Northeast Kathryn Street shortly after 3 a.m. Friday.

Rouches said the fugitive called his aunt later Friday and said police shot him in the head.

Police found droplets of blood leading away from Hankins' truck toward his house at _____. However, he wasn't there when the Washington County Tactical Negotiations Team fired tear gas inside and gained access after surrounding the residence for nearly three hours, Rouches said.

Later, as many as 25 police officers with 10 dogs and a helicopter searched an area about four miles away near Hillsboro High School after a resident reported that a man with blood on his neck ran through her back yard. No sign of Hankins was found at that time and residents were alerted to call 9-1-1 immediately if they saw him.

"We aren't messing around, he tried to run over a cop," Rouches said earlier in the day. "We take that seriously."

None of the officers was hurt.

While Hillsboro police called off the main search after more than seven hours, they responded to reports of suspicious activity throughout the day.

Hankins turned his truck away from police after the officer's bullet hit the windshield near the driver's side post, Rouches said. Hankins got out of the vehicle and ran away, prompting the search, he said.

The incident started about 3 a.m. Friday with a call that Hankins assaulted his live-in girlfriend. His girlfriend told police he didn't have any guns in the house.

In 1999, Hankins pleaded guilty to first-degree theft, possession of a forged instrument and tampering with public records, among other charges, for setting up an emissions certificate scam while he was working at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's vehicle testing station in Hillsboro.

He was sentenced to 13 months in prison and one-year of post-prison supervision.

"He doesn't want to go back to prison," Rouches said.

Shortly before 6 a.m. Friday, a woman reported she saw a bloody man run through her backyard on Southeast Tanager Circle. Police cordoned off Rood Bridge and River roads.

Rouches said Hankins was calling friends and relatives as he ran, and police were able to trace his cell phone to towers in the area.

So Zack and I are the "residents" that called the police about the guy walking down the street all bloody. Zack saw him first and I made him turn around so I could see him and make sure it was the same guy we had seen on the news this morning. (He looks like Shane- my ex- and I had noticed on the tv pic) So I called 911 while we followed him until he caught onto us and got out of sight. The police officer had caught up with us and pulled us over to get the scoop and then told us to meet him in the Lowe's parking lot across from us. As we started to drive across the street I saw him behind the building and started yelling and pointing. So out of the wood work comes out 3-4 other police cars who race into the parking lot to chase him. He of coarse gave them another run for their money, running back across the street, where the Officer we had talked to pulled his gun on him and then the Sargent tackled him. The Officer later said that he went down pretty hard when I asked why there was an ambulance there. :) Good. Idiot. So yeah! No more bad guy loose in my neighborhood. We have been watching the helicopters all day fly over head looking for him. Guess he was just a really good hider, too bad he was too dumb to wash his face. We never would have even noticed him if he had, but I am really glad he didn't.

On another note, we were the ONLY ones who called. From the first time we saw him to the end some 100+ cars drove past him and not one other person called in anything. That is just sad. Get involved people, this is your home too.

That was our excitement for the night, and to think it never would have happened if I hadn't dwaddled and watched most of Oprah instead of leaving and hour earlier when Zack wanted too. Thanks Oprah! :)


UPDATE: WE RECEIVED A THANK YOU NOTE FROM THE POLICE CHIEF FOR HELPING IN THE CAPTURE OF THIS GUY. HOW COOL IS THAT?! :)

TMI- Tuesday (but I am LATE!)

I usually don't do these silly things but since Sarah was sure that noone would play along I decided I would. :) You are welcome. For the rest of you, this is a TMI POST- Enter at your own risk!

Fart-astic TMI

1. Are your farts;

a. Silent but deadly
b. All sound, no fury
c. Loud and stinky


It totally depends on what I have eaten and if my lactose intolerance is acting up. If so, silent but VERY deadly! And pregnant I can clear rooms. {evil grin}

2. Have you ever farted in front of a lover? Who was the 1st one to do it? How did they or you handle it.

I think that is part of my initiation into my life. If you want to be with me you take me as I am, farts and all.

3. Have you ever farted and tried to blame someone else? Who and did you get away with it?

(A true fart connoisseur never blames anyone else - they wait for them to blame themselves. He who smelt it, dealt it.) That is Sarah's answer and I must say that I totally disagree. When one has lactose intolerance but loves dairy and eats it any way, one tends to blaim just about anyone. Good rule of thumb, with two people you are screwed cause they always know it wasn't them. But 3 or more and you are golden cause everyone blames someone else and noone really knows except that it wasn't them.

I used to blame my charges when I was a nanny. Grete (2) would totally say yes when I asked if she tooted! Score!

4. What food triggers you?

Dairy and raw vegis, run for the hills.

5. Varts (Vaginal Farts) Scary, or an indication of a good time being had by all?

I have no idea what you are talking about- sticking my head back in the sand now...

Bonus (as in optional): When you do fart with someone in your bed, do you cover their head with the sheet and hold them under?

No, but I don't tell Zack that I did either, let him figure it out. :)

PS. My favorite ASL signs are poop and fart! LOL

The Memory Game- from Lindsey

I hope everyone will play along.
Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments

My Quirky Things

I've been tagged by Cathy so I must hold up my end of this and let you in on some of my quirky little habits. There are quite a few so this might be kinda tough! First things first, I must post and follow the rules for this...

1. Link the person(s) who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours…
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them…
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Here we go, an inside peek into my neurotic little world...

1.) I sleep with a blanket I have had since birth. It's name is Blankie. Yes, I did just say it has a name. I have slept with it since I can remember (or one of the few I have) and I have actually tried to give it up but after giving to my hubby as a gift for our wedding along with a note that said "I never thought anyone would replace Blankie until I met you..." I didn't sleep for weeks. He finally got tired of me keeping him awake and told me to go get my blankie. :)

2.) I have total OCD when it comes to where things go and how they go there. I need my towels folded a certain way. If they aren't I redo them- really- ask anyone who has tried to do my towels...sad I know. As hard as I try to just let people do them their way, it doesn't work. I end up with a stack of towels that "don't fit" in the cabinet.

3.) I love to organize. Now that doesn't mean I am always organized, I'm usually not, but I love to do it either way. :) I used to go to my Nana's house as a kid to organize her Tupperware drawer, which was HUGE. It made me happy. Still does.

4.) Stupid people make me crazy. Not the ones that were born that way. The ones that do stupid things repeatedly. Make the same mistakes over and over again, never learning from them. Those are the worst. My second least favorites are the ones who are just plain horrible drivers. I am sure its not long before my son yells something to the effect of "thanks for cutting me off you MORON!" (I know its horrible- but it could be worse)

5.) I have a weird lump in the middle of my head, I call my "tUmah" (Its not a tumah) no idea what it really is but hope its fine cause I haven't ever had it checked. (Head in sand much?)

6.) I can never think on the spot for these things. I *know* I am a very quirky person, often accused of having issues so for me not to be able to come up with 6 REAL ones is just sad. I blame it on my long weekend...more on that later!

I hereby tag:

Heather
Lindsey
Melissa
Kelli
Stephanie
Tali

Underwear Man!

Faster than a speeding bullet.
More powerful than a locomotive.
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Underwear Man!

We introduced underwear today and Grayson wanted to wear them right from the start. He kept wanting to sit on the potty so he could wear the underroos. Which I said he could only wear if he went pee in the potty. :) Hopefully he will potty train quickly and somewhat soon so we don't have two in diapers for too long.

There is nothing cuter than a little baby butt in underwear!

Green Toys

Those of you who are interested in safe plastic toys for your children I have the product for you! I just read about these on someone else's blog so to be fair I have not tried them but they look great.

Green Toys Inc. is a brand-spanking new company based in San Francisco. Their toys are made from 100% curbside collected plastic milk jugs. How cool is th at? If you're wondering if this plastic is safe, the answer is yes. It's considered some of the cleanest, safest plastic available. The energy saved in every pound of recycled plastic used in making Green Toys is enough to equal the energy in 3,000 AAA batteries, enough to power a TV set for 3 weeks and run a laptop computer for 1 month! It's safe and non-toxic and good for the environment. Can you say that for all those noisy plastic toys that are hanging out in your toy box?

Another bonus? Green Toys are made entirely in the USA! Here's what their website has to say about why this is so important.

Made in California, USA:
Less Transportation, Less Energy

All Green Toys products are 100% made in the USA. To be more specific, they are produced in California, a state known for strict toy safety and environmental laws. It's cool to buy USA, but also think about this: transportation is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gasses. We all know driving less is good for mother nature, but did you ever think about how many miles a toy logs before it ends up in your local store

Our toys are truly local creations. Every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in California. Our raw materials and toys aren't shipped from overseas, which saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gasses. It also guarantees your toys won't get seasick before they get to your home!

There is minimal packaging as well, a major plus in my book. I am so tired of spending more time trying to get the toy out of the package than Grayson spends playing with it. You currently have 4 choices of toys from Green Toys Inc. There is a tea set, a cookware and dining set, a sand play set, and our favorite, an indoor gardening set.

The original blogger I borrowed this from gave the review:

"On to the official review:

Functionality **** - These toys are very solidly made. They don't seem flimsy. I'm pretty certain that the little pots

Style **** - While they are plastic, they aren't the obnoxious bright-colored toys you see all over Toys R Us. The colors are soft which means I don't mind having them sitting out on my windowsill.

Cost *** - The price tag for these toys is what I would expect for an innovative new product, especially a green one. You might be paying a little more than you would for the cute hot pink princess cookware set, but I feel like the extra $10 or so is a small price to pay for getting a toy you can feel good about letting your child play with.

Overall Rating ***1/2 - Green Toys Inc. is off to a great start. Their toys are solidly and safely constructed, appealing to the eye, and good for the environment. Seriously, what more could you ask for in a toy?"

www.greentoys.com

I love the concept of these. I am going to go this week to the store by me that has them and check them out. (Piccolo Mondo Toys)