Random stuff

Here is some random stuff, most of it deals with Lizzy or Barak.

This starts with Lizzy hiding in a pile of stuffed animals (a new favorite game) to trying to console Barak. Oh the joy of having two children.

Our first family walk, with our new (read really old, second hand) stroller we got from friends in our ward.

Random picture of a giant bee, that is my thumb, that was on our sunflowers. Bees just love them.

Barak Reuben Washburn

Barak Reuben Washburn was born August 8, 2009 at 6:19 pm. He weighed 9 lbs and 5.4 oz and was 22 inches long. Katrina started feeling mild contractions at around 2:30 am and really went into active labor around 12:00. We went to the hospital around 3:00 and 3 hours and 19 minutes later Barak joined us.
Katrina is talking to her mother just a little after Barak was born (She looks good doesn't she!)

Katrina's sister Amy came down and stayed with Lizzy so I could stay in the hospital with Katrina and Barak. Thank's Amy, you are the best.


Lizzy was a little unsure about her new brother, but she is warming up to him.

And here he is, just moments after he was born, hence the purple hands.

Phew

Well, I have finally done it. Last Thursday at 12:10 I successfully defended my master's thesis. It only took me 3.5 years. Everyone on my committee said I gave a great presentation and I answered all of their questions to everyone's satisfaction. I have only to make some minor changes to my thesis and turn it in in 6 weeks and I will graduate this coming June as Isaac J. Washburn MS.

I can now work on my doctorate, which I plan on completing in 1.5 years. I realize you must be asking yourself how I plan to complete a doctorate in 1.5 years when it took me 3.5 years to get a little master's degree. Multitasking.

I have spent the last 3 years getting everything ready for these last 2 years. I spent three years getting all of my classes out of the way, not just for my master's thesis but also my doctorate. So now I have a very short list of things left to do in graduate school:

Reapply to the program in order to be recognized as a PhD candidate

Write and defend my comprehensive exam

Write and defend my dissertation proposal

Write and defend my completed disseration.

The end is in sight.

In one year and 4 months I am going to make all of you call my Dr. Washburn for at least a week.

The Joys of Parenting

This last month has been a crazy time for me and my family. Katrina has been sick (you know in the "morning"), a snow storm almost prevented us from getting to Grandma and Grandpa Jensen's house for Christmas morning, our DVD player broke and we have to mail the TV away to get it fixed (the DVD player is part of the TV), and most crazy was me trying to get work done, take care of Katrina (the first couple months seem to be really hard on her), Lizzy, the dishes, the cleaning. I realize now how hard it is to keep this place clean. I thought I had the harder of the two adult roles in the family... not even close.

Anyway, if you didn't know, Oregon got hit by a major snow storm about two weeks before Christmas. We had snow on the ground in Corvallis for a whole week. I even got to have a snow ball fight with some of the kids in our complex. We stayed home most of the week and only went out twice, the first time because Katrina and I didn't realize how bad the roads were and the second time because Lizzy had a doctor's appointment. As far as I can tell Corvallis does not have any snowplows, so they put down some dirt and called it good. I consider myself a good driver, even in snow, but when you have major roads with lots of cars and lots of snow... I was OK staying in as well.

So the snow melted in Corvallis and the rain started again. All the while up in Hillsboro (by Portland), where Katrina's parents live, it kept snowing and snowing and snowing and snowing...

In fact the county that Katrina's parents live in started to require that all vehicles wear snow chains. Which I wasn't really worried about, I really am good in snow (just ask my mom and Eliza about driving in a blizzard when Eliza moved to Colorado, on second thought, don't ask my mom), what I was worried about was that our car can't take snow tires. That's right, the wheel wells are too small. So we watched the weather and the county website to see if they would stop requiring chains. Days ticked by and it was Christmas eve and I was doing some work in the morning at the EPA and I checked the traffic reports for the Portland area-everything reported inches of ICE on the FREEWAYS leading into Portland. All of a sudden I was having doubts about getting my family to Grandma and Grandpa's house in our mid-size sedan. I swallowed my pride and called a friend of ours from church that had a truck and I hoped would be staying home on Christmas day and not need their truck. They didn't and Christmas was saved... really Lizzy wouldn't have gotten her presents from her Grandma and Grandpa Jensen, her aunts Corrie, Amy, Sarah, Cheryl, Anne, Helen, and Julie, or her uncles Chris and Brian if we didn't have their truck. Thank you Brother and Sister Allen, thank you.

I may need to devote another post to that story, it really was Christmas movie quality material. People say I look like Tom Hanks or the drummer from That Thing You Do, I wonder if either of them are available???

Next december story... hmm maybe I should wait... Katrina may want to do some of these stories herself... OK, I will wait a little to see what Katrina will write about then I will finish up anything (or correct anything) that she didn't cover. Hope you all had a very merry Christmas, cause we sure did.

My Thesis

I have been working on my thesis for 18 months. That's right you heard me 18 months. I think this month I will finally finish it, but I must say that I hate my thesis. Even a year ago I was fascinated by the topic, but now all I care about is getting my committee to accept it and let my defend it. It's sad really, the things I learned from doing my thesis are going to make me a better professor and researcher, but I may never read it again after I finally defend it. Anyways, that is all I have to say today.

Sleep

When do we go from not wanting to go to sleep, to wishing we could take naps again. I remember in high school being tired a lot, but I never really longed for a nap like I do now, or better yet a day where all I had to do was eat in between naps until it was time to go to bed..... ........ ........ ....... ....... ........ ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... ....... hmmm that was a nice daydream, but back to business. Katrina and I are not morning people, the kids are though... well Lizzy likes to get up at 6, and though she usually wakes up screaming, or I guess she wakes us up screaming, she quickly wakes up and wants attention. My only real experience with the whole kids getting up in the morning thing before Lizzy was born were Christmases with the Washburns and watching Ephraim & Kimm and Seth & Tiff dealing with their kids. There are some great stories from those Christmases, like getting up to find Seth asleep on the couch next to Connor who is upside down and asleep and both watching a scary movie (I think it was a scary movie of some kind, it did have a big dinosaur in it and the kids kept talking to it, I think they were begging for mercy, I know I was). Or the year Josh and Caleb were sleeping on the floor between the beds that Ammon and I were using and Josh would wake us up every two hours asking for something (like the blanket that had slid down to his knees and the sippy cup that I went upstairs looking for and couldn't find only to have Josh show me he was sleeping on it when I came back downstairs, Ephraim thought it was funny when I told him the next day and now I finally understand what was so funny)

Anyway... wait what was the point of this post... oh yeah, the wonder that is sleep. Sleep is wasted on babies, but then according to Katrina, Lizzy + Sleeping = Katrina + Sanity. I can't complain though, I am at work or class and so when Lizzy is sleeping I don't know it. Katrina has to put Lizzy down for nap fully knowing that she won't get one (at least not all of the time), by the way I am totally fine with Katrina taking naps when Lizzy naps. I thought it was because I love her and frankly she deserved the nap, but my wiser older brother informed me that since we are now one, when she naps, I do too (well actually he said that when she wins, I do too, but I think that works for naps too... nap on Katrina, nap on).

Naps are good (though Katrina has since taught me that threes hours sleeping, even in the middle of the day, is not a nap, so they are not as great as they once were), but sleep, true 8-17 hours(yes I did sleep for 17 hours once in college, if you are good I might tell that story later) of night-time, curled up and warm sleep is one of the greatest things in the world. Another would be buying ice cream for Katrina, I always feel like a real hero (not like the silly ones on that show with the cheerleader) when I bring home ice cream.

I think that if I live to see a spaceship going to the Mars or Venus or deep space nine and Katrina has left for the celestial kingdom (she made me promise that she gets to go first, always has to win), I will sign up for a mission. Can you imagine months and months of sleeping..... ...... ...... ..... ... .... better than the first daydream. Anyway, I should go. I need to exercise if they are going to pick for that mission to Mars.

I can't let Katrina win!!!

It is probably really petty of me, but I can't stand that Katrina wins all the time. Katrina beats me in everything (except Guess Who?, still the champion baby), and frankly I am tired of it. Now, getting married to Katrina is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me (even better than the time I beat Seth at something... I don't remember what... but I am sure I did), and the only thing that would make it better was if I would win even close to 50% of the time.

The worst part is losing "discussions". I am generally acknowledged as the BIGGER talker of the two of us, but I think there are probably like 3 times in our marriage that I actually won a "discussion" (this is of course not counting the times she "let" me win). I have tried everything that I can think of to win, and nothing works. I even used her techniques for a little bit, but those were the worst losses of all. I went to the state finals in high school debate and I don't even stand a chance against Katrina. I just hope this isn't indicative of my future conversation with the kids.

Katrina just did again, just a moment ago. I am writing this blog and Frank (the man she teaches English to on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) just came over (I know it is Thursday, this week he is coming Thursday and Friday) and noticed the pretty little flower that was in my hair (Katrina put it in my hair earlier and "forgot" to take it out). Now this really cool guy from Austria probably thinks I am girly man or something. ... Lost again....

Speaking of girly man... I am going to see Twilight on Saturday. No, I never read any of the books, I prefer to only waste 2 hours of my life instead of days. The worst part is that I will probably like the movie (Before you laugh, I will have you know it is genetic to like chick flicks in my family, all of my sisters do, my dad thinks the newest Pride and Prejudice is one of the best movies of all time and my older brothers went to see Ever After in the Theatres and LIKED it). So I can't really be blamed for liking movies that girls go to see because they want to cry (still don't understand that), because it is in my genes.

OK, I think this first post is now officially random enough that everyone that I invite to see it will never come back. If you do, I will try and keep you updated on me, Katrina and Some Kids... OK I really mean Lizzy (only the most adorable little girl in the known galaxy and probably some places in the Delta Quadrant as well), but I hoping this blog will last, so I figure I better include future progeny.