i'm all a-twitter

Okay, now I am beyond super cool. Jay had me sign up for Twitter. I'll be honest--I don't totally get it but I am game to try. Come find me. My screen name is PartyofFour--RachelOlson was taken, imagine that. Let's be virtual friends!

raise your hands up and say "all done"!!!

As you know, Jay and I are done having babies. I have chosen to trust in the vasectomy and get rid of my maternity clothes. If you or anyone you know is looking for free maternity clothes, please email me pronto.

Sizes are L and XL. Brands are mainly Old Navy, Target and stuff from Kohl's. Nothing super awesome but some comfy tanks and hoodies. Some work-type clothes.

Let me know if you'd like to do a lookie loo!

meet the newest member of the olson family

His name is Gill, Ethan's new fish friend. Ethan, Jay and Robb went to The World of Fish tonight and picked him out. Ethan is nearly beside himself with excitement! He was part of setting up the fishbowl and is having a great time showing Gill all his toys. He is obsessed with fish and sea creatures and Finding Nemo--this is a perfect fit right now. We'll see how it all plays out! It is his first pet--kind of a milestone for a kid in a family that is adamently opposed to pets. :)

disney pics

disney magic

It was magical this year! No one got sick and no one ended up in the hospital. Victory!

Highlights:

--AWESOME weather! We really got lucky--it was in the low fifties the week before and the week after we were there. We had beautiful summer weather nearly the whole time. Lots of pool time was had.

--We loved letting our kids run free! It was so great to walk out of the hotel room and just let them loose. I don't think Olivia has walked/run so much in her life!

--Swimming in the rain. The kids (the adult kids, that is) left their sleeping children in Gummie's care and went to the pool on a warm rainy afternoon. We spent several hours going back and forth between the hot tub and the big pool. It was delightful!

--Everest. Loved it. Didn't even feel sick. Screamed and laughed.

--Olivia clapped the entire time during the Lion King show. It was adorable.

--Ethan got super excited about the Nemo and Little Mermaid attractions. He also was totally into the Dumbo ride.

--Ethan asking funny questions after watching Stacy, our Disney tour guide, on the hotel room tv repeatedly. "Hey guys, does anyone have a question for me about Everest?"

--Watching Olivia display her newfound love of shoes. Good girl!

--Sticking to our guns about how much we planned to spend on stuff for the kids. Okay, we pretty much stuck to our guns. Might have gone over a little bit. :)

--Tossing Olivia from the edge of the pool. Jay tossed her, I caught her. And I was decently far away from the edge. She would go completely under and then come up laughing and begging for more. Pibs is crazy.

--Ethan chasing the fish in the lagoon at Caribbean Beach. He was just wading and I told him not to get his clothes wet. Next thing I know he is up to his neck trying to catch fish. I just laughed and gave up. He also fed the ducks with the housekeeping lady.

--Watching Emily and Jon's jibjab from Spaceship Earth. Never has an uglier photo been taken of those two. ;)

All in all, a wonderful trip! Many thanks to Jimbo and Gummies for taking us!

focus on the negative?

Why do I consistently focus on the stupid, rude, immature, and/or thoughtless things I have done in the past? This has been happening to me a lot lately. A memory pops into my head regarding a time where I have done something regrettable. Instead of focusing on all the good things I've done, I instead ruminate on this one thing. It bothers me for a while and then it goes away. Examples of things I get stuck on:

--being rude to some stupid teenagers at Universal a few years ago
--getting chastised by a craiglister who was angry at me for asking people to just make an offer on the kitchen cabinets; he thought I was trying to start a bidding war--I was just trying to deal with the 200 emails I had gotten and I wanted to get as much money for them as I could (duh!)
--getting in trouble 7 (SEVEN!!!) years ago at Best Buy for having a conversation with peers about how much money we made. I had a very bad manager.

Why do I do this? Does anyone else do this? I am normally a pretty positive person; however, I HATE to get in trouble and I HATE to have people think poorly of me. It gets borderline neurotic; it is why I know that I am not cut out for corporate America.

Does anyone have advice for me as to how to deal with these thoughts?

tips for traveling...

We just got home from Disney this afternoon, which I will blog about later. For now, allow me to share a few helpful tips for traveling.

1. Do not allow your 19 month old child to sit in your lap. Suck it up and buy another seat. She will annoy both you and those around you. She will make your legs feel bruised and draw angry glares from the people sitting around you.

2. Do bring a DVD player for your 4 year old. You will not hear a peep from him.

3. Do not hoard around the plane waiting for your stroller. Do not keep your whole family with you while you wait for your stroller. Send a delegate. Do not insist on setting up your stroller, situating your child and arranging your luggage just outside the plane door. Take your stroller, child and luggage to the gate and get set up there. It is annoying, even to those of us waiting for a stroller.

It was a long day, folks. I am almost looking forward to Olivia's 2nd birthday, simply so we will be forced into buying her a seat. Pibs is crazy, we say it all the time. The kids are unconscious in their beds now though--Disney World wrecked them! All in all, a great trip!