Who doesn't love free stuff? okay maybe it depends on what the stuff is but anyway and when is free, really free? I had put up a post on freecycle asking if anyone had an old outdoor play structure they weren't using anymore and that I could take off their hands..and wouldn't you know it - someone contacted me the next day and said if I would be interested in this:

My immediate reaction was to send a quick - HELL YES! but when I was enthusiastically telling Charlie all of this, he reminded me that we don't own our property and that I really should check with our landlord or property manager. I think he said this cause he didn't want anything to do with it all. And before speaking with Charlie, I just simply assumed that it would be okay..which is foolish of me. So, i quickly sent texts out to our property manager (who is our neighbor and friend) - and he of course, said - YES! :) I was filled with joy.

But we had to pick it up on a weekend that it was expected to rain. and rain it did..but it wasn't actually that bad and Charlie got an additional person to help too (Eve's dad!) and it was all completed within an hour.






All in all - not including labor - this "free" set cost me $118.73 for a new canopy (Since the old one had a small quarter sized hole), a new swing seat with chain (because the old one was just old) , a new infant/toddler seat (for Raima, of course), a new set of rock climbing holds as well as a new anchor kit. I would add a few more to this amount, since I anticipate buying new bolts because some of them were rusty and or couldn't be removed - but it was a small amount. I also have found a site that can deliver free mulch/wood chips so that won't cost us a thing except for some labor :)

Now all we have to do is put it back up this weekend, so we shall see..

we did a whole lot of nothing this weekend. partly because we all were feeling a bit sick (i was feeling lethargic actually AND sick). we did however, manage to get new (to us) couches from my friend Amy's Aunt who purchased a new set for her home. we reserved a uhaul and made a trip to corte madera on sunday to pick up the couches and also squeezed some grocery shopping in. so not all of the weekend was wasted.

sunday as we (charlie and i) were enjoying our new comfy couch watching some tv, we heard a bit of a ruckus going on in the kitchen..we both looked at each other because we both knew what jax was getting into.

hence this:

when we found him, he came running toward us saying - uh, oh...(a phrase he likes to use A LOT these days) before we got to what he did and he went back over the mess and acted like - what? nothing to see here people...

our new place has ample storage in the kitchen. unfortunately for us, most of it is at toddler level. we have those toddler cabinet locks but we haven't gotten around to installing them yet. which is why most of our stuff is still in boxes and whatever is out in the cabinets, its pretty much understood that jax will get into it. the above used to have more items in it but we soon realized this was not very smart of us.

jax has slept in his room for over a week now (i've kind of lost count). he usually still wakes a few times at night but can wrestle himself back to sleep with not much crying (in comparison to the first day!). sometimes he is able to go right back to sleep or with an aid of a bottle laying around for him to find. and now with the new couches, we brought in our old couch into his room and charlie slept on it last night..moving farther away from him and probably in a day or two, charlie will finally be back in our bed..hahaha, yeah, he's been sleeping in jax's room while we make the transition from the family bed to his bedroom.

in other news, charlie has gotten a long term sub position at his school so now he will be working more hours. this is both good and bad.

anyways, oh yeah - happy valentine's day!

So, our lil Jax’s first birthday is coming up and preparations are slow coming. There will also be a baptism (simply due to my family’s tradition) for him and his lil baby cousin from Chicago. Standard me, wants to um – get all crafty or take on a huge job in a very short amount of time (like my wedding – in which I prepared 2 store bought cakes, dressed them up as a 2 tiered wedding cake, cooked & prepared some of the food (for 30 guests), made my bouquet and Charlie’s boutonniere all on the same day) – I called the bakery/café in LA where they have these amazing red velvet cupcakes that I loved when I was pregnant but for 60 cupcakes it would cost me $75! And so I am thinking to hell with it, if we arrive there Friday and the party is Saturday, I can make about 60 cupcakes on Friday night – and perhaps even tackle a cake for the Baptism part? Or am I just too insane? Ok, maybe just the cupcakes, right?

So how are we doing? Well, so far so good. Sunday we spent Charlie’s 35th birthday watching the SF Giants lose to the San Diego Padres sitting under the scorching sun – (Yes! Even in San Francisco!) To let Charlie enjoy the game, I left our bleacher seats with Jax and walked around the park and eventually just stuck around the trolley car they have up on the deck. Jax loved it. There were so many kids to catch his attention that he missed his nap and didn’t want to eat. He banged on the window, cruised around the seats and yelled at the Giants.

Jax has 2 teeth at the bottom where one is a bit taller than the other one. He has 4 coming in at the top - 2 of which are mostly in but not quite. It’s funny cause I remember thinking to myself and saying to Charlie – when will he have his first tooth? – thinking this because I started to fear that he would get to 12 months without a tooth in sight. And whatdaya know – bam, one popped up and then 4 all at once..poor kid, he’s a bit cranky at times and in the middle of the night he gets super whiney because of it. And really, I’m retarded for fearing that he won’t have teeth as if there seriously is a deadline (cause there isn’t..and if you breast feed – having them not come in yet is a blessing!)

My lil sister spent Friday night & Saturday with us – which was great. Charlie was away on a men’s retreat all day Saturday (he left at 6 am and didn’t get home till midnight) so having her around on Saturday was helpful even though Jax chose that day to have separation anxiety. I would be lying though if I said that when it happens, it doesn’t warm my heart. It lets me know that despite being with his dad all day during the week – he’s still attached to me. So much so, then on Sunday Charlie’s birthday – Jax didn’t want to be left with his dad while I made us breakfast :)

I was going to put up this cute video from my phone but today my phone decided to freeze up on me instead of do its update. i hope all my photos and videos are still intact..*cross fingers*..anyways, can't wait for this weekend :) 

i decided to actually brush jax's hair into the devil lock thing that charlie's friend said jax looks like he has naturally, but after seeing these he looks more like squiggy than the danzig thing..oh well.

this weekend's plans were sort of thwarted by me not feeling so well. we had planned to go camping and or at least go out for a day hike with my friend Roz..sigh, its hard being sick. for one, since im the only one working, i cant really take any time off from work (i started feeling sick Weds/Thurs). two, i can't take any cold or flu medicines to help me feel (at least somewhat) better because im still breastfeeding. and three, it just plain sucks when you dont feel good, right? especially, when you cough so much at night which wakes up the baby you just spent 30 mins trying to put to sleep.

despite being sick - it was a pretty good weekend. saturday, charlie woke up early and made us breakfast - a yummy fresh herb broccoli and green bean scramble. our neighbors came over to watch some of the world cup while i went and took a walk with jax in the mei tai carrier (where he actually napped a bit in). sunday, we actually slept in till about 10 am! and charlie took jax for a walk while i snoozed in some more (cause i had felt a whole lot worse today) and when they got home i made us brunch - eggs benedicts (one w/ salmon & one w/ bacon and home fries).

we also took apart jax's crib (that he never slept in) and put the crib mattress on the floor of his room. while we are not yet ready to transition him from our bed to his room, we're getting there. he moves around so much more now that he's mobile. i woke one night a few weeks ago and found him near the foot of our bed laying on charlie's leg! YIPES! our bedroom is not at all baby proof and really can't be (computer stuff/wires etc..) but his room finally is. we also decided, albeit a bit too late, to try out the kiddie pool my dad had bought us awhile back. jax loved it! the more he was in it the more comfortable and adventurous he became and crawled around. so maybe next time its hot out we'll invite some of jax's friends for a play date and have the kiddie pool out.

next weekend is 4th of July weekend and we are planning to drive up to Oregon and spend it on the farm again. are we crazy? perhaps, perhaps. well, wish us luck. this will be the longest road trip for jax. we are planning to go after dinner on friday night so he will (hopefully) be asleep for most of the trip.