Boeuf Bourguignon

A last, final, tasty thought for the year.


So, after watching Julie and Julia the other day, I had to make this. The publishers made it available online for free, so I downloaded the PDFs and printed it off. Then I did some research online on what to substitute for the wine in it.

This is absolutely the most time-consuming thing I have ever cooked in my life. I probably cut the beef in too-small pieces, though I did follow what the recipe said. They were smaller than what was shown in the movie, however. Just drying and searing them took over an hour.

I started with the bacon as instructed -- couldn't find a chunk of bacon, so I got thick cut bacon and cut it into the pieces of the size indicated in the recipe. While it was cooking, I got to work on cutting up the beef. While the first pan of beef was cooking, I started drying the rest. Once it was all dried, I was about halfway done cooking it all, so I sliced the carrots and onions and peeled the pearl onions. I purchased pre-sliced mushrooms, so that was already taken care of. At that point, the beef was all cooked, so I just kept going with the recipe. I started it in my giant cast iron skillet, but it isn't big enough to put everything in, so once out of the 450 degree oven, I dropped the temp to 300 (instead of whatever the recipe said) and got out my pampered chef professional stock pot. It can go in the oven, but not at 450 or I would have just done it all in that. ANYWAY. Since I don't cook with wine, I used 2 cups of cherry juice, about 2/3 cup of white grape juice, and 1/3 c of aged balsamic vinegar to cut the sweetness of the juices. (I might cut the vinegar to 1/4 c and increase the white grape juice to 3/4 next time). Aside from that and lowering the heat a tad more, I followed the very long recipe exactly and pulled the stew out of the oven at 12:30 a.m. and went to bed.

My husband loves my normal cooking -- I've started doubling most things so he has leftovers to reheat when he gets home from work while I'm still sleeping. He will eat it all. Yesterday, I'd made guacamole meatloaf burgers for a late lunch/early dinner. He devoured three quite happily yesterday, and I put two aside for him this morning. But when he came home to the heavenly aroma of beef, balsamic vinegar, onions, thyme ... He said, "Can't I just eat THAT?"

I let him have a taste. "Wow. Amazing. So good." He couldn't string two words together. He then ate the burgers, but kept looking longingly at the fridge. I finally said, "Go get yourself a bowl." He jumped up and ran, afraid I'd change my mind.

He was drooling and couldn't stop talking about it afterward. He wants to take some to his folks another time and I said, "Well, why don't we plan on that next Christmas or something, because this is an expensive, time-consuming recipe and I probably won't make it again for a while." It is divine, just way more $ than I usually spend on a typical dinner (about $40 for the pot) and way more time than I usually have to prepare.

We reheated it and served it for dinner tonight -- with boiled, buttered, and parsleyed red potatoes. So yummy. Kiddo, my carbivore, actually ate some. Little Mister ate the potatoes. The husband and I each had a bowl and are absolutely stuffed. It's a new tradition for us for New Year's Eve!

2009

January: I made the baby laugh a lot.
February: Kiddo made Miss Price out of a 7-up bottle for school, and I finished the afghan I started for the husband right after we got married.

March: I made a last-minute Indian costume for kiddo.
April: I joined a stash game on the online sewing circle I was in back in April. Using things only from my stash, I made diapers, wipes, bags, chapstick holders, and crayon rollups plus a crochet hook rollup for DisGrace. these are just the crayon rollups. And I used a TON of my fabric, plus got Little Mister into cloth diapers. I was happy.

May: I learned to knit.
June: I sent knitted dishcloths to Japan boy.
And took pictures at the Springville Art Museum after our family reunion.
July: I finished an afghan for my newest niece. And dealt with hubby's worst bipolar crash to date.
August: I took pictures of a dragonfly in our tree.
September: Finished Izzy's quilt for her first birthday, made mostly out of her infant clothes. commissioned by her folks.
October: Found out I'm preggers. And quit using cloth diapers.
November: Made candy jars with Kiddo for her school's Christmas store. She sold them all and got a nice little check.
December: Made a hood for my niece who just left on her mission. She was so happy with how it turned out, she asked me to hem her skirts (5 of them) before she left.
And we made a quilt for my stepdaughter. And she loves it.

Chopped

As you may know, I'm a fan of food. I like eating it. I enjoy cooking. I like watching food be prepared. I watch a LOT of Food Network. There is (usually) no blood, gore, violence, or sexy crap on the tube.

Last night, after I finished my shift, I couldn't sleep. I should have just turned on Charlie like I mentioned earlier and fallen asleep, but Chopped was on and I really like that show. Four chefs compete for $10K, one being eliminated after each round. The rounds are always appetizer, entree, and dessert. The producers put mystery ingredients inside baskets, one for each chef, and the chef has 20 minutes to come up with something amazing out of the basket. They also have access to a fully stocked pantry and, usually, a fully stocked fridge. Last night's mystery ingredients during the appetizer were eel, peaches, and fresh peas. The entree was some japanese pickled pear or something (I can't remember what it's called), whole shrimp, oatmeal, and something else. I got pretty distracted during the entree...and didn't watch the dessert.

There were two very young chefs (both men) and two older chefs (probably in their 50s, cooking for longer than the either two chefs have been alive), one man, one woman. The older man was eliminated after the appetizer.

During the entree portion of the competition, one of the younger chefs sliced his hand. He immediately ran to the first aid station, cleaned himself up a bit, and put a rubber glove on so he didn't contaminate his food. A minute or so later, the woman cut her finger. She kept cutting up her orange (ew), then went for a glove. It wouldn't go on right because her hands were wet and was getting in her way, so she threw it out and kept working. The young guy who cut himself told her she needed to stop and go get another glove. She didn't. Instead, she finished preparing and tossed a salad *by hand* with blood on her finger. I was mortified. The judges were mortified. She then did clean up and put another glove on.

When it came time to critique her dish, they wouldn't touch the salad, though did eat the other parts of the dish (for which she'd been properly gloved while preparing). She thought they were being overly dramatic and said, "I don't have cooties!" She also kept saying, "It was just a nick!" Whether that's true or not, you could see the blood drip into the dish. They told her bleeding into food could possibly endanger someone.

At least she poked fun of herself when she was immediately eliminated -- "Blood vinaigrette" didn't go over so well.

I couldn't believe a professional chef, in the business for over 30 years, would do something like that. I'm no pro, but my stars, if I cut myself *at home* and I'm just serving my family, I still stop what I'm doing, clean myself up, put a Band-Aid or something on, then continue prepping. No, I don't have only 20 or 30 minutes to do it, but food safety has to come first.

Made me never want to eat at another restaurant EVER again.

The Cure for Insomnia

So, my son woke up with a nightmare or something tonight. He does this once or twice a week, wakes up hysterical and clingy, then once he's asleep, he sleeps really well the rest of the night. In my bed, not his own.

Tonight, as I laid there with him while he drifted off, I thought, "I wish I could pop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and fall asleep, too."

So sad. I love Johnny Depp. I love that movie. Freddie Highmore did an amazing job as Charlie. But every time I put it on for Kiddo to watch with me, I zonk out completely.

I think it might have something to do with the fact that when it first came out, we put an air mattress on the floor in the living room and watched it over and over and over and over. I was working 60-hour weeks at the time, and would fall asleep watching it with her because I was just that tired. So now, it's like Unisom, only without the morning-after headache.

I don't know where I was going with this, but it is what it is. Sorry Johnny. I'll happily watch you play Cap'n Jack Sparrow though. In any of the three movies. They tend to keep me awake ... Orlando Bloom ... Johnny Depp ... ahem.

Thumper

I told the husband I was going to call the baby Thumper and he asked why. "Because it felt like two little thumps last night." He smiled and said, "Thumper it is."

Thumper has thumped a few more times today. So fun.

*sniff*

My niece is going on a mission. Wednesday. She came by to say goodbye tonight (and pick up her skirts that she'd asked me to hem). Little Mister said hi, then "my-my" (bye-bye), and gave her a love. And I didn't cry.

I didn't even cry when she got her call. Or at her farewell. Or when I saw her on Saturday at the family Christmas get together.

But I want to now. I've known her since she was like ... 4. She's really DisGrace's husband's sister's daughter, so not "really" my niece. But she is. She calls my folks gramma and grampa, and I lived with her and her mom for a month or so when I moved back to Utah before I had a place to stay. I was actually living with my brother's wife, but he was on leave from the military and they needed alone time, so off to the other in-laws. Anyway. She was in high school and playing basketball and was such a good kid ... still is. That was 7 years ago! When Kiddo was a 3-year-old terror.

And now she's leaving! And I won't see her forever! Okay, 18 months isn't that long, but when she gets home, Little Mister will be a 3-year-old terror, and this baby will be ONE. And it's not even borned yet!

*sob* I'm gonna miss her.

But y'know ... we'll all be okay. She'll be off serving the Lord, and our family will just keep growing and be here when she gets back. When she got here, Little Mister followed me down the stairs, but the tile in the entry was so cold, he wouldn't put his feet on it. so flipping funny. And I felt Thumper move tonight -- I think that's the new baby's nickname. We've been thinking about it a lot, and really, that movement felt like a thump. So Thumper it is. Can't wait for Thumper to thump Little Mister from inside my belly. Bwahaha.

*edit: thanks MB.

Christmas = Awesome

So, Wednesday after my "men" rant, someone dropped off a little tree at our door, loaded with gift cards to various stores and restaurants, and a visa gift card, too. I started crying. Sure, we had Christmas covered, but we know January is always tough for us because the husband and I are both out of work the last two weekends in December for the holidays: His job shuts down for both of them, though is open between, and mine ... we just don't usually have much work around any holidays. So this came as a very welcome gift, indeed. I obviously don't know who did it, but I am thankful. And I haven't been able to pay it forward as much this year, though this does give me new incentive to try harder again next year.

Anyway. The Husband wanted to open his presents around 1:30 this morning. I said no, he had to wait just like the kids. haha. Kiddo actually obeyed me and didn't come out of her room until she heard Little Mister this morning, which means I got to sleep until 7. Awesome.

The husband LOVED his new phone and gaming stuff, most of which I put in his stocking (he had enough stuff I did separate stockings). Kidlet LOVED the earrings (thank heaven, after the hassle!) and all her other stuff, which was quite gratifying. Little Mister walked out of the bedroom this morning into the living room and said, "WOW!" several times. He loved his presents, too, though his favorite part were the Clementines, which he threw all over the house for hours until he made orange juice when he chucked one really hard into the wall. lol.

And really, that was a wonderful gift for ME, that all my efforts at home were well appreciated.

Then I logged into Myspace and Small Fry's status said, "I like my blanky."

Totally made my day, especially after we had a bit of drama this week with her gramma. *rolls eyes*

Kiddo bought me some hair clips at the Christmas store at school, which I can totally use, the chopsticks from Japan Boy are awesome (planning an Asian dinner soon so we can all use them), and we all got to watch movies together. The movie box went over well -- I made everyone eat breakfast first (very simple, eggs and toast), then we unloaded the junk food box and watched G-Force. Then Kiddo got to watch her Tinkerbell movie while I napped with Little Mister and the husband played video games, called my folks (glad you liked your gift Mom!), and then we took dinner to the in-laws. We took ham and green bean casserole (my FIL's favorite) and treats. They sent home more treats after stuffing us silly with Tongan food (lupulu, taro, yams, crab, etc.) and mashed potatoes for my picky stinker kids. After we got home, the kids started Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (though Little Mister had to go to bed before any creepy parts), and then the husband, Kidlet, and I finished it up. Now the children and husband are sleeping, and I'm getting ready to log into work to see if I have any. If not, I'll be watching Julie and Julia, working on my niece's skirts some more, and checking in with work every 30 minutes.

OH, and while we were at the in-laws, my MIL asked about American Christmas traditions. "What are the socks for?" It had never occurred to me really that they didn't do things the American way -- the husband said they don't usually do a tree or put out presents and stuff, but I guess I never really thought about what that meant. So I explained the stockings a bit and presents and Santa Claus (and it's a darn good thing Kidlet knows who Santa really is because MIL was really particular about that), and then invited them over NEXT Christmas so they can see what it's about.

I'm already plotting stockings for MIL and FIL, and maybe my BILs. Obviously we won't spend as much on them as we will on our children, but I think it'll be a fun surprise anyway. I intend to start shopping for things soon, during sales throughout the year.

I hope each of you had wonderful days like we did. (and oh noes, I just remembered I didn't get our traditional ornaments put in the stockings and I have no idea where they are! Blast!)

p.s. Kiddo wrote the cutest letter to Santa.

Dear Santa,

[Little Mister] wants a ball, a toy car, and a sit'n'spin. I want a Ipod, a Wii, a DSI, a PSI, and a keyboard. How is your son, Willy, and how is Mrs. Claus? How are the elves? How are the Deer doin'!? Rudolph gets 2 carrots and the rest get 1. Your Hot chocolate might be cold, so Heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Okay?

Love,
[Kidlet and Little Mister]

P.S. Sorry, No carrots
P.P.S. No Hot chocolate

hehehehehehehe

Happy Christmas!

I know I said I wouldn't be around much, but wow ... no work and kids asleep and random stuff happening ... I'm here again.

So, the husband and I talked about the knitting needles. He came home with roses and let me sleep in (I didn't even hear him come in the house, and the garage usually wakes me), and we decided to hold off on them. I love the roses (plus he stuck a sappy love note on the vase) and really, my personal training for the year was supposed to be my Christmas present anyway, so I'm good.

I think he's going to like his Christmas. He's a gamer, so most of it is gaming related. BUT, I called Tuesday to cancel his cell phone because he never uses it and they said, "Oh, well, we can drop your minutes a little bit, save you $20, and then you can still use it as a backup ..." So, since cutting it off was only going to save us $20 and we don't have a land line and we never use all our minutes, I'm far more comfortable keeping it active, especially so Kidlet has a way to call me if I'm late or whatever. But we had to get a new phone because Little Mister ate the husband's. Plus, the husband hated the old phone and wanted something "cooler." So, they got me a free phone, waived the activation fee, and shipped it free overnight. It is charged, activated, and turned on, and about to go in his stocking. Kidlet is going to call him in the morning. bwahahaha.

Men. MEN. GAHHH.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the guy. This week ... he's been ... such a MAN!!!

Tuesday night (December 22), 8:30 p.m., as he's walking out the door to go to work, he said to me, "Honey, I finally know what I want for Christmas."

Are you SERIOUS? I finished shopping last week, you are the only one who has presents under the tree, and really? Are you SERIOUS?

I dragged the kids to the game shop near-ish to our house and bought what he wanted. Fortunately, A) it wasn't expensive, B) the store wasn't at the mall, and C) the store wasn't super crowded.

Tonight (December 23, 5 p.m.), right before he went for a nap to get ready for work, he said to me, "Honey, tonight we're having a potluck at work and I need to take something. Should I get Chef Debbie to handle it?" "Who is Chef Debbie?" "You know, Little Debbie ..." He knows how I feel about Little Debbie. I threw a pillow at him and made two batches of these evil treats.



Today, he also asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I'm used to him shopping at the last minute (he bought my camera 3 years ago ON Christmas Eve), but I was hoping he'd do it earlier this year because what I really want will have to be shipped. But if I suggest anything earlier in the month without him bringing up the conversation, things don't go so well. He was bummed since they won't be here before Christmas, but he didn't rush over and order them either. BUT since those needles are on sale for $10 off right now, I'm sending him an email to the link tonight anyway, will tell him I did so, and hopefully he'll get them ordered tomorrow.

I can't WAIT to see what other interesting stuff tomorrow brings ...

Cookbook giveaway

Hola friends! The $5 dinner mom is giving away a LOT of copies of her new book. Go and enter!

If you don't know about her blog, she posts delicious, frugal meals and tips, including dinners for 4 people for $5 or less, and a lot of her recipes are gluten free and/or casein free. Go! Read! Enter!

Memories of Christmas

My daughter was eating a Clementine today, and the fragrance as she peeled it reminded me of long ago Christmas mornings.

When we were kids, we would each get an orange in our stockings, usually peanuts and candy too, but those oranges ... We didn't have a lot of money for presents, but we knew we'd get those oranges. The sense triggered memory was so strong, I could smell a real pine tree too, which we had when we were small kids, but my little family hasn't ever had one. It's amazing how one simple, every day smell can bring up such strong, happy memories.

I started to get excited about Christmas again. It was the last Clementine, so I need more when I go to Costco Monday. We tend to eat them as opposed to bigger navel oranges because they're easier to peel. I usually put chocolate oranges in the stockings because my daughter wouldn't eat much fruit until recently, but this year ... I'll be putting a couple of Clementines in each stocking, along with treats and small toys for the kids. And Kiddo's earrings into hers. The husband and I will probably just share a stocking.

My little family usually gets a few DVDs for Christmas and we watch them over the next few days. When I picked up a couple of DVDs today to put under the tree, I thought to myself, "Stewie, instead of wrapping the DVDs separately, why not put them in a big box with popcorn, hot chocolate mix, soda, chips, licorice, little bags of cereal for the baby, and all the other junk we like to consume when watching movies together, and then wrap the big box?" So that's what I'm going to do. Then we can have a movie fest on Christmas Day, since the husband is off work and won't absolutely have to sleep during the day. bwahaha.

One of my other favorite Christmas memories was the year my daughter was born. I didn't have a winter coat and I had very little money. I was a newly single parent, working part time, and all my money went to my daughter. My parents were (and still are) generous but at the time I felt ashamed and unworthy every time I had to ask for something. One day, my brother and his wife came over and found an envelope on our front doorstep. It was addressed to me. Inside was $200 cash and a note saying, "Please buy yourself a winter coat. Love, Your sister in the Gospel." I did buy a coat, but there was enough left over I was able to get a few things for my daughter as well. I wore that coat for a long time and, at times, I wish I still had it, even though it wouldn't fit anymore. I passed it on to DI long ago. I have never been able to do something financially that generous for anyone, but have been inspired by that act of generosity. We usually do try to do something anonymous for someone every year. Even if it's just one ornament off of a giving tree. Or organizing a ward's "adoption" of many needy families within the ward. That was a wonderful Christmas as well. Our tree had lots of presents under it -- all for other people. My daughter learned at age 5 what it was to help others who were more needy than we were, and happily gave her car seat to a single mom whose little boy needed one. She was big enough for just a booster by then, so it worked out.

I'll probably not be blogging much this coming week since I have a lot to do. But I hope you'll share some of your favorite Christmas and holiday memories with me, too. Happy holidays!

A Year of Projects

So, since I always get myself all twisted up in December because I'm trying to do so many projects, I'm going to try and spread them out this year. One a month, every month. I could probably do more if I wasn't pregnant/having a new baby or working, but I am and I do, so I'm not looking to do anything terribly huge.

After Christmas, I'm going to make a few pairs of footed PJ bottoms for Little Mister. He won't leave socks or shoes on but his feet get cold at night and sometimes we leave early in the morning to take Kiddo to school, so he needs more of these.

January will be focused on finishing a few projects still sitting here. Like my 2 remaining "pay it forwards" since they're due in February, and the winners from the fitness challenge I did (which should have been done a LONG time ago!) and a skirt for kiddo (though honestly I'd love to finish the skirt this weekend and give it to her for Christmas this year, too).

February will be finishing our wedding quilt. Blast it all. It's hand quilted and I really don't have that much left to do! Just the borders and then bind it. FOCUS, Stewie, FOCUS.

March will be a quilt for the baby. It's plotted out, and I'll be using this tutorial, just need to know whether we're having blue or pink before I buy fabric for it or start it, and we should find out sometime in February. (I actually love V from V and Co., just got overwhelmed yesterday with how slacking I've been this Christmas season. Not that I want to be Martha Stewart, but I even haven't baked a single thing! And I'm a baker!! I'm feeling better now).

Stockings. We'll need 6 next year. I'd like them all to be slightly different in look, though will use the same pattern for them. I'll start searching for fabric and notions on sale after the holidays, when they're super cheap, and I'll make one every month. That's 6 months of projects down: April through September. Wahoo. Yes, I know the baby is due in the middle of that, but hey, if they go well maybe I'll have them all done by May and can take a few months off. hahahahahaha.

October: A quilt for the husband. It's for his birthday in the beginning of November. The quilt a member gave him on his mission is falling to pieces and he *really* needs a new one. It will probably not be super hard to put together either and will not be hand quilted. I will probably never hand quilt another quilt again. I might even make a "cheat" quilt (preprinted top, not pieced). Then all we have to do is tie it (or have someone machine quilt it) and bind it. But probably not.

November: I have Japan-boy and his family for Christmas next year. I don't know where they'll be living or what I'm doing yet, but I will do something for them that they'll appreciate, though I can't post pictures or plans or ideas or anything because he sometimes reads my blog!

December: Ornaments. I like to give my kids (and parental units) handmade ornaments for Christmas, though failed this year. I have an idea in place already, so I just need to go for it. Again, I'm looking for fabrics after the holidays this year so I can score cheap stuff. And I'll be baking some in December, too.

So that's the plan. Hope it pans out.

*sigh*

The earrings made it.

The quilt did not. It's still in top, batting, and back. Because Little Mister keeps walking on it when I try to work on it. Awesome.

Made it to Target today to finish up some Christmas shopping. I hate leaving it this late, but ... owell. Managed to get a keyboard for the family and some other things on the lists. Including bras for Munchkin, which I told her I wasn't putting in her stocking this year even though she put it on her list because it completely embarrassed her last time. In the car, after we left the store, I started feeling the Christmas spirit a bit ... really for the first time this year.

Then I came home to a complete disaster of a house and read this post, and even though she's awesome and that is super easy, I feel defeated. The house is such a mess I can't even contemplate decorating any further than the baby tree, which has completely burned out lights, and I haven't taken the time to fix it. It just makes me want to cry. *sigh*

Instead, I think I'll go make Munchkin clean some more so we can bake this weekend. She wants treats for her teacher, so she'd darn well better cooperate.

A quilt for Small Fry

It's just the top. Going to tie it today and hopefully get it bound tonight after work so I can ship it tomorrow. Love it though. Might make another'n for us. Different fabrics though. I'm not such a tomboy. My husband would like it if I'd finish our wedding quilt though, so we'll see.

Overstock also emailed me yesterday. They really had lost my package, so they're sending a new one and it should ship today or tomorrow with 2-day shipping. Which means the earrings should be here for Christmas. Yahoo!

"Auntie ..."

"Can you hem 5 skirts for me before I leave on my mission in 2 weeks?"

"Um. Yes."

I'm going to finish Small Fry's quilt first though -- it has to get shipped to California. My target is to be done on Friday and have it ready to go and get to the UPS store. We'll see.

So not ready for Christmas. Bah.

In other news, this baby really likes Crazy Bread from Little Caesar's. It's so bad, the manager knows what I want when I go in, and that I don't get sauce with it. I finally explained, "I'm pregnant." He said, "That makes a LOT of sense." hahaha. So yes, I'm surviving on cold cereal and Crazy Bread. Not much protein at the moment, though eggs are usually okay and so is white meat poultry every few days. Tuna, surprisingly, is fine, too. Anything darker is not. Ugh. The husband is frustrated because I'm not making mass quantities of meat like I did when I was pregnant with our son, so he's not getting enough protein to sustain him at work during his whole shift, but I really don't know how to fix it. Owell. Off to make chicken tenders and pasta something to eat with the crazy bread.

aren't these cute?

I hope they really are. I ordered them two weeks ago but I haven't seen them in person yet. They got lost in the warehouse. *not happy* My cute daughter loves lady bugs, and I thought these earrings would be perfect for Christmas. I sure hope the guy I just talked to on the phone wasn't blowing smoke -- they put a "trace" on the package and in 4 to 6 business days, they'll send a second pair 2nd day air, so they should still be here for christmas. Hopefully. Since she's not getting much else.

*Note: This is the very first time I've ever had problems with receiving an item from overstock. I usually love them and will happily order from them again.

*snort*

I'm laughing so hard.

I told the husband I'd changed the garage's light bulbs this morning.

He only heard "change the light bulbs".

So after he replaced the car battery with the help of DisGrace's husband, he changed the light bulbs.

And threw away the two brand new ones.

hahahahahahahahahahaha

I'm going to be in bigger trouble tomorrow

So, tonight, the husband and I had a "discussion" about how to discipline our daughter. We came to terms with each other and had a cuddle, and then he went to work.

Or tried to.

Those of you on facebook know I killed the car's battery tonight.

He was not pleased.

The overhead lights in the garage have been dead for well over a month. I bought new bulbs, showed my husband where they were, and asked him to take care of it. We have 10-foot ceilings in the garage and most of the house (and where it's not 10 feet, it's much, much higher), so there is NO way I can reach the bulbs to change them at a short 5 foot 5 inches. He can reach from a stool because he is tall and has long arms and said he'd get to it, he'd take care of it, blah blah blah.

He didn't.

So tonight when I got home from the store, it was pretty dark in the garage and I needed to see to put some things away down there. I left the headlights on, thinking, "I'll turn them right off." Then the baby started freaking out and Kiddo started arguing with me and whining ... which continued all night, hence the "dicussion" with the husband. ANYWAY. I forgot. Completely forgot to turn the lights off. And even though it's a 2005, it doesn't have an auto shutoff feature. Lame.

He was pretty upset with me for leaving them on. It drained the battery completely. His brother didn't answer his phone, so I called the home teacher. He came right over (in his jammies -- I feel so bad) and tried to jump start the car. It made very quiet noises, but would not start. He offered to give hubby a ride to work, which hubby refused for a few minutes, then realized he really ought to go in (he'd called off twice this week from a bipolar crash, so we really needed him to be there tonight). So the home teacher took him.

Home teachers are awesome.

So I called his brother again, called my sister (who was with her husband at his work Christmas party so they couldn't talk), and ended up messaging hubby's sister because I didn't have his mom's cell phone number. Hubby's sister had their mom call me, and they are going to pick him up in the morning and help us get a battery from the auto place down the road. If it wasn't so cold and so far with two kids, I'd walk. Anyway.

I got to thinking. This really is THE HUSBAND's fault because he wouldn't change the damn light bulbs. It finally dawned on me that we have one of those rods for changing bulbs, but we've only used it for the floods in the living space in our vaulted ceilings so I didn't think about using it to change the regular sized bulbs in the garage. BUT, it came with a regular sized bulb attachment. I found the correct attachment and changed them myself.

He's going to be madder about that than anything -- hates when I ask him to do something and do it myself, but really. Over a month? That's plenty of time, dearest. I'm done waiting.

I even found a video online on how to change the battery in a PT Cruiser, which we needed because PT Cruisers are stupid and the battery is underneath the air intake compartment. You have to remove that and the filter and the air box before you can even try to take out the battery. I'll show the video to him, but if he doesn't change it, I'm going to do it myself. ROAR.

EDIT: Okay, so I was grouchy last night and my intent didn't come across. I wasn't really blaming the husband for the car, that was a joke. I was upset about it and the dead lights in the garage, but realize that it just happened and the blame game isn't one I really play. So ... yeah.

Baby!

I'm 12 weeks pregnant tomorrow. That means the first trimester is over. Which means I might be feeling better soon. I had a doctor's appointment today and we heard the heartbeat. Which means my risk of miscarriage is less than 1%.

I've been feeling fine about this pregnancy as far as carrying to term (or nearly) goes. But I had that moment of panic in the doctor's office waiting room of, "What if they can't find the heartbeat?" And I realized that I really do want this baby. What a relief, right?

Anyway. Thanks to Dawn's suggestion, I am currently attempting Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Not too bad. Need Sprite now though. Hmph.

My niece is leaving for a mission soon. She asked me to make a hood to go with her nice coat. I should get off the computer and go work on it ...

Cold much?

I've been surviving on cold cereal the last little bit. Honey Nut Cheerios, plain Cheerios, Raisin Bran, cinnamon Life ... Apparently, that's what's going to keep me going during this pregnancy and I'm okay with that for the most part.

If only I could get the rest of the family on board for eating cold cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I'd never have to cook again.

Well. Until next summer sometime.

Silent Monks "Sing" Hallelujah Chorus

Thanks Treen!

Thank you Santa (and Dad)

My dad worked for the state prison for a very, very long time. Every Thanksgiving, they would give their employees a free turkey, which came in quite handy for our large family while we were growing up.

Dad retired about 12? years ago (right mom?). I didn't think we'd keep getting turkeys, but they did and do keep providing them for our family. My folks and I moved to Oregon in 2000, and I think we all sort of forgot about the turkeys. When I moved back to Utah, leaving my folks in Oregon, Dad's friend, Santa, started making sure our family got Dad's turkey. About 5 years ago, they switched from turkeys to gift cards to Harmon's. Santa always brings it to me, and my brother and sister and I have taken turns using it -- though not consistent you, me, him, it's been more random.

This year, I opted to keep it for the first time in quite a while. Harmon's is possibly one of the most expensive stores in the area, and I don't think I've *ever* shopped there. We didn't need a turkey, as I'd picked one up for super cheap at Smith's the week before Thanksgiving and didn't get the card until two days before Thanksgiving. I just held onto the card, knowing this time of year financially things get sort of tight for our family and that we've been sick a lot, so would probably have some necessities come up soon. I was right. Thanks to Santa and Dad, I was able to get us taken care of.

With the way things have been with the baby being sick this week, then me and my husband, we had run out of a few things and money, and man, that gift card came in handy. Eggs, bread, spaghetti sauce, ground beef, a frozen pizza, and more sprite used up the gift card. They were all necessities, as we've survived on scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and spaghetti for lunch lately (this pregnancy, spaghetti is one of the things I can always keep down). I still have noodles from a stock up trip before, so I didn't need to get more (and at their prices, I was thrilled to not have to get them!). We're almost out of Sprite, which is a stomach flu friendly drink. Kiddo wanted the pizza, and I grabbed sushi (paid cash for it) at Harmon's, which was nice that they had it. A month late, but the husband finally got his birthday sushi.

There were a few things I liked about the store, even with the higher prices. It was very clean and easy to find everything on my list. The employees were very friendly, even the sample lady giving out samples of apple cider (which both my kids enjoyed). They don't take groceries to your car, but they have a "park and load" service: You bring your car to the loading area, and they load your groceries for you. I opted not to use that, though. The sushi thing, we'll probably grab more there next time he wants some because, while it wasn't the best we've had, it was way better than some of the other inexpensive places we've tried. But we choose not to go to the BEST place often because we spend $60 or more for just the two of us there. So it's a good alternative for those times when he wants it and we don't have the cash or time for the expensive place.

It started snowing while we were there and Little Mister thought that was neat. He kept staring out the window and pointing while I was buckling him in.

Too bad Kiddo's pizza didn't stick. She is now sick with the flu bug. Thank heavens I bought more Sprite and bread so she can have toast and some icy cold, tummy-settling Sprite tomorrow.

Friday Fave Five

1. Dreaming about an icy cold glass of Sprite and actually being able to drink it and keep it down. Oh yeah, I'm sick again. little mister had the stomach flu for 3 days this week and graciously shared with me and the husband.

2. Having a 10-year-old willing to stay home and help clean and tend her brother so Mom and Dad could sleep it off. (the stomach flu, nothing else). At least, she was willing until she realized it was WORK. But she stuck it out. She didn't have a choice. bwahahaha. BUT she helped a lot, making me toast, bringing me water, bringing me anything I asked for, taking care of the little one, even attempted to change his butt once, and did ALL the dishes in the kitchen and washed out the sinks (under threat of torture -- me breathing on her). And she drew me a beautiful flower with a little note to "Get Better, Momma!!". Cute.

3. Having kleenex, ginger ale, sprite, saltines, and bread for toast, plus other necessities for sick people on hand. Yay. No one had to rush out and get anything or bring anything to us, so we are quarantined. Hoping we're all better tomorrow so we can see my sibs and their fams. Plus, I made good dinners the last two days before I got sick, so there are leftovers for anyone who wants to eat them. The husband didn't even have to ask, he knew where they were and heated up his own food when he was feeling up to eating.

4. Being mostly caught up with bedding and towels *before* the bug hit, keeping up while the baby was sick, and being able to let it go while I've been sick. I'll start again tomorrow.

5. Blankets and space heaters. They've chased away the flu-induced chills. Kiddo also went to the dark garage and found the space heater for daddy so he could get warm. And the best blankie for me is the nap comfy, which now needs to go in the wash because the baby urped on it. Hm. Maybe I'll do that tonight. Right now even, so I can have it again tomorrow!

Cutest EVER

Whenever Little Mister hears the garage open, he runs to the gate at the top of the stairs and waits. When the person in question appears on the landing, he yells, "HEY!" at the top of his voice.

Even if it was Kiddo just going downstairs to get something out of the garage, which has all burned out light bulbs so she opens the door for light, so he saw her 10 seconds ago.

Cracks me up every time.

He also said Hey! to people at church on Sunday and people at the store yesterday. Before I got sick with his tummy bug, we ran to two stores for a couple of necessities. Hopefully whoever used my carts after me cleaned them up before touching! Anyway. He charmed all the strangers at the store, who grinned and said hi back, but kept their distance (thankfully). He has zero stranger anxiety anymore, which is kind of worrisome. We have to keep a close eye on the little man. *sigh*

Short-lived

Work was short lived last night.

Little Mister woke up shrieking.

A couple hours later, he was still awake and started puking.

yeahhhhhhhh ... he's still sick tonight, though he is sleeping now.

I should try typing.

Drat!

My internet just pooped out. I thought for sure I'd get to log off and go to bed, which is all I've wanted to do today. This baby is sucking all my energy and brain away from me. It'll be worth it in the long run, but I forgot to go to the bank today so I could pay bills. Um, hello??

I've been sleeping a lot today and just haven't felt well -- I'm to the worst part of my morning sickness, and it'll just keep getting worse for 2 or 3 more weeks. The medication they give me so I'm not *as* sick makes me super sleepy, which is nice on the one hand because I can sleep through the worst of it, but bad on the other. I was only awake for about 6 hours today until time to get ready for work, and most of those 6 hours were spent in the car with DisGrace and Dizzy and Little Mister, lunching and erranding.

At any rate, I really don't feel well tonight, and usually when the internet poops out around now, I just end up having to log off for the night because our podunk internet company doesn't really have 24/7 service. I did what they always tell me to do (which never works) and rebooted the hub.

The darn internet came back on immediately.

This on top of a holiday weekend where I didn't once run out of work??? SO weird.

I usually gripe when I don't have work or can't, but I've been so tired lately, all I want to do is sleeeeeeeeeeeeep. On the one hand, it's too bad this hasn't been a normal holiday weekend for my line of work -- I'd be in bed right now. On the other, it's good for our family's budget if I can keep working. Guess I'll stop whining and get to editing more stuff.

Welcome, Welcome, Sunday Morning

The husband had to work yesterday daytime instead of last night (I don't know why they're messing with his sleep so bad ...), so he got to go to church today.

But first, he decided to cut his own hair. He needed it -- he was a bit shaggy. I helped trim around the edges and really should make him let me even it out a bit on top, but he's happy, he went to church, he even wrestled Little Mister during Sacrament meeting so I could listen. I'm not going to make waves.

Anyway. The last few weeks at church, Little Mister has gone up to any man wearing a suit or white shirt and tie and asked to be held. When Daddy came out of our bedroom, having shaved his beard and cut his hair, wearing a white shirt and tie, Little Mister *ran* for him and asked to be held. When we were walking from the car to the church (hush, I know the church is right next to the development, but we live in the back), Little Mister insisted on Daddy carrying him, and kept turning around to look at Daddy. He had to sit on his lap during Sacrament meeting, too, and wouldn't let Daddy out of his sight. It was SO cute.

After Daddy left after Sacrament meeting (he has to work tonight so needed more sleep), Little Mister didn't ask random strangers to hold him. YES!

*whine*

Um, this might be a TMI sort of post.

Ever since giving birth to my son, my sacrum and coccyx have caused me indescribable pain. Doctors and therapists have all supposed that it's the sacroiliac joint, but it's not: This is in between there, in the bone right in the middle, y'know, where Little Mister's head scraped down as he was being borned!!

My mommy sent me this wonderful pillow a long time ago which does help because it takes the pressure off the area.

But for some reason, I'm in excruciating pain tonight. I hope this isn't an omen for the rest of THIS pregnancy. Maybe I cooked too much yesterday or something.

Speaking of cooking, Little Mister has watched me measure and pour many things the last two days. (if you're my FB friend, sorry for the repeat). He went over to the pantry today and got out a plastic measuring cup and syrup, then walked to the living room. He sat on the floor and started trying to open the syrup. I'm thinking he was going to "measure" it out. And then probably drink it. We did manage to rescue the newly cleaned carpets from his determination, and he didn't even freak out too much. Yay.

Oh yay, I just got some work downloaded. Wahoo.

Gratitude

A lot of people on FB have been posting one thing they're grateful for every day this month.

I'm a cheater and doing all 30 at once. Mostly because a friend of mine had this posted as her facebook status the other day.

"Today I'm thankful that hubby and I are still employed. I know a lot of people right now who have lost their jobs, vehicles, and homes. So, no matter how much I may complain, I really am quite thankful."

And I realized I need to be more thankful and show that gratitude.

1. I, too, am thankful the husband and I are both still employed and we still have a home, a car that runs, and food on the table. All of our needs are met.
2. The Gospel. I'm thankful for our Savior, the Atonement, the restoration of the Priesthood, the Book of Mormon, temple covenants, etc.
3. My husband. He's not perfect, but neither am I. But we keep working through our problems and growing closer as a couple. Plus he bought me a steak and egg bagel for breakfast from McDonald's the other day when I really, really *needed* one.
4. My daughter. She's been very helpful lately and not complaining too much. She's made dinner a lot and is doing the dishes and laundry a lot, too. She comes home from school and plays with her brother and reads to him and has dance parties with him, and it really helps so I can rest when I need to. It's not her fault I'm pregnant, but she's sure pitching in and helping out! She also tells me silly stories and sings a lot and makes me laugh.
5. My son. He makes me smile every single day. He jabbers a lot in baby gibberish. He loves music and will point at the radio for us to turn it on so he can dance. He does silly and cute things that make us all laugh, like crawling around in circles and growling, or chasing Daddy through the house, or grabbing Kiddo's hand and holding it when she walks by while he's nursing ... He cuddles when he's sleepy and is sleeping in his crib for about 9 hours a night now, then sleeps with me a few more. So nice.
6. My step-daughter. She's been sending me little messages on MySpace, so I feel more connected to her than I have for a long time.
7. My parents. I'm not all that close to my dad, but my mom sure keeps me grounded. And not in the way she threatened when I was a teenogre.
8. My siblings and all the in-laws and extended family. I'm closer to some than others, but really do love them all and am thankful for their love and support.
9. My nieces and nephews on both sides. It's cute when one of them calls you to say hi, or when one calls your daughter to "chat". It's great to have friends in your family.
10. Washer, dryer, dishwasher, stove, microwave, refrigerator, vacuum ... all the lovely appliances we have today that make our lives easier.
11. Computers. They let me work from home and connect with friends, old and new, near and far, in various ways on the internet.
12. Drugs. Phenergan and hubby's psych meds, specifically.
13. Puffs Plus. In the early stages of pregnancy, I'm more congested, and since my baby shares everything with me, his cold and runny nose is now mine. Awesome. Puffs Plus save my nose.
14. Learning to coupon the last couple months. It has been a HUGE blessing. I'm spending less $ on groceries and have more food and other necessities (TP, Puffs ...) in the house. And I spent the same last weekend that I used to around Thanksgiving, but I got more stuff. lol.
15. The baby coming. This pregnancy was a surprise, but I'm excited for a new addition. Now we just need to sell the condo, find a rental, and get a minivan ...
16. Pudding. So weird because I'm sensitive to milk, but it's been settling my pregnant tummy. Go figure that one out.
17. Frozen pizza. Went to the store late last night, so I got home right at dinner time. But Freschetta was on sale and we had coupons, so I managed to make two for about $5.50, which is less than half what I would've spent at Little Caesar's, which is where I was tempted to go for dinner.
18. Music. I played a lot of different music growing up, in various different band, orchestra, and choir groups, and miss it a lot. I have this little boy who LOVES music and starts dancing whenever he hears it, and that makes me smile.
19. Light bulbs. The world would be a dimmer place without them.
20. Friends in the ward who host meetings while their kids are away, who don't mind that my snotty nosed baby swipes their baby's toys and sneeze on them, just say, "I'll wash them before the baby gets home." Awesome.
21. Apples, clementines, grapes ... all things fruit I can stomach right now.
22. Crafting with my Kiddo. We "got" to make some things last weekend to sell in her school's Christmas store next month after Little Mister went to bed.
23. Babywearing. I loved wearing Little Mister and am sure I'll be wearing this new baby a lot while I chase after a rambunctious 2-year-old.
24. Cookies. Red Vines. Basically anything sweet right now. (we think this baby is a girl because of this. oh, and meat makes me sick. just like with Kiddo, and just opposite from Little Mister.)
25. The husband waking up after two short hours of sleep the other day because Little Mister started shrieking while I was in the bathroom. His sister got too close to him right after he woke up from his nap. haha. Anyway. The husband calmed him down and handed him to me, then waited to make sure we were all okay before sneaking back to bed. Thank you, husband!
26. Sewing machines and cameras and yarn and knitting needles and crochet hooks and other artsy things that help me be creative.
27. Being busy. I don't love having too much on my plate, but I'd rather be busy and have stuff to do than not and be bored.
28. Getting half the child support refunded every month. Cali has done something screwy and is double garnishing the husband, so we've been getting multiple checks back every month, after he hits his $ obligation. Makes me less bitter about trying to save money. lol.
29. Good friends. You know the kind you can go weeks without talking to, but not because of a fight or anything, so when you do talk it seems like no time has passed at all.
30. Hot showers and baths, running water, plumbing, etc. Man ... I need a shower. I think I'll go take one!

I gave in.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I gave in to the manipulation. When kiddo screamed, "You HATE me!" yet again, for the 5000th time today (slight exaggeration), I yelled right back. "You're right, I DO hate you!" She looked shocked. Thankfully. I said a couple of other things about how I don't really hate her, but don't like the behavior, and she left for a minute. When she came back, I also told her that when she accuses me of hating her, it hurts my heart and makes me cry and that I could never hate her. We talked about how you can like someone and not their behavior, and she said she has a boy in her class like that *to whom she has almost said the same thing I did to her!* so I know she knows the difference between loving someone and not loving their behavior.

At any rate, it was a bad night. Things just keep escalating. I don't know what to do with her, though I am trying.

And apparently it put me on edge because, though I usually try to avoid contention, debates, and confrontation, I got into a heated debate with a friend's friend on Facebook about universal health care, in which he may or may not have said Native Americans expect handouts from the government and in which I may or may not have called him and most white people "vanilla" and racist. Um ... I'm mostly white. lol

I need to finish work. Little Mister woke up, cried, and choked, and then I heard silence, so I had to check on him. He was fine, just settling down to sleep again, but I woke him right up. He's now awake watching Cars, so I have a good 15 minutes. Whee.

What a cutie

As we were leaving the school yesterday, my son in the stroller, my daughter walking beside me, and me on the phone with my dad, we came upon a little boy standing on the sidewalk whose mom was trying to get him and his sibling in a van. He was a cute kid. Then he stuck his hand out in front of him, looked at my son and yelled, "Stop!!!" Two or three times. So I did. I wasn't worried as to why he needed us to stop; he just looked kind of worried I'd run over him or get in his space. After he was sure we weren't going to hit him, he took his time and got in the van. I wasn't bothered or hassled by this -- we weren't in a hurry and all kids have their quirks.

His mom looked a bit frazzled and embarrassed and felt the need to apologize and explain. "Sorry! Autism."

I said, "Oh, he's just fine!"

Now, I've been thinking about it since we got to our car and got in. I could tell someone somewhere along the way hasn't been very understanding, maybe multiple someones. And I'm wishing I'd stopped and said, "Hang on," to my dad, so I could give her a hug and tell her what a good job she was doing.

So if you're the parent, caregiver, or loved one of a special needs child, consider this my virtual hug to you. You are doing an amazing job with your babies, doing one of the hardest jobs in the world. You have my admiration and respect, but more importantly, the love of your child.

Being sick blows

Except for one thing:

I caught up on google reader.

Some things I skimmed, others I read in full, others I read the most recent few entries and commented on them, then clicked "Mark all as read."

It's like having a clean living room or something.

Which I also have, thanks to the guy who cleaned my carpets this morning. If anyone in my area needs their carpets cleaned, lemme know. He was on-time, fast, got out all our stains (and didn't charge extra), and professional (and didn't comment on the disaster that exists in my kitchen!). Not to mention VERY affordable.

Now that I'm feeling somewhat better, I'm off to try making the husband some dinner before work, AND some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Let's hope I don't accidentally throw the pumpkin into his scallop stir fry. He would not be pleased.

Sticking to Plans

So, my niece has a play tonight, and we've been planning on going all.week. I started getting sick last night and really don't feel well, but we had to go to the store this morning so I don't have to brave the Turkey Day crowds next week. We stopped at Sonic on our way home from the store and I got her her own food plus a large fry to share. When I laid down for a nap with the baby, my instructions to kiddo were simple: Clean up the stairs (because she'd made a HUGE mess on them and we have someone coming to clean carpets on Monday), don't read (because she would rather read than do anything), save some fries for when your brother gets up, and don't wake me up. I told her that her cooperation now would help me feel better later so we could go to the play.

She didn't clean. She read. She ate all the fries. And she woke me up 3 times.

Then she got mad when she got in trouble and was told to clean anyway. I finally told her we were no longer going to the play because she wore me out and didn't mind, and she growled, "YES.WE.ARE." Um, no.

I carefully explained that she had already made the choices not to mind and woke me up and that I was not up to going since we'd been arguing and she'd made that choice.

She started whining and crying and said, "This is why I think you HATE me! I'm so stupid!" I told her to quit trying to manipulate me into taking her because it wasn't going to work. She tried a different tactic. "I haven't seen my cousins in FOREVER!" "Then you should have thought about that instead of making the other choices and not minding me."

This went on for about 5 minutes, and she finally "got" that I wasn't going to cave. Then she asked, "Can I earn it back?" "I don't know if you can or not. You're still not minding me."

At least she's doing her chores now.

Rant

I will preface this post by saying I do not love all things Twilight. The story intrigued me, yet the dramatic heroine and control freak of a hero bug me. The obsession of the fans about the main characters and actors portraying them?

Frightens me.

Seriously. How many women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s are hot to trot after Jacob? He's played by a 17-year-old BOY! I realize Rob and Kristen are "of age" but the characters they play are 17 and 18.

And yet woman all over the country are swooning for these BOYS.

Not only do I not understand the obsession about a series that isn't that well written, but there is a HUGE double standard. If men were lined up around the country to see a teen movie put out by, oh, Selena Gomez or Taylor Swift or Hannah Montana or any young starlet, posing with life-size cutouts of the actresses with their arm around the cutout and hands all over the cutout, I bet most of these same women would be telling them how creepy they were for it. But it's "cool" for the women to do so and post pictures to their facebook pages, blogs, and anywhere else they can.

I.Just.Don't.Get.It.

Am I alone here?

I have several friends with little ones around Little Mister's age (i.e., 16 months).

An awful lot of them seem to be potty training their kids right now. Most of them are also expecting a new arrival before their toddler's second birthday.

I have no desire to even try. Boys typically train later than girls and, granted, most of these people do have girls.

BUT, this is why I think this isn't the best idea: Regression. With the arrival of a sibling, most newly-potty-trained kids regress, some to the point they are back in diapers full time.

Plus, it's much easier for your kid to wake up one morning and say, "No more diapers." They then potty train themselves in one day and you have only one or two accidents *ever* to clean up.

And yes, that is really how Kiddo did it. (I confess, we did talk about it an awful lot before that and had a "potty" book that made flushing sounds and a potty movie and panties already). She also weaned herself in one day at 17 months. She woke up, got in position for her morning nurse, patted my boob, and said, "No more." She got down, and that was that.

I only hope Little Mister has some of his sister's self motivation in these matters. After all, I am lazy and have failed miserably at trying to wean him thus far, let alone teaching him to go potty in the toilet!

oh wow ... stupid news

I don't watch the news on TV and filter what I read, and man, have I read some hilarious things lately.

If you're going to become a criminal, I guess I'd rather you had compassion for a crying baby than not.

Seriously, what sort of robber actually makes a bottle for a baby who lives in the house they're robbing? While they're robbing it?

In other "news," the American Fork McDonald's management has no sense of humor, getting teenagers arrested for rapping an order in the drive thru.

What the article doesn't tell you is that the management at Sonic in AF DOES have a sense of humor, because right after this story first broke, they put on their marquee something to the effect of, "Come rap your order here and get it free!"

ON half off clearance!

Stopped by to return the coats this morning, and saw the sign out front. That means they recently put more stuff on clearance.

I bought 2 pairs of pants for Little Mister, plus 1 pair of pants and 3 shirts for Kiddo, a dress for my baby niece (christmas, check!), and 2 pairs of sunglasses for me because mine keep hiding. Less than $28.

Love it!

The Italian Place

So, there's a sandwich place I passed on my way home from La Leche League (breastfeeding support group) last week. They are a cheesesteak place, supposedly. I've had cheesesteaks in Philly and they are delish, and I've had other wannabes that were good sandwiches, but not cheesesteaks.

I've had this craving for a cheesesteak, so I stopped and ordered one. It smelled SO good and looked good and had yummy-looking bread ... steak, onions, peppers, provolone ... everything that should make a great sandwich, right?

It was SO bad. It was covered in black pepper -- that's all I could taste. It burned my lips, mouth, and throat, and made me feel sick for hours afterward.

I emailed them because it really was that bad, and they said it's not like a Philly cheesesteak because they don't use cheez wiz (duh) and that, though it is a spicy sandwich, I probably got some meat that had been overseasoned during cooking.

News flash: There is a difference between "spicy" and "lots of black pepper."

Anyway. They're sending me a gift certificate to try them again. We'll see if/when I do. It might be 7 or 8 months ... lol.

Frustration

The husband says none of the coats will fit in his locker and to take them all back.

*sigh*

Some days I could spit. He never explained how small his locker was until after the sale was over, of course. Rawr. This all happened after a rough bipolar day. So glad he sees his doc again on Friday.

On a better note, Kiddo made dinner tonight (not that the small one would let me eat it -- it sounded good until it was done, looked good, smelled good, did not settle well). Baked BBQ chicken, baked sweet potatoes, and green beans. Good girl.

Little Mister let me actually change a dirty diaper tonight without trying to inspect himself. Woooo. Hope he continues.

Next Wednesday is the party for my high school choir. Looking forward to it, though I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to make the homemade chicken noodle soup I promised. Maybe I'll opt out. Yay for surprise pregnancies! heh.

Friday Fave Five!

1. Old Navy's half off outerwear sale: Bought a few online for the husband to try in tall sizes (which they don't carry in the store) and one for the little man. I'll just take back whatever doesn't work when they all get here. I bought one for Kiddo at Costco, but she hasn't seen it yet. bwahaha.

2. My mommy bought me a sleeved blankie that is better than a snuggie -- it's made of Minkee and is super soft ... so hopefully I can quit freezing at night while I'm working!

3. Little Mister didn't get hurt when he shattered a glass pan while I was making dinner. Whew.

4. Phenergan. It is helping a lot. Take it before bed and before naps and I'm mostly functional again, though do still get hit by waves of nausea.

5. I *finally* got a new secondary account at work. This is a big thing -- my text expander (a must in my line of work) won't work with the platform my old secondary went to, so they had to do something. Hurrah!

Car woes

Remember this post? Where they kept telling me my car wasn't overheating and screwed up installing stuff? FOUR MONTHS AGO?

They ended up replacing the radiator shortly thereafter. No more problems with overheating. Woo.

Then it was making creaking noises going over bumps. They had a hard time hearing it, until I took their quality control dude for a ride and showed him exactly what it was doing. They eventually figured out the lower and upper control arms needed to be replaced on one side, the upper on the other. I kid you not, less than one week after replacing just the upper on the one side, it started creaking again. They replaced the lower control arm on the other side. No more creaking.

About two weeks later, it started making a humming noise. Finally got the dude to go for (another) drive with me and he said, "oh, yeah, I hear that." Enter new wheel bearings on the front end. [the rear wheel bearings went out while it was still under factory warranty]. They replaced those today. The day they also informed me that my CV joint cover on the left is torn and they ordered a new CV joint, but it's on back order and won't be in for 2 or 3 weeks. Um, okay.

Let's just say, I won't buy another Chrysler product. The car started falling to pieces once it hit 48K, but I am SO glad I bought the extended service contract. ALL of this has been covered by it, so it has more than paid for itself, and we have about another 15K before it expires. Awesome.

Attitude Adjustment

So, as you know, I'm pregnant. I've been whining a lot and griping about it because it was a surprise to find myself pregnant and sick again. With my son, I happily anticipated him and, though I know I complained a bit, it was nothing like how I've been feeling and verbally expressing to my family with this baby! I am excited for the BABY, the END of the pregnancy, but have been very negative about being pregnant.

I finally realized how unhappy I was today while I was on the phone with DisGrace when I said, "I HATE being pregnant." she started laughing and said, "you need to figure out how to enjoy it, or you are going to be miserable for the next 6 or 7 months." Which is true, she should know, she was pretty miserable with her last baby! :P

Over the weekend, I had emailed with a ward friend and told her about the baby, but just that. I didn't let on to how I've been feeling (except the morning sickness). I just woke up from a nap to a beautiful message from her about how challenging pregnancy can be, but how full of miracles that first trimester is and how much gratitude she has for being able to experience it.

Man, I needed that. I AM thankful we didn't have to try for a long time and that I didn't have to take Clomid this time. And now I can be thankful for other things, thanks to the attitude adjustment I just got. Heavenly Father sure knew what I needed to hear today!

Sewing Saturday

A bust. I went to DisGrace's for a sewing day to try and help her get some of her projects finished. We made plans, forgot to buy zippers (for the projects...), and had to go to the store. Long story short, she got *ONE* button sewn onto *ONE* project. The end. That's a lie -- we did get some fabric cut out for the liner of another bag, but that's it. Really. We were there 3-1/2 hours.

KIDS. GRrrrrrr. None of them really wanted to cooperate today. *sigh*

Hopefully she can finish them now that we came up with a game plan for the projects. I'm hopeful I can finish mine soon, too. Along with the zillion other projects I need to do ...

On the bright side, my "hot hubby" went out and got Chinese for dinner tonight. It was good, but now the though makes me sick. Yay for pregnancy. Wahoo.

And, tomorrow is my kiddo's next to last primary program. I'm trying not to be emotional about it. It's not working. Again, yay for pregnancy. :/

Friday Fave Five

1. Finally feeling better! I've been sick for the past week with apparently an H1N1 mimicker virus, not actual H1N1 itself. It finally turned into a sinus infection yesterday so I'm finally on antibiotics. Love the PA -- he saw me Tuesday and when I called yesterday, he just called in the antibiotics. Save me another co-pay! lol.

2. Little Mister started saying "No" a lot, and "ow" when he wants attention or help. It's cute. He also says "cracker" and "cookie" but they sound the same.

3. Kiddo ran Dawn in the dishwasher instead of Cascade last night. I now have a sparkling kitchen floor and she's cleaned out the dishwasher, too. She cleaned up the floor without being told! Awesome!

4. Pheromones. Let's just say, going to the gym, even though I haven't lost any weight (because I'm PREGNANT) still has some benefits. hahahaha.

5. The gal at the fabric store was super friendly with Little Mister today, even though he would only say "no" to her. When my bag tore in the parking lot and my buttons fell out, she saw and brought me a new bag. Love good customer service. (I was NOT at Jo-Ann).

Old Navy

How happy I am: Stuff and Save = 30% off, plus I hit the clearance sale, so everything on clearance was 50% off. um, can you say Christmas? haha.

I did pick up dresses for 3 of my nieces (because that's all they had -- I didn't know about the sale until today and it ended today, so most of the clearance for kids was GONE) for Christmas, but still have a nephew and a niece to do something for. I also got:
2 pairs of workout pants for me
1 heavy long sleeved workout top for me (mostly so I don't freeze going between the gym and the car)
1 dress for me (which will expand with my belly)
2 shirts for Kiddo
3 pairs of jeans for Kiddo
1 dress for Kiddo
1 pair of pants for Little Mister (for when he's bigger)
1 pair of shorts for Little Mister (for next summer)
2 shirts for Little Mister (one for now, one for next halloween)
2 pairs workout shorts for The Husband
1 hoodie for The Husband
1 football for Little Mister (which is the only thing I bought that wasn't on sale of some sort! but still got 30% off)

It has been quite a while since The Husband or I got something new, so this is exciting for me, especially the workout gear. We went in for jeans for Kiddo because her pants are all falling off or don't go on, so though I spent more than the $30 I'd planned, we all have something that fits and that we needed. I spent around $105 on $325 worth of clothes. I wish I'd known about the clearance sale sooner, but I'm happy.

Friday Fave Five!

1. Frugal Friday: Went to Smith's. They're having a "mega 10" event or something. For every 10 items you purchase that are included in the event, you get $5 off (essentially a 50 cent discount per item). I bought 50 event items plus several other things. My total was $220 until they put my rewards card on there, which cut it in half, and then my coupons ($32.40 worth) brought it down to $80.41. Best deals: Uncle Ben's rice pouches were 99 cents each on the event, and I had $1 off coupons from the paper a couple weeks ago. So they were free plus a penny overage. Bumble Bee tuna pouches were 49 cents and I had either 50 cent or 55 cent coupons. Hormel chili was on the event as well and I had three coupons for $2 off 3 cans, so they were 12 cents each. My daughter loves chili, so that was awesome. I missed out on Playtex Living gloves which were also free, Duncan Hines frosting, and Ghiradelli brownie mix and Krusteaz pancake mix, the latter two of which generated catalinas on your next purchase. This sale goes through next Tuesday, so check out grocerysmarts.com and make a plan and go!

2. The bank fixing things up this morning. YAY!

3. Trunk or treating. Pics to come (can't upload right this second). Little Mister froze and protested loudly. Kidlet enjoyed eating donuts and looking at a Black Pearl ship with a Cap'n Jack Sparrow. She had a lot of fun and I wasn't totally crazy by the end, just cold.

4. ThermaCare heat wraps. I woke up with a stiff neck this morning that has gotten worse all day, so I got one out of the closet where I stashed all the ones I got for free a few weeks ago at Walgreen's, and it's currently residing on my neck, making the pain more tolerable. I actually got them for my periods because my cramps are horrid and I can't be stuck to a heating pad with a toddler running around ... oh the irony. Since I'm barely pregnant, I'm really not supposed to take any meds, so this is helping. yay.

5. Little Mister learned to go up and down stairs, is getting over his ear infection, cut his other tooth overnight, and is still a joy to be around. Love that kid. Love his sister(s), too.

Yay!

My account got fixed.

Dear whoever you are

If you really did mess up manually entering someone else's debit card number and entered mine by mistake (TWICE), I forgive you, even with the inconvenience of not having access to the bulk of my checking account for the next week or so, until the banks can get this straightened out.

If, however, you are a lying piece of scum who really did steal information and duplicated my debit card, stealing hundreds of dollars from me, then I wish you a very painful death. Soon. Y'know, around the time my money gets back in my checking account in the next week or so. THEN I will forgive you.

Sincerely,

The Moody Grumpy Pregnant Lady who discovered at 3 this morning that there was very little money left in her checking account.

*coming out*

I'm pregnant again! I've known for about 2 weeks and am around 6-7 weeks along. If you know me IRL, it's really hard to hide: Cranky, headaches, mood swings, emotional, cravings, nausea, starving all the time, things taste weird, tender girls, getting really bloaty ... Yeah.

I'm happy, though this was quite unexpected. We were on Clomid to get Little Mister ... and well, not this time. lol. The husband is adjusting to the news and told his folks over the weekend, so there you have it.

My first appointment is in a couple of weeks.

In other news, we've been feeling like one of the husband's medications was making him have more CHF symptoms. It's a diuretic, so is supposed to release excess fluid and improve the pre-CHF situation, but his fluid retention was getting super bad every single day instead of once in a while. His psychiatrist had prescribed another mood stabilizer which is supposed to help him drop weight but it was causing muscle pains -- she kept asking if he really needed the diuretic because it could cause muscle pains too. So, over the weekend (without telling me), he stopped taking the diuretic and started taking this other mood stabilizer. He hasn't swelled up since, and his moods are more ... stable ... He thinks it's acting like a diuretic and it is curbing his appetite, which is good since his other one increases his appetite.

14th in a row

*sigh* I'm getting lonesome or something.

Last night I had a nightmare. When we first got married, most of my nightmares revolved around my ex -- as in, I often had nightmares I was still married to HIM instead of my sweetheart. Probably went on for 2 years.

Last night's was different, which is good in that way (y'know, married to the right guy and all), but bad because of the content. Then he was super late getting home this morning and left early tonight since his boss is moving to a different shift and the supervisor on last night was a punk ... oy. Anyway.

I'm just glad I got to see the husband for 5 minutes today. I am headed to the gym tomorrow for the first time since Wednesday, so I'm sure Little Mister will be happy to see his daddy for longer than 5 minutes, too. Kiddo desperately wants to carve the pumpkins I bought the other day, so hopefully we get a chance to do that tomorrow for family night.

Yet another Saturday night

Alone and working.

The husband is working his 13th straight night in a row. I'm nowhere near 13 straight right now, but will be working through the next week, so it'll be a lot.

At any rate, when we got married, I certainly hadn't planned on being alone and working most Saturday nights.

I have to admit, some of my Wednesday nights become "Me" nights. He works, the kids are in bed, I'm not scheduled to work (though they will let me) ... there are times I chill and watch a chick flick and knit all by my lonesome, or clean house, and I *love* those nights.

I wish tonight was one of them because today was a very.long.day.

Friday Fave Five!

1. I'm over the virus that attacked my tummy this week.

2. I am not, however, over the cold my children shared with me. The worst part about that is the pink eye that I get with every cold. Here's why this is good though: My PA called in the RX for drops without making me come in and pay a co-pay and have him say, "yep, you need eye drops." Thank you for saving me $20 Aaron. Then, the husband needed some medical forms taken care of for his FMLA, and Aaron also didn't make me pay the co-pay again since the husband is in a crash, just talked to me for a minute and took the forms to fill out. $40 saved today by my PA. I love you Aaron.

3. My kiddo just brought me ice water without being asked.

4. Little Mister took a whole banana out of my hands earlier and stuffed it in his mouth and chewed and chewed. We usually feed him small bites as his mouth barely fits around it. It was quite cute and he giggled his head off. Him likes bananas.

5. The sealing was the best thing this week by far. And seeing my folks a few times. Little Mister even showed off his new walking skills. Squeeeeeeeeeee!!! He decided last week he could walk -- at times he's still a bit wobbly, but he walks everywhere, especially if he's holding a ball. "BALL!" is his new favorite word, too.

what a beautiful day!

I know it was completely dreary outside and icky and cold, but today was a *wonderful* day for our family.

DisGrace and her husband of 16 years were sealed in the temple today, along with their 3 munchkins!! It was wonderful to be present at such an occasion. I've only been to one other live sealing besides my own, and this was that much more special because Kerli (age 14) has been asking to go to the temple with her parents since she was Dizzy's age (4) or younger. Buster (10) did good and hugged everyone on purpose! lol.

D received his endowment the day before with his niece, K, who is about to go on a mission to Brazil. Super exciting stuff. :D

The end.

p.s. The same TP I got with RR at Walgreens is also on sale for a better deal at select Albertson's stores this week.

Need toilet paper?

Who doesn't? Besides my crazy friends who use family cloth (ew. i may cloth diaper, but refuse to go there).

ANYWAY.

At Walgreens this week, Quilted Northern 9 big rolls is on sale for 3.99, but it's only the equivalent of 6 double rolls. However, 12 double rolls are still on sale for 6.99; the Sunday paper had a $1 coupon and their in-store Octogre coupon book has a 50 cent coupon. You can use both and get 12 double rolls for $5.49. And it generated a $2 off cottonelle catalina. Way better deal, even if you don't have the $1 off coupon.

Also, if you haven't tried it, Vaseline has a new line of lotions called Sheer Infusion. They are $6.99 at Walgreens, but offer a $7 register reward. So you pay the $7+ tax for it, it gives you the $7 back, and you use that on whatever else you might need. My daughter doesn't love the scent but does love what it does for her eczema on her hands. My nephew likes the scent and loves the effect on his eczema. The one I bought today is for me to try on my extremely dry hands from washing lots and using lots of antibac.

I bought a lotion, then used the RR and coupons to buy toilet paper, a giant thing of Germ-X, and a candy bar [which is going in the freezer for my next cheat day]. I think I spent around $10 out of pocket. Not bad.

Hopefully when I go back Wednesday after their shipment gets in, they still have lotion. I plan get one of those and use the RR for more toilet paper and Puffs tissues ... because we're running out and almost in desperate need. With sick kids at home, we were almost out of hand sanitizer, too, hence the giant thing of Germ-X. It now resides in the garage (for when we take the trash out), as the one I had kept down there migrated upstairs with the husband for use after wiping baby's snotty nose when we don't have time to wash hands a zillion times a day.

Deals, deals, deals

I didn't post a Friday Fave Five or a Frugal Friday. it's been a week. BUT, here are two awesome deals I'm excited about. The key here is that these are prior purchases which happened to fall in the date range given by the manufacturers, and I saved my receipts. That is the important thing for both of these. They're already done, I just have to mail them off.

1. If you buy *one* Johnsons bath or lotion product and send them the receipt with your name and address, they will send you a free toy valued at $10. Details here. I managed to pick up 3 of them when they were on sale, and I had coupons and register rewards. I paid about $3 out of pocket for them and toilet paper and a few other things, and now I'll be getting a $10 toy. Awesome. If you don't have a baby, do it anyway, because I bet you know someone who will be having a baby shower!

2. This page features a few different rebates, but the one I'm most excited about is the SC Johnson one. If you buy 3 products from their list, fill out the form and send the receipts, they'll send you $5, and you can do it three times (sending all three in separate envelopes). It goes on through July, so you have time to get them and can just shop sales. I picked up *four* boxes of ziploc bags in two transactions at Walgreens when they were on sale, and of course I used coupons and RR. I paid $5.68 out of pocket for them, and now I'll get $5 cash back. Beautiful!

The third one I'm excited about is the Keebler toy cash one featured on the second above link, but I haven't already purchased any of those products. But you can bet I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for those sales.

Just another way to save and/or make money with your shopping!