Bye-bye Jetta

Hello Family Vehicle.

With the upcoming addition of 1 (and possibly 2) kids to our family in the very near future, we knew we'd be having to update our vehicle situation. We tried to imagine putting 3 car seat type things in the back of the Vue and thought it would be a bit crowded.

So in cruising the internet, we thought the Mazda 5 might be our friend. Excellent ratings from the experts and from users. Good gas milage. And we tried to see one at the dealership, but cash-for-clunkers cleared their lots, and apparently there were none to be seen anywhere in Western Washington.

But we passed one on the road the other night, and it looked like it might be a little bit too small. Enough were Doug began doing some more internet research as to what would be the next best option. And on the same day of surfing the net, he found a sweet deal on a 2007 version of the Honda Odyssey. On our way to the dealership, found a Mazda 5 in a parking lot and got our of our car to walk around it. It was SMALL. It put the mini in minivan.

Long story/ drama made short, we bought the Honda last night. It's got lots of room, some nice bells, but not too many. They say the color is a sort of green color, but it would be more accurate to say that it is a medium grey.

The Jetta, oh the Jetta. She was traded in. After just a few months shy of 10 years of ownership, she is onto other pastures. Farewell, sweet Jetta.

So now, after 24 hours of Honda ownership, things are good. Looking forward to sharing our family vehicle experience with all of you sometime soon.

Family trip to the Mariners

About a week ago we went to see the Mariners. First, we stopped by the "Moose Den" to get a family portrait with the Mariner Moose. While you can't tell from this photo, we are all wearing Ichiro clothing. Kate meeting the Moose. She REALLY loves her little Moose stuffed animal - and will laugh very much when she sees it and calls it "Mooooo"

Adoption Home Study

Is it bad that I'm at the parent open house and writing this blog entry? It's a free-for-all format, and so families and students are just dropping in at random. During the time I'm the only one in the room, I've:

1) Send a test off to Publications to have it copied. One of the benefits of working for a public school!

2) Ordered a potty chair and water-proof mattress cover off of Amazon. They will be delivered on Monday. More about that below.

3) Broken out in a sweat, as my room is still uncomfortably hot. I'm in a portable this year, and with these hot days, it doesn't matter if the windows are open and the fans are blowing. It reminds me of the Columbia Building at UP - the 'temporary' post WWII portable that FINALLY was torn down a year or two after I graduated. Well, at least there aren't 33 students in here, heating/ stinking up the place right now. And I do mean literal stink. Several of the boys 6th period come directly from PE. Oh the funk.

But to get to the subject at hand. On Monday, Jesse (our foster care licenser/ yenta) came to our house for the inspection and to just get to know us better. Things went really well - we walked away with a small punch list of things to do/ buy. (See Amazon reference above.) We need to put a child-proof thingy on the closet in the theater, as there are tools in there. Need to post the Poison Control number (1-800-222-1222) next to the phone. I just typed that number from memory, as it has such beautiful symmetry. Get a new fire extinguisher, as ours is 4 pounds 15.6 ounces, and licensing requires that it be 5 pounds. No, I'm not kidding.

But basically this list is short and easy to accomplish.

Kate also made a great impression, smiling, laughing, even asking Jesse to pick her up. "Uppa, uppa." It was really cute. Jesse asked us a few more interview questions - not as many as I thought she would, but we DID each fill out a 15 page auto-biography questionnaire.

Before now, we were supposed to get information in the mail about getting fingerprinted. Jesse is going to follow up with the person who is should be getting us that. Fingerprint result turn around time is either: 2-3 weeks on the short side OR 2-3 months on the long side. Jesse felt that since we will be working with Snohomish County and that we've both been printed recently, we're more likely to be on the short end.

When our punch list is finished, Jesse will come back out to confirm things are in order. With that, once our fingerprint results come back, we are licensed. Yep. It could be just that fast. Then when Jesse hears of what may be a fit, she'll call us to ask us if we accept or decline.

That's all I know for now. Keep us in your prayers!!!

15-month stats

Another successful Dr. visit today. 2 shots, and, amazingly, no crying. Perhaps because I remembered to give her Tylenol BEFORE we went to the doctor.

She weighs 23 pounds, 12 ounces (64th percentile)
Is 30.71 inches tall (57th percentile).

An below are a couple of pictures of Kate and her grandma. Unfortunately, the pictures I thought I was taking of her and grandpa must have been on their camera, not mine!

Play time

Hey, Mom, look at me. I climbed into the toy bin all on my own this time. Watch me check out this new toy.

And here I'm practicing my fashion sense with 3D glasses.

Or maybe I'm just getting used to wearing glasses, since genetics might dictate the need for them later.

15-month self-portrait