So we got rid of our “old” leather couch on Monday and boy, that was not easy. I don’t quite get it because it was in excellent shape. Nevermind that it wasn’t the most comfortable coach for taller people like myself but it was functional and looked good.
Anyhow, after semi surviving the food poisoning I realized that we needed the coach out of here so our new one could be delivered on Tuesday. I posted it on Craigslist for $50 and got 10+ responses. I was excited and thought how easy it was going to be. One by one I went through the emails and responded back then didn’t hear back from them, then went onto the next person, didn’t hear back and so on and so on. This went on quite awhile. One person actually came out to see it and they too were too tall for it. Otherwise the 10+ people didn’t follow through and I was getting stressed out.
Decided to list it on Freecycle on Monday. Made the posting VERY clear that it needed to be picked up that day, etc. Got many responses, one from a neighbor so I gave it to him. Among the others, though, were some crazy people
1) saying they knew someone on the island but they were out of town so could they arrange it with them next week?
2) someone in TUKWILA (hell and gone from here) that really wanted it but they needed me to bring it to them. Now honestly, IT’S A FREE COUCH….do you think, since I need it gone that day, that I’m going to load the couch, hop in my car, pay my gas and $30 for the ferry to bring you a couch? I don’t know you, it’s not Christmas, that is insane!
Finally, it got picked up…whew.

I went online today and saved some of the pictures from the last 2 years that we have taken with the cell phone. These are some of the out and about type shots that you don’t always get to see. Enjoy!

Yes, Nathan, they do have Green Apple Gummy Bear flavor ice cream at our Coldstone Creamery.

Carlos says “I love me some me!”

Carlos was SO jazzed that Kohl’s had a toddler sized potty.

Seriously sleeping Levi

First carbs….yum.

This is a mama favorite…a silent car ride.

Went down to the neighbors and got a garbage can ride.

Baby Carlos cheezing it up for the camera!

Levi trying to get a goose to go where he wants him to go. (sidenote…those geese are MEAN, that was not a good move!)

Hey, they’ve got free stickers in the produce section!

This is how we have fun a McDonalds…playland? Nah, the hand dryer in the bathroom is much more fun.

Some day, when Trey is in the NFL, this picture will be an “I told you so”

Stomach flu…..been up ALL night…..miserable. Enough said.

As a parent we have tough choices to make, it’s part of the deal, I get it. Every ounce of your being worries about daily choices and obviously we all strive to all that we can to help our kids and make them the best little humans they can be.
We have had a couple of things that have come up that really make us stop and struggle to make the right choice for our boys.
First, we took Carlos to speech on Wednesday and afterward his therapist said that he probably wouldn’t be needing speech much longer. I was stunned and it’s been REALLY bothering me since she said it. I don’t think I hid my emotions very well because she said “oh, we’re not stopping next week or anything, but he’s just making all the sounds and……the rest is a blur” I still don’t understand him a lot of the time and I thought the goal was not just to have him be able to make the sounds on demand but to actually be understood in daily conversation. Since I’m not a therapist and was only going off my gut feeling, I made a call to his other speech therapist and she agreed with me that he has quite a way to go. He’s doing great, really working hard, but still needs more support. So now I get to be “assertive mama” and fight for what’s right for my son.
The other issue that came up is Aikido. Now if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you’ll know that the boys did the camp a month ago and loved it. Carlos especially thrived and seemed to respond to the discipline of it. Well, they are offering a class on Fridays that would work for the boys. Alice is signed up as well, but the class is $70/month/child. Yeah, $140 a month is a lot for us. I’m sure for most the Bainbridge types this would be a no-brainer, you just hand over the money and all’s good, but for us it’s really a lot of money. The struggle for me that I have is I KNOW how great it will be for them, especially Carlos, but what do we sacrifice in order to make it happen? It’s not like we’re not already seriously frugal so there aren’t too many corners to cut. So maybe we’ll do a fundraiser…a “Field-Bennett Boys Trike-a-thon” or something. At this point, I think Levi would end up going (as he wouldn’t understand why Carlos and Alice got to go, and Carlos and Alice are usually like oil and water and Carlos would spend the class bugging her but if all three were in class together Levi and Alice would hang out and Carlos would be fine) but that bites because Carlos would excel with it.
Like I said, sometimes parenting has some tough, tough choices.

I’ve got some new readers! How exciting…just don’t know where they all came from. I love getting comments and while I love my “regulars” / borderline “stalkers” (love you, Lian)…you guys are mostly silent. So when I got 3 comments in one day, I had to check the stats and there had been 211 hits on the blog today. WHOA! That’s about 180 more than average.
So, welcome new readers…hope I can entertain you with tales from the trenches of motherhood with the three boys.
Also, I’m enjoying reading the newbie’s blogs, it’s always fun to see what other people write and the beautiful pictures they take. It’s like a window into another’s life and I’m addicted.