Washington Family

Here are some pix of Jimi with his Washington family. Somehow the camera never made it out of the suitcase with California family.

Park

Both of the times that I have tried to take Jimi to the park, he has cried and has not had any fun at all. This past weekend was beautiful and the three of us went to the park. The idea was that I would get a walk in, since I gained so much weight last month.

He had a blast with Daddy there!! I forgot the camera, but here are the pix I took of the time Jimi and I went by ourselves and he didn't like it.

Play Ball

Lately Jimi has developed an affinity to his ball.

He can entertain himself by throwing the ball, catching up to it and throwing it again. The other day Dapo joined in, showing him how to head the ball. I wasn't able to get any of those shots, but here are the others.

Mommy's Little Helper

I can't help it, I think Jimi is the cutest.

Here he is helping mommy work, file and fold laundry.

PB&J

People say kids aren't supposed to have peanuts until age 3 because of allergies. Rubbish!

Here's shots of Jimi eating his first PB&J, after he had already eaten his ravioli.





mmmm!

Gas Shortages

Remember last month when I blogged about the gas shortages due to Hurricane Ike? Thankfully that is and has been over, and gas is readily available to the tune of about $2.50/gallon.

At the time, I took pix intending to share them on the blog, but I've just now downloaded them off of my camera. So, here's what it used to look like!

Poll Position

Last week Dapo got a notice in the mail that his license would expire. I remember thinking that was odd, because we moved here in 2006 and got our licenses around Christmas that year. I looked in his wallet, and sure enough, his license was expired. I wonder why? Then I wondered if mine was expired. No, mine doesn't expire until my birthday in 2012. Why doesn't Dapo's expire on his birthday?

I took the notice and his license to him and brought his attention to the matter. It was the weekend, so he planned to go on Monday. I really appreciate how we are treated in Alabama. However, some things need to be changed. Like the fact that if you are not a citizen you have to drive to the Driver's License Division in Decatur, which is 1/2 hr away. That sounds like segregation to me. At the time, he was told he could renew it at any satellite office.

So he shows up on Monday at the place we normally go to get our tags and is told he has to go to a different office, the main one in Huntsville. On Tuesday he goes there and is told he cannot get his license renewed because his green card has expired. Ah ha!! That makes sense why his license expired, because so did his green card. You may recall that we are in the LONG process of applying to have his conditional temporary status removed from his permanent residency. They recently extended his green card for a year, but did not send him a new card.

So, then he was finally able to get his license on Wednesday with proof of the letter that says he's been extended. Of course, his license will expire this time next year, when mine still has three years left on it. I guess that's the price you pay to pursue liberty. I'm not upset about the fact that they don't want you to have a license if you aren't supposed to be in the country. I get that. I don't want you here, either, if you aren't legally allowed to be. But, if you ARE legally allowed, and it takes you several years to get through the red tape, well, I find fault with that. Too bad paying his income taxes and property taxes aren't this hard!

All of this brings me to the title of the post. Last week Dapo received an envelope from the Alabama Democratic Party Headquarters. When he opened it, a letter congratulating him on his decision to vote was inside, accompanied by a voter's registration form and postage paid business reply mail envelope.

The letter, which I was saving as "evidence" of voter fraud, was thrown away by Dapo. It included such phrases as democratic process and democracy. And it came from the Democratic party! Dapo is a man of integrity and wouldn't dare pretend to be a citizen in order to file the form and vote, but I couldn't help but wonder about the scores of other people who would. How many convicted felons in jail cells thought they could now vote?

What is my point? I think that voting is a right given to people only as citizens of our country, and only if they are law-abiding. A driver's license is something given to anyone who can show they belong in the country, either on business or travel, or otherwise. As an aside, we all know millions of people who don't belong here have found a loophole called fake ID! Where are the watchdogs? Living high on the hog? Funding the Democratic HQ?

If you aren't a citizen, shouldn't it at least be as difficult to register to vote as it is to get your driver's license??

Do Not Call List

Have you heard that a company (I think Google, but can't remember) is working on a type of software that will prevent you from late-night, drunken stupor email rants to your boss, friends and otherwise? Evidently before it will send your email, it will ask a series of questions that sober people can answer. They are mathematical in nature. I don't have a problem with drunken stupors, but I do get to ranting. I'm good at math, though, so I'm not sure if the software will help me.

If you read my earlier post, you know that I'm "in a mood". No, not THE mood. A mood. I had to preface what I'm about to blog with that.

It is 8:05 and the phone rings. "Do not be alarmed!" Okay, I'm not. The voice continues, "your mortgage interest rate offer is about to expire. This is your final warning." Jerks. I am in the middle of homework, and I have probably one of the best interest rates I could ever get in this century, so LEAVE ME ALONE. I can't tell them to take me off their list because its automated. AND I'M ON THE DO NOT CALL LIST.

No joke, 8:10 the phone rings. We get calls all the time for Sherry and for the previous owners of the house (a special thanks to Bellsouth for just giving us the existing number but charging a $75 "connection" fee). The gentleman on the other end says hello Sherry! I said no, this is Kari. Oh, well how are you doing tonight ma'am? It is 8:10 what can I help you with? Well, I'm calling on behalf of battered women or police officers or firemen or homeless vets or whatever it was he said. Can we count on your support again this year?? Well, since you are calling for SHERRY and I'm KARI then it should be obvious you never had my support. You may not count on my support this year, or ever, and I'm requesting you remove me from your list!!

I'm not calloused, I just get a lot of these bunk phone calls. They are scams. They always thank me for my support last year. When I tell them I just moved to Alabama, and there wasn't a last year, they hang up on me. When I tell them I'm not the person they called for they just read their script anyhow. Hey I feel for them, I was a telemarketer for 4 hours once. I hated every minute of it, and didn't even bother to call them back and quit.

I just wonder how, if I am on the Do Not Call list, I am getting these calls. They are the only two types of calls I ever get of a telemarketing nature. So how are they slipping through the cracks of this law?

Anyone have any ideas? Please don't say "write your Congressman". I did about the bailout and got a reply explaining why he was forced to vote for it. Hogwash. Phooey!

Drats

Today was my however-manyeth visit to the OB. Dapo met us there again and Jimi went along, too. Much to my chagrin, I have gained 10 pounds. Not to be confused with the entire pregnancy, I mean just since my last visit four weeks ago. Yikes. And then my blood pressure was 146/80. Ugh. Thankfully I didn't do the blood glucose test today, because things were not going well.

I don't know if I have blogged about it, but I am sincerely concerned about the size of the baby. It seems that she got heavy around the 4th month, and Jimi didn't get heavy until the 7th. I know there's the whole "been there done that" attitude my body has, but that seems a little extreme. Anyhow, I made Dr. Rushing promise that if I couldn't get my head around this fear that he would order an ultrasound to see how big the baby is (or, isn't, hopefully).

When the nurse tried to get the baby's heart rate, the baby started kicking like crazy! Has this ever happened to anyone? Does anyone know why? I knew she was up, because she was moving a bit while we were waiting. But once they put the little microphone thing up to my belly, she started kicking me. Everyone seemed to be amused by it, except for the baby, and me. Nothing was very amusing today.

Dr. Rushing felt my ankles and said probably part of the 10 lbs is water weight, but then said asked if I was watching what I was eating. I said "no," and he said, "it may be time to start." He then said "are you exercising?" and I said, "no," to which he replied, "it may be time to start." In retrospect, I wonder if chasing Jimi all day counts. On second thought, if it counted, I wouldn't have gained 10 lbs.

He told me to start walking and to watch what I eat. He did it in such a light-hearted fashion that I really shouldn't take it so hard, but I'm mad at myself. I don't have a problem eating too much, I'm just eating the wrong things. With Jimi it was so easy because I actually had aversions to both junk and fast foods. This baby is SO different!!

Thursday starts my final trimester and I am glad about it. Maybe some exercise will help me get motivated to do the baby's room before the baby actually arrives!

Husband Post

I saw this on my friend's blog and thought in light of having been gone from him it would be a nice way to remember what I love about him.

HUSBAND
1. What is his name? Dr. Oladapo Olufemi Temitayo Eso

2. Who eats more? Dapo. Never come between this man and rice.

3. Who said I love you first? Dapo did the day he proposed.

4. Who is taller? Dapo

5. Who is smarter? Dapo the metallurgical engineer

6. Who is more sensitive? Me.

7. Who does the laundry? Me.

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking at the bed- Dapo

9. Who pays the bills? Dapo, and we fight less since he took them over.

10. Who cooks more? Me, except when I don't feel like it he will cook for himself.

11. What meals do you cook together? Nigerian cuisine.

12. Who is more stubborn? ME! Dapo only gets stubborn when he gets very angry, which very rarely ever happens.

13. Who is the first to admit they're wrong? Dapo. Dapo admits he's wrong even when he's right, just to keep peace.

14. Who has more siblings? Dapo.

15. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Dapo does, remember I do the laundry.

16. What do you like to do together? Play music, take Jimi to the park, watch movies, eat at the table (an oldie, but a goodie), read.

17. Who eats more sweets? I do, Dapo doesn't even like them. Whenever I want to practice sharing, I ask him if he wants a bite of my cookie. I always know he'll say no, thanks.

18. Guilty pleasures? Basketball, especially the playoffs; sleeping on the couch during football, toothpicks.

19. How did you meet? We met in the band at church in Salt Lake City.

20. Who asked who out first? Dapo asked me out. A friend of his gave him 2 tix to the Utah Arts Festival and he asked me to go. I wasn't interested in him "that way" so I said let's get a bunch of us to go together. He agreed and I arranged for 4 more people to go with us. Those 4 other people forgot that they had a previous commitment and backed out the day of. It was just as well as I found myself having a really nice time with this guy, even though I couldn't understand a word he was saying.

21. Who kissed who first? If you were at my wedding, you saw our first kiss, and he definitely kissed me.

22. Who proposed? Dapo, at Cup of Joe over a cup of joe and Chinese checkers. I was so excited that I kept beating him, even though he'd never heard of Chinese checkers. He was probably losing so bad because he was getting ready to pop the question! I went to the ladies room and when I returned I said let's play again! He said okay but I have to ask you something first. He had never made any moves, so I thought he'd ask to hold my hand or kiss me or something and he asked me to marry him! I heard the angels singing hallelujah and said yes. He never did ask to hold my hand...

23. His best features? His kind soul, his brilliant mind, his anointed piano playing, his love for God, his sense of humor, his big heart, his big muscles, his good looks and the way he interacts with his son.

24. What is his greatest quality? You love to love him. He is the most lovable guy! He has no enemies and many friends. When I was single I had a "list" of things I was looking for. I was told not to do this because it set yourself up for disappointment when you could never meet anyone like that. I was so excited to meet Dapo and learn that such a man existed after all, and had even more qualities than I had listed. I am so blessed to be his bride and the mother of his children.

We're Back

Here's something you don't ever expect to hear yourself to say: It is so good to be back in the South!

Our trip was good, all things considered. Jimi was quite the travelin' trooper, first on the 8 hr flight out west and then the 12 hr drive to California from my parents' house. We split the drive up into two six hour trips, as per Dapo's request. He really loves us and didn't want anything to happen to us because someone got tired while driving. It is nice to have someone care so much for you!

Jimi and I left here Tues am, arriving PDX at noon. My mom, Jimi, my niece Makenna and I left that night for CA and stayed in Medford, OR. So we got to the hotel in CA on Wednesay afternoon.

When we arrived to CA we spent most of the trip at my aunt Sharon's farm house. The kids really had fun picking walnuts and riding around on the forklift with whichever adult was not clairvoyant enough to realize "once a driver, always a driver". I had not been there since I was a kid myself and a lot of memories came back to us.

One in particular was my cousin Kristin, me and my brother and a friend of his went white water rafting in Truckee. My brother, his friend and I fell out of the raft. My cousin kept telling me to hold on to the raft going down the rapids! Ow. She finally had the where-with-all to pull me inside! My brother, Dan, and his friend did not hold on to the raft, and he went down the rapids mano-a-rocko. What a day.

Since Friday was the memorial and graveside service, we spent all day Thursday preparing for the after service wake at the Ione VFW Memorial Hall. If you have ever heard of Ione, I do not know how. We're not even sure it has a Police Dept. We got to the hall around 5 and worked until around 9 to prepare all of the food.

Friday was the funeral service. There were lots of people there I guess I am related to. Lots of cousins...first, second, third, etc. My mom's aunt Marcellane was so fun to have there. She is a lot like my gramma, who was always cracking a joke or a prank. She, too, is in her 80s and someone asked if she was Marcy and she cracked, "what's left of her". Smart as a whip.

I spoke at the service on behalf of my mom and then spoke on behalf of myself. My mom told a story about a beautiful dress she wanted as a teenager, which at the time was over $100. My gramma told Mom no, of course, but promised to make her one just like it. My mom said within a week my gramma had made her own pattern and created an exact replica of the dress from Cabella's. She was so proud of that dress because it was so beautifully crafted.

I told a story about moving to AL and speaking to gramma about cotton. Gramma was from west TX and hated picking cotton! But I loved hearing her talk about it. I also read a poem for my mom and then read the 23rd Psalm myself.

We left on Sunday afternoon, after dropping my dad off at the airport. He is a HEAVY smoker and would not be able to spend that many hours in the car without smoking. In fact, he booked a smoking room at the hotel for me and Jimi to stay in, because he thought we'd be staying with him. Hello?? Dad?? I'm pregnant, and don't like smoke even when I'm not! Neither does my mom, who is also a smoker. Anyhow, we changed the reservations to a non-smoking room for the week. He was upset because we "inconvenienced" him, but he got over it.

We got to Roseburg, OR around 9pm Sunday night. We got to Portland around noon Monday and stopped at Costco to do shopping for the following week. We also got to stop at my favorite type of cuisine, Mongolian BBQ. We don't have any Mongolian BBQ restaurants here in the south. Anything BBQ here has some kind of wood smoking involved.

On Wednesday we went shopping for WARM clothes, as it was highs in the 50s in SW Washington! When I packed, the forecast was mid to upper 60s. We had dinner over at a friend of the family's, Vince and Cindy. They, too, are heavy smokers, so I spent the most of the evening outside in the very cold but FRESH air until dinner.

On Thursday I went to see my nieces' games. Makenna plays volleyball on her middle school team and Lindsey plays soccer for a rec league. That was fun to cheer them on. Jimi liked it, too. I saw my old trophy and team picture that they were making fun of my 80's hair in. It was pretty 80's-riffic.

Saturday my aunt Charlene (my dad's sister) and uncle Joe came up from Vancouver to visit. Dan, Jody and the kids came over as well as Jody's parents. Both of my nieces brought friends over, too. It was nice to visit with everyone again. One thing my aunt Charlene told me is that another cousin of mine who is also pregnant with a girl is going to name her daughter Lila Joanne. Remember I want to name my girl something with Jane? I had an idea of LilaJane. I really like it and may stick with it in spite of learning my cousin's intent to name her daughter Lila. Her idea is a first name, second name. My idea is a middle name, compounded. Oh, it would help to know that my grammy on my dad's side's name was Lila. Funny that we both thought of that, eh?

Yesterday was the worst part of the trip, as Jimi did not nap on the 5 hr flight to ATL, and employed two full fledged temper tantrums on the packed plane. He wanted down then once down, wanted up. Once up, wanted down. Wants toys, throws toys. Hungry, not hungry, tired, not tired. Ugh. Exasperating for me and I'm sure he wasn't enjoying himself, either. We made it literally by the grace of God to Atlanta. We had a 2 1/2 hr layover, which I was finally able to get him to sleep by the 2nd hour of.

We finally arrived HSV at 430. I walked right by Dapo (absence may make the heart grow fonder, but it doesn't help your eyes!) and heard him call after me, "Honey!" While he was catching up, I unbuckled Jimi from the stroller and when that boy saw his Daddy, he was so happy, it made me cry. That Daddy was also so happy to see his boy! Oh, and Mama, too. Jimi did not let go of Dapo's neck, even when Dapo had to retrieve my 50+ lb bag from the conveyor belt. He did it one-handed and I helped make sure it didn't get away.

It is nice to be back together as a family again, even though I was with family the whole time. In light of that fact, I am reminded to live each day as though it will be my last, and I will then be standing before the judgment throne of Christ giving testimony for my life.