Tag, I'm It.

Beth F. tagged me and here are the answers:

Our names: Amy and Michael

1.How long have we been married? 9 years on June 12th

2.How long did we date? FOREVER. No, really - our first date was in October 1997, Michael got baptized in March 1998, and we got married in June 1999. It felt like FOREVER till we got married.

3. How old are we? I'm 33 and Michael is 34

4. Where does he work? An architecture firm

5. Who is taller? He is

6. Who eats more? Michael eats more in one sitting, I eat more often throughout the day.

7. Who said I love you first? Oh no... I don't know if I know the answer to this one! I'm 85% sure that Michael said it first.

8. Who mows the lawn? We have no lawn. We have concrete.

9. Who sings better? Michael knows more words to more songs, but I sing better.

10. Who does the laundry? Me

11. Who does the dishes? Usually me

12. Who pays the bills? Michael

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

14. Who cooks dinner? I do now. But for most of our marriage Michael has. He can cook a mean Chili!

15. Who is more stubborn? Michael.

16. Whose parents do we see most? We see Michael's dad much more now that we live in the same state.

17. Who proposed? Michael.

18. Who has more siblings? I do.

19. Who has more friends? That's a tough one. When we lived in Laveen AZ, I felt like everyone at church was my friend. But here in FL I have one really great friend (the kind I can talk to about ANYTHING) and a handful of friendly friends. Michael has good friends, but I don't know that he has THAT great friend here that he can go hang out with - but I think he's working on it.

20. Who wears the pants? We've both got a leg in.

I tag Carlee and Deon. Make 'em good!

Earth Day - How Green Are We?

Today was Earth Day and as the day closes I have to stop to think about our family what we do and don't do to help keep our earth clean and healthy.

It been a topic of discussion between Michael and I for several years now. He's a LEED certified Architect and all through grad school he had his hands in ideas for greener building and building structures that fit into the environment. He's kind of passionate about it.

When it comes to our home habits I'd have to honestly say that we are sort of 'Light Green'.

What Light Green Means to Me.

1. We are pretty good about not wasting electricity, though we could improve.
2.Cleaning is Overrated. I don't mop my floors more than once a week. I avoid using harsh chemicals to clean, however I do have some that are used about once every two weeks for deep cleaning. My kids are rarely sick and my friends are still my friends whether the house is sparkling or sticky.
3. We live super close to the grocery store (close enough to walk) and 80% of the time we remember to use our reusable grocery bags. And for those of you who are not yet using them: did you know that they are SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE TO CARRY GROCERIES IN? Plus, you can fit about 3 plastic bags worth of groceries into one. It's he avier, but the bag is sturdier. That means fewer trips from the car to the kitchen!
4. I combine trips and carpool with friends on a regular basis. I can't stand the whole routine of getting Hayden out of his car seat and into the house and up all those stairs - so I try not to have to do it more that twice a day. And when I go long distances (like to Ikea or the Temple or whatever) I bring a friend along.
5. The whole family is pretty conservative about water usage. We *could* do better with shower minutes, but we're not too far off the mark. Especially since at least 2 days out of the week I don't get to take a shower (I know it's gross - but you moms out there know what I'm talking about).

I'm sure there are some things we could improve on, but right now finances don't permit. Besides, I'm not completely sold on the whole Hybrid vehicle thing - I'm not sure that it's the ultimate solution.

So that's our green-ness in a nutshell.

How green are you?

Yesterday...

I went to my OB appt. and FINALLY heard our little baby's heartbeat. It was so cool - even the third time around. This one is a very active one so Michael and I both tend to believe it will be a boy.

While I went to the doctor, my friend Carlee watched Hayden... and cleaned my living room, playroom and kitchen! What the heck? How cool is that?! We were on our way out the door for some lunch when I just *had* to show her the cute new outfits I picked up for Hayden. I stepped into the laundry room in an ever so awkward, backward way and stepped on the vacuum cleaner, twisting my foot. It hurt like Holy Heck and then felt fine less than 5 minutes later. So we walked to Tijuana Flats and back without a second thought.

Later on in the evening however, the pain from earlier that day returned. I could barely walk on it last night. It's a little better this morning, but dang!

Amanda has been such a great helper this morning. She made a sippy cup of milk and waffles for Hayden, put him in his highchair and was totally taking care of everything *breakfast*. I love that girl!

Remember "The Gate" ??????

Ever since we installed that silly gate at the top of the stairs, Hayden has made it his mission to disable it. Well, Mission accomplished. He has figured out how to push the little button and slide it out of the lock and escape from the 2nd floor. Boy are we in trouble now.

Our current way of securing the gate seems to be working, but I give him 2 weeks max. before he figures it out. I've attached a carabiner to the gate and the handrail. After he figures that out, well, I guess all we can do is pray... or set up some sort of shocking device like they use for dogs. (Just kidding - don't call CPS!)

Surviving Spring Break

We (I) survived Spring Break! It was unusually long thanks to an early visit from Michael's brothers' family. They have Spring Break a full 2 weeks before we do. Which almost made our Spring Break the longest in history. You see, we (Michael) got a little mixed up about the dates for our S.B. and I totally bought into it because quite frankly, it made sense, but anywho... Amanda got an extra day off from school as a result and if it hadn't been for my good friend Carlee, she would have had two weeks off from school!

Whilst the family was here we went to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. It was a blast! Even with me prego. I had fun with the kids at the Dr. Suess land and really didn't feel as cheated as I thought I would by the ride restrictions elsewhere. We had a full day of fun and I got to know my niece and nephew a little better. My favorite thing about Universal is that Amanda didn't really know and love many of the characters and didn't feel that overwhelming need to beg for merchandise like she does at Disney. No princesses, no Mickey = No Whining! Yippee!

The camera was left at home, but Michael got some pics from his brother... just waiting on my hubby to send them on over to me to post.

Amanda is back at school today and it's a little weird... I miss her!