Tuesday, May 27, 2008

I wish we had more 3 day weekends...

They were painting our office today so we all got to go home and work. It was pretty stinky and I was getting a headache, so I was glad. Plus then I got to go to lunch with Tad and I always love that. We went to Toscano and Sons which has the best panini and is really an Italian store, so it’s terrible for kids so we can’t go often so it was fun to escape for a quick lunch. We had a busy weekend. We ran as a family twice at the Silver Comet Trail. I always try to get out of pushing the double stroller. My excuse is he runs faster than me. SM gets out at the end and runs with me too, but he seems to get so distracted with the bikes and everything else going on. I got a lot of the garden together and the rest of my seeds bought, but I see after the rain today, I am going to have to start all over, its too slanted and it was under 3 inches of water on one side. I moved the herbs to a window box, but I am not sure if the cilantro is going to pull through. He had a random reaction to some rice-a-roni that left his face in hives. I don’t think it was eggs though, it seemed to be just a skin reaction and there was nothing listed in the ingredients. Poor kid though, you can’t see so well in the picture, but he had hives on his lips!

Memorial Day was fun, we got a kiddie pool and it was a hit, though GJ wouldn't go in because the water was cold. I wish we would have had time to do more that day, but the kids weren't cooperating naptimes. They of course fell asleep in the car at the end of our evening.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Get ready to run.

Though its much more exciting to run outside than on a treadmill, this video is just meant to pump you up and want to start running.

Order in the Court


So I was downtown at the courthouse Tuesday through Thursday. We stayed till 7:45 Thursday night to deliberate. It was a very long day. MARTA worked out fairly well though, Five Points Station is just around the corner.
So Tuesday they herd everyone through long lines to go through the metal detectors and then to check in. you watch this lovely video about the GA justice system. Its getting close to about 10 (you have to be there at 8am) and they still aren't calling any groups back, though they said there was 29 cases that all had to be tried so it would be busy. Great. So I see they actually have a special lactation room (always better than the bathroom) so as I am walking over to try to find someone who will give me a key, they of course start calling names. I am in the first group. They take 36 of us down. I told the bailiff I needed like a 20 minute break and I couldn't wait too long (of course after an awkward conversation about lactation that he wasn't quite catching on to.) So I was #22, they took the first 14 people, put them in the jury box, do some general questions with everyone, we just raise our numbers. Then the individual questions start (I finally got a break at this point) and you can tell the case is about contracting because they ask everyone about their past experience with contractors. And their whole schooling and current job, past if it had to do with contractors or lawyers. This is taking forever. We get a lunch break and then its our groups turn, 14 more people being asked many questions. This is taking hours folks. They say thats enough questions and they go back to decide. Luckily I have a book, which I have read about half of to this point. Finally at about 2:30pm, they come back, dismiss the last group of 14, they never got asked any questions and just had to sit there the whole time, poor folks. But at least they get to go home at this point. My name is of course called. They show us to the jury room, we get to go potty really quick and then it begins. Opening statements. Now I actually love all this lawyer talk. They aren't the greatest lawyers ever (one of them was the mayor of Roswell!) but basically a contractor was suing a couple for about $63,000 of work they did at his house. He had fired them midway through the job and refused to pay them. He had already paid them over $50,000 though. It was all kind of shady, you could tell both parties were not telling the complete truth. Partly was because this happened 4 years ago. The family had a tree rip open their house during the storm here for Hurricane Francis. Insurance covered the damage, but he added all these upgrades and remodels and extended his bedroom and changed the plans 3 times, after they had framed. It was ugly business. Wednesday was testimony all day. There was so many pieces of evidence, pictures, checks, copies of estimates and plans, which no one ever signed! Come on people, lets sign and date documents here. One lawyer kept getting the papers and the numbers they assign to them mixed up, or he would call them 'defense exhibit' instead of 'plaintiff.' Or he would lose them all together and we would have to recess till he found them. Judge was not very paitent with them. But she was great and really snappy which made if funny. It was just all very long. The judge would as if they were getting close to a stopping point (so we could take a break and I could take care of business) and he would say like "just another hour of questioning." An hour! My jury was great though, there were 2 FBI agents, and a court reporter and everyone had a college education, so when it came down to decision time, everyone was pretty smart and it wasn't too bad. It was just 5 o'clock by the time we started and no one wanted to come back Friday. We all were on the side of the contractor, so at least that was easy, but we had to decide on how much he got for the repair work, how much for the remodel work, and if he got attorney fees ($200 an hour!) because the defendant was the cause of all this trouble. I was very vocal of course about how much he should get and after a couple hours or so it was all decided. We put defendant instead of defendants so when we went out the the courtroom, we had to go back to the jury room and get it just right. Its amazing how many details have to go into everything. It all has to be just right. My mother said I should have been a lawyer, but I don't think I could handle it, but I do love to watch. I just wished it moved at Law and Order pace.

SMisms

Winnie: Hurry, we need to get in the car so we can go to the temple.
SM: Mama, I don't want to get married.


Winnie: Can you see what GJ is doing over there, he just coughed weird.
SM: He's just chokin' a little.

Winnie: What goes on the road?
SM: Cars.
Winnie: And the tracks?
SM: Trains.
Winnie: And in the air?
SM: Airplanes and helicopters.
Winnie: And in the water?
SM: Dolphins and crabs. We don't eat crabs. Mama, do babies go in the water?


Winnie: We are going to drive home to pick up Daddy and GJ so we can go to Costco.
SM: We don't need to take GJ, just Mama, Daddy and SM can go to Costco.
Winnie: What about your brother, he's too little to stay home alone.
SM: Just don't worry about it. (this is his favorite new phrase)

Monday, May 19, 2008

Jury Duty


I have to go downtown tomorrow to do my civil duty. Though I like being on an actual jury, I am not happy about having to go downtown and since there is a Braves game, we can't park in the lot, so I am pretty much stuck and am making myself very nervous. I hope it all works out and its only a one day ordeal.

UPDATE:
Even though I tried to pull the "I'm a nursing mother and I need breaks to pump" card, they still selected me and I will be on the trial for another 2-5 days!!! I'll let you know how it goes.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Race, Mother's Day, Brothers

We just can't seem to take a decent family picture with these to bugs.
Well its been a busy week! The Grandparents left, I had a nice mother's day. I know it sounds funny, but the highlight for me was making pancakes that all of us could eat for the very first time. The egg replacer works great in those and I can't wait to experiment in more recipes.
The 5K seemed so nice compared to 13 miles, that I loved it. Thanks for running with me, it was perfect weather and we got some great things afterwards. I love races and the freebies afterwards!
The boys are finally starting to get to the stage where they can play together. GJ is still a bit young, but he is copying more and more of what his brother does. He can walk now with his push toy, but I still think it will be a while before he can balance all that chub and get around on his own. Can't believe he is 11 months old!
I went and had lunch with SM today. He wasn't to thrilled about nuggets without ketchup, but he dipped them in his mashed potatoes, so it all worked out. He is kind of bossy though, he told another little girl, "Go wash your hands. Germs are not for sharing."

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa came this week to visit and meet GJ for the first time. We are sad they flew out this morning, but we had a great time hanging out, hosting a party, going to the World of Coke and Atlanta History Center, doing yard work and cleaning the house, and eating some real southern food at Carver's (I can't believe we drive by it twice a day and we had never been there, it was delicious).

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Do you want to run/walk with me?


Next Saturday at Atlantic Station (hello, that is so close) there is race for a great cause! Check it out, Race for the Cure for breast cancer. Check out my site and sign up! I am currently on the team Hero's for Hope and you can sign up on that team or by yourself. You can even just walk one mile, or run/walk a 5K. This is definitely not a competitive race, so if you are have been too timid to try, this is the one for you! So go for it.