My Man Meme

Thanks Mandy for the opportunity to do some husband bragging with this meme :-)

1. Who is your man? Allen

2. How long have you been together? Almost 8 years

3. How long did you date? We dated for 2 years -We were engaged for over half that time, but dating none the less

4. How old is your man? 26

5. Who eats more? Well, it depends, are we talking more on the whole or more chocolate dessert :-)

6. Who said I love you first? He did after a very long conversation at a coffee house with both of us wanting to say it, but not really knowing if it was the right time.

7. Who is taller? Allen by quite a bit. (10 inches to be precise)

8. Who sings better? Allen hands down. He has a wonderful voice, so if you want a Hutchison to sing, pick him, never me. If you ask me you may regret it (LOL!).

9. Who is smarter? Allen definitely picks up on school work much faster than I ever could, that is one of his many attractive qualities.

10. Whose temper is worse? Well, not that either of us are quick tempered, but I would have to say probably him.

11. Who does the laundry? me, generally, though he does pitch in sometimes.

12. Who takes out the trash? Allen, always Allen.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do, since it is closer to the window (I am always warmer than he is, always!)

14. Who pays the bills? We both do, though most of our bills are done automatically.

15. Who is better with the computer? Hah! This question makes me laugh. Anyone who knows us would be able to answer this one no problem. Allen is a computer whisperer compared to me.

16. Who mows the lawn? the lawn crew at the seminary..

17. Who cooks dinner? mainly me.

18. Who drives when you are together? Allen unless he is especially tired.

19. Who is the most stubborn? Me. No comment.

20. Whose parents do you like the most? Silly question, both!

21. Who kissed who first? Allen kissed me at Haystack rock on the Oregon Coast

22. Who asked out who? We mutually agreed to go out together.

23. Who proposed? Allen of course, and it was perfect (Baker Beach under Golden Gate Bridge, just gorgeous).

24. Who has more friends? Allen, he is a lot better at that area than I am.

25. Who has more siblings? We have the same (Each one Sister and one Brother, though if you count their spouses he has more, since mine are still working their way in that direction :-) )

Pray, Pray, Pray

Found out tonight that some friends’ (from school here) one day old baby had to be rushed to Boston Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery tonight. This hits a little more than close to home. That’s what I can share now. Pray for Nathan and Johanna and their new son, William.

And honestly, pray for us too that we would know how best to help. Obviously we want to help, especially considering the circumstances. But we don’t know them super well so we don’t know what exactly would help them most. If nothing else, I think we’ll try to go down to the hospital tomorrow.

UPDATE - 10/5

Little William got the surgery he needed and came out okay! Praise the Lord! He’s still gonna be in the hospital for a bit yet, but today’s surgery was a success. Please pray that his little body adjusts to the trauma it just went through. And for mom and dad to cope with the trauma they just went through.

Not What We Expected

Well, it is technically October and one would imagine that October in the New England States would be cold and wet, but here is this weeks weather forecast:
South Hamilton (ignore the 2 rain clouds as they may decide to leave and return when the temperatures are more Fall-like)

Just for a little comparison here is a southern cali's weather for the week:
San Diego, CA

This Song Says it All

A friend sent me a link to this and I thought it was hilarious.
A bedtime song for parents everywhere!

Laughter and Smiles for All

In the last 24 hours our girls have succeeded in making us laugh and smile multiple times.

It started last night when Allen and I went to bed. (Background: Lizzie is sleeping in our room while we train Ellie to sleep through the night...it was the only thing we could come up with!) . Anyhow, Lizzie was asleep and we were on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly we heard our sweet little 2 year old giggle loudly in her sleep. Too cute!

Then this morning Ellie was playing around when she let out a small arrrggh of frustration. When I looked over at her this was what I saw:


Then today at the Target Ellie put on all the charm in order to get a few smiles out of some unsuspecting shoppers. One lady in particular (dressed in hospital type scrubs) smiled, laughed and told Ellie that her smile had just made her day, since she had been having a pretty awful day up until that moment. Ellie promptly smiled wider (if that was possible) and clapped, giving the nice woman even more to smile about. (Have you met Ham #2?).

Finally, and this one we couldn't laugh about at the time (we are parents with rules you know). Lizzie was "taking a nap" in our room when we heard a small clanging noise. As we opened the door to see what it was we were overpowered by the stench of perfumes and cologne. Yes, she had found all of our cologne and perfume (5 different scents) and poured them ALL OVER herself and a bit on the carpet (probably what dripped off her clothing). The next few days are going to be like living with a classy skunk!

You Would Think We Would Know

So, with Ellie being baby girl #2 you would think that we might know how to get her to sleep through the night consistently, but noooooo, of course not. We had her sleeping through the night somewhat before our cross country move. Then we got her sleeping through the night for a few days just before Nana came. However, with those two brief exceptions, we have been up 1, 2 and even 3 times a night. There isn't any rhyme or reason to it, just random waking up that ends with 4 tired and grouchy people trying to function the next day.

Do we always feed her? : Often, but not always
Does she wake up the same time every night?: NO
Is she teething?: Sometimes yes, sometimes no
too hot, too cold?: No and no (generally speaking)
Does she get special treatment when she wakes?: Only if you consider "half awake parents and a crying sister who hates being woken up to baby cries" special then yes
Have we tried alcohol?: Nope, and not gonna

The only thing we can think of left is letting her cry it out, and keeping her to a set schedule. This means Lizzie will be bunking with us since she can't cope well with non-stop sissy cries.

Any other good ideas??? (not rhetorical)

If not, pray :-)
Thanks!

Ups and Downs

Today was a day of disciplining. Lizzie has been on a rough streak for a few days now, and today was no exception. However, amidst the time of frustration, sorrow and disappointment, was joy, pride, and even a little peace.

Let me share some of the later moments with you:

Ellie sitting joyfully bouncing on her sissy's bed (that she proudly ascended herself) only to be joined by Lizzie who was sweet enough to cheer on her younger sister and celebrate with her.

Ellie sitting calmly as Lizzie squeezed the tar out of her in an effort to "hug" her, and then gently smiled up at her once the hug ended as if to say "I love you too sissy".

And the one that almost brought me to tears after a long day of battles with our 2 year old...

Lizzie once again the last one to be eating as she had barely touched her food. We finally decided to try and encourage her to eat with the old "if you eat these bites, then you can have a treat". Eager to get her treat, but struggling through her dinner, Lizzie took the next 15-20 minutes to eat her 4 more bites of pizza (yes pizza, kids can be picky about the strangest things). Upon finishing her last bite she cheered with delight and then promptly headed for the cookies that had been promised. Allen handed her 3 small Alphabet cookies which she immediately snatched 1 and ate and then took the other 2 (one for each hand of course). Just as she was about to place the next cookie into her now empty mouth, her sissy let a small fuss out, and before we could blink Lizzie handed her one of her treasured cookies saying, "Here you go, sissy, cookie". Ellie gladly took the cookie and Lizzie contentedly enjoyed her "last" treat (we later gave her one more for being so thoughtful).

Jane Austen

As a huge fan of Jane Austen I just had to take this quiz when I saw it on a friends blog.
I am most like:

Take the Quiz here!

Once you take the quiz leave a comment and let me know who you are most like!
And no Allen didn't and won't be taking it, and the girls are too young to be able to answer all the questions, so they will have to wait until they are older.

Mommy and Ellie's Photo Shoot

Nana tried to get a picture of Ellie and me, but well, Ellie was a bit squirmy!

take 1

take 2

take 3

take 4

take 5

take 6

take 7 will have to be it (smile)

Tea Party Nana Style

Lizzie and Nana made sugar cookies and had a "real" tea party.

It was hilarious to watch Lizzie look at Mommy and Nana in disbelief that she was able to pour milk from the tea pot and "cream" from the creamer.

Needless to say she drank way more "tea" than she normally might, especially with a cookie sitting in front of her.