Tae Kwan Do Green Belts

We had a fun-filled weekend. David and Thomas tested for their Green Belts in Tae Kwan Do yesterday and they both passed. Here is Thomas holding the board he broke, sporting his new belt. He's very proud of himself and we are too.


Thomas is in the middle. He's answering the judges questions on Korean vocabulary.


During the testing the participants free spar for the judges. Check out the look of determination and yell on Thomas's face.


Preparing to do the Form for the judges.


Here is the video of David breaking his board. I wish I could have gotten a video of Thomas doing the same but one of the instructors was standing in my way.

Brennan and I were really proud of Daddy and big brother. Next up - blue tip!

Spring Cleaning

David and I started Spring Cleaning over the Christmas Break. There is nothing I love more than weeding out a room. That's rather sad, isn't it?

Maybe it comes from growing up in a military family where we moved and cleaned out a lot. Maybe I get it from my mom who likes the same. Maybe it's that recycling gene in me. David definitely likes a non-cluttered look so maybe he's the influence. Regardless, I love organizing and getting rid of all that stuff we don't use.

And it's not just me. A co-worker said to me in early January that she smiled all the way to Goodwill with a truck full over the holidays because she too had weeded out her house and it felt so good. I shared her enthusiasm.

Last weekend we worked on the office. It's a loft above our kitchen and I have not enjoyed going into it for awhile. The boys are great about putting things away in the house. All the office stuff I just kept saying "just stick it on the desk." Thomas said - "but there's no room anymore!"

Desk Before
Desk After

Tall Shelves Before
Tall Shelves After

Low Shelves Before

Low Shelves After

Low Shelves After

I see from these pictures that it doesn't look ALL that different. Believe me, it is. We cleaned out every drawer in the desk and discarded a ton of stuff. And now I actually enjoy going in there just to look around!

(A big thank you to Thomas for taking the "before" pictures and for helping with the big clean up)

Kids Journals

When we were expecting Thomas, we received great advice from our Executive Director at work. He suggested we get journals and write to our little one(s) each month.

Mike had heard about this at a recent couple's baby shower he and his wife attended and wished he had been writing to his sons all along. I headed to Barnes & Noble that afternoon and picked up a blank journal. The next day we had our ultrasound and found out we were having a boy! I started journaling to Thomas that day. And have been for 9 years this month.

With Brennan, I started journaling right after he was born. The boys sometimes ask for me to read excerpts from their journals to them at night. I'm on their 3rd journals now. Their birthday month I ask them about their favorite things (foods, tv shows, books, movies, friends, classes...) and they help me with that entry. I haven't turned the journals over to them yet - I will wait until they are much older and maybe have responsible wives who will put them somewhere for safekeeping!


I try to write a few pages every month and am pretty good about it. There have been times where I've skipped a few months and I miss so much! I love going back and re-reading old entries.

David also has journals for the boys with this own approach. I hope the boys appreciate the tales from their childhood when they have their own little ones at home.

And that Works for Me! For other great tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

I think I need a girl...

Yesterday. Building something with Thomas's electronic circuit kit.


We cleaned up our office area yesterday and decided to throw out the old p.c. But not before taking it apart, of course. The boys LOVED it. They love all of Daddy's science experiments (and the time he spends with them!)


Video of Brennan telling me about the monitor of the pc they just disassembled. If you are seeing this in email, you'll need to go to the website to watch the video. Notice the missing two front teeth. He's soooo cute trying to talk through this gap!

I saw these on another blog and thought they were so sweet. The 1st and 3rd ones are adorable. I sent them to Amy to try on Ellie for V-Day. So sweet...

Well, if I can't have a girl, I definitely need to learn more about science.

The Bloody Mary

The Lirettes came for brunch today! We had a nice meal of fruit salad, crab quiche, egg casserole, and banana muffins. The highlights were conversation and the drink of the week - The Bloody Mary.

David had never had a Bloody Mary so was pleasantly surprised. I consulted a number of sources again, but found that everyone is willing to share their Bloody Mary recipes when I mentioned what I was making today.

I used the recipe most often cited. The Blood Mary is generally believed to have been invented in 1924 at Harry's New York Bar in Paris. This famous bar was frequented by many American expatriates - Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald , and Ernest Hemingway to name a few. It is also noted that George Gershwin wrote much of "An American in Paris" on the piano in the downstairs lounge. The patrons encouraged the bartenders at Harry's to invent more creative cocktails. This drink became an instant hit in Paris and gained popularity here once Vodka was legally exported to the U.S. in the 1940's. The Sidecar was also thought to have been invented at Harry's.

David's Swizzle Stick Rating:
The Bloody Mary - 5 Swizzle Sticks

The Bloody Mary - Tomato juice, 1.5 oz. Vodka, splash lemon juice, splash Worcestershire sauce, splash Tobasco, celery for garnish. Fill a Tom Collins glass half way with ice. Cover ice with tomato juice. Add Vodka, lemon juice, Tobasco, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and garnish.

I really enjoyed the Bloody Mary as well. I think it would be great with Spicy V8 too. And did you notice the new Tom Collins glasses? I couldn't find them anywhere in town. But Crate and Barrel online came through!

Snowy Saturday Ramblings

Brennan and I did a bunch of errands yesterday. I'm sooo behind on my errands. He was a great help. We stopped at our favorite Japanese place for a little lunch. Since Brennan doesn't eat meat I wondered what he'd order. Without looking at the menu, "Yes, I'd like miso soup and edamame please." Here he is enjoying his miso. He lost another tooth last week. Now he really needs his two front teeth, just a little late for Christmas.

After errands and Tae Kwan Do, we took the boys bowling.
None of us played well enough to post our scores, but I'll point out that David did win (by 2 points).

Took some nice pictures of the snow since it was a sunny day. David took most of these and they turned out well. Maybe it's not the camera - maybe it's me!

Now, THIS is an icicle!


Pool area - see the diving board?


Backyard from Kitchen Window


Look at those icicles!


Front yard


And now for something really important. I'm getting my hair cut next week and haven't been happy with it. It never looks right when I fix it in the morning so I had David take a picture before I curled it or straightened it or anything so I can show Kristen. I'm thinking the bottom layer is too long - I need it shortened so the top layer and bottom are closer. This thick hair tends to look like a big poof if I don't have it layered. Thoughts?


Have a great Sunday!