escape, rice anyone?, & bowling

we finally have a griswold story to share with everyone: last tuesday griswold decided that he'd had enough with the 3 ladies of the house. so somehow, while i was leaving to drop addy off at school & wes was leaving for work (at the same time)...griswold escaped! the important part here is that we had no idea. we didn't see him run off; he was very sneaky.

& folks, the really sad part is that i didn't even notice until around noon. b/c after i dropped addy off, amelia & i went to the mall. after the mall, we picked up addy, came home & at that time the girls suddenly began dying from starvation & needed to eat *immediately* b/c their stomachs apparently had just caved in & their systems had started eating body fat for survival. (seriously, that's what our kids act like when they're even the tiniest bit hungry). so i'm rushing around getting lunch ready for them. i believe it was chicken nuggets, apple slices for amelia, grapes for addy, then peas & cheddar cheese chunks for both of them.

then amelia spilled her peas everywhere on the floor & i just sorta left them there for griswold to eat. as all dog owners with kids will understand how wonderful it is to have a *live* vacuum in the house, right?! i noticed griswold wasn't around but thought maybe he was upstairs behind a locked gate somehow. honestly, i just didn't give his where-abouts much thought b/c sometimes he does indeed hide from us, with good reason!

15 minutes go by & still no griswold. so then i start to look for him. all over the house, garage, basement. then i called wes to ask if maybe he had decided for some weird reason to take him to work (??) but wes wasn't answering his phone. (argh!). i look outside in the backyard, trouncing around in the snow, calling for him. never once did i think that he would be in the front yard b/c how could that happen, right?

by about 12:30 i finally got wes on the phone & was like 'do you have griswold?!' & he's like 'uh, no, why?' then i'm like 'GRISWOLD'S LOST! HE'S DEAD! I CAN'T FIND HIM!' & i'm suddenly feeling so terribly bad for how he is mostly ignored & how he doesn't even get treats anymore, etc. then as i'm nearly crying on the phone with wes, looking inside our hall closet in case he decided to die in a dark place for some reason & i then notice a brown object on our front porch. i open the door & there is a shivering griz, happy to come inside. he immediately sniffed out the peas on the floor, ate them, then curled up on his chair for a snooze.

i think he was plotting this outdoor adventure for quite some time. he knew when to run out into the garage without us noticing, what to hide behind in the garage, just when to dash out under the closing garage door. i believe all those things were planned. what i don't think he anticipated was me not returning home 15 minutes later, as i usually do. maybe he just wanted a 2nd short walk (wes has been walking griswold in the morning again, after the hiatus due to a new baby then a down & out wife, but now they're back at it every day.)

i can just imagine his glee as he runs around the neighborhood feeling the wind in his ears, without us chasing him. he probably ran after a few squirrels then headed down to the park to play in the snow, turned on his back doing 'dog angels' (he does, in fact, do this). but i'm sure he returned home 30 or maybe 45 minutes later & whined at the door for a good 10 minutes before reality struck: THEY'RE NOT BACK YET! & it's freezing outside. seriously, it was still in the 20's at this point.

anyway, what a dog. he came back, though, so i know deep down he does love us!

at grandma & grandpa gerbick's this christmas. you can tell how much he enjoys those reindeer antlers by the way his ears are so perky (being sarcastic here). still, cute picture.
***

& now, here's a wes story. just b/c i can *not* stop laughing when i think about it.

a few people have asked us to look for certain items at costco. i have a terrible memory right now & apparently so does wes b/c we can only remember partials of things. we know a my brother asked about something, we know another couple in our small group asked about something, & we know one of the items was about the types & sizes of rice.

so we were at costco last night & after we talked a few minutes about who was interested in rice we decided upon a certain couple & wes called to give them the details. i suggested that he ask them first if they were indeed the ones who wanted info on the rice situation. but instead he goes right into giving the type, size, & amount in each bag of rice (oh, about 5 or 6 bags), accentuating the pronunciations the whole time. then his face went into shock & he said 'oh you're not the ones who wanted to know about the rice?' & he was blushing...i was laughing so hard that tears were running & i think i even snorted a few times. it was hilarious. apparently the woman just listened to wes go on & on about the types of rice options costco has & then asked 'so did we ask you about rice or something?' even more funny... maybe you had to be there to find it funny. but trust me, if you were there, you would have been snorting-laughing.

***

addy went bowling today. oh my. we had a good time, though. it was with the westerville special needs preschool pta & each game was somehow only $1.75, so addy bowled two games (with the bumpers of course). game 1 she scored 61, game 2, 91! i know, quite the athlete we have here. really, during game 2 we used this bowling ball slide thing that made the ball go faster, which considerably helped things progress. i think the first game lasted forever as we watched the ball inch down the lane ever-so-slowly. my girl even bowled a spare! twice!

plus, she loved the shoes. & she only fell a few times.

i took a few pictures with my phone but we have yet to buy a cable to download pictures from my phone, so maybe you'll see them eventually.

now i must go eat bon-bons & watch my soaps (kidding! i will drink tea maybe & watch a non-soap show, come on)

among other things

so wes has to go to mccall, idaho for work very soon. he is required to wear a sport jacket, dress shirt, tie & dress pants. when he discovered this he threw a mini hissy fit. as in why else did i become an engineer except for the fact that i will most likely get to wear jeans & t shirts to work?! so get this folks, he is borrowing a sport jacket, shirt, & tie from my *dad*! i have to say, my dad is a fairly spiffy dresser; the type of history teacher who wears ties & dress shirts to work even on jean-friday. but wes trying these jackets on & getting fashion advice from my parents & wes' attitude about the whole thing, it's just too much humor for me to handle.

but then the whole situation went OVER THE EDGE (off the hook?) when we paired the jacket/shirt/tie with a pair of his dress pants (from maybe high school? let's just say long enough for the style to go out of vogue, then go back in vogue) & they're actually very nice pants (b/c he *never* wears them). so he buttoned the pants & i was like why are they pulled up so high, dear, hello flood... & he had this look of internal combustion going on & then let his breath & belly out & nearly popped the buttons off. (they were pulled up so high b/c that's the only place he could get the buttons to button). then *POOF* went the pleats, making him look oddly pregnant & i could not contain myself, i simply threw my head into a pillow & laughed hysterically as he quickly took them off & was all i don't know why they don't fit...

so we now are going shopping after amelia wakes up from her nap (even though i suggested we go last night with only one kid to two around). wish us luck. i may just send wes with the girls to the play area at either mall & then buy about 10 pair & have him try them on at home, returning the ones that didn't work out. it is *painful* taking wes shopping. he's like a junior high boy with that look of torture in the dressing room. but i know if he goes alone he will come home with the *cheapest* article of clothing that may or may not resemble what he went looking to buy. you know, he needs dress pants to match this sport jacket w/ shirt/tie & comes home with a new pair of tennis shoes. but hey, they were cheap & sturdy!

until we leave for the mall adeline & wes are defying all clothing & fashion ideals. both are walking around in a shirt found on the floor, both in their underwear. geeee, wonder where adeline gets the no pants thing from?
***
in case you missed this: wes is going to *MCCALL IDAHO WITHOUT ME*. with the original dates given to him, i was actually going to go with him. now that's not possible once they changed the dates. i'm so bummed about it... i mean, i could've gone to see all my boise friends & then walked around mccall & slept in! ah well. i do have someone staying with me while he's gone. a child buffer.
***
so what all these things mean is that i'm going to miss my hubby *muy mucho*. really, who's going to make my coffee in the morning?! who's going to tell me i look beautiful still in my pj's at 5 p.m. w/ unruly hair? who's going to look at me after the kids are in bed & plead 'ice cream' with his eyes? yea, i know, he'll only be gone a few days. i think. there is a slight worry in my mind that is flashing *RED* *RED* *RED* your idaho loving husband is leaving to go there by himself after such a stressful summer...will he return?!

my only request is that if he doesn't return (meaning he's left his family for the idaho mountains) i will contract with a few lady friends in boise to hunt him down & bring him back as a human pretzel. really, do i think wes will abandon us? NO! it's just something to tease him about. plus he wouldn't have me there to remind him to stay on the trail for the love of everything civilized & non-dead. or to remind him the last time we went off trail we walked by a coiled rattlesnake & then i ran off screaming obscenities, passed out, hit my head on a rock in the water (btw: this IS how i think the tumor started. it all began with a snake run in. the time frame matches, roughly 5 years ago). then the time before that when we went off trail, griswold rolled down the side of a mountain about 30 feet & wes & a friend had to climb down through briers & rocks to *carry* griswold back up.

anyway, idaho, treat him well, even though we left you.
***
adeline is just now dancing around the den, sans pants, with a music baby toy. the dancing consists of circles & her tongue sticking out. ???

the wes-man has a birthday

today i am finding myself very stricken with anxiety & worry & just nasty things. i think it's b/c of a few things: it's wes birthday & i want to do something GREAT for him & i am doing nothing but falling apart. another reason is that we are leaving for the weekend & i have to pack today & for some reason that is really stressing me out.

so my sister suggested doing something that relaxes me for awhile (among many other good ideas that she shared). so i'm looking at pictures of my babies. & crying & addy is stroking my cheek saying "oooh, mama, oooh" & i tell her mama's just sad & i will be better soon. & she says 'YEA! with a big smile' then i turn on a dvd & all is good with the girls. so here's to sharing some of the pictures that are making me feel that all is okay with the world today:

amelia getting her a mid-day bath due to playing in addy's potty full of pee.
adeline at about 10 1/2 months, sitting in the same sink getting a similar mid-day bath.

i go back & forth between thinking they don't have that much of a resemblance to thinking they could pass as twins. it depends on the hair, the day, & the faces they're making. you be your own judge...just don't tell me, b/c i have my own mama-mind made up & i'll say you are a fool if you disagree :o) lol. (told you i'm in a great mood)

amelia this past month. i believe this was sit-&-eat-strawberries evening.

addy with her grandpa bruce at about 10-11 months.
***
this is just one basket of strawberries we've picked this week. we're overflowing with berries & i hate to say it, but we've really been slacking on picking this past week (oh, due to many sessions of holding each other & crying?!) so we are finding a lot of rotten ones throughout the patch. *sigh* don't tell addy we've let some go rotten. she may decide to put us in time out...

this ever-so-wonderful investment: a water table. or as addy thinks, a wee little pool. this is often where we find her in the nude.

addy being her dare-devil-acrobatic self
***
& here's to the man of the day. wes! it's his birthday!
happy birthday, my love.

wes is just an amazing man. he has a tender heart. when i first met him & told my friends that although he was a republican (smile...no worries folks, i have switched him already to the correct end, lol) he had soft tender eyes, like what i would imagine jesus to have. he sees people for who they are & isn't quick to judge or place blame or look for excuses. he is a man of honesty & integrity & deep love. wes is always putting himself on the back burner for others, especially his family. he is so calm that sometimes it annoys me; you know, like get upset about something, for the love of it all! but he most often doesn't (although i am here for him if he does, of course) he is like a calm, crystal-clear, beautiful caribbean ocean. you are able to see through him to the bottom of his white, sandy ocean floor.

okay, enough of the silly metaphor (or would it be a simile? ugh, i despise grammar!). wes is just part of me, & he is my haven right now (but, 'haven' the word, i love). i love this guy!

wes with baby amelia, alive for 2 minutes.

wes helping adeline fish last summer

wes mowing the yard with adeline. huh, he just did this same thing with amelia yesterday.

***
my mom may just kill me if i do this, but i'm going to do it anyway. who can try to kill a daughter with a brain tumor?! (see, harold IS useful!). plus i think my mom should start her own blog & start writing to publish. so consider this my *push*, mom.

Wes, I did want to take an opportunity to tell you what I feel about you -- especially now with all that is going on in your life. If the measure of a man is what his responses are to life's gut wrenching issues, then you have been measured and found well built. If the measure of a man is in finding how much he makes the people around him in his life know that he loves them - you are found overflowing and wealthy. If the measure of a man is in how much his wife and children trust him because they have found him a trustworthy hiding place, a solace and firm anchor in any storm, then you have been found solid and sturdy and worthy of the load.

Hear this Wes Gerbick. Know that you have been measured and have surpassed the bar.

Wes, I have always loved you not only just because of who you are, but also because of the tender yet firm love you show my daughter and now granddaughters. To know when Heidi needs you most that she KNOWS she can rest in you because you are her Jesus here on earth, that makes me fall before God and beg him to protect you. You have been presented a task that many men would walk - no run - away from, either physically walk or mentally walk, and yet you are solidly honorable in your loyalty and your love and your protection of those that God has given into your care. I cannot tell you with earthly words what that does to my soul, what that does to my most tender mother's heart, how my mother's eye sees that, but in heaven God will give us words to communicate that easily, so accept this clumsy attempt for now.

I have found that the "enjoyments" in life are great and needed and worthy of much praise, but it is the difficult tunnels of life where you cannot see the end and sometimes cannot even see God that give us depth and teach us that this earthly journey is just that -- a journey to reach the other side..... It is my experience that shallow people get shallow treatment from God. (He obviously does not see you shallow, especially as of late.....). Through pain and suffering sometimes God raises that curtain between earth and heaven and lets you catch a glimpse of how shallow all of earth's follies are, and how deep and rich the other side is.....And sometimes you get to see and realize what is truly important and what stuff our souls are made of, and what is just chaff. And when you need to turn off the journey for a while, know that we are here to help lift the burden however we can.

So Wes, we truly wish you a happy birthday. Happy - because when you see some of the worst stressers and worst fears that life can throw you, you can still take enjoyment and still breathe deeply the goodness, and still laugh and smile and know your measure.

My love to you -- karen

ASPARAGUS

i am not a veggie eating person, not so much. actually, i'm not really into red meat & i hate fish & we eat chicken only a few times a week. i guess this makes me a carbo-holic? i like apples, also. & peaches. ANY-WAY! ((how did i get on the tangent? (btw: i recently made a little pact to myself to not delete large sections of posts that i write...i would have deleted something like that ramble prior to this personal pact, but i just want to see how it goes first...sorry blog stalkers, as judy crawford calls blog readers). ))anyway, i don't like most vegetables--BLECH!-- except asparagus (& several others, but i will let my ramblings stop now). so i want to grow it b/c it's so darn expensive most of the time.

i have been trying to buy asparagus roots for 3 YEARS! seriously. i am always too late when we get to the garden nursery...i frantically search around for the roots, plants, then seeds. then i ask 'where are your asparagus?' & they say "we just sold out yesterday" & then i cry. so this year i took matters into my own hands & didn't rely on a garden nursery to supply my needs. i ordered 25 roots from burpee (25 was the lowest amount...yes, if they take we are going to have gobs of asparagus! yum yum yum).

today they arrived! oh joyous! what? is it christmas again already? that's what it feels like, anyway. i was in the backyard playing with ms amelia who was refusing to take a nap (*frown*) & heard the ups truck stop in front of our house...i ran to the front--yes, leaving amelia on a blanket in the backyard where she is vulnerable to all the elements (read: griswold turds) & raced to pick up the box. beautiful! we plan on planting them saturday morning. my mom & dad also bought a bunch of asp. roots, so i think we have begun an unspoken competition. HA HA HA...i have the engineer nut on my side!

in more disgusting news: wes just discovered that he is GROWING GRASS IN HIS CAR. to explain...he drives my car from high school, a '95 geo prizm manual. it's pushing 200K!! anyway, this car has been through many many frightful things which i won't divulge right now. but apparently it has a window or roof leak lately which totally makes it reek in the car (poor millie had to ride in it last week). the window MUST be down when riding in this stink-bomb, lest you inhale toxic fumes. so awhile ago wes brought grass seed for the lawn & it spilled a bit on the passenger side floor....the rest is history! i can verify that yes, indeed, there are grass sprouts about 2 inches high growing from the car floor. seriously! we like the idea of being 'green' but...i think he is taking this too far, lol!