Those random pics...

So, I finally got those pictures uploaded, and thought I'd add a few of the recent randoms...

Turns out I CAN bake bread. Thanks, Marissa (and friend), for a great recipe!

Fender-bender, at the scene. Bummer...

Deer in our back yard, eating our landlord's pears. It stayed for a few mins, until our kids scared it away...

Girlie, attempting the stairs. She doesn't really go up them yet, but she's starting to think about it...

Chubby little leggers. So yummy I just want to eat them up!

Kids, sitting on the bridge at the pond on a Sunday afternoon walk...

Kids sitting on the stairs, "protecting" Natalie from falling down them...

She looks like me, I promise. Adorable, no??

Can't resist adding one more cute one of her...

Bike riders...

Their kind chauffeur...

These last "random" pictures are from Samantha. Always nice to see what she thinks is worth a photograph...

Self imagery...

More self imagery, only not turning out so well...

Natalie, covered in food, looking very enthused...

Mom feeding Natalie, from a distance...

Natalie's mohawk hair, up close...

Scripture-of-the-month, on the fridge...

Dishwasher, ready to wash...

Pencil jar, phone, and bottle insulator, from above...

Mom making dinner, up close...

Flowers on the table...

One last self portrait....

That's it for now. We're off for a weekend getaway to Upstate New York and Canada. Little country cottage, Palmyra, Niagara Falls, oh -- and we'll miss the hurricane here. Lucky. Sounds fun!!

Slumpy

I'm still here, just not so into blogging lately, I guess. Not sure what I am "into" these days, actually. Feeling a little bit slumpy, I guess. It's not that I'm down or discouraged or anything. I'm just not really motivated to do whatever it is I "should" be doing, I guess. But at the same time, I'm not really concerned about this slumpiness. (btw, slumpiness is not a real word, and spell-check KNOWS it, and is quite bothered by it!)

I guess I'm just soaking up the last of the lazy summer days of August, while they last... sensing that change is around the corner: school is starting soon, the leaves are turning stale-green (which everyone knows is right before they change colors for real), and the humidity is finally going away (which means it's going to start to get cold soon). Ah, change... ready or not, here it comes. But before it's officially here, I think I'm going to just continue this slumpy phase, because it feels relaxing and comfortable, and I know it won't last.

Now you know what I've been up to -- not much.

Here are some recent random pictures of our slumpiness and other stuff...

oh, never mind. They're still on the camera, and I'm feeling slumpy enough to not get up and download pictures.

Instead, I guess you'll get the quick list of things I accomplished today:

-- emptied the clean, folded laundry baskets throughout the house (there were three, sitting half full from last week)

-- went to Target and got Samantha's school supplies and some mascara for me (and somehow ended up with a bunch of other stuff that totaled $64... and don't try to tell me that's never happened to you?!!?!)

-- turned in Samantha's updated Tuberculosis test waiver and updated immunization forms at her school.

-- mailed off a request for the accident report form for the little fender-bender I was in a couple of weeks ago (bad merge, slow traffic on the freeway, everyone was fine.)

-- talked to Dalana on her birthday, had a nice long catch-up chat.

-- made that delicious potato/tomato curry I've been craving, finally. Kids didn't love it, but I certainly did!

-- visited the afternoon away with my friend Debbie and her kids.

-- talked on the phone to my mom for a long chat this evening, while we both cleaned house.

-- blogged, while I waited for Brian to come home, but he's still not home and the blogging is winding down, I can feel it.

Yep. Pretty normal day here. Doesn't even sound too slumpy, does it? But nothing too thrilling, either. Honestly, the main benefit of this particular post is that you don't have to keep looking at that lame-o potty-training post! Hang tight, I'm sure there's better stuff coming soon, right??

Silver Lining

Well, I'd put this on fb, but I don't really think my 300+ fb friends from high school or wherever else would really be interested. And I'd call Brian and just vent/explain to him about it, but I've tried calling him so many times today and I just get voicemail. And I'd call my mom, but I've already bugged her enough today.

So, hello blogging world. You get my story today. I'm calling it "Silver Lining" because I'm choosing to see the positive here... like working with Murphy's Law, or something like that.

Disclaimer: stop right here if you don't like reading about potty training.

Here's the story, short and sweet...

We went to the beach this afternoon.

Spencer pooed in his swim shorts.

After I took his fully-soaked diaper off.

Before I got a swim diaper on him.

The silver lining.... because he pooed in his swim shorts, he did NOT poo in the tub a few short minutes after we got home. Whew!!

Another one?

Spencer peed all over the bathroom floor and wall.

I mean ALLLLL OVER.

After the beach and the poop.

Before I could help him get his "potty training" act together.

The silver lining... this all happened BEFORE I mopped the bathroom floor. And YES, I was actually PLANNING to mop the bathroom floor today, just hadn't gotten to it yet. I mean, seriously, there is a silver lining to almost EVERYTHING, people.

Even potty training.

Knock-Knock.

Conversation at dinner tonight...

Samantha: Mom. Here's what we're going to do. I'll knock on something and say 'knock-knock.' Then, you answer and say "who's there?" and I'll say "-- well, I'll say a name or something." Then you say "the name or something and then 'who'?" then I'll say another name or something with the first name, and then if it's funny, we'll laugh. Okay??

Me: You mean, like we'll play knock-knock?

Samantha: Yeah, but I'll knock on something, too.

Me: Okay. I'm ready.

Samantha (knocks on her chair): Knock-knock.

Me: Who's there?

Samantha (pauses, looks around the dinner table and kitchen area): Umm.... Hunt's Tomato Ketchup.

Me: Hunt's Tomato Ketchup, who?

Samantha (another good "thinking" pause): Ummmm... Hunt's Tomato Ketchup and rice and oranges in a blender!!!!! hah ahahahah!!!?!!?!

Her "silly face" ...

Wow. Knock-knock IS the game of the five-year-old. And I get to be her frequent audience, lucky me!!

Tribute to Redfish

So, believe it or not, life in near the big city gets a little rough at times. (Surprised?) And usually, when that happens, Brian says to me, "Wow. I just wish we could pack up and go spend a few weeks at Redfish Lake." And he means it. So, this summer, we actually did throw a bit of Redfish into our little vacation to Idaho. And it was wonderful.

This post is my quick tribute to Redfish Lake and all its loveliness...

We rented a little cabin suite for a night, the night before my birthday. I didn't get a picture of the outside, but here was the cute little bedroom inside...

Brian's Aunt Cindy (and our dear friend) works up at the lodge there, so we got to see her, and Janice (Brian's sis) & company. Sadly, I have no pictures of our fun tinfoil dinner night at the beach, but you'll have to trust me that it was really fun!

We all smelled like campfire, and had perfectly cooked and seasoned dinners, complete with corn on the cob cooked in the fire, and delicious sides of pineapple and feta salad. yum!! And let's not forget that Samantha and cousin Allie got SOAKED in the lake while "playing in the sand." They were freezing and begging to go home by the time we left the lake to go back to our cabins. (And a mother who TOLD Samantha NOT to get wet that night was somewhat satisfied that the poor freeeeezing five-year-old had learned her lesson the harder way, even though I tried to be sympathetic.)

So, I woke up on my birthday morning to this lovely, gorgeous mountain setting around me...

We ate a delicious birthday breakfast (blueberry pancakes, yum!!) at the lodge...

With this view out our window as we ate...

Then we swam all afternoon. Spence and Brian stayed in the water a lot, so I didn't get many pics of them (Brian thanks me for the lack of photo coverage, of course, ha!)...

Samantha rigged up her own "floatie" system...

Wondering how it worked in the water? Demonstrated below...

And Natalie? Well, I made sure to get some pics of her from all angles, since she was so cute in her little suit...

Gotta love that softie little back...

And her painted toes, tee hee...

Truth be told, she crashed out in her stroller for a lot of the afternoon, like a perfect baby doll...

I guess that's the end of my tribute. We had to end it all too quickly, to rush off for a birthday party/bbq/fireworks at my parents' house. (Can't complain about that, eh?)

Oh, but I also have to throw in our fun pics of our favorite ice cream parlor in Idaho City. We stopped there on the way up to Redfish; it's tradition...

Some close-ups of those darling ice cream faces...

Sprinkles, from her "birthday cake" ice cream...

And Natalie liked her cup of water (less messy when it spilled down the front of her shirt)....

My final word...

I have to say, if you've wondered whether you should put Redfish Lake on your list of "destinations" I vote YES!! It's worth it.

Workin' hard, at the office...

Well folks, I have to say, my day job sometimes has its challenges. Yep, tough stuff goes down at the office every now and then. Don't get me wrong... I love it. I really do. But it sometimes gets a little overwhelming, being middle-management and all. Shall I elaborate a little??

I guess I just have a hard time being the supervisor, sometimes. Training and leadership has its perks, but only when you know how to do it right. Which I sometimes don't. So, I've been reading some training manuals lately and talking to some other managers, trying to pick up some tips...

Even though I feel like I'm constantly trying to implement new programs around the office, it seems like it's slow-going, hard to track progress and measure results, ya know?

But really, my colleagues are great -- all three of them. And they learn really quickly, even though I struggle to know how to "manage" them properly. My most adaptable colleague is sometimes also the most challenging. She's a really fast learner, but is also SUPER independent and "hands off!" when it comes to certain work aspects.

She doesn't deal well with direct orders, so I have to find ways to make her feel like what I'm asking her to do was really her idea. Does that make sense? It gets tricky, I'm telling you! Also, she's got quite the creative flair when it comes to "projects." But not a lot of follow-through on the "clean-up" side of said "projects." ...

We've been working together for 5+ years now, but she still has to be reminded about some of the most tedious things... like company dress standards. I mean, jelly shoes? (and that's IF I'm not telling her we have to wear some kind of shoes.) Plus, she gets stains or holes in most company uniforms, which is a bigger expense than you might imagine! C'mon! And I am constantly battling her about her hair as well. She seems to think the hairbrush never came back in after the '80s, I guess...

She also sometimes forgets that I'm the supervisor. I've overheard her ordering the other employees around when she thinks I'm not listening. Surprisingly, she uses many of my exact phrases -- be they threats or bribes. I guess this is teaching me what not to say when she's around??

She likes to eavesdrop on my conversations, then bring up certain "awkward" topics with my boss... like, informing him that I was expecting him back from his meetings much earlier, or reminding him of certain engagements that really have nothing to do with her.

But all in all, she's great! She reads my mind and moods and when she feels like pitching in, she's a REAL help to me -- which I really appreciate around here!

As for my other co-workers, well... My middle man is in need of some serious mandatory training right now. And he's really complacent about it...

No wait, I'm pretty sure complacent is the wrong word. He's actually quite adamant that he does not want to go through with this new training program...

Even though it means a wardrobe upgrade...

And he's been offered several incentive packages...

He seems to be perfectly content with his current plan, and it's hard to find the right motivation to convince him that this training will really improve his work options in the long run. He just has a hard time seeing the long-range vision behind this. As his direct supervisor, I'm struggling to know how to encourage him without getting frustrated. Maybe now's not the time to push back, I guess?

He's a hard worker, and gets a lot done, in spurts. We see a lot of fury-followed-by-crash. Here's a "crash" scene, happens almost every afternoon, after his fury...


He has a hard time expressing his opinions, and gets rather emotional at times, but isn't very communicative. When I ask him why he doesn't want to do certain things, his only answer is generally just, "because I don't." Hard to work with that, people. But I'm trying. I'd rather not be the "enforcer" with him at times, to be honest. He's very agreeable and loves to please, as long as he doesn't feel like someone is trying to force any issues with him. I have to walk a fine line there, as you can imagine.

But those baby blues... they win him points. All day. Every day...

Talk about communications struggles... I'm wondering if we should consider ESL for our third employee? She gets her point across alright, but it's usually through lots of gesturing, whimpering, or screaming. I've had to work hard to read her nonverbal cues. It seems she's prone to frequent meltdowns and needs lots of breaks, even more than the other two, imagine!

But she's pretty good at her job most of the time. She's GREAT at paperwork, and seems to genuinely LOVE it! She makes fast work of most any kind of paper -- can tear through books and magazines like a speed-reader, er, I probably mean speed-eater?

To be honest, she's a lot of work, when it comes to management. She's pretty demanding, and acts like the little "princess" around here. She takes some extra supervision, and TONS of extra programs and "equipment"...

But she's got charisma to match her complexity, so I guess we don't mind too much...

Anyway, it's a roller-coaster around here. Even though I love it, I feel like I spend so much time managing, supervising, and training, that I find myself working overtime just to do regular maintenance, like this...

Or this...

Any other "managers" relate? Yep, the home office is quite the work-place, I'm telling you!!