Well, we had our first experience living in "fire territory" yesterday. The hill up behind our apartment caught on fire and ended up burning about 80 acres before the fire department was able to completely kill it. I was driving back home from Costco and a friend called to ask if we were o.k. or if we had to evacuate.  I figured that I had better hurry home and see what was going on! While I was on the freeway we had to drive through an area that was being targeted with the water dropping helicopters. Of course they weren't dropping water on the freeway but around it. My car was getting drops of water and ash on it as we inched our way up the 101. Anders was pretty excited about all of the "moke!" and whenever a fire truck would wail by he would say "mmm help". He did think that the smoke had something to do with choo choo's as most of his life revolves around trains right now.

From my patio we can see the hill where the fire started. It's right above the park that we walk to.  While we stood outside watching the fire fight we waved at the big helicopters that were flying over so low that we could almost see the pilots inside. It was quite dramatic and it made me extremely thankful for the fire department! It was amazing to see how precisely they hit every little spot of flames that would pop up. It was an incredible effort and the fire was out by mid afternoon. Impressive!

Here is link to sister Heidi's blog regarding Todd Bentley and the cacophony surrounding his public humbling. The reason I am posting this is because I want to encourage other Christians to pray for Todd and his wife as well as any other believers that are struggling with public consequences. I know from experience the power of love, acceptance and the healing that comes from prayer and restoration.

Thanks to Aunt G. Here are a few moving pictures from the crazy week before we moved. My mom was a great help and Aunt G. came over a couple of days before the move and worked her magic as well. It was one of the most crazy things I've done. It was the first time I had had to pack up a whole house not just a room. 

 

We are officially in the new place and are starting to feel settled. I'm hoping to get my camera up and clicking soon to show what it's like out here.

This past week was really stressful and last night Chris and I finally re-configured our bedroom and unpacked a few more boxes. We are almost done! This apartment is quite a bit smaller and has a lot less storage than the old place so it's been interesting to try and tetris everything into place.

My only moving war wound happened last night when the paper shredder fell on top of my foot and it hurt so bad that I immediately burst into tear and hobbled out to the living room. It would have ended there except that when I get hurt I also get kind of angry so.... I karate chopped the padded desk chair out of frustration and anger and I think that my wrist hurts more then my foot..... It was a pitiful sight and it put me out of commission for about 20 minutes while I iced my wrist.  Now I understand where Anders gets his hurt/angry reactions from!

Chris was really sympathetic and didn't laugh until I felt better and then we both were able to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.

I'm sitting here in our "old" apartment taking a break from packing.  It has been a stressful job and I realize that I've never really packed up a whole household before. It is a big job!  When I get stressed my body starts warning me to slow down by swollen tonsils, canker sores, headaches and such.... yuck. So I'm taking extra vitamins and drinking lots of water and of course not slowing down!

Chris hired some guys to move us on Saturday so we just have to make sure that everything is in boxes and easy to get to. I'm looking forward to seeing someone else do a lot of work.  Next week will be filled with some unpacking but I'm hoping to take a couple of Chris' vacation days to drive up to Santa Barbara and Solvang. I want to at least enjoy some of his time off not just spend it all slaving away!

I'll blog again as soon as we are sort of settled. Maybe I'll find the cord that enables me to add some pictures as well. 

These pictures are from this weekend.  Actually the pictures with Chris and Anders were taken Sunday and the swimming pool pic was taken today.

These  are mainly for Grandma J. because she is the one who gave him the sweet little sailboat outfit. He looked like quite the little old fashioned boy in it. =0)

Sunday was a rare family day for us. We decided to skip church and get a replacement for Chris' church sound job since Chris had been down in Malibu all of Saturday for another sound job.

We spent the day resting and going out to lunch at the local Corner Bakery. In the later afternoon we drove out to my parents house to spend some time with them. It was one of the nicest days we have had in a long time!

We'll look forward to more days like this after we move. 

Today my friend Kelly and I took Anders and Aubrey to the Fullerton Arboretum. The kids had a great time and we basically just followed them around as they explored. We met another mom with a little boy named Max. They all had fun sitting on the bleachers playing "drum". 


The picture of Anders touching the pumpkin was me trying to get him to not get too rough with the plants and to only touch with one finger! Otherwise leaves and flowers would be pulled apart.

The canopy of vines was a  favorite and the kids enjoyed running back and forth through it.  

Afterwards we went to the Corner Bakery for lunch and then Anders and I continued on to Pinkberry for some frozen yogurt and blueberries. Yum!

Yesterday  I redeemed a spa finder gift card that Chris had given me as a Christmas gift to get my hair cut. I've had hair to my shoulders for some time now and it was really starting to bug me.  I rarely styled my hair and mostly just put it into a wet bun for the whole day and then would sleep with it back in a ponytail because of the heat. Completely un-hairstylist like.

When Chris came home last night I mentioned that I felt more like myself again with the short hair, and didn't he think I  looked more like the old GG again? He paused and said, "yes.... but with more cares." *sigh*.  I guess that as a mom there is a certain weariness that lingers into each evening.

How carefree life was as a single, girl with all the time in the world. But then again how sad to have no sweet husband to rub my feet and laugh with or no precious little red-headed boy to pick up and give love'ns to. I'll take the extra cares thank-you very much!

I feel a bit guilty for waiting so long to blog but it couldn't really be helped. Around Anders birthday Chris spilled some tea on to our already older laptop and it was instantly ruined. I was just glad that it wasn't me!! So now I am sitting in front of a nice new (to us) IMac that Chris won on E-bay for 340 bucks. It is MUCH better than the old lap top.

Since my last post we had a great fourth of July visiting with Mike and Denise Radka and their little one Gus. It was his first birthday on the Fourth so we attended the party and then spent the rest of the day at their house in Simi Valley.  I took a lot of pictures but they aren't uploaded yet.

I had a weekend in Palm Springs with some girlfriends which was completely delightful. It's a once a year treat that I missed last year because I didn't want to leave Anders yet. But this year I felt JUST FINE about it. =)

As I am writing this I am very aware of a large accumulation of boxes behind me. I'm also aware of all of the things around me that are not in boxes..... The reason for the boxes? On August 8 we will be moving about an hour away to Calabasas. We just found out last week that an apartment that we have been wanting came available and so we decided to take it.  The list of pros and cons was long and detailed but the pros won out. We will miss our current residence greatly and I will be very homesick for the ease of having friends and family so close.  I love our big windows that look out on lots of trees and the breeze that we get. I'll miss the friends that live right here in our complex, I'll miss the new Pinkberry Yogurt shop that we have grown to love.... so many things to miss.

 Chris won't miss the hour and fifteen minute drive to and from work, and we both won't miss the hour each way drive to church on Sunday's.

So, the next few weeks are to be filled with packing, donating, selling and throwing away our worldly goods. 

I'll post again soon, hopefully with pictures.

Tomorrow is Anders Two year old birthday. We celebrated in style on Saturday in over 100 degree weather. Everything was Thomas the Train and we had a bubble machine which was a BIG hit! It was fun to see Anders playing with some of the friends that came and of course it's always special to see him with Grandparents and Great Grandparents.
I had fun making the cupcakes and using a special food coloring spraypaint. We had to keep them at home in the fridge until the last minute because it was so hot we were afraid they would melt before the party. It ended up being a really fun day despite the heat.

We have also enjoyed having Chris' mom here for the week. I didn't get many pictures of our time together on my camera so this is the best picture that I have of Grandma J and Anders! Tomorrow we head off to Disneyland for the day. What I'm really looking forward to is Friday when I get to drive out of town and join some friends in Palm Springs for a girls weekend!

A few more pictures that I liked from recent events. The bottom picture is with my Grandma Cox at Aunt Mary's and cousin Katie's Grad party. Anders was fidgety and grumpy much of the afternoon and it took alot to get this picture. The top two are just favorites of our weekend with Chris' dad. The highlight for Anders and the guys was a Sunday afternoon at a local miniuture golf course. I realized again that I don't particularly like that activity so at about the 15th hole I retreated to the much cooler arcade to buy us all water and to avoid sun stroke. Anders had the time of his life and was red, sweaty and not ready to leave at the end.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the last week. The middle picture is from Sunday when we saw a boy that could've been A nders brother. We found out that he was almost exactly one month older. The bottom picture is one of many taken with Chris' dad while he was out to visit with us last weekend. More will follow!

Today Aubrey came over and she and Anders had a grand time together as usual. They both love playing in the water and the weather was perfect for it so that's what they did! They were both soaking and happy. Right now Aubrey's mom Kelly has Anders and I have been finishing up some house cleaning and laundry. I feel so lucky to have such nice neighbors (friends)!

Update on the car situation. It's in the shop right now and it looks like it may be able to be fixed just fine. We're keeping our fingers crossed. Chris is driving a rental hybrid which the insurance is paying for. So far he feels like they are being fair and taking care of the situation just fine.

As life goes you never know what the day will hold. Yesterday, Chris came out to his car parked carefully in the parking garage at his work to find this. There was a note and the lady said that she had "no idea what happened!" "I was backing up and my car just went out of control!" The damage is so bad that he can't open the back passenger doors or the trunk and the frame is all smooshed. He took the metro home last night which was interesting. I was able to find someone to come and be at the house while I picked him up at the Norwalk station. This morning we all got up bright and early to be out of the house at 7:3o to get him to work for a 9:30 appointment. After dropping him off at work Anders and I had a nice breakfast at "Jinky's Cafe" which is right around the corner from the studio. The traffic wasn't bad at all and it was an uneventful drive but hopefully tomorrow there will be a replacement rental car for Chris to drive!

We are hoping that there will be a positive outcome and that the insurance will really take care of us. As you can see, Chris has a hybrid and it's pretty much essential for his commute. Gas is so expensive that it would be a very uncomfortable price to pay to drive a regular car. He gets about 50 miles to the gallon and it really makes a big difference right now.

So, I'll update about this again when things are somewhat resolved. In the meantime we are getting ready to have Chris' dad here over the weekend and we are really looking forward to that. Two weeks after that Chris' mom comes for a week and Anders birthday party will be on the 21st. Then the next weekend I get to escape for a couple of days to Palm Springs for an annual girls getaway. So, it's a busy month!

So, next month is Anders two year old birthday and we are getting geared up for a full on Thomas the Train birthday party. The two year birthday is coming at the just the perfect time for the two year old behaviour to start. I have to say that we have a VERY good boy. He is sweet and contemplative, loves babies, "buppies" and his teddy bears, listens really well to instructions and follows them with gusto. He loves to run and get me a diaper and bring it to me and then lay down on the floor to be changed. This is a very useful and welcome step in his growth. Yesterday he made it clear that he wanted to sit on the couch and watch a movie while I got ready for the day instead of sitting in his high chair like I normally would have him do. When I told him that I needed to get a shower he ran over to the couch, climbed up on it and said "stay" with a very firm nod of the head. So that's what he did! It was WONDERFUL. When we are out driving he looks for every truck or bus and hollers it out "TUCK" or "BUTH" along with an occasional "BIG BIG" thrown in. I love it.
Along with these new developments there are a few not so fun ones. Because he can't really talk yet there are a lot of winey sounding grunts and noises along with a lot of shrill screaming. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of making dinner or doing dishes he comes up behind me and hugs my legs and then NIPS me. I feel like I'm in the movie "Jaws". It's a little creepy. He now knows that he can run away from me when I ask him to come to me, the word "NO" is an answer to most anything. He is really getting more independent which is very good and he's trying to do more climbing and balancing. Tonight we were over at my Grandmas house and he had given me a good nip and so he was in time out on one of the kitchen chairs. He tried to stand up and fell face first onto the hard kitchen floor. So not only was he in trouble for biting but he was hurt and surprised as well. Luckily he recuperates pretty fast!
So, I welcome a new year with new accomplishments. I welcome a child that can talk and communicate with me, and most of all I look forward to the day that I won't flinch every time he comes up to give me a kiss hoping that it doesn't turn into a bite!

Quick update on my last blog. We didn't see anyone famous but we saw a lot of paparazzi wandering around looking for famous people to harass! Later in the evening I was looking at an entertainment site and I saw Kelsey Gramer (s)? on camera in the parking lot where we were parked earlier in the day. Although we go to Malibu every week it is rare to see someone famous. I'm sure I wouldn't recognize anyone if I bumped into them in Starbucks.

On another note the weather today is MUCH cooler and I have all of the windows open to let the cool air in. At the moment I am looking out the window at the sky and it looks like we may get some drizzle at some point! It would be nice if we had some spring-like days before summer truly sets in!

Chris and I just got in the door from a pleasant night out at Downtown Disney. We are both soooo tired and the weather has been freaky hot which is part of the reason for the fatigue. Yesterday was at least 95 if not 100 degrees and today was more of the same. It feels like the middle of July. So weird for the middle of May! If this weather holds out it's going to be a long long summer here in La Habra. For now we are running our air conditioning at 11:04 in the evening and I'm hoping that Anders isn't to hot in his stuffy room with the window open and the fan running.
Tomorrow will be spent in Malibu which will be cooler and prettier. We are going to meet some good friends for lunch down near our church and hopefully spot some stars while we're at it! If I see anyone famous I'm sure I'll have to write about it!

Finding the moon in the afternoon.....

We had a very relaxing afternoon at the park today. It's a tradition with my parents to spend most of Mother's Day at Penn park and escape the craziness of the restaurants and other public places.
Chris and I weren't so smart this morning and decided to go out to brunch before the park. Luckily Chris found a replacement sound tech for the church job and we were able to lounge about a little. Then we called the place that we wanted to have brunch and they were booked up of course. So we made the short trek to Polly's pies, a place where I have lots of good childhood memories. The wait was about 45 min. Breakfast was... "Grill scraping and eggs" according to Chris. There were a few pieces of unknown crispy, fatty somethings swimming around in it and Chris says that he was still nauseous thinking about it. Mine was pretty good although I did send back my waffles once do to them being burned and cold, something I normally would never do.
My mom assured me that this is why they NEVER go out on Mother's day. So next year we'll actually take my mom's recommendation and hunker down and enjoy breakfast at home.

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day.

Yesterday Anders was sitting on my lap while I checked my e-mail, uploaded photos and talked on the phone. My camera was on the desk and he wanted to play with it so I thought I'd take a picture. Chris noticed that I was wearing my apron and mentioned that I looked a bit frazzled. I was a little. We had a busy fun day yesterday and before the picture was taken I was trying to get ONE thing done for the day. That ended up being the kitchen which had begun to look like a playroom/science experiment/office/farmers market/.... you get the picture. It was in need of a good scouring.
After getting the kitchen cleaned, we went out to buy Anders some new shoes in Uptown Whittier. There is an adorable children's store called "The Wishing Well" that has every cool and fun toy imaginable and some pretty cute clothes and shoes. Anders feet are really wide and he had started to complain about the tennis shoes that he wears everyday. They were a little big length wise but too narrow. The other pair of shoes that he owns have so many holes in them he might as well be wearing socks. So, I broke down and bought a fairly expensive pair of sandals made by "See Kai Run". They are super cute and seem wide enough.
After that we went to my parents house for dinner and a visit. When I told Anders we were going to Grandma and Grandpas house he said "bolf"? and then put his finger in his mouth to try to make a popping noise like my dad does to amuse him. Of course we had a great visit and the golf club was swung many times and there was a lot of "mouth popping".

See below posts for descriptions.