These are a few of my favorite things...

Merry Christmas

2012-01-02T22:23:00.001-08:00

Christmas in California is much different from Christmas in Washington. For one, it’s 80 degrees (typical WA summer weather), and two, we get the opportunity to entertain family….love!

This year we had the opportunity to welcome my mom, and youngest brother, Brian for Christmas.

Our annual tradition of decorating a gingerbread house.

Happy boy surrounded by lots of candy.

The boys received these little football helmets, one for each NFL team. They love them. Each day they set up different match-ups for the teams and ask each other, “which one wins?”

Just some fun that we shared with Grandma Parine, and Uncle Brian. Thanks for coming to visit.

Oh, mom!

2011-12-18T07:46:00.001-08:00

I enjoy crafting, sewing, gluing, painting…really just being creative. Being a mother offers me many opportunities to use my creativity. My list is usually quite long, so when I have the chance to sit down and work on a project it feels good. In the past, I have offered a chance for the boys to either help with the project, or given them a similar project (more to their scale) that I “think” they would enjoy. They usually come over interested and oblige with the project for a whopping 3 minutes and then run off to do their “boy stuff”. This afternoon, was a little different….

The boys approached me one weekday afternoon, while I was preparing dinner, asking for something fun to do. I have had cardboard letters, J and C, for quite some time now, with a fun project in mind for them. I decided to wait till we move (no need to put more holes in the wall, right?!) for the project. These would be perfect for a quick fun project for the boys.

I gathered some orange and gray yarn, and the cardboard letters. Showed the boys how to wrap the yarn around the letters, and stepped back into the kitchen to finish dinner.

Soon, I hear lots of giggles coming from Carter, and Josh crying for help.

This is what I look in to see:

I don’t have a close up of Josh, but he finally after desperately trying to wind the yarn around his letter “J”, looked at me and said, “Mom, really?!” Ah, fun times!

SURPRISE

2011-12-14T21:31:00.001-08:00

Yeah! I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it!

Yesterday while at work I get a strange text from my beautiful friend, Kim. She asks, “What’s your middle name?” Hmm, that’s a mighty strange or maybe just random question. Then she asks me, “What’s your birth year?” Okay, now I’m intrigued! What is she up to? She informs me that I will find out soon enough.

Oh, and I did! SHE’S FLYING ME OUT TO NY TO SEE HER! I wish I could explain how overly excited I am, but I can’t seem to find the words to accurately describe this feeling of elation (oh, maybe that does describe it).

Kim is one of my dearest friends and her and her husband, Lucas, moved to Stony Brook, NY this last summer for his residence in Orthopedic surgery. Not only were they starting a new stage of life across the country in a whole new state, but they were expecting their first child, Malin, soon after their arrival in NY. Their departure was hard for both Michael and I because we became very close with them and absolutely enjoyed their company. And frankly, it’s just hard saying good bye to such dear friends.

So you can imagine my pure excitement when Kim sent me an itinerary for NYC!

Thank you KIm, for the sweetest surprise and gift ever! Looking forward to seeing you guys, and sweet lil Malin!

See you soon!

Bye, bye, Blue

2011-12-04T17:17:00.001-08:00

Saying goodbye can be so hard to do…especially when it’s been your napping couch for 9 + years. Depending on who you ask the departure of the couch was either sudden or discussed many times. I’m guessing it’s pretty easy to figure out which one is Michael’s and which one was mine.

Blue was an excellent couch and held up through quite a bit (two rambunctious boys, countless other kids, Michael’s bed for the first year in Redlands). It was, by far, the best napping couch ever and the couch we purchase to replace it will have to have amazing napability.

We had discussed that Blue wouldn’t be making the move, but never discussed getting rid of her before hand. Though when the Christmas tree cam in, we knew now was a good time to say our goodbyes.

Michael saying goodbye one last time.

Till we move big Brown will be filling in for Blue.

I know, silly post, but you wouldn’t believe how sad Michael was to have to say goodbye to his beloved couch.

2011-11-01T21:14:00.001-07:00

Trick or Treat

Although I have much more to catch up on I’m jumping ahead a bit because me sister has insisted on seeing pictures of the boys in their costumes. Here you go, Joc!

Josh was super excited this year about Halloween and had a some fun ideas on what he would like to be…clone trooper, Darth Vader, and something else Star Wars that I can’t remember. Michael the convincing one that he is was able to talk Josh into being a Cougar’s football player. Sounds good to me, sounds free to me (ahhh, ya)! Josh loved the idea and played the part quite well. Here’s an example: I took a few pictures of the boys on Monday afternoon, and after taking a picture Josh told me, “I didn’t smile for the picture because football players don’t smile!” Oh, Josh you make your father so proud.

Carter wasn’t so sure about this whole dressing up thing. He was a pirate and a very cute one at that. Thank you Nikki for letting us borrow the pirate costume. You are wonderful! Carter was very hesitant at first until he discovered that he gets candy. He quickly got a hang on it, and although he may not be able to say, “Trick or Treat” he certainly says the cutest, sweetest, “Tant u!”.

We went to our friends house for some dinner and then head out around their neighborhood for trick or treating. Thanks, Edge family for once again a fun Halloween.

My pictures aren’t the best, but hopefully they capture the cuteness that is my children…think I love them

2011-10-31T08:19:00.001-07:00

A Weekend away

It seems like when the opportunity to get away for the weekend comes it’s most commonly to San Diego and this weekend was no exception….except that I had to work.

We have an annual Board of Directors Retreat every year to the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, and this is my first year I’ve been able to make it (last year I was in Denver running a half). We stay in Bungalows where the back door opens up to Mission bay, with grass to play in and sand to dig in and boy did the boys have fun.

Awe Carter, getting “into” his playing in the sand. Love you sweet boy!

Not sure what this goofy boy is doing ( I was sitting in a meeting). My guess’ are he either got grossed out, or he’s just being goofy

We even had a babysitter the first night, a roommate of an alumni student of Michael’s that now attends Point Loma; the boys loved her.

It was a wonderful weekend spent with our friends, the Schenkels and Leonards. Before heading home we all stopped at the zoo. I’m so happy that everyone we could all go to the zoo, it was so much fun to be there with all the girls. To see some of those pic’s you’ll have to head over to Mark and Jill’s blog.

2011-10-30T09:09:00.001-07:00

Daddy’s helper

Carter is an outdoor boy through and through. We have had a little push lawnmower ever since Josh turned one, but it’s never gotten much use…Josh is not a fan of daddy’s lawnmower and the loud noise it makes ( I understand ). Carter on the other hand is right along side Michael as he mows and it’s absolutely adorable. I think Carter might be our own little, Bear Grylls.

2011-10-30T08:44:00.001-07:00

more Family…

Time at home with Mom and Dad was filled with lots of book reading and cake eating. Dad (who shares the same birthdate as cousin, Elias) was going to be celebrating his birthday soon and as Josh pointed out, it was his half birthday. And what half birthday goes by without a cake. So we baked a cake and topped it with football gear…the ultimate boy cake, right?!

Love Josh’s smile on this picture…silly boy!

We always, always have so much fun when Mom and Dad visit, and it’s funny to me how the moments that stick out the most to me are the quiet and low key ones, like these:

Mom always brings a separate suitcase of toys, books, clothes, etc…. for the boys when they come to visit and this time was no exception. As always, thank you so much Mom and Dad for your amazing gift of spoiling our boys with love and fun.

2011-10-30T08:28:00.001-07:00

Family

We had the joy and pleasure of hosting grandpa and grandma DeJong in Southern California for a few days in August. As always it was a wonderful visit with lots of fun, and we were even able to hang two new doors. Thanks, Dad!

On Sunday after church we traveled down to Coronado for some fun at the beach. Coronado is by far our favorite beach and for many reasons- quiet, hardly anyone around, easy parking, great sand, great location, and you just can’t beat the views. Josh loved the water, and Carter loved the sand. It amazes me constantly how much Josh is growing up as a boy. He braved the ocean with Michael most of the afternoon, stopping for a few sunscreen reapplications (bummer of being a red head at the beach). Carter loves the sand and burying his legs and animals as well…very cute. Too bad I don’t have any pictures, but you will rarely see us bring our camera in the sand anymore; we paid a $100 a year ago to get a speck of sand out of our lens.

We hit up dinner at this little restaurant near our hotel a bit later after showering off from the beach. The restaurant serves breakfast all day, so I jumped on that like white on rice. I very rarely eat breakfast and if I do it’s a yogurt. Even if I had time to sit down and eat no one in my house likes my favorite breakfast, a Greek omelet. So that being said, breakfast it was and boy they had the best hash browns EVER…and I’m not a big fan of hash browns (too much carbs for the me).

After dinner we looked to come up with a plan for Monday at Seaworld….the boys helped

SeaWorld is so much fun especially with the ages that Josh and Carter are at. Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us. To start our visit out, and I highly recommend this, we hit up a ride were you get soaked, I mean absolutely drenched – or at least I did….good thing it ended up being a beautiful sunny day. We were able to see almost every show and keep the boys attention at each one, mine especially at the Sea Lion and Otter show (sorry, but Biff is hilarious). We had so much fun and can’t wait to return.

Here are a few fun picture of our day:

2011-08-02T21:49:00.001-07:00

Pwease

Sometimes I just have to brag about how gosh darn cute my baby is. It seems like every time we turn around he is hugging our legs, or racing around the house with his trucks saying, “Twuck, go, twuck, go”.

As we try to teach him to say, “Please, and Thank you”, we’ve discovered that we can’t really tell him no. It’s just too darn cute when he says them.

His beautiful brown eyes get big, and he pushes his head forward, puckers his lips and out comes the cutest, sweetest, and hardest think to resist, “Pwease!”

and “Twoo too (Thank you)”!

It’s the little things that truly make us feel blessed. My boys do exactly that for me every day.

2011-07-31T22:55:00.001-07:00

The Ball’s Visit

It was so wonderful having family in town for a few days and even better that we were able to go to San Diego with them.

We were pleasantly surprised that Michael’s sister and family that were visiting the Grand Canyon were coming in a day early. We love having family visit and the opportunity to have more time than what was originally planned was a wonderful surprise.

It’s a tight squeeze, to put it simply, to fit 6 more people in our cozy house, but we made do. I don’t believe a picture is necessary to demonstrate the “coziness”. If you’ve been in our house, you understand

Friday we enjoyed each other’s company and hung out around the house.

Saturday, Michael and I planned out a scavenger hunt for everyone around the City of Redlands. Our hope was to make our family more familiar with Redlands. The town we call home. We had lots of fun, and I think the girls really enjoyed the competition. Then we headed to the Schneider’s house to play in the pool for a while.

Sunday, after church we headed to Coronado Island to go to the beach. Coronado is so beautiful and the beaches are far less crowded than those of Huntington or Newport. The kids enjoyed the water and sand. Carter, especially, enjoyed the sand. It seems that when my SIL is in town I simply just don’t take the time to take pictures. She’s quite the photographer and it’s always much more enjoyable to look at her photos than my own. Towards dinner time it started to rain a bit so we quickly packed up the beach gear and headed to the hotel.

Monday, We headed out early for the San Diego Zoo. I love the San Diego Zoo, because each visit is unique and this one didn’t disappoint. It was the first visit to the Zoo for the Ball family, so it was even more fun to show them around. Every one had their animal that they couldn’t wait to see; Josh’s was the hippo, Carter’s was the giraffe’s, Mine was the koala’s and Michael’s was the polar bears.

We absolutely enjoyed the Ball’s visit. Can’t wait till next time.

2011-05-28T22:29:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday my sweet baby!

It’s hard to believe that it was two years ago today that the your dad was able to announce, “It’s a boy” and we welcomed you into our family.

Carter Michael DeJong. You were named after your strong, intelligent, soft spoken, whole hearted, amazing father. And ever since you came into this world you have shown much of the same characteristics. You are as sweet as a summer watermelon, as cuddly as a teddy bear, and as fun as, well your big brother.

Your father and I just adore the way you understand things and although you can’t talk you lead us to what you want, or point, OR big brother translates for you (smile). We are looking forward to you learning and growing more each and everyday, though we wouldn’t mind you staying just the way you are for a bit longer (too sweet)!

Just like your big brother, Dad and I hope to show you the world and God’s plan for you. We promise to do everything we can to raise you both to be respectful Godly gentlemen. Lucky for me you have a perfect example at home, your father.

I know that you are only two, but I can’t tell you how much joy you bring to my life. You truly make my heart sing. Your amazing dimpled smile that just makes your eyes beam, how you love to hold my hand, and how you love to snuggle in on my shoulder. I hope you never grow out of those things. I wish I could just bottle it all up.

Some of your favorite things to do are:

Playing with Trains: You not only just love to play with trains, you climb and sit in the middle of the table.

Trucks: Your favorite truck is, of course, Dad’s. You get super excited when you see him pull up, or just see his truck parked in front of the house. Your favorite truck to play with is a garbage truck. You love to race back and forth around the house giggling the whole time.

Playing with Josh:

Best buds! I realize that this may not always be, so I treasure how much you two get along and love to play with each other. You two are quite the silly pair.

and playing outside:

I just love this picture of you playing with your Uncle Lucas that we took tonight. Though I don’t understand, especially with the amount of time you play outside, why we don’t have any pictures of you doing so. Sorry, sweetie!

Thank you, Carter for blessing your father and I with you tremendous heart, gorgeous smile, and sweet personality. We love you so much!

2011-05-16T13:01:00.001-07:00

Trains and other things

I love how much Carter loves to play with “Choo choos”. He carries them around with them everywhere he goes. And he says, “choo choos” so adorably, as he sticks his lower lip out and puckers.

The cutest part of it all is just how into his “choo choos” he gets. See…

Josh on the other hand has been loving the game of baseball. That is the game of dice baseball. It’s a game that Michael made up when he was a kid and he’s been teaching Josh.

As I worked on few painting projects the boys did some of their own.

For Christmas Josh was given a Dino Dig; a clay brick with dinosaur bones in it. He has been super excited to start digging and we finally had weather that provided us with an opportunity to do it.

Here is Josh digging for his T-Rex dinosaur bones.

2011-05-09T16:26:00.001-07:00

Ohh those brown eyes…

2011-04-09T07:24:00.001-07:00

Blog title?

Good Morning, family & friends!

As you have probably noticed our blog layout and look keeps changing…sorry! I think from the basic settings I’ve finally found something that is “me”. But I am not a big fan of our blog title, and can’t think of anything else for the life of me. It just doesn’t sound like us…does that make sense? Every time I read our title I start singing the “Sound of Music”, and although I LOVE the movie, it’s not very unique to our family…the crazy bunch that we are.

Please, please help! Any fun suggestions?

2011-04-07T22:08:00.001-07:00

Palm Springs

RELAXATION….AHHH! Well not exactly, but we really enjoyed our get away for a few days.

Our original plan was to head out after Carter’s nap on Sunday afternoon, so we would have the remainder of the day to spend in the pool. Plans changed when we were invited to our Pastor’s family home for dinner. And, since we don’t get out as much as we like, we almost literally jumped through the phone to their dinner table at the invitation…Yes, the DeJongs are easily excited. Michael and I both just love the Elgersma family and the love that they have shown our family…Thank you Elgersma family for the wonderful conversation and great food.

We arrived in Palm Springs in the

late afternoon, unpacked and headed out for a walk downtown and dinner. The Palm Springs Tennis Club where we stayed was only two blocks away from downtown. I’ve never explored Palm Springs before, it’s really a unique town. We decided to dine at GRIND BRGR BaR, voted the best burger in town.

Bare with me here, we thought we would take a picture of our meals….

Josh loving his C3 milkshake and Mac’n cheese

My amazing Falafel Veggie Sandwich, Yuuummy!

Michael’s Mexi-Cali Burger

Don’t worry Carter didn’t starve. He shared with Josh.

We spent Monday morning at the pool

then while Carter “napped” Michael and Josh headed out to play some putt-putt golf. We then played some ping-pong, and then headed out for a early dinner.

We decided to eat dinner at Sherman’s deli, a New York deli and delicatessen shop. Michael enjoyed his enormous club sandwich, and I ordered a classic Reuben with pastrami. We don’t normally order dessert when eating out, but it’s not likely that a NY Italian girl like myself would ever pass up the opportunity to have an NY Italian dessert. So for dessert I ordered a slice of plain cheese cake (just the way the it’s supposed to be naked, none of that silly stuff on top). The boys had Black & White cookies, and Michael had this gigantic slice of San Jacinto cake…

Picture of the boys being…boys! Love them.

Thank you so very much Jeff & Brenda for inviting our family to Palm Springs. Love you guys!

2011-04-07T21:02:00.001-07:00

Spirit Week…

We love Spirit Week at RCS, especially this year because Josh was able to participate in all the fun. For those not familiar with Spirit week, it’s a fun week for both students and facility where each day has a different theme.

The themes for this year were:

Monday: Pajama Day (who doesn’t love that!?)

Tuesday: Clash Day (wear mismatched clothes; essentially just let Josh dress himself).

Okay, does that smile just say, “okay MOM, just take the picture NOW!” or what. Love you, sweetheart!

Michael dressed up for Clash Day as well, so I just HAD to take of picture. I love this picture because just as I was about to snap the photo (can I say that, or does that make me sound behind the times?!) Carter, who had been standing next to me, raced over to stand next to Dad. Love, love, love the cuteness that is my Carter. Look aren’t they so cute:

Wednesday: Crazy Hair day: Faux hawk & spikes

Thursday: RCS colors (Navy & Gold)

Geesh! Apparently I didn’t get a picture of Josh.

A fun week ending with Friendship games, and the start of SPRING BREAK! Whoo hoo

2011-03-27T22:08:00.001-07:00

NYC

Michael had a great second half of his trip, and I’m still quite jealous of his time in NYC.

They arrived in NYC on Wednesday night and started their tour of the city with Times Square.

I love that the kids were able to see this fun place in the evening and get the full Times Square experience.

The next day they visited Rockefeller, Central Park, FAO Schwartz, Carlo’s Bakery, 5th Avenue. Whoohoo, sounds like a fun day to me. Though I haven’t found my little blue box yet!

View from the top of the Rock…isn’t this city awesome?

So as much fun as they had during the day they were able to go to see Wicked on Broadway that evening…can you say, “Jealous.”

Fun, fun, fun!

And last but not least my beloved husband eating my favorite dessert and taking a picture of it for me….hmm, not sure if this is sweet or just plain mean.

Michael had so much fun! It’s so wonderful that RCS is able offer this to the students. Such an tremendous opportunity.

As for the boys and I we had a great rest of the week. We had lots of time to play cars, and trains. Love one on one time with my boys. Life is good!

2011-03-27T21:12:00.001-07:00

Prayers for Hatcher

Please help me pray for a friend’s 3 year old little cowboy. He is fighting for his life right now and could use all our prayers….

http://thewheatleyroundup.blogspot.com

Lord, Please lay your healing hand on this precious child of yours. We ask for you to strengthen his heart, and calm his little body. Comfort his family and give them the faith to know that you are the Almighty God.

2011-03-15T13:45:00.001-07:00

First few days

Michael left for Washington DC and NYC for 7 days on Saturday morning! Although Michael has been to most of the places they are visiting, he has never been to the places with 40 8th graders and an equal amount of parents. I’m personally jealous because this years class includes my small group girls and my girls are very special to me. So I know that Michael is having lots of fun, because those girls are a goofy, fun bunch.

As for back at home:

Josh had his first soccer game on Saturday, and although he didn’t touch the ball much he had a smile on his face the entire game. I’m sure he’ll get the hang of the game soon. No matter what, I’m so very proud of him.

Monday and today have been hard, I ended up getting Strep throat and all the fun things that go along with that. The boys have been extremely helpful and played really well together. With the meds I should be feeling better by tomorrow, hopefully.

I wish I had some pictures to post of the boys playing together, especially for Michael to view. Sorry!

We love you, Michael and miss you dearly! Please give my city a big, “Hello” for me.

2011-03-10T21:51:00.001-08:00

A few random things…

Geesh, this week has just flown by. Nothing really exciting happened, but we seemed to keep busy with the day to day tasks. Carter is starting to feel much better after having a double ear infection and Strep throat (yep, I get Mom of the Year award for that one) and return to his happy little self, yay! Josh is busy learning in school, this week he was on the letter, “V “and learning how to play soccer. Michael is busy now with girls basketball, and I’m busy; hmm, just being busy.

Some good news this week from Michael’s liver transplant doctor is that Michael’s liver enzyme levels have come down; from 300 to 199, still WAY above average (avg. is 30), but we are hopeful.

Poor Josh, he was so tired that he fell asleep sitting up…this is pretty good example of how tired he is by Thursday evening.

Josh getting super excited for his first soccer practice.

I’ve been working on a few subway art projects…this one’s my first, and although I’m not very pleased with it, I’ve learned a few things. I’ll post the new ones later.

Next week Michael is headed to DC & NY with the 8th grade class. I’m super excited for him, and can’t wait to see all the pictures, and hear all the stories. However, we will miss him dearly at home.

Blessings

2011-03-02T17:55:00.001-08:00

Mentone

As I sit here and cry I ponder whether this post would be better as a journal entry. I can’t even begin to explain how hard it is to drive down Capri Avenue every day. Some days I literally breakdown in tears. Friends may know that we would love to get out of our house, but also know how grateful we are to have a roof over our heads that we can afford. Yet some days the grace takes a backseat to my tears and cries of, “WHY?”

Just before arriving home today, these following events happened to me:

1) tailgated by a shady all black vehicle, who then flipped me off, when I pulled into the suicide lane to turn.

2). While out for my run, a car drove by and threw, yes, let me repeat, THREW an In’n Out cup at me. Yes, it still had some liquids in it, and yes, it hit me. Again, bursting into tears and screaming inside, “WHY)

3) Passed on the left hand side on a side street right before a stop sign and then the car proceeded to just sit at the stop sign.

Other Mentone crazies:

4) Neighbor beats his girlfriend, and has been arrested for it numerous times. I have gotten to the point that when I hear people scream anywhere I tense and have to say a small prayer to try calm my nerves.

5) I’ve had to call the sheriff 5 times in the 5 years we have lived in this (insert word of choice here).

6) I’ve been whistled and called numerous names that I wouldn’t dare repeat when I run down Capri Ave.

7) The same kids that whistle and call names have also chased me with their remote control car.

8) I do NOT feel safe with my kids in the front yard, even with the gate shut.

I can’t do this anymore….WHY?

2011-02-21T21:08:00.001-08:00

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, SWEETHEART! It’s hard to believe that 5 years have passed since we first held you in our arms. What a blessing that day was. Little did we know that day, how our lives would change. From the beginning, you have had a tremendous heart and always on the go. Dad and I like to say that you never learned to walk. You skipped right over that step and leaped right into running. Honestly, this should have come as no surprise considering how much your Dad and I hardly ever sit down, and the fact that your Dad’s nickname was “ Michael, Michael motorcycle”. Yep, your Dad, just like you, used to run EVERYWHERE!

You are such a great big brother to Carter. It is such a delight for Dad and I to watch you play with Carter so calmly and gently. I love the way you are always considering Carter when you make decisions. It’s not something that we taught you, it just always been something you wanted to do. LOVE THAT!

Josh, you are funny! I hope you never lose your silly personality. You make your Dad and I laugh all the time. I can just smile thinking of all of the funny things you’ve said to us.

Your smile! Your smile lights up my day. It seems to say, “I love you”. Hope someday you will let more people see that smile.

Sure, Dad and I could definitely say you can be stubborn, but we’ve learned you’re just… decisive, passionate. You love to be given fore warning… to plan ahead… you’re cautious. You must at all times, need to know what is coming next.

Dad and I can’t wait to watch you grow, and your passion and love for Jesus grow with you. We love the way you love Jesus.. how you look forward to reading from your Bible, and ask questions. We pray that you have a close and intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior. For we know that you have a tremendous heart and His Kingdom is yours.

Thank you for everything you have taught us about ourselves. We love you so much and feel truly blessed by you each and everyday.

Legoland

Happy Birthday!

2011-02-12T12:37:00.001-08:00

Sickies

Seems as though it was our turn to get the flu. Starting a little after half-time for the Super Bowl Carter starting getting sick. Michael and I were both shocked at how quickly Carter started feeling sick. We haven’t been around anyone who was sick, and we are selves have been feeling fine. So, sure it was a bit shocking. I so dread seeing my babies sick. You get that sick feeling in your tummy that just says, “Oh, I would much rather it be me.” Especially when they aren’t able to communicate to you what hurts. But, Ohhh, how I love the cuddles and snuggles I get from sick babies. Love, love, love cuddling (go figure physical touch is one of my love languages)

Anywho, Carter starting feeling better on Monday, but you’ll never guess who came home from school feeling yucky on Tuesday? Yep, Josh! Seems he caught the bug. Then it was my turn, and last but not least, Michael got it and probably the worst of it. I worry about him the most because of his weak immune system.

We missed A LOT of work, and school this week. Not fun!

We’re all feeling better now, and have hopefully avoided society long enough to not pass the bug on.

Carter trying to sleep on the floor…

Carter slept quite a bit this week on the couch like this…

Josh on Tuesday night, when he started feeling yucky

Hmmm, Carter must be feeling better?!

I think they’re both feeling better now! Yay!!

I would show you pictures of Michael and I feeling yucky, but trust me you are better off. ;)

2011-02-06T14:15:00.001-08:00

Weekend at home

Michael and I treasure our weekends, especially the ones that we are able to spend at home as a family. Sometime it feels a bit selfish to stay home and mostly because weekends are the best opportunity for us to invite friends over, or go out and explore Southern California (which we do all so often, LOL). But we really enjoy the calm, slow family weekends. I always feel revived, calm, and complete after a weekend at home with my boys. Sure we “try” to get some of those house projects checked off the list, but for the most part it’s games, trains, cars, trampoline, etc… I LOVE these weekends, and this weekend was one of them.

Carter reading…

Carter giving Josh hugs

Josh showing how much he loves those hugs

Michael happily trimming our fruitless Mulberry back with his new chainsaw

Some things you’ll often find Josh doing on his own…

Coloring Superheroes, and crossword puzzles

and playing his favorite word game. He loves to sit and do puzzles that make him think, especially spelling puzzles. He does a great job of sounding each letter out and making words.

I have to show my fun purchases this week, because I just love them. Thank you so much Mom & Dad DeJong.

For Christmas M & D gave a Sample fragrance set of 8 different perfumes from Sephora. Inside is a card that you fill out once you have had a chance to try out the 8 different perfumes, and take it into Sephora for a full size bottle of your chosen perfume.

I chose…

and I was finally able to get my new Crockpot.

Fun!

2011-02-06T13:28:00.001-08:00

A New Purpose

When I first started our blog it was with the hope of helping out of state family stay connected…you know all the things that are hard to say over the phone. I thought I would be more committed to posting, but when you everyday life just seems so ordinary you don’t see any reason to post. Yet, I try to remind myself that our ho-hum days are fun and interesting to our families and friends. Even with that said, a friend said something to me the other day that made me realized that I have been blogging, or lack of blogging, for all the wrong reasons and this I made me very sad. She said, that I should post and my boys wouldn’t regret it. I can’t thank her enough because even though it made me very sad to think of all the moments that I’ve missed, it made me happy to know that it’s never too late to start. So I hope that with a new found purpose our blog will be a way to write our memories, or everyday moments that Michael and I, or the boys can look back on and treasure…a public journal or memoir, per say.

2011-01-02T16:10:00.001-08:00

Thankful

Alright, so I may be the world’s most inconsistent blogger. SORRY! Would it help if I told you I have over a dozen drafts just sitting there. So it’s not for a lack of trying, it’s more, “is this post worthy” whatever that means.

There has been one consistent think with my drafts…Thankfulness.

NO. This year was anything but easy. YES. Because of the challenges this year posed, I have a lot to be thankful for.

Now how do you show how thankful you are: I have considered blogging a list of things I am thankful for, writing a letter to each person I am thankful for, making each person something personal or special, and some other ideas. I finally decided to pray. Pray for each and every person I am thankful for each and every day. Now, I can stick with that, and I have (Go me).

It seems scary to say, “I am thankful for Michael’s diagnosis”, but honestly it has allowed us to see life through different eyes. Never EVER would I say that I didn’t appreciate my marriage, children, family, or friends. Yet I just love the way I have slowed life down and can sit and just reflect on how lovely my life really is. I just can’t say enough about my husband and children. Sure they may drive me crazy now and again…like leaving the bathroom door open (josh), but geesh, I would be crazy if they didn’t.

But enough about my family, everyone already knows how in love I am with my three boys. This post is to finally say, incase you didn’t already know, just how thankful I am to each and everyone of my friends (you know who you are :) ).

Thank you so much for your unending support throughout this year. All the walks, coffee dates, chick flick nights, family dinners, and watching the Bachelorette evenings. I can’t say enough how much comfort, and love you have shown me. It’s been tremendious in my walk with the Lord, and filling my heart with grace, joy and thankfulness.

I just laugh thinking back to some of the fun that filled 2010, but as much as I enjoyed 2010, I think that 2011 is going to be something incredible…maybe even mostly doctor free.

2010-08-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary

Today 6 years ago I married the love of my life, my best friend, my soul mate, and the only person that laughs at my jokes :).

Here are a few things that I love about my husband, Michael Glen:

He loves God
He has so much love and respect for his parents.
He never lets a day go by without letting me know how much he loves and appreciates me. ( I know, I know, what can I say…I’m sooo loved. It’s okay, you can be jealous, but find your own man :))
Josh and Carter are everything to him.
I love how much Josh and Carter adore their dad!
He truly loves being a Christian school teacher, and even after 9 years of teaching he still has an incredible love and passion for the job and the kids.
He has a heart of gold.
He never talks negatively about anyone…never!
He is a great listener… or maybe I’m just a great talker (hmm, I might have to think about that one…kidding :))
I know that no matter what happens to me, no matter what crazy thing I say or do, he will always support and love me.
He chose the best job ever, really…I think the rest of us are just jealous that we didn’t think of it first.

Many of our friends know how much I adore my husband, and words can hardly describe how much loves and adores so many people he is surrounded by. I know that I am truly blessed to have such an amazing life partner and can’t wait for what the rest of our lives together hold. Love you, Babe! Thank you so much for loving me and loving the way I drive you crazy!!

2010-08-11T22:55:00.001-07:00

I’m still here…

trying to figure out where to start since so much has happened since I last updated.

Hmm, I’m thinking that pictures will tell the tale. Sooo, here it goes…

Starting with two sleeping cuties on our way back from the beach in Holland

Cascade/Ada 4th of July Parade

Ice Cream with Abe, Anna, & Simon

Simon Triezenberg enjoying his Superman Ice Cream. Isn’t he such a cutie?

Carter loves sand boxes

Meijer Gardens

Josh and Nathan Super Heroes

Sweet Ava! They just don’t get any cutier!

Saying Goodbye is just so hard!

It always amazes me how hard it is to leave our Michigan friends! We love and miss you all!

and after that….

Oceanside with Mike’s brother, Randy and family

Playing Play-doh with friends

Okay, I better get off the computer…Mike’s already finished his bowl of ice cream.

Toodles :)

2010-03-12T20:02:00.001-08:00

Vege-sort of-tarian

Mike and I have made a huge change in our diets lately, and we are both loving it. It seems that about a dozen doctors visits in one months’ time can give you a little of a kick in the behind to start a healthier lifestyle. Crazy, but I wouldn’t have thought we had an unhealthy lifestyle, nor did the doctor. We just decided to make the change for ourselves, before a doctor or our bodies told us too.

Mike was asked to give up dairy for two weeks; and no more happiness (for you Brian Reagan fans). Mike is a VERY understanding and even tempered guy, but when you take dairy, really just ice cream, out of his diet, well you could say he was just a LITTLE peeved. I’m pretty positive that the Doctor didn’t know of Mike’s nightly bowl of ice cream. But Mike being the positive and problem solver realized that the doctor would understand if he left just ice cream in his diet. Hmm, I wouldn’t if I was his doctor, but who am I to argue. Luckily, dairy has been introduced back into his diet.

I really enjoyed finding dairy-free recipes, especially for a husband that loves comfort foods. I ended up finding a lot of vegetarian recipes, or recipes that I was able to make some adjustments too, but all in all we all enjoyed the meals, and we have continued to make them. I can’t say that we only eat vegetarian because we don’t (I’m German and Italian; meat is just part of most every meal). But veggies by far the main ingredient in most every dinner. LOVE IT!

Hopefully I will have the time to post a picture along with a recipe of two.

Human anatomy from a four year olds perspective

2010-02-03T20:24:00.001-08:00

Our little comedian was up to his funny ways once again today.

It all happened at the end of our Costco visit today. Josh loves to hand the Costco employee at the exit the receipt, because they usually draw him a happy face on it. So just like expected the lady at the exit drew a happy face for him, but unlike every other time Josh looked up at me and asked, “Where’s the nose?”. Uhhh, I’ve never really noticed if they usually make a nose or not, but he seems to remember that they do. I turned to Josh to say, “It doesn’t need a nose!”, “Do you need a nose?”. Smart Josh says, “Yes, my nose is for running”! HAAAA, I could not stop laughing. Goodness, I love being put in place by a four year old. I often forget what it must be like to see life through a four year olds eyes.

Well, I had to find what he thought other body parts are for, so we continued the conversation on the way home. This is what Josh informed us about:

Hands are for talking

Fingers are for poking

Legs hold our feet

Feet are for walking and running

Eyes are for sleeping

Teeth are for brushing

Bellybuttons are for tickling

So silly!! Thanks for all the laughs Josh!

Unfinished work

2010-02-01T20:42:00.001-08:00

This last week was a wonderfully busy week. As most of you know I started a new job, and will soon be taking on more responsibility with our church’s nursery. I am SOO excited about these wonderful opportunities, but yet very anxious.

I’ve never done well in stressful situations (tests, new job, meeting new people, confrontations, etc…). I get this nervous anxiety that gives a sick feeling in my stomach and the nervousness doesn’t allow me to remember anything, all brain activity freezes (this would define my schooling). I honestly would like to avoid stressful situations as much as possible, wouldn’t we all! But you can’t really get through life without taking a test, or meeting new people, or starting a new job. So, with maturity (haa, who am I kidding) or age I’m hoping that I have learned to cope with stress better. Now I try to pump myself up before such situations. Give myself a little pep talk sorta say! Anything to avoid that nervous anxiety that I normally get! We’ll see if it works.

Since I can’t see myself through clear eyes, I try to bounce things off of Mike for help. So in starting the new job, I did just that. He told me that the one thing he has noticed I have been doing, is not finishing projects or ideas that I have started or bought supplies for. TRUE! I honestly have quite a few projects (snuggly blanket for Carter, a painting for the boys room, Carter’s scrapbook, etc…) that I have yet to start, or have started and not completed. I have no excuse! But it doesn’t really help me at work, it just gives me more to do at home. YAY! Ironically, As I was working on this post, he asked me to sit down and watch a show with him. So this post sat “unfinished” for a day! Hmmm, maybe all my unfinished projects isn’t my fault!! LOL

I’m now very anxious to see if I can finish up any of my projects, and ease my nervousness for the new job.

Bath Time

2010-01-31T21:31:00.001-08:00

Just like most families we have a night-time routine. While I do the kitchen clean up, Mike gives the boys a bath. I’m not sure how I ended up do the kitchen clean up, especially after i just made dinner, but I do enjoy putting some music on and washing the dishes. There’s a certain peaceful calm to it! Now Mike on the other hand often has whining (usually Josh, but could be Mike) or tons of giggling.

Carter just LOVES bath time! Mostly because he gets to do it with Josh, but I think he enjoys the water too! I just love how babies' giggles are so contagious and just melt your heart.

The video clip below is a case of the giggles! Unfortunately, by the time I dried my hands and grabbed the camera I missed most of Carter’s giggles. But I thought I would include a small clip anyway!

stay tuned…having computer issues

trying this

2010-01-17T16:25:00.001-08:00

I’m trying Windows Live Writer for publishing blog posts.

My cool sister-in-law is helping me.

I’m trying to sell this. Anybody want to buy it?

Montana Christmas in Southern California

2009-12-27T21:30:00.000-08:00

We were pleasantly surprised with a phone call sometime mid-November from my brother, Dan. He was surprising his girlfriend, Rachel (she's really part of the family, we're just waiting for him to make it official) with a trip to see us around Christmas time. It's always a blast when they come to visit! We were especially excited this time because we were staying in Redlands for Christmas, and now we would have visitors to share Christmas with. Josh loves his Uncle Dan and Aunt Rachel because they LOVE to play anything and everything with him and they are both super silly. We wish they lived closer so we could see them all the time, but we understand that Montana is where they need to be for NOW!

Being that it was our first Christmas staying home, Mike and I wanted to start some of our own family traditions this year. Not that we've never had the chance in the past, it just gets so hectic with getting ready to travel, and then flights canceled, and like last year; SSN stolen, filing police reports, and getting a parking ticket at the Palm Springs Airport ("hmm" you say! ask Mike) it just has seemed easier to wait till we found it the right year to stay home.

So I took it upon myself, the hostess and everything, to plan some fun traditions and outings we could do with Dan and Rach while they were here. We took a trip down to the San Diego Zoo, on a wet cold day, and were pleasantly surprised by the lack of visitors (seriously, it was like having a private tour) and the very active animals (so cool). Shoot, maybe I shouldn't be letting that little secret out! Oh, well!

My personal favorite because you will see that everyone's creative side came out, was the making of the gingerbread house. Okay, it was pre-built but it was lots of fun to frost and throw candy at (yes, the candy was thrown).

We were even able to go out to dinner and a movie with them (Thank you Verhoeven Family)! It's not often that Mike and I go out on a double date (I think Dan and Rach are the only ones that like us)!

We had a wonderful time with them and are so thankful that they thought of us to visit for Christmas. We hope that they will make it an annual visit!

(Carter sleeping)

(hook'em Horns)

I'm so sorry...

2009-12-18T15:45:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry for not posting is such a ridiculously long time! I have no valid excuse or none that I consider legit.

It always amazes me how quickly Christmas comes each year and how each year I promise to be more prepared than the last. Yet, somehow Christmas is upon us and I am no more organized (or lack there of) than last year. I think my lack of posts has proven that, yikes! So instead of writing all of the fun and new things that we have done since August (REALLY (!), seriously someone start hounding me about that) I'm going to post some pictures.

Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato

My future

Carter at 5 months old

Josh and Mike getting ready for the UW vs UCLA game

Josh and the UW Husky at the Rose Bowl (Josh was loving life!)

I don't think he was too sure about this pony

My hilarious 3 year old

2009-08-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to admit I have the one very amazing 3 year old. He brings so much laughter and silliness to our lives. Yes, we definitely have tough days, but who doesn't? First off, I know that I am a terrible story teller, and even worse at telling jokes, but I have a silly 3 year old and I just can't help but share some of his silliness.
So yesterday we took a trip to Costco, (who knows why I go on the weekend, CRAZY?!?) where we purchased some items including two 1-gallons of milk. As we pull the shopping cart up to the car, Josh (who is sitting in the cart) asks, "Why do we buy so much milk?". Michael and I look at each other and we are both thinking, "Does he really not realize how much milk he drinks?". Michael then tells Josh, "Because you drink a lot of milk!". Then I turn and say, "Josh, you have a little bit of a drinking problem!" (Yep, I know I always have a smart thing to say!) Josh vehemently replies, "I DO NOT HAVE A DRINKING PROBLEM!" as he rolls his eyes and dramatically drops his head onto the handle bar of the shopping cart! It just sounded so silly coming from a 3 year old.

Oregon Coast

2009-08-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is a bitter sweet entry, because although we just returned from a wonderful vacation, Michael now has to return to get ready for the coming school year. We sure are going to miss him at home during the day!

Our road trip to Oregon could not have gone any better, although Michael picked a pretty sketchy place to stay at our first night, just outside of Sacramento. (It was late and we were leaving pretty early, so we didn't stay there long :)) The second night was much better. We had a nice stay at a Comfort Suites where we could swim and let Josh run around a bit.

I was very anxious about two things on this trip: finding spots to stop so I could feed Carter, & traveling with Carter on such a long drive. But he did fantastic. I pretty much just sat in the back seat with the boys, which worked great because I could play with Josh and TRY to keep Carter awake.

We decided to take the 99 up because it had more towns and rest areas to stop at. Somehow we were able to find a rest area to use before Carter would need to start screaming for food (Thanks Babe!!) The tricky part was finding a parking space where I could nurse and not be seen, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Before meeting up with Michael's family in Lincoln City, we headed to McMinnville where I spent some of my time growing up. We visited with one of my best friends and her family, and looked around at some of my old schools and my old house. It's funny how when you are a kid everything looks so much bigger!! Thanks Stacey for taking us in for a night. It was so great to see you and your beautiful family again! (Here is a picture of the Spruce Goose at the Air Musuem in McMinnville.)

Okay, have you ever gone a vacation that you just didn't want to end? This was definitely one of those. My in-laws were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, so they treated their children and families to a beach house for a week. We took advantage of the beach as much as possible.

Josh loved the sand, I mean LOVED the sand. He would seriously start rolling in it! I'm not sure why that surprised me, but it did! Michael and I were able to enjoy some runs on the beach (a girl could seriously get used to that!) Michael was able to tease his siblings and we were able to get some awesome family photos ( Thanks Julie)! I will post some when I do get them. We visited a lighthouse, went to the Newport Aquarium , hiked, and mostly relaxed. So we had great company, great food, and a beautiful view of the ocean. Oh and some great stories (Josh!). Thanks Mom and Dad!

Josh was our comic relief through much of the trip. Here are four examples of 3-year old fun.

Story One: We were driving on I-5 in Oregon and Josh asks for some milk. Of course we don't have any milk, so Michael responds, "We don't have any milk, but if you like I can pull over to a field and we can milk a cow." Josh not seeing in problem with this scenario, agrees to stop and milk a cow. Michael then asks Josh, "Do you know how to milk a cow?" Josh says no and decides its okay not to have any milk. About 20 minutes later, Josh blurts out, "I wanna stop at a field and get some milk!"

Story Two: We are arriving into Salem, OR, when Josh informs us he has to go potty. He had just stopped to go only a little while before, but with how much he drinks, it didn't suprise us. We pull into a parking space at a fast food place and Josh says, "I already went". Figuring he meant that we stopped just a bit ago and he had already gone, Michael proceeds to take him out of the car seat and let him go in anyway. Well, he didn't mean that he had gone earlier, he meant he just went. He was very wet! Michael asks Josh, "When did you go?" Josh replies, "About 7 miles ago!" Silly kid! Michael takes him out and starts to undress him when he starts going again...all over the parking lot!

Story Three: We are walking up the hill from the beach to the beach house, when we pass a bush with berries on it. One or our nieces asks Uncle Randy (our scientist brother), if the berries our edible. Josh replies, "they are INcredible, not OUTcredible!"

Story Four: We are sitting at the dinner table at the beach house and I turn to my mother-in-law and say "Mom, could you please pass the water?" Josh responds, "She's not your mom, she's Daddy's Mom!" I started to explain to him that when two people get married, they become one and before I could finish, Josh starts to tear up and says, "I don't wanna be a mama!"

CARTER MICHAEL

2009-07-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since my last post and needless to say something very precious is the explanation behind the long delay.

Carter Michael DeJong was born on May 28, 2009. He arrived at 12:29 pm. He was 7lb 5oz and 20 inches at birth. We had a scheduled C-section at noon (Josh was also a C-section baby). We were pleased to know that May 28 may have been Carter's arrival regardless as I began having contractions that morning.

Josh is already such a great big brother. This is a photo of him shortly after meeting Carter for the first time. He continues to give him kisses every day and tells us about 8 times each day that "he's so tiny".

Carter is now almost 6 weeks old already! I will have to post some more recent pictures soon. We have had a fantastic time with Mike home for the summer, family in town, time at the beach, and just enjoying time home as a family.

2009-05-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

Baby Ready

2009-05-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's hard to believe that nine months has gone by already, seriously! I know, I know, no one wants to hear it. Compared to Josh's pregnancy this one was a breeze. The hardest part is yet to come though, the c-section, but I am hoping and praying that because I won't labor the surgery and the recovery will be much easier this time around. Honestly, as long as we have a heathly baby, I will be happy!

As many of you know, we have no idea what gender the baby is. Mike was most ademant that we didn't find out, and I didn't mind either way. I've enjoyed not knowing, but have been quite anxious lately to find out what baby name we will be able to use. In preparing for the baby, I bought gender specific clothes this time around and have laid them out for the grandparents to bring to the hospital when we know pink or blue. I'll post pictures as soon as Josh wakes up from his nap. Hmmm, it could be cute to get a picture of him napping though. My little angel!

We finished up the last of the baby prep house work, pretty much a mad spring cleaning this weekend and are ready to relax and enjoy our summer at home with Josh and the new baby. Some of this prep included planting my garden, some flowers, painting an old windmill we have, and lots of other not so much fun things. Everyone, including the dog, got a hair cut. I love love love when Mike has a fresh hair cut. I miss the curls on Josh though, but am comforted to know that they will come back.

I'm not a big fan of taking pictures, so we only have some of me at the end of the pregnancy for you family members that would like to see the belly.

Mothers' Day

2009-05-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

Today has been such a special reminder of why I am so lucky. Yep, being a mother definitely has its tough days, but it's the little things that make the difference. Like when Baby #2 kicks and I can tickle its feet, or when Josh comes up and gives me a huge hug and says, "I love you Mom!". These are the moments in life I treasure!
Today, Mike and Josh made cinnamon rolls and surprised me a special card that inside informed me that I have a future date night with Mike coming up. Hurray, I love date nights!!

I love being a mother, and a wife! I've have been blessed in so many ways! Thank you boys!

Counting down

2009-05-09T08:03:00.001-07:00

Hurray, We are getting very excited for Baby #2s arrival. I have been so thankful that this pregnancy has gone so much smoother than Josh's did. So many things have been different about this pregnancy (morning sickness, reflux, cramps, weight gain, etc...), but one thing still remains, C-SECTION!
Mike and I took a tour of the new maternity ward at Redlands Community Hospital, not sure why considering all the new beautiful babies that have been born lately, but it was nice to hear some policy changes and just get a better feel for our surroundings. But as informative as the tour was...I had an anxiety attack. The rush of emotions that came over me while we are standing in the postpartum rooms was almost more than I could stand. Josh's C-section came rushing back to me. Mike is constantly comforting me and reminding me that this time will be very different though. I keep praying that he is right :)
No matter what happens during or after the surgery, we are going to meet our new little miracle. It's going to be so much fun to watch Josh as a big brother. Hurray for God's little miracles!
I'm hoping to post at least one photo of the my belly before we have the baby! So stay tuned

How to express one's self gracefully

2009-01-06T13:26:00.000-08:00

It's been quite awhile since I've blogged, oops! I originally started b/c I thought this would help me write down my thoughts instead of always expressing them verbally. This truly has been a challenge for me.
I've learned a lot about myself through my marriage. Unfortunately, patience was never a practice in my family while growing up, but Mike and I, (more me than Mike) have tried diligiently to become more patient, graceful parents, friends and spouses.
Today, Josh has put my patience to the test! In fact, right now he is trying to convince me that he woke up from his nap. Silly me, I didn't realize you could sing and sleep :) ! I've tried taking away his juice and Lighting McQueen (yep, I said it), but he seemed Okay with both, infact he handed them to me. There's a part of me that thinks he may be over naps, but that quickly disapates when he lays on the couch and says he's tired.
I've read articles that tell you to keep bringing them back to their beds. Clearly these authors have never met my son, b/c I tried that for his bed time and it literally took months to get him to stay in his bed.
It's funny how the smallest things sometimes seem the most tramatic... until we forget about them an hour later :)
Sometimes I just have to laugh b/c it really is a silly situation!!!

Goteen

2008-07-30T17:59:00.001-07:00

Josh has come up with a new word, "Goteen". We are working on counting to 20, and he just loves to race his cars around the house, so he has now combined the them to get, "3,2,1 goteen"! It's pretty cute!

We're home!

2008-07-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have had the privilege of staying home with my boys. Honestly, It's a little weird having the 3 of us home with no vacation in sight or welcoming family into town. We do love being able to play more games, read more books, and check some items off of our "House To Do List". Finally, we are taking more off the list, than what we are adding on. Though, this hasn't been our main focus, nope, potty training is! We are attempting to get our bouncy, energetic 2 1/2 year old to use the potty, so he is able to go to Preschool starting in, uh oh, 3 weeks. It amazes me that Josh is already old enough to go to Preschool, but that time has arrived and we are very excited.
This summer has been a very different experience for us because we had central air and heat put in last November, so it's much more tolerable. The house actually cools down in 5 minutes to the set temperature, rather than taking 5 hours to cool to an astounding 85 degrees. Where we're from 85 degrees is a summer high (outside)!
The most beautiful part about summers in Redlands is the evening time. It cools down perfectly for late evening walks, BBQ's with friends, or to have one on one time with the hubby (my personal favorite).