Chelsee posted some pictures on her blog that she had taken of my family. But there were so many good ones, I wanted to show a couple more.
Getting so big!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Family Of Four
Chelsee posted some pictures on her blog that she had taken of my family. But there were so many good ones, I wanted to show a couple more.Getting so big!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Sunday, November 09, 2008
A Confession
This is a secret that I say partially kidding, but mostly serious.
Kameryn is very stubborn. She likes things her way and cries when they're not that way. She says what's on her mind, and isn't easily persuaded into doing things she doesn't want to do.
Essentially, she's two.
And sometimes when I get really frustrated with her, I think that in her last life, Kameryn was one of those wives who were silenced by their husbands and by society. The kind that makes dinner every night even though she hated it, and did laundry for her family instead of doing anything for herself. She lived through her kids and was brokenhearted when they left because she didn't know what to do with herself.
And when she died, she vowed that she wouldn't be silenced like that again.
When I think about it that way, I want to cheer her on.
And hey, even if it's all a joke and she's really just a stubborn kid, maybe me trying to understand instead of always just fighting her might make it so she doesn't end up like that woman.
Kameryn is very stubborn. She likes things her way and cries when they're not that way. She says what's on her mind, and isn't easily persuaded into doing things she doesn't want to do.
Essentially, she's two.
And sometimes when I get really frustrated with her, I think that in her last life, Kameryn was one of those wives who were silenced by their husbands and by society. The kind that makes dinner every night even though she hated it, and did laundry for her family instead of doing anything for herself. She lived through her kids and was brokenhearted when they left because she didn't know what to do with herself.
And when she died, she vowed that she wouldn't be silenced like that again.
When I think about it that way, I want to cheer her on.
And hey, even if it's all a joke and she's really just a stubborn kid, maybe me trying to understand instead of always just fighting her might make it so she doesn't end up like that woman.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Waiting
This happened once last year, too. I blog at night and before I have a chance to finish the post, the day changes. And so, like that, I have "missed" Nov. 7 and have to post twice on Nov. 8. I blame the fact that I was up until 3:30am talking (and laughing, ask Jay) with two of my best friends online last night. So I'm a couple hours behind tonight. But I promise it was worth it.
***
I look at Postsecret.com every Sunday. One week, there was a secret that said something like, "Every day I check the mail hoping someone has written to me, but all I ever get is bills." Sometimes, after a secret is posted, Frank Warren , the creator of the site, will post E-mails that he got about the secret. This particular Sunday, someone had written in to say simply, "He Will." and they posted the website of something called "The Letter Project." All you had to do to participate in the letter project was send the creator a letter with your name and home address, and he would mail you a handwritten letter. You could tell him something you wanted him to write you about, and if you didn't he would just write about thoughts he had lately, or about books he had read, or whatever. The point wasn't really what he wrote about, it was that he thought handwriting letters was a dying art that he was doing his best to keep alive.
This completely appealed to me. One Saturday I decided to write him, and I told him in the letter how much I loved his idea and said that if he needed help writing the letters I would be happy to help him. And I was serious, but I didn't think there was any way he would take me up on it. Then a couple weeks later I got a letter back in the mail. His handwriting was almost old fashioned looking, and his writing was beautiful. He told me that he does have a few people help him out with writing the letters because depending on how much advertising he gets at a certain time, he can get a TON of E-mails and he has a hard time keeping up on his own. So he sent me his phone number and told me to think about how serious I was about it, and if I decided it was something I wanted to do, I could call him for an interview, and we could work out how I could be involved.
Not long after that was when I started my Radiology class, which took up a ton of my time because I didn't understand it very well and the teacher didn't teach in a way that worked well with me. And so I never called him. I thought about it a lot. But I never did.
I did start writing letters of my own, though. I got to where I was writing a letter or two every night to my family and friends. And I was getting letters back fairly consistantly, which I really liked. It brought back the excitement of getting the mail, and made me feel involved with the people around me. I loved it.
I kept thinking about him and the opportunity he had given me to be a part of the project that I loved so much. Not too long ago, I tried to look up his website so I could write him and get the number again. But it's gone. I can find references to it and things that people have written about it, but not the actual site.
I still had his address because we had written a few letters back and forth, and a couple weeks ago I wrote him to tell him I was still interested if he was still doing the project. I know it's been a long time, but can I still be a part of it?
As of yet, no word.
So I'm hoping it will come. And until it does, I'm just waiting.
***
I look at Postsecret.com every Sunday. One week, there was a secret that said something like, "Every day I check the mail hoping someone has written to me, but all I ever get is bills." Sometimes, after a secret is posted, Frank Warren , the creator of the site, will post E-mails that he got about the secret. This particular Sunday, someone had written in to say simply, "He Will." and they posted the website of something called "The Letter Project." All you had to do to participate in the letter project was send the creator a letter with your name and home address, and he would mail you a handwritten letter. You could tell him something you wanted him to write you about, and if you didn't he would just write about thoughts he had lately, or about books he had read, or whatever. The point wasn't really what he wrote about, it was that he thought handwriting letters was a dying art that he was doing his best to keep alive.
This completely appealed to me. One Saturday I decided to write him, and I told him in the letter how much I loved his idea and said that if he needed help writing the letters I would be happy to help him. And I was serious, but I didn't think there was any way he would take me up on it. Then a couple weeks later I got a letter back in the mail. His handwriting was almost old fashioned looking, and his writing was beautiful. He told me that he does have a few people help him out with writing the letters because depending on how much advertising he gets at a certain time, he can get a TON of E-mails and he has a hard time keeping up on his own. So he sent me his phone number and told me to think about how serious I was about it, and if I decided it was something I wanted to do, I could call him for an interview, and we could work out how I could be involved.
Not long after that was when I started my Radiology class, which took up a ton of my time because I didn't understand it very well and the teacher didn't teach in a way that worked well with me. And so I never called him. I thought about it a lot. But I never did.
I did start writing letters of my own, though. I got to where I was writing a letter or two every night to my family and friends. And I was getting letters back fairly consistantly, which I really liked. It brought back the excitement of getting the mail, and made me feel involved with the people around me. I loved it.
I kept thinking about him and the opportunity he had given me to be a part of the project that I loved so much. Not too long ago, I tried to look up his website so I could write him and get the number again. But it's gone. I can find references to it and things that people have written about it, but not the actual site.
I still had his address because we had written a few letters back and forth, and a couple weeks ago I wrote him to tell him I was still interested if he was still doing the project. I know it's been a long time, but can I still be a part of it?
As of yet, no word.
So I'm hoping it will come. And until it does, I'm just waiting.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Political Rant
I'll keep this short. And I also posted pictures from Halloween so anyone who wants to skip this part can still have a blog post for the night.
I was thinking about Obama being our first black President and how much that means. I know it's such an amazing point in history and I'm SO PROUD to be alive in a time when things are looking up and people are being more tolerant. So I keep asking myself why I'm not more excited about it. And the answer is simply that civil rights weren't my battle. I feel like the battle was already won by the time I came around, and it's not entirely shocking to me to see a black President because even though I KNOW how far we've come, I haven't ever seen it from the other side.
My battle is for gay rights. It's hard for me to understand how people can celebrate how far we've come in electing a black President and at the same time pat themselves on the back for being so intolerant of another group of people. That's what I want to fight for. That's the battle of my generation.
I was thinking about Obama being our first black President and how much that means. I know it's such an amazing point in history and I'm SO PROUD to be alive in a time when things are looking up and people are being more tolerant. So I keep asking myself why I'm not more excited about it. And the answer is simply that civil rights weren't my battle. I feel like the battle was already won by the time I came around, and it's not entirely shocking to me to see a black President because even though I KNOW how far we've come, I haven't ever seen it from the other side.
My battle is for gay rights. It's hard for me to understand how people can celebrate how far we've come in electing a black President and at the same time pat themselves on the back for being so intolerant of another group of people. That's what I want to fight for. That's the battle of my generation.
Halloween!
I've been waiting to post about Halloween until I could steal some pictures from Chelsee. As always, her pictures are amazing and I think they show my kids off really well. Which I love.
Dr. Buster. Always ready to spring into action!
Kami was Cinderella and Reagan was an Angel. An angel with her diaper showing.
I dressed up as a medical assistant, mother of two (read: zombie) who has liberal views and knows all the words to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby." Kinda scary.
I posted the first picture because Reagan's face BREAKS MY HEART. And the second picture shows how impossible it was to take a good picture of the kids by the end of the night. But Chelsee looks awesome!
Kameryn watching out for her sister. I love it.
Dr. Buster. Always ready to spring into action!
Kami was Cinderella and Reagan was an Angel. An angel with her diaper showing.
I dressed up as a medical assistant, mother of two (read: zombie) who has liberal views and knows all the words to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby." Kinda scary.
I posted the first picture because Reagan's face BREAKS MY HEART. And the second picture shows how impossible it was to take a good picture of the kids by the end of the night. But Chelsee looks awesome!
Kameryn watching out for her sister. I love it.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
The Change We Seek
I feel like I'm in a little bit of shock. Last night I was so excited thinking about Obama winning that I couldn't sleep. I had a ton of things running through my mind that I could say and blog about. And tonight, it's a reality, he really is the President-elect, and I find that I'm a little bit speechless.
I was so proud to sit and watch his acceptance speech with my daughters. I'm proud of the change the majority our country is willing and excited to embrace.
I've heard a lot of people ask what exactly Barack Obama is going to change. They seem skeptical that he can do as much as he claims he can. And on that front, all of us get to wait and see together.
But personally, his campaign and his win have already changed me. This is the first time I've really paid attention to politics. This is the first time I've made listening to the candidates a priority. After being SO disappointed with Bush for the last 8 years and cringing anytime I heard him speak, I didn't think that I would ever be interested in politics again. Now, because of Obama I want to learn a lot of the stuff I couldn't have cared less about before. And I suspect it's a change that will stick with me. I don't think I'll be comfortable with being ignorant anymore.
Monday, November 03, 2008
First Place
This memory is shaky at best, but in fourth grade I participated in a history fair. My group had 3 or 4 girls in it, if I remember right, and one of them was my best friend Kim, and her mom was the one who helped us develop our topic. We chose (or maybe were assigned?) to do a skit which we called "What In The World Happened at the Seneca Falls Convention?" We all chose to play different parts of women who were fighting for the right to vote, including Susan B. Anthony and Elisabeth Cady Staton. Well, I should say the other girls got to play women...I volunteered to be Frederick Douglas.
And how, you ask, did I dress up as this distinguished black man? I pulled my hair up into a top-hat that my sister had. Obviously, the judges had good imaginations.
The only thing I really remember about my speech was saying that men often treated their dogs better than they treated their wives.
But, top hat and all, we must've pulled it off because we ended up winning first place, which was a big deal because we were competing against other schools.
I know it must sound kinda strange, but I've always felt a sort of kinship with all things Frederick Douglass since then. And I can't help but think of him now that we have the opportunity to vote tomorrow.
A couple of my favorites:
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
And simply,
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
EVERYONE REMEMBER TO VOTE!!!
And how, you ask, did I dress up as this distinguished black man? I pulled my hair up into a top-hat that my sister had. Obviously, the judges had good imaginations.
The only thing I really remember about my speech was saying that men often treated their dogs better than they treated their wives.
But, top hat and all, we must've pulled it off because we ended up winning first place, which was a big deal because we were competing against other schools.
I know it must sound kinda strange, but I've always felt a sort of kinship with all things Frederick Douglass since then. And I can't help but think of him now that we have the opportunity to vote tomorrow.
A couple of my favorites:
"I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence."
And simply,
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress."
EVERYONE REMEMBER TO VOTE!!!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
"And Mark It With An R..."
This was the second and third time Jay played Patty Cake with the baby. You can hear how she almost laughs on "And mark it with an R" on the first one, and it was cute enough I had to share it! This baby makes me so happy!
Saturday, November 01, 2008
The Search
I've been anxiously awaiting November because of Nablopomo. I love having a reason to post every night and some motivation to do something even when I don't know what to say. And yet, I pulled the screen up to start writing and my mind went blank. So my first blog is a cheater blog. Luckily, I can try again tomorrow.
This year Jay was adamant that he wanted to get pumpkins from a pumpkin patch. He had passed a lot of them while he was driving around airating lawns, and he really wanted to take the girls. We decided we would get 4 pumpkins; a daddy, a mommy, a Kameryn and a Reagan.
You catch yourself wondering, "If I were a pumpkin, what pumpkin would I be?" Okay, not really. And without further ado, the Ertmann pumpkin family:
This year Jay was adamant that he wanted to get pumpkins from a pumpkin patch. He had passed a lot of them while he was driving around airating lawns, and he really wanted to take the girls. We decided we would get 4 pumpkins; a daddy, a mommy, a Kameryn and a Reagan.
You catch yourself wondering, "If I were a pumpkin, what pumpkin would I be?" Okay, not really. And without further ado, the Ertmann pumpkin family:
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Reagan: Two Months Old
Sometimes I feel like there's so much going on in my life right now that I haven't been able to really revel in the miracle of Reagan as much as I'd like to. She's so perfect and starting to get such a sweet personality. She smiles a lot, and she has this smile where her mouth is ALL the way open and her face just glows. When she gives you that smile it doesn't matter how you felt before it, because it will melt your heart.
She's also getting more beautiful by the day. Sometimes when I look at her first thing in the morning I can tell she looks a little bit different then when we went to bed. She's a sweet baby, and easy for the most part. Feed her, pay attention to her and she's happy. She's such a sweet addition to the family.
She's also getting more beautiful by the day. Sometimes when I look at her first thing in the morning I can tell she looks a little bit different then when we went to bed. She's a sweet baby, and easy for the most part. Feed her, pay attention to her and she's happy. She's such a sweet addition to the family.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
First Haircut
Kameryn wasn't scared at all of getting her hair cut. She was so impressed with being able to sit in a chair and stare at herself in the mirror, I think she probably wonders why we don't do that sort of thing more often.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Going Into My Blank Book
I watched this video of Ellen Degeneres once, and then wrote the entire thing down in my blank book. I couldn't get the actual video on my blog, but please watch it here.
"I think people are gonna be who they're gonna be, and we need to learn to love them for who they are and let them love who they wanna love." Beautifully said.
"I think people are gonna be who they're gonna be, and we need to learn to love them for who they are and let them love who they wanna love." Beautifully said.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
"It's Cheese!"
I don't know how to turn the video, so I'm sorry about that, but the best part of it is the sound, so turn up your speakers. This was awhile ago, as you can probably tell, but I think it's pretty classic. And since it's a little bit hard to understand, at the end of the video I ask Kami how old she is, and then start laughing because her answer is, "Good."
Jay and I just learned how to upload videos, and he's got one on his blog that we took last night of Kami playing the Guitar Hero guitar and singing a song. My favorite part is that she starts it out by saying "Come on Everybody!" So I suggest checking out that one, too! Because I'm one of those mom's who thinks everyone wants to watch her kids. I'll admit it.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Tagged, Part 2
So, once again I've been tagged to answer some questions. Here it goes:
What I was Doing 10 Years Ago:
1. I was in 9th grade at Millcreek Jr. High. And I HATED IT.
2. I was dating (if it's possible to "date" at 14) a guy that my friends didn't like and my family hated. I didn't listen to them because I was SURE we were gonna get married. Lesson Learned: Don't ignore your friends and family. They were so right.
3. I was in Madrigals, a choir you had to try out to be in. I really liked it, but looking back, I probably should've taken band.
4. I think at this point I was taking pictures. ALL. THE. TIME. I didn't go anywhere without my camera and I would tape all the pictures on the walls in my room.
5. I feel really lucky to say that my best friends 10 years ago are still my best friends today.
5 Things On My To-Do List Today:
1. Clean the apartment. I'm on maternity leave and so this is a constant on my to-do list because it almost never fails that as soon as I get something cleaned up, Kami wants to play where I've been and messes it up again. In addition sometimes Reagan will let me put her down long enough to get things done, and sometimes she won't. Luckily for me, today I got a lot done.
2. Go to my 6 week post-pardum appointment to get birth controlled. Not as bad as I thought it would be, and now I don't need to worry about getting pregnant for 5 years!
3. Watch Felicity with Chelsee. Damn the person who thought of putting seasons of TV shows on DVD. So many hours of my life have been stolen because I have no self control and NEED to know if she's gonna end up with Ben or Noel.
4. As always, my daily routine of checking my E-mail, checking Facebook and watching for updates on the blogs I follow.
5. Laundry. Another constant on the list.
5 Favorite Snacks:
1. Mountain Dew.
2. Animal Crackers
3. Dove Ice Cream
4. Peanut Butter
5. Popcorn
5 Jobs I Have Had
1. Dick's Market Bagger
2. Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Scooper
3. Einstein's Shift Manager
4. Arctic Circle Minion
5. Medical Assistant/ X-ray Tech
5 Things I Would Do with a Million Dollars
1. Stay home with my girls.
2. Put enough aside that my girls could both go to college.
3. TRIP TO EUROPE.
4. Buy a House.
5. Pay off debts.
5 Things That Made Me Laugh This Week:
1. Jay pretending to be a back-up singer for Matchbox 20.
2. An E-mail from Tara
3. Kameryn's "Conversation" with Steve on the phone:
"Hey Steve. Where are you?" Pauses, then starts laughing. "Ewww! Gross!"
4. Kim's blog and the story about the guy who sung to her
5. Dooce
What I was Doing 10 Years Ago:
1. I was in 9th grade at Millcreek Jr. High. And I HATED IT.
2. I was dating (if it's possible to "date" at 14) a guy that my friends didn't like and my family hated. I didn't listen to them because I was SURE we were gonna get married. Lesson Learned: Don't ignore your friends and family. They were so right.
3. I was in Madrigals, a choir you had to try out to be in. I really liked it, but looking back, I probably should've taken band.
4. I think at this point I was taking pictures. ALL. THE. TIME. I didn't go anywhere without my camera and I would tape all the pictures on the walls in my room.
5. I feel really lucky to say that my best friends 10 years ago are still my best friends today.
5 Things On My To-Do List Today:
1. Clean the apartment. I'm on maternity leave and so this is a constant on my to-do list because it almost never fails that as soon as I get something cleaned up, Kami wants to play where I've been and messes it up again. In addition sometimes Reagan will let me put her down long enough to get things done, and sometimes she won't. Luckily for me, today I got a lot done.
2. Go to my 6 week post-pardum appointment to get birth controlled. Not as bad as I thought it would be, and now I don't need to worry about getting pregnant for 5 years!
3. Watch Felicity with Chelsee. Damn the person who thought of putting seasons of TV shows on DVD. So many hours of my life have been stolen because I have no self control and NEED to know if she's gonna end up with Ben or Noel.
4. As always, my daily routine of checking my E-mail, checking Facebook and watching for updates on the blogs I follow.
5. Laundry. Another constant on the list.
5 Favorite Snacks:
1. Mountain Dew.
2. Animal Crackers
3. Dove Ice Cream
4. Peanut Butter
5. Popcorn
5 Jobs I Have Had
1. Dick's Market Bagger
2. Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Scooper
3. Einstein's Shift Manager
4. Arctic Circle Minion
5. Medical Assistant/ X-ray Tech
5 Things I Would Do with a Million Dollars
1. Stay home with my girls.
2. Put enough aside that my girls could both go to college.
3. TRIP TO EUROPE.
4. Buy a House.
5. Pay off debts.
5 Things That Made Me Laugh This Week:
1. Jay pretending to be a back-up singer for Matchbox 20.
2. An E-mail from Tara
3. Kameryn's "Conversation" with Steve on the phone:
"Hey Steve. Where are you?" Pauses, then starts laughing. "Ewww! Gross!"
4. Kim's blog and the story about the guy who sung to her
5. Dooce
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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