Christmas Again

So I got my post in last night, and the time stamp was 20 minutes before actual time. I could have kept right on going... so I will... right here... right now...

Did I mention that we had a fire going for most of the day? I was glad that it was cold enough for it, and I am stoked that my husband is so into fireplaces now. He's like a new and improved model husband... the kind that likes lighting fires and no longer complains about "wasted" wall space where the fireplace is. I'm loving this.

He is a way cool daddy, too. Seth had been waiting for the last few days for "egg time". He won a "Cook with Daddy" reward with a token (frog program) grab, and Josh said that he planned to make loco mocos for dinner on Christmas Day. He told Seth he could help fry the eggs. So up until the minute, Seth kept asking "Is it egg time yet, Daddy?" When it was finally time, I was sitting at the kitchen table doing my own thing and listening to Josh teach Seth how to crack and open the egg into the pan. I smiled a little when I heard him tell Seth that he should get closer to the pan next time so that it doesn't splash all over and break the yolk. Seth cracked, flipped with a spatula, and cooked three eggs of which he ate two and I ate one. He was really proud.

The other two kids couldn't take it... they had to cook their own eggs, too. So even though they didn't win it, Josh taught each of them how to cook eggs. Sarah got the upgraded version where she flips the eggs in the pan without the spatula, and it was fun to hear Josh yelling his approval when she did it. Zack ended his cooking session with a little burn to his finger--it wasn't bad at all--and he made a smooth recovery complete with a built-in safety lesson about turning off the stove the minute something happens. He ran his finger under the tap and then a soak in ice water, and he was all good.

So even though dinner wasn't exactly like going out to kill it and drag it home for dinner, the kids were sure proud of having cooked their own eggs as if they did. It's nice that something so simple has the potential to turn into a top-ten Christmas memory. I hope this one stands out for them because it sure did for me.

I like doing crafty things on Christmas Day. So the kids got klutz books from us... a glider one for each of the boys and a pom pom animal one for Sarah. The boys did theirs, but Sarah played with theirs and not hers. The other thing we did was put together a fleece throw for each of them. We had been to JoAnn Fabrics the day before and got them for half price. I did the cutting of the fringe and Sarah and Zack did the tying. Seth refrained from helping because he said it was too hard. It's nice to see them using their blankets now and they all match Zoe... she got a fleece blanket from one of the ladies at the office. And now that they have their own, they don't mess with my fleece snowman one that I got from Kristen a few Christmases ago.

We went to bed a little late, but probably would not have done that even if I had not been scheduled for a doctor appointment today. Seth and Zack were just as cozy in their new sheets and comforters as Sarah (who got hers some time ago when she outgrew her favorite blanket and the boys have followed in her footsteps outgrowing theirs), so it was hard to wake them up this morning, but we got to the doc on time. I got put on the monitor (FAD) like last week and then went to see my doctor. No contractions this time, but it's probably because I'm taking medicine. I'm still not in labor and the doctor said I need to stay that way for at least ten more days. Gotta keep baking that bun in the oven. I have another appointment next week, and then it's c-section time the following week.

Time is beginning to speed up for me as I realize this. I'm not ready! The baby bed (co-sleeper) is ordered and on its way. We have diapers and wipes and a new diaper bag (thanks to a couple of ladies at the office who got me a Target gift card). We also have clothes, blankets and other things that the other ladies at the office sent (they did a baby shower in a box for me complete with color picture of all of them at the office which is nice because I only ever see them when we go on a company cruise). We also bought the car seat and stroller last Saturday because I couldn't wait until after Christmas. We had spent the day moving our room around to accommodate baby and it just seemed like the natural thing to do... I was in baby mode. There's still lots to do, but we're making progress.

I meant to blog about my baby shower that Brooke and Susie threw for me on the 15th. Or did I? Maybe I didn't. Man, I'm losing it. We didn't take any pictures, but I did get a picture of the big baby shower cake that Brooke made out of a case of diapers. I'll have to post that. It was dang huge.

Gotta go finish up with the Christmas packing for mailing. I'm so lame. I got gifts done sometime around Thanksgiving, but am only now sending them after the big day. So, when you get your gift from me, just be thankful that it's not March... when last year's Christmas card got to you. Christmas is the same time every year, and I still manage to be late. Sorry!

Hope your Christmas was a memorable one! Let's see those posts, now!

Merry Christmas!

Let's see if I can get this in before midnight... when everything Christmas suddenly vanishes (XM radio holiday stations are already shut down which is really OK...once you hit the 20th version of Let It Snow, it's time to kill it).

This has been one of the best Christmases yet. I think it has something to do with not having the stress of visiting or traveling or needing to be anywhere for anything. This is the way to go, folks. Although it is always great to see family and friends and be festive together, Christmas at home is definitely my favorite way to spend Christmas. It may or may not have anything to do with my huge belly and being able to let it all hang out.

We started with Christmas dinner of steak, baked potatoes and green bean casserole on Christmas Eve (Josh rocked... slaving over the hot stove--which is welcomed in this cold Houston weather--while I cleaned up as we went along which I don't mind doing when we're in the kitchen together being a team). Afterwards, we read Luke 2 as a family -- 52 verses, so we each took turns reading 5 at a time and going around the table. Zack got to read the last two extra verses which he was so concerned about (he's Mister Gotta Be Fair Boy). Then the kids built a Gingerbread House while Josh read his Mom's Port A version of Night Before Christmas. Then we let the kids open gifts from their great-grandparents. I don't remember what happened next, but we were in the middle of something and Zack saw that it was almost midnight and ran to bed. He wanted to get to sleep so that Santa could come.

So while everyone slumbered, Santa got busy. I'll spare you the gory details because time is short. Suffice it to say that the next morning was a success. We prolonged the children's agony by making them eat breakfast first, and then we opened presents with the kids taking turns being an "elf" delivering a gift to someone. After everything was opened, which took an agonizingly long time because I was beginning to fall asleep, I noted that the thing the kids played with first was the little Nerf-like gun that Zack got Seth from the dollar store. After all Santa's efforts... it really only takes one dollar to make Christmas exciting. But the following seven hours were devoted to the new Wii games... so I guess we broke even.

One of my favorite things about this Christmas was watching Seth go to the little table next to the tree and play with the nativity set that Grandma Niki got them when we were living in Port A. She wanted the kids to be able to touch it and play with it, and that's what Seth did on Christmas Eve and the night before. So sweet.

Toffe Butter Crunch Recipe

This recipe (aka homemade Almond Roca) is for Nancy Fancy Pants... one of Susie's sisters. She was kind enough to request it.

1 c coarsely chopped toasted almonds
2 c butter (real stuff only!)
2 c sugar
2 T light corn syrup
6 T water
1 1/2 c milk chocolate pieces
1 c finely chopped toasted almonds

I use a non-stick jelly roll pan for this. You can also use a 13x9x2 inch baking pan lined with foil. Sprinkle coarsely chopped nuts in pan. Butter sides of heavy 2-quart saucepan. Melt butter in saucepan. Add sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook and stir over medium-high heat to boiling. Clip candy thermometer to pan. Cook and stir over medium heat to 290 degrees F, soft crack stage (about 15 minutes). Watch carefully after 280 degrees to prevent scorching. Remove saucepan from heat and remove thermometer. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Let stand for five minutes or until firm; sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 1-2 minutes and then spread chocolate over mixture. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts. Chill till firm. Lift candy out of pan; break into pieces. Store tightly covered. Makes about 3 pounds.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Seth!

Seth is six! He had a fun day... He ate McDonald's for lunch (yours truly had to actually get out of the car and go into Walmart to get it since they tore down the stand alone building and are building another one... we never go to McD's so he was stoked); had Ninja Turtles and Backyardigans cupcakes to share with his classmates, got to wear his pj's to school since it was Polar Express Day for the kindergarteners (they got a ticket and "rode" a train to the North Pole to see Santa who gave them a jingle bell necklace); got to open presents in the morning, afternoon and night; ate a special dinner of his choice (corn dogs and french fries); had a double chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (which he carved his name into before cutting and serving); spent lots of time taking pictures with his new digital camera that he got from Gma Niki and Gpa Randy; then put himself to bed around 10:30pm. What a day!

I'm exhausted... had a late night last night with the girls watching an old black and white movie - The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - and loved it! Except for the part where she kisses a creep (gross!) and never kisses the dashing Captain. Well, they did leave some for the imagination back in the old days, I'll give them that. I used to watch a TV series by the same name that was most likely made after this movie. I digress. The point is, I slept three hours last night.

So I've been running on fumes all day. Didn't exactly hit all my deadlines today with work, but I got the most urgent things done. The rest of the day was dedicated to Seth's birthday, primary preparations (baptism tomorrow and teaching the senior primary ST), getting together a gift basket for the missionaries, and baking like crazy.

I have to put this down even though I'm about to fall over... it was a Christmas miracle, I tell ya. I began the evening by making Seth's cake, followed by brownies to put in the gift basket, then got a wild idea to make rolls for the gift basket (and Josh--or I wouldn't live to see another day), then decided to also do Ginger Snaps since the oven was already on, and then decided to make Toffee Butter Crunch (gotta send to Tony since he liked it the last time I made it for Christmas). I also got Sarah to get down the deep fryer to fry the french fries, stuck the corn dogs in the oven, and slapped the ketchup on the table for one of the easiest meals ever made. I forgot that I had bought broccoli to go with it so that Seth could get some kind of vitamin in him today. Oops!

Now I'm working on baptism stuff. I'm thinking I should just go to bed and then get up early tomorrow, but I don't want the laughter to build up inside me and short circuit the one cable I'm running on right now. I want to at least make it to the bed before I tip over.

Buffalo Chip Cookies

I have an email that I sent to Josh's parents during the first month of living here (which was 2 years ago) and have decided to share it with y'all. I read it to the kids last year in December and they were rolling with laughter. So it inspired me to read it to them every year. Now you're included...

12/30/05

Hi Mom and Dad,

I've been holding on to the recipe you developed for Buffalo Chips and waiting for the chance to bake a batch. Today was that day. I decided that the kids were going to help and we were going to make some memories and some good grinds for tomorrow night. I thought you might like a record of our first attempt. This might be a long one, so print it out and read it the next time you're on the pot -- you'll see that it's a fitting story for that.

Zack and Sarah are both anxious to help me in the kitchen. I'm struck by the joy they feel in doing it even if it's just a little bit. Just the other day, Sarah turned to me and said, "I love helping you cook pancakes, Mom! Or anything, really!" I almost resolve to involve the kids more in everyday cooking. Read on.

Sarah is the first to jump when I announce that we're going to make cookies. Zack reminds her that she needs to wash her hands. He's not done with dessert yet, so he's trying to stall for time in order to get an equal share of the helping. He scarfs down the rest of his ice cream, runs to wash his hands, and then reappears and announces in a loud voice, "I washed my hands!" I begin with melting the buttery Crisco and let them take turns putting the seconds on the microwave, opening and closing the door, and then pouring the melted yummy smelling stuff into the bowl.

Next comes the sugars. Before I can answer Zack's question to scoop, Sarah tells him that he's not going to touch the scoop, but count them as I measure them out. I can't find my one cup measure, so I'm using the 1/4 cup measure and it's more fun that way anyway. They count and watch the Kitchenaide mixer blend everything together, laughing at the way it all comes together. At this point, I realize that Seth is no where to be found. They tell me that he's in the bedroom, so I figure he's found Sarah's Game Boy and he's secretly playing it without permission.

The eggs are next, and Zack asks how to open them. A little lesson ensues where cracking the eggs on a flat surface creates the perfect line crack down the center. I say, "then you just pull the egg shell apart with your fingers. You don't push your fingers into it." Sarah says, "Yeah, like I do sometimes." Then she explains to Zack that the outside of an egg is really yucky, "because, well, it did come out of a chicken's butt."

After her mini-lesson, Sarah soon realizes what I've suspected and runs to the bedroom to retrieve the Game Boy and hide it from her little sticky-fingers brother. Seth retires to the living room to watch. I see his face and it looks like he wants to help, but he's content to watch this time around.

We begin to mix up the dry stuff: flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sarah holds the bowl while Zack stirs it up with a whisk. I put a cup of cornflakes in a bag and hand it to Sarah to crush. When I see her squeezing it with her fingers, I show her how to put it on the table and crush with a flat palm in order to keep the bag from getting holes. She starts to do it and I turn to gradually integrating the flour mixture and wet mixture. Sarah tells Zack that he can have a turn at crushing the cornflakes since he gave her a turn stirring the flour mixture. I scold her for sitting on the bag and tell her not to do that. She laughs out a, "Yes, Mommy."

Then I catch a glimpse of Seth standing in the living room watching. His eyes are watering and he's very still. I say, "What are you doing? Are you making poo-poo?" He nods and says, "Pee-pee, too." I let out a roar of frustration then leave the mixer mixing, the two helpers crushing and grab Seth and tell him to get to the bathroom. I inspect the living room and it seems OK. Nothing got on the carpet except for a little spot of urine. I get an old rag and clean it up. Meanwhile, Seth is in the bathroom yelling incoherently. Sarah reports that he has dropped his underwear in the toilet and is waiting in the bathtub. Zack runs out of the bathroom yelling "Terrible smell! Terrible smell!" More puffs of frustration escape me as I tell Zack to bring the Febreeze. Once I've soaked up the mess and sprayed it, I go to the bathroom to clean up the culprit.

Hands washed really well, I return to the baking session. The oven is preheating and we need to get a move on. I dump more of the flour into the mixer and leave the bowl and whisk sitting on the counter. I finally tell the kids that the cornflakes are thoroughly crushed and they can stop now. They practically made corn flour out of it. I begin to empty the pantry of the other ingredients that put the buffalo in chips. A loud crash sounds behind me. When I turn, I see the bowl of flour emptied onto the floor and Zack's guilty face and a quiet, "Sorry." Everyone has frozen with baited breath for my reaction. I calmly say, "Well, how much flour do you think that is? We have to measure some more out and we won't know how much of the other stuff actually got into the mix." Realizing that they're not going to get a beating, Sarah drops to the floor and begins brushing the flour together with her hands, "Let's put it all together and then we can see how much flour it is." Zack says, "Let's get the dusting pan and then put it into the bowl." I say we can't do that and he asks the one hundred thousand dollar question, "Why?" I tell him that it's dirty. He jumps to join Sarah and they fight about who should get the dusting pan and broom to clean it up. I decide to mix in the baking soda, powder and salt all over again just in case. When I look at the two on the floor, they are covered in flour. I tell them to clean it up which they do, but the floor is still powdery with it and I can feel it getting all over the bottom of my feet as I walk around.

Flour mixture integrated, I begin measuring the chips, coconut and pecans. My helpers have disappeared, but I'm more intent on finishing the task with or without them. By the time Sarah returns, I've loaded up the first sheet with cookie dough. I put it into the oven and let Sarah do the scooping for the next cookie sheet. Zack appears and asks if he can help. I tell him that he can scoop next. I begin clearing up the counters and putting stuff away. Sarah has finished and is running around with her brothers and pretending to be Shadow Mario from one of their Game Cube games (Super Mario Sunshine, to be exact).

By the time I've switched out cookie sheets, I realize that it's past bedtime and instruct everyone to brush their teeth and get their pajamas on. Once they are all in bed, it is very quiet. I am looking at the remaining dough thinking that it sure is greasy looking. I'm sure that Grandma and Grandpa didn't mean for it to be like that, but maybe it can't be helped--they are cookies afterall. I decide to give the cookies out to neighbors and VT sisters for New Year's and begin loading them up on mini plates and putting them in ziploc bags. I'm thinking that they look a little different from when we had them at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and decide to try one just to make sure they're sharable. They taste great and they are a little crispy on the edges... I might have left them in one minute too long, but they're still chewy in the middle. When I'm brainstorming about how to label them, I look back at the recipe name and it says "Buffalo Chips (or Grandpa Randy's Oatmeal Cookies)."

Only then do I realize that we forgot the oatmeal.




You don't know whether to laugh or cry or be grossed out, do you?? These cookies are priceless and can never be duplicated as we'll never know how much flour and baking powder, baking soda and salt went into the mix. Only from writing this out have I identified the reason why we forgot the oatmeal--we were rudely interrupted by the four-year-old.

For the record, Seth is potty trained. He just has accidents every now and then. He was on the pot more than once today and he's so cute the way he yells from the toilet, "Mom! C'mere! Can you wipe my butt?" He just had a little diarhea and probably didn't know it was coming when he stood in my new living room and didn't lie about pooping and peeing in it.

Thanks for reading. I realize that I don't have to make this stuff up. I just have to record it.

Love you miss you,
Trish

Seth's Schoolwork

Seth is learning a lot in kindergarten. He is reading and writing more and more everyday. He loves to draw pictures and spend time at the homework table on his own when inspiration hits. He always wants a new spiral notebook when we go to the store. And he always likes getting new drawing tools (pencils, pens, markers, crayons, paints). So for his upcoming 6th birthday, we got him a marker and watercolor pad of paper, a spiral sketchbook, new watercolors, and a set of Crayola markers called "over writers" which allows the color to show when you write over another color (I can't wait to see how well these work).

Here is a sample of some of his latest work in school. He got nice star stickers for his effort. I like that the sentences he came up with both have to do with his Daddy and he has drawn himself in the picture with him. Notice the squinty eyes he has given himself in the "hat" picture to show that he's laughing at the silly hat on his Dad's head. He still draws boy hair like mountains in up and down zig zag (with girls he makes circular spirals like spaghetti piled up on the head). I like his unique spelling of the word treasure in the "map" one. Notice the treasure map in his Dad's hand and the train... he says that these are "details." And to hear that word come out of his mouth is dang cute and I know that he has been paying attention to what his teacher says.

Seeing how much he loves to draw reminds me of when I was little and announced that I was going to be a "drawer" when I grew up. Not a drawer like in a chest of drawers, but as in a person who draws... an artist.

Black Preggie Dress Today

Here's what I looked like today in the black dress. Notice the significant enlarging of the abdomen. I'm with Zack on my right and Seth on my left with characteristic Badtz-Maru face (Sarah's favorite Hello Kitty character).

The Black Preggie Dress

OK, here's a picture of me in the dress back in August... belly isn't as huge as it is now, but it's showing. This is at the University of Hawaii just after the graduation ceremony where Josh received his BA Degree in Music.

Will post more preggie pictures after I schedule a photo shoot... or maybe Josh puts something up from last night when we video taped for Sarah's birthday. You'll see.

Yay! It's December!

Just felt like blogging today... been a while. Thanksgiving was great. Got to go to Plano, Texas (Dallas) and get an early taste of winter, hang out with some friends, eat junk all day long, get hooked on GNC's 100% Whey Protein Powder Drink MIx (20g protein in each scoop), let Josh live his dream of watching the Cowboys live at Texas Stadium (for free in the freezing cold), watch McDreamy in the movie Enchanted along with kids and husbands (and they liked it!), bought a 50# bag of short grain rice from the Asia World Market for $24 (believe me, that is a highlight worth mentioning in Texas), played a card game called Blitz (really fun, ask me to teach you if you don't know it), and then Josh drove us all home in the still of the night (just before a massive rain storm hit) and we made it home safely in record time without traffic. Now that we're all caught up... let's talk about what's happening in my world now.

I am proud to say that it's December and we have our tree up (this is a major feat... our tree usually doesn't go up until a week before Christmas). Something about being 6 weeks out from delivering a baby that gets the motor running. I'm nesting, big time. Or maybe it was the all too tempting promise of a $20 Noble Fir from Ikea that started the ball rolling.

It was last Thursday when I put on the most flattering dress I own (at this stage) and went out into the world. This dress gets major attention that focuses straight to the belly. My belly becomes the highlight of my existence, but instead of looks of sympathy, I get compliments and surprised exclamations of "Wow, you look great!" or "You look ready to pop!" (said in a good way, I think). This dress showcased my belly so well that it got an Ikea worker to break the rules and put a Christmas tree on top of my van and then tie it down for me (they're not 'sposed to for liability issues). And then when I got home, I just waited for my overprotective husband, who has banned me from the attic where all the holiday stuff is stored, to come home, take it down, and bring it in. All I had to do was put on that dress.

Now $20 for a noble fir at Lowe's will get you a wreath or a swag or a garland, but not a tree... unless it's like 2 feet tall. The tree we got was over 8 feet tall and Josh had to cut off the sides of the trunk just to get it to fit in the tree stand. My bargain was probably not worth the trouble, but it sure made some nice memories for the family. Sarah helped do some of the cutting, Sarah and Zack helped move the tree into position, Sarah and Zack helped vacuum up the needles, and they both seemed happy to be spending time with Daddy doing something meaningful. They later went up into the attic (which I never let them do when I'm not pregnant) to get the Christmas decorations and loved being able to do it. Seth was mysteriously absent during all the hard work... and then I found him comfortably nestled in the crook of one of the recliners asleep. He's the smart, cunning one of the family.

I took some pictures today now that we've got it all decorated. You have to see this massive thing to belive it. Josh wants to do artificial next year... guess he's had enough of memory making with real trees. But maybe it's just too soon for him to talk about it now... kind of like having a baby... you forget the delivery part and focus on the yummy little darling and WHAMMO, you're pregnant again. We'll broach the subject later... much later next year to see how he really feels because it sure does smell good.

Happy Turkey Week!

I should probably not be posting at this time... I've got a few more work deadlines to meet today and I should probably get cracking, but there's so much to write about! Lots to be thankful for--especially on this holiday week.

First, a little update... I went to my 3-hour GDM class (see, I'm all educated now, I know the acronym for gestational diabetes) last Thursday and learned a ton. The first part of the class was learning what GDM was and what happens to you and the baby if not treated, etc. etc. The second part of class was taught by a nutritionist. She had all kinds of fake foods in one serving portions (read: portions so small you hardly think it worth your time) that she used throughout the class to show different combinations of food to eat together.

The coolest thing I learned in the first half of class was that getting poked is no big deal. I had brought my glucose meter, lancets, and test strips with me. They were prescribed by my doc, and I have to mention that I got my glucose meter for free because I had a coupon! Woo hoo! Anyway, the meter came with a case and a pretty sophisticated gadget designed to poke you at different strengths of your choosing. (A little dial on the top end goes from not-so-hard to very hard.) They taught me how to open bottom end of the gadget in order to insert the lancet, twist off the nob hiding the needle, then replace the twist-on cap to the gadget. Then you're supposed to put the end of that gadget right on your finger and press the button that sends the needle into your finger. And I hesitated... and I said, "I don't know if I can do this." And the two teachers chimed in that it's not that big of a deal because they teach a lot of ladies and find that this is a common revelation among them. So I just did it! And I couldn't even see where it hit me until I squeezed my finger to get the blood out, and sure enough... a little droplet formed on my finger. And that was enough for the test strip to absorb and for the meter to analyze how much glucose is in my blood.

Being that I failed my previous glucose tests at the lab, and I'm never good at failing tests of any kind, I am happy to report that my numbers have been within range for the last five days except for one. We had Taco Bell on Saturday and my glucose was 121 mg/dL which is one point out of range. I can be between 70-90 in the morning and 70-120 in the afternoons and evenings. I was starting to doubt if I had GDM at all. Maybe the diet is working.

My meal plan is laid out in servings. First, they teach you that a serving is not necessarily what is on the nutritional info on the box, but in grams of carbs or protein. A serving of carbs is between 15-20 grams and a serving of protein is 7 grams. Second, they teach you what that amount of grams looks like (hence the table laden with plastic food). The biggest thing is to eat protein with carbs in order to stabilize your blood sugar. So breakfast for me is 1 starch, 1 meat, 1 milk, and 2 added fat. I get a snack between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner which is 1 starch or 1 fruit and 1 meat. Then lunch and dinner is 2 starch, 1 fruit, 1 milk, 2 nonstarchy vegetables, 3 meat and 2 added fat. Oh, and then a bedtime snack is 1 starch and 1 meat and my starch can be a half cup of ice cream as long as I eat the meat/protein, too.

My favorite meal so far involves chicken wings. It started at the hospital after my class. I ate 5 chicken wings, 1 dinner roll, a cup of cukes and carrots, and water to drink. Technically, it was a snack, but I found that when it was time to eat lunch, I wasn't hungry. And since then, I'm finding that if I eat every single item in each category, it's actually a lot of food. Or maybe the baby taking up valuable tummy space is helping me feel full. It's hard work remembering to eat and test your blood on a schedule. I find that in my regular routine, I skip a lot and wait hours before eating and then just grab whatever is handy that most likely consists of high carbos and no protein. I'm supposed to eat every 2 hours and not more than 5 hours between meals. At any rate, I'm doing OK on this meal plan. She said before Thanksgiving came.

The kids have two days of school this week and then they're off. We're going to drive up to the Dallas area to see Josh's ex-boss. This ex-boss is responsible for hiring Josh at his first Houston job, recommending him to his second and current job, and moving us up to the Atascocita area to buy a house. Then they up and left us for New York City, but now they're back in Plano, TX about four hours away. Josh's ex-boss is with a company that gets season tickets to the Cowboys games and he invited Josh to go watch the one on Thanksgiving. Talk about a historical family moment in the life of a family dedicated and loyal to the Dallas Cowboys football team and to no other. Needless to say, Josh is very excited. (They won against the Redskins yesterday -- Go Cowboys! See, I'm a fan by marriage... I have no choice in the matter.)

The kids and I are going to hang out with Lana and Riley (wife and son of said ex-boss). We won't be gone the entire rest of the week, but it should be a nice break. I hope that I can handle the drive in my condition. I'm uncomfortable a lot of the time. It's hard to find a position that works, but when it does, I try not to move. Last night I found myself reclined in the recliner, with my legs hanging over the sides and my big belly blubbering around with baby's moments. I sat there for as long as it was comfortable and asked Sarah to get me this or that. She's an excellent helper. All the kids are. They help me out a lot -- or maybe they do it for Zoe, I dunno, but it sure is nice to have my own brood of minions.

I'm not a tyrant... just a little reluctant to move... my older brother used to do the same thing to me when we were in grade school, but since he wasn't pregnant, I just called it lazy. He turned 38 yesterday. I got to talk to him on the phone and hear what Nana 'Nita made for his birthday dinner. He got Guamanian Corn Soup (my favorite, the bum) and Short Ribs Adobo. I think I was missing the food more than him, and I would probably continue to fail my blood tests if we lived anywhere near Nana 'Nita's cooking... I'll eat whatever she puts out without restraint. So I guess it's a good thing that there are two states separating us. Sigh.

Josh's parents are almost ready to move into their new house. It's like a twin of his grandparents' house, so very big and very nice, and right next door -- so our kids have grandparents and great-grandparents they can visit within walking distance... like ten steps, eleven tops. Josh's parents are putting in the yards and waiting for the plumbers and electricians to finish up on the inside. They'll be moved in by Christmas probably. That will be nice for them to have that project done. The kids can't wait to go for a visit which will probably be more likely to happen during Spring Break.

Seth is at home with me today. He had a cough all weekend that started on Friday. He didn't get to go to the temple with us on Saturday for a Primary activity and he stayed home from church with Daddy yesterday. Now he's not coughing, but he slept in until 9:30am, so I just let him. He could technically go in before 10am and not be counted absent, but he doesn't want to go. I think he just wants a chance to play the new game we got on Saturday.

Super Mario Galaxy came out sometime last week. It's the next game after Super Mario Sunshine, so it's my game! The kids sacrificed a few Game Cube Games so that we could get this game. At GameStop they will give you an extra 20% towards store credit. So no more Godzilla or Brain Academy for Wii... that last one was actually a game I won from Wendy's back before we had a Wii. We already have it for the Nintendo DS, and it's fun, but no one really plays it on the Wii. And Galaxy is so worth it!

I've already opened up the first two galaxies with the kids all watching, of course. It's a family affair. I get to hold the controller and do it, but they give input on where to go and what to do. (Zack comes up with some genius ideas on how to get through some obstacles.) And then they all get a chance to play if I die doing a puzzle or something. Whenever it's Josh's turn to do a puzzle, he gets it on the first try. He is good at the action, but hasn't much patience for the reading of the story and the slower pace of progression. He acknowledges that I rule the Mario games, though. And I give him props for being the Guitar Hero III master and the god of all Super Monkey Ball games. Luckily, the kids like to watch both of us in our respective elements. When the novelty dies down, they'll get to have their own saved games, but it will be the Mommy who actually finishes all the levels and saves Princess Peach (and the world).

So there's plenty to be thankful for this week! Everyone is healthy (or on the mend). There are family and friends to be thankful for and to visit. There's the Cowboys, the thought of turkey and stuffing come Thursday, and all I have to do is make Betty's rolls for Tony and Lana. I made it during Hurricane Rita at their house and they never forgot it. What else? There's good blood sugar levels for me, and I don't have to give up ice cream altogether. There's a big order that I have to fill with the promise of it becoming an annual thing. There's the new chore chart that the kids are doing in order to keep the house clean and help the sanity of my "reluctant to move" self... it includes them doing laundry and dishes. I'm thankful for peaceful, holy places like the Houston Texas Temple that reminds me of what is important in life. There's the missionaries who came by on Saturday to challenge us to read Preach My Gospel and prepare the first lesson for them. That's a nice approach and should be good for the family. There's a new baby on the way that will change the definition of a Haley six-pack (which has always meant a family of 5). There's other friends and family who have made additions to or will soon make additions to their families. There's stickers and paper and a brand new set of markers or paints to be thankful for. There's computers and blogs and the blessing of getting jobs done over the internet (while wearing pajamas and eating one serving each of starch, meat and milk--I exchange the milk out for chocolate sometimes... just kidding, Susie, gosh!). And of course, there's coupons. What was life like before them?

There's more, but I really gotta get to work. Hope you all enjoy this reading and my sacrifice (Kristen) and forgive me for not posting preggie pictures yet... I haven't downloaded the temple pics yet, but I'll get to it! Lots of love and hugs go out to all of you whom I count as blessings on this week and every week.

No Solicitors, Please

Do you ever get a telemarketing call where they ask to speak to your mom or dad? I love these kind of calls because then I can just say no and hang up. I don't feel bad doing this when they think I'm just some young punk. I guess my voice makes me sound young... or maybe it's the way I say my s's (or should that be spelled ses or s-es or s-ez?).

Anyway, it's even more fun when you answer the door and they ask if your mom or dad is home. They can see me and they still think I'm some young punk. I just say no and close the door. They must not see upon first glance my graying hair or the three munchkins calling me mom or even the huge belly I'm sporting these days. It's usually kind of funny.

But I kind of scared myself last night when someone rang the door bell at almost 8 pm and Josh wasn't home yet. Who solicits at 8pm?! I thought it might be a neighbor or something even though I didn't recognize him through the peephole. Maybe it was because our windows were all wide open and he could hear that we were home that I decided to open the door. Once I opened the door, I really wished that I hadn't. A strong feeling came over me and I just wanted to shut the door. He asked if my mom or dad was home and I said, "No," and started to shut the door. He caught on... maybe it was the belly... and said, "Oh, are you the homeowner?" I said, "No," again and then shut the door fast.

I felt like I was being rude, but I didn't care that much. Except for the fact that he might kick the door down or spy on us through the windows... waiting for the right moment to jump through with the chainsaw and Halloween all of us. OK, I don't really watch horror movies, but I know there was one with a chainsaw and one called Halloween--probably not the same flick. My point is that I was really freaking myself out.

I gathered the kids in my room and we sat on the bed and had a little talk about how we should not open the door to strangers. I told them again about our rule to NOT go running to open the door without knowing who is on the other side. They always need our permission before opening the door.

I'm considering getting a NO SOLICITORS sign (even though it's already supposed to be illegal in our neighborhood) and I'm almost convinced that I should not open the door to strangers at all. Crazy stuff happens these days, and it's sad that it's like that now, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Right?

Third Grade Social Life

I was busy scolding my third grade son, Zack, for not having his cub scout uniform hung up because that's how you keep it from getting wrinkled. He was trying to tell me that he didn't know that it had been washed and that's why he didn't hang it up... what a lame excuse! He just doesn't remember the 500 times I asked him to put his clothes away. So I jumped into my "be responsible" lecture, but he stopped me in my tracks. He said, "Three girls at school like me."

I barely noticed the change in subject, and I tried to be nonchalant when I said, "Oh, are they in your class?" He said, "No, but they're all in the same class." I said, "Do they chase you at recess?" And he smiled and said, "Yes. And one time they played basketball with us." One of the girls also likes his friend Anthony. I asked if they liked Steven (his other friend), too. He rambled on about the color of everyone's skin and that he didn't think so, but that it was possible because my skin and Daddy's skin are different, so it's possible. I said that it didn't matter what the color of everyone's skin was and he said he knew. So then I said, "And is there a girl that you like? I know that Julia moved away." (I blogged about Julia last year... he claimed she was his girlfriend to one of his friends, and when I told him that he couldn't have a girlfriend until he was 16, he said, "I know, Mom, she's my future girlfriend.") He said shyly, "I like all the girls that like me."

Wow. What I really like about all this is that he didn't mind talking to me about it. He even climbed into my lap (what's left of it) and was very comfortable telling me about his social life. Sarah would die before she admitted to anything. I really like how Zack can talk about things. I hope that it doesn't change when he hits puberty and starts perfecting the art of rebellious teenager.

I already know that Sarah is going to make all my hair turn gray or even fall out when she hits puberty, but by then, it will be Daddy's turn to run point on child raising. My job won't be over, but it will take more of a father's touch when the teen years hit. Josh knows this... he's looking forward to it! Kind of. Not really.

My Dad Rocks

I just got off the phone with my dad and hearing his voice is like a balm to my soul. He does that without even knowing it probably. He just is. I like that I can count on him for just being my dad. He doesn't have to be perfect or make lots of money or have lots of toys. Just being there is good enough for me.

He doesn't need to send me anything, either, but it's nice that he'll send me some of his smoked salmon the next time he smokes some. He's also famous for sending the kids a box of chocolates. Sarah has a collection of Whitman's boxes in her room. It's just nice that we can attribute some great thing that he does to him and him only, but just knowing he loves us is enough.

It has a way of reminding me that we all have a Father in Heaven who loves us. I never question my dad's love for me and I think that's how Heavenly Father wants us to feel... he planned it that way. It's how he wants us to feel about our relationship with him. My dad said that the Lord is taking care of me, and even though I know that I sometimes forget. It's nice to be reminded by a person who knows by experience, a father's love.

My dad rocks because he said that I should eat candy. He said if I eat lots of sugar then my body will stop making it and I'll be fine. He thinks the medical profession is backwards and conspires to keep us all sick. When he goes off about it I have to laugh. He's my dad and I can count on him to be who he is.

Now excuse me while I go eat a bowl of Trix.... I've been dying for it since I got up and now that I have permission—my dad said so!—I'm all over it.

Health Reports on Halloween

Today was a bummer day in the health report department. Lots going on, but I'm not at liberty to spill about anyone else's report besides my own. I found out today that I failed my 3-hour glucose test. So I officially have gestational diabetes. I tried to call Betty to get some info (she had GD with all her pregnancies, I think) but she wasn't answering. I'll cut her some slack, though, she just had her baby on Saturday.

I did a little reading up on it to find out that no one really knows why GD occurs. There was some jibber jabber about how the placenta makes hormones that blocks the mommy's ability to create insulin or the insulin's ability to absorb glucose thus increasing the glucose level in the blood. Then the scary news about the risks for both mommy and baby of getting diabetes later on in life or becoming obese. All good things to know, I guess, but here I am obsessing about whether or not I'll have to prick my finger four times a day to monitor my blood sugar. Ugh. Just thinking about it gives me goose bumps and I have to shudder.

It's always the small paper cuts that give the most pain, right? So I'm not entirely crazy to wonder about it. Of course I have never had a severed arm or anything that traumatic, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. I do know that I won't be able to do the dishes... because I haven't done them since the day I got skewered. Well, that's one way to psyche myself up. Maybe this won't be so bad.

I should count my blessings... the pain in my hand is not as acute anymore. I can close my fist without wincing. There is a one inch bruise there to match the one below my elbow which is a slightly darker purple. My two elbows are OK, too, where the bruises are not as large.

So I will survive. I can do this.

Woaow! I feel good!

I'm really feeling good right now! Maybe because I haven't actually done what I really want to do yet today, but because I'm done doing all the stuff that I have to do today. My slate is cleared! I just finished my last deadline for the week/month... technically, I could keep going, but I don't have to! Sweet relief!

One of the really great things about having a job in California and living in Texas is that I could be reading a book instead of working and they'd never know it! That sounds really bad, but it's actually a win-win situation because they don't stress about whether or not I'll make the deadline (haven't missed one yet) and I don't feel anybody breathing down my neck. It's a zen thing. I try not to work on Saturdays, but I like having the choice in case I've taken too many liberties with my weekdays. But just in case my obscure blog makes it back to the ladies at work... I really was sick this weekend.

Really. I was. I went to bed early on Friday, stayed in bed most of Saturday, and spent a little time in the living room with the family on Sunday, but mostly kept to the bed. And when I was awake I printed and read all 249 pages of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. (Thanks to Josh's mom for sending me the link to download the book in pdf format. If I could have sat at the computer and read it, I would have, but see, I was sick.) That was a good read. Not sure if I liked how it ended, but I'm looking forward to watching the movie to see how that ends. I'm told that it's different.

I'm still trying to find the words to describe the feeling I get when I'm reading perfectly polite Jane Austen-ish English when the guy is in the room and the girl is, too, and they don't know that they like each other yet, but they're making observations and discovering it. (This usually takes five to ten pages.) What is that feeling in your heart when it just kind of builds and builds, but it's stronger than butterflies and higher, not in your tummy. It's that feeling in high school that makes you want to call your BFF and retell the story of the hottie that deigned to speak to you at school that day. Sometimes the feeling makes you cry. It's like you have to in order to get some release. I know Josh could probably explain this musically. Anyway, I cried a few times while reading the book, but it wasn't at the end.

This feeling could also be attributed to the time when you started dating and falling in love with your husband. It's the feeling that gets you when you have no expectations, the phone rings, you answer it and it's him. It takes you by surprise. It's new and once it happens, you can't replicate it or make it happen again. Not really. I guess that's why falling in love for the first time is so memorable.

Hmmmm... this is not what I intended to blog about. So excuse the lack of transitional sentence, but let's change the subject. By the way, I had such a hard time with transitional sentences in 11th grade and didn't actually get it until my first year at a community college, so that's why you've probably heard me apologize for my not using them in the past. It's a way for me to brag because I'm letting you know that I know what they are, but choosing not to use them right now. :)

How many of you use gmail? Like you actually have a gmail account and go online and get your mail from there? Do you ever use the built-in chat? If you type a semi colon and parenthesis like I just did up there it will slowly turn and become a happy face. Totally cool. Use gmail! Go get an account and then send me an email and then we can chat. It'll be fun!

OK, back to something else that I'm feeling good about today... blog comments.

Juli - can I just say that I have a lot of respect for the way you spell your name? It's elegant and not silly like if it had an e on there. No offense to the Julies out there, but Juli is unique. It's especially cool as a shortened version of your real name. Girl, you can snoop on my blog anytime. Shoot, you can subscribe and send me comments any day and on any subject. I officially welcome you to my blog. Besides, I have snooped on your blog before, too, so we're even. And I totally dig that you and your husband are into Halloween. It's probably my favorite holiday because of the candy. I probably shouldn't--at least until I hear back about my glucose test-- but I'm eating Brach's Milk Maid Carmel Candy Corn right now, and these things are so good! I'm making the kids trade stuff from their Trunk or Treat stashes in order to have any.

So anyway, if anyone out there reading feels like leaving a comment, please do. Although I do understand the weird spying thing if you choose not to. I also understand the not wanting to crash the family party of comments by relatives. That's the main reason why I wouldn't want to comment. I didn't comment on Susie's blog for a long time because she has like a million comments already from her gajillions of siblings. She had to force me to leave comments on her blog and now I'm friends with her sibs that I've never met in person. It's fun to get to know people by what they write... misspellings and all!

But I have met you in person, Juli! You're my surrogate BFF. I love your family. You guys all dig each other. I love that Kristen loves her sisters and now has sisters-in-law to love, too. Your mom is dang cool. We went to her house once to swim in the pool and after we were done swimming, the sun was going down and she busted out the graham crackers, marshmallows and giant Hershey bar to roast in the pit. That was a neat experience. So simple, and FUN!

So welcome. And let me just steal a line from the Olive Garden... When you're here, you're family!

3-Hour Glucose Test

Ugh! I got stuck with a needle six times today.

I had to pee in a cup and get my blood taken right when I got to the lab. No problems. Then I had to drink the yucky glucose drink and wait an hour before peeing in a cup and giving more blood. The second time to give blood, I offered my other arm.

There's nothing quite like the horror of getting a needle pushed into your arm and no blood comes out. The nurse began pushing the needle around this way and that to find the vein. I was trying to remain calm. I really do get a little panicky at the last second before the sting of the needle pierces my skin, so it was hard going.

She took out the needle and decided to try a spot on my arm just below my elbow and a little inside (the more sensitive side). My consolation prize was that she was going to use a smaller needle. It was the kind attached to a long hose that she had to screw into the plastic thing at the end that the vials get pushed into. She gets it in and the blood begins to flow on down the hose and then stops before it reaches the plastic thing at the end. Again, she pushes the needle this way and that. Only now, one of my feet is in the air and the other is stomping. And she watches a little bewildered then says "Are you OK?"

She takes the second needle out and I say, "OW!" So, no, lady, I'm not OK, but I'm still being patient and I'm still wearing the understanding face that says, "It's OK, these things sometimes happen." So then she eyes the back of my hand tells me make a fist, and gets another little needle with the hose. She sticks me again, and again has to push the needle back and forth and in this spot, it REALLY hurts. My feet are doing their thing again, and I'm saying out loud, "Oh, please, go! C'mon!" As if my blood needs verbal coaxing to come out. And then Eureka! The hose starts to fill up, and we're watching the red line make its way on and on and we're barely breathing as we watch it, silently coaxing, "Go! Go! Go!" This time the blood makes it to the end, but stops after only an inch of blood is in the vial. She shakes her head and says that it might not be enough, but my blood very specifically needs to be taken within five minutes after the hour mark. She checks with someone and, whew, it will have to do. She tells me that in the next hour, she'll have to use the same arm she did the first time.

Oh, man, I was not wanting to come back again. Did she mean in the same exact spot as the first time? Something about that doesn't seem right. Like kicking someone when they're down. I still had two more times to get stuck (at minimum) and I really needed someone to vent to. I made a friend with a lady also doing the three-hour test. She was the one to hear me complaining about the bruises I had just received--whether she wanted to or not--but I like to think that we were rooting each other on for the next two hours.

The third and fourth times I got stuck in the same spot on my first arm. It kind of sucked to first get the stinging alcohol swab over the little owie I was already sporting and then the needle goes in the same spot. Eww! I was so relieved to see my blood flowing without any problems.

Driving home, I could barely grip the steering wheel for the bruise on the back of my right hand. I'm worn out! I feel like I survived a great ordeal. Kind of like a child who just got immunization shots. I think I'll go lie down now and dream that I passed this test or plead with God to make it so.

Nothing Sugary

I did so well today... When I volunteered at my kids' school this morning, I resisted Shipley's Donuts. And then I ate a sensible lunch... pretzels and a chicken salad sandwich. No dessert. No cookies. Nothing sugary. I drank water all day. No IBC cream soda or Sprite or hot chocolate. No candy or chocolate.

I did great until about an hour ago when I busted out the sour gummy worms while watching Grey's Anatomy with my honey. I popped two in my mouth and was like, "Doh!" He told me not to swallow it, so I spit it in the trash. What a waste. Then I decided to hit the hay and my throat was kind of scratchy, so I popped in a Ricola and did another, "Doh!" I spit that in the trash, too.

Here's the thing... if I had messed up and eaten that donut, it would have been a whole 24 hours before my glucose test. I probably could have gotten away with it. But no... I wait until 8 hours before the test to blow it. All my effort today in staying away from sugar has left me with a sticky, sweet smelling trash.

What's the moral of the story? Eat the donut!! I should have quoted Homer's other line, "Must. Eat. Donut."

Dave Ramsey

I blogged about the ride to go see Dave Ramsey, but I never did get around to saying how I liked his Live Event. If you have read his books and listen to his radio show, then you can get away with not going to his Live Event. BUT it is dang cool to see him in person and to laugh at his antics. He's a really great presenter. And hopefully, it will motivate you to that "gazelle intense" state that he's always talking about.

A couple of things that I thought were cool: 1. All of his materials were on sale for $10 each, and 2. He gave away t-shirts to the crowd that say "I See Debt People" on 'em.

One thing I think all parents should teach their kids is shown in this video clip I found on youtube... no one under 21 should be allowed to go out into the world until they understand this concept.

Super Mario Bros.

OK, I finally finished getting together all the elements of the boys' costumes. Here's Seth as Mario and Zack as Luigi. Their sizes are perfect, but in "real life" Luigi is Mario's little brother.

I found the overalls at a thrift shop for $4.31. I found the gloves at the 99¢ store. I got the hats for $1 each I think from my normal apparel supplier and the green t-shirt. Seth already had the red shirt. I cut out the mustaches from brown fabric scraps. Same with the white circles with M and L. So for less than 10 bucks we got two costumes that the boys really, really like.

Now we just have to figure out what to make Sarah for Halloween. She's against being Princess Peach, as I would be... we're not really Peach material.

What are your kids going to be for Halloween?

Josh and the Piggies

Josh made dinner tonight. I love it when he does! He got really creative making piggies with spam, rice and nori, and it sparked everyone's imagination. We were free expressing ourselves while we ate.

Seth made one with arms. Zack dumped his snout in egg yolk pretending it to be mud. Sarah rolled up pieces of the piggy in nori and ate it like little sushis or musbubis.

The little piggies were almost too cute to eat, but after a couple of grocery runs... I was ready to stuff myself -- and I did.

BTW, I have bought $930.11 worth of groceries in the last 6 weeks for $443.47 (saving $486.64 minus $13 in newspapers). Woo hoo! Go me!

There was a mistake on the list for a couple of things at Kroger, so I didn't buy them. And then I hit Randall's really quick and was able to find a good sale over there on candy. I'll have stuff to hand out at Trunk or Treat now. (Whew!) Oh, yeah, and I went to three different thrift shops today and found a couple of pairs of overalls for the boys for $4.31 (for both!). Way cool. Now I just have to sew some white gloves for them and they'll be styling as the Mario Bros. for Halloween.

What smells like a**?

My husband and I have a few issues. I'm only bringing myself into this because I know I'm not perfect, BUT this blog is really about him and how he can't just say, "What stinks?" or "What is that awful smell?" or pick up a mop/broom/sponge and scour the entire house until he finds the offending smell and be done. No... my husband comes home from work almost everyday and says, "It smells like ass." (There I said it... in case you couldn't figure it out with the asterisks in place, but now that there's no question... I'm putting 'em back in because one of my issues is not being able to say that word without feeling like I'm cussing.)

It's usually the trash that stinks and then he just takes it out, but if the smell lingers, then I'm left to hear about the different ways we can eliminate the smell. The current strategy is to take advantage of the cold front that's supposed to hit this week by turning off the a/c and opening up all the windows to air out the house.

Now if you think I'm exaggerating or having a wife-vent moment, I'll give you a case in point...I got permission to tell this story, so no one need worry for the state of my marriage after this blog... it happened on my husband's birthday.

Sarah decided that it would be really cool if we could surprise Daddy by turning off all the lights and yelling surprise when he got home, but I said that he would know we were home if the van was in the driveway. So I called Josh to see where he was to gauge how much time I had to park my van down the street. When I knew I had enough time, I pretended like we were out and about and that we would try to beat him home. I could already hear the resentment in his voice that we weren't already home on his birthday, so I knew I had him.

We had all the lights turned off. Everyone had their hiding places picked out. The plan was to jump out and yell surprise as soon as Daddy turned on the lights. Sarah and Zack were all cloak and dagger peeking through the blinds and saying, "Here comes a car... oh, that's not him," and then a few minutes later, "Two cars are coming... oh, one turned. No, that's not him." And we're sitting in the dark all tense and giggling at the anticipation of it all. Finally, Sarah jumps up quietly yelling, "He's here! He's here! Hide!"

Now, once again, I must point out that I cannot hear. I have hearing aids, but I must not have had them on, or I was too far away to hear properly. What it sounded like to me was that Josh opened the door and started talking to Seth and I thought it was curious because he still hadn't turned on a light. What really happened was that he walked in and said, "It still smells like a** in here." At which point, Seth ran out joyously yelling, "Daddy!"

From Josh's point of view, he about jumped out of his skin realizing that he wasn't alone on his birthday after all. When I got the story from him later that night, I laughed and laughed. It still makes me laugh. We were laughing about it today after I presented him with my latest coupon find...

I bought a $12 Lysol Neutra Air FreshMatic Starter Kit with a $5 coupon. Not the best deal, but worth it for me to help my husband with his issues. One being that he shouldn't cuss even when he's by himself, and the other being -- dude, you talk to yourself? I haven't done that since I was 5 years old trying to keep the boogie man away when I had to go all the way upstairs by myself to shower before bed. I'd pretend to talk to my mom so that the boogie man would know that I wasn't alone and it would keep him from attacking. I digress... what I meant was that I it was worth it to me to show him how proactive I can be about the smell in our house. And the smile on his face when I gave it to him was worth all $7 bucks and then some.

This air freshener dealy can be set to spray automatically at different intervals. Every 9, 18, or 36 minutes the air will be filled with a fresh scent that "neutralizes odors in the air from odor-causing bacteria." There's an a X Press Boost Button which you can push whenever you need it to "deliver an extra boost of freshness" which sounds suspiciously like "whenever someone passes gas" to me. This little wonder comes with batteries and a can of fresh scent that goes inside. It's completely portable or you can mount it on the wall. Josh put it on the wall high above the kitchen trash.

I was a little worried about the smell. I am very sensitive to smells and not just because I'm pregnant. There are some smells that will just plain give me a headache (that once popular perfume Poison being one of them), and some smells that are OK at first and then I can't take it anymore. Well, this one smells very nice. It's a happy smell. I can always tell when the spray has gone off (we set it to every 36 minutes) because I turn into one of those dorks in the Febreeze commercials smiling sweetly with my eyes closed. It smells great!

I'm a little confused about why I wasn't the one constantly, I mean, frequently complaining about the smell. I could tell when I had cooked with oil and that smell isn't a nice one when it lingers, but I just couldn't justify Josh's use of the word a** to describe how our house smelled. Today I was sitting on the little trampoline that is right by the front door and the shoe rack. And I smelled it! It was like someone's dirty underwear! (See, I don't have to use the a-word.) Ugh! So nice to have the mystery solved. It's the shoes!

We're going to have to rethink the whole shoe storage thing. Josh is supposed to build a bench that houses all shoes. Maybe we can enclose it with air holes and then stick one of those automatic air fresheners in it. Maybe we can patent the idea and make tons of money. Definitely a market for it in Hawaii where people take their shoes off at the front door. Would you buy it?

Riding the Metro

I rode the bus into town yesterday! It was scary/exciting and really fun all at the same time. I had to pick up the babysitter, drop her off with all the kids, and drive to the park and ride by 4:46pm in order to ride the bus to arrive downtown at 5:18pm to catch the train to the Reliant Center. I was a little late in getting there, and that was nerve-wracking not knowing if I missed it or how soon the next one would come.

I didn't wait very long, maybe three minutes, and then the bus came. I was all jazzed to get on board and grabbed my bag and pulled out my money... but buses are like elevators--you gotta politely stand to the side and let everyone get out so that you can go in afterwards. With everyone coming home from work, that meant another three minutes of waiting for them all to get out.

Finally, I was able to board. I had three dollars out, ready to pay. My first dollar wouldn't go in the machine, and the bus driver informed me that it was only a dollar. So I picked the crispest dollar and attempted to get that in the machine. She looked at me with her tired eyes, waved her hand and said, "Just sit down." I looked up to find that I was the only passenger on the bus. Cool! I said, "Oh, thank you!" and sat right in the front, gripped the rail in front of me, and leaned forward for the ride. I was two years old all over again with a big smile on my face.

It was fun to be up high -- I could look the semi-truck drivers in the face. One of them got too close and the bus driver was telling him how to drive (kind of like how I do, but in a much smaller vehicle). I chatted with her because she was chatty and Josh had told me to use my big belly to see if the driver would have pity and get me closer to the train stop because I was facing a four-block walk after getting off the bus.

So I mentioned that I had to catch the train to the Reliant Center and she immediately pushed a button and a pass came out of the machine behind her. She pulled it out and handed it to me. "This is a transfer so you don't have to pay to ride the train." I was not believing my luck! "Thank you! So do I have to put this into something?" She said I just needed to show it if someone asked to see it. She asked what was happening at the Reliant Center and I told her about Dave Ramsey and how he teaches people to stay out of debt. She said she probably needed to come with me, and I laughed. Then she asked how long I was going to be there and I told her and then she reached for the ticket she had just given me and I gave it to her. She put it in the machine to the side of her (the one I couldn't get my dollar into) and pushed the button behind her and another ticket came out. She handed it to me and said, "This will get you down and back. It's good until this time tomorrow." Shoot! This lady either loved chatting, felt sorry for me and my big belly, or was just dang cool like that. "Wow! Thank you!"



We were making good time because the driver said she wanted to stop at the store and get some water. I offered her my unopened, chilled water bottle, but she wouldn't take it. (Maybe taking water from a pregnant lady is a sin in her eyes.) Then she told me about her three kids; boy, girl, boy; 9, 6, and 2. I listened to her stories, she asked me about my kids, and then we moved on to her job and what kind of license and drivers' tests she had to take and how much it costs ($60 for her license!) and how long she had been driving a bus and did she have to do the same route everyday (no) and if cops ever pulled buses over for speeding (they do!). See, a good friend (or about-to-be-moochy friend) listens and asks question--and I was working it. I learned a lot in the process, too.

We got close to town fairly quickly and there were tons more buses and we were going slower. I asked if she knew all the people driving. She said, "Not her!" referring to the bus that signaled to come into our lane, but took forever to do it, "She can't drive. I don't know what she's waiting for. When I change lanes and they don't want to let me in, I'm coming anyway!" I laughed and said that I had never heard a bus driver bash another one and she replied, "You saw that with yo' own eyes," and then "Girl..." and then she switched lanes to get out from behind the other bus. I was having a blast! A free ride on a bus all to myself with a driver with an attitude.

She did a very complicated exit, changing from 59 to 10 to the 45 and I got all turned around. By the time we were on Jefferson Street, I had lost my sense of direction (it's not a very strong sense anyway so it didn't take much for me to lose it). Luckily, she practically drove me to the train stop. I only had to cross one street and there I was. With another "Thank you!" and "Have a nice night!" I grabbed my bag and joined the masses on the streets of downtown Houston.

The whole time, I was keeping in contact with Josh. He was catching the train a couple of stops ahead of me, so we needed to time it just right for me to catch the same train. And it went over without a hitch. Standing on the platform, it's really not as scary as you think. There is a clock, there are signs showing the stops along the route, and there is a nice recording that tells you that the next bus is arriving in one minute and to stand behind the white safety line so you don't get whacked. I took the opportunity to eat a snack and take a swig of my water bottle.

When I jumped on the train, Josh was sitting facing two filipino ladies, and I sat next to him. This is a very strange lesson in train riding etiquette which is cousin to elevator etiquette--you just instinctively get this within seconds of being thrown in this position. You have to sit facing two other people, try not to touch knees, and not make eye contact. In other words, you have to pretend like they're not there. And to be polite, they pretend like you're not there either. They spoke in Tagalog the whole time and did a very good job of ignoring us--even when I did happen to make eye contact accidentally.

The worst part was trying to contain my excitement about riding the train for the first time to keep from looking like a freak and embarrassing my appropriately-dressed husband. Just about everyone was in business attire or some kind of uniform. I was sporting comfy pregnancy attire--a t-shirt dress and Crocs. Everyone had the "been there done that" bored look of someone who rode the train all the time. I really had to tone it down and focus on pretending to be a mature individual who was just as bored and experienced with life on the train.

I never did show my ticket to anyone. No one asked. No one asked to see Josh's either. He scored an all day pass from someone at his train stop. Instead of putting the dollar into the machine for a one way ride, he gave it to some dude in exchange for a normally $2 all day pass. So we both scored on the transportation costs, but what would keep people from just hopping on the train without having paid? It's way too easy. I wonder what happens if you get caught. Do they just kick you off? Or do they make you pay a fine? Well, I'll include a picture of my pass for fun.

When we got to our destination, we walked all over Reliant Park before we were able to get in to the right place. After the event, it was an easier walk to get back to the train stop. When we were on the train Josh turned to me and said, "So are you going to be OK taking the bus back? Do you want me to take the bag?" And we both laughed. Hey, I liked riding the train and the bus today, but not that much. Besides, I don't want to get too experienced and bored with life riding the train.

Happy Birthday Susie

Gotta love photoshop...


Title: sista from anotha mista

Aloha Friends

Last week I went to lunch with a bunch of ladies from Church. One of the ladies had helped out in Primary for several weeks as Primary Chorister even while she also served as a Den Mother in Cub Scouts... and had to give a 5th Sunday lesson to the combined RS and EQ... and played the piano at my son's baptism. She did everything without complaint and with smiles. (Maybe she yelled at her husband when she got home, I don't know, but I really doubt it -- she doesn't seem the type.) Anyway, we appreciated all of her hard work and decided to treat her to lunch. We invited her daughter-in-law to come since she is a teacher in the Primary and celebrated a birthday this month. I also invited my friend Brooke so that I could buy her lunch for her birthday and wouldn't it be festive to have all of us ladies together? I chose a new restaurant called Aloha Hawaiian BBQ and it was decided that we would meet there.

I caught a ride with Arwen since Susie had a headache and had to run an errand. I saw Susie at the school that morning because we were "helping" with picture day. We were really just standing out in the hallway talking and being bad examples to the kids waiting quietly in the hallway for their turn to go into the Multi-Purpose room to flash their pearly whites. We decided to leave early since we weren't really helping and Susie really didn't look that good, but we parted ways expecting to see each other at Aloha BBQ.

Arwen and I found Brooke (and cutie pie Kyra) waiting in the parking lot and we all went in together. Tobi showed up next with baby Emily in tow. Next, our guest of honor, Becky, came in with Ola and little Olivier. We decided what we were going to order and still Susie had not shown up. I half expected her not to come, but just as we ordered, she came in. She looked worse, but was determined to stay for lunch. After a little drug dispensing by parties that will remain anonymous, Susie started to look a little better.



Our lunch came and we were able to chat and eat and even Susie ate. She really liked the gingery teriyaki sauce. Everyone liked the food and we had lots leftover for everyone to take some home. I was relieved to know that the place I picked was a hit.

And then disaster struck. Or at least, I like to call it a blessing in disguise (sorry Susie). Susie went to the bathroom feeling very nauseated... and then she asked me to drive her home. Her husband was working about an hour and a half away, so calling him was out, and I was glad for the chance to do my BFF duty. Driving a friend home is not a big deal to me. Jumping off a cliff is, and I was pretty sure that if Susie needed me to jump off a cliff, I'd do it. And besides, it was nice to get the chance to "put your money where your mouth is," you know?

So... my friend was sick and really not looking too good, but I was just so excited to drive her big black Chevy Tahoe. (Woo hoo!) And when we were in the car and I was behind the wheel of the "batmobile" she asked me to help her pick up her kids from school--as if that would be too much to ask--but I was just excited to pick up Brooklyn from Mother's Day Out! And what a reaction I got from little Brookie! When she first saw me, there were loud, surprised, happy exclamations coming out of her and then she immediately burst into tears. It was almost like I had rescued her from the darkest dungeon. The little princess thrust herself into my arms when the teacher brought her to me -- all the while trying to keep her contained because it was nap time for all the other little kids.



(This is Brooklyn. Ain't she the cutest dang thing?)

I didn't get the same reaction when picking up the older kids, but pretty close. I got hugs and smiles. These are the best kids, man. They are loving and respectful and kind, and they all helped their Mom in the smallest way when they knew she was sick. I dropped them all off at home and walked down the street to my house. I could tell Susie was grateful, but still really sick and needing to sleep it off. That was enough for me, but she didn't leave it at that.

The next day she brought me the best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in a cute box along with a plate of sugar cookies and a card. It was the equivalent of a dude on the Budweiser commercial saying, "I love you, man!" and she actually did write that in the card. Isn't she the best?

Now her birthday is tomorrow and she stopped by my house today. The doorbell rang, and when I opened the door, there was Brooklyn standing there with a bag she stretched out to me. I was happy to see her in her cute outfit and matching hair tie. The girl is always bedecked with matching bows of some kind. So in the bag is the first outfit we have received for our baby girl (the one that kicked the crap out of me last night while watching House, MD) and a cute little album for holding--what else??--COUPONS!

I was so excited because I've been trying to come up with a good way to tote my coupons with me in case of a shopping emergency. That's when your husband drags you out the door on a Saturday and you end up at HEB shopping for groceries and you didn't bring a shred of clipped newspaper money. So now I can't wait to get organized.

Isn't Susie great? She gives presents on her birthday. Now that's some swell friend! I love that we live down the street from each other, our kids go to the same school, we both serve in the Primary at church, and when my little Zoe comes out we'll have the same order gender of kids as she does (girll, boy, boy, girl). Which is way cool because I want to be just like Susie. I already stole her frog program (see Josh's youtube video... maybe I can figure out how to post it here).



OK, lest my other BFF's in CA get jealous... I love you guys, too! Kristen's birthday is on Sunday and Betty is also hapai and having a girl just like me. They're just so far away. They ought to be happy that I'm no longer all by myself out here in the Great Lone Star State. It's nice to have someone's back and for them to have mine.

BTW, it's kind of funny that after helping Susie out, I fell asleep and didn't pick up Seth on time. In fact, I was 40 minutes late. Josh was already on his way home from work worried about what happened to me. I was so zonked I didn't hear the phone ringing off the hook. He forgave me for the big scare because he was able to eat the leftovers from Aloha BBQ. Mac salad is the way to a man's heart and forgiveness.

OH! I forgot to tell you about the shave ice dessert at Aloha BBQ! It's to die for... a bowl of shaved ice topped with chopped strawberries, chopped mango, chopped honeydew--each in its own quadrant, topped in the middle with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and then drizzled with some kind of yummy tropical sauce. No one else makes this... not even the other Aloha BBQ in Katy. It's a $5 dessert, but well worth it... especially on a hot day... it's very refreshing. Go get some. The website is www.aloha-bbq.com.

Why Kroger?

Kroger is back in my good graces with the grocery game, and inquiring minds want to know how I left them in the first place. I will oblige, but first, you must know that my life is about other stuff, too, not just grocery stores. Judging from the majority of my blogs so far, you would think it's all I ever think about. I'm just excited, OK? I'll move on to other subjects as life goes along. No worry beef curry.

So... here we go.

When we first moved to Texas, I thought Kroger was the best grocery store available. Josh's parents really like their Colby Jack Cheese. They buy blocks of it and freeze them, and each one is savored. They don't have a Kroger where they live so they stock up on it when they come visit us. So maybe this behavior spurred me on. I went to Kroger all the time when we lived in League City.

When we moved up here, I started doing mystery shops at HEB and I noticed that they really push the friendly staff factor. They get graded on it -- even the guys gathering carts in the parking lot were expected to say hello to you if you happened to walk by them on the way in or out of the store. Pretty soon, our HEB stopped getting mystery shopped because they basically kicked butt on everything they were expected to do. They were nice and helpful and I liked their dry bulk section where you can get dried mango that looks the right color (can't stand the neon orange ones - you know they added something to make them that unearthly color) and oatmeal that hasn't been crushed to powder (takes longer to cook, but the texture is worth it).

So HEB started to look good and they are right across the street from Kroger, so it would not have taken much for me to switch, but I didn't switch until one fateful night...

I went shopping at Kroger around 10pm and had filled my cart to overflowing. When it came time to check out, the only stands open were the do-it-yourself ones. There were a couple of employees standing around and they did not acknowledge me standing there until I asked them, "Do I have to check out here?" And then one of them said, "Uh, yeah." I was flabbergasted. Did he notice how much crap I had in my cart? Keep in mind that the DIY stands were not as cool as the ones at Wal-Mart with the conveyor belt to put stuff up on or the multiple bag holders that turn and let you keep bagging until there are six bags full. I began to scan my items and realized that I didn't have anywhere to put them. I was getting a burning in my face and it was starting to spread out to my ears. I was getting worked up at the ridiculousness of the situation.

I had not done more than a few scans when, with a toss of a ramen noodle package, I turned to the two slackers and said, "You know what, if you can't open a regular stand and check me out, then I'm just going to leave my cart here and go home. This is so stupid." They had been standing there joking around with each other not caring that I was about to buy enough groceries to pay for both of their wages for the night and then some. I was so mad and then they had the audacity to be perturbed by my behavior? Uh-uh. So they fumbled around a bit, scanned everything for me, I paid, left and never went back.

Until now. Money changes everything. I still think the service at HEB is better and the produce is better, but Kroger has better sales and is fueling my weekly excitement and latest addiction. What can I say? Maybe those two jokers got fired or maybe they changed the policy. I noticed that when Susie and I went to check out these last two times, they automatically opened up a real checkout stand without being asked. That's right. That's how it should be.

You know what's funny? When I did mystery shops I didn't get paid very much. You were expected to spend at least $10 and then they paid you $12. So I figured it was like getting a $12 coupon. Looking back at it now makes me laugh because getting $77-$100 off is so much better!

More Grocery Fun

In the interest of time and due to Betty's observation of how I "like to write long things," I'm just going to write a quick blog to let you know how much I saved when I did another grocery run last night.

Because I'm doing the free trial with the website where I get my lists, I decided to shop at Randall's last night (AKA Safeway) and I found that the list had errors. Some items weren't on sale or they were different brands than what was stated on coupons. I almost didn't stay to get the other stuff on my list, but I forged ahead with my daughter's help. She liked having a mission and she likes food, so we combined the two interests for a family night of fun at the grocery store.

Imagine all three of my kids wearing Heely's and flying around me, the cart, and other people. I spoke sternly to them in the beginning, but as always, they half listen and then get going with their Indy 500 race around the frozen coolers. Finally, I decided to give my boys missions, too. It takes them longer, but it channeled their energy productively. I usually have two of the same coupon, so they had fun being the first to find the item. Zack practices his reading skills and Seth looks for the picture. It kept them close to me and we got done quickly.

Another bonus to getting the kids' help was getting them to understand the value of a dime. When we got to the check out, I told Sarah to watch the "fireworks" with me. We started at a total of $194.29 and watched the deductions go down to $71.21. Woo hoo! Sarah was impressed. The boys just wanted to buy gum.

When we got home and got everything put away, it was bedtime for the kiddies. I wanted to head back out to Kroger for another grocery run. Different things were on sale there, plus, I wanted to see if they restocked items from last week's sale that I still had coupons for.

Before I could head out, there was s a knock at the door and it was Susie. She was holding a couple of bags of groceries and wanted Josh to do a Price is Right game. She set everything out and asked Josh to give a total of how much he thought all of the stuff is worth. Josh guessed about $50 worth and she was impressed that he came so close to the right amount. Then she asked Josh to guess how much he thought she saved. He said 50%, so $25 spent. Then she blew us down with her $5 and change total spent. She loves flooring us. The woman is a legend.

After that, she went home to drop off her stuff and came back to go shopping with me on my Round 2. We left kind of late and got back kind of late, but it was fun (and safer) having someone to shop with at that hour. She did not plan on shopping, but she found coupons in the aisles and saved a bunch on whatever she did buy... I can't remember her totals, but it was like $70 down to $37 or something crazy. My total went from $156 to $78. Not as good as Susie, but I bought some items that were not on sale or I didn't have a coupon for.

All in all, it was another successful week of shopping. I can't wait until Saturday! I look forward to going to buy my Early Edition Sunday papers, and when I have a month's worth of coupons, I'll save even more money because so far, I'm set on toothpaste, soups, kids' snacks and cleaning supplies for the rest of the year. What will I stock up on next month??

Since I'll have to soon start paying full price for the lists, I will most likely stick with Kroger and drop Randall's. I was irritated with the amount of errors on the list (same goes for HEB which doesn't have as many good sales anyway). I did like the way the Randall's receipt printed out in categories, though. That was kind of cool. Still, it seems like less problems crop up at Kroger.

And I am done here! I realize that I am incapable of just giving you totals, and while this is shorter than my first blog, I really do like to write. Sorry Betty!

The Daddy Rocks

Sometimes Moms can let things go with their kids... Daddies hardly ever do that.

Well, the good daddies don't anyway.

I was listening to Dave Ramsey while working and a caller asked him what the title was of a book that he had recommended. He went on and on about one of the best books he has ever read called "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" by Meg Meeker, M.D. So I Googled the book title and the first link through Google Book Search had excerpts from the book. I strayed from my work long enough to read the beginnings of many chapters. I wanted to get the gist of it to see if maybe Josh could benefit from it in his relationship with Sarah and his other daughter soon to come into the world.

Chapter One is "You Are the Most Important Man in Her Life". It's funny how that title strikes me... there's power in those words. We may all assume it to be true, but having it flat out stated makes me look at the idea in a new light. I went on to read how daughters need a hero and someone who will protect them by saying what needs to be said and doing what needs to be done. Dr. Meeker talked about how embarrassed she was when her father called the restaurant where she was out on a date when she did not come home on time. She later recognized it as a way of protecting her.

Sarah isn't of dating age, but lately she has been displaying some weird speech habits. I noticed it mostly when she was with her friends, and it's weird to see them all act exactly the same and sound exactly the same. So I kind of let it go, thinking that it's just a phase. Plus, I don't always trust my ears even with my hearing aids in. Well, Josh has been bringing it up lately because he's the sound guy and everything and anything that is dissonant grates on his ears. Tonight it got pretty heated because he was trying to tell her not to talk that way and she was being disrespectful by talking back and acting like he didn't know what he was talking about. At one point he told her that she had developed a bad habit and he would not let it go.

And then she got all blubbery and upset because she feels like her parents don't understand her. So I'm watching my child cry and my husband not letting it go, and while it's hard to see her cry because of the words coming out of his mouth, I could not help but support him. He is doing her a favor by pointing out to her a bad habit and giving her good advice about how to fix it. This is a form of caring and protecting and using words that she may not appreciate right now, but if Dr. Meeker's book is right, he will help mold her into her best self. I really admired him for doing what he did tonight. He wants to raise her right and I appreciate his role in her life and how he is taking responsibility for it. I would not want to be the daddy, so we make a good team.

It all ended well with hugs and I love you's and that's really what Sarah will take away from this. So when I read "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters" (got it requested at the library), I think I might just find that Josh is already doing what he should to raise a strong daughter.