The Global Petersons

Bikes, Trikes, and a clever little joke that I'm sure you haven't heard before (is this title too long?)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 23:18:00 +0000

It has been a while since the last post. Let me get you caught up to speed: Jenny and I have both been doing some college courses. Jenny has been doing Biology I, I have been doing College Writing I, and we have both been doing Psychology and Intro to Algebra (a.k.a. high school math) together. Three classes for the both of us.

Jenny has been working about twenty hours per week, watching the kids, and doing these classes all summer. Needless to say, she has been a busy little bee.

I have been doing those three classes and working my fitness consulting business full-time from home, which is going well. I'm waiting to hear back from the Minnetonka School District to see if I can get some more work there this coming school year. I'm also planning on getting a job for the weekends to get us back in the swing of things financially speaking.

The boys have been growing up quickly. Their favorite thing to do is ride their bikes/trikes outside. My favorite thing for them to do is play catch with me in the backyard, but they are not the biggest fans. (Why not?!)

Liam got a new tricycle today and he's been learning how to pedal (not peddle, which is to sell something that was stolen).

Yes, that is duct tape on his feet. He kept taking them off so I thought this was a clever way to help him figure it out. He did a pretty good job.

Allow me to share one of Liam's most recent jokes. I would categorize it as a classic "knock-knock" joke. If you choose not to allow me and are using a PC, feel free to hold ALT and press F4 or hold CTRL and press Q. If you are a Mac user, that's Command + W or Command + Q. For those of you who still have their internet open: Ahem... check check one two one two. Okay, here goes:

Liam: "Knock, knock"

Me: (or you, if that helps) "Who's there?"

Liam: "Levi"

Me/You: "Levi who?"

Liam: "Levi who?" (At this point Levi and Liam laugh uproariously.)

Feel free to share that one with as many people as you want as long as you give credit to my two year old.

Until next time!

Jeremy, Jenny, Levi, & Liam

Summer Courses & Chimpanzees

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 May 2012 03:02:00 +0000

When I came back from work, Jenny had the whole upstairs all cleaned up and tidy for me. She's an amazing wife. :)

We immediately went to our college to buy some of the textbooks we'll be needing for our classes. This coming summer, Jenny and I are taking classes at North Hennepin Community College. Jenny and I have two classes in common: Introduction to Algebra (we've forgotten it since high school, which is crazy because I use Algebra ALL the time. sarcasm) and Psychology. I have a class on my own which is the Freshman Writing class and Jenny will be taking a Biology class. We're very excited to learn and get one step closer to getting the degrees we need to pursue the jobs we are passionate about.

When we got home, our family pretended to be chimpanzees, fighting and climbing on each other. Then Levi started making zebra noises which was out of place, but funny.

We had some pizza for dinner and ended the night with a solid workout.

Tee Ball

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 May 2012 02:15:00 +0000

The day started early (5am) with Jenny and I doing our workouts. Jenny does Insanity and I do Tai Cheng, which is a Tai Chi program.

We both worked today. Jenny pulled a nine hour shift. (brutal!)

After work, I went to the Chiropracter to help with some lower back pain I've been having. He was really great and was pleased to hear I've been doing Yoga and Tai Chi.

We went to Levi's Tee Ball practice after all this. He was super cute. This was my first practice I've been to. All the dads and the coaches are super encouraging. It made me so proud to see him swing at the ball (even when he did a 360 degree miss). He was adorable and super happy. It encouraged me to start playing some more catch with him in the backyard.

Rain!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 May 2012 23:55:00 +0000

We started the morning out by giving Levi his first shower ever. I turned it on, shoved him in there, and all I hear was joy-squealing with shouts of "rain!". It was adorable. I'm not fully confident he properly washed himself, but he had fun and enjoyed the experience. Our boy is growing up quickly.

While talking about son milestones, Liam asked to stop wearing his diaper at night times. So far, he's been sleeping at nap time and at night time sans-diaper and we've had no accidents. It's a wonderful milestone. I'm not a fan of diaper changing, though I'm not sure anyone is.

We then spent some time organizing the apartment.

Jenny took Levi to the store to get some ingredients for tonight's dinner: Meatballs, mashed potatoes, buttery rosemary skillet rolls, and home made red velvet cake for dessert! (YUM!)

During the time she was away, I was spending some time planning our anniversary which is coming up on the 2nd of June! It'll be our sixth anniversary.

I did my Tai Chi workout for the day while Jenny took a well-needed rest upstairs.

Knock, Knock

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:42:00 +0000

During breakfast this morning, Jenny was telling Levi some knock knock jokes. She told him the famous:
"Knock, knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana who? Knock, knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana who? Knock, knock. Who's there? Banana. Banana who? Knock, knock. Who's there? Orange. Orange who? Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

Levi got a good kick out of it and then immediately came up with his own version:
"Knock, knock."
(Jenny) "Who's there?"
"Chair."
"Chair who?"
"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Chair."
"Chair who?"
"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Banana you glad I didn't say chair?"

That was a great start to the day.

The Last Ten Seconds

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 22:25:00 +0000

Batman in the flesh

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 16:56:00 +0000

Taylor Swift

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:41:00 +0000

2/13/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:15:00 +0000

I got up at about 6:45 and made sure pancakes were ready for the family when they woke up. Jenny, of course, was already awake, doing her study thing that she does. The boys were down at 7:00 sharp and we all had breakfast together.

Jenny has MOPS on Mondays, so she brought the boys to church with her while I studied Chinese and read. I'm reading Simply Jesus by N.T. Wright. I'm not far in the book yet, but I can tell it's going to be good.

After nap time, we played a little game where I hid under the comforter and attempted to consume all children and then regurgitate them. It was pretty intense. I feel like I won, though no official winner was determined.

Later, Levi and I did some of his homeschool/preschool work.

I got a call asking if I could come in and do some para sub work over at the Chinese immersion school. This will be my fourth day there since last week. I've loved working there and having a day filled with Chinese! Oh. I guess I never mentioned that I'm doing that kind of work. I've been helping out at Scenic Heights Elementary School in Minnetonka. I help out in their Chinese immersion classes. So far I've worked with Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade. It's been absolutely wonderful to work there. I'll share more as time goes on.

2/12/2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:27:00 +0000

It's been a while!

I made Jenny some eggs for breakfast. I thought they looked like they were dug out of the garbage can, but Jenny insisted they were good. I guess we'll never know the truth.

I went to see "Safe House" with Aaron and Ron. It was a pretty good movie! Denzel is quite the actor.

We had some Culver's for lunch and when I got back, I took over watching the boys so Jenny and my mom could go see "The Vow". Since I "vowed" to not see it (har har), my mom was gracious to take Jenny.

I studied a lot of Chinese today. I'm trying my best to speak it at home with the boys. Oh, on that note: We are getting Levi into a Chinese immersion kindergarten. We are very, VERY excited about it. It'll be the most familiar type of school to him, since he's spent most school time in China.

Levi and I did some homeschooling for a solid hour and a half or something like that. Today he was learning about liquids and gases and how to figure out which is which and also about police men i.e. what their role is in our society. It was hard explaining how police dogs chase people down yet aren't the ones that take the crooks to jail.

We finished up with some dinner and bed!

Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:40:00 +0000

Woke up this morning and did our normal routine.

We went to church then after that we came home for lunch and naps all around. (Except for Jenny - she's been studying like crazy!) Her writing class is taking up a lot of her time.

Oh, one note on my schooling situation as well: I spoke with two Chinese teachers who both recommended I start out at the highest level Chinese class they offer at the University of Minnesota. That's a bit daunting, but I'm VERY excited about it. I'm just double checking at the moment to see if that specific Chinese degree will satisfy whatever language requirements school districts require if I were to apply as a Chinese teacher in the future. If the degree will hold up and get me a teaching job, I'll be enrolled this fall! I'm starting with my major i.e. Chinese, then when I finish that, I'll plow through my general ed classes online. I think I'll have around a year (?) of Chinese. I'm told I'll get credit for the other couple years I'm skipping, which is nice.

I worked out today. ChaLean Extreme Burn Circuit 3. Brutal! They are good shoulder and leg workouts though!

These days I'm reading a few books. I'm reading through PUSH by Chalene Johnson, Simply Christian by N.T. Wright, and re-reading Love Wins by Rob Bell.

Today I was reading Simply Christian and wanted to share something N.T. (can I call you N.T? Thanks) said in his chapter on Worship.

One of the main reasons theology (trying to think straight about who God is) matters is that we are called to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It matters that we learn more about who God is so that we can praise him more appropriately.

I believe so many people don't worship God because they are told by others that God is their enemy (unless they believe 100% what that person believes). Would you worship your enemy? Doesn't make sense. If only people knew who God truly was and how he really feels about his children.

I'm guessing with the rest of the day, we'll be watching the Packers/Giants game and will sleep at 8pm. We don't sleep like grandparents these days. We sleep like our grandparents' grandparents!

Elmo Lives!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:01:00 +0000

Wow! Today, along with Jenny's parents, we all went to see Elmo Makes Music, which is basically a Sesame Street Concert.

It was incredible! Liam was really cared of all the giant monsters running around at first, but he warmed up quickly. Levi loved it!

Afterwards, we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory and ate like crazy!

It was an awesome day, but tomorrow the in-laws will be leaving. It will be sad to see them go; Levi was very sad tonight knowing they are leaving in the morning.

January 2, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:34:00 +0000

My boys and I woke up and the boys watched some "Ni Hao, Kai Lan" while I studied Chinese.

The boys and I had a dance party shortly after and the boys also had some M&Ms, which is a reward for the both of them whenever Liam goes potty in the toilet. Liam wore underwear all morning and had no accidents, which was awesome!

Jenny got home then Levi watched Winnie the Pooh while we all napped. After that, we all wrestled around for a bit.

We used up a gift card to Chili's tonight. That's a favorite destination of mine, so any day I go to Chili's is considered a happy day.

January 1, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:13:00 +0000

The first day of the first month started out with our family having some fun with the new snow on the ground. Liam and Jenny were wrestling around while Levi insisted on helping me shoveling and salting the sidewalk. He's going to grow into a great helper, which makes this dad very proud.

We all napped and then played a game of Trouble. I won, for those of you who are interested.

We had a little movie night tonight and watched some Thomas. It's a big favorite of the boys.

We ended the night with watching Beyond Scared Straight. Mandatory.

Consequences

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:43:00 +0000

Jenny has been out with her friend, Kate.

The boys and I are shooting each other with darts while she's away. Just now, I shot him from across the room. He got off the couch, said "consequences!" and ran and tickled me. It was hilarious.

For dinner, we had macaroni and cheese. (Ron made four or five boxes of it) and now we're upstairs to get that last-minute play time between the boys and me. Usually after dinner, we only have less than a couple more hours to get our time together.

Levi the Giant

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Levi says some of the funniest things. For example:

I was working on my finances on the computer when I noticed Levi loitering around near my legs. He suddenly put on my slippers and said, "I'm a big giant in my slippers!"

11/25/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 22:04:00 +0000

It is great to have Friday off. I feel that I don't get much time with the boys so a morning with them outside the usual is fun. We played with some cars before breakfast.

When we finished eating, I went upstairs. Just me and the boys. All alone, I thought it'd be a great time to re-decorate the apartment. Thus:

Now, I can hear all the gasps yet, faintly, I can also hear the sound of applause. See the chair below? Useless! Goodbye sitting! You've been overtaken by your counterpart, standing! See how the height is just perfect for me? I know my wife is going to ~~hate~~ LOVE this. But, in my defense, SHE'S the one who left me alone without supervision.

Now I have to figure out what to do with a few lamps and picture frames which were once lonely atop a couple of end tables...

The boys watched a bit of Cars 2. I finished reading The Great Gatsby as a part of my attempt at reading 100 Must-Read books for men.

The boys and I played a type of monster game (I was the monster, who ate small nearby children. I just put a blanket over my head, which transforms me into a monster, for those of you who didn't know.) After that, we wrestled and threw pillows at each other. Then we ate.

Jenny got home from work at 1:00pm. Liam was napping and Levi was getting ready to go outside to play some baseball with his grandma. I cracked into Emotional Intelligence a bit, and found this interesting information from the subtitled section, "The Anatomy of Rage": When you get cut off by someone while driving down the road, do you jump to anger (or conclusions, rather) or do you try to assume the best in the situation i.e. "Perhaps he has an emergency?" If you allow yourself that initial bit of anger in the first place, it can get out of hand much quicker, but if you prevent and guard your mind from those initial angry thoughts, you can move on from the potential day-ruiner. The book quoted Benjamin Franklin as saying "Anger is never without a reason, but seldom a good one." Well said. They also mention in the book how perhaps the best way to stopping anger from rising is by stopping the negative thought process (or as they put it, "Undermine the convictions that are fueling anger in the first place). Tim Sanders seemed to echo this in his book I just finished reading.

After that, Jenny and I went on a date. We were going to go to see The Descendants but ended up seeing Hugo because the former movie was sold out when we got there. Hugo was pretty good! It was great to get some time with the wife.

Got home and played some video games with Aaron while Jenny slept. It was a good day!

Orientation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:05:00 +0000

After work, Jenny had her orientation! She said it went well but she's a bit nervous because she feels a little overwhelmed and the schooling will probably take longer than expected.

After dinner, Jenny, my mom, and the boys went on a drive to look at all the Christmas lights. The boys were huge fans. I stayed back and worked on some stuff I had to do.

11/20/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:29:00 +0000

We went to church today at 9am. The service was great. There was a performance done which included a bunch of drums and a dance by a bunch of fifth graders. The main dancer girl was Asian which made Jenny and I sad because it made us miss China. The sermon was really good - it was on King Omri. The pastor talked about how King Omri was regarded as one of the greatest kings of Israel however he is only mentioned in the bible with 8 verses. The pastor asked "What do you consider to be the requirements of success?" King Omri was one of the most powerful kings Israel ever had but now, thousands of years later, he is reduced to only eights verses in the bible and, according to the bible, he was one of the most evil. He sought power and prestige over doing the right thing. After the sermon, we went out to the little cafe they have inside and chatted with some Chinese people that go there. We really hope to get a relationship going with these people so we can continue to have a relationship with the culture and people we fell in love with.

After church, we went to the library to return some books. We got home and then Levi and I replaced the wipers on our car as well as the headlights which burned out overnight. He was really eager to help and did a great job throwing away trash for me and screwing in some parts on the headlights.

Afterwards, we went inside to watch the gruesome and sad Vikings game.

I finished up The Likeability Factor, which was a great book. I'm now onto The Great Gatsby and Emotional Intelligence.

Jenny and I ran through a Financial Peace University course which was on purchasing.

11/19/2011 - Guys Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:46:00 +0000

This morning, the boys and I went to Jenny's workplace to get some breakfast. She was so happy to see us and the boys enjoyed going as well because they have a little play area with toys and a chalkboard.

When the boys and I got home, we listened to some music and then watched a movie.

We were planning on going to Linder's for their grand opening night, but the snow was too much. We were slipping around while driving so we just stopped for some dinner then went home.

When we got back in the car to get home, one of our headlights was out, so Ron and I were working on fixing that while the boys, Aaron, and Jenny had a little snowball fight in the dark on the driveway. They had a great time and Liam kept coming up to me in the garage to throw a little pinch of snow at me.

We had our popcorn and movie night tonight so the movie tonight was Home Alone. We had a great day!

11/18/2011 - Game Night

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:05:00 +0000

Before work, I read The Likeability Factor by Tim Sanders. On page 76, Tim talks about some research done by Edelman Worldwide which was done in 2002. Did you know that 80% of people don't believe something the first time they hear, see, or read it? So if you've got a message or information you are trying to pass on to someone, you'll need to fight through that barrier. One of the main ways is through relationship. That's why going up to a stranger with information you want them to know or a product you want them to buy, you'll be unsuccessful the majority of the time. Some people will take this information and just say, "Well, then I'll ask 100 strangers and get 20 people to listen". That might work, but I don't like that method. Build relationships, THEN share what you have to say. Obviously if you are good friends with someone and you are not a total liar, they'll be more likely to listen and believe you when you tell them "this is the best shaving cream ever or this is the best computer company to buy from". Oops.

I got home and took Levi on a McDonald's date; just me and him. It was really good to get that time with him because when I'm working I don't see much of little Levi.

When we got back, Jenny, my mom, and I did some puzzle work while watching a show then the game night with Aaron began... A few hours of non-stop nerdness on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

11/17/2011 - Date Night

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:52:00 +0000

I got up today and spent a lot of time making a to-do list. This list will keep me motivated to achieve my goals and will keep me from wasting my time on things that don't matter. This to-do list was a part of the Chalene 30 Day Challenge - I'm enjoying it so far!

It was a good day at work. We are almost done finishing up a project we are working on which is going on down in Iowa. After that, we have another big window project we are starting up.

When I got back from work, we spent some time working on our budget and then went downstairs to get dinner for the boys.

Jenny and I then left the boys at home with my mom while Jenny and I went on a date to Chili's. We had a lot of laughs and smiles. She's wonderful and a lot of fun to be around. For the record, I got free chips and salsa by installing Foursquare and checking in at Chili's. I recommend doing this next time you go.

Got home, hung out a bit with Levi, showered, then went to bed. It was a good day!

11/16/2011 - Awana

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:26:00 +0000

Another wonderful morning, I got up and read The Likeability Factor. Info for the day from said book comes from a study done from Redford B. Williams, who studied 1,368 heart disease patients for more than nine years. He said "...just being married or having a good friend was a predictor of who lived and who died after a heart attack. Those patients with neither a spouse or a friend were three times more likely to die than those involved in a caring relationship." (emphasis added) Interesting, eh?

Jenny had work at the same time I did, so on these wonderful mornings we have the morning together.

When I got home, I was in some pretty bad arthritis pain, so Jenny took over our AWANA group tonight while I stayed home with Liam.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:12:00 +0000

Waking up at 5, I immediately began reading The Likeability Factor by Tim Sanders again. Did you know that while most parents insist they don't show favoritism, they frequently do, and it is their more highly likeable children who end up getting extra attention? This was revealed in a 2000 interview with Dr. Vera Rabie-Azoori. I will, as expected, assert that I do not show favoritism. After reading, I had some breakfast and got ready for work.

We had homemade chicken fettuccine Alfredo (thank you, Jenny!) for dinner.

We went upstairs and I read the boys a few books we got from the library. I'll recommend one: Carolinda Clatter. It's really good. Super creative and different.

Jenny and I went through a course in Financial Peace University which was on credit sharks. Info of the day from FPU: Do you not like junk mail? Go to optoutprescreen.com! Do you not like telemarketers? Go to donotcall.gov!

Tomorrow is AWANA. We are looking forward to it!

11/14/2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:02:00 +0000

Today I got up at 5:00am to do my morning routine i.e. eat, read, read more, get ready. It's really good to give yourself tons of time before work. It's no good running jumping out of bed, slamming your alarm, and booking it out to your car where you begin speeding to work before you are even fully awake.

After I went to work, Jenny took the kids to run some errands while I stayed home and worked on two self-improvement courses I'm doing, which are Chalene Johnson's 30 Day Challenge and The Art of Manliness's 30 Days to a Better Man course. I highly recommend the former for those that want to get more organized on tackling their goals and the latter for those guys out there that want to be a... well... better man.

We had some Taco Bell for dinner and then went upstairs to hang out with the family then watch the Vikings play the Packers. After a sad first half, I went to bed.