If nothing else

Making that one diaper inspired me to try a cloth trial before I make any more diapers, just so I can know first hand what's out there. I just purchased it from Jillian's Drawers. There is an initial cost of $100 plus shipping, but that's all refunded back to your card, minus the $10 trial fee and the shipping (both ways). (I decided to also get their detergent sample.) So, I'll be out about $35, but I'll gain a lot more knowledge. Of all the trials I found, this one looked the best for me. Most only give you store credit or half your $ back in cash, but this one gives it all back. Plus it included the 2 diapers I've wanted to try the most (Bum Genius 3.0, regular and organic). It only has 7 diapers, so it's not quite enough to do it exclusively (even washing every night) for the 2 week trial, but that's ok. At least I'll get a better idea of "modern cloth diapering". If I do switch I'll for sure get one of these little sprayers so I don't have to mess with dunking on those less than easy diaper clean ups!

This word, I do not think it means what you think it means...

(I think that Princess Bride is my most quoted movie ever.)

Dean frequently uses the word "hot" at meals as an excuse not to eat something. It most often has to do with temperature (either too hot or too cold. He likes food at room temperature best.), but lately he's been using it when he just plain doesn't want to eat something. I'll try and tell him it's not hot, but he refuses to try it insisting that it's hot. I guess that's better than saying "yuck". I think that's what he was trying to say today for the first time in connection to food. It really sounded like yuck. We only use that word for trash and diapers, so I guess he could be making the connection to something he doesn't want. He totally goes in cycles of what he thinks is good. He doesn't seem to like eating the same things the next day. One veggie he will often eat that surprised me a little was celery. He's not a big fan of carrots and won't even try lettuce yet. He finally has warmed up to eggs a little, though, so that is good.

Today he kept asking for daddy so I told him daddy was at work. He then said, "(ph)one" and pointed to our phone (he always leaves out the "f" sound). Yesterday he got to say hi to dad on the phone twice since I had to ask him some questions. It was pretty cute. Other words he currently repeats over and over are "doggie" and "gankie" (blankie). He sure loves his little tag blanket.

This portion of the post was brought to you by the letter "R" (Mostly posting this for family to enjoy, but if you're not fam. and enjoy this stuff, by all means relish in my little guy.)
He's getting to be a cute little smarty pants. He tries copying new words I say all the time. I tried getting some videos today of his "educational tricks" and was surprisingly successful.

The letter "R"


Animal Sounds


Truck and Car


Shape Sorter The only shape he ever tries to actually say is oval.

Dare I try it?

If you had told me 3 years ago that I'd be making my own cloth diapers, I would have thought you were crazy. CA-RAY-ZY! It was around that time (3 years ago) that I first heard of someone my age using cloth diapers for their babies. It seemed so...outdated. All I'd ever heard about cloth diapers were how crazy difficult they were to clean. Dunking them in toilets. Dangerous safety pins. Leaks. Covers. What a mess. Our mothers were so very, very happy when disposables hit the shelves.

While it did seem quite frugal on my friend's part, I honestly thought she was totally bonkers when she told me she was cloth diapering. I thought I'd never even consider it. Since then I've actually had a number of friends switch over, and I've discovered that there are TONS of cloth options. All-in-ones (no covers necessary), pocket diapers, Chinese or Indian Pre-folds with snappis, etc., etc., etc. and that diapers and the like have come a long way in ease, absorbancy, containability, and cleanability. (The pre-folds with snappis are the closest to what our parents used, and I still haven't quite gotten to the point where I can imagine using them exclusively...though I have 2-3 friends who do and love it.)

The first diaper that caught my fancy was the Bum-genius A.I.O. At $18 a diaper it would be a large initial investment, but it would even out or come up less expensive in the end. I never actually tried them because it seemed impractical to buy just one, but what if it was a bad fit for Dean or what if I totally hated cloth diapering? Plus, Matt's not supportive of the idea and swears he'll never change a cloth diaper. I believe him. He can barely handle changing a disposable and nearly gags every time.

I was going to do a cloth trial, but I chickened out of that too since a lot of the trials only give you all your money back in online store credit when you send the trial diapers back. I mean, what if I didn't like it at all??? But once Dean hit size 4, I started thinking about cloth a lot again. The diapers were getting more expensive, and he goes through about 5-8 diapers a day still! (He poops a lot! Today I'd already changed 5 poopy diapers by his nap at 12:30! Not all days are that extreme, but some definitely are.) I'm spending over $40/mo. in diapers right now, and that number's just going to go up and up with 2 kids in diapers!!

A couple months ago a friend of mine posted a tutorial (on her private blog) on how to make your own pocket diaper, using Rita's Rump Pocket pattern. Her daughter has had bad reactions to disposables and has had great success with her own homemade diapers. I kind of balked at the idea at first, but then I started warming up to it. After all, it could be pretty economical and I could at least see how I handled the cleaning part of diapering. Plus I could make as few or as many as I wanted and could go as recycled (using old sheets and towels) or as new as I wanted (cute fabrics, etc).

Rita's pattern calls to use safety pins, but two of my friends had successfully used aplix-velcro with the RRP diaper. Safety pins are a hands down NO for Dean. Most of the time it is torturous trying to change his diaper with him wiggling, fighting, twisting, and running away. So I ordered some 2-in. aplix online and it got here this week.

I finished sewing my very first cloth diaper today. It took me about 3 hours all together, but that's because I'm a little slow learning a new pattern (I'm still a novice seamstress, teaching myself everything as I go), I made some dumb mistakes that I had to correct, and I was learning new elastic skills. I imagine the time it takes to sew them will drop dramatically if I make more. I haven't yet tried it out on Dean. I did put it on over his disposable just to see if it came up high enough, and it did. We'll see if I can get up enough courage to try it out in the next couple of days. If it doesn't work or fit as well as I like, I am still open to trying commercially made cloth diapers. I made the inside out of a tight-weave cotton and the outside out of flannel. There's an opening in the front (or back, depending how you make it) to stuff a liner (pre-fold, microfiber rags, terry cloth, hemp liners) inside to absorb the pee. These do technically need a diaper cover, but my friend only uses covers when she leaves the house. I can make some out of fleece which I'll probably do this week.

I'm going to first try a microfiber rag as a liner since we have some of those lying around. Anyway, once I get up the courage to try it out, I'll let you know how it goes...

Results of the Green Pasta

Well, I posted the results and recipes of my totally homemade spinach lasagna on my cooking blog if anyone was interested in seeing. I was quite pleased with the results.

Click here.

Maternity Shopping Online: Part 2

I just got my shirts from Down East Basics. Unfortunately the sizes ran smaller than Shade! So, my Maternity smalls that I ordered are skin tight. They are smaller than my Shade regular small (a little longer but tighter)! Doh. And I'm also sad that the crew neck that I ordered was out of stock so they just refunded my money and didn't send it. So, I'm not sure how the size compares on that. The 2 shirts I got will have to be returned. I don't even know if the mediums will fit me now! I hate clothes shopping online. It's nice that it gives a variety, but unless I know the company and the sizing, it's neigh unto impossible for me to find the right fit on the first try.

Oh, and those Shade mediums have a slightly better fit after having washed them.

Arranging once again

I'll be having a summer recital in June, but I decided it best to start arranging pieces sooner this time around so all the kids have ample time to learn their pieces. (There was kind of a mad scramble at Christmas...) This recital will be my smallest yet (with only 8 students) since I've had a few kids drop for economic reasons and I have decided not to fill their spaces. So far I've arranged the song Popular (from Wicked) to a 2B/3A level and the song Masquerade (from Phantom of the Opera) to a level 1. My other kids are having a hard time deciding what to play since I leave it up to them. The theme this time is "Shows". That could include Broadway plays, TV shows, or movies.

I haven't decided if I'll play again this time. It's really hard to practice because Dean still protests my piano practicing while he's awake (insisting that he play instead...or that I do something else with him), and the house is just too small to practice when he's asleep. Definitely something I am taking into consideration the next time we buy a home!!!

Applique Tie: Take 1

My mother-in-law got Dean a little onesie that had a tie appliqued onto it when he was younger. I loved it and was sad when he grew out of it. I think it's kind of impractical to have a baby/toddler in a real button up white shirt with a real tie. So, I decided to try my hand at making my own appliqued tie onsie.

I made a tie pattern slightly based on the original onsie, but larger. I traced that onto Heat n' Bond lite and then ironed it on the back of a nice piece of fabric. I cut that out and ironed it on the front of an 18 mo. old onsie. I used a tight zig-zag stitch to applique it on. I read on one site to avoid sewing on both the cotton and knit and to just sew to the edge of the cotton piece. I found that hard because I had no line keeping me straight. There was one edge I accidentally did on both and it's the best looking of them all. So the next one I'll use the edge of the tie as the mid point for the zig-zag stitch and see how that turns out. I think I'll make some with bow ties too.

It's not perfect, but overall I thought it turned out pretty cute.

After church we noticed Dean's new little toddler basketball standard had tipped from the wind, so Matt was filling up the base with water while Dean decided to take a sip.

Family History Wall

I've had my filled out fan chart matted and framed for a while now, but I wanted to get new frames and more old and new family pictures up before I posted this. That is taking so long I figured I'd just post it as is. I may not be able to do tons of Temple work for ancestors right now, but I can at least give them a place in my home!

It was fun to do this. I bought the fan chart for $10 online, filled it out in pencil, traced over it in a zig pen, bought a pre-made frame at Michaels (for about $25 with a half-off coupon), and got it custom matted there as well ($30 something I think). It took a long time to fill out and get up (a year maybe since I didn't work on it all the time?), but I'm really happy with the results. I put Dean's name in the starting circle and left room to put other children in under him. That way I could get both of our families on there. Right now I have a few family pics and a pair of Matt's baby shoes. I need to get pics of Matt's family printed up and framed soon since I have those now.

BB: 20 Weeks, Maternity Skirts, and Ultrasound Results

This post is tri-fold as you can tell by the title. Oh, and I guess I'm sporting my new haircut that I got last week. I love getting my haircut. Too bad I only do it once or twice a year. (I last got it cut April 2008.)

Reminder of 20 weeks my last pregnancy:

20 weeks this time around (sporting my 2 newly made-by-me maternity skirts): Interesting. I look more pregnant in the tan shirt than I do in the white even though they're the same exact shirt (old regular small shade shirts) in different colors. Maybe it's because the blue skirt has elastic and the green doesn't...
I made the green skirt a long time ago (with a pattern) but never really wore it because a) it was a little too big and b) it was a drawstring waist and bunched up in the front at the waist. So I chopped it at the top, took it in 1 inch on the side, and added some jersey knit for a waistband. I am pleased with the results and think it will be worn a lot more as a maternity skirt.

I made the blue skirt this past week or so by drafting my own pattern (thanks to the book Sew What! Skirts) and referring occasionally to See Mommy Sew's instructions. Just a very simple, lined, A-line skirt. I like the feel of the elastic better, but 3-in. elastic is nearly impossible to find. I stole the elastic I used from an old pair of maternity pants I inherited but will never wear.

Here are some front shots of the skirts and the belly bands:

Now, onto our ultrasound results. Since we had an ultrasound at 13 weeks, we had a good idea it was probably a boy, and today that was confirmed. Yes, our second child is a boy. He was not shy one bit about it. He was extremely wiggly and kept burying himself up by my placenta sack, so we couldn't get a good 3-D picture, but overall things are looking just great. The one 3-D picture she snapped made him look like a smiling crazed zombie. We were all busting up at it.

Boo-de-hoo--hoo

As Matt and I were driving home from my Dr.'s apt. today we thought we'd just swing by Taco Bell to grab a quick bite before Matt headed into work. To our shock and horror it was gone. GONE. Not closed. It was totally demolished and gone. An empty lot. It hasn't been more than a couple of weeks since we ate there, and it was always busy. ALWAYS. I just can't figure it out. Awhile back we heard that there was supposed to be a new one built close to us, but apparently that has changed. The new one is being built WAY further away. There's one that's close to our church building that shares with a KFC, but the food there is junk. The tortillas are always hard and they don't have the one item I order every time. (Bean burrito with green sauce.)

I'm so unhappy! It's the only fast food we eat really.

Happy St. Patty's and the Ultimate (though unintended) food insult

Well, as most of you probably know by now, I don't do a whole lot in the way of decorating for holidays as of yet. I do, however, try and do something great in the way of food. This year I had hoped to make fresh spinach pasta for st. patty's, but yesterday was too hectic to get the pasta started. So, instead I made Tilapia and Emerald Green Risotto tonight. I generally don't make risotto because it takes so long to soak in all the broth, but I had all the ingredients (well, I did substitute asparagus for the green beans) and it sounded better than my alternate veggie fried rice. I think it's only my second time in making it at home. I thought it was good. When I asked Matt if he liked it he said, "Yeah. It just reminded me of Rice-a-Roni though."

What???? That was an unintended slap in the face. I told him I would never, ever make risotto again if it really made him think of rice-a-roni. I used fresh veggies, feta and fresh Parmesan cheese, short grain rice, good broth, fresh parsley, fresh garlic, etc. Surely it had to be better than a $1 box of rice-a roni. Grrrr....

(I have to insert here, I am incredibly proud of my cooking efforts lately. I've actually cooked things that take some extra effort and thought. It's been awhile since I've done that because of pregnancy woes and exhaustion. Last week I made homemade hamburger and hotdog buns. Yesterday I made Mediterranean grilled chicken salad with a homemade feta dressing and homemade naan. And then of course I've already told you about my dinner tonight.)

Anyway, I started the spinach pasta this afternoon and didn't get around to rolling it until about 9 pm. Remind me to never, ever attempt to roll pasta again without a pasta roller machine! It took me an hour and a half and I am beat! My feet are killing me. Plus I don't know if I really got it as thin as it should be. I tried my darnedest though. It looks pretty, but I hope it dries properly and tastes good! I want my effort to be worth it dang it. Here is all my pasta:


Dean and I went to a new park (for us) today (the aviation park) for a "Mom and Me" church group. It was by far the best park I've been to here. It had a good mix of things that appealed to little and big kids. It was easy to supervise without being right by his side. And there were planes taking off right next to the park. Dean loved it! We had a lot of fun there. It's a quite a bit further than our normal park, but I think it's worth a little drive for some variety.

Here he is giving you an Irish kiss (17 seconds):

Maternity shopping online

Ok. Well, I got my Shade shirts today in the mail. Super fast (and it better be since it cost nearly $8 for shipping! I missed out on the free shipping for orders over $50 that they're doing now.). I have a really hard time ordering stuff online because it NEVER is quite what I expect it to be. I was also worried because I couldn't try the stuff on and they didn't have a sizing chart or anything, so I just had to guess. I bought 2 mediums and 1 large, thinking I'd just use the large at the end.

The medium fits fine through the body and I'll be able to wear it the rest of my pregnancy, but holy crap are they long! I am 5'3" petite person and the medium comes down to mid-thigh! And I definitely have a baby bump already in the equation (updated picture to come this week). The large was ridiculously too long for me and maybe a little too big through the top/shoulders. So, I guess I'll try and sell it on craigslist or ebay or something. Any tall pregnant friends interested in a large white maternity baby tee? They're normally $24.50 but I'm going to be selling it for $18 since I got the "buy 3 get them for $18/shirt" deal. Brand spanking new.

Now that I know kind of know what I'm looking at, I'm going to now try a couple shirts from Down East Basics. This time I'm going to go for the small!!

Also, I finished sewing one maternity skirt and am close to finishing a second. When I finish the second I'll post pictures of both. I'm also going to try and make a "mini undershirt" like this mini-molly. I often need an undershirt for low cut necklines, but I don't want a full undershirt because it just creates too many hot layers, especially during the hot summers here. If knit proves too difficult to sew without a serger, I may just buy that mini-molly.

Ah-ee

Well, Dean has learned another new word. Sorry (pronounced ah-ee). He says it was a pitifully remorseful tone of voice.

He has been one busy boy this week, and I have prompted him to say that word often! The destroyer phase has commenced.

This week he had a lot of time indoors to be destructive because it rained every day. It seems like every time I turned around he was doing one of the following:

• dumping something out (try cleaning up an entire Tupperware full of yeast! Even sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping didn't quite get it all.)
• pulling down daddy's paints off his desk
• climbing up chairs to get to the candy, water, pens, etc. on Matt's computer desk
  
• climbing up on the kitchen table and removing CD's from the player (or eating fruit out of the bowl)
• pulling out the plug stoppers in order to plug in the waffle iron and a curling iron
• opening our tv stand and pulling out the DVDs and opening all the cases he could before I stopped him
  
• sitting in our wet floored shower pulling out the drain thing
• "cleaning" his ears with Q-tips he's taken out of the drawer
• ripping toilet paper into little pieces and putting them in the toilet one by one
• applying/eating chap stick
• pulling things out of the trashcan while saying uh-oh (I will say "No Dean. That is not an uh-oh. That is a no-no because you KNOW you're not supposed to do it!")
  
• ripping the dogs or bears out of his pop-up books (he felt very "ah-ee" for this one and still laments over the missing dog)
  
• ripping open any box he finds (cereal, mac n' cheese, pasta, Indian food mixes)
• opening doors and drawers and cupboards at my doctor's apt. and pulling out chemicals, tampons, air fresheners, etc.
• avoiding and fighting any attempt I made to change or put on his clothes, diapers, or shoes
  

He has been doing some very fun things too:

• kissing everything--me, stuffed animals, a picture of his great-great grandma (he really likes that particular picture on my mantle), animals in books, and daddy on the lips (though Matt won't let him), etc.
  
• saying "hi" to everyone he passes in a store, even if they're not paying him a bit of attention
  
• ripping off my glasses (not good) while squinting his eyes (funny)
• saying "sorry" very remorsefully
• "tricking" me by offering me something and running off when I reach out for it
• pulling his little wooden pull-along-dog all over the house
• fake laughing. I guess I do this a lot.
• not that this is good, but Matt has really bad mucous problems so he often hauks up thick junk and spits it into the trash. Every time he does this Dean follows him to the trash and makes a spitting sound over the trash can. It's really funny, but I probably shouldn't laugh!
• says "cookie" so well and clearly (almost like the cookie monster with the audible hyphen) that I just can't resist making some with him! He likes the dough much better than the actual cookies though.

(These oatmeal-almond-chocolate chip cookies were REALLY good. They were thin and chewy, just like Matt likes cookies. Find the recipe here. Mine didn't quite look like those pictured on the site, but they still tasted delicious!)

He's really a good kid and fun to be with, but he's just so incredibly curious and busy, busy, busy! Constant vigilance! (As Mad-eye Moody would say.) Boy what I wouldn't give for a magical eye that can see every which way.

He went to nursery for the first time today and it was disastrous even though Matt was there. He did ok at first while he was right by Matt, but at one point they split the kids into two groups. While one group ate lunch, the other group played. Then they switched kids. Well, Matt was with the lunch kids and Dean was absolutely terrified of one of the nursery leaders in the play area. (He's a man, tall/big and loud...triple whammy in Dean's book of terrifying things.) He cried so hard he started convulsing and shaking all over. Matt said he's never seen him cry that hard. Someone opened the partition for something and Dean made a mad dash for Matt. I can't imagine what it would have been like if Matt hadn't been in there at all! He didn't really stop crying after that until he saw me after church. He clung to me, laid his head on my shoulder, and patted my back (like he was comforting me. haha) when he saw me. A serious mama's boy.

There is Music in my Soul Today

Last week in church a sister mentioned that a Handel's Messiah Choir was meeting again to get ready for an Easter performance. The practices are from 8:30-10:30 Saturday mornings and the performance will be Easter Sunday, April 12th at 7pm.

While I have sung in a few Stake and ward choirs in the past 10 years, I have not really sung under a professional conductor with really challenging music (don't get me wrong, some of my BYU choristers were really great music majors) since I graduated High School in '99. I have felt much regret over this. My soul has missed being part of a full choir, missed singing, missed warm-ups, missed harmonizing, missed performing. I decided that I was going to sing this year and that Matt was going to support me and watch Dean while I was at practice. Sure he'd have to get up early on Saturday for a month, but I NEEDED it. That night I came home and told Matt. He was really good and just said, "Ok."

I know how much he despises getting up early on Saturday, so I suggested that I take the Neon (though it's not gone further than a mile from our home in over a year) so he could take Dean in the Rav to get donuts. He was hesitant (slightly afraid that I'd be killed in the Neon since it's not so safe and kind of a junky car), but he took me up on the offer.

The music is challenging. I've only ever sung one selection from Handel's Messiah, and that was 11 years ago. I was happy that I have mad sight reading skills and that block and contrapuntal was one of my strengths! There were only a few times the conductor actually broke down the parts and played them individually. It was so much fun! I believe the conductor is a Presbyterian Minister of Music, and he was literally (and I really do mean literally) sweating from his 2 hours of vigorous conducting. The majority of the choir is LDS, but there were a few Methodists there today. I hope more people of more faiths come. What a great opportunity to come together and sing praises of the Messiah. I feel very blessed. (Local friends, there is still a great need for more men, so if your hubby sings, get him there! We only had 4 tenors and 6 basses.)

When I got home I found a very happy Dean with a face covered in chocolate glaze. He happily helped me eat a donut. He also wanted one with his lunch, though I told him no.

Random Thoughts on a Rainy Day

Some mornings I wish babies had snooze buttons. (Though I can't complain since he got up after 7:30.)

I wish eggs weren't so stinky when cooking them. I do like to eat them, but I don't like how they make the house smell.

I'm very happy I've been feeling the baby move a little. It's just a nice reassurance between Dr.'s visits that they're still alive.

I can't for the life of me figure out why every white shirt I have found recently is made of the sheerest material possible. What's up with that?!

My "normal" clothes don't really fit anymore. I have a couple pair of pants and shorts that still work, but my shirts and garment tops are right on the edge of not covering my belly. The few maternity shirts I have are just way too big still. I have a couple transition shirts from last time, but not enough.

Maternity shopping is not nearly as fun as exercising. (I told Matt that I was tired of my shirts not fitting so I was going to look for some new clothes. He said, "Maybe you should just work out instead." Haha. If only that would work.) Maternity wear is soooo limited and just not very flattering (and more expensive than regular clothes). So once again I bought a couple loose fitting shirts in the Jr.'s section at Kohls. Glad that style's still in since that's what I had to do last time too.

I generally hate shopping online, but I ended up buying 3 shade maternity shirts today because I was getting desperate. I hope they fit ok. They're normally $24.50/shirt, but if you buy 3 they're only $18/shirt. Much cheaper than most maternity wear that I can find.

It's nice when all your appointments get cancelled on a rainy day. No pest control. No piano lessons. I had dinner cooked, eaten, and cleaned up before Dean went down for bed! I think that's a first!

And speaking of food, I think that Millionaire Chicken is one of my favorite chicken dishes ever. That's what we had tonight. Yum. I also discovered that you get really, really tender shredded chicken by cooking it in gingerale in the crockpot.

Callings and Kisses: A Sunday Svithe

Matt has a new calling at church. He's in the nursery. When he got the calling I had mixed feelings. It will make Dean's nursery transition much, much easier, so that is a plus. However, I was kind of looking forward to him getting used to not being with one of us. He's never had a babysitter during awake time (well, once, but it was grandma and grandpa), and I thought it would be a good thing for him to learn. I'm glad I'm not the one in there though. I don't think he'll be quite so demanding or clingy or possessive with daddy. Another added bonus? Starting next week Dean will be going to nursery full time (a month and a half early)! I was so happy to hear that after having him by myself today during both Sunday School and Relief Society. He was such a handful! I was starving, exhausted, and nearly in tears by the end of church. I think he will enjoy all the fun toys (and hopefully kids) in nursery.

During Sacrament meeting today Dean was "playing" with a little boy about two months older than him. Out of the blue Dean goes up to the kid and tries to give him a hug and a kiss on the lips! He knocked the kid down in the process, and I was laughing so hard I had tears come to my eyes. After they got up Dean tried to (successfully) kiss him on the lips again. (He's NEVER tried to kiss anyone on the lips other than me and his stuffed animals.) A couple minutes later the little boy kissed Dean on the cheek. Matt was perfectly mortified that his son was giving a little boy kisses (on the lips nonetheless!) and leaned over to me and said, "See what you taught him?" (He does not approve of parents kissing their kids on the lips, but I don't think it's a big deal and occasionally do anyway.) After all, he was just following Paul's advice to "greet one another with an holy kiss".

Oh, and as a side note, I am once again reminded why I HATE Day Light Savings! At 7:40PM the older kids in the neighborhood are still running around screaming, and Dean is still making noise 1/2 hour after putting him in bed (we put him him in bed at 7:15 and normally it's no later than 7. But 7:15 is still 6:15 to his little body!) We need to petition Obama to completely cut day light savings while he's on his CHANGE streak. I mean, they did conclude last year that the extended DST actually created more energy usage rather than lessening it. I'm sure we could pose it as an environmental threat and get it attached to some ridiculous bill that's going to get passed in the next couple months here, right?

Sometimes it pays to be nice

Last week my mouse started shorting out and then died. I was a bit miffed because it is a brand new mouse (within the last month), but we didn't have the receipt or box for it any more. I tried plugging it into the back and front USB ports, but to no avail. It was dead.

Or so I thought.

I went and bought another one. I took it out of the box, plugged it in and it didn't work! Ack. So, I tried it on Matt's computer (what I should have done with mine in the first place!) and it worked. That meant my USB ports were just plain toast. My computer is falling apart piece by piece. Partially because it's old. Partially because of Dean playing with it. Luckily we just have to get a new case, a few parts and rebuild one of Matt's old computers which will end up being better than mine anyway. So I repacked the mouse and took it back that same day. (Matt got my mouse to work using the adapter and the PS2 plug in. Unfortunately, however, I can't access any pictures from my camera until we get my new computer.)

That cashier must have been fairly new because as he scanned it he said, "Oh, we can't put the money back on your card the same day. We'll have to give you a gift card." I didn't want a gift card so I said I'll come back another day.

That day was today.

Upon arriving at the store, the cashier returning it said, "Oh, we only do exchanges on opened electrical stuff. That's our policy." I had Dean on my hip (who was snuggling right into my shoulder) and I said something like, "Oh man. I took it out of the box once and realized it was my USB port that was the problem, not the mouse. I tried to return it that same day, but there was some confusion. That's really too bad." I think he felt sorry for this pregnant little mama and he said, "Well, we could call a manager and see if there's anything we can do." I kind of hesitated because I didn't want to be one of those annoying customers, but it was over $20 so I figured I'd just see if there was anything that could be done.

He called the manager and I hear, "Yes I explained the policy. She just wants to see if anything can be done." and then he moved away a little and said something else. The manager came over and looked at the box, made sure everything was there, explained the policy and said, "Well, the box still looks new and nothing is wrong with the merchandise. I can still sell this, so I will go ahead and take it back this once. Just know that our policy is blah, blah, blah for future reference." Woohoo! And just like that. $20 back on my card.

As the cashier was finishing up he said, "You know, I wouldn't have called the manager if you hadn't been so nice and understanding in the first place. I told him that everyone needs a break sometimes." Haha.

Well, here's to not cussing out the cashier when things don't go your way!

My uncanny gift

You know, I have this gift of offending people unintentionally. I have a tendency to say what I'm thinking, be very passionate, and not take offense very easily. All of those things combine every so often (i.e. far too frequently) and I end up saying something that others might perceive as mean, lackadaisical, offhanded, rude, controversial, and yes, offensive. In my mind I would not take offense to what is coming out of my mouth, but the passion with which I say them, and the words that I use sometimes seem harsh and abrasive. Matt has more than once called this gift to my attention. Sometimes I know in the back of my mind that people might take offense, but I say things anyway thinking that people just need to get over it [whatever it may be] and lighten up. (And I really do think that that is the case sometimes.) Sometimes I am totally clueless to my lack of sensitivity and am shocked when I'm called out on it. The truth of the matter is that I probably ought to stop and think more. Bridle my tongue more maybe. While it might be surprising, I do actually sensor some of what I say and write. I don't want to just use my open personality as an excuse for rudeness, saying, "Well, that's me, take me or leave me." But I also don't want to have a major personality overhaul because mostly, I really like who I am. Somehow, though, I need to find a better balance of openness and sensitivity.

So, in short, I'm honestly sorry if I offended anyone with my graphic language, my passion, my openness of information (way TMI for some, I know), or my sometimes shocking and abrasive nature both on my blog and in real life. I am aware of it and am working on it.

That's Life

Yesterday as I was getting ready for church I heard the all too familiar sound of cereal being dumped out. Dean dumped the entire NEW box of Cinnamon Life on the floor. We'd had it for breakfast and I put the box in the middle of the table. Well, he's getting tall enough to reach almost anything, and getting good enough at climbing to reach most of the rest. He just wanted a snack.

Another day I was taking a shower and he didn't come into the bathroom once which is unusual. I figured he was getting into trouble somewhere. We'd just eaten, so I didn't think it was food he was after. When I got out i found that he'd taken the liberty of getting himself a banana, biting into the peel, peeling what he could, and eating about half of it. Independent little guy!

He'll now say please at my prompting (he says "geeee" with a hard g), more (it started as "ma" but has changed to "mo" and yesterday he even said more with the r), and again.

In the last two days he's started throwing LOUD screaming/shrieking fits when he doesn't get what he wants. Matt started implementing time outs yesterday because of it. I have continued it for other things like biting me. It's only 1 min. at a time right now. I mean, he isn't even a year-and-a half yet.