Hamer House

bear's morning nap

2006-09-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

jay put bear in bed for his morning nap while he went to preschool this morning. it was so cute! jay actually read bear some books, then tucked him in and closed the blinds. after i returned home from taking him to preschool, i passed his room and saw how snuggled in bear was. i just had to take a picture!

long, too long!

2006-09-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

it's been way too long since my last post. for some reason, i just didn't have the motivation/energy or creative juice to post something. i've been reading lots of other blogs this last month and am totally blown away with how many stay at home moms blog! it's amazing, and inspiring to read their blogs and get inspiration for my own life.

jay is starting preschool next week! i'm so excited for him, yet i'll miss our open schedule from the summer. we really did a lot of traveling on road trips this summer. a first for us. we saw lots of family and spent time with dear friends. but i must say, i love fall!!!! it probably is one of my favorite times of year. and i hope we don't get any more lizards running around the house! i don't even want to talk about it, but we haven't seen one for a few weeks now!

the canning of the strawberry jam was great! my mom helped me with jay so i could do all the stirring, etc. i must say, it tastes great too. (do you think that has anything to do with the fact that there is 5 cups strawberrries to 7 cups sugar???)

mike and i have been busy watching free movies from blockbuster.com. they apparently were doing this promotion for a free month of on line movies, so we took them up on it and we've been watching movies every night! we want to get as many movies watched as we can because we are not renewing the membership. ah, summer nights!

oh by the way, this picture of jay and mike was taken on jay's 4th birthday. mike's mom was able to write us in to disneyland, and we had a ball playing in the park all day! can't believe my baby is 4!

neighbor with pool

2006-07-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

this photo shows some scraps jay got across his forehead. we aren't exactly sure how he did this. the best i can come up with is when we were at the lagoon on friday, we was jumping off a little cement platform that had a fountain. if that is when he did it, he sure wasn't bothered by it. don't worry, his face is no indication of pain, he was mugging for me!

could there be anything better than good neighbors that invite us to use their pool when they are gone? so jay and i trotted our hot selves next door and enjoyed a cool refreshing swim for 40 minutes. i must say my spirit even feels refreshed. it has been sooooo HOT here the last few days, that it was nice to be outside and not sweating.

jay is almost finished with his first session of swim lessons. miss andrea has been great for him. when we were swimming in our neighbor's pool he was real excited to show me how he goes under water.

What to do?

2006-07-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Now that the Tour de France is over, what am I to do? Since July 1st when the tour started, I've been glued to OLN's coverage of the tour. And since there has been nothing else on TV, it's been a great event to be watching. I was happy to see Floyd Landis pulled out his first win of the Tour. His story is inspiring. The last five days of the tour had so much excitment.

Now as I start this new week, I've picked my next activity. I'm canning strawberry jam this week! I've never canned before in my life, but I'm going to give it a shot. I plan to can on Wednesday, so today and tomorrow I'll be gathering my last few tools and ingredients. Thankfully my mom has agreed to come over and help monitor me (and play with Jay) while I cook. Let's just hope it's not such a scorcher that day!

The "Goose"

2006-07-22T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we enjoyed at day at the "Lagoon" in Redondo Beach near Auntie I's house. Jay has a hard time saying lagoon, so it has been coming out as "goose." Debs and Emma came as well as Holli, Kelsey & Kimberly. Of course baby Colin was there enjoying all the fun too! Here's some fun photos of the day!

(I'll post more about the Tour de France tomorrow!)

More Cycling Terms

2006-07-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

Bonk - when a rider has absoluetly no energy left due to dehydration, or not eating enough during the stage.
King of the Mountains - This is a points competition that riders can earn as they cross the summit of each climb. The first rider over gets the most points, and then the points decrease for about 5th to 8th place.

Tour de France Vocabulary

2006-07-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

As we enter the last week of racing in the Tour de France, I though I'd start a list of terms and phrases I now have a new context for. I'll do a few words each day until the end of the race.

Peloton - main field or group of riders
Unhitching - riders that fall behind or away from the peloton
Breakaway - rider or group of riders that ride ahead of the peloton.
Natural break - when a rider pulls over to the side of the road to take a leak! I've seen them do this during the race. They even have a gentleman's agreement in racing that you don't try to ride ahead and attack a rider because they are peeing!

Swim Class Fun

2006-07-18T16:28:00.000-07:00

What is better than being a 3 almost 4 year old going to swim class every morning with Miss Andrea? That is the kind of life Jay is leading for the next 2 weeks. I can say everything is going well, except after the first lesson he informed me that he would not like to go again because he didn't want to go under water anymore! How do you say, "Look kid, we've paid for the classes, and you're going!" Of course I didn't say that, but instead we talked about practicing our skills and that I would talk to Miss Andrea and let her know how you feel. That seemed to work because after day 2 he said he had a great time. Phew! I'm just not going to talk about swim class all day until in the morning when we are getting ready. That way he won't be thinking and fretting over it. Wish my life was so hard!

Podcast, Baby!

2006-07-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

So as you know, I've been faithfully listening to the Discovery Channel's podcast of the Tour de France each day. On yesterday's podcast, host and Discovery Channel teams press officer, PJ Rabice, invited listeners for the second time to email him questions. So I promptly emailed some of my questions. Lo and behold, on today's podcast, he answered 2 of my 3 questions and used my name!!! Know what I did next? Yep, emailed him again!

Spot of Bother

2006-07-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Poor George Hincapie is in a "spot of bother." He did not do so well in the 2nd day of the mountain stage in the Tour de France. It looks like he probably won't make it to the podium this year. I still think he's great though and I hope he rallies to move up from 40th place (out of 165).

But it was exciting that Floyd Landis won the yellow jersey today! He's the 5th American to ever wear the yellow jersey in the 103 year history of the tour. (Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, Dave Zabriskie, George Hincapie, & Floyd Landis. Only two Americans have ever won the entire tour, Greg LeMond 3 times and Lance 7 times. How cool would that be if Floyd could win it and keep the Americans competitive?)

I really do like Floyd, so if George is out of it, then I hope Floyd can win.

(Stationary) Bike Ride

2006-07-11T19:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while watching Jay and Emma play in Debbie's back yard (while she ran to the store) I figured I might as well ride the stationary bike they have on the patio. I adjusted the seat, turned on the timer and decided 15 minutes would be a good start. With all the Tour de France I've been watching, I felt like it was a fitting activity. Boy, do I admire those cyclist more now that I rode for a whopping 5.1 miles in 15 minutes. Within a minute of my "ride" my arms were getting achy in that leaned over position. You basically are bent at the waist! It sure doesn't look that uncomfortable watching it on TV. But I peddled on! I then thought it would be fun to assume the time trial position where the elbows are close to your sides and you are basically resting on your forearms. Just shoot me now! I couldn't imagine riding in that position for the hour that some of these athletes do.

Well, towards the end of my "ride" I got into a good cadence by really focusing on pushing and pulling the peddles down and back up. At first, I figured it would just be more work, but in reality it made the peddling smoother and easier in many ways. All in all, I'm glad I gave it a go. I was pretty proud of my 5 miles at around 20mph. (Most of the cyclist travel at about 30 or more mph.)

Smile!

2006-07-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

"Smile" is what I heard Jay say as he got a hold of my digital camera and started taking pictures of things. "Smile TV, smile table, smile toys!"

He really cracked himself up when he started taking photos of himself! Imagine these photos being taken with a little "cheeka" sound effect he added for flare.

You'll also noticed the hot cookies coming off the cookie sheet from his vantage point. Too much fun on a Monday!

Minus Cell Phone

2006-07-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

So we went to church this morning and realized neither one of us had a cell phone. It made us slightly uncomfortable to not be able to call someone driving home. But really we weren't that bothered by it . . . it just is sort of funny that we were both mildly perturbed not to have it. How did people live before cell phones?????

Tour de France, Fever!

2006-07-08T10:01:00.001-07:00

Over the last year, I've really been enjoying learning about the sport of professional cycling. I am completely obsessed with watching the Tour de France, as Mike can atest. I TiVo the live coverage on OLN at 5:30am then throughout the day I try to catch what has happened in the race that day. I love it! The commentators are so good, and I've really been able to learn a lot about the sport from them. I even listen to the daily podcast from the Discovery Channel team each day. They are beginning the 2nd week of the three week race. I'm rooting for my favorite, George Hincapie to do well! If you get a chance, check it out, who knows maybe you'll find a new sport to learn about!

Ahhh, to be home!

2006-07-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

After being on the road and seeing lots of places, it always feels good to come home. Well, good and overwhelming. I hate going through the mail after being gone and coming back to the "reality" of life. But I feel so blessed that we were able to spend time with family in Vancouver, and friends in SF. We were home for a few days before we then set off to San Deigo for the NECC conference. Jay and I only stayed 2 nights with Mike, but we had so much fun at the beautiful hotel.

Extreme Tree Makeover

2005-09-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Extreme Tree Makeover

2005-09-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we took the plunge and finally hired professional tree trimmers to tame our wild jungle in the back yard. They trimmed our apple, lime, pepper, ficus, 2 others I didn't catch the name of, & ginko trees. I was really glad that they removed 3 palms trees too. Two of these palms were at the side of the house where we never really saw them, except for when the frawns dropped. I think our back yard looks so much better!

Jay's 3rd Trip Around the Sun

2005-08-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

Jay's birthday started out on a shaky note. He woke up early with a tummy ache. No one ever wants a tummy ache on their birthday. I ended up holding him while he held a bowl for about an hour and a half. I even geared up for a day long of tummy ache by sending Mike to the store for some 7Up and soda crackers. But finally Jay was able to hold down some yogurt and become the excited little boy we know and love.

He opened his presents from us and with sincere enthusiasm exclaimed at each one, even if he didn't know what it was. What became an instant hit was the "true tone" xylophone! Mike is starting to question my wisdom in selecting this gift because Jay thinks louder is better!

Jay and I made a quick trip to Stater Bros. to get some last minute things I needed to make a cake for my friend that just had a baby. (Jay had his real birthday cake on Saturday during his party.) I must admit that most trips to the store are sketchy at best, but for some wonderous reason, this trip was truly delightful.

To continue the special day, I enlisted Jay's help to make the cake. He sifted, and poured, and turned the mixer on. He looked so cute standing on the chair by the counter helping me. He especially loved dumping the egg yolks and spreading the butter on the pans. (He loves butter, and has no problem telling anyone.) (Oh, by the way, the cake was an Orange Marmalade.)

2 Hours later when the cakes were coming out of the oven, I was ready for Jay to take a nap. Since he's graduated to a big boy bed, naps have been few and far between. Just this week, I managed to get him to stay on his bed, but he'd never fallen asleep on his bed, until today!!! I could not believe the soft breathing sounds I was hearing. Could it be that on his 3rd birthday he'd really fallen asleep on his own on the big boy bed? What joy!!

All these events have helped to make a sunny memory in my mind. I can scarecly believe my baby is 3!

Farmer's Market & King Tut

2005-07-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Today was a day that was HOT and fun all at once. We went with Mike's folks to see the King Tut exhibit at the LA County Museum of Art. Jay and I didn't go to the exhibit, but we went about a half mile up the road the the famed LA Farmer's Market at 3rd & Fairfax. We walked around the stands and shops then enjoyed a cookie snack. We then made our way up to the Grove, spending quite a bit of time in the air conditioned Barnes & Noble's. After awhile of reading Thomas the Tank Engine books we headed over to the Apple Store. Meanwhile, the museum group had finished and so walked up to the Farmer's Market. We met up and decided to eat lunch at the Woodfire Cafe. It was a great lunch and a fun time for all. Jay did great in the long car ride to and from. He of course, didn't seem to mind the heat. Cheryl and I decided we'd like to go back to the Grove during the Fall when it's not so crowded or hot. We didn't have time to ride the trolly car this time, but Jay did enjoy watching the fountain show. What a lovely place.

Here I Am!

2005-05-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

I've made it to the blogosphere! With a little help from Mike, I've been able to create my first entry.