It's Over!

i thought this day would never come. what do normal people do when they don't have to study the law everyday including weekends?

one of the most interesting things about taking the exam was the test site. i was at northwestern university in downtown chicago. however, northwestern university looks just like hogwart's school of witchcraft and wizardry. the desks looked like individual pews. they were made of wood and had high backs with gothic style detail. all the doorways were stone and arched with gothic style detail. the rooms had stained glass windows and dark wood paneling. i thought i should be looking for a man with a long white beard and a wand.

the exam was loooooooong and my hand still hurts from writing.

next week i'm going on a trip with kellie, her kids and her parents. we are taking their boat up to michigan for a week. i'm kind of going on a mini-cruise, except no shuffleboard.

the unfortunate thing is that i really feel i bombed. i'm pretty sure i'll have to take it again, but that just means another trip to hogwart's.

thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. i'm so glad it's over, even if only for a little while...

The Big Test

Hi Lu

Thinking so much about you, I wanted to call you tonite, but thought it was too late.

I will be praying for you as you take the test the next couple of days.

I hope you can relax and remember all you know.  May god be with you, and Alex too.

With love, Carol

Random Pictures

Me thinks Emmet is excited...


She loved our hike yesterday. She finally likes the backpack... glad that was a phase.

Best Healthy Banana Bread Ever!

This recipe is the best tasting banana bread I've ever made. It also uses no egg, no butter and no sugar. We got some locally made honey at Frei's Market in Santa Clara, which helps with allergies, and it tastes great. This recipe is from Dr. Weil's website. Banana Bread

Description

Native to the Caribbean and Central America, bananas are one of America's favorite fruits. They are rich in potassium - one banana contains 450 mg of potassium, one-fifth of the adult daily requirement - and offer a fair share of magnesium (33 mg), too. In addition, bananas help to strengthen the stomach lining and are good for soothing indigestion. Most banana bread recipes are saturated with butter and sugar. This one uses a small amount of canola oil instead - which is much better for your heart - and honey, which of course means lots of flavor. Don't use regular whole-wheat flour. It is too heavy for this recipe. Look for whole-wheat pastry flour instead.

Ingredients

3 very ripe bananas ½ cup honey 3 tablespoons expeller-pressed canola oil, plus a little more for oiling the loaf pan 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350° F. Lightly oil a loaf pan. 2. Mash the bananas and mix with the honey, canola oil and vanilla extract. 3. Stir together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt. Add the nuts. 4. Blend the two mixtures and spoon into a lightly oiled loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set.

What the Fire Truck?

Max, Emmet and Nathan are excited!


They are going for a ride in the fire truck with Kelly.


This is how it's done, everyone.


Now you give it a try, Janna!


Daddy's a geek.

hydrangea update and the bar exam

when i got to illinois, i transplanted the hydrangeas from the alex's service into pots. they are currently on kelly's parents patio and loving it! even the one that i thought was dead is definitely alive and making a strong comeback. yeah!
now on to the bar exam. i have been studying 10 hours a day for the past 2 weeks and i still know nothing. i'm exhausted. the exam begins in 4 days on tuesday and by wednesday night at 5pm, i am going to be done.

FAQ Section:
Q: do you think lu's going to pass the bar the first time?
A: definitely not.

Q: is it going to be the end of the world?
A: contrary to what you might have heard, lu's life doesn't have that much impact on the universe.

Q: how is lu going to feel if she fails the bar?
A: she's not going to care after a trip to nordstrom's and a glass of wine.

Q: what happens if she fails?
A: she can take it again... and again and again and again.

Q: what happens if she never passes the bar?
A: nothing. there are still numerous job opportunities and not enough space here to list them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN

SWEET 16! This is insane... no way you are that old... psycho. I love you.

Hot New Pedicure

MOM, THERE IS FINALLY A SAFE PEDICURE OUT THERE:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALANA!!!!!!

Greetings from California!

Take it on down the road Jack

Jake's illness

Jake, consider lyme disease, check it out.

You could have easily been exposed.

Jake's illness

Full Moon Again

Cara, hope you are okay. I took the trash out and saw the nearly-full moon. Yikes! Heard about your Del Taco disaster. This too shall pass. I love ya!

Okay Ladies, Have you noticed the moon?

Fun-derwater Camera!

Here are a few choice shots with Mike's
birthday present. It is the coolest. It goes 33'
under water and you can drop it on the
concrete and it will still work. Look for under
water beach blog coming this weekend.

Lu's Apartment

Pigtails!!!

I can't believe how big she looks with pigtails! I finally wrestled them in by letting her play with my phone!

BLOGGING FOR BEMY

Didn't want you to be disappointed with no blogging before bed Mom. You may already be in bed? I just cooked and ate nearly a whole package of the refrigerated cookie-dough cookies and Brandon and I painted some frames white to hang over my TV. My car will still be in the shop all day tomorrow so you know where to find me. I might call Dr. Huard because my leg is driving me nuts. Also, Lu pic-texted me some photos of her apartment and it is soo cute. I can't take pictures off of my phone so maybe I can send them to Janna or Mike and they could post them? It's the cutest studio ever... like pottery barn or something. Ian got his braces off today! Congrats Ian... I bet they feel slimy! Love to one and all!!!

good nite

sweet dreams, I love you.

Debbie Downer

http://youtube.com/watch?v=UMQ1bTo1xjA
Click on the address above to watch the video.

I know we all tease Bemy about being Debbie Downer, but I know I have a little Debbie Downer in me.

I don't think I live alone!

Help! I have these gigantic black-collared lizards that live in my backyard. This one in particular thinks he is king of my rock. He also was fighting with another smaller lizard on my patio this morning for about 5 minutes. What do I do???? By the way, these lizards are huge. The picture was taken very far away so you can't see how big he is.

American Fast!

Janna, you look good with 2!!!

I love her blue eyes!!!

Her face in this picture is so funny. She looks very skeptical as usual. She finally wore a bib because I put one on. I was sick of finding things that fell down into her diaper... like the other night I found an asparagus spear! She's eating a little yogurt and of course, cheezits.

House

Janna, HERE is the house.

Out of the mouths of babes

I would like to give a shout out to the Krog family!

Andrea, Jake, and Ian

I miss you and Love you!

ANDREA'S CRUSH

This is a guy I found on line for Andrea. Andrea checked him out tonight... She said she won't be able to sleep. Not only is he hot, but after reading his bio they are like twins. You never know!!!!!!

Lessons in Life

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is to short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7 . Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 10. It's okay to let your children see you cry. 11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 12. If a relationship has to be secret you shouldn't be in it. 13. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying. 14. A writer writes. If you want to be writer, write. 15. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 16. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 17. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 18. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 19. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 20. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. 21. Frame every so -called disaster with these words: 'In five years will this matter?' 22. Forgive everyone, everything. 23. What other people think of you is none of your business. 24. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time. 25. However good or bad the situation is, it will change. 26. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. 27. Believe in miracles. 28. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 29. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable. 31. Read Psalms. They cover every human emotion. 32. Get outside everyday. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 33. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 34. Get rid of everything that isn't beautiful of joyful. 35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 36. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 37. The best is yet to come. 38. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 39. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 40. Yield. 41. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

So, it's 1 a.m. and I just cracked myself a DC. It just sounded refreshing:)

Sunday with Daddy

I went to church alone and Brandon and Anika were having a party when I arrived home... music playing, quesadillas, and Anika prancing around in Daddy's socks. The look on her face when I walked in was one of "Mom's home, party's over!"

Gallstones be gone

Mom, here is a little something about Dr. Hinkle. Make an appointment. Click here.

SHE LOVES SWINGING!

Don't worry Bem, we didn't let a hand off of her on this swing... we just held her back and let her sway ever so gently. Didn't want to spread panic. Hope you all had a good day. My Double Double is still with me. I'm sooo tired and want to go to bed early. night night.

FREAKY PHOTOS

Look if you dare. I promise Brandon wasn't trying to flip y'all off. We just had to get those other appendages out of the way. Sorry!

K, Anika is hilarious. After she went to bed tonight, I found this lemon taking a little sit on the toilet. With a toddler in the house, some strange things happen.

Time To Move

Help me! I have some new neighbors. Three dudes! They are already partying every night in the hot tub ( with chicks). I think I heard them talking about skinny dipping! One guy was smoking on my steps! This is not tolerated. Guess I have to move.

How long 'till a good night's sleep?

So, I'm trying to cut Anika off the nursing AT LEAST in the middle of the night. It just hit me like a brick the other night that I am DONE getting up at all hours. Isn't it about time? When Anika was a newborn I was talking to another Mother and she said, "Don't worry, just hang in there 'till around 8 weeks and she will be sleeping through the night." HA! As a new Mother, I didn't know how different individual children can be (Or more like what a sucker I would be). And here I am... 60 weeks later. Anika isn't putting up much of a fuss. She half-cried and fussed for 4 minutes and now has been speaking in her jibberish language to herself. She throws some actual words in occasionally... "MaMa, Up!" I'm killing the time and encouraging myself to forge ahead by reading horror stories like THIS ONE. ... (insert uproarious laugh at section titled "The Fun Part") That's enough to make me shudder.... To each his own. Surely, I will have to nurse for some time to come because of her rice bottles, but I swear I won't let it turn into some scene from The King and I. Sometimes I think my very soul will cave-in if I have to see my own "nursies" one more time... so that's when I comfort myself with THIS.

HE'S DONE IT AGAIN

Brandon called me up from work yesterday to say "Hi hun, I just cut the end of my finger off. I'm going to the Emergency Room." I almost passed out and said "OH NO, who's driving you? Can I meet you there?" Brandon replied, "Oh, I'm just driving myself." BOYS!!!??? WHY??!! It turned out not as badly as I thought. He cut the entire pad of his middle finger off... all the way to the bone. He said it looked strange in there with all the orange bubble fat pads. The ER doc says even with stitches its a 50/50 that it will not reattach! Uggghhh. Brandon is way too familiar with stitches and, working at a glass shop, I'm thinking, should we buy disability insurance? I have nightmares of the owner from Jones Paint and Glass who has several entire fingers missing. At glass factories they make the employees wear chain-mail sleeves on their arms because people lose arms like they lose their keys in those places. Oh, I am so paranoid. Please somebody up there protect my sweet Brandon.