An Exercise in Persistence

When the economy turned 5.5 years ago, The Hubs managed to hang onto his job for multiple rounds of layoffs until the final one in August 2008.

Wow, let me just process that for a second. 2008.

Anyway, he lost his job but got a pretty nice severance package that we both were pretty sure would hold our household together until he got a new job.  Little did we know.  After sending out what felt like a bajillion (yes, that's a technical term) resumes with no resulting job offers we knew we were going to be in trouble.  At this point I'd like to tell you it was out of some sort of insight into the current job market or a real understanding of the state of the economy and the projections for the next five years that prompted me to encourage The Hubs to go to college (his first time ever) and get his undergraduate degree.  I'd LIKE to tell you that, but really just him being home all the time bored out of his mind was getting on my nerves.  I did it out of self preservation because if he didn't get out of the house and do something, anything, it was going to get ugly up in our house. The Hubs will never be allowed to retire.

Regardless of the reason, he enrolled in the local community college full-time with the intention of just getting an AA/AS so he could put 'some college' on his resume.  He graduated in 2011 with both associates degrees and with no change in the job market he enrolled in a local University to finish up his degree in Computer Information Systems.  Somewhere along the way, he decided to dual major with International Business which we knew was going to push out his graduation time, but we both felt like the Computer major combined with the Business major would give him even more job opportunities in this very uncertain economy.

For 4 years, with the help of student loans, unemployment, a few government programs, and a lot of extra contract work on my part, he'd managed to stay focused just on school.  For the last year and a half though, when all of that ran dry, he was forced to not only work a full time job, but also attend school full time in an attempt to finally complete all the credits required for his degree.  It's been an exercise in persistence for not just him, but our whole family.  And a pretty good example for both the older girls and the younger kids about what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.

I am happy to report, The Hubs has just completed his last final for his last class.  He has finally completed all the required courses for his degree.  His official Graduation Ceremony won't be until the end of Spring but I can't begin to express how proud we all are of him, of all of his hard work, his persistence and his commitment to do what he needed to benefit all of us.

Congratulations Hubs.. You did it!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

No Pressure

So, today is the first day of The Hubs new job and I must say, he looks GOOD.  Is there any man that doesn't look amazing in a good suit?

He wasn't too thrilled about me taking this first day photo,

but I won him over with my charm. :)

I know he'll be amazing today and knock their socks off reassuring them they've hired the right man for the job.  He'll have to, because I think we have plans for his first 6 or 7 paychecks already!  Good luck baby!  No pressure!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Hiccup, Toothless & Astrid

Santa thought we'd been good, so he gifted us with 6 tickets..

to How To Train Your Dragon A Live Spectacular.

Where we got to see Hiccup and Toothless meet for the firs time.

See the gang learn about dragons.

Saw Astrid and Hiccup fall in love.

And watched the most amazing flying fight scene against the big dragon who enslaved the other dragons.

Best. Christmas. Gift. EVER.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

When Friends Become Family

As a family, we've been part of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) for over ten years now.  We were invited one event to come out and camp for the weekend and we loved it.  Quite honestly, what's not to love?  Dressing up in historical(ish) clothes, getting to do arts and crafts, and camping plus shopping for things that have no place in the ordinary world but are still super cool like daggers, swords, armor, and all things dragons, fairies and fantasy.

But it's the people that have kept us going back year after year, event after event.  We camp with an amazing group of people every year.  We started out as a bunch of single people out having drunken revelries, then we got married, started bringing LW and GG (who the whole clan adored and immediately adopted), then more little kids (our Tweedles included) started popping up and we've moved from the party encampments to the quieter ones with quiet hours.  The experience when we go has changed over the years, but we keep going back because we love the people.  And after 10+ years, they've become family.

Last weekend we had the anniversary event of our clan - the Scottish kind, not the KKK kind.  Just a weekend to spend with people we only get to see a few times a year, to catch up, and be amazed at how the kids have grown.  Be excited for good news, commiserate with bad news and do what families do best.. EAT.  We had an amazing feast with turkey and all the trimmings, drinks, laughter, good fun and friends.  The best kind of weekend.

The best kind of weekend that was made just a tiny bit better by a hysterical and completely inappropriate game GG found.  It's called Cards Against Humanity and again I can't emphasize enough how inappropriate this game is.  It's a simple game, similar to Apples to Apples, where a black card is read and everyone has 10 pre-written white card to choose from to give the funniest answer.  The funniest answer wins the black card and at the end of the night, the one with the most black cards wins.

For example: the black card may read: What is my anti-drug?  The white cards could read: Santa Claus or Passive Aggressive Post-It Notes.  This is an adult game as some of the answers are much more raunchy than than my examples (this is a family blog after all).  So we waited until all the kids were put to bed to play and the game went on until the wee hours of the morning with so much laughter, our stomachs were sore. They were out of stock of the game last weekend, so we simply downloaded the pdf and had the cards printed at staples for under $10.  Doesn't get any better than that!

I didn't take any photos from our event. I brought my camera, but was having so much fun, I forgot to use it.  Maybe next time.  Meanwhile, we went all of last year without doing a single SCA event and this year, I think this year we're ready to get back in the game and do events again.  So, expect more pictures to come!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Pre-Christmas Craziness

This holiday season for us, has been a mad house.  We packed so much into the week leading up to Christmas I didn't think we'd get it all in!  So in the spirit of Monday Night Football (which has nothing to do with nothing) here are the highlights!

Bug and Bunny taking their yellow belt test..  We won't find out until January if they passed.  I think the parents are more worried about this than the kids are!

We took a trip down to San Diego to visit with our friends Tamlin and Joanne and were surprised with the bonus of Tamlin's son (who I need to find a fun nickname for).

We met him about 5 years at Tamlin and Joanne's wedding, but honestly, I didn't remember anything about him.  Now that I've re-met him I can declare him good people - if in desperate need of some geeky education.  We introduced him to Eddie Izzard - specifically the Star Wars Canteen..

We watched the latest Star Trek movie - which he'd never seen and while we mentioned Firefly, we're really going to have to sit him down for a day and force him to watch all the episodes.  You can watch below some of their highlights!  I have faith we'll bring him to the dark side.. we have cookies after all.

We also went sailing.  Technically we were supposed to be whale watching, but we didn't see any.  We did see some dolphins which was fun.  And we saw this lovely little guy sun bathing.

The Tweedles got to play "I'm King of the World" under the careful supervision of "Uncle" Tamlin.

And we wrapped up the weekend at a BBQ joint where Bunny and The Hubs played a rousing game of patty cake.

We went to the Christmas Eve Children's service at our church whose halls I must say were decked.

Bunny sang in the service while they told a very humorous version of the Birth of Jesus.

And it all culminated to walking into our living room 6:45 am Christmas morning to my Tweedles cuddled together in The Hubs recliner watching cartoons waiting for the rest of us to get up.

All in all, it has been a very Merry Christmas.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Weekend Adventures 101

Saturday: 6:30 AM
Get up at 6:30 to make a 7:50 early morning Girl Scout Hike with Bunny's troop and a few younger siblings along.  Get to know the kids better.  Get to know the parents (and one grandparent) better.  Love that everyone seems to be having fun.

Hike 3/4 of a mile in to an amazing waterfall.  Have a snack and play with the water before heading back.

Saturday 10AM - 3PM
Clean the house.  No adventures here people, move along. Move along.

Saturday 3PM - 9PM
Head down to the California Science Center by train to get early seats to welcome the Space Shuttle Endeavor to its new home.  Get picture taken in front of the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum near the viewing area for the shuttle.

Have a picnic style dinner on the blacktop conveniently located near a trash can.

Hang with your old man and wicked step-mother.

Make sure Mimi has a comfy camp chair so she's not sitting on the blacktop.

Get your very own space Shuttle Shirt.

Then rock out on your air guitar.

Run around with your blankie pretending to be a super hero of some sort.

Make friends with the volunteer staff (That's Benjamin and Jonathan) so you can get updates on where the heck the shuttle is now that it's almost 8:30 and it's no where in sight.

Find out it's now not scheduled to arrive until 1AM.  Look at your two very tired Tweedles, an exhausted husband and call it a night with promises to see it when the exhibit opens.  Then head back to the trains.

Get documentation of how dirty you got on that blacktop.

LW and her friend Emily have a term for this.  It's called "Black Paw".

And the term should perhaps be extended to their faces too.  Go home slightly disappointed thinking about how you're going to title your blog post "The Unadventure" and sleep until 7AM.

Sunday 7AM

Be woken abruptly by your husband slamming open your bedroom door with the announcement of "I'm just going to throw it out there." immediately followed by an update that the Shuttle is now scheduled to arrive at 9:30 AM.

Rush to dress yourself, two kids and call LW to meet you so you can all (Minus Mimi who had to sing in choir) rush back down by train to the California Science Center to again welcome the space shuttle to its new home.  Arrive by 9AM then wait almost 2 hours before seeing this.

Look closely.  It's there.  I openly admit that LW and I hugged and did a little sob or two at the sight.  Powerful, emotional, amazing.   And then it was followed by this.

And this.

Then wait almost another 2 hours while they try to maneuver this beast around a corner and bob and weave through light posts and trees on either side.

Get your, by now good buddies Jonathan and Benjamin,

to take this photo from the street for you.  (THANK YOU GUYS!! You helped make the time go by faster and kept us all smiling!)

Have your brain completely blown by how surreal the shuttle looks going down a regular city street.

Be proud of how patient The Tweedles have been even though they've been waiting for so long with little to do in almost 90 degree weather with no shade.

Be thrilled by how excited they are to see the shuttle.  Then try to keep the crowd back as you try to get the perfect shot of The Tweedles..

The Hubs & LW

and history.

The shuttle finally arrived around 1pm.  Only 16.5 hours late.

Completely Worth it.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Clothes and Torture

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity starting at 7 AM and not ending until after 9.  It started with The Hubs'  least favorite pass time.  I took him clothes shopping.  With this new job, he needs to dress the part and even if it's only temporary, at least he'll have made the best impression he can for future employment, and he'll have the wardrobe for the next job as needed.  We got him all sorts of what I term, "grown-up" clothes - button down long sleeve shirts and slacks.  While he was trying all this stuff on, I couldn't help but think two things.

1. My Hubs is HOT in grown-up clothes.  It always catches me by surprise because traditionally he's a jeans and polo kind of guy. Not that he can't be hot in jeans and polos, but it's a whole new kind of hot when a guy is dressed up.  And quite frankly, with this past few years being the way they are, we've had neither the funds nor the opportunity for either of us to dress up.

2. It reminded me of the first time we ever saw our friend Tamlin's closet.  We met Tamlin through our SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) group.   Since that's where we spend most of our time dressed up in period clothing

finding out his closet was filled with suits, ties and dress shoes was a bit of a shock.  We'd known him for quite some time, but only at SCA events.  Finding out he was a grown-up in his real life?  Well, let's just say, "grown-up" isn't a word we'd typically apply to our Tamlin.  But as a lawyer, I guess you can't go to work in a kilt and wife beater - tends not to send the right message.  And it just goes to show, clothes really do make the man.  And man, The Hubs is looking very much the man these days.

Then we cleaned out our closet because quite frankly, there's no way any more clothes were going to fit into our closet.  A half hour later and we suddenly had more hangers than we knew what to do with and half of my wardrobe was gone - either because it didn't fit or was just too old and warn.  I even finally let go of a dress I've had since high school!  The Hubs didn't do too shabby weeding out his own wardrobe either.  He even let me veto a few incredibly ugly shirts he's had for as long as I've known him and some ties that quite frankly, the 70s wanted back.  When we were done, we had a giant black bag full of clothes for donation, and another bag full of clothes that were either stained or had holes - mostly DH clothes - headed for the trash.  We even went through his shoes at the bottom of his closet and now he's whittled it down to one pair of sneakers, one pair of dress shoes and flip flops.   This is impressive considering the number of shoes we pulled out of there.  I swear, every pair of shoes he's owned since I've known him was still in there.

We ran lots of errands (most of which was to get me ready for my Girl Scout presentation today on hiking) and it all culminated in the Girl Scout Pumpkin Patch.  We took Bug and Bunny and they played all sorts of games, won all sorts of prizes and generally ran around like crazy kids along with all the other kids who were there.  Bunny's highlight?  She got her hair colored - one pink stripe, one purple stripe.  And she got her face painted with a unicorn.  My highlight?

Watching her "bob" for an apple - and photographing it to torture her with it when she's a teenager.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

First Day - Of Work

The Hubs' first work day in three years.

Man he was grumpy about me wanting a picture.. by the tree..

just like the kids.

I'll never understand men.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Chest.. The King's Game

According to Wikipedia, In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, chess was a part of noble culture; it was used to teach war strategy and was dubbed the "King's Game".

This was the scene yesterday afternoon before I went to pick up Bunny from school and take her to choir.  Bug calls this playing "Chest".  

I'm not entirely sure what the little trains represent, but I know the penny is a place holder for a lost pawn.  Never in all my imaginings of what married life with children would be like, did I anticipate chess. And now that this is my reality? I really wish I had learned the game.

When the Apocalypse comes, I'm sticking with Bug and The Hubs.. because they at least, know some strategy.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

What Would They Do Without Us?

Bunny and I attended her first choir rehearsal of the year.  She's moved up into being a Mastersinger now at her church along with all the other second graders and she could not be more pleased.

After rehearsal, we raced home to say goodbye to The Hubs before he went to his first class of the quarter tonight.  Oddly, not only was his car still in the driveway, but we and found him in the kitchen doing dishes.  While I started to get out what I needed to get Bunny's dinner I casually asked him what class he was taking tonight.  All I heard was "Oh crap! What time is it??" before he grabbed his backpack, gave me a quick kiss and was out the door.

Seriously.. what would men do without us?

Seriously.. Thoughts?

And Now It's Too Late

"Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth.  Where my life was dark, you have brought light...

..the true magic of our love is not to avoid changes, but to navigate them successfully..today I take my place by your side."

"Today you are my daughters.  In the years to come, we will laugh together, cry together, fight together and share hope together.  And through it all, my love for you will never waiver. Know that there will always be a place for you in my heart.."

Eight years ago today, two people became one, one person was blessed with two daughters and four people became a family.  A year later we added another daughter/sister and two years after that a son/brother.  Eight years ago today, we promised we'd be there for each other, to love one another, and committed to the new family we had become.

Thankfully, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into..

and now it's too late.   

Happy Anniversary to all of us.. and here's to the journey still to come.

Seriously.. Thoughts?