This Kiss, this kiss!

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Because We're Members

We are now members of Houston's Children's Museum. Some of the perks included with membership are free admission to the museum and well, that's about it. (Ok, so we could get reduced parking in the garage, but we're walk-a-block-and-park-free kind of people.) Marielle loves the "tot-spot", and we love watching her wear herself out. Here are a few pics from last time we went.

Here is Marielle loaded up and ready to go PLAY!
Here is Marielle once we arrived at the museum. (Umm, did you forget about naptime parents?)

Dad teaches Marielle how to stack blocks.

Marielle's favorite spot: the door! She loves opening and shutting the perfectly sized door. And ringing the perfectly placed doorbell. :)
Last of all, Marielle acting out the story of Jonas and the whale. Three days later we took her home.

When Your Outfit Becomes Socks....

A few mornings ago when picking Marielle up from her crib, I found her leaning over the edge of her crib, pointing and grunting at her shoes. So, I put them on; right over her footsie pajamas. I thought it made a interesting fashion statement.
We had another great "shoes make the outfit" moment when after her shower, she insisted on putting her shoes right back on. I countered with a diaper first, but then I complied.

Did I mention she loves shoes??

The End of The Terrible, Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

Almost four years ago on June 27th, 2004, I had a rotten day. It was slated to be a great day, I had my niece's birthday party in the morning, the Banana Briefcase Film Festival that night, and I was bringing the guy I was dating to both events for the first meet the family/friends test.

This is Bethany at her party. Looks fun, huh?

Then my day fell apart. First strike: BJ called in sick with strep throat. Second strike: The super fun birthday party made me depressed that I was still so stinkin' single and didn't have my own little ones to throw parties for. Third strike: I got in a car accident on my way home. The third strike was really the big whammie that ruined the day all together. Although the accident was minor, my Honda Civic rear-ended a SUV, it took an hour and half for the police to come and make the report and to top it all off the other car ended up calling an ambulance! My car looked pretty crunched but it was driveable, so I drove home and began to sulk. I should have called someone to give me a ride to the activity. After all it was our best activity of the year: future "industry" stars premiering their films, formals, red carpet, the works. Instead I chose to stay home by myself. To escape my terrible mood I jogged to Blockbuster and rented Blue Crush. For those who haven't seen Blue Crush, don't. But why write about this sad but should be long forgotten day? Because just YESTERDAY it finally ended. Let me explain, the lady I hit decided to sue me. She felt the accident caused her a lot of back pain and needed surgery. (Did I mention her car wasn't even damaged in the wreck?!) It's been a long process of calls and letters from my insurance company and my lawyer. She was offered a settlement of $25,000 from my insurance company about two years ago but wouldn't take it. The trial date was for Feb. 8th, which we thought would end the case for better or worse. But even that got postponed for March 17th because the lady had a head injury. (Yeah, a little suspicious.) Anyway, yesterday I got word that she finally took the settlement. Finally Ryan and I don't have to worry about this trial! Everyone kept saying it would settle, but it still made me nervous and I hated having it loom over me. While all this was going on I would imagine the day this lawsuit was over we would celebrate by eating out at the nicest restaurant in town. After thinking all day about what we should do, we ate a normal dinner at home, talked about picking up ice cream but opted not to, and read some great trial moments from The Last Jurror by John Grisham while eating Almond Royals left over from Christmas. Although the fanfare was smaller than I once hoped, I am just happy to read about trials rather than be in one!

A Valentine's Tag

Since it seems we're all in a giant game of tag I figured I might as well start playing. Truthfully, Tricia tagged me several months back and I have been slow on the return. But I did not forget, I always kinda had it in the back of my mind that someday I would get to it, and now is the day. The thing that spurred me into action after these very many months was a fun tag I saw on someone else's blog. Dare I ask, is it legal to tag back with a different tag? The said tag quizzes about your spouse and dating story which are both subjects I love talking about so hence my new motivation. Without further ado....
How long have you been together?It's been almost four years since the first time I saw him playing musical chairs with his sister Megan at SM3's family home evening. Correction, he was playing "musical Megan" and wouldn't let anyone else play as she paraded around the chairs and he slowly took one away each round. I thought he was weird and a little loud at first glance, but now I grin and my heart melts when I watch his antics. (Remember the post about our Seinfeld adventure? He has no fear and will do anything, within covenant he likes to add. :)

One of our first dates

How long did you date? We dated for six months and were engaged for three.
How old is he? Ryan is a strapping 26.
Who eats more? He does, and if I did, I don't think I'd be admitting it here.
Who said "I love you" first? We like to argue about this one. He claims he said it first because he said the words out loud first, but I wrote them earlier that morning in my journal.
Who is taller? Ryan is a strapping 6'3.
Who sings better? Me.
Who is smarter? Ryan, if we are talking formulas and numbers. Me, if we are talking remembering names of people or life events.
Who does the laundry? Me. I used to hate laundry, but now I give myself a treat by watching something fun as I fold. Currently I am watching a DVD series called Pole to Pole and tracks the journeys of a guy from the North to the South Pole.
Who does the dishes? Ryan primarily, but I help out.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Is this looking at the bed or from the bed? Looking at the bed, I'm on the right. The most important factor is my side of the bed is the closest to the bathroom.
Who pays the bills? Me.
Who mows the lawn? Ryan with much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Who cooks dinner? Me.
Who is more stubborn? I think Ryan, but maybe he'd say me.
Who kissed who first? Don't both of us have to be kissing at the same time?
Who asked who out? Ryan called me up one Saturday afternoon for a date that same night. I had to ditch my book club, but it was infinitely worth it. :)
Who proposed? Ryan and he did a great job. Very romantic.

Our engagement photo

Who is more sensitive? I don't know. I think we're pretty close on this one.
Who has more friends? I don't know. I think we're pretty close on this one.
Who has more siblings? I don't know. I think we're pretty close on this one. J/k, me. I've got six, he's got four
Who wears the pants in the relationship? Marielle.
Who are you tagging? Ryan, Erica, Sarah H.