Silly Mom Thoughts

I know, it’s usually a “year in review” but in reality, aren’t we looking at the year in rear view, since it’s behind us?

What a year it has been for my nutty little brood and me.

The year began and Bean was just a tiny little thing. As a matter of fact, I barely remember the beginning of the year with all of the sleep deprivation I experienced. I do know that she and I passed thrush back and forth and I got fed up and weaned her at 6 months. I felt guilty, since Bug nursed for a year, but Bean could have cared less where she was getting her milk, so long as she was getting it.

Around March I woke up out of my sleepy daze and realized that I’m still me, just me with two kids. This inspired me to start writing more blogs and losing weight. I ended up losing almost 30 pounds between January and June! Unfortunately, I gained 15 lbs back. Meh. Oh well.

In April, I joined AC and began writing articles. The day I got my first “You’ve been published!” email I got all excited and emailed everyone I know with a link to my very first article: How to Make a Mother’s Day Time Capsule. Now that I know more about SEO content writing and producing work that will show up on Google, I realize I did that first article entirely wrong. But, you always have to start from somewhere!

I had the opportunity to meet several of my online friends in Virginia in May. We met online during our pregnancies with our September 2005 babies and have kept in contact since. Everyone else had their children with them, but toting Bug and Bean across the country was not my idea of a good time, so I went solo. It was such an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience meeting this group of women that I would not otherwise have known.

In July I signed up for the Accentuate Writers forum on a whim. That whim would prove to be one of the most wonderful things I could do for my writing career. I learned about writing successfully online, I learned about Today.com and started this blog. I dove head first into a fiction writing contest and although I didn’t make it to the semifinals, I learned a great deal about how to become a successful writer.

Somehow, Bug grew up from my chunky little baby and turned three in September. It’s true what Kate of Jon and Kate Plus 8 said on Oprah. Three is most definitely the new two. Still, with his tantrums and difficult behavior, I have seen a loving, wonderful side to him that I cherish and adore.

In September, I turned 26 and Turk and I celebrated five years of marriage. I also started this blog, kicking off with my first Today.com blog entry Why You Shouldn’t Read This Blog. (For the record, what I said in that blog still rings true. *wink*) September was a busy month!

Bean turned one in October and my children suddenly began entertaining each other for a few minutes. I am holding out hope that those few minutes will soon turn into even more minutes and I can actually get back to those wifely duties I’ve been slacking on.

In October I was also privileged to attend my very first MOPS convention . I went expecting to learn a bit about being a steering team member and I left with a changed outlook on life, my spirituality renewed. To express in words the impact the MOPS convention had on me would simply be impossible.

Possibly one of my greatest personal accomplishments this year was placing first in the Accentuate short story contest. Still, I find myself in disbelief and wonder if it was all a dream. I am beside myself with anticipation to see the Accentuate Anthology finished, in print, my name on the cover among many talented writers and my story inside alongside their stories. How cool will that be?

This year, Turk and I went from hell-bent on adopting a child to realizing that we cannot afford it right now. I have been through a bit of a rough patch with postpartum depression and figuring out how to maintain “me” while still traipsing around in sweatpants covered in crumbs and spit up all day. I am thankful that has seemed to work out well so far.

As this year comes to a close and I glance back in my rear view mirror, I find myself both terrified and excited for another new year. Excited to see what kind of adventures the new year will bring, terrified that next year will significantly pale in comparison to this year. But, I guess there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there? Keep on living.

Happy New Year my friends! Here’s to another year of silly ramblings.

Sid the Science Kid is a new favorite in our house. At first, I thought it was a slightly creepy hybrid of puppet and computer generated cartoon. But, the more I watched it, the more in love I fell with Sid the Science Kid and his buddies. If you have a preschooler and you haven’t seen this show, you should definitely check it out. It’s like High School Musical for preschoolers. (I suppose that would make Sid the Science Kid Preschool Musical then?)

Sid is an inquisitive little dude who carries around his own toy microphone. He searches for answers on things like “Why is my shirt tag so itchy?” and “How do we get germs?” Each episode is packed with great scientific studies done for a preschooler by a preschool character. Quite often the adults in the show, or even Sid himself, spouts off short quips that only adults would get a kick out of. It’s never crude or remotely violent and provides a number of examples on fun games to play with your preschooler.

My favorite part of Sid the Science Kid, aside from the funny one-liners, is the music. Every episode features a number of songs, where Sid introduces his buddies and rides in the car with his mom. Teacher Susie even gets a solo in the daily routine. Teacher Susie is one cool teacher, though it’s no wonder she can be so awesome with only four children in her gigantic classroom!

At any rate, I *heart* Sid the Science Kid. The show is adorable, educational, and super funny. Can’t ask for more than that, when you’re forced to endure preschool entertainment, right?

*For those who don’t know, Diego is a cartoon character that Bug is a big fan of. Diego helps animals, speaks English and Spanish, and has ridiculously huge eyes and an adorable face. He and his female counterpart, Dora the Explorer, both like to yell a whole lot. It drives me nuts, but Bug adores it.

Bug is still as stubborn as ever about eating. I kid you not, this child would rather starve than try anything new. He practically lives off of bananas, sausage, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese. He refuses to eat peanut butter, hates string cheese, or cheese at all unless it’s on pizza (even then he usually peels it off). He will occasionally eat corn or carrots, but that is only occasionally. And of course you remember what happens when we try to get Bug to eat oranges, right? Ugh.

We have done everything from making him eat foods to sending him to bed hungry if he doesn’t eat his dinner. None of it seems to work. We limit the number of snacks during the day and make sure he doesn’t eat a couple hours before dinner so he’s hungry. Very few of our tactics work. I mentioned one method that worked in this blog entry , but that has since lost its effect.

Last night I made steak for Turk and I and nuggets for the kids. (I was definitely not about to waste a perfectly good steak on Mr. Pickypants.) I offered a bite of my steak to Bug, who (surprise, surprise) refused. We have found in the past that if he smells the food first, he’s more inclined to try it, so we both made a big deal about how delicious this steak was.

(Meanwhile, Bean’s freaking out in her seat like “I want some! Gimme, gimme!”)

He takes a whiff, says, “Mmm, dat’s a-yish-ish.”

“Do you want to try a bite, buddy? It tastes even better than it smells!”

“Hmm. No.”

I don’t know where it came from, some tiny genius in the back of my brain, I suppose, but these words spilled from my lips:

“Bug, it’s Diego steak! Diego loves this kind of steak. Here, I’ll put a little piece on your plate if you want to try it.”

Do you know what he did?! He ate the steak.

“Do you like it, buddy?”

“Mmffgh,” was his full-mouthed reply.

He took two more pieces of Diego steak and a couple of pieces of Diego carrot too.

We didn’t want to push our luck and over play our hand by calling everything on our plates “Diego” though. We can’t let him see through our little trick. We’ll save that handy one in the back of our pockets for a later date.

Is it manipulative? Maybe a little. But seriously, this kid won’t try anything. The funny thing, is that when he does, he absolutely loves it! It’s getting him to take that first bite that’s the problem.

So for now, we’re going to use it. Diego steak truly is delicious. (Except for the fact that it sounds like we’re eating Diego.)

In my Eclectic Christmas Playlist entry, I failed to mention that there is one Christmas song I do not like.  As long as I can remember, I have disliked We Wish You A Merry Christmas because it always makes me feel sad and let down. I realized recently why I feel that way about this song: It is always the last Christmas song I hear. It’s the last song in movies like A Christmas Story, it’s the last song I hear when the radio stations go back to playing their normal non-Christmas music. Despite it’s cheery message, it is a symbol to me of the end of anticipation, the end to a wonderful, joyous season and the beginning of a long, wet, dark several months before Spring.

I hate when Christmas ends abruptly. It’s better now than it used to be, because at least now radio stations play Christmas music until the new year, where before there wasn’t a Santa tune to be heard on the 26th. But still, I hate when all decorations, every shred of Christmas is taken down immediately after Christmas Day. There’s a trememdous build-up to Christmas Day, starting before Thanksgiving, and I feel so down when it all magically disappears in one day.

I can’t simply quit Christmas cold-turkey, I need to be holiday weaned. Take down a Christmas decoration here one day, there another. Watch the last Christmas movie and tuck it away for another year. Slowly go from all Christmas music, to a few songs a day, and then none at all. Easy does it as far as holiday weaning is concerned.

This isn’t to say I want to have lights up year-round, or a pathetic, dead Christmas tree up in February. I want everything down by the end of the first week of January, but I can’t take it all down on the 26th. It’s just too sad to me. I’m Christmas sensitive, please wean me gently.

Oh boy, was our Christmas interesting!

Christmas Eve was awesome. My parents and brother came up to visit us, we had a delicious dinner of prime rib and garlic mashed potatoes. We drank a little, laughed a lot, and ate way to much. After they left, Turk and I got to play Santa and set up the toys that needed setting up, put presents under the tree, and filled stockings. Have I mentioned how much I love having kids, especially at Christmastime?

Bug Eating the Gingerbread Train

Santa was here!

Christmas morning, the kids were totally excited about the presents. Bug was very sweet and handed out presents to everyone and was quite patient waiting for everyone else to open presents when it wasn’t his turn. Bean was only mildly interested, so Bug opened her presents for her. It was pretty cute. It was snowing while we were opening presents, a rare thing for us Northwesterners, but it was absolutely beautiful.

Bean’s Favorite Gift: Rose Petal Cottage

After presents were opened and we were dressed to go, we left for Turk’s parent’s house. We were worried about the weather, but really wanted to make it down to see family. I backed out of our driveway and had to go around the block because a Comcast van was stuck blocking the other path. Not a good sign that we’d be able to make it up. Sure enough, I rounded the corner and started heading up our insanely steep hill, only to get stuck spinning my tires. Thankfully, the Comcast guy was super sweet and helped Turk push our car up the hill. Both he and Turk were sweating like crazy when, 20 minutes later, I was finally at the top. We were so grateful for the Comcast guy’s help, though.

The road down was fairly clear, though patchy in places. I took it easy and eventually we made it to his parent’s house where we opened presents and got to meet Bug and Bean’s cousin for the first time (and man, is she beautiful). At around 3pm we headed for Turk’s grandma’s house… such a bad idea.

You see, we live in a very hilly part of the world, especially in some towns near the water. When you go up one hill, you almost always have to go down another. This doesn’t work so well for my little 2-wheel-drive car whose tires need to be replaced. It would be nice if the roads were plowed, or even sanded, but since we don’t normally get 18″ of snow, there isn’t the man power or equipment necessary to clear side roads. We ended up getting stuck 3 times. Fortunately, I am married to a genius of a man who packed a shovel in our car. He dug us out and pushed the car so we could get through. The last time we got stuck, just a block from his grandma’s house, Turk’s dad came and helped us out.

I’d like to say Turk and I stayed calm the entire time, but there were plenty of f-bombs and sh*$, among other distasteful words flung about. We made up later, though, with no hard feelings. Fortunately, Bug didn’t pick up any of the words to add to his vocabulary. Shew.

After the party at Grandma’s, we utilized all the manpower we could to get up the hill. Clint’s dad backed up one hill, floored it, and just before he lost momentum, Turk and his brother ran up behind the car and started pushing until they reached the top, where Turk and I climbed in and drove back to his parent’s house.

After an entire day of getting stuck, swearing, and clutching the steering wheel tightly, Turk and I decided to stay at his parent’s house overnight. The next day, it snowed again, and we decided to stay one more night. I’m glad we did, though. It gave us more opportunities for chatting, laughs, and memories. Plus, I got to hold that little baby girl a whole lot. Did I mention how cute she is?

A Snowy Walk to Starbucks

Yesterday we finally decided to head for home. The snow was melting at a rapid pace, creating a foot of now slushy nastiness. I had barely backed out of the driveway before I was stuck again. Turk’s brother helped us out and we were finally on the road, only to get stuck around the next turn. A kid was shoveling his driveway and came out to help us, and Turk’s brother came up the road and helped us out again. They told me to get in the grooves and not stop, so I did. It was like being on one of those roller coaster type rides at Disneyland where you’re on the tracks and the cart bumps around to get into the correct grooves. We could hear the snow scraping along the bottom of my car and we bumped and thumped around until we finally made it to the main road where it was smooth sailing the whole way. We pulled into our driveway, relieved that the snow had mostly melted in our down.

Overall, a great Christmas, and one to remember for sure. How blessed we are to have such wonderful families, safe cars (even if they aren’t the best in the snow), and best of all, each other. I hope your Christmas was equally as blessed!

I have come to the conclusion that my daughter hates me. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word for this situation, but she definitely prefers the company of others to my own company. Specifically, she reserves her sweet baby kisses for everyone and everything else but me. I have been testing this theory out over the last week.

Me: Bean! Can Mama have a kiss? *puckers lips and closes eyes*

Bean: *scrunches face and turns away from me*

Me (jokingly): Hey! I need a kiss! Get over here. *grabs Bean and steals kisses from her*

Bean: *squirms out of my grasp*

This was pretty funny at first, but then she started walking away from me and my pathetic kiss-stealing self and over to Daddy. She voluntarily plants a big wet one on his lips or snuggles her head on his leg. But she doesn’t stop there. Oh, no! She proceeds picking up various toys and dolls throughout the day and giving them kisses as well, and her big brother too, of course.

What am I, chopped liver?

I say all of this jokingly, and I know this is silly to say, but I’m feeling a little hurt by it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m asking for the kisses when no one else does, or if she’s just sick of hearing me and my voice all day that the last thing she wants is to pucker up and kiss me. I’m sure it’s just a phase that she’ll grow out of, much like Colby’s “I want Daddy” phase, but I can’t help but second guess myself. Is there something I’m doing wrong as a mother that makes my kids just want their dad and not me? *Sniff!*

Too bad she’s not old enough to threaten no presents from Santa. Or even, “Santa only gives presents to boys and girls who give their Mommy big fat smooches!”

I’m kidding of course.

(Sorta.)

I did find one way to get a kiss from her, though I’m a tad ashamed to admit it because it’s a bit manipulative. Bug and I were sitting on the ground, Bean was nearby. I had gone through my charade of begging for kisses, and she was again sticking her nose up to my affection.

So, I said, “Bean, look! Bug likes to give Mommy kisses.”

To which Bug exclaimed, “Yeah!” and gave me a big ‘ol smooch.

She wasn’t looking, so I said it again, and again, Bug gave me a kiss. Bean, seeing her brother kiss Mommy, ran over to me, face scrunched up, and planted a sweet, slobbery kiss right on my lips. Hey, I’ll take it any way I can get it at this point. And bonus: I got two kisses from Bug on top of Bean’s kiss. Go me.

For reference about Bean’s lack of Mommy kisses, here’s a case-in-point:

Daddy gets sweet kisses from Bean.

Big brother Bug gets smooches too.

And Mommy? Well, Mommy gets bit on the lips. Grr.

*Sigh*

I guess I’ll just have to deal with it and hope that she wants to voluntarily give me kisses again sometime. Meanwhile, I’ll keep stealing those kisses ‘cuz she’s not getting off that easy, gosh darn it.

Dear Santa,

This year I want just a few things, if you have some extra room in your giant sack.

First, I would love some patience. Patience when my son decides to grab a new roll of wrapping paper and gift wrap himself, ruining much of the roll, after I already told him three times that he couldn’t play with it. Patience for the times when that same little boy thinks it’s a great idea to unroll the entire roll of toilet paper and shove it in the toilet.  I would also love patience for the times when my squirmy toddler decides that getting her poopy diaper changed is not on her list of priorities and proceeds to wiggle around, spreading poop everywhere. (Oh, and patience for when she decides to reach down and stick her hand on her butt during the aforementioned diaper change.)

Santa, I would also love unlimited Starbucks gift cards so I can treat myself to an amazing cup of coffee on those days when I’m driving around desperately trying to get my kids to fall asleep in the car.

I’m not sure if you’re allowed to tote human cargo, but Santa, if you could send me a personal maid/nanny I would really appreciate it. I would appreciate having someone who could deal with the tantrums my kids throw, but who will send the kids my way when they’re in wonderful, lovey dovey moods. I would love it if someone would scrub my showers and toilets and constantly supervise Bug when he’s in the bathroom so he doesn’t destroy any more toilet paper.

In fact, could you just make me two people so one of me could tend to the house and kids, while the other one of me gets to write whenever I want, spend time with friends and family, and maybe even exercise? That would be even better.

I would also be ever so appreciative if you could laser off these stretch mark scars, and maybe take some post-baby flab while you’re at it too. A super fast metabolism would be an extra plus as well, so I could eat all the crap I wanted without gaining an ounce.

There are a few tangible things I would love to get this Christmas as well, if you’re feeling extra generous.

I would love a bed frame for our bed. Not a plain ‘ol metal frame, ‘cuz I am a huge klutz and always manage to kick the damn metal legs (which, by the way, feels awesome when my feet are freezing cold), but a nice wooden one that makes our room look inviting and cozy.

It would be amazing if you could send someone to our house to finish our summer house project. You see, we have been without molding for months now since we put laminate flooring in our house and that project took up more money than we had originally anticipated. It’s getting pretty old looking at the non-molded floor and doors. Oh, and while you’re at it, if you could send someone to help us fix our new doors that are supposed to go in, that would be super cool too.

Santa, I would love a fashionable, comfortable, and most importantly, stain-proof wardrobe. One that is made with high quality fabric that doesn’t crap out on me in a month. A wardrobe that can take whatever my kids throw or smear at it. Boy, Santa, that sure would be swell.

Finally, I would like a Red Rider BB Gun, with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time. Oh, and a pink bunny suit too. (For the record, A Christmas Story is the best Christmas movie on the planet even though you’re not in it.)

Thank you, Santa, for always being there to send my wishes to. I understand if you can’t get me these things this year, but it’s the thought that counts, so if you just think about it, I’d appreciate it.

Love,

Lindsay

P.S. I have been a very good girl this year. (But you already knew that, didn’t you?)

Our Snowpocalypse (as a friend jokingly referred to the winter storm here in the Northwest) reached a brief calm this morning. For the last 3 days we have seen several inches of snow, along with temperatures in the single digits and slippery icy roads. I wouldn’t know first hand about the roads, however, except for what I have seen on TV, since we have stayed warm and cozy in our little home. But, this morning, I needed to get out for a couple of reasons. First, I had a manuscript to mail off for a short story contest and it had to be postmarked by today. Second, Turk’s brother and his family are coming to visit and we told them they could use our infant car-seat for their new baby girl, so we were going to attempt an hour drive to his parent’s house to drop it off.

At 9:30 this morning, we loaded up the car with the kids, blankets, and some extra clothes (just in case) and carefully made our way to the post office. Contest entry mailed: Check. But, we realized that we had forgotten our cell phones and with the nasty storm we’re supposed to be getting this afternoon, I didn’t feel comfortable driving without some kind of emergency contact. So, we drove for 15 minutes back to our house. Cell Phones: Check.

Finally, we were back on the road heading south. The freeway was clear for the most part, though patches of ice lined the sides of the roads. I kept my speed reasonable and followed at a safe distance since getting into an accident isn’t exactly my idea of a fun way to spend a Saturday.  We were barely 20 miles out of our town when suddenly there were endless sheets of ice covering the roadways. Fortunately, I was still keeping a safe speed and distance, but that wasn’t the case for two accidents we saw within a mile of eachother. It soon occurred to me that the roads were likely going to get worse, and this whole car seat thing really wasn’t worth the potential danger, so I chickened out and got off the freeway to turn back toward home. Car seat drop off: No Check.

Before we went home, we decided to stop at the store for some groceries, last minute Christmas presents, etc. That place was packed! Snowpocalypse? No joke. You’d think everyone was convinced that they were going to be stuck in their homes for a month with all of the frenzied shopping going on. It was so bad, Turk had to stay with the kids and the cart in a the deserted laundry aisle while I grabbed what we needed and ran back to him. We stood in line for eternity before we checked out. Whew.

At this point, we were ready to leave the store. Careful not to spin my tires and get stuck, I started backing out of the parking spot. The car moved a few inches and then got stuck. So, I moved forward a bit. Stuck again, I turned my wheel, reverse, drive, reverse, drive. No luck. Turk got out and tried pushing. No luck.

I looked down and saw that my parking break was on. Woops!

I eased my car carefully out of the spot and back home, avoiding idiots who drove too fast, didn’t stop at lights, and fishtailed their cars on purpose. I just wanted to make it home without getting into an accident, is that too much to ask?

Finally, it was 1:00pm, three-and-a-half hours since we left, when I pulled up to the front of our house. Turk encouraged me to back my car up our gravel section of our mega-steep driveway, but got out first to move a garbage can that was in the way. His car was parked on the sidewalk next to where I was attempting to back up. I pulled my car forward so I could get a good start at the driveway (I told you, it’s steep!), put it in reverse and gave it some gas.

I got up over the sidewalk and was doing great… until my front tires caught the edge of the sidewalk and whipped my car sideways into Turk’s car. I heard the sickening crunch as my wheel-well smashed against his bumper. I put on the break, stared at Turk who was cringing, and put my face in my hands.

I had avoided all of those potential accidents, only to smash into our own car. Oh, the irony.

Fortunately- no, miraculously, there wasn’t a single dent or scratch on either of our cars. I was convinced that they would both be smashed up with how hard I hit them, but I got lucky.

Now, I have decided to stay inside and not drive anywhere until there is no more damn ice. Cozy in my home: Check.

That’s right, contrary to popular belief, it isn’t always raining in Washington. We got our first little snow storm last weekend, and had a day of reprieve before the next one hit early Wednesday morning. That early Christmas present from Mother Nature is still falling from the sky as I type!

(A picture will appear here as soon as I can find my dog-gone USB cord. Grr, I hate losing things.)

When the snow falls, I realize how much growing up in Northwest has impacted me. The second the snow starts falling, I feel this tug at my heart to get all of my snow clothes on and run outside before it turns to rain. Then, in the miraculous event that the snow actually accumulates to more than trace amounts, I can hear the child in me screaming, “Lindsay! Get the heck outside, it’s all gonna melt!”

We have been stuck in our house for the last couple of days, and it has been so nice. Turk was able to work from home, we have ventured out into the 9″+ of snow that has fallen a couple of times, and we have been pumping our heater constantly (I shudder to think of what our heating bill is going to be next month). It is fun to see the weather so Christmasy, especially since we don’t get a storm like this very often. And, it makes for an excellent, easy way to wear Bug out so he’ll actually take a nap.

My only hope is that it is gone or at least cleared by Christmas so we can go see our families. Oh, and that it just warms up and melts, instead of melting slightly and refreezing like they’re predicting. Grrr to compact snow and ice.

This year, I sat down and attempted to write a traditional Christmas letter. I wanted to let people know about all of the things we have been through this year as a family and get them up to speed on our lives. I hunkered down, convinced to write it. “This year, Turk… blah blah blah.” Okay, that was boring, let’s move on to the kids. “Bug has learned so much this…Zzzzzzz.” I nearly fell asleep on my keyboard.

Finally, I decided to ditch the same ‘ol Christmas letter, and write up a poem instead. Since I cannot send Christmas cards to all off my blog-following friends, here’s our nifty Christmas letter from us to you.

  ‘Twas a Year for Our Family

‘Twas a year for our family, and an interesting one at that,

Turk, trying to be a hero, got mauled by our cat.

In the tree she perched, refusing to descend,

So Turk, in his sweetness, his hand did extend,

She fell or she jumped, of which we don’t know,

On Turk’s face, she landed a crushing blow.

Claw marks gouged his cheeks, lips, and jowl.

“Effing cat got me,” he said with a scowl.

She disappeared and we have a hunch,

She found a new home or became something’s lunch.

Buggy turned number three this year,

He has suddenly become quite the imagineer.

For instance, our couch has become Santa’s Sleigh,

Or the perfect place for his trains to play.

Constantly saying, “I so hunwy my tummy hurts bad-wy”

But he refuses to eat, he’s incredibly picky.

Our little Bean this year turned the big One,

Forget walking, this girl wants to run.

Little though Miss Bean may be,

She’s a feisty one who whoops on her brother with glee.

But Bug can take it, and does not defend,

For his baby sister is by far his best friend.

What else happened this year for our fam?

Well, Turk finally passed his CPA exam!

And Lindsay, pursuing a writing career,

On the cover of a book, her name will appear.

She won first place in a short story contest,

For this opportunity, she feels quite blessed.

So there, in short, is our interesting year,

This Christmas we wish you much love and great cheer.

Just remember, this one small piece of advice,

Before helping a cat from a tree, always think twice.

From our family to you,

Much love and hugs too.

Thank you, my friends, for always providing such thoughtful and interesting comments both on my blog and off. Your input is quite inspiring to me and makes me want to come back day after day and keep up with this blog. You guys are awesome!