WhatEva     A Daily Journal By: Eva Moore

      Quote of the Day    

"Skill and confidence are an unconquered army."

--  George Herbert

6.30.06
11:14pm

     I am so excited.  Years ago, like middle school, my best friend was a boy named Ben.  We were boyfriend and girlfriend first, then best friends. This was the case for years, all the way through high school.  We eventually lost contact when he and I got married.  I saw him once in a while.  Once even in the hospital when his wife and I gave birth only a day apart.  This man was my best friend, and I have always loved him very much.  After joining MySpace I found him and sent him a message.  That was almost a month ago.  Today...I finally got a message back.  I was so incredibly happy.   It really just made my whole day.  Like seriously...I have a big smile on my face.  :-)
     But aside from that pick me up...my day was good all on it's own.  We took the kids to the park this morning where we played and had a good time watching Evelyn attempt to use the slide.  Then we came home and had lunch.  I ended up wearing myself out though by cleaning the kids rooms really well.  I still......have not cleaned my own bathroom though.  It is insane how long it is taking me.  Every time I go in there I cringe because I know that with each day it is getting worse.  Ugh.  Maybe tomorrow. 
James on the other hand redeemed himself today by having the kitchen all cleaned up by the time I got back from doing grocery shopping.  Which by the way was a very eventful shopping trip.  At one point while checking out Isaiah announced that he had to poo....well, by the time I got him to the bathroom, he said, "No mama, it's gone, no poo...it's gone now."  So that was interesting.  Then, while we are waking to the car a man drives by us very fast in his car.  I tell Isaiah that he needs to be careful of people like that because he was going so fast and if we weren't paying attention, we could get hurt.  Isaiah then says, "Mama, that was a bad guy, I wanna get him."  LOL  Then he said, "Mama, go that way and get the bad guy."  lol  I explained things to him but it was just so funny. 
     Anyway, so that was my day.  I am actually going to go to bed though now. 
Tomorrow is the start of the weekend and James is once again going to go play basketball, and hopefully we will get some yard work done.  Anyway, talk to you all later.  Bye.
 

6.29.06
10:30pm

     If you read the entry below this one yesterday, than you will recall me saying that I have no complaints to speak of for James, and that he has been pretty good lately.  Well, throw that comment right out the window.  That man never fails to shock and surprise me.  I get back from my walk about 40 minutes ago and decide to begin the final clean up of the night.  This includes picking up toys, doing dishes, wiping counter  tops, etc.  I also noticed though that the family room needed to be dusted, and the coffee table cleaned.  I asked James to do that.  Would you believe that he said, "I don't want to do that."  WHAT???  Excuse me!  Are you kidding.  I asked why.  He said he just didn't want to.  He doesn't think he should have to.  He doesn't want to help with what is possibly the easiest task in the entire house.   He even says that he will do the dishes, if I dust that room.  WHAT???  By this time I am seriously annoyed.  Are you kidding me.  Don't get me wrong, I know he works all day too, but there is no reason at all, no reason on this entire planet, that he can not dust and wipe down that smaller room.  So...I tell him, "If you don't do this tiny thing for me, I am going to be seriously annoyed, and possibly mad about it."  So...After this and him trying to talk a way out of it still, he goes and does it right...but when he is done he sulks by me and plops himself down on the couch to finish his game.  I say, "Are you actually annoyed with me?"  His answer, "Yep."  I had to laugh.  I couldn't help it.  I just told him that was fine, and went along with my stuff.  What a wimp.  It literally took him 3-4 minutes to clean that room.  Yet he would have preferred to do something that was a much bigger task, like clean the kitchen.  I just don't get it.  Honestly I was upset by this whole thing only because it was something so simple that I was asking of him, yet he was unwilling to do it.  Well there goes his streak huh?  See, in one day it all can change.  lol  Luckily I think he is over it already.  That is one of the great things about James actually, he doesn't stay upset very long.  Plus, he is playing a video game, so his mind just goes blank. 
     So, before all of that I woke up this morning to take Isaiah to school.  All went well and when I came home I went back to bed and slept for an additional 3 and a half hours.  When the alarm went off it woke me up from an odd dream.  Although I feel like it is one that I have had before.   I have had lots of those in my young life.  Dreams that repeat themselves.  I can remember one in particular that was about opening a closet door at my great grandma's house and every time I did there where tons of stairs, going every which way.  Up and down, sideways, upside down stairs.  I always stood there staring, wondering what I should do.  I never did step into the "closet", but I always felt like it reminded me of the movie Labyrinth...which I loved to watch.
     The only other repeating dream I can think of is one I used to have when I was younger, and that is being in my Grandmas house, and while I am outside playing I start to hear gunfire, and realize that men are in the house killing my entire family.  I can hear the screams and tons of shots, and then silence.  So I run for my Grandpa's shed and plan on hiding in there.  (There is a lot more detail here but I won't write it all out)  Eventually, the gun men come out and look for more people...I always woke up right when they would find me. 
     After waking up though and picking Isaiah up from school I mainly just watched the kids, cleaned up when I could, talked on the phone some, and tried to play with Isaiah.  Tammy and I went for another walk and had fun talking the whole time.  It's nice to get out of the house and just walk around.  I was thinking though that we might want to try playing tennis once and a while at Ford Lake.  It's free to get in if you are a resident, and I have tennis rackets.  I might ask her.  Anyway though, that's all for me.  Talk to you all later.  Bye.
 

6.28.06
10:23pm

     I just got back from my walk with Tammy about 30 minutes ago and man do my feet hurt.  This walk lasted for about 90 minutes.  I love going on the walks though because it helps to keep my weight in check.  If only I was doing more to lose the weight, and not just maintain it.  Funny how a person can want something so badly, yet will do nothing to get it.  That's where I am stuck.  I can't make myself do anything about it.  At least not yet.  I constantly tell myself that tomorrow will be the day I start something, but I always forget, and when I do remember, I tell myself that this day has already been ruined, might as well wait for tomorrow to try again.  Stupid huh? 
     Besides that walk I feel like I didn't accomplish much today.  I tried to clean my room, and I did clean the room, but I didn't get around to the master bath because my tummy started hurting me.  I actually ended up just laying down for a while after that.  I may have even fell asleep.  I can't be sure.  I really do need to clean that bathroom though, it's nasty.  Why is it that bathrooms in your own bedrooms always are the last thing to get cleaned.   Well, I know the answer for me, it's because no one else goes in there.  If I thought people were going to be seeing it I would keep it much cleaner.  As it is only James, me, and the kids see it, so who the heck cares right?  I know I am not alone on this one.  lol
     So anyway, I am pretty tired, my feet hurt, and I have to wake up at 6am to take Isaiah to school.  I am going to go now.  But I will hopefully have more to write about tomorrow.  Lets hope so at least huh?  I don't want to be boring you all to death.  Not that what everyone else writes about is incredibly exciting either, but hey...if I was you, I would want to be entertained a little bit.  So I do try.  I find that the best way to do that is usually to make fun of James, but he has been pretty good lately...so I'll have to think of something else.  lol  Talk to you later, bye.
 

6.27.06
9:35pm

     Hello.  Well, incase you are all wondering, Evelyn is doing good.  She seems to have suffered no short term affects from her fall down the stairs.  Do I still feel at fault?  YES!!  But I suppose that most parents do when there children get hurt.  Anyway...so today was another day of raining.  Which mean another day of inside play.  Isaiah however decided not to even try to eat his dinner, except the noodles, so he was sent to bed early, very early, 6pm.  Normally I would have waited till at least 7pm, but he was giving a little bit of attitude, so up to his room he went.  He has been in there ever since...and Evelyn went to bed very easy too.  James was not so easy though.  lol  He played a trick on me today that bugged the heck out of me.  Ok, so a while back I was listening to the radio over our intercom.  It has that as a feature.  You can program lots of channels in and everything.  So, I was listening to it and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the channel changes.  I walk over, change it back...figure that was just some odd occurrence.  Then, it happens again, and before I can change it back, it happens again.  And again.  AND AGAIN!!!  I was getting really annoyed.  I changed it back, and thought that maybe, just maybe it was James messing with me, possibly changing the channels from upstairs.  I yelled up to him and asked "Are you doing that?"  He responded with, "Doing what?"  To which I said, "Nothing, never mind."  So I left it alone and decided it was all freakish random behavior from my intercom.  Then today I decide to turn it on again.   Because the radio station I wanted doesn't come in good on my own radio.  So I am listening to it and enjoying the song that just came on when it does it again.  It turns to a country radio station.  I get annoyed, change it back, and walk a way.  Then it happens again.  To another station.  I turn it off, and back on again...just to make sure this time.  I put my station on and walk a way.  IT HAPPENS AGAIN.  James is upstairs and says, "Is it changing channels on you again?"  "Yes, it's bugging the heck out of me."  James says, "I wonder what the heck is going on?"  "I don't know."  So...I decide to just put a cd on instead.  I have had enough.  About 10 minutes later James comes back down from upstairs where he was hanging up a picture. We start talking....James says to me, "You turned off the intercom huh?"  "Yes, I couldn't stand it anymore."  To which James says, "Well then I guess I better stop changing the channels on you from upstairs huh?"  "WHAT, but I thought that there was only the 4 buttons, and none of them up there work for the radio?"  "Yea there is one that does, you just hit it and it starts going through all the channels."  Well, after that I tried to give him a good smack on the head but he dodged me.  lol  I can't believe he did that.  Bugged the heck out me!!  I am telling you that man loves to mess with people.  Drives me nuts.  He was cracking up laughing at me.  Big jerk.  lol  Well at least now I know huh?   Anyway, so besides that my day was very uneventful.  But at least my house is clean and I am sitting in my living room watching a movie with James while typing this.  The movie is odd as can be.  It's called Bee Season.  I am thinking that I was better off just skipping this one.  So, I will write more tomorrow. Bye.
 

6.26.06
11:26pm

     There is almost nothing in the world worse than hurting your child right?  No body wants to cause there child pain.  Especially when it could have been prevented.  Well, today I nearly killed my baby girl.  And now I will tell you how it all happened.  She was taking her last nap of the day and I heard her awake in her room.  I went up and talked to her for a while and then changed her diaper.  After that I wrapped up her diaper and put it in the crib with her.  I took her out of the crib, set her down, and she played for a minute while I watched.  Then she headed for the door.  Well, I knew she would go right for the stairs to climb down them...you see, she has been walking down the stairs for the last 4-5 days and is doing really well, but we are always in front of her to catch her if she falls.  I knew I should go after her immediately and get in front of her, just incase she fell, but I wanted to grab that stupid diaper.  I had to make a quick choice and unfortunately I choose to grab the diaper really quick thinking that I had time.  I grabbed it, and went to her quickly.  But not quick enough.  She tried to step down and for whatever reason this time she slipped and fell.  I wasn't fast enough...she fell and I couldn't catch her.  All I could do was watch my precious baby girl fall, fall, and fall, all the way down the stairs.  I screamed for James the whole time I was running down.  She was always 2-3 steps ahead of me, just rolling down.  I think she even did one flip.  It was the worst thing ever.  I can not get the image of her falling out of my head.  I was helpless to save her, and that was awful.  James got there very quick before I reached her.  He scooped her up fast and held her.  She was screaming and I was freaking out.  All I could think of was that I just caused the possible death/major injury of my child.  James told me to get her elephant.  I remembered that I had thrown it aside when she started falling so I ran back up the stair to get it and then ran back down.  From the time he asked me to get it to the time I gave it to her I would say 20-25 seconds passed.  When she got her elephant the crying pretty much stopped.  She whined a little bit, but that was it.  I started crying pretty bad.  I just kept thinking about what could have happened.  James kept telling me to stop crying.  He checked her over and purely by the grace of God....she was fine.  All she had was a bruise on her leg and a red patch on her shoulder.  Although I still couldn't stop crying, I then began saying, "Thank you God, thank you Lord, thank you thank you thank you."  I find it amazing that she did not at least have a broken bone, so if you ask me this was my one chance from God to just learn my lesson.  I certainly did. I will never do that again.  Never ever ever.  Although she was fine, I know that things could have been so much worse.   I also know that the fact that babies bones are still so flexible at this age and our stairs are well carpeted with padding helped.  AGH.  I am so thankful, you have no idea how scared I was.  Praise God!!!  I HATE stairs.  Loathe stairs.  I no longer want stairs.  The whole time I was crying too Isaiah was trying to comfort me. "Mama, it's ok, baby ok, no ouwwie mama."  He was so sweet.  Anyway.  That was my nightmarish moment of the day.  I am going to end with that I think.  Tomorrow will hopefully be better.  Bye.
 

6.25.06
11:59pm

     Have you ever sat next to your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend, and listened to them tell other people about you, your personality, your quirks, the dumb things that you say and do, and also talk about hw you two relate as a couple?  Well tonight after dinner with Nino and Tammy that is what happened to me.  We were all sitting outside and are chatting...and we are all talking about our marriages and such.  James starts telling some funny things about me which really were just funny as heck.  The odd part was this.  When you are doing things, you don't think they are silly, or dumb, or anything except normal because they all make sense to you at the time.  But when James was sitting there telling different things I thought to myself...."Wow, I really am weird, that is not normal."  LOL  I had to laugh.  Because like I said, to me it all seems right, but when you hear someone else saying it you can't help but think of how dumb it all is.  And then there was the whole thing of what we are like as a couple, how we interact with each other....and you know, James and I are both in agreement that we compliment each other so well.  We both handle each others annoying habits really well.  We are accepting of situations...and we HAVE FUN.  We joke, we don't take each other seriously, we are honest, we talk about things, we are actually friends!!  So many things really.  But like I said, we mesh so well together.  I love it.  I love him. 
     What a day today though.  Lots going on but it was great.  Started off the morning (once I was showered and dressed) by making enchiladas for dinner.  I get them all made early, so I just have to heat them up for later.   It's best that way since it takes over an hour to make them...and that's not counting prep time and cooking the chicken.  But I got that done and then James went with Stephanie's husband Mike to play basketball.  Now, please keep in mind that James has not played a game of basketball in years.  YEARS!!!  Mike on the other hand plays on a team for his job.  So I am thinking that although James will do ok, he will still get worked over by Mike.  Or so I thought.  Turns out that James won.  How is that possible???!!!  Why is that man so annoyingly good at everything?  Drives me nuts!  He always wins at board games, he always wins at video games, he is almost always right when I disagree with him on something...and then there is just the random stuff that he is right about.  It is really enough to make me want to....well no....that's too violent.  lol 
     Anyway, so after James got back from that, very red in the face, we started cleaning up the house and getting ready for our dinner guests.  We had a lot of fun.  Dinner was great!  Really great.  Then we just hung for a couple hours and talked, laughed, and watched the kids play.  Evelyn went to bed at 8pm, and Isaiah fell asleep on the couch watching a movie I had put on.  I wasn't surprised since he had had a very busy playful day.  After they took off around 9:15pm it was then more cleaning.  You ever realize how you clean up for your company, but then you just end up cleaning again after they leave?  It was mainly just grass and dirt though from the kids running in and out of the house.  Easily swept up, and James did dishes, which was so cool of him.  Anyway...so there you have it.  I am going to head on up to bed.  It has been a great day people...I hope you liked yours too!  Bye.
 

6.24.06
12:53am

     I am so glad that I have Tammy as a friend here.  As it is I miss Lorenda and Tiffany like crazy, and if I had no one else here to just hang out with I would go nuts.   Today we hung out quite a bit.  Went shopping together at Meijer, and then she came over to watch a movie with me.  That ended about 40 minutes ago, it was excellent!  The movie is called "Evelyn" and let me tell you, you need to watch this film.  Excellent.  It was a slight tear jerker even.  I just really had a good day though you know.  Sometimes the day is just good and nothing is going to ruin it.  Got lots of stuff done.  James mowed the lawn, I swept it all up and sprayed weeds.  Then we both worked on the garage together, getting all that ruined carpet and padding organized.  After that we went to a neighbors house and hung out there while the kids swam, and played.  They had lots of people there so we got to meet them and they even got pizza with accessories.  It was great, I ended up not having to cook dinner.  Which I had planned to do.  Tomorrow however I am making enchiladas with Spanish rice, and beans.  Tammy and Nino will be coming over for that.  Before dinner though, James will be getting together with Stephanie's husband Mike and maybe Nino to go play Basketball at one of the park here.  I was so glad that James actually called Mike to ask that.  I want James to get out more you know.  He is always stuck here it seems like, since he works from home and all.  My feet still hurt from that walk last night by the way.  I think that is going to take a couple days to heal from.  I am definitely wearing tennis shoes next time we go.   So...that was my day.  Praise God that even though I miss my friends so much, God has provided me with someone else here to hang out with and do things with.  God is amazing isn't he?  Here I was so worried that I would move here and be so depressed without friends...yet here I am doing good and hanging out with people. 
Praise God!
 

6.23.06
11:37pm

     Oh my goodness.  Tammy and I ended up going for a 2 1/2 hour walk tonight.  We got home at 10:30pm!!  We went all over the place and I took pictures of road kill.  I know what your thinking, why would I do that???  Well, I don't know.  I thought it was interesting.  We also walked through an old cemetery, an abandoned subdivision, and got saw lots of fireflies.  I am always surprised at how quickly our walks fly by.  We just talk the whole time and really get to know each other.  I am so glad that I have a friend here you know.  I think that otherwise I would be very lonely.  Wow though, I am super tired.  My feet and legs hurt, and my eyes want to close.  I think I am going to bed.  Talk to you all later.  Bye

 

6.22.06
10:22pm

     Hello hello.  Well it turns out that two tornados did touch down here in Michigan.  Fairly small ones though, all they did was knock out the power to a couple thousand people in some other towns.  So if you ask me that wasn't so bad.  Anyway, so the thunder and lightening lasted well into the night, Dusty was pretty scared, actually she was freaking out.  We ended up having to lock her up in the bathroom for the night with the light on so she wouldn't see the lightening.  She is such a little chicken for such a big dog.  Today was much nicer in regards to the weather though.  Cloudy, but at least there was no rain you know.  So this morning James and I took some time to work on Evelyn's murals.  They are really turning out great, and I am excited to get them done eventually and begin Isaiah's room.  I feel bad that Evelyn's room is always the one to get painted and made to look pretty, and Isaiah's is just plain and blah.  I need to take care of that.
     I am watching the movie "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind".  I must say that it is really good so far.  It's basically about the guy who created the Dating Game and The Gong Show...and his secret life as a CIA assassin.  None of this can be proven, but it's what he had in his journals.  It got me thinking though...you ever wonder how many people you know, are living a double life?  I mean really.  Think about it.  Everyone thinks that they know everyone else so well.  And it's always those kinds of cases when someone is found out to be a massive serial killer that the neighbors and friends all say that he was a "nice guy", who "kept to himself".  How many of those do we know?  How many people live around me right now who are pretending to lead this normal life, pretending to be good home owners with great families...but really they are secretly drug addicts, or abusing their own kids, or maybe worse.  Who knows.  That is the scary thing.  When you really think about it, it is scary.  Why is it scary?  Because one day my children will be meeting kids, making friends, and then those kids will want my kids to stay the night at their house.  Now, of course I will have made friends with the mom and dad.  But it's not like I am going to be best friends with them.  I will just know them, and will be able to say that they are my friend.  I won't really know anything about their personal lives, or their deep dark secrets.  And of course that will almost always be the case...it's just scary is all.  You don't know for 100% certainty who these people are, and what they may or may not do to your child.  It is terrifying.  Utterly. 
     But there is nothing that you can do you know.  All you can do is talk to your kids openly, tell them what is and is not appropriate, tell them they can tell you ANYTHING!!  The list goes on and on about what you have to tell them...there is so much...all because there are evil people who could be lurking all around, waiting...watching...hoping for that moment when they can strike.  Anyway, this whole topic can get pretty depressing...I don't like thinking about all the bad things that can happen to my kids.  But you have to think about it you.  That's how you keep your kids safe.  You have to get that perfect balance...especially when they are older.  That will be tough.  Giving them their privacy, and yet still knowing everything that they are doing.  I am not looking forward to it. 
     Well, I hadn't planned on rambling on about this topic, but that's what happens.  I suppose that I will be done then.  Maybe tomorrow I will have a happy topic huh?  lol  Bye.
 

6.21.06
11:05pm

     Well good evening to one and all.  Praise God for this wonderfully loud, thunderous, rainy day.  And I am not kidding.  It is still very loud outside.  We have been on a tornado watch all day long, massive lightening strikes, and of course following that A LOT of thunder.  Lots.  Even as we speak I can hear it pounding outside.  It is amazing to me how different the weather is here.  It is so foreign to me to have an all day thunder storm, where the news is having flash flood warnings, tornado warnings, and God only knows what else.  What did we get ourselves into moving here???  lol  Well, personally I am excited about it.  I like the idea of having all this new stuff around me.  I really can't wait for winter to get here.  I want to take a bunch of pictures of all the trees covered in snow.  I feel like living here is going to be a huge adventure.  And I'll tell you what, I would much rather have this than all the heat you all are having back in CA.  How hot is it??  Upper 90's.  No Thank You!! 
     Anyway, that's my rant about weather.  On to my day.  It was an INSIDE day.  The kids were stuck in here with me and that is never a good thing.  But James helped me to finish the paint in Evelyn's room.  You see, my mom started all the paint for her walls yesterday, I helped.  Then today James did the close up stuff by the ceiling since we are not tall enough to reach our selves.  So we did that and Evelyn and I hung out in there and watched.  She is cracking me up lately.  She is all over the place.  Climbing things, walking everywhere, even learning how to climb down the stairs backwards.  I'm so proud of her.  And today James and I noticed that Isaiah has been using a lot of different words lately, and using more sentences.  James and I think that he is realizing that he has a problem with talking and is really trying hard to say things right.  The problem is that the Verbal Apraxia makes it very hard.  His brain doesn't tell the muscle which is his tongue to move when he talks...so when he speaks his tongue does not move.  That is the main thing that causes his words to come out so badly.  That is what the speech therapists are going to have to work on with him mostly.  I feel like when the day comes, that I hear my son speak in a clear voice, and say something like "Mom, I love you so much", will be the day that I stop in my tracks and cry.  I will be so very happy.  I can not even tell you how badly I want to hear him speak clearly. 
     Recently I have been thinking about the fact that I don't pray enough.  I have been trying.  Although it is an odd place to do it, I often pray in the bathroom.  It's really one of the only places where I am not bothered by children, so it works for me.  But I feel sad by the fact that I forget every night before bed, I forget to pray before I eat...the only we do remember to do every night is pray with Isaiah.  I used to have such a good habit.  I hardly ever forgot.  But it seems like ever since I had kids it just slips my mind.   When I do pray, I also ask God to help me pray more...yet still I forget.  I am not sure what to do about it.  I think that I may try leaving myself notes.  I wish that my cell phone could have a type of alarm...that would go off every so often to help remind me.  Well...I figure something out.  Anyway.  So...I guess that is all for now.  I have a show that I am watching, America's Got Talent.  I am enjoying all the crazy stupid acts, and also all the really awesome cool acts.  With the exception of a couple "ify" acts, it is a great family show.  Check it out.  Anyway...more tomorrow.  Bye.
 

6.20.06
11:14pm

     HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!  That's right, 8 years of marriage folks.  And still lovig every minute of it.  So much so that we just got back from the movies...and now I am going to go spend even MORE time with my man.  Good for us, bad for you.  :-)  Later.
 

6.19.06
10:00pm

     Well, this was a very tiring day.  I guess the whole weekend just caught up with me.  James blames his exhaustion on the fact that he hasn't had a Mountain Dew in 2 days.  He says he is going through withdrawals. lol  I find that hilarious.  I don't doubt that his body is used to it, but give me a break.  Men.  Or maybe it's just James.  :-)
Anyway, so because of the exhaustion I laid in bed for awhile and let Isaiah just play in his room while Evelyn was napping.  Of course then Isaiah started to need me, and as much as I tried to stay in bed, I had to get up.  AHH, being a mom.  There really is no rest I suppose.  Even while I was laying down I was still listening for the kids, Evelyn over the monitor, Isaiah just in general.  I have heard a lot of friends recently say things that make me feel more and more confident in my assumption that husband/boyfriends do not fully understand what it is to be a stay at home mom.  I just don't think they do.  And I also don't think that the man having the kids for a weekend helps.  One weekend does not give them the proper perspective.  A week does not give it, maybe not even two weeks.  Why is this??  Well...we have all our stress, all our frustration, all of our whatever it is...built up from months, years.  It isn't only the stress of today, or yesterday, or the week.  It's everything.  And until you, the man, have to do it all everyday for a very long time you are not going to understand.  Not that all the help you men give isn't appreciated.  It is.   Really.  But one thing you need to remember is that sometimes we need time off.  And when we have that time off we don't want you to complain, we don't want you to ask when we are coming back, we don't want you to say that you can't handle it...we just want to have our time alone.  Now...I am not saying all this about James.  Like I said I have had some friends talk to me at different times and I have just noticed the pattern. 
     So...today though I just kept the house clean and tried to play with the kids.  James helped out when he was done working and gave the kids a bath.  He has to take Isaiah to school in the morning, normally I would be very happy about that, but odds are Evelyn will wake me up at 6am anyway.  Speaking of sleeping...do you realize that James has been in bed for an hour already?  Well of course you didn't realize, but now you know.  I suppose that I should have just gone to bed too...but I wanted to write this out...and I still want to put some pictures that I had developed in the proper albums.  I don't like leaving pictures out.  I like things to be in their place.  Anyway, so that is all for me.  I hope you enjoyed my little rant.  lol   Bye.

    

6.18.06
9:13pm

     What a great way to end the weekend.  I wish though that Kevin could have stayed longer.  But like I said previously he does want to next time.  So that is cool.  Today they just hung out here at the house and watched the Soccer World Cup, and played their video games.  At 3:45pm James drove Kevin to the airport and it would figure that as soon as they left it started pouring down rain.  And I mean pouring down rain.  So I was a little bit concerned with how the drive would be on the free way.  He got home just fine though.  Kevin sent a text message later saying that he had landed safely in Minnesota.  Right now my mom is painting the entrance that leads down into the basement.  She is painting it a yellowish color.  It looks better than I thought it would. 
I really do want to start painting the inside of our house.  I want my kitchen to have some character.  And I want my bedroom to reflect our personality too.  Darker colors, like maroons and greens.  Besides all that I don't really know what to say.  I just finished the movie Gladiator.  That is an excellent movie.  Russell Crowe is not one of my favorite actors, but I do like him a lot in that film.  The other one I like that he stared in I forget what it's called, but it was the true story one and he was that genius who saw people that weren't there.  OOHHHH...it was called A Beautiful Mind.  Ah HAH!!  Don't you love when you remember things in time?  Anyway, since the day was pretty uneventful I am going to end this right now.  But I hope that tomorrow is more entertaining....we shall see.  Bye.

P.S.  I added some pictures of Kevin's visit.
 

6.17.06
11:23pm

     Right now Kevin is playing James' new game Fight Night 3.  Oddly enough, since it is a very realistic boxing game, it is very intense.  I giggled once at how intense they were about this current fight they are on with a "rival" and James told me to go upstairs and type this.  Instead I think that I will simply refrain from any more comments or giggles.  Otherwise I might get kicked out of my own home.  lol  Today was great by the way.  Kevin slept in until almost 11am because he was so tired, they were playing video games late.  James didn't get to sleep in though since he had Evelyn...she decided to wake up at 5:40am.  Glad it wasn't me.  I got to sleep until 8am and I went to bed earlier.  Once Kevin did get up though we fed the kids while waiting for Jeff.  We then went to eat for the first time at the fast food restaurant White Castle.  Here is my review.  Awful.  They are not worth my time or the gas it takes to drive there.  The hamburgers were bad, they provided no sauce for my mozzarella cheese sticks, and I didn't like that they had no milk shakes.  Oh, and they decor and feel of the restaurant was ugly and bad.  Nope, didn't like anything about it.  But, after that it was time to go to the University of Michigan so Kevin could look around and check it out.  He will be applying to go there.  Can't say he will end up going...but he is applying.  The campus was amazing.  So beautiful.  And so very big!  I have never been on a college campus before.  I felt very out of place.  But we went into some stores too that were around, went into a Star Bucks...and then into a really cool arcade.  It was great.  After that long walking spree, we came back here for a while until my mom got home from work.  While waiting my dad and I went to Ford Lake.  It was also so big.  Huge really.  And they had a tennis court, a basketball court, and it was so pretty there.  I can't believe how big the lake is.  Next we went to dinner over where Jeff lives at a place called the Lazy Lizard.  Great Mexican food.  And now here we are back at home and they are doing what they do best, playing video games.  Big surprise huh?  Anyway, it has been a very big day.  So I am gonna go now.  My bed is calling.  Talk to you all tomorrow.  Bye. 
 

6.16.06
10:42pm

     HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMES.......Well, it's obvious what day it is huh?  I hope so at least.  lol  This morning I made sure that James was up and dressed by 9am.  I told him that he had a birthday surprise, so he needed to be ready.  My dad and mom went to pick him up at around 9:30am, and got back 20 minutes later with him.  When he came in the house and James saw him he was very surprised.  It was great.  They hugged, and even Isaiah saw him and gave a hug.  I later asked James if he was glad to have Kevin here and he said an enthusiastic "Yes, it's nice to have another guy in the house."  But I can tell he is just happy to have his friend here.  James showed him around some.  Walked the neighborhood and introduced him to Tammy and Nino.  James got his $150.00 gift cards for Toys R Us in the mail today for turning in his credit card reward points, so guess what they went and did?  Used that, plus some birthday money, and went and bought 2 new games, a new game paddle, the battery charger for it, and something else that I forgot.  It took all but 8 dollars of his money.  Crazy.  He had like $200.00 total.  I swear it is insane how expensive all this game stuff is.  But I would rather he have this expensive addiction (and it is an addiction if you ask me  lol  ) than something else like smoking, drinking, drugs, ect.  So, they got back with that stuff and literally played video games from that point on until Jeff got here and we all went to dinner.  Nino was also around for much of the day playing the new games.  Tammy and Nino also baby sat for us.  Nino had Isaiah here with his kids watching a movie, and he played on the X-Box 360, while Tammy had her baby and Evelyn at their place.  Everything worked out well.  We went to Outback Steak House to have dinner.  Jeff went with us.  After that Jeff went home and we went to the bowling alley.  It was cool because it is cheaper here to go bowling than in California.  So we did that, and had a great time with it.  I liked that bowling alley a lot, very clean and new looking.  So, that was our day.  Kevin is here until Sunday evening on Fathers Day...and after he leaves we might all be going out to dinner for Fathers Day that night too.  Then, another two days later, on the 20th, it's our 8 year anniversary.  I can still remember everything about when we first got together.  And I suppose that it helps that I have it all written down too.  lol   Anyway.  So tomorrow we are all going to lunch at some Mexican restaurant that Jeff likes, and James wants to go to one of the Lakes and hang out, and maybe show Kevin around some more.  Kevin wants to see University of Michigan.  He has applied to go to college there for his last two years...I think it's to get his Masters Degree.  So...tomorrow will be fun and I will tell you all about it of course.  Have a great weekend...I know we will.  :-)  Bye.
 

6.15.06
12:00am

     Well, technically, based on the time, it is James' birthday now.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!  27 years old.  whew!  Well, since I know James is already upstairs getting ready for bed I will tell you what the surprise is......Kevin, his best friend, is coming here to stay for the weekend!  Yep.  Our first visitor.  I am so excited.  James doesn't know about it and my dad is going to pick him up in the morning after 9am.  James will be so surprised.  He will be leaving on Sunday evening...I wish that he could stay longer, but oh well.  It is going to be a great weekend.  We are going out to eat tomorrow night too to celebrate his birthday so of course Kevin will join us, and Tammy and Nino agreed to baby sit for us.  So...I want to get up to bed because it will be a long day tomorrow.  But I will tell you all about it so you know how James reacted.   Bye.
 

6.14.06
11:37pm

     Hi.  Wow what a day.  A long fun day though.  I was feeling sick for some of it, but that didn't last too long.  So, remember that guy James met in the mall, Ken, and how Isaiah and his son Sam were playing so great.  Well James took Isaiah over to their house today to see if they could play.  Sam was at preschool, but James and his mom Stephanie had a great talk.  She decided to bring Sam over when he got home.  She did, and they had a great time.  Then I took him to their house and we stayed there for a couple hours...Stephanie is great and we talked about all kinds of stuff.  Isaiah and Sam got along so well.  I am so glad that he has another friend!!  I think that they will be hanging out together a lot. 
     By the time that was all done it was dinner time.  I realized that I was feeling sick (I have been for a long time) and so since it was possible that it was from hunger, we decided to have pizza.  After that, I felt much better.  And after putting the kids all to bed early, I went on a walk again with Tammy.  We went on a very long walk again.  90 minutes!!  It feels good to be out walking in the fresh air getting some exercise.  I hope that this all leads to some healthy beginnings. 
     So now I am home and I talked to Tiffany for a while.  She is going to be moving to Oregon in a couple months now.  Eric (her husband) got a job offer there where his parents live, and so now they are going to make this big change.  I think that Tiffany is going through lots of emotions...the same as I did.  I am going to try my best to be there for her through this hard adjustment every day. 
     Anyway...so that was my day.  Exciting, and fast paced.  I have to take Isaiah to school in the morning, and I still need to call Lorenda.  But I will talk to you all later.  Two more days till James' birthday!!!  Bye.
 

6.13.06
11:46pm

     Well.  I am tired, hungry, and I need to write this out.  I really do want something to eat.   I am thinking cereal.  Frosted Flakes to be exact.  Isaiah just woke up, he had to use the bathroom.  I am so proud of him.  It is really great when a kid wakes him self up to use the bathroom, and Isaiah has been doing that for a long time now.  It is just very exciting.  After he was done though he wanted me to go lay down with him...so I did that.  I actually love that.   I feel like it's my time to cuddle with him.  And since I know that he will not always want me to, I am taking advantage of that now.  I especially love when I lay with him when he is first going to bed.  I make it a point to have little talks with him about different things.  It makes me feel closer to him, it's our special time.  I hope that I get to do that with Evelyn too.  I feel like she will be a good cuddler.  :-)   Speaking of the kids; we all played outside for a while today.  It was fun to get out and get some air.  Evelyn was being pretty cranky today though, screaming for no apparent reason at all.  I would like to be able to give her a good excuse, like say that she is teething or something, but I can't see any new teeth at all.  So, I guess it's just her.  I have her tonight too, I hope she sleeps in, but I doubt it.
     Tonight was the second time that Tammy and I went for a very long walk.  We are trying to make this a daily thing.   We end up being gone for over an hour, and we are walking at a good pace too.   I feel like if anything it will wear me out for the night and possibly help me go to bed sooner.  The only reason that didn't happen tonight is because James and I played a board game.  Scrabble.  And let me tell you, I kicked his butt!!  Oh yes people, that's right.  I brought James down a notch.  And I was great too.  I had some awesome words.  It drove him crazy that I won too.  James is not a bad loser, but he certainly does hate to lose.  Personally, I take great joy in his loss.  It makes my whole night.  lol
     Well, it is almost 1 am here, so I am going to end this.  I have a feeling though that James will be up late.  Oh well.  I get the whole bed to myself then.  Till tomorrow.  Bye
 

6.12.06
11:31pm

     Hello.  I am very tired.  So...I am not going to write anything tonight.  Well, I suppose I am since I am writing this, but I am not going to write about my day.  And quite frankly, it was a boring day anyway.  So...talk to you all tomorrow, when I have more energy to say stuff.  Toodles!! 

6.11.06
11:05pm

     Hello.  What a fun fun day.  Don't get me wrong, we didn't go out and do anything.  But it was a great day.  I really enjoyed church.  Nino had us all get in groups of 3, (remember it's summer break, so there was only like 9 of us there)  and he wanted us to discuss what our big fears were.  Then we had to try to figure out where they stem from.  I really enjoyed it actually, and after that we wrote down on a piece of paper two words that describe how we see God.  The neat thing was that everyone had something different written down.  One person wrote "The Source, and Just"  Another person wrote "Eternal, all powerful", and I wrote "Counselor, and Friend".  There were of course 6 others but I don't remember them all.  The fun thing was that after we wrote them all down one of the girls put them all together and she read them off and we had to guess who wrote it.  It was really fun, I hope we do something like that again. 
     After that we spent quite a few hours taking turns mowing the lawn, and just watering the plants and doing outside stuff.  Isaiah played and drove his fire truck...the dogs got in trouble for getting on the couch, and my dad was even out and about with us, which is a rarity since he usually stays down in the basement.  I gave a pair of Isaiah's shoes away today too that were way too small for him, and then bought him one more pair just so he has a couple extra...incase he steps in dog poo or something you know.  They were Spiderman shoes and so I bought him matching sunglasses since they were half off the price.  Can't turn down $3.00 shades!  So...after all that, and making spaghetti dinner, I ended up going for a very long but very fun and relaxing walk with Tammy.  It felt good to be out in the cool fresh air and getting some exercise.   I feel like if I could start walking like that more often it would really help me to lose some weight.  I was actually talking to my dad today about weight issues.  My dad used to be very fat in his younger days, and so he was reminding me of how he used to have all the same emotions and thoughts that I am having in this same time of my life, and that he knows that one day I will have that eye opening moment like he did and I will be really committed to getting in shape.  I hope so.  My problem right now is that as much as I want to lose the weight, I always find excuses that I give to myself for not.  It seems like I can always find a good excuse for eating too much, or the wrong stuff.  It's all my own fault.  I know this.  I need to fix it some how. 
     So...now I have been just sitting here making phone calls to family and trying to call certain friends...my day has turned out good.  I am really looking forward to seeing how tomorrow shapes up.  Anyway, I will talk to you all later.  Bye.
 

6.10.06
11:26pm

     Well, even though I have more people I can write about, I am done I think.  I wrote quite a few, but it just takes so long and I don't have the energy to keep doing it.  But, it was fun while it lasted and I am glad that I did it.  Maybe I will try again some other time and finish up the rest of the people who I know and love.  As for today...well, James and my mom and dad just got back from the movies.  I must admit to being slightly disappointed that they were all home, it was nice to know I was the only adult in the house.  Then again, I like knowing everyone is here...it's an odd combination.  lol
But I was enjoying the complete silence in the house.  The kids all in bed, me done cleaning the house, just sitting here in James' chair in the big living room browsing the internet and having perfect silence.  I think most moms appreciate silence.  After all, all day long all we hear is one need after another.  "Mama, I want , Mama, I need, Mama, look at this, Mama, come here, Mama, Mama, Mama..."  Even if the daddy of the kids is right next to them they somehow still manage to call out to you.  I am frequently telling Isaiah to ask James, because he is right there next to him!  It is amazing.  Moms are constantly needed.  And it doesn't stop after they leave the house you know.  Nope, trust me, after I was married and moved out I still called my mom daily for advice.  How do you do this, how do you do that???  It was a theme.  Especially for cooking.  Oh, and when I was sick too...it was like suddenly I had no idea how to take care of myself if I was sick.  After all, I was the only child, and if I was sick my mom took care of me.  She was a great at it too.  And even still if I am sick she tries to take care of me.  Moms are great like that you know.  But here I am talking all about moms when it's actually father's day that is coming up.  It's two days after James' birthday.  For me my dad and James are the best dads I have ever known.  Both for different reasons, but still both the best.  But maybe I should save all of that for the actual day.  Not that I like having a Mothers Day and a Fathers Day.  I mean once again they just seem like one more "holiday" designed to make us all spend money.  I would rather just show my love for my mom and dad all the time, doing little things, telling them I love them (which I do daily) and saying "Thank you" when they help me, being appreciative.  All of those things show daily love and affection.   I wonder how many more holidays we will have in 50 more years?  I am guessing at least 2 more.  But we'll see.  Will I be buying anything for James for fathers day?  No.  I will however get him a card, and have Isaiah make one too.  Will I buy anything for my dad?  Yes.  Odds are I will pitch in with my mom for something.  Why my dad and not James.  Because he doesn't care, and wouldn't let me anyway.  Which sits fine with me.   We are so lame huh?  Nothing for Valentines Day, nothing for the parenting days, we don't buy gifts for each other for Christmas hardly ever.  Yea, I guess you could say we just don't find gifts for "specified days" too romantic or appealing.  Yep, I am every mans dream.  lol  Anyway, it's getting late now.  I am going to go.  But tomorrow is another day and I will have more to write then.  Later. 
 

6.9.06
10:32pm

     Well, I am skipping writing about someone tonight, mostly because I had a very exciting day and I want to tell you all about it.   Guess where I was for half the day? 
Toledo, Ohio at the Toledo Zoo!  Yep, I was in another state!!  My next door neighbor Yolanda invited me and the kids to go there with her and her family.  That included her kids, her sister, and her cousins with her kids.  I followed them there and although I was very nervous about driving that far (1 hour to get there) with out James, I must say that I did pretty good.  It was actually Yolanda who got us a little bit lost coming home.  Anyway, so this was the biggest zoo ever.  I took a bunch of pictures, and I am going to try to put them on here.  They had so much stuff.  Gorillas, monkeys, chimps, Rhinos, Hippopotamus, Giraffes, Elephants, Crocs, Wolves, seals, penguins, and much more.  It was so fun. 
     Anyway, so that was everything that I did.  It was an exhausting day.  The kids slept on the way up, and on the way home.  They had so much fun.  When I got home the house was a mess though and I had to clean it up.  James had not let the dogs out since I had left that morning.  Why is it that he just can't think of these things.  I mean isn't it a natural thing to let the dogs out?  Isn't it?  I think so. 
     Well, I am pretty tired, it was a big day.  I may or may not continue writing about people...they take a long time to do...and that can be exhausting.  After all, the more time I spend on here the more time I lose with James...and we all know how much I love being with James.  lol   Ok, I'll write more later.  Bye.
 

6.8.06
11:10pm

     James.  I am sort of nervous about writing about him.  For one if my memories are different than his, he is going to say I was wrong and try to correct me...that is annoying.  Second, I know it is going to take a long time, and it is already late.   But, here I am anyway.  So, I don't know if all of you know how I met James, so I am going to start with that.  My freshmen year of high school was when it began, it was James' first year at Galt High, even though he was a sophomore.  He had previously went to a private Christian school in Wilton, but they "asked" him to not come back.  They didn't like him.  lol  So, that year I was taking Spanish 1.  Mrs. Binney was my teacher.  For those of you reading this back in Galt, from our church, that is actually Lupe Harrison's sister.  Cool huh?  Anyway...so James was also in that class.  I don't remember how far into the school year this was, but I remember hearing him tell a joke in class to someone else and it grabbed my attention.  He made me laugh.  I like guys that can make me laugh.  So right there I was instantly attracted.  He had this really goofy hair cut though, actually, it kind of looked like it does now.  hhhmmm....  Well, after that I began paying attention to him, you could even say I got an immediate crush.  I thought that he was just a goofy guy.  During class he certainly acted the part, made lots of jokes, acted silly.  You know the type.  But this one day, James was in class drawing cartoons on a piece of paper.  He decided to pass it around and show it to everyone.  We were all doing some big group activities, so this wasn't a big deal.   Anyway, there was this nerdy guy, who was a senior, in class also, for some reason he thought he was a cool kid, I don't know why.  But when he got James' cartoon he decided to make fun of it some and drew something else on it.  James saw him doing it though, and although I wouldn't say he got mad, he certainly wasn't happy.  He got up and instantly started giving that guy a piece of his mind.  The nerdy guy tried to play it all cool, but he came off looking like the idiot anyway.  Being the 14 year old that I was, all of this impressed me.  He was funny AND he stood up for himself....sounds good to me! 
     So from this point on, or maybe it was before...who knows, I began the flirting process.  And I will admit to taking it to extremes most of the time.  For whatever reason though none of this made any difference, although James would talk to me, he never really flirted back or showed any interest. (Later he would tell me that this was because he was clueless when it came to knowing a girl was flirting, it took a lot of convincing for me to believe that one.)  So, then what would happen is he would get a girl friend, and I would pine over him from a distance, than I would have a boyfriend, and I would be over it for a while.  Then he would be single, but I still had the pesky boyfriend, then he would get a girlfriend again.  Now, at one point, during my Sophomore year, his girlfriend (who he was in love with) broke up with him.  He was crushed.  Sad for him, GREAT for me.  We were still friends, and so the day after I invited him to come hang out at my house after school.  We lived with my Grandma at the time and it was only a 40 minute walk, perfect for talk/flirt time.  In my head I had devised a plan...sort of.  I knew that I was going to find some way to kiss him.  Once there we went up to my room to hang out.  I am sure that my Grandparents wouldn't have approved, but I can't remember if they were there or not.  And even if they were, it must not have mattered, because I got him up there anyway.  Girls are sneaky.  So...I can remember that at one point we were on my bed talking, and then somehow he had his head laying sort of in my lap....I decided that I was going to kiss him.  So, at one point I leaned in for it, and I did, but I got nothing in return.   I mean nothing.  So I pulled back and asked if something was wrong.  He said, no and then we finally did kiss.  It was very romantic.  Well, at least I thought it was at the time.
     Well, after all that we weren't really dating...but we were kind of together.  At one point after school I was walking him over to the bus stop and I wanted to kiss him goodbye (even though he had told me previously he didn't want to be kissing at school)  So I leaned in for the kiss, and you know what he did???  He turned his face and gave me the cheek!!  Yep, that's right, in front of EVERYONE.  I was so embarrassed.  Shortly after that James stopped calling, and I found out that he had gotten a girlfriend...some chick that went to his church.  Being the teenage girl that I was, I instantly did not like her.  So, for a while I stopped talking to him.  For obvious reasons.  Time went by....as it always does. 
     In my junior year of high school I began dating a guy that I had been friends with for a long time.  At that point in my short life I felt like I wanted to be in love.  So when this "friend" told me he loved me, I said it back even though I didn't, and thus we began dating.  He actually lived far a way though, very far, so it was going to be hard.  James and I were friends again at this time...talking on the phone and stuff.  The day all that happened with the friend of mine, James had decided that he liked me...in a girl friend way.  (UGH, men)  I had just gotten done telling him all about what had happened, and he goes and tells me that he had called to say that he wanted to be with me.  Figures.  Here I have been waiting for 2 years for this idiot, and NOW he decided he likes me???
Well, I was instantly having regrets about the other guy, but I told James that I was sorry, he was too late. 
     Well since the other guy lived far way, James and I still hung out.  I began wanting to be with him more, not to mention I hadn't heard from my so called boyfriend...and I knew he hadn't broken up with his girlfriend that he had back where he lived yet.  (We got together while he was still with her)  So, I wrote him a letter, and mailed it off.  Breaking up with him.  That day I told James about it and we spent all our breaks together.  At lunch I was waiting for him to officially ask me to be his girlfriend...but being the funny man/jerk that he is (lol) he made me wait till the bell rang to go to class.  This happened on September 4th, 1996.  I was 16 years old.
     Now, my senior year of high school, when James was already out of school and I was 17 years old, we had our 1 year anniversary.  We went camping for the weekend at Dillions Beach.  Wonderful place I might add.   I won't go into all the details, but it was very romantic, and that is where he proposed to me, under the stars.  Everyone knew he was going to do it, everyone except me of course.  It was one of the best days of my life.  I will never forget it.  Now imagine you are my friend, and I come back to school on Monday and tell you that I am engaged!!  Yep, you guessed it, not a lot of people thought it was a good idea.  Most thought I would be missing out on being young and single.  Little did they know we weren't missing anything, we were gaining everything.  We were married on June 20th 1998.  A few days after James turned 19, and two weeks after I graduated high school.  I was 18 years old.  Here we are, just about 8 years later, we are still incredibly happy, still in love, and now we have gained more, now we have wonderful kids.  Praise God that he helped us find each other so very soon. 
     Well, that's how it all happened.  And I love James so very much.  He is my best friend, my husband, my other half.  I don't know how I would even go on with out him.  So, I will end with that.  I think it turned out well.  I don't know who to write about next. Maybe I will think so someone maybe I won't.  You'll have to wait and see.
Bye.

    

6.7.06
11:27pm

     Well, today I have chosen to write about Kevin; James' best friend.  This should be an interesting one.  Ok, so when James and I were married we already had a place set up to live.  A small two bedroom apartment in Lodi in the Orange Grove Apartments.  Well, after a few months we discovered that we couldn't afford the apartment as easily as we would have liked.  We got by, but it was always very tight.  So, we decided that it would be best to get a room mate.  James and I decided together to ask Kevin to come and live with us.  Thankfully he said yes, and so one day we went with him to his mom and dads house out in the country to pick up his stuff.  Well, what we didn't know was that he had not told his mom and dad that he was moving out.  So here we are showing up to pack him up and move him out, and they are in shock.  We didn't really know what to do...so we just went about getting his stuff while he talked to his mom and dad.  It felt awkward.  And I felt bad for his parents. 

     So, keep in mind here that I am an only child, and getting married and living with someone was a big big change...but now I was going to be living with two people, and I was sure that things were not going to be smooth.  Now, I already knew Kevin from school.  Once I began dating James we met and I would say that we became friends, or at least as close as a guy and that guys friends girlfriend can get.  lol  But here I was and I was nervous.  I was very young, and immature, and so just keep that in mind as I tell you all the things that Kevin would do, that would drive me nuts. 

     To start, he always left wet towels on the floor in the bathroom...that drove me insane.  Second, he would leave food in the pan he cooked it in, and then put the pan in the refrigerator....as if that counted as a container!  He would take a shower for 40+ minutes, and when you went into the bathroom afterwards there was so much steam that the walls were literally wet.  Dripping wet.  Also, he would always eat my cereal...my favorites!  Lucky Charms, Fruit Loops, Trix...all the good stuff.  Now, because I believed that he was always eating my cereal, at one point I was at the breaking point for it.  This was when we had moved into a much bigger town house on Turner Road...we needed the bigger place, so we could get a way from each other.  lol  Anyway, so I saw on top of the refrigerator that there was an open box of Lucky Charms.   My very first thought was, "He ate my cereal again!!"  Now, that isn't exactly what I said, I had some cuss words in there I am sure.  But the point is I was mad, and so I grabbed a permanent black marker, and proceeded to write all over the box things like this; DONT EAT THIS...EVA'S...DONT TOUCH...IM SERIOUS!!  After that I decided to go ahead and eat some, because  it was mine after all.  Well, during the time that I was eating I realized something.  I hadn't bought a new box of cereal recently...OH MY GOSH...that box actually WAS Kevin's!!!  Uh oh.  I was in trouble now.  So I grabbed the box, shook it up some so it didn't look like any had been eaten, and then I put it back up there and tried to think of an excuse for all the stuff I had written on the box.  Later on that night, since Kevin was a waiter and worked the late shift, he came home.  He went to have a bowl of his cereal....well....I don't remember what was said...but knowing Kevin there was also words that I won't type out here...since I try to keep this family friendly.  We all get a big laugh out of that now...but he hassled me a lot for it when he saw it.  James laughed I think, he thought it was hilarious.  Come to  think of it, in the end we all did. 

     So, another big thing that we argued over was the coffee table.  James and Kevin both liked to sit on it in front of the TV to play video games...it drove me crazy.  I had finally gotten James to stop (one of the table legs was broken, I had a good reason, really.)  but Kevin still did it.  Generally when Kevin and I would argue James just tried to block us out.  He doesn't like confrontation and just tried to stay out of it.  Recently (back then recent) James had been lying to us a lot, and we decided to get him back.  So Kevin and I devised a plan that when James got home from work Kevin and him would start playing on the SEGA Saturn, Kevin would sit on the coffee table, and from there the mayhem would begin. 

Eva:  Hey Kevin, can you please get off the table, your gonna break it.
Kevin:  No, it's fine...it's not going to break.
Eva:  Yes, it is, just get off of it please.
(James ignoring us and keeping his eyes on the game)
Kevin: Stop freaking out about the dang table, it's fine.
Eva: NO, get off the table.
Kevin:  AGH, your so stupid sometimes, it's going to break!  Why are you being such a jerk about it?!
Eva:  You know Kevin, sometimes I wish that you had never moved here with us!
Kevin:  Well maybe I don't want to live here, maybe I'll leave...
Kevin throws down the game paddle, which is like a sin in our home
Kevin storms off and goes into the kitchen, I remain and start complaining to James, who just looks in shock, and doesn't know what to say since we have never acted like that before.
I  then go into the kitchen and Kevin and I try to holdback our laughter.  After a little while goes by, we both walk out and look at James. 
Eva:  James, do you really think that we would have a fight like that? 
Kevin:  Come on dude...?
James:  AAHHH.....you jerks....oh man, I was seriously getting worried.  That was a good one!! 

     Well, that is not exact, word for word, but it was hilarious.  Really.  After almost two years of living with us, James and I decided it was time to try to have a baby.  Kevin wanted nothing to do with that.  He didn't want to be around for anything regarding babies.  So he moved out.  It was sad...but we were busy getting pregnant, and then trying to buy a home...and Kevin found a place in Sacramento.   There are lots of other stories, lots.  But I don't have time for all of them.  Let's just say that those two years with Kevin were some of the best of my life.  Kevin and I did get a long a lot better after moving into that town house.  We went to the movies together, went shopping for stuff, we had fun.  I miss living with him actually...and have tried many times to convince him to come live up here with us in Michigan.  But he is a warm weather kind of guy...he won't leave CA.   :-(  I love him a lot though.  He is family, sometimes I feel like he is my second husband.  He is a great friend...and I am so happy that I have all those great memories to live with.   I really love that guy.  A whole bunch. 

     So...that is all I have time to write.  Like I have said before, some stuff I don't always remember right, but I think I did a good job.   I hoped you enjoyed it.  Maybe tomorrow I will write about James.  That is a good one too.  Bye.
 

6.6.06
11:54pm

     Well, everyone has been saying that today is the day of the devil.  If you don't know why I am saying that then just look at the date I typed.  Get it??  666???  Anyway, I think it is quite funny actually.  It's just a day on the calendar people!!!  Nothing to get all freaked out about.  Yet oddly enough some people are.  Well...just like every other day, this day to shall pass on to another one...and everyone will have forgotten all about it.  James and I just got back from seeing the movie Failure to Launch.  I must say that it was very cute.  I laughed a lot.  James liked the movie, but said he only laughed at a few spots.  Whatever.  lol  Anyway, before I type out the thing about Tiffany, I do want to tell you that Evelyn has been walking a lot now.  She can't get her self back up yet after she falls down, but she can really walk far now.  I had a video of it, but somehow it got deleted.  I will make a new one.  Also, if you noticed the link for my youtube website is gone.  Some stuff happened with an individual viewing my videos who I did not feel comfortable about looking at them.  So, I had to take drastic measures and make everything private.  Only friends can view them now.  If you would like to be on that list of friends, you need to tell me, email me, and I can invite you as a friend, and you then have to sign up.  It's easy.  Anyway, that's all, I will now put the thing about Tiffany, it's more of a mushy story, but I hope you like it just the same.  Bye.

Tiffany: 

1997 was the year that I started my senior year in high school.  I had all elective classes, since I had long since completed all of the required classes in the previous years, including summer school.  One of my classes for my senior year was Creative Writing.  Obviously, I love to write.  So that was going to be an easy class.  I can remember sitting at a desk towards the door, and next to me was this short, skinny girl, dressed in all baggy clothes, and by the looks of her, she was probably a skater chick.  (Although I still don’t know if she ever knew how to skateboard.  lol  )  I can’t remember exactly how we started talking, but I am pretty sure it was me  that began talking to her first.  I remember thinking to myself that I wanted to be her friend.  I can remember having that feeling you know, that she was someone I needed to get to know.  So from then on we pretty much talked in class all the time.  Class in general was pretty easy, so there was always time for talking.  She began hanging out with Jessica and I during lunch breaks.  James had already graduated from school, so once again I had the time.  But, and I don’t remember how it happened, somehow Jessica and Tiffany started getting even more close.   They began hanging out outside of school.  I didn’t always have time for that really, since I was planning a wedding.  I was a little bit jealous.  After all Jessica was my best friend, and I felt like I was losing her, and another part of me was jealous because I felt like, “Hey, I met Tiffany first, she should be hanging out with me, getting closer to me.”  But, like I said, I had other things to worry about.  Not to mention that thinking that way is just silly anyway.    So when it came time to get married Tiffany was there.  She was not a part of the wedding party, although now I wish that she had been.    Like I said before, she and Jessica got really close, best friend close.  Even at that time though I still felt like something good was going to come of us knowing each other, or at least I wanted it too. 

So, time went by. And I know that I talked to Tiffany but I can’t remember how often. We were friends…good friends, but at that time just friends.   Being newly married and having a new roommate (Kevin) was a lot to deal with.  I know that Jessica and I even stopped talking as much.  But then something wonderful happened.  Something that I will always be grateful for.  Tiffany and Eric moved to Lodi!  That got an apartment on Mills Ave which was all the way down the street from me and around a corner.  I was so happy because now I had a friend close by.  And close we did get.  It was during this time that Jessica was going through her own problems in life, and Tiffany and I started hanging out A LOT!  She would come over, I would go there, and we did things.  And f course talked, and talked, and talked some more.  Ever since then she has been a big part of my life.  A HUGE part is more like it.  I have been there to support her; she has been there to support me. 

We are best friends.  But I would even go farther than that.  Tiffany and I have something very special.   It’s better than family, better than friends, it’s that connection that you can’t explain.  We disagree about things, but when we do its ok, because we have that mutual respect.  We can be honest with each other, very honest, and I know that if I say something she won’t hold it against me.  And trust me, we share lots of different opinions. lol    Religion, kids and video games…the list goes on.  Yet here we are best friends, and I don’t have to worry about her getting mad at me.  I don’t have to worry about not being myself…or holding back my inner thoughts.  She knows who I am and loves me anyway.  And I love her too.   I feel like there is more I should write.  I know that I have forgotten many things.  I know that I probably even have some stuff wrong and Tiffany will most likely tell me so.  But that is what happens when you have been friends with someone so long…you forget all the little stuff, and focus on the bigger picture.  So, there you have it.  That’s the basics.  I hope you liked the story.  It made me feel all good inside, so that’s all that matters.  Talk to you all later.  When I write about Kevin tomorrow, you will get more laughs out of that one.  Bye.
 

6.5.06
10:11pm

     Ok, so Lorenda and I agreed to write some blogs about people that we know.  Talking about how we met them, favorite memories, and say stuff about them in general.  I thought it was a great idea and I am going to tell Tiffany about it too.  Sometimes that kind of stuff can be fun to read about, but if you don't like it then I apologize...I imagine that it will only be 4-5 entries.  But I think you will like them.  So...I am going to begin with Lorenda, since it was her suggestion...enjoy.
    
Lorenda:

     The first time that I met Lorenda was when James and I went to dinner at Carrows Restaurant.  He still worked there, so we wanted to go there since he got a discount.  Well James had been telling me all about her for quite some time now, just about how cool she was and that he really liked her, and wanted us to meet too.  So when we got there he made sure that we were sat in her section.  She came over and my first thought when I saw her was, "Hhhhmmmm, she is pretty, wonder if she flirts with James?"  I was introduced and made the whole nice conversation.   I have always felt like the quickest way to make friends with one of James' friends is to make fun of James while talking to them.  So I did that and I remember that she laughed quite a bit.  After that encounter I don't really remember much.  I do know that shortly after James started inviting her over to our apartment to hang out.  Kevin lived with us already, and so it was always fun having lots of people in the house.  At that time Raven, her daughter was just a little girl...and she was at that age where she would talk, talk, talk, and talk some more.  I will be honest, it could drive me nuts.  She grew out of that of course.  So I know that for a while there we were just in the whole getting to know each other stage.  Then, when we, and by that I mean Lorenda and I, were starting to get semi close she invited me to go to Yosemite Park with her and her at the time new husband Jose, and her 2 kids.  Ethan was only six months old I think, maybe younger.  Well while we were driving there, along all the twisty roads, Lorenda was getting scared because Jose was driving kinda fast, and her she was with a new baby feeling scared for them both.  She started making comments to Jose like, "Slow down, your going too fast, why are you driving like that....ect..."  They started having a small quarrel about it and while that was happening I was feeling more and more uncomfortable.  After all, here is this still sort of new friend of mine, and her new husband that I am basically still getting to know.  So, I decide to try to make things better by making a comment or two.  I said, "You know Lorenda, you should really trust your husband."  Well, we have discussed this whole event before and evidently Lorenda was NOT very happy about that comment and wanted to haul off and slap me.  Then later, while we were at the park, she was really nervous about the fact that Jose was holding Ethan and wanted to jump from one giant rock to the next.  Well, she was starting to argue a little bit again, and so I of course had to make another comment, more to just settle my own nerves.  Well, again, according to Lorenda, she wanted kill me.  She was so mad in fact that after that trip, she stopped calling me.  I know...I know.  lol  But she did.  For quite some time we did not hang out. Then, all of a sudden, I don't remember why or when, we all just started hanging out again.  We ended up getting very close.  So close that we hung out all the time.  She came over almost everyday, her son Ethan and Isaiah became good friends, and we would both go places all the time, shopping, go to the park, stuff like that.  Leaving California was especially hard for us when it came to Lorenda...at that time she was going through a huge family issue.  Although things are better now, I still wish we were there for her.  We both miss her a lot.  I hate it when friends need me, and I can't be there for them.   I can honestly say that Lorenda is one of my very best friends, and I am so happy that Yosemite was not the end of what has become a great friendship.  Because there are some girls out there, who really would have slapped me.  lol  Well, that is how I met and became friends with Lorenda.  I think it's a pretty good story.  I know that I could write more, but a lot of it I have already written in this journal in the last year...so you can just back track.   I hope you liked it.    Tomorrow I will pick someone new.  Till then, Bye.
 

6.4.06
12:04am

     Here I sit with a bowl of cherries.  I love cherries.  And I love it when they are in season because I get to buy a ton of them.  You know what I will not be able to do though that I just realized I will miss??  You don't see anybody selling fruit on the street here like you do in Ca.  I imagine that is because not a lot of fruit is grown here, it is mostly shipped.  But it's that kind of thing that you see everyday, and then when you don't, you miss it.  Because it would be really nice to pull over on the street and buy some cherries for really cheap.  Although I must say that they are selling them pretty cheap in the stores as it is.  I know they grow corn here, but honestly that is all I have seen.  
     Today was a good but busy day.  But fun too.  We went to the mall this morning so James could get fitted for a tuxedo for Jeff and Jens wedding.  While there we let the kids play in the playground that they have there and they did that for what must have been an hour or more.  While they were in there I left them with James and found a good pair of flip flops to replace my now ruined other ones.  James also bought a new pair of shoes while we were there.  Another cool thing was that while Isaiah was playing in  the play area, we noticed that he was getting a long especially well with one particular kid.   James went to talk to the dad, just to say hi, and it turns out that they live 5 houses down from us!!  Isn't that crazy??  I mean what are the odds of that happening?  We will be contacting them I am sure about getting the kids together again.  His little boys name is Sam, and he is also 4, and they have a 3 year old daughter named Ally, and a baby girl who is 6 months, but I forget her name.  The wife's name is Stephanie too!  One more Stephanie to add to the list. 
     After all that mall stuff, we came home.  We had to feed the kids of course so that was the first order of business.  But after that it was nap time for everyone under the age of 5, and so I went and hung out with Tammy while James mowed the lawn...and I didn't even have to ask him to do it!!!  I know, I know, someplace very hot just froze over.  lol  But I had a good time talking with Tammy, and we hung out till it was dinner time.  Talked about all kinds of stuff, watched the kids play, it was great.  Oh, I almost forgot.  Before I was with Tammy, but after lunch and before the naps....I cleaned up the entire upstairs!  Yep, I was busy.  Even cleaned out bath tub, which isn't an easy thing to do now that it is one of those big ones with the jets.  But I vacuumed everything, cleaned bathrooms.  Actually, I asked James to help me with that and so he cleaned Isaiah's bathroom.  He did a good job.  I am just happy to have the 2nd floor looking good.  I don't know how long it will last, (two days is my guess) but I will enjoy it while I can. 
     Anyway, so James' birthday draws ever near, and my mom is buying him a new video game.  Yep.  Another one.  That will bring our total of new games for this new console up to 7.  Do you realize that these games cost $60.00 a pop?  Not that I am complaining about the price, I mean with all the time that is put in to making one, I am surprised it's not more.  What I can't believe is that we have so many.  That's a lot of money.  Thank goodness some were given to him as gifts.  Whew!  Anyway, I am sure that once he gets that new game I will be seeing him even less.  lol  That might be a good thing.  j/k  :-)  Well, that's all from me for tonight.  I will write more tomorrow.  Bye.
 

6.3.06
11:52pm

     Well, today was the day that James finally decided to install the ceiling fans inside of Isaiah and Evelyn's rooms.  It took longer than expected due to children being in the room with us, but they are all up and everyone is much happier.  Especially me since now Evelyn will not be sweating all through the night and waking up.   We bought these small colorful children's fans at Wal-Mart that only cost us $20.  They work great too.  They have lots of power and push out a lot of air.  So, if you need a ceiling fan for your kids room that is the one I would recommend.   While James was doing that I began the process of drawing out tweddledee and tweddledum from Alice in Wonderland.  They are a hard pair of fat men to draw.  They aren't really round shaped, but they aren't egg shaped either, and quite frankly I was having a hard time.  I got some good advice from James and my dad though and I think I am well on my way to making them look right. 
     So besides that all we did was take turns napping, and enjoyed the day.  Even Isaiah had a nap when we fell asleep on the floor.  Of course later on the dogs had to be annoying and go over and start licking his face...of course that woke him up and put him in an instantly bad mood.  Oh well.  I got the kitchen all clean right after dinner though, did the dishes and everything.  One thing I must say that I hate about doing dishes is that quite frequently I forget to always wash my hands on the side of the sink that has the drain...and so what ends up happening is I accidentally drop the soap down the garbage disposal, and of course soap is one of the hardest things to get out of there.  James can never do it.  His hands are too big.  So it is always me and I always end up hurting my knuckles because of course my hand is bigger coming out with the soap than it was going in.  Someone should invent something to make grabbing the soap out of there easier.
     Let's see, do I have any more complaints???  Nope, but I have a praise!!  James got his first check today with his raise on it.  Now it was only for half a months pay, but wow what a difference.    I am really anxious to start giving money to our new church more, save more money, and buy health insurance.  Evelyn has been a year old now for over 2 weeks and I need to get her some immunizations, but I can't right now because I know they will be too expensive.  Honestly, if we are able, I would also like to be able to help out some of our friends more who have financial problems.  I hate it when people that I love are in need, and I don't have the ability to help them.  And Christmas!!  This year we will be able to send off gifts through the mail.  How cool will that be?  I am looking forward to it. 
     Well, as you can see/read, nothing much to report today.  I will hopefully have a much more exciting day tomorrow, and then I can tell you all about it.  Or maybe I will just make something up for fun. lol  j/k  Talk to you later, Bye.
 

6.2.06
11:17pm

     I don't know what to write about tonight.  I feel like today was just one of those normal boring days.  Isaiah played on the computer almost all day.  Except for the time when I wanted to go for a walk, but once we got out there, we both were no longer into it.  So that was short.  Evelyn was her usual good/cranky self.  Happy when your paying attention to her, mad when your not.  She is starting to get over it quicker now at least .  She cries less.  Which is nice since we have been letting her cry it out.  Even better was the fact that she slept in this morning.  It wasn't till 8am that I had to get her.  Lucky me.  whew!  James took Isaiah to his hearing test today.  It was supposed to be more extensive.  I was very pleased when James told me that his hearing is fine.  Praise the Lord!  Now we can just focus on his speech therapy and helping him talk better.  I want so badly to be able to understand everything he is saying to me, and not just little parts here and there.  Not to mention that if he is going to be able to do well in school, he needs to not only be able to communicate, but want to.  Sometimes I don't think he wants to, since he knows people have such a hard time understanding him.  Poor kid.
     We won't be attending church today.  I guess they are going to be having service at a Korean church which is helping Nino and some of the other college students to go to China.  So...we get to have a day to our selves.  Pretty cool if you ask me.  Maybe that will give me some time to paint Evelyn's room.  I want to get it done.  I hate feeling like I am stuck with a project.  And since I never seem to have time for it, that's how I feel.  You know what I am also feeling?  Itchy!!  There are a million mosquitoes out here and they have all decided to attack me and Isaiah.  Isaiah must be allergic to them like I am, because his get very big and red.  I swear that we are going to end up with the West Nile Virus.  Isaiah has like 10 on him now, and I feel itchy all over ever since going for that walk.  I am sure I have some.  That spray I bought isn't working.
     I was tempted today to go take a picture of that swan for all of you to see.  But I decided against it.  Why tempt fate right?  Anyway...I really can't think of anything else for tonight people.  I should really go.  Plus I still need to clean up the kitchen.  Why is the kitchen always the last thing anyway?  Well, till tomorrow.  Bye.
 

6.1.06
9:24pm

     This evening my mom and I took her dog and Evelyn for a walk.  As we were coming home down the main road we decided to cut between the two small lakes that are in front of the entrance to our subdivision.  It's called the "community area" and we are all allowed to walk through there and hang out if we so please.  The two small lakes are separated by about 10-12 feet of land.  That is the area that we were walking through.  We noticed that right along the inside edge of the lake where we would be walking was a very large swan sitting on a very large nest.  I had heard about this swan from the kids in our area and knew that it had eggs in there.  We then noticed that in the other lake directly across was the "daddy" swan, and he seemed to be swimming towards us.  Please keep in mind that my moms dog was not being threatening at all.  Not a sound out of her.  She was just happily walking.  So, the daddy swan keeps coming closer, and we keep walking, thinking that he is just getting ready incase we decide to attack his mate, which we were not gonna do, so why worry?  Right?  Well, right when we got directly across from the mama swan, the daddy swan jumped, and I mean jumped, out of the lake and sprang towards us.  Huge swan to begin with, now even bigger because it was extending its self all the way, with wings spread wide, screeching a very angry screech, and it was coming at us...or should I say, at the dog who happened to be next to Evelyn at the time.  We started freaking out.  I mean what were we supposed to do except run??  So we tried, but the leash got tangled up in the stroller, so my mom was trying to fix that while we tried to back a way at the same time.  (At this moment I was thinking to myself that I should kick it, because that is what James would do.)  My mom finally got free of the stroller and I went around the swan who was still after the dog.  My mom then got tripped up somehow and fell, hard.  She got up and I told her to go back and around, and I would go forward and head towards her.  She takes off with me yelling, "Run"....and the baby and I take off around the way we were initially going.  Now, let me just say...seriously, that thing was HUGE!  GIGANTIC!!  I have never been so scared of a bird in all my life.  It was chasing us down that entire time.  I am NOT going back there...especially with a dog.  My mom is mad at her dog because that whole time she didn't even try to defend us.  She kept heading towards the swan...maybe trying to make friends, who knows.  She is now calling the dog Useless.  lol 
     Anyway, so that was the most exciting thing that happened today.  The rest of the day I must say was quite boring.  Isaiah had a great day at school, and Evelyn was also good.   The house is already mostly clean, and it wasn't as hot today, which would make anyone happy.  James' birthday plans are set.  I would love to tell you all about it, but like I said, I can't, incase he reads this.  Not that he does very often, but you never know.  I would like to point you all to a cool website that Lorenda pointed me to.  It's called  www.43things.com  People go there and make a list of places they want to and things that they want to do in life.  It's pretty cool.  You get to make your own list if you sign up and you can also read what other people want to do.  It also shows you how many other people want to do the same things as  you, and people can make comments, rate them, and you can add an entry to your "things" and post a picture with it too.  It's really a cool web site and you should check it out.  Well, that's all for now.  Talk to you all tomorrow.  Bye.
 

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