I am married to my best friend.

Tomorrow JP and I will celebrate our 12th anniversary*. Marriage is amazingly easy for us but not without a lot of compromise and flexibility. I think our secret it just trying to anticipate what the other will need - a bike ride, gym time, tagging off when a child gets unruly, a hug, a night out, etc. and letting them have it. After dating, living with, and/ or being married to him for 15+ years I know that if he does not get to ride his bike, he is not enjoyable to be around. By the same token, he indulges my whims and supports whatever "kick" I am on at the time.

We also spend a lot of time together just hanging out. From the beginning we commented on the fact that we enjoyed going to the grocery store together and it was something we always did together before we had kids; to me this is the cornerstone of my exhibit. It is the simple things we love to do. I know there are many couples who don't hang out as much as we do - maybe it is because they have such opposite interests or can't agree on a TV program, but I think we are lucky (or maybe JP is lucky) that we do like the same things. Over the years I have developed interest in many of the things that he enjoys like baseball, cycling, snowboarding, among others and I choose to be a part of his world. I would much rather sit on the couch and watch baseball with him than be alone in my room watching something by myself. And compromise goes both ways; he has watched Dancing with the Stars with me for many seasons and will go see Harry Potter when I ask.

For our anniversary I have planned our whole day and night and just told him the details on Friday. This afternoon we are going to take off on foot from our house and catch the bus for downtown; this was a late addition to my plans I he was really excited about this aspect. We will be staying in a downtown hotel within walking distance of one of the best pizza places in town - Pizzeria Bianco - which we hope to be able to get in to eat. The one time we have tried previously the wait was 2 hours, but we hope to arrive around 4:30 to get an early start. After dinner my plan is to head to the ballpark for a Diamondbacks game; it has been a few years since just the two of us went to the game and I am looking forward to kicking back on our own. That's it - not a very classic anniversary date but certainly one that illustrates our simple tastes. I think he will really enjoy the day.

JP - I love you very much and am very pleased with our simple and enjoyable life. I truly could not ask for anything more . . . well, maybe a housekeeper but that is about it.

* As a footnote I don't really feel old enough to have been married this long.

New Job

I know everyone was surprised by my Facebook update the other day that it was my last day at work. Switching jobs has happened so quickly that I have not had a chance to tell everyone including many members of my family. I spent four very busy years at my previous company and learned a lot about recruiting and met some really great people, but I was recruited away to an awesome organization that is a great logical step for my career.

Today was my first day and I couldn't be more impressed with how organized everything is here and how happy and honest everyone is about the company and what I can expect. I have so much to learn about day-to-day process and I can not wait to dig in and get started. One of the coolest parts of my job is that I will be working from home which means we have been busy setting up a true office space for me where I can shut everyone out and be able to focus. I am really excited to create this space that will be all my own.

Right now I am in Ohio for new hire orientation which meant that I had to fly out Sunday morning and then drive nearly 2 hours in the rain to my hotel. Ohio is beautiful - although gray and dreary right now - and I was really taken by the verdant farmland, beautiful (and I am sure old) structures including some really awesome churches right outside of Columbus. I really wish I had my camera with me so I could have taken some pictures. The other observation I made was of the swollen rivers that were very close to their banks; very wet around here and very different from the desert.

So that is the update on my new job. I head home on Thursday and can't wait to see my little peeps (and my big one).

From Ozzy to Pickle

It is usual for the youngsters to inquire about dinner beginning just after breakfast. Today they were mildly patient and waited until 4:30. It started with the boy asking, "what's for dinner?" While pointing at the first crooked neck squash harvested from our garden this year I replied: "grilled chicken, couscous, and this little fella." At this point in the conversation Pickle, who has still has yet to look up from her coloring book, interjects, "I love little fellas! I can bite their heads off."

I'm not sure what she thinks we are having with the chicken and couscous but she is going to bite its head off.

Happy Mudder's Day

"What did you get Mommy for Mother's Day?"

"Letters"

JP and the kids got me these letter disks from Sundance which I had requested. Each one came in its own gift box so I had three little presents; one from each! It was a great Mother's Day that started with a three-year-old voice - "Happy Mudder's Day" and ended with dinner at Oregano's with the kids and our friends, Cathy and Kris. They are both like surrogate moms to our kids so it was a nice celebration. It was also new kid's 1st birthday which made the day extra special. We took a family hike and played games and generally just lounged about . . . very relaxing.

Happy 1st Birthday New Kid

New Kid celebrated her 1st birthday like the others . . . going to Oregano's. We had her party last weekend when Dad was here and we were treated to fried fish, boiled shrimp, and other good food! The 1st birthday party is more for the parents, right? To me it is a celebration that we survived; at least it was for the first kid. By the third one the year just flew by rather quickly especially with this one who has been easy from day one.

 One of our birthday traditions . . . getting to share a beer with The Jer.

Since today was also Mother's Day we got to enjoy our day together. After opening presents, eating breakfast, and watching the Giro (JP more than us); we went for a hike. All the kids enjoyed themselves and we tired out the Birthday Girl. She proceeded to nap for about 4 1/2 hours during the middle of the day. Sleeping has been her priority pretty much since the beginning.

Another Bump on the Head

Almost exactly one year to the day since the last head wound incident Pickle decided to try and mar up her lovely forehead once again. On Sunday afternoon Pickle had just served me and JP each a bowl of baby carrots on which to snack when her grandparents returned to the house with Bubba. In her excitement to reach the front door she tripped and fell headfirst into the brick halfwall that defines our entryway. JP saw it happen and was on his feet scooping her up before she even had a chance to cry. Luckily no skin was split or skull viewable so a little ice and TLC is all she needed.

Last year's scar has faded nicely just as that sweet doctor said it would and with this new scab you hardly notice the old scar at all.

They Grow Up So Fast - Part 2

Pickle has started Word Building and as this picture shows, she is very excited. The reading process in the Montessori program begins by learning the phonetic sounds of each letter - we are not allowed to "name" the letters - and then they move to putting these sounds together. JP got to see her in word building action last week during his observation visit. The teacher tells her a word and then she uses the letters to build the word on her mat. Once she completes all of the words she then gets to write them which at this point is simply tracing the word. You can also see that she uses cursive letters instead of block print which is another aspect of the Montessori classroom. Cursive letters are actually easier for children to learn because they do not have to pick up their pencil. Pickle loves to write and is anxious to learn to actually read. It won't be long now.