random pics

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure

Take the picture already, before she wiggles away!

We're chillin'

My three kids. Ahhhh. . .aren't they cute?

Closeup please!

Wahoo! We score another for the girl team.

Looks like I'll be digging out the pink and purple clothes. We're having a girl! Very exciting! We were thinking that it would be nice to have a boy to keep in rhythm with what we already have; girl, boy, girl, (this is where boy comes next). But it's always fun to mix things up! Now my dilemma is figuring out a name. I had a boy name, but no girl name. And yes, while I do have four months to figure it out, I want to figure it out now! I have always known what I wanted to name my babies and this one has just thrown everything out of whack.

I showed the kids the ultrasound pictures yesterday. Obviously, ultrasound pictures aren't all that clear and it's hard to figure out what is what. But there is a very good shot of a leg and foot and one of her little face. She has pouty little lips! So cute! Anyway, when I showed them to E she exclaimed, "It's a miracle that this is a picture of the baby!" I was quite taken aback by her statement (it seemed like something an old wise person would say, not my five year old) and told her that it really was a miracle indeed!

If you have any name suggestions, send them my way. I'll be searching names frantically until I find the perfect one!

Not Much

Hmmm. . .life goes on. Most days are the same. We're pretty much home bodies and just like being home. The other week however, my life was quite hectic. There was something scheduled for every single day of the week. I had to give a talk on Mother's Day. The next day was hubby's birthday. The next day I had to run all sorts of errands in preparation for the rest of the week. The next day was E's birthday. The next day I had to make a dessert for a church function. The next day was a church family carnival. The next day I had to teach a class to some scouts and throw a birthday party for E. Needless to say, I collapsed in a heap on the floor after the birthday party and said, "No more!" I was done.

I don't mind being involved in lots of activities. I just have a hard time when there is something every single day. I don't know what I'll do when my children are older and are involved in many different activities. I would rather have more together time at home than be involved in every activity available. I think it's best for my family and for my sanity! I guess we'll find a balance when we get there.

Picture update

That's mud folks, not chocolate. This girl loves her some mud! Yuck!

Little Miss, swimming in a sea of cheerios. No, I did not pose this. She dumped out an entire package of cheerios all over the kitchen and when I found her, she was "swimming".

The new car.

The new "do".

Too Much and Not Enough

I have too much to do and not enough time. I am too much behind and have not enough energy to get ahead, or even caught up for that matter. Sigh. I go through phases in life where I am good at something for a while. And then it becomes too much, and I give up for a while. Example; this little blog. I was good for a while, and then it all kind of slipped by the wayside. So, in official update fashion, here is me and my life lately. I am, thankfully, over the morning sickness. YEA!!! That was not fun! I find that I have little energy though, which is not surprising considering I have three little ones at home and a baby inside! I usually get up and try to do as much as I can around the house in the morning. We have lunch around 12:00 at which point I then put Sophie down for her nap, put the kids in front of a movie for their rest time, and myself in bed for a nap as well. It keeps me sane. After nap time, I get up and play with the kids for a while and then get dinner going. Dearest hubby has been working late the last few weeks so the kiddos and I have dinner, then we clean up and get ready for bed. And that folks, is my day. It's pretty much the same day in and day out. But I can't complain!

S has turned into a little bit of a monster lately. I think she's hit that "terrible two" stage. She's still a sweetie, but she can be a little spit fire! She has decided her best line of defense against her siblings is pinching, biting, and pulling hair. (Where do kids come up with these things? I don't teach them that!) She has become acquainted with the corner (a.k.a. time out) and she does not like it one bit. Lately, she has been very clingy and wants me to hold her a lot. So my mornings are a bit exhausting with her little tantrums and her wanting to be held all the time.

M, I think, has finally turned the corner with potty training. Hallelujah! It was a long hard battle but I think, think, that he has it down. I still expect the occasional accident, but not an everyday accident.

E is my big helper and has been taking on more responsibility. She's my go to girl! She is officially registered for kindergarten and that's a whole other long, involved story. But she's good to go and asks me almost every single day when she gets to go to "big kid school".

And life goes on. There's still too much to do and too much going on and I simply don't have enough time or enough energy or enough whatever to always do it all, but I do the best I can and carry on!

Grab some tissues

I just watched a short video on a touching story. And I cried and cried. It was such a beautiful story and sometimes you just need to cry. So if you want to see something beautiful go here and learn about Eliot.

Sneezing and cars.

On top of the lovely morning sickness I enjoy each day, I have also caught a terrible cold. I can't breathe! It's one of those whole body colds. I ache everywhere. And the pressure in my head is intense. Blah!

But moving on! We bought a car last Friday. How's that for exciting!? We have been a one car family for our entire married life (almost six years which really isn't that long, but. . .). When we got married, dearest hubby had a car and I didn't. That car was with us for 3 1/2 years before it became increasingly difficult to handle. Trips to the mechanic shop were becoming much too frequent and expensive for that matter. So, we shopped around and found a really good deal on a rebuilt Dodge Durango. We got it at the end of 2004 and it was officially my car, but really, since we only had one car it was both of ours. It has been a great vehicle and it seats seven. We plan on having it for a very long time.


Anyway, we decided to get a second vehicle because our lives are becoming more hectic and the convenience of two cars is something we want to experience. It has been very nice so far! I don't have to worry about taking hubby to work and picking him up for lunch and making sure our schedules work together. He can go somewhere and I can go somewhere completely different all at the same time! Isn't that amazing! We got a Hyundai Azera and I really like it. It's fun to drive a car instead of a huge beast. Of course, parking them both in our minuscule garage is a joke and I'll have to take a picture of how absurd it looks. But we are definitely liking the two car concept!

A hiatus of sorts

I have neglected my blog the last little while. But that's only because my mom was in town visiting and I was having too much fun with her. And of course there's always the morning sickness factor which continues to be a part of my EVERY DAY life. Today is one of those bad sickness days. Blah! Anyway, just wanted to address my absence and say I should be back to posting soon. Happy Friday everyone!

Haircut Saga

I've had severe hair trauma since moving to my current location. Trauma, because I don't have a hair person here. I don't have someone I trust to do my hair. I think a good hair person is an essential in life. I had a good hair person for a very long time. Heidi, one of my best friends, did my hair for the longest time. And she always knew exactly what I wanted even when I didn't know what I wanted. I could just mumble a few phrases like, "I need more. . .and I want something different, like. . .and I want. . ." No, I don't think I ever provided more information than that. She just seemed to know what would work with my hair and it always did. Even better, she would come to my house to do my hair. Isn't that great? I think all stylists should make house calls.

Anyway, so I grew my hair out for three years and finally decided to do something with it. However, since I moved far, far away from my favorite hair person, I didn't have a hair person. But I rationalized that any hair person should do because after all, they all go to school and have to pass those tests and get licensed. Any hair person should do, right? Well, I was so wrong! I went to a little place up the street. No fancy salons for me! I can't stomach paying $60 for a haircut and $100 for highlights. Anyway, I went in, told the girl that I wanted a few inches off and some layers. My hair, when I went in, was midway down my back. When she was done with me, it was to my shoulders. Did we some how miss the part about A COUPLE OF INCHES!?! I even pointed and showed her how much to cut off and how much not to cut off. I guess when you pay $10 for a haircut, you get a $10 haircut.

I went home and tried to make it work, but it was awful. The layers were all choppy and uneven and I hated it. So two weeks later I went to another place up the street. I explained to the new stylist, in great detail, the trauma I experienced during my last haircut (hoping to instill in her the dire need for her to get it right!) I decided to chop off those ghastly layers and go for a cute bob. (I use to keep my hair short all the time and really loved it) Luckily, she understood what I was trying to communicate and my hair turned out cute.

I decided later that I really like myself with long hair more than short hair, so I am currently growing it out. (That last haircut was 10 months ago). But I really needed a change. My hair has been so flat and lifeless. So, off to another little place up the street. (Yes, there are at least three, wait, no there are four hair salons up the street from me.) This time (as in Friday night) I went with pictures and very specific instructions. I wanted highlights and body. I wanted to keep my length, but give a little more umph to my hair. And I think I found a new hair person. She was very patient with me as I explained what I needed and wanted. And I like my new haircut. It's different than anything I've ever had. I have highlights and layers and umph! And if I had anymore energy to spare, I would post a picture. But I'll just have to do that later. While it doesn't beat having my hair person come to me and not charge me an outrageous sum of money, I think that I have found my hair person and hopefully my hair trauma will be minimal now!

A different look at Mary Poppins

I think this is funny.

Wallowing

I've been wallowing in my nauseous misery for the past few days. (In case any of my avid readers were wondering!) I'll try to do some posting tomorrow. Until then, I will go wallow some more. Blah!

Babies Laughing

Isn't this so cute and funny!?!

All day sickness

I've had it pretty easy with my pregnancies. I don't get really sick and I've never thrown up. I have been nauseous, but nothing too bad. I was never sick at all when I was pregnant with Sophie. Well, it hit me on Tuesday. Blah! Why is it called Morning Sickness when it happens whenever and can last forever? I have been nauseous, constantly, for three days now. It really puts a damper on anything I try to do. There are varying degrees of my nausea (there have been a few times when I have hovered over the toilet) but it's constant. And I don't like it! I can do things in the morning for short spurts of time. But my afternoons are completely wasted. The only thing that makes me feel somewhat better is to lay down. On the bright side, I know that compared to others, this is nothing. It's just something new to me and I am adjusting. Man, I thought I had everything down!

In other random news. Can I just ask what in the world is up with American Idol? I mean, who is voting? Don't get me wrong, I think Sanjaya is a cute kid and all. And he certainly can sing better than me, but come on! He just doesn't have what the other contestants have. He has no volume or umph. Why is he still on the show? Why? Okay, stepping down now.

The Baby Bump

Is it possible to show when you are five weeks pregnant? I've gained seven pounds since I got pregnant. And my pants don't fit anymore. I put on my most favorite pair of jeans yesterday (favorite because they fit perfectly and they are stretchy and comfortable) and well, let's just say that seven extra pounds fills out those jeans to a tight-jean look you don't want to see. Tight in as, "Oh my goodness, how does she breathe in those!" Ummm. . .that's not suppose to happen yet! I have never shown this early. I could understand showing earlier with a second pregnancy, but this is my fourth! The earliest I have started showing was at four months. Did I mention I've never shown this early? Okay, maybe other people can't tell. But I can because my pants don't fit. Yes, I already said that too. I'm just a little confused. Time to pull out the next size pants. Luckily, I have mutliple sizes because I don't like wearing maternity clothing. I have varying sizes because I am varying sizes on my way up and on my way down. Sigh.

Time Out for Me

I went to "Time Out For Women" last Saturday. As in a week and a few days ago Saturday. Anyway, it's a one day women's conference with a bunch of motivational speakers and music. It was absolutely wonderful! I would strongly recommend going to one if you get the chance. It was sold out but my neighbor managed to get some tickets so she invited me and off we went. It was great to go and hear talks geared specifically to mothers and women. And no, I'm not alone in feeling overwhelmed and crazy in this whole motherhood journey. The whole day I felt like every speaker was speaking to me and telling me I was okay and doing a good job. It was beautiful! And the music was great too!

Another cool thing. We got to the conference early so we could get good seats and as we were standing in line a gentleman came up to me and stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Michael McLean." I was quite surprised, and replied, "Yes, yes you are!". He then asked me my name and said he was happy to meet me. I felt pretty special. Michael McLean was the host for the conference and shared lots of great stories about his music.

Anyway, again, if you've never gone to "Time Out For Women" or even heard about it, you should check it out and try to go. It will soooooooo be worth it! You can learn more about it by going here.

The Distortion Of Beauty

This is an amazing video. And I'm not going to go all postal and get up on a soap box about this. But really, what is real beauty? Makes you wonder what those people in magazines really look like!

Homemaking Meme

As if you haven't heard enough from me for one day! I tell ya, I just get in a writing frenzy sometimes! And then a complete lack thereof all the other times. Anyway, here is a little homemaking meme. ("meme" is just a get-to-know you type of thing. And this one is about how I homemake!)

Aprons – Y/N? YES! I have just recently fallen in love with aprons. They make me feel pretty! I can still wear nice clothing at home and not worry about getting it messed up if I've got my apron on!

Baking – Favorite thing to bake? Bread

Clothesline – Y/N? Nope

Donuts – Have you ever made them? No. We use to have a donut shop though. Does that count?

Every day – One homemaking thing you do every day? Just one? The dishes, make beds, clean the house. . . .etc.

Freezer – Do you have a separate deep freeze? Yes! Although, right now it serves as my workshop table out in the garage.

Garbage Disposal – Y/N? Yes. See here.

Handbook – What is your favorite homemaking resource? Hmm… good question. I guess I read articles and such on the internet. Most of the time I just pull something out of my head and hope it works. And if it doesn't then I ask the women in my life.

Ironing – Love it or hate it? What's ironing? I'm not meant to iron. I haven't ever owned an ironing board. Okay, we owned one for a few months, but then it broke. I took that as a sign.

Junk drawer – Y/N? Where is it? YES!!! I have junk drawers, junk cupboards and a few junk closets. Too much junk!

Kitchen – Color and decorating scheme? My kitchen? I forgot to post the picture. I'll do that later. Anyway, my kitchen has white walls which I wish were (wow, say that five times fast! white walls which I wish were) red. I have generic oak cabinets that I wish were anitque white. I have a fruit theme for my decor, although I am thinking of redoing it. Any ideas?

Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking? The results of my efforts. I love a clean, orderly house. I love fresh, clean clothes. I love a healthy, delicious meal. I love coordinating and decorating my home so that it feels like home.

Mop – Y/N? Yes, well swiffer!

Nylons – Wash by hand or in the washing machine? I have yet to convert to nylons. I haven't worn them since I tried to put on a pair while pregnant with my first child. Don't go there!

Oven – Do you use the window or open the oven to check? I open the door; the window does not give me the view I need.

Pizza – What do you put on yours? I like everything! Well, pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, onions, olives, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese.

Quiet – What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? I like to read, either a book or on the internet, or I'll watch a show at night.

Recipe card box – Y/N? Yes, and several papers of varying sizes with recipes hurriedly written upon, along with magazines and cookbooks.

Style of house – What style is your house? Nothing fancy, just a modern two-story home. Four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths. The exterior is part brick and part siding. The color is a pale yellow with sage green trim (shutters and the door). I always wanted to live in a yellow house!

Tablecloths and napkins – Y/N? Uggg. . .I fail. I don't even own a tablecloth. How un-homemaking is that? I need to do better. Tablecloths are so pretty! And we use paper towels for napkins. Another uggg. I will improve!

Under the kitchen sink – Organized or toxic wasteland? Organized, but needs to be wiped down.

Vacuum – How many times per week? At least once, sometimes twice. (Note: I don't usually vacuum. It has fallen under the "Hubby's Duty" for some reason. I think he likes to vacuum!)

Wash – How many loads of laundry do you do per week? Depends on where we are in the rotation of clothing. If the kids still have clean clothes, we keep going! Okay, ummm. . .maybe 4-5. I should just conquer this whole laundry thing!

X’s – Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off? Sometimes. I know I do better when I make a list and then can cross off my accomplishments. I just need to do it more!

Yard – Y/N? Who does what? Hubby pretty much does the majority of yard work. I'm suppose to keep the weeds down, but I swear they grow unnaturally, in fact I dare say freakishly, fast here!

Zzz’s – What is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? I start the dishwasher, make sure the kitchen is tidy, and climb in bed!

A few items of housekeeping to address

I've done some remodeling here at the porch! Can you tell? I also added a shoutbox over there on the right. Drop me a line! (Really, just type me a hello or something. I had another shout box way back, but no one ever joined me in talking to myself!) Anyway, that's all for now.

Of TV and such things

In college, I wrote a huge long paper about TV. The title of my paper was, "The Negative Effects of Television on the Family Structure." It was a ten page research paper addressing the way that TV has changed our world and how it has affected the basic foundation of society, the family. After doing my research and writing the paper I vowed that I would never have TV in my house. I stopped watching TV just before writing this paper and I didn't watch TV for six years.

Well, I still agree with the paper I wrote. I feel like the TV is a huge waste of time and can negatively affect the relationships and development of a family. However, I now watch TV. I have found that at this point in my life it is just something I enjoy. And yes, my kids watch TV. In the chaos that is my life (insert: three small children at home 24/7), TV is an escape for everyone. For the children while I need to do other things and for me when I need to not think, do, or be anything. Right now, I need that. Maybe in a couple of years I will see the "light" again and turn off the TV. As it stands, my TV time is the time of day when I just sit and let myself be entertained. I don't have to worry about doing anything. I don't think about all of the things I need to do and all of the things I haven't done and all of the things I should do. I just veg. I don't think vegging is something that should be done all the time. I allot myself a little vegging time each night. It's my way to unwind and forget about all the worries that come with being a mother.

I have many shows that I like to watch. And thanks to the beautiful device that is DVR, my TV time is fully optimized. We never watch our shows until the kiddos are tucked into bed. So here is the run down on the shows I watch (and yes, it probably is way too much, but I'm enjoying it for the present time):

Monday: Heroes and 24

Tuesday: American Idol and House

Wednesday: American Idol, Friday Night Lights, and Lost

Thursday: American Idol, The Office, and Grey's Anatomy

Now, not all of these shows are on every week, what with reruns, other specials that premier, and the show taking a brief hiatus. And with my DVR I can watch my show when I want and without commercials. Like I said, fully optimized TV watching.

It seems like a lot. I know, it probably is. But I don't watch any TV during the day and in the end, with the handy DVR (never watch TV without it), I watch about an hour and half a day. And I'm happy with that.

Ahem. . .ahem. . .I have an announcement to make!

Baby number four is on the way! And we are soooooo excited! Aren't those feet cute? They belong to Miss Sophie. Anyway, we just found out about being pregnant so we have a long way to go, but still very exciting. It was high time for some new and exciting events around here.

Dishes and cleaning

I like doing dishes. Odd, I know, but I do. I can't stand laundry. But I love doing dishes and I just realized today why. I was standing at my kitchen sink today, doing the dishes; looking out the window at the beautiful view (read: the wall of my neighbor's house ten feet away) and listening to the water running and just thinking. There's something about scrubbing something clean and letting my thoughts all tumble out. It's very calming and cleansing to me. I scrub the dishes clean and my thoughts just flow and I feel like I'm talking to an old friend and just letting everything out. Okay, that sounds psycho. But it's something that I do and I'm weird!

I've realized that in order for me to be a nice person, I have to have a clean house. I literally function better emotionally and mentally when my house is clean. And I am a bit obsessive about the whole cleaning thing. Well, decluttering thing. I have to do it early in the morning, otherwise my whole day goes to pot and nothing else get done. I am a creature of routine or I am nothing. So when it comes to my obsessive decluttering regimen it means that all the clutter that comes with a family has to be neatly put away. The bedrooms have to be free of clothes and toys and beds have to be made. My kitchen counters have to be cleared of junk. Floors aren't allowed any clutter or junk. There are a few places that I store the miscellaneous junk of life, but said junk is behind closed doors in a relatively neat pile. I guess in the chaos of my life when there is so much that I have no control of, having a clean, clutter-free house is my way to maintain sanity, and some control of my universe. Plus, even though I don't always enjoy cleaning, it sure is nice to do the work and see the finished result. And the affects of the result (clean house=sane me) are me being a nice, sane person!

Wii're having fun!

We recently purchased a Nintendo Wii. We looked everywhere for one for Christmas, but with no luck. (Probably because they only made like 200 and they only stocked them on Sundays and everyone else bought them so they could turn around and sell them for $400). But anyway, we got on a waiting list way back in December and then got a call a couple of weeks ago saying that we were next in line. So we bought one. Because you still can't find a Nintedo Wii anywhere. Oh and because it's tons of fun to play too.

We were able to play one over Christmas break and had a blast. I've started exercising everyday and I can definitely get a workout playing the Wii with the boxing game. Now how retarded is that? I play a video game to workout. And obviously this would not work with any other game system, but with the Wii it does. I'll admit, I can box without moving all over the place. But to get my workout, I like to jog in place and really throw my punches. It's lots of fun! I'm looking forward to getting a few more games to enhance my workout, uhhh, I mean gaming expertises.

I guess if you don't have the time to go out and play baseball, tennis, golf, or bowling then the Wii is the perfect solution. Or, if you are like me and just can't play any of those games in real life to save your life, then you have the Wii. I can throw a mean splitter in baseball! And don't even get me going with bowling. I have yet to perfect my tennis swing, but I'm getting better. And all I can say about boxing is, watch out!

Can it get any poopier?

Go here. Read the post entitled "If There's Pride, You Know a Fall is Coming!" Laugh. Cry. Because really, if that happened to me, I would probably be laughing and crying hysterically at the same time. I've had my share of poopy expriences, but I can't top that one.

These are cool!

Have you seen these? My sister in-law introduced them to me while we were out for the holidays. They are just absolutely wonderful! What are they, you ask? It's cough medicine in a cute little strip. You know, like those Listerine breath strips that you put on your tongue and dissolve? Triaminic Thin Strips are the same thing, except it's a dose of cough medicine, not mouthwash! These were an absolute lifesaver on our trip. Pouring cough medicine into a little cup while traveling in the car across the country is not a clean thing to do. So instead, I simply got some of these, unwrapped them and stuck them on the kiddos tongues. No spills, no drips, no mess! Fantastic! I have totally converted over to them. No more sticky cough medicine bottles for me thanks!

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Today the doorbell rang, followed by a knock, and then a loud "clank, clank" from the door knocker. Okay, that's one thing that will get me irritated fast, especially during naptime! Fine, ring the doorbell, but then to knock and then use the door knocker, well that is just rude. Not the best impression to make when you are trying to sell something. So I opened the door up wide enough for me to stick my head out. There was a kid there, I'm guessing college, I don't really know. He starts talking and it went something like this, "Hey, we're just in the area trying to get points for our ROTC group to go to Washington, D.C. and if you could just help me out with some points that wold be great!" He then hands me some papers and stands there. Uhhhh. . .what? So I say to him, "So what exactly. . ." At which point, he interrupts me to say, "Well basically it's, well to answer your question, well if I knew your question I could probably answer it better." Uh, ya'think? Obviously this kids mind reading ability is a bit lacking.

Apparently, if I bought a magazine subscription from him he would get a certain amount of points depending on the subscription I decided on. Of course, he didn't explain any of this to me. I was only able to figure it out because I've had other people stop at my door for the same thing. I'm not really one for magazine subscriptions. I'm already subscribed to the few I like. I told him that I would not be able to help him at this time. He then says that everyone else is buying at least two. Well, then, if everyone else is doing it! I then said that it wasn't in the budget for the month (I love blaming things on the budget!) Then he tells me that if I write a check it won't go through for at least two weeks. Sorry, no thanks! Then he says that he'll just have to stand out on my door step pounding on my door until I change my mind (thanks, you already did that and no, it wasn't that great). At this point in the conversation I say no thanks, and shut the door.

Moral of the story:

To those pounding on the doors of homes with small young children sleeping: if you are selling something, be nice and polite, explain who you are and what you are doing, and explain clearly and exactly what you are selling and why it's so great. And don't pound on the door!

To those whose doors are being pounded on: don't open the door!

Welcome and Come on in!

As promised, here is my home. There are a few rooms missing because they are not clean yet so I will post them later. But we'll start at the beginning. This is my entryway/front door. This is suppose to be the diningroom just off of the entryway but we use it as a whatever room. Our computer is in here right now.
This is the hallway to the kitchen, laundry room, and half-bath. I like to think of it as my little gallery.
The impressive half-bath. It needs some decorating help.
The family room looking from the entryway.
The family room looking from my "gallery".

The family room looking toward the front door.

The long wide stairs. (I love the extra wide stairs!)

The Masterbath.

The master bedroom

The Master Bedroom again.

The "gameroom" but we use it as another whatever room.

The upstairs bathroom.

E's bedroom

E's bedroom again.

And still to come, M's room, S's room, the kitchen and my super-cool pantry. Maybe the laundry room and garage. If I'm picture happy!

This and That

Our garbage disposal quit working the other day. Great, I thought. Our house is just barely a year old and our garbage disposal is broken! So I dutifully searched out and located our home warranty information to see if it was covered. Nope. Then I went through the individual manuals and warranties for our various appliances. Nope. So then I looked under the sink at the stupid contraption to see what I could see. Not much, except for a 1-800 number for service. Great! At least I didn't have to figure out who to call. I proceeded to dial the number and prepared myself to be on hold for heaven knows how long. As I was waiting to talk to a live human, I noticed a small sticker on the garbage disposal that pointed to a reset button. "Huh." I thought. And so I pushed it. Just then I was transferred to a real live person on the phone and she very happily directed me to push the said reset button that I had already pushed. And yes, it worked. Apparently if the machine gets overheated it automatically turns off and you simply have to push the magic red button and it works again. Walaa! We no longer have a "broken" garbage disposal. It was simply overworked.

I'm making my new favorite food for dinner tonight. Chicken quesadillas. So very, very yummy. If I get around to it, I'll post the recipe. Actually, there's really not a recipe, just directions.

Anywho, not much to report on. I did manage to get the house in presentable order and I did take pictures of my house while in that presentable order. So tomorrow I will give you the "tour".

Note to self. . .

Never buy the cheapest, smallest refrigerator you can find. The above picture is NOT my refrigerator but wouldn't it be nice to own that? When we moved to a new house we needed a refrigerator. So, wanting to keep expenses low, we bought the cheapest new one we could find. And it's really small! I don't know the cubic feet, but it's small. I literally can't fit leftovers in this fridge. There's enough room for the basics like milk, eggs, a few fresh veggies and fruit. But that's it. And when I say cheap I mean cheap in every sense of the word. If you open the door wrong, the shelves in the door become unattached and everything falls out of them. The shelves kind of bow when you have too many gallons of milk on them (by too many I mean 3). The one drawer we have sticks and is difficult to open and shut. And did I mention it's small? Grrrrrr!

I don't know when we will replace our current cooling device, but I doubt it will be anytime soon. Because really, it serves its purpose (be it small and cheap). I can't see us spending money on a new fridge because if we were going to spend that much money, it would probably be on something else. So for now, I will just complain about my small fridge and drool over big ones that have multiple drawers and shelves and water and ice that comes with the push of a button and built in TV's and plenty of surface area to tack on kids art work and calendars and notes and pictures. For now, I will stand tall (er. . .I mean taller) by my fridge because it's all I got!

And just for the fun of it, here is a description for the above refrigerator:

As technology has evolved over the years, kitchen tech has unfortunately lagged behind. LG is doing its best to make up for lost time with its new LSC27990TT LCD TV Refrigerator ($3500-$3700; Q2). While keeping its food-storing attributes fresh — it is a refrigerator after all — it also features a 15" LCD TV in the right side door that is cable-ready and has connectors for a DVD player, as well as a 4" LCD above the left door ice/water dispenser that features weather reports, date/time, calendar, recipies, and a personal photo album you can populate via a USB port. Other features include an in-door ice maker that frees up more space for food, an Opti-Fresh crisper that keeps food good longer by using an indirect cooling system, and a Grab-n-go door basket, wine rack, and tilting door bins. Emeril would be proud.

Uhhh. . .hello? Nice, but maybe too nice!

Is there anybody out there?

Okay, I realize that there are probably only like two people who read this blog. But just for the sake of wondering, I'm going to ask if there is anyone else out there who reads here. If you read my small, sometimes pathetic, ramblings would you mind leaving a comment to this post that you really are out there reading this.

I think that I am going to do a picture tour of my house next week. I will post pictures of my home so those who haven't seen it can! I know, I know, that's probably not exclamation worthy, but there it is anyway. I first need to clean my house and then I will post a few pictures a day. I am really into decorating right now, so it's fun to see everything finally coming together.

Ahhh. . .well, I've run out of ramblings for the day. So, until next time!

Nevermind

So apparently I don't know what I'm talking about when I say it's high time for some life changing event to take place. We are NOT moving. It seemed as though everything was headed that direction (to move) and then suddenly, things changed and we are not moving. We will be staying put for the time being. I am a little disappointed because I really like the town we would have moved to. But it's all good! There are lots of good things about not moving.

We don't have to sell our house

Our family won't be separated

We have so many wonderful friends and neighbors here

We love our ward

We might be able to do some home improvements

So there are lots of positives. I guess we will just have to come up with something else for our big life changing event. Okay, it's dinner time and the kids are grumpy.

See ya later!

Gypsies

I have been married for almost six years. (Holy cow!) I have moved six times. And no, we are not military. That's a lot, I think. I guess we just like change. We've lived in three different apartments and three different houses. The longest amount of time we have lived anywhere was for 15 months. Sheesh! We have now been in this house for 14 months and, well, it's getting time to move again.

I was going to write a Christmas letter this year to update all of our friends and family about the happenings in our family. But when I sat down to write it, there wasn't much to report. I'm not complaining at all. It's been nice to have a "normal" year. 2005 was crazy with moving across the country, buying and selling houses, having a baby. The only thing I could think to write about for 2006 was to say that we didn't do any of the things that we did in 2005. I guess our lives don't stay the same for long. And I was thinking that based on our history, we have been long over due for some major changes in our lives. And wouldn't you know, last week something big happened.

I can't go into too many details yet because things aren't completely finalized, but it is a big change. It would be us moving to another town about four hours away. I want to do it. The town we would be moving to is small. I love small towns! We live in a huge city right now, lost in suburbia. The town we would move to is just so cute. Housing is little more expensive, but still doable. I hope that we get to go there. Of course, the down side to all of this is that I would be left behind to sell the house while hubby goes there to work. I hate selling houses! So that part isn't good, but I think that moving to this small town would be really good for our family. I hope that it works out and things go smoothly. I guess we will find out soon enough, so I will update when I know more.

I heart Jack Bauer

Okay, I've decided to jump on the "24" blogging bandwagon. I've been reading elsewhere in the blogosphere about the upcoming "24" season premiere and since it's a date this household has been waiting for, well. . .here is my post about "24".

My husband and I first met Jack Bauer in season three. We rented a DVD with four episodes on it and I think went back the very next day to get the next four episodes. It didn't take long for us to get hooked. I've read about the "Just One More" phenomenon that accompanies Jack-watching and we have succumbed to it as well. One episode of Jack Bauer isn't enough. I like my Jack in many doses. I found myself saying many times after the end of an episode, "Just One More?!!!" And so it went as we finished season three and then moved on to 1, 2, and 4. Then we got TV so we could watch season 5 each week, and let me tell you, that was a killer! Only one episode at a time? Serious? How can I only watch Jack one episode at a time? But we did, because we love Jack Bauer!

Obviously, this isn't a show for children. We would watch the seasons we rented late at night after the kiddos were in bed. But when we watched it on TV at it's regularly scheduled time, I'm afraid that our kids got a few glimpses of Jack here and there. Usually because we were so enthralled with watching that we didn't notice that our daughter and snuck (not a word, I know) out of bed and was watching on the stairs behind us! Whoops! Anyway, needless to say, she's seen enough of Jack to know he's one cool guy.

We got two fish for Christmas last year. They went without names for months because, well, I don't know why. Anyway, finally, one day I said to Emma, "Emma, what should we name the fish?" She thought for a minute and then without blinking, promptly replied, "Kya and Jack Bauer". And so we named our fish Jack Bauer. He eventually died, not living up to his namesake, but he was a goldfish so that's okay. He actually lived for a good nine months and I think that's pretty long for a goldfish.

And finally, for those of you who love Jack Bauer too:

Basic Truths About Jack Bauer

• Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
• If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
• If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
• Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
• If it tastes like chicken, looks like chicken, and feels like chicken, but Jack Bauer says its beef. Then you better believe it's beef.
• Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
• 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
• Let's get one thing straight: the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
• Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
• Jack Bauer played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
• When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer hates lemonade. Jack Bauer once won a game of Connect 4 in 3 moves.
• Osama bin Laden's recent proposal for truce is a direct result of him finding out that Jack Bauer is, in fact, still alive.
• Jack Bauer is the leading cause of death in Middle Eastern men.
• Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
• When Jack Bauer was a child, he made his mother finish his vegetables.
• Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
• Simon Says should be renamed to Jack Bauer Says because if Jack Bauer says something then you better do it.
• Jack Bauer won the Tour de France on a unicycle to prove to Lance Armstong it wasn't a big deal. He thinks yellow wristbands are gay.
• When Jack Bauer pees into the wind, the wind changes direction.
• Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
• When Google can't find something, it asks Jack Bauer for help.
• You can lead a horse to water. Jack Bauer can make him drink.
• Jack Bauer can get McDonald's breakfast after 10:30.
• When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Jack Bauer.
• In 96 hours, Jack Bauer has killed 93 people and saved the world 4 times. What the heck have you done with your life?
• Jack Bauer killed so many terrorists that at one point, the #5 CIA Most Wanted fugitive was an 18-year-old teenager in Malaysia who downloaded the movie Dodgeball.
• In kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for Show and Tell.
• What color is Jack Bauer's blood? Trick question. Jack Bauer does not bleed.
• Guns don't kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.
• If Jack and MacGyver were locked in a room together, Jack would make a bomb out of MacGyver and get out.
• People with amnesia still remember Jack Bauer.
• Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.
• Jack Bauer has been to Mars. That's why there's no life on Mars.
• Superman's only weakness is Kryptonite. Jack Bauer laughs at Superman for having a weakness.
• When Batman is in trouble, he turns on the Jack Bauer signal.
• It took Jack Bauer two minutes to beat a confession out of OJ.
• Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.

The words won't come

I've taken quite the hiatus (sp?)! Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year have all come and gone. I sometimes wonder why I try to blog. Most days I have absolutely no idea what to write about. And on the rare occasion that I think of something to write about, my mushy brain is unable to put the words together for it to be coherent. Sigh. . . what can ya do? I promise that at one point in my life I could write. And, I could write pretty good. Now I seem to have regressed and the words just won't come! It's quite frustrating. Is it possible to get dumber? I mean, I swear I use to know more. Maybe I haven't been stretching my brain muscles enough and they have gotten, well, mushy. Who knows? Anyway, the point, if there is a point, is that I want to write more. I want to not be mushy. I want to be funny and witty and at least appear intelligent. So I'll try. But you know me, I can't promise anything because I just get too sidetracked and overwhelmed sometimes.

Christmas was great this year (except for the fact that everyone got sick and was puking off an on for a week and we were stuck in the car for about 50 hours and. . .well, you get the picture.) Except for all that and a bunch of other little things, Christmas was good. We saw family and friends and had fun playing games and eating lots of good food. We drove home and got in on New Year's Eve. We put the kids down and tried to watch a movie, but gave up and went to bed at 10:30 (how pathetic). DH just happened to wake up at midnight and told me to look out the window at the fireworks. I opened half an eye and said, "Umpmhuf," which meant "Happy New Year", rolled over and went back to sleep. Quite the party animals.

Anyway, it's a New Year and it will be interesting to see what's in store for us. I've got goals, and hopefully I'll actually accomplish them!

Until next time. . .