Martin is my hero. . .

This morning after being dragged out of bed by Audrey then dragging Isaac out of bed I headed to the car to make my voyage to Isaac's preschool. It was my working day (it's a co-op) so we were out the door by 8:15 to make it there around 8:35. The car wouldn't start. It gave a bit of a sputter then died. Tried it a couple more times then just figured I was out of gas. I frantically ran upstairs to get Martin's assistance. He made a run to the gas station up the street in his truck (we're not using it much now because it needs new brakes) and brought a gallon to give to the car. Alas, no go. I could get it to stay on in a very sputtery angry way with one foot on the brake and one on the gas, but as I was pulling away thinking more gas would fix it, I realized that I knew better. I pulled back into the yard and hung my head low knowing my car was busted. I called the school to let them know I wasn't going to make it in and then headed back to the car to see if there was any obvious rainwater where it shouldn't be.

I noticed a pile of fuzz where it shouldn't be. I looked a bit closer. On top of the fuzz laid some mice poo. Yes, since yesterday afternoon a mouse or a family thereof took up residence on top of my engine. I concluded the nest was covering an air intake valve and simple removal would do the trick. Now, I've spent some time under the hood of a car. I've changed spark plugs more times than most men (bad bad Hyundai) and have fixed a Maverick's transmission with duct tape once or twice, but when it comes to rodents I'm squeamish. I had to bring in the man in to rescue me.

Armed with barbeque tongs and gardening gloves, Martin carefully removed the nest (only after Emily's close inspection). Happily, the little bugger/s had left, probably due to the rukus I was making. Upon completion of removal, we discovered that as a special move-in bonus, our little friends had gnawed through my fuel injection wiring. My initial reaction was that we'd have to replace the entire wire. Martin, a bit more of a sensible and improv type guy decided that splicing was the way to go. He barely had enough slack to pull it off, but he did it. The dear Sable started happily and I was on my way to school.

See why Martin is my hero?

Now we just need to find a way to keep mice out of our cars. Any suggestions?

Busy, busy, busy. Friday night I went out with the girls from preschool. I was amazed at the clubbing skills some of these ladies had. Flirting with the doorman to get in for free. Telling the waiter it was a batchelorette party so we got free drinks. I was stunned. I guess I married too young to learn the tricks of going out. It was an educational experience. So much fun to get out. Twice in a week. I'm pretty sure that's a record for my entire married life.

We had the Pusateris and Cuddy over to see the Tyson fight on Saturday. What a hoot. That was an exciting 51 seconds. We made some fine fajitas though. We should always have a camera on hand when Cuddy comes over for food. Substantial quanities consumed at impressive speeds.

Martin just taught me that vodka and orange juice make a "screwdriver." I've always called it "vodka and orange juice."

Happy Birthday Mom!

I got to see a movie last night with a couple of girlfriends. The Hours. Good film. Depressing. But the film was nearly over by the first time I checked my watch. That's the way I judge a film. How long it takes me to wonder when I'm gonna get to go home.

It seems we might be getting some more weather around these parts. Doubtfully anything that would make anyone anywhere else blink, but we get excited when the wind blows here. I haven't seen the weather report, but it just feels like something might be a-brewin'.

Man am I tired. I guess I'll put off doing the Christmas cards yet another day.

After much parental and peer pressure, Audrey today stood without assistance. Clapping and laughter filled the house. Emily & Isaac now anxiously await the first steps.

And to the folks on the East Coast, a little snow is nice, but you've really overdone it this time. We went on a nature hike today here in Pasadena. Mild and slightly overcast, we braved the sub-70 degree temperatures to find a Geocache in Eaton Canyon. We even encountered what appeared to be running water which we've come to understand is called a "stream." A great adventure, but nothing like shovelling your car out of a driveway that's been snowplowed in.

Lastly, if you've ever wondered how a gal like me ended up with a guy like him, this explains it all. Martin bought me some half-price conversation hearts.

Jesus was my server today at In & Out Burger. He's a funny guy. Joked with me about giving me a double double when I had ordered a single burger. Nice smile too. Maybe you'll run into him someday.

It was a nice day today. I smiled a lot. Dunno why. Perhaps despite my love for the rain, my love of the sun is greater. Maybe I got two hours of uninterupted sleep last night. Maybe I made extra special half-caf in my super-cool percolater. Or it could be that I'm anticipating the half-price conversation hearts I can buy tomorrow.

Hope you had a nifty day too.

p.s. I hate Valentine's Day. Really.

Rainy Days. How nice. Do folks in Seattle blog about the rain? Happily I mean. We closed ourselves in yesterday. Homemade play dough. Lots of play dough. All over the house play dough. The kids had a blast. And the best part of homemade play dough is no Play-Doh smell. I know, I know, childhood smells, blah blah blah. I can't stand it.

But the best part of yesterday was making homemade animal crackers. Yes, I am crazy. The kids thought I was ultra cool Mom and we all had a great time. And the cookies were great. Lucky me -- I got the recipe out of a cookie book from the Pusateris, as well as the little cookie cutters from my mother-in-law. I even wore my apron from Martin, so it was like Christmas all over.

You should really request these next time you come over.

Isaac: "The clouds and the clouds connect with the sun and that makes the rainbow."

Emily: (being a bit more poetic & dramatic) "When the clouds cry the sun comes to make them happy and that makes the rainbow."

Guess what we saw today. . .

Today Emily proudly opened a can of soda, telling Isaac, "when you're big like me you'll be able to do this." Then added, "I watch mom ALL THE TIME and I learned how."

Do I really drink that much soda?

p.s. some of you may think i'm not being true to my midwest roots by calling a can of soda "soda" and not "pop", but let me assure you that i called it soda even when i lived in kansas. mostly to let people know that i wouldn't be hanging around for long. . .

I got a paper cut while reading a bedtime story to my kids tonight. No good deed goes unpunished.

happy february. this could very well be the last time you hear from me this month. see the apathy? no caps. this is me after losing much sleep to various children being awake due to various reasons. i typically am up several times a night, but last night seemed especially trying.
i'm gonna clean the kitchen a bit while i await the gurgle of my percolater telling me my precious half-caf is done. then off to burbank, beautiful burbank, to take isaac to school.