Final Notice For The IRS

So I got an email a couple of days ago from the IRS. They said that my background check and past three years taxes were clean and the job offer is now official. So when I go to work on Wednesday I will ask for the 21st off because I have dentist appointments with the family. Then on the following Monday (I think it is the 7th) I will give my two week notice and let them know that I am off on my last day. I can't lose my dental coverage. I fly out to Phoenix on Monday to start my training on Tuesday the 22nd, that is my birthday for all of those that have forgotten. It is a bummer that I will be out of town on Adam's birthday but I will live. I am so excited to start this new position in my life.

Christmas for Me

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper! I love to take the time to make art out of wrapping a gift.

2. Real tree or artificial? We have artificial, which is great because it is prelit. I do miss the smell of a real tree, though.

3. When do you put the tree up? Thanksgiving morning.

4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day -- ish.

5. Do you like eggnog? Nope.

6. What about fruitcake? Nope.

7. Favorite gift received as a child? One Christmas, Jack gave me a tiny porcelin doll. He had purchased it at the little store at school. No one had helped him decide what to get for me, and it was really special to me that he knew I would love a porcelin doll.

8. Do you have a nativity scene. Yes, I have one. I'm pretty sure we inherited it from the people who owned our old condo before we did. I would love to buy (or be given) a nice nativity scene that would really be mine.

9. Hardest person to buy for? Kirk's dad, hands down!

10. Easiest person to buy for? Kirk. And Adam.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I like all my gifts.

12. Mail or email cards? I didn't do either this year, but I love to get letters about people's year at Christmas time.

13. Favorite Christmas movie? I'm really not sure. I like the Santa Clause.

14. When do you start shopping for Christmas? June-ish. I'm always thinking about what I'm going to get people for Christmas next year. I just LOVE buying gifts.

15. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Only as a white elephant gift.

16. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Yummy Bars.

17. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Anyone who knows me at all knows this answer. CLEAR!

18. Favorite Christmas song? I don't have one, but I love to sing all the Christmas hymns and songs.

19. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? A bit of both -- Christmas morning at home, then off to visit the Grandparents.

20. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yep!

21. Angel on the tree top or a star? I like a star.

22. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? The jury's still out. Kirk and I like to argue about an appropriate Christmas Eve tradition involving opening one gift that night. I grew up always receiving PJ's on Christmas Eve. We'd wear them to bed and have nice jammies to wear Christmas morning. Kirk got to choose which present he'd open. He thinks it would be dumb to know your present would have pajamas every year. I think I wouldn't want to open one of the gifts that was really intended for Christmas on Christmas Eve. So we save everything for Christmas morning.

23. What is the one present you want most this year? I really don't know. Anything I get will be something I didn't already have, and I will be grateful.

24. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The Christmas Shoes song.

25. What I love most about Christmas? Finding the perfect gift for someone and watching them open it. I also love acting out the Christmas Story at Aunt Enid's house.

More IRS news.

So I just got my next email from the IRS in the hiring process. It was pretty much just to tell me what to expect, mostly, for travel. I know what day I will be leaving and what day I will be returning. I also found out what I need to wear while I am there in Phoenix. So now I have my hotel reservations done. A few things I found interesting is they will not pay for a car rental. That's okay though cause the training place is only two blocks from the hotel. Plus if I really wanted or needed a car I can always see if Andrea's grandparents will let me borrow a car. I may see if they will have me over for diner while I am there. Another surprising thing is they said I will get a computer and roll away back that I will take with me. I take that to mean they are giving me a laptop for work, nice. The last thing that was interesting was that they will just give me a check for the hotel, per diem, and money for random expenses.

A Little Holiday Cheer

My mom sent this to me, and I just couldn't resist sharing.

Adam's Winter Sing

Today was Adam's "Winter Sing" at preschool. It was absolutely adorable. Some of the older kids knew most of the words and did most of the actions, but a lot of the kids (Adam included) mostly just stared. Adam knew the last word of most phrases and participated in about 1/4 of the actions. The rest of the time he alternated between staring blankly ahead and doing really strange things with his face. During a "tra-la-la" section of one song, Adam just flicked his tongue repeatedly. I'm pretty sure no sound was actually coming out.

The best part (as featured in the picture above) was a dance to a rock'n'roll version of "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer." In the picture, Adam is boogie-ing down. He did a really good job during the dance.

He may not have been the best performer on stage, but at least he wasn't the little girl who wouldn't stop crying and had to be removed by one of the teachers.

IRS Update Finally!!!

So to bring people up to speed on what has happened let me recap past events. The IRS emailed me in August to see if I was still interested in a positions. I replied with yes I am. Then In October they called to see if I was interested in an interview. Unfortunately, I am not able to bring my phone into my work so they left a message. I called them back and said that I would be interested and to call back and let me know when to schedule for the interview. About a week later I hadn't heard anything so I called again, a week later nothing so I called again. A couple of weeks later I still hadn't heard anything so I called again. After another week or so I still had not heard anything so I contacted a friend of mine that works there to see what is happening. He emailed me back and let me know that there are 6 positions that they are hiring for and 12 people on the list. My name was on the list of 12. So I left it at that.

Today I get out to my car after I got off work and found I had a message on my cell from the HR department in the IRS with a 215 area code. I called them back ready and excited to find out when I get to interview so I can get this whole thing done with. Much to my surprise the HR person said we would like to offer you a position in the Salt Lake branch as an IRS agent. Talk about a surprise! I always thought you would interview for a position before hired. I mean I took an assessment test back in May and interview with two people at the same time after the test. Being that it was a long time ago I thought it would mean I interview again to help narrow down the field. Fortunately I was wrong. I was also expecting to be offered the Grade 7 that would be about 35K a year since I applied for the grade 7. So I was totally prepared to negotiate pay so I didn't lose money since I make more than that. To my surprise they offered me a grade 9 position which would start at 43 something. Well that was the 07 rates. The HR rep said I would actually start at the 08 rates which would be hire. So that means instead of switching jobs and making less I am going to switch jobs and make a little more. Now keep in mind that his is a tentative job offer. My finger print analysis and previous 3 years taxes must come back before it is an official offer. That should be no problem since I file every year on time. Plus I have not criminal record.

My start date will be January 22nd, on my birthday, how cool is that. I will be in Phoenix that week for my training and then I don't know where I go for training after that. Anyway I am super excited about this. I just can not wait until it is an official offer so I can put in my notice at work.

Alex's 9 Month Pictures

Check out this adorable kid. The girl taking the photos seemed to make him a little nervous, and he absolutely refused to smile. After a lot of effort, we finally got a few pleasant expressions out of him, but never really a great smile. Enjoy the pictures.

Wii Tennis Tournament - New Year's Eve

You are all invited to our New Year's Eve Wii Tennis Tournament. Come at 6:00 to chat, to eat, and to set up your Mii. The tournament will start at 7:00. Even if you think you don't like video games, you have to give this one a try!! Bring treats to share -- chips, cookies, soda, whatever. Kids are welcom, but only those who understand the "taking turns" concept will be able to play.

Important stuff:

Please RSVP by following this link: www.cheesevillagefamily.com/tennis.html.

You can eat dinner before you come, or you can plan to chip in for some Little Caesar's.

For those of you who equate New Year's Eve with drinking, you can bring it in your system, but not in the house. Thanks!

Invite anyone you'd like... just make sure they RSVP so we're not surprised.

The crowd might be pretty diverse. Come ready to make new friends.

Elf Yourself

If you haven't yet seen one of these, Office Max has teamed up with somebody pretty creative to offer http://www.elfyourself.com/, where you can turn your family into elves. Check us out at http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1257025898. Merry Christmas!

Ow!!

If you've ever wondered what a ride in the car with a two-year-old might sound like, wonder no more. If you'd like to subject yourself to this hilarity with your own kids, the song is found on the Muppet Movie soundtrack. Enjoy!

Through Adam's Eyes

About 6 months ago, Adam took a real interest in taking pictures with our digital camera. He has always been really careful with it, so I let him take pictures whenever he wants. These are just a sample of the 98 pictures I have saved on my computer that he has taken over the last few months. I love to see what he finds interesting enough to be worth a picture.

I can't wait until Christmas morning when Adam gets to unwrap his very own digital camera. Sounds crazy, I know, but I checked into the kids cameras and couldn't find a single camera worth buying. So I did some checking on the Internet, and I found him a "real people" digital camera for $35. I look forward to seeing what he and his camera can capture.

We're All Ears

When Adam was born, we were forced to become ear infection experts, and this training has paid off with Alex. While it took over 2 years to come to the conclusion that Adam needed tubes, we have identified this need with Alex already. For his 9 month birthday, he gets to finally start getting over the ear infection he's had since the beginning of the school year. Hooray for Ear, Nose and Throat doctors. I'm really excited that he'll be able to get the surgery done so soon; hopefully this means we'll have a happy and healthy baby for the holidays.

Please keep baby Alex in your thoughts and prayers on December 12th. It's a pretty easy and low-risk surgery, so we're confident everything will go smoothly.

'Tis the Season

On Saturday night, our family did our first Christmas performance of the season. Christopher and Kris Vassel had invited us to their ward Christmas party, and we had a blast. According to Dad, he "didn't mess up the choreography nearly as much as he usually does," and none of us were terribly sick. That alone counts as a successful performance. For those of you slackers who didn't invite us to come perform for you, here are some pictures. (Thanks again, Vassels).

Christmas Time

Now that Thanksgiving is over the Christmas season is in full swing. Andrea couldn't be more happy. The first thing she wanted to do when we woke up on Thanksgiving morning is set up the Christmas tree. So I went downstairs and brought the tree up and the stuff to decorate the tree. I put the tree up and let Andrea do her thing. Adam was cute cause he was helping. He would hang the ornaments up in groups because they couldn't be alone, they needed a friend. The tree looks beautiful and it really just brightens the room, in fact Adam gave the tree a hug and kiss when we got home that night. Adam is now starting to get the concept of Christmas and keeps asking if it is Christmas yet. Unfortunately he doesn't understand time. So we, and by we I mean Andrea, made a paper chain that will countdown to Christmas. I can't wait until Christmas morning when we get to watch Adam opens his gifts. I am not kidding when I say I would be perfectly happy not getting a thing and just watching Adam and Alex open their gifts. I hope everyone has a good holiday season and Merry Christmas.

No Child Left Behind

We've all heard it and categorized it as little more than a lofty goal for public education. Still, I think it has merit, so I've decided to implement it on a smaller scale. My goal is simple, but accomplishing it will greatly impact my child's future. "What is this goal?" you may ask. And here it is: to remember to take Adam home from school.

Every Tuesday and Thursday Adam gets to go to preschool while I am busy teaching my music classes. I finish at 11:15 and spend the next 15 minutes cleaning up my stuff and preparing to leave. He meets me in my classroom at 11:30, and we begin our joint journey home. This simple system has resulted in Adam successfully arriving at home on 16 consecutive occasions. While this track record is nothing short of impressive, apparently it is not about the number of times I take him home. He seems to be focusing on the time I didn't.

Today I made record time cleaning up my classroom, so I decided to grab my keys and duck out a few minutes early. I hopped in my car and began the drive to pick up Alex from Heather's house. I started to wonder how my boys had been for Heather today. "Did Alex take a good nap?" All at once, I realized it was Tuesday, which meant I had Adam at school with me. I called the school to let them know I'd forgotten him and that I'd be through loading to pick him up. I knew my ego would be bruised as the other teachers laughed it up at my expense, but I also knew I'd get over it.

What I didn't bargain for was Adam's reaction in the car.

"Mom," he said, "I went to class today."

"Yep, you did."

"You didn't go to class today, Mom."

"Yes, I did."

"No you didn't. You weren't in class. You were in the car."

"You're right, buddy. I'm really sorry."

"Don't do that again, Mom. It makes me really sad."

"Oh, I'm really sorry. I will not do that again."

"You're in trouble, Mom. I need to spank you."

"No, Adam, you don't get to spank Mommy."

"Okay. I'll call Daddy and tell him you are in trouble, and he can spank you."

Somehow, I don't think Adam's gonna let me live this one down.

Ode to Cooking

I've never been much of a cook; at least, it's never been something I've included in my list of talents. When Kirk & I first got married, I could make tuna helper (and most of the time, I'd even remember the tuna) and a few other things. We lived largely on pizza rolls and assorted fried foods until Adam was born and all the sudden the dynamic of my life changed. I started spending more time at home. I quit my job. I had this inexplicable desire to feed my family something worth eating. So I started to cook.

Now, don't misunderstand. I've really not learned anything new, and I am certainly no master of the culinary arts. All I've done is apply my excellent box-reading skills (... add 1/2 cup of milk and stir frequently) to slightly more complex recipes. I do not cook from scratch, and I try not to cook anything that has more than 8 ingredients or that includes items with names I cannot pronounce. After many hours of searching and occasional "new recipe" months, I've gathered about 60 recipes which meet my requirements, and I am proud of the meals I put on the table.

I didn't realize just how proud I was until my younger brother recently ate dinner at our house. It was a Wednesday, and I was cooking orange-barbeque chicken and making french fries from actual potatoes. As he was helping me prepare dinner, he asked, "Do you always eat like this?" I laughed as I responded in the affirmative. He continued, "I never thought anyone would actually take the time to make french fries from scratch."

At this point I realized that even though cooking is still not really something I love, I guess I've gotten pretty good at it.

Halloween.

He are some random thoughts about how my Halloween was with Adam.

So I took Adam around the neighborhood to go trick or treating this past Halloween. It was a lot fun. Adam would go up to the door and I would ring the door bell and when the person would answer the door he would say "Halloween." I would tell him to say trick or treat and he would but most of the time the people would laugh when they opened the door, which would earn him an extra piece of candy cause they thought he was soooo cute. One house we got to the guy was out setting up more scary lights, and sounds. Adam saw him when we were walking up the driveway and Adam turned to the guy and said "We are going to your house now." The guy laughed and said are you which Adam replied yeah, Halloween. If we ever got to a house with the porch light off or they didn't answer within a minute Adam would say lets go to the next one. One thing he would do that scored me some candy is he would take a piece and then say "My daddy needs one." So I got a little bit of candy. I can tell you one thing I do not look forward to when he is too big for me to go out with him. At least I have Alex and the kid(s) not born yet to make that time a little longer but kids grow up too fast.

A Word on Voting

Whether you plan to vote for or against Referendum 1, I am sure we all have one thing in common to be excited about... tomorrow it all ends. No more tv & radio ads, no more phone calls -- seriously, I've gotten over 10 -- no more ladies with pamphlets assaulting you at the grocery store. No more endless debates with friends and family rehashing the same three or four points. The question now becomes, "Was it all worth it?" Did anyone say anything that you agreed or disagreed with strongly enough to make you get out of your seat and vote? Whether you plan to vote for or against, please VOTE.

Adam's Cute Sayings

I swear, everyday Adam comes up with something new and hilarious to say. Here are a few of my favorites... hopefully Kirk will add his.

After listening to me sing the line, "I'm gonna make you pop-u-lar," from the broadway musical Wicked, Adam became very concerned and said, "No, Mommy! Don't make me pop!"

After telling us some story about his day, Adam asked, "Does that make sense?"

He is currently obsessed with days of the week, although he has no real understanding of the concept of the passing of time. He is constantly asking us, "Can we do it on Thursday?"

On the way to school one day, Adam suddenly said, "Mom, you're crazy." I said, "I'm not crazy... I'm just cute." He responded, "Well, Daddy thinks you're crazy... and you are!"

IRS update

As many of you know or may not know I have been going through the hiring process with the IRS. I applied in September of last year, in May I took their assesment test. About a month or two ago I got an email to see if I was still interested and if so what three locations I would like to work. Friday I got to my car and had a message on my cell phone, I am not allowed to take my cell phone into my work because of security reasons. It was the IRS wanting to know if I am still interested and would like to interview for one of the seven open posistion in Salt Lake City. I called and left a message to say I am still interested. So now it is a waiting game again. The hire date would be in January. I will make sure I update everyone once I know more and if I got the job. I really want the position I just hope they will pay enough for me to justify leaving my current job.

Casdorph Family Performances

I'm really excited that we have 3 (possibly 4) performances scheduled for my family. We'd still like to do more, though. If you know of anywhere we could perform, let me know.

Check out my family's website for more info: www.cheesevillagefamily.com.

Sick of Sickness

Its very rare that I get sick, but since my boys (Kirk included) have been passing around a cold for about a month or so, it has finally caught up to me. Being sick is bad enough, but being sick and having a job like mine is nearly impossible. I got to spend 2 hours today singing at the top of my lungs and dancing like a maniac, all while feeling like I couldn't breath and sounding like a distressed frog.

Fortunately, little Alex -- who is on round two of this cold -- has a well-baby visit today and can be seen by the doctor, since I think he still has an ear infection, and his breathing has gotten wheezy again. Arg. The poor kid is 2 months behind on his shots, because every time I try to take him in, he is sick.

Hopefully this time we can all get better and stop the germ cycle. I'll cross my fingers.

Updated Alex Pictures

I got a request from a friend for some updated pictures of Alex. Here's my little cutie.

For my grammatically correct friends

If you actually understand the appropriate use of quotation marks, or if you enjoy the "air quotes" episode of Friends, check out this blog dedicated to misused quotation marks. It made me "smile."

http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

Sunny Should Mean Warm

I was getting ready for choir practice yesterday morning and needed to run across the street for something. I wasn't planning to put my shoes on until church, so I figured I'd just run out barefoot. I had seen all the sunlight streaming through the windows and figured this was an okay plan. Then I stepped outside and noticed the ice on the ground. I was so disappointed! I went back inside to grab some shoes, and then I walked across the street. The wind was frigid. I was so cold by the time I got back to my house.

The weather should not be so deceptive. If it is sunny, it should be warm.

Check out this product review site

Hey, I just found a pretty cool product reviews site http://www.zinju.com. It has a pretty cool "price alert" feature in addition to the standard price comparison, user reviews, and product specs options. It also includes news links for the products you're reviewing. Check it out when you're doing your online Christmas shopping.

Apologetically,

My last class on Monday was a really great group of 4th graders. Okay, usually, they are a really great group. On Monday they had a substitute teacher, and apparently aliens invaded their classroom or something. Although the students in front of me looked like my sweet, on-the-ball, focused 4th graders, their behavior begged to differ.

Well, after their regular teacher arrived, a bundle of letters appeared in my box. These letters said things like:

Monday was a very bad day. ** We didn't pay attention to you when you tried to keep on teaching us our dance. ** We should've been more respectful to you. ** We promise to listen because we want to do the best program and know our songs. ** I promise that I won't do that again and I will change my attitude. ** I will pay attention in class and will also be rational when we do new steps to our music. ** Some other things I could do is stop talking in class. ** I'll listen, pay attention, and sing my heart out for the rest of the year. ** I am very sorry for wasting your time to teach us and sorry for speaking when you were teaching us. ** I now understand the problem, and it will never happen again. ** If we don't pay attention, we really won't have a program. ** I will respect you and my classmates. ** I will never ever do this again.

Since I received these notes, the aliens have returned to their spaceship, and I was graced with the presence of respectful 4th graders today. Yeah!

The Political Compass

For years I have found myself lost in the Democrat vs. Republican arena. While my personal views most often coincide with the viewpoints of the Republicans, I find that my political opinions are more similar to the Democrats. As a result, I am registered for neither party, and I must sit by as the rest of the country determines which candidates will officially run for President.

I have long been frustrated by not "belonging" to a party. I mean, it seems like pretty much everyone knows where they stand, except me. The problem, though, isn't really that I don't know where I stand. It is simply that there are very few individuals standing in my same location.

Well, today I made a little progress toward understanding why. There is this cool website (http://www.politicalcompass.org/) that has you answer a bunch of questions, and it pus you in a quadrant based on your answers. You can favor the economic left or right, and you can favor the social libertarian or authoritarian perspectives. It turns out that most of the strong political leaders for the upcoming Presidential elections fall into the "Right/Authoritarian" quadrant, while I reside in "Left/Libertarian."

I guess that at least helps explain why I never truly agree with any politician or party. Apparently my views are just too... weird. I dunno. Fortunately, with all that Kirk and I disagree on (and trust me, that's a lot) we're pretty similar in the political quadrant. I guess that's why we get along so well.

The first graph is mine, the second is Kirk's.

Do the test, and let me know where you stand!

Referendum Number 1

After receiving a pro-referendum #1 email from my good friend Raini, I was reminded that I wanted to thoroughly peruse the "Utah Voter Information Packet" I recently received in the mail. I often find my political views to be a little different than the Utah mainstream, and I once again feel torn by the pros and cons of an important issue.

I attended private school from preschool through 8th grade, I currently teach at a private school, and I plan for my kids to attend private school for as long as it is financially possible. I feel the public school system is lacking in certain areas, and I agree that it is not the ideal for solution for all kids. I think the ideal situation is one in which parents can choose the educational enviroment that is best for each of their students. It sure sounds like I support Ref. #1, right?

But I don't.

Referendum #1 is set up to provide scholarships even to families who make an excess of $100,000 annually. I do not understand why tax money should be used to fund the education of students from families who are clearly not managing their money in the most effective way. At that income level, the parents could afford private school if they chose to make that a priority. As my handy pamphlet states, "If we have extra taxpayer money, it would be better spent reducing class sizes and improving Utah's public schools." If not spent for that, I'd love to see the tax dollars used on other worthy projects like "health care, public safety, and roads."

Referendum #1 does not set high enough standards for the qualifying private schools. I am concerned that individuals will start private schools with the intent of luring voucher-carrying students with an interest only in acquiring their money. Private schools should be founded on principles of education and on the ideals of improved methods. Obviously, private schools make money in the process; however, Ref #1 could "encourage emergence of new subsidized private schools without adequate assurance of quality or accountability."

Referendum #1 takes accountability away from an already floundering public school system. Although Ref #1 still puts money into the public schools for students who are transferring to private schools, the real issues of public schooling are ignored. If class size is an issue, use the scholarship money to hire more teachers. Build more diverse charter schools. Attract and retain quality teachers with higher salaries.

Not all private schools plan to accept vouchers. Parents in support of vouchers may have a specific school in mind and may be disappointed to find out that many of the quality private schools have no intention of accepting vouchers, because this makes them subject to certain state regulations and could potentially decrease the private school's quality.

Now, none of this is to say I disagree with a voucher system. I simply disagree with THIS voucher system. Part of me feels terrible for planning to vote against Referendum #1, because I know it could benefit many families whose children are currently floundering in the public school system. However, I am unwilling to vote for a sort of okay solution. I feel there are too many problems with this referendum, and that if it is passed in its current state, these problems may never be addressed. Lets petition our government to come up with a better voucher system that will address the real issues by providing funds only to those families who really need them. Then lets put the rest of the public funds where they belong -- into the public school system.

Should parents have a choice? Yes. But should taxpayers have to fund every option? No. Let's use the money to improve our schools and increase charter schools. Maybe then there wouldn't be a need for private schools.

Never take 5 kids and 5 vehicles to the park

Even if the kids are pretty self sufficient, and even if you have all the energy in the world, never take 5 kids, 2 bikes, 1 tricycle, 1 stroller, and a pushable car to the park. Ever. On the way there, it is quite possible that each child will propel his or her vehicle. However, it is quite likely that you will not be so lucky on the way home. It is not only possible but nearly inevitable that you will be carrying the trike, pushing the bike, and pulling a 3 year old behind you in the pushable car.

And then your 2 year old might just say, "Can you hold me, Mommy?"

And when you patiently tell him, "Mommy's hands are a little busy right now, can't you see?" he might use his advanced reasoning skills to ask, "Well, can you give me a piggy ride, pweeeeease?"

Next time, I'll either take more adults or less bikes! Or I could always leave a kid or two at the park.

A Month of Halloween

We attended the first in a series of Halloween parties this past Saturday. This one was a ward costume party/talent show. Alex and Adam were both M&M's, and I made Kirk and I M&M package costumes. (As a side note, I'd like to mention how much I hate sewing.)

As I said, the night was also a talent show. I got a group of women together and we did "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." We had a lot of fun. I think it was a first to have a doctor, Olive Oil, and Velma all singing together.

We still have a couple Halloween parties to attend, so we'll get to reprise our roles as the M&M family.

Digital Scrapbooking

About 4 years ago, I joined the dark side and started scrapbooking. I call scrapbooking the dark side because it is so addictive and costs SO much. Well, I am pleased to announce that I have found the perfect alternative to traditional scrapbooking. Go digital. Since I love graphic design, I've been designing mine from scratch using Photoshop CS. I find papers and embellishments online for FREE, then I alter, create, edit, etc. and come up with -- in my opinion -- fabulous results. The best part? I upload the finished product to http://www.winkflash.com/ and get a 16" x 20" book printed for $26.95 for the first 20 pages ($.50 each additional page) and $6.99 shipping. I'm guessing Adam's 2 to 3 year old book will be about 40 pages when its all done. It will cost me about $44, and be beautifully printed and bound. I love knowing that if my house burns down and I lose my scrapbooks, I can just pay winkflash another $44 and get it reprinted. I know all this probably sounds like some sort of an infomercial, but I just want to share my new love with everyone. Check out a few of my favorite pages, and if you ever want digital scrapbooking tips, I think I'm president of the fan club!

FROM ALEX'S BOOK:

FROM ADAM'S BOOK:

Andrea's take on blogging and Blogger.com

Well, here I am at my very own new family blog. For anyone who may have occassionally checked for me on Bebo, I guess this marks the end of my Bebo phase. I certainly don't have time to update two sites! I'm definately a big advocate of blogging in general; who wouldn't love to share their journal with their closest friends (oh, yeah, and anyone with a computer). Seriously, though, I think its a good idea, especially since chances are no one is going to read it anyway. This will be a great way for Kirk and I to do our family history. :)

As for Blogger as a site, I'm pretty sure I'm about to be pretty excited, because the photo program I use (Picassa -- FYI, its free and I can't live without it) links directly with it. I haven't played with that function yet, but I bet within minutes there will be some pictures up here. It seems easy enough to use, and it looks nice, so I'm happy. Good choice, Kirk.

My thoughts on marriage and family.

As I was creating my first post I had a random thought about my marriage. I couldn't help but feel loved as I put down all the things Andrea does work wise for our family. As you women already know that in addition to that she cooks, cleans, and takes care of the kids. Now that is not to say I don't help because I believe I carry my own weight when it comes to the cooking, cleaning, and kids. The other day I mentioned that I could get another job so Andrea and she told me that she didn't want me to do that. I just love that she values our family and time together over me being out of the home more so we can earn more money. I am so very fortunate to be married to someone who understands how a marriage works. We both work hard to keep our house in order. I've recently thought if there is anything I would do differently in my life. I can honestly say that I couldn't imagine a life different the one I currently have right now. Yes we have things that are hard and there are maybe some little things I would change, like maybe the decision to have my knee operation years ago, but the big decisions I wouldn't change. I can only thank God for my wonderful family and marriage.

Time to get up to speed.

Okay so I guess we could only resist for so long. It is now time for our family to join the blogging universe. I guess the easiest thing to do is to do a little section on what is happening to each person in the family then we can just blog events or random thoughts from here on out.

Kirk

So I guess some stuff has happened to me worth blogging about. My mind is all over the place so bear with me. I finished the MBA portion of my degree in September and yesterday, October 8th, I started the first of five classes to get my emphasis in accounting. I felt so good to be actually taking a class I cared about. I can't believe I have actually made it this far in my schooling. Truth be told if it wasn't for Andrea I probably would have never finished my BS. The class I am in is auditing which I seem to really enjoy. I am currently in the hiring process for an IRS agent position, it would be a January hire, and if things don't work out with that I think I will pursue an auditor position with my work or another company. Let me tell you this IRS process is ridiculous. To make a long story short, and I mean short, I applied back in September of 2006. I'm currently waiting to see when I will interview for the January positions that are open. The only bad thing is that if I do get the job there is a very good chance the job will be in Las Vegas. It would suck to leave family but it would be a fun adventure. The only problem is I don't think they would offer enough pay for me to move so I don't think I would take even if they did offer it. Heck I don't even know if the pay would be enough to take an in state job. That sums it up for the Kirk update.

Andrea

Andrea is busy as can be. She is working as the music specialist at Challenger, piano teacher, and book keeper for her dad's business. That is pretty much all I can put for her so I will it up to her to come in and blog about stuff she wants in here.

Adam

Adam is now 2 and 3/4 and getting so big. He has started going to preschool at Challenger on Tuesday and Thursday. He is on a waiting list for the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday preschool. He seems to really enjoy school. He will randomly tell people "I go to school on Tuesday." His vocabulary is pretty big and makes his mommy and daddy proud. Andrea and I are trying to sell our Saturn Vue and just have one vehicle, plus the lease is up in May. So Andrea takes me to work and Adam will not let her go through the gate until the gate has opened up completely. Which is fine but that gate move so slowly (side note, there is a sign on the gate that says moving gate may cause serious injury or death. I just can't help but think of the scene in Austin Powers and the steam roller when I see the gate moving and the sign). The other big event in Adam's life is he has mastered the art of potty training. Now that he has conquered that I can't wait until the other one is out of diapers. I forgot how nice it is not having to change someone else's bum.

Alex

What can you say about little Alex. He is 7 months now and getting bigger. He is trying to crawl, he does what I like to call a caterpillar crawl. He will get up on all fours and then put his arms out so he is laying down, then up on all fours again. He gets around pretty quick. He is quite determined too, when he sets his mind to something he will keep going back to it even if you move him across the room. We had to take him in to the doctors recently because we noticed his breathing was labored and he was wheezing. It turns out he has a virus that entered into his lungs and we need to give him a breathing treatment every 4 to 6 hours. Which sucks cause most of the time he fights you and cries when try to give him the treatment. Other than that he is just being a happy baby boy.