Car Woes

So since at least Christmas, my car had been acting "funny." Little things here and there but then they would disappear or go away. Here are some of the things that my car would do (when I say "my car" I'm talking about the Suburban):

The Check Airbag light would come on. This was the most consistant problem. It would come on at varying lengths of time and then go back off. At one point, I needed to get the car safety inspected and noticed that my light had gone off. So we hurried and took it in while the light was off so it would pass :) and it did...

When I take my keys out of the ignition, the doors are supposed to unlock. On two instances, this did not happen.

Once while I was driving, I looked down to see how fast I was going, only to notice that my gauges were not working - The speedometer, the odometer, the gas gauge...none of them!!

A few times while driving, the gauges and radio would reset. SO for about 2 seconds, nothing would work, and then they would start working again. Also, when this happened, the clock would reset, so I never knew what time it really was! ARGH!

I felt like things were getting worse and worse because these things were all happening on at least a daily basis. To make things worse, this was when Thayne was going out of town for a WEEK!! Being the pessimeist that I am, I could see how this was going to play out: Thayne would leave town and the car would break down. I would be lost somewhere where my cell phone didn't work and it would probably be in a bad neighborhood.

Luckily, I can't predict the future and Heavenly Father shed a tender mercy on our family. Thayne and I were on a date, the night before Thayne was set to leave. We drove home so that we could eat dinner and can jalepenos. Then we got in my car to go out for a treat, and the car didn't start at all!

While this put a damper on our date, we were able to figure out that my battery was DEAD, replace the battery, and get my car working again while Thayne was here!! My car (knock on wood PLEASE) has been running wonderfully since repacing the battery and I feel like this 'breakdown' couldn't have happened at a better time!

A Long Time Coming...

So I think in some areas of my life I over-prepare... which I feel is better than under-preparing, but still, it is silly sometimes. For instance: After Thayne and I were married, but before we had children, or were even pregnant, I started buying baby clothes. Just the 'cutest' outfits when they went on sale.

Then there have been other times when I buy baby girl clothes, when I have a baby boy. I just figured that I would use it someday...

Well one of those 'somedays' was today.


When we lived in Idaho, Hyrum was the baby, and we went shopping at TJMaxx one day and I saw these cute "Got Milk" oneies. I instantly fell in love with them, but they were pink - obviously Hyrum would not be wearing them, but I still 'had' to have them. I don't regret it. I still love them, I guess I'm just glad that we had another girl who could look so cute in them!!

I must get this trait from my mother, who gave me a little girl outfit when I was pregnant with Hyrum (partly my fault b/c I adamantly thought, for the first 4 months of my pregnancy with Hyrum, that I was going to have a girl...) Anyway, we saved that outfit for years too, till Anna could wear it!!

Thanks for coming into our family Anna - we needed you on so many levels!!

Lost Library Books...

So it shouldn't surprise me that we lost 2 library books, we had 22 checked out... But the last time we went to the library, we checked out 38, so 22 sounded like a much more manageable number of library books - till I could only find 20....

I tried to get the kids to look for the books, but really they were not interested in finding them at all, EVEN when I bribed them... sad.

Knowing they were due in just 3 days, and that they could be ANYWHERE, I began cleaning and searching. Even when I wasn't searching, it was all I could think about: "Where are those books..." "What haven't I looked under..." etc.

We have only lost one book in our library history, but perhaps the memory of that experience is what makes me want to never lose another book. Of all books to have to pay for why couldn't it be one of the ones that we read 100 times and absolutely LoVe?? (and we did eventually find it, so now we own it...) Oh no, it was a Dora the Explorer book - "I Love My Papi." - I don't even think we had read that book before we lost it... and we had to pay a restocking fee that was MORE than the cost of the book... which I guess is a blessing that it wasn't some rare hardback book... just a cheap paperback one...

Anyway, as I was rummaging around the house, I caught a glimmer of something that was 'off' by the fireplace. Nothing stood out, but something was different. Can you find the books?


Here's a closer look...


As I went in for a closer look and lo and behold, the library books had gotten shoved into a small crack in the fireplace, and the only reason I could see it was because the books were tall enough to just barely show through the grill.



These books were masterfully planted there because they cannot just go straight down. There is that overhanging grill that goes out about 1/2 inch from this crack... It must have been Anna. She does love the fireplace.


With tweezers in each hand, I was able to get them both out (and that same day they were returned to the library - not even a late fee!!) Maybe someday I'll get to see HOW exactly 2 books got put in that peculiar spot... But for now, I am just grateful that the books were found - especially before the due date!!

P.S. - When we went to the library to return the books, I vowed to not bring too many home... we ended up with 29 - AHH!!

Manna From Heaven

So one afternoon the doorbell rang, and I opened the door and what lay in front of my eyes was the most interesting package we have ever recieved... 12 pounds of Onions.


What? Onions??? We didn't order onions... Did someone send us a gift??... Unfortuantely - NO - these onions were addressed to the previous owner of our house...

ARGH! It's bad enough we get their credit card applications, store catalog magazines, christmas cards, and junk mail... but it's just WRONG to get a package at your house and realize it's not for you!!

So we called the company these onions came from and they told us we could keep them because they did not have a forwarding address! WaHOo!!

Talk about good timing, we were almost out of onions when these arrived. And I have to say that I have never seen more beautiful onions than these... Good size, No bruises, Just enough peel... What a nice surprise!

Birthday Boy!

Now this is impressive, a same-day post! Although because it's same-day it won't be as complete... Here's what we've done so far:
I made Hyrum a Race Car shirt for his birthday and he put it one first thing this morning!



Here are my other attempts at a 'good' picture... This is 'goof-ball' Hyrum...



This is 'Look at my cute dimples and beautiful smile' Hyrum...



Here's a close up of just the shirt...



To go along with the Race Car 'theme,' I made him a Race Car cake... Shhh. He hasn't seen it yet. I have never really done anything too fancy with cakes, so this was a big step for me. I even went out and bought Wilton food coloring and a special frosting tip to make the grass... yea... big step. There were moments when I wanted to cry, but I LOVE how it turned out. Later tonight we'll see if he loves it - that's what really counts!!

TAG - You're It!!

Anna has a fascination with tags. She chews on cloth book tags, stuffed animal tags, and here she found the tag on a comforter!





She is not alone in this. I think all my kids have enjoyed gnawing on tags! Oh well, it's better than gnawing on stinky diapers!! ;)

Date Nights

So we have been doing Date Nights with our children for 2 months now and they LOVE it!! They are always talking about and planning their next date and it is fun to hear their ideas. Usually they have a list of 10 things they would like to do, but we only have time to do 2 or 3!!

Here's how we do it: Thayne and I take turns taking one child "out." There is one kids date per week, so each child gets about one date a month.

If they went out with Daddy the first time, the next date is with Mommy, etc...

We also give them some money and they get to decide if or how they will spend it. They can use it to go out to eat, to go to an arcade, etc.. or they can save it up for whatever.

'Out' doesn't always mean 'out.' Usually the kids love for us to play games with them. Mario Kart is a favorite. Hyrum loves to play with Play-Doh. They all love an Ice Age game we got for Christmas!

We also try to have a special treat.

There you have it. That's our new system and it has been great to be able to spend a little extra quality time - one on one - with each of our kiddos!! They are sooo worth it!

Anna's at 9 months

Anna is 9 months old, weighs 18 lbs. 2 oz., is 28 inches long, has 3 teeth now - 2 on bottom one on top, can wave good-bye and hello, can climb up the stairs - but is not interested in learning to come down, can use toys and furniture to walk, and has a beautiful smile and beautiful blue eyes. She is very much a Mommy's Girl - which I secretly LOVE - until someone else has to watch her! :) She also gives hugs and kisses (but has done that for a while - I just love them and decided to mention that again!!)

Here are two new ways I have done Anna's Hair since she has soooo much of it!! ;) You may have to look closely, but they are there, I pormise!

The Ponytail:



Pigtails:

Jam Time!

So here are my stats for this years Jam:

This year I made 2 different types of Jam - Cooked and Freezer. I used 16 pounds of Strawberries, 20 pounds of sugar, and 8 boxes of Pectin - that yeilded: 10 quarts of cooked jam, and 15 - 1 cup jars of freezer jam.

In case you are going to make cooked jam, you might find it usful to know that 2.5 pounds of berries is about 5 cups (enough for a batch), which will yeild 2 quarts of jam.

As this was my first time ever making cooked jam, let me offer some advice:

BEWARE!! The cooked jam splatters were out of control. I had a 2 foot radius of jam splatters around my kitchen... on the floor, stove, microwave, and cupboards. Also, I recommend wearing socks and an oven mitt while cooking to minimize burns!!

On a more positive note, I love this jam because in the event of an emergency we have some food storage, and if we experience a power outage, it will not spoil!!

If you are interested in freezer jam - a much safer alternative, about one pound of berries will make one batch, which will yield 5 - 1 cup jars.


Either way, you use lots of sugar and get a sticky kitchen afterwards!!

What Do You Do With Dirty Diapers??

So after I change a diaper, I usually throw the diaper in the direction of the trash can. Because it faces the wrong way, it's not like playing basketball, the diaper will never get in the trash. Then I will go get the diaper and throw it out...

Unless I forget... and Anna gets to it first!! AHHHHHH! EWWWwwwwww...



**P.S. In an effort to put your minds somewhat at ease after seeing this... the super nasty explosion diapers NEVER get thrown... because they might, well, EXPLODE again. The most nasty diapers go into a plastic bag and then straight into the trash. :)