Mom Post

Well it's Mother's Day, so I thought I'd put together a few of my most favorite things I thankful for about you, my Mother. (Anyone else who didn't get Mom something for Mother's Day may want to create a post as well.)  Having a child of my own has really opened up my eyes to the many sacrifices and blessings you have provided me.  First off, let me thank you for the hundreds of diapers you changed on my behalf in order to keep my bum fresh and clean.  I can't even imagine doing the clothe diaper thing, though I don't remember if this was still done on me or not.  Next comes the meals.  One of the things I hate most is to spend the time making a meal for Paxton only to have him turn his nose up and seal his lips shut.  I'm sure I did this as a child, but can definitely remember balking at some of the dinners Mom made for us as a kid and teenage.  I now realize how frustrating this can be and thank you Mom for all those meals that I didn't thank you for previously.  Then of course there's the chauffeuring.  I don't know how many times I got after Mom for being even a couple minutes late in picking me up or dropping me off.  As a kid I didn't think to consider that there's responsibilities other than taking care of my every need.  With all that you had to juggle, I thank you Mom for always being there and trying to make each of us feel special.  Having this last week away from Pax and Connie, I've come to realize how exhausting a time consuming a child can be.  And who can forget the relentless piano teaching.  I can remember blasting away over and over that stupid Wigwam song only to try to annoy you into letting me quit.  You endured a lot through those piano years, and though I have yet to thank you for the instruction (and will hold to the claim that I never will), I do thank you for your patience and longsuffering.

One final memory I wanted to share with you Mom is one that you may have forgotten, but still remains very dear to me.  I remember quite vividly a lesson taught in our Primary Class by a very stern and unique individual (I won't mention his name).  He hammered into our heads over and over that, "If you utter the words, 'I don't believe in Jesus Christ,' then you would go to hell."  I even remember him telling a story about a man having a gun pointed to his head and the shooter telling him to deny his belief in Christ or he would be killed.  I went home that day freaked out, but just like a kid being told not to throw rocks into the neighbors pool, I had to see what would happen if I did.  That night I remember being in bed (actually I was on those couch pillows sleeping in front of the fan in the hallway) and saying the words quietly under my breath, "I don't believe in Jesus Christ."  All of a sudden I was balling my eyes out.  I tried to take it back, prayed to say that I didn't mean it, even tried to sing primary songs, but nothing worked.  I thought for sure I was doomed to destruction and I was terrified.  It was at that point when I went and got Mom.  I told you what had happened, and together we knelt down and prayed in the living room.  I remember you told me everything was going to be ok, you told me that Heavenly Father still loved me, it was you who hugged me until I felt safe and loved once again.  Thank you Mom, for always being there.  Happy Mothers Day.

Manny

Toshi thought about coming to stay with us for a few months last year but things didn't work out. This year we begged and he made the trek down from Idaho right before Gary was born. PERFECT TIMING! He stayed from August to December and it was GLORIOUS to have him around. (PS in case you are trying to figure out how to lure him into living with you for 5 months try offering him a job that he'd love and then once he arrives tell him it isn't going to work out, but don't worry, we have plenty of stuff around here to keep you busy :) In the famous words of Ruby....SUCKAHHHHH!

Not only was he amazing with the kids, but he was also handy around the house! While he was here we finished painting almost every room, took down and painted all the doors (there are only like 24 in this house people....), replaced all the hardware on those doors, painted most of the trim with oil based paint (ugh), replaced all the outlets and switches - with only a few glitches :), painted the closet in Ruby's room with chalkboard paint (she loves it), spent hours installing several "10 minute" ceiling fans, put up all the outdoor christmas lights (only breaking 2 sprinkler heads in the process), removed some VERY stubborn wallpaper, cleaned the back porch roof - super gross, and removed a toilet (which did end in the calling of a plumber BUT also a toilet that no longer wobbles). He also did loads of yardwork, roof blowing, babysitting, and vacuuming. He was my side kick for a non stop, through the night, roadtrip up to Michigan (or more accurately I was HIS side kick). When our boat cover was slipping off during a torrential downpour he threw on a swimsuit and ran out with a bucket. After getting out most of the water he strapped down some extra tarps - what a guy! He read snow white a hundred thousand times and made the best fairy godmother when Ruby wanted to "play" cinderella.

This morning Ruby made cupcakes in her play kitchen and said, "this one is for uncle toshi. Where is he?" I explained that he left to go back to school. Ruby's response, "well let's just put it over here in case he comes back." We all miss him.

Tosh, if you get too cold in Idaho there is a fake cupcake here waiting for you on the window sill that you painted :)

Visit from a Princess and her Royal Subjects

Ruby loved this Sleeping Beauty costume that I found at a garage sale for $2.   She wore it almost every day and only took it off to play in the sandbox or to go out on an excursion. 

We went to the Country Basket and Ruby fed the goats.  When the goat's tongue tickled her hand, she laughed so hard that her gum fell out on the ground.  Ruby, the goat and Grampie all went for the gum at the same time and luckily Grampie got to it first! 

Ruby picked apples from the trees and chose a pumpkin at the Country Basket.

Ruby really liked playing in the corn at the Country Basket. 

Another day we waded in a creek at Townsend park hoping to see frogs but it was too cold.

Ruby helped make apple pie.  She was very busy the whole time she was in Michigan.  We had a lot of fun! 

What did Gary do while he was in Michigan????   He slept. 

And Slept....

And slept....  

Our first retirement project

Here is the finished project!  You can see that we should have ordered the window to fit as it looks a little strange.  What do you think?  We could take the shutters down and then it would probably look better.  Or we could move the shutters over the white... but that would be more work so maybe not.  :)

Well, I can see that you don't have to post photos in reverse order anymore... so you are going to see this process backwards:)  This was the second step.  After adding the 2x4's and wrapping the bottom, we put the window in and wrapped the sides.  We also put shims in all the way around. 

Here is the first step.  We put in the bottom wood and wrapped it and then put in the side wood to fill the spot. 

This is what the original window looked like.  All of the wood at the bottom was rotten.  So, Dad and I got the new window in and it really went smoothly.  Some steps Dad figured out and I totally didn't know what to do and other steps it was vice versa.  Nice teamwork!!!  New for us :)

Chicken and Puke

During Ruby's nap today I left to run a few quick errands with Gary. Halfway through the first he started to lose it. Cried all through checkout and the whole way to our second errand. I just wanted to pick up a rotisserie chicken at Walmart for dinner and I knew he wouldn't stop crying until I physically picked him up and took him out of the car seat, so I decided I could easily carry a chicken and a baby.

I ran in with Gary and bypassed the carts. I grabbed a chicken by the cardboard handle and made it about 5 feet before it broke off. Chicken down, grease everywhere, me standing there with a baby, no idea what to do next. I knew I couldn't pick it up with just one hand so I went back and grabbed a cart. On my way there Gary puked. BIG TIME. So now I'm covered in puke, trying to push a cart with one hand while I hold Gary in the other. Awesome.

I get to the chicken and realize I can't get it into the cart with just one hand. So I carefully lay Gary in the cart (this is where I start to get some very judgey glances from the other walmart customers). I grab the chicken real quick and then grab Gary. He was TOTALLY secure in the child area of the cart, wasn't worried for a second. Ok I was a little worried but what's up with nobody there helping me!? Less judgement, more help people! sheesh. Not my proudest mommy moment.

You Know That You're Cheap When:

1. A coupon is used at 90% of your restaurant outings.
2. The other 10% is McDonalds.
3. If needed, you make two separate transactions in order to use two coupons.
4. You have two separate grocery cards in order to cash in on twice the free goods.
5. You take both cars to double fill at the gas station to maximize gas rewards.
6. You pound 100+ shrimp at Red Lobster’s Endless Shrimp in order to get your monies worth (and yes, a coupon was used!)
7. Your eyes never stray from the Value Menu at a fast food joint.
8. Combo meals??? – never heard of them.
9. Any large purchases are postponed until Black Friday.
10. Your favorite moments come from finding “treasures” on the side of the road.
11. You wait six months on the wait list to get a free blockbuster from the library (just saw The Hobbit).
12. If it’s “Yellow” you let it “Mello.”
13. Every other date night is at Walmart.
14. Target is not in your budget.
15. You go through the apartment dumpster in order to snag awesome coupons others threw away.
16. You keep used Slurpee cups in your car in order to save 50 cents on a refill.

Tonight after getting a Slurpee refill we realized that we're probably the only ones to ever do that. 
Then we started recalling all of the cheap things we do and could not stop laughing.

Share your favorite cheap experiences with us, we'd love to hear them (or even use them). 

First Family Campout....Almost!

With all of the rain we've been getting and the fire bans lifted I decided it was time to take a family camping trip.  We had done a test run in the backyard a few months ago which Pax aced, so we were ready to go.  Ahhhh, maybe not.

Everything started off great.  Got to the campsite, and quickly found a free site.  It was really nice, but pretty close to the road.  We un-loaded and set up camp.  Paxton loved all the dirt and had a blast picking up all the random trash or "hidden treasures" left behind from other campers.  I gathered a nice pile of fire wood and quickly got the fire going.  This is where the trip got interesting.



The Mighty Eagle Scout!

Being the expert Eagle Scout that I am, fire building is a cinch.  In no time I had a nice little flame going.  Then to really get it going I bent down and started blowing.  After a couple blows, Connie told me to stop so I wouldn't get light-headed.  As the Eagle Scout, and a Macho Man, I of course knew my limits and added a couple more blows before stopping (I couldn't stop right then and let her think she was right in telling me when to stop blowing).  Well, as I stood up I immediately felt light-headed.  I staggered briefly and steadied myself on Connie's arms.  Then I began to lean into her as my eyes closed... and the next thing I know I'm on the ground with Connie yelling at me.  I heard a car coming down the road so I quickly jumped to my feet and started brushing dirt off, still not 100% sure what had just happened.  Connie, thinking it was a joke that had gone too far, is still asking me what the heck I am doing as she is laying on top of the wood pile.  When I told her I had blacked-out and didn't remember falling, she finally cut me some slack as I helped her off the ground.  A bruised butt for Connie and a "blow" to my pride as a Macho Man, gave us plenty to laugh about the rest of the night.


Pax and I sharing a little Root Beer.

Well, dinner was great.  Ate some hotdogs and roasted some marshmallows.  Put Paxton to sleep and let the fire die down.  As we went to bed we found it strange that cars were continuing to drive down the road well into the late night hours.  There was finally a lull in the traffic and we both fell asleep.  Our wonderful snooze was interrupted by a massive truck/trailer bouncing down the dirt road.  I woke up and thought it was morning, and I heard Pax over on the side utter his cute little sound, "Gloo."  He saw me peak my head up and excitedly began to climb over Connie to get to me.  He thought it was play-time, I thought it was morning, and Connie wondered what the heck was going on.  She explained that it was only 12 o'clock, and asked why we were up.  So, for the next hour Pax climbed about the tent as Connie and I laid on our mostly deflated, super uncomfortable air mattress.  Realizing that I wasn't going back to sleep, and Pax most definitely wasn't, we decided enough was enough and it was time to pack up and go home.  Lucky for us we were only 40 min. from home.  At 1 am we packed up the car, made a pit-stop at McDizzle, and headed home. 

All-in-all a great trip.  We got to enjoy the whole camping thing, AND sleep in our own bed, AND have a great fainting story.  Perfect first Family Campout.