Ice Storm

We're "in the middle" of the worst ice storm we've had since we've  been here. Usually it hits and is gone by mid day the next day. Tomorrow will be day 3 of public schools closed because of ice. I was a little surprised they closed tomorrow because while there are still patches of ice on the road and you need to be careful, the roads are drivable. One friend in our ward said she's lived here her whole life and it's the first time they've ever been closed 3 days in a row that she knows of. I am so, so, so grateful that we are able to park both of our cars in our garage. Most people here use their garages for storage and park in their driveways or on the street.

Here's a video of Matt ice skating on our street! We don't even own gloves for him (or real coats for the boys...at least I was able to find hats and mittens for them when it snowed a few weeks back). It was 19* and close to 0 with windchill. By the time he was done, his fingers were nearly frostbitten. But he had fun. He said it made him want to move somewhere where he lived close to a pond that could freeze over for skating in the winter. Dean has been asking for "shoes with blades".

Untitled from Celia Brasfield on Vimeo.

I was super grateful that some of this ice melted today and we were able to drive to the store. We were out of milk (the boys got powdered + isagenix today. Thank heavens for food storage) and some other stuff, plus we were getting STIR CRAZY (or maybe just plain crazy). 

It was really a horrible day today. The boys had a number of yelling matches. (Walt's now a very good parrot. When Dean screams "NO!", Walt shrilly screams back "NO!!!!!" and they go back and forth until I break it up.)

Dean is on day 5 of underwear during the day He's done really well with it, though he's had 1-2 pee accidents every day. But today he just plain refused to go unless I carried him in there and made him go on the potty. He pooped in his underwear and peed twice in his underwear, never telling me of any of it. I had to discover all three by coming in and seeing him STILL PLAYING the computer or wii in his sorry state. I was feeling pretty livid. Needless to say, he will not be playing either until he demonstrates that he will stop doing whatever he's doing, even if it's fun, to go to the bathroom immediately. I just have to remind myself that he's little. But boy does it make me so angry sometimes.

Dean also spun a paint roller in the bathroom that I stupidly left within reaching distance. It was on one of those cleaning things that makes it spin really fast. I had started cleaning it out last night when I decided to just throw it away since it was getting pretty grungy. I couldn't get it off the stupid cleaner, so I left it there until I could get it off today.  But he got to it first. It spun yellow paint everywhere. All over the blue walls, brown cabinets, the white toilet, etc. I screamed so loudly that it made Dean cover his ears and cry. It was horrible. I was able to clean it all up, but boy, was I not proud of how I handled it. I still lectured him afterward too, which I probably shouldn't have done.

To cap things off, right as the boys were getting ready for bed, I went to throw Walt's dirty diaper away and I heard a bloody scream emitted from Walt's mouth. Matt and I ran into their room. Dean was sitting up on their shelves guarding his stop light alarm clock and Walt was wallowing on the bed. I thought Dean had just pushed him down onto the bed and Walt was being dramatic because he had such a horribly short nap today (because Dean woke him up while I was getting him new underwear after he peed himself).  But no, as we were reading scriptures and books, a new huge raised bruise was showing up on Walt's forehead. Apparently Dean pushed him from the shelves (really an old changing table) and Walt's head broke his fall on the metal railing on the rocking ottoman below. Poor kid. He looks like an abuse victim. He has a black eye from climbing over the arm of the couch and face planting into a wooden chair as well as a cut on his lower cheek from running and tripping in the garage and lodging himself between Matt's car and the jogging stroller.

There was one cute moment, however, that I must mention. After Walt's shoddy nap I was in my room and Dean was trying to be nice to Walt because he was crying from not having enough sleep and wanting to play with everything restricted to him in my bathroom (make up, Matt's razors, etc). Dean kept saying, "Don't worry. Dean's here. Would you like to jump on the bed Walt? Would you like to go play computer?" and at one point they ended up giving each other the cutest hug ever, totally unprompted by me. It was a nice little ray of sunshine on this cold and icy day.

Beep, beep, beep. The line is busy. Please hang up and try again.

My mom asked if I have been really busy lately since I haven't updated my blog lately. I knew I hadn't really posted much lately, but I didn't realize how little I've posted! Only one post this whole month! Preposterous.

Kid's bathroom before

Kid's bathroom after

I guess the answer is, yes. I've been quite busy. I've caught the painting bug again. I've painted two bathrooms SW Breezy and have started prep on our kitchen recently (SW Independent Gold). So that's kind of eaten up some nights.

Master Bathroom, not quite put together

another from the master.

I also started reading again. I haven't been real great about it recently. I was reading a long Revolutionary war series and got stuck half way through the third book. I loved the first two books and read them quickly, but the third felt more text bookish and was harder for me to get into. I didn't pick it up for a couple of months and then about a week ago I felt like reading it again and finished it in a few days. Then I started book 4 and am about half way in. When I read, I read. It kind of consumes me. That's why I go in spurts.

Matt traveled again this week, and that often leaves me too tired in the evening to blog. He's becoming known as a "travel guy", much to his dismay.  The trip he went on this week wasn't even remotely related to what he does at work, but they needed a software guy they trusted with a new potential client and a 100 million dollar contract that was on the line. Yeah, no pressure.



Oh, and I guess I never really blogged about the horrible month and a half of sickness around here that kind of sucked the life out of me. Starting in early December Dean got the flu, then Walt, then Matt. I had it but never threw up. It lasted about 2 weeks total (more if you count the diarrhea). Then about 3 days after we were over that, Dean started complaining his tummy hurt. I thought it was just Christmas candy, but after a week of him saying that every day, we took him to the doctor to get it checked out. He had strep. Oh, and that same visit Walter was diagnosed with pink eye, a cold, and an ear infection.

Walt's already been "diagnosed" with a penicillin allergy, so she put him  on some other type of antibiotic. Dean was given augmentin. He got the cold from Walt while on his meds, and on day 8 or 9 of his treatment, he broke out in a horrible rash. Matt and I totally thought it was chicken pox because it started with rosy cheeks, then spots on his belly, then it spread across his whole body by morning. We took him into the doctor, and she originally said it was one of the worst allergic reactions she'd ever seen to penicillin. He was basically one big hive. She put him on an oral steroid thinking that would clear things up within a day. While it helped some, his body and legs were still totally covered the next day. At least his face wasn't still swollen. We took him back in, and they said he had erythema multiforme minor. Which seemed to stand for "we don't really know, but it's something more than an allergic reaction. More like an immune system malfunction that was most likely triggered by the penicillin and strep and cold." He had the rash about a week. We racked up a good $200+ in co-pays this past month between all of this. At least we have insurance. It could have been worse.

You can't tell that well, but his lips, cheeks, and ears are all very swollen.

This was after 2 doses of steroids and 2 doses of Benadryl.

On a positive note, after all this, I was able to get a new pair of glasses, a new hair cut, went to the temple, and redeemed my Christmas pedicure. So, it wasn't just all hardships that kept me from blogging...

Sickies: the long version for journaling

Well, last Friday morning Walter was pretty cranky. He didn't nap well in the morning (only like 20 min.), so I decided to throw him in a dry bathtub with toys while I took a shower so we could go run errands instead. He cried the whole time I was in the shower, and when I got out and picked him up to comfort him, I noticed his tears out of his left eye were bloody!!! That's what I said, HE WAS CRYING BLOOD! It was pooling in the corner of his eye and then streaking down his face. I immediately called Matt and told him what was happening and that I was going to call the Dr.

I called the doctor (crying while I was trying to explain what was happening), and they said to get there as quickly as possible and they'd fit me in with a doctor in the office (not my norm.) when I got there. Since I'd just gotten out of the shower, I still had to get myself dressed as well as put shorts on both Dean and Walt. When Walt stopped crying, the blood stopped, thankfully. I hadn't even finished signing my co-pay when the nurse called our name. She determined that he had an ear and eye infection. She said she'd only seen the blood thing less than 5 times. She said there was just a lot of pressure built up from his infections and add the pressure from crying and that caused the bleeding.

She gave us some eye drops and a prescription for antibiotics. They seem to have helped, though I can tell his ear was totally bothering him still yesterday. Today seems to be a bit better.


So that was Friday.

Then came Saturday. Matt slept in, and after I put Walt down for his first nap, I was determined to go for a jog ALL BY MYSELF, sans stroller. Dean begged and pleaded to come, but I left him crying, with Matt and Walt sleeping in the other room, and Clifford on a DVD. I actually went out the back door because I was afraid he'd try and follow me out the front since he can get the locks open. My jog was fantastic. I pushed myself really hard, harder than I have in a very long time. I felt great.

When I got back I still almost expected to see him in our front yard, overcoming our fence gate, but he wasn't there. But I couldn't find him when I came in either. The TV was off, Matt was still asleep, Dean wasn't in the computer room nor his bed room. I started calling his name and went to see if he was in with Matt. Nope.

Then I saw him. Asleep. In the stroller.

He slept another 20 min. or so after I got home and when he woke up he told me "Dean sad. I TRIED to find you." It was sad.

To find him asleep in the stroller at 10AM was odd. And then he was really grouchy the rest of the day. Matt and I were supposed to go on our (7 year) anniversary date that night, so I didn't really even try to put him down for his nap at his normal time since he had that one. So I told him to rest on the couch with Robin Hood on. I snuggled with him through one showing. He was still really tired and grouchy. He sent himself to his room "to rest" a couple of times, but he hates being in there by himself.

Around 2 he fell asleep on the couch. And slept and slept. At 4 I started working in the kitchen, with loud music, hoping to wake him. He still slept. Finally, I woke him up by calling his name. He still just laid there. So unlike him. He then ended up moving to the floor and laid there. I went in to check on him. He sat up and almost immediately: PUKE. Into my hands, luckily, and not all over the carpet. He ended up throwing up 2 more times and I let him just lay there on the ground with a bowl next to him with Robin Hood on. He had a fever of102.

He fell asleep fairly easily that night and Matt and I got Thai take out and got a redbox movie instead of Indian food out and ice skating.

He was up again by 7 the next morning, and he seemed quite a bit better. We didn't got to church (though Dean insisted on having FHE, pictured below). He didn't eat much, but he drank quite a bit, and he didn't have a fever. I thought he was getting better, but by nightfall he seemed worse. He started losing his voice and gained a cough. Since he rested most of the day, he didn't fall asleep until nearly 10!! (He was in his room by 7 and only came out once because he pooped. That also is unlike him.) He just turned on his light and "read" books the whole time. We were starting to think he had swine flu, but we weren't sure.


Monday he ate a bit, still was hoarse, but he was chipper. I thought, maybe it was just some viral infection. He seemed to improve, he took a nap, and yet come evening he seemed worse for the ware.

Today he didn't eat much. For breakfast he ate 1/2 an isagenix bar, for lunch he ate a few corn chips and a snap pea, and for dinner he drank a V8! He did have 2 sippies of milk and about 1/2 a gatorade. We ran a lot of errands since he seemed to be getting better and we were all going stir crazy. He didn't take a nap and the afternoon just went to pot. He was melt down after melt down, poor boy. He was asleep by 7 (though I hear him coughing in his room as I type).



I hope tonight he does well and tomorrow he starts getting better! I'm going to really try and force fluids down him, and I'll let him eat anything that sounds remotely appealing to him (minus sugar treats). I really hope it's not swine flu, and I hope that Walt (nor Matt nor I) catch what he has.

Old Time-y

I was trying to get some photos of how much Walt has chubbed up since birth and I forgot to turn on the flash for one. It totally looks like one of those old time photos of great, great grandparents as children. Cracked me up.

Uncomfortable insta-friends

I usually like making small talk with other moms at the park. A mom with 3 kids (ages 3, 2, and 1) got there before us and we started chatting about kids and mom stuff. A couple minutes later another woman and child showed up.

At first I wasn't quite sure if she was his mother or a young grandmother, but she referred to herself as "mommy", so that clarified it. She came over and opened with the fact that it was her son's 2nd birthday today. Normal enough.

Then her next line was "Don't you hate it when the man thinks it's your responsibility to do all the cooking and cleaning and child care? And that he expects you to do all the potty training by yourself?"

Ummm...

Neither the other woman nor I responded for an awkward moment and she went on, "And don't you hate it when the man says 'you wanted the kid, so you gotta take care of him'?" At this point I felt obligated to make some sort of response. "That would be pretty frustrating."

I then tried to carry on my original conversation with the mother of 3 with the the new woman interjecting her comments. Not a big deal. I don't mind if she joins the conversation.

As we hit another lull she then busted out with, "I see teenage kids here at the park smoking sometimes. You know, around 12 or 13 years old. Once my boy picked one of their cigarette butts and I told him it was yucky." I still wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to respond, so I just said, "Yeah, I used to come in the afternoons, but there were always a lot of teenagers from the Jr. High, so we just come in the morning now."

Not long after, the woman looks at Dean and asks what size of clothes he wears. I tell her mostly 18 mo. clothes. She said, "I have some 18 mo. and 2T clothes my son has grown out of. Would you like them?"

Awkward moment number 2. It was very nice of her to offer, but it was quite uncomfortable that she was asking me this for two reasons. I'd only known her for about 5 min. and she and her child were somewhat shabbily dressed. I just responded, "I think we're all set, but thanks!"

The kids went about playing a while longer and there were a few more bits of odd conversations with the lady. Dean kind of played catch with the birthday boy (though he doesn't really get the concept...he just picks up the ball and turns away from everyone and throws it or drops it behind his head). After their game of "catch" the mom says, "If you're not busy on Saturday, we'd love to have you come over for his birthday party."

Awkward moment number 3. Once again, a nice offer, but I didn't even know her name nor did she know mine! I felt bad saying I already had plans, but I really was not prepared to commit myself and Dean to go to a birthday party for a child I didn't know at a home I didn't know with parents I didn't know (who obviously have some marital issues). So I said, "Oh, sorry, we've got stuff going on." I felt so guilty saying this because it's not entirely true. Matt has to fix our fence, but I have no set plans. I just felt very uncomfortable and didn't want to go!

So, now I kind of feel bad, but I am unsure of how I should have responded in this situation.

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.

Eeewwww...people really do that??

We were at the park yesterday when a young mom and her 3 kids (all under the age of 4 by the looks of it) walked up and started to play. They didn't have any strollers or baby carriers (though the littlest was, I'm guessing, younger than Dean), so I figure they must live pretty close. Not more than five minutes after arriving, I hear the sound of boy pee hitting the ground. The mom had taken oldest (approx. age 4) underneath the "climbing rock wall" that was connected to the slide area and had him go pee under there. SICK. I mean, I understand that there are no bathrooms there, and that she had 2 other kids, but is this normal/acceptable behavior? Would you have done the same? (If yes, I seriously want to know and you can leave an anonymous reply.) I guess I could be over reacting, but it just seemed so...gross. It's very plausible that kids walk and play under there.

On a similar note, it seems like I've been finding lots of dog poo and broken glass bottles recently on our walks. I am very, very anti dog poo. I mean, how would people like it if I let my baby poop on the ground without cleaning it up? Some dog poo is grosser and more plentiful than Dean's poo. And littering is just plain wrong to begin with, but when it's a dangerous item like glass I just want to spank someone's bottom and give them a stern talking to. Even if (especially if) they're adults.

Washing the Car in January

It was 80* yesterday and BEAUTIFUL! I took full advanatage of the great weather and went jogging, walked a mile to and from the park with Dean in the stroller, and washed the car. I am still getting over a cold, and I'm pregnant, so I was TOTALLY beat by the end of the day!! I did way more than I should have. But it was quite nice to spend time outside. Dean loved it.

And then today we had a cold front move in and our high was 41*. Back to reality I guess.

I just had to! (Matt through the years)

I was reduced to tears 3 or 4 times while making these. I can't tell you how much fun I had! If you want to do it yourself, the site is yearbookyourself.com

He was pretty hot through the 70's (boy we'd have made a great pair then if we'd been alive!!), but the 90's were not kind to him...

1952

1960

1970


1974

1984

1990

1996

Funny faces through the years

My sister had this on her blog and I thought it was pretty funny. I used a few different photos, and some worked better than others. I had to photoshop some of my original hair out of one of my pictures to make it work, '66 and '78 are my favorites. (As a reference point, I was born in 1981 and I graduated in 1999.) Gosh, the '80s were pretty horrible...

1952


1966


1968


1978

1980


1982


1996

A mother's worst nightmare

I'll just tell you right now that this story turned out with a happy ending. But I have been on the verge of tears just thinking about it all day long!

My B.I.L.'s 3 year old nephew went missing last night. They had just finished family home evening and were eating their treat. The little boy went on the front porch to eat his. Less than 5 min. after he got his treat, they went out to check on him and tell him it was time to get ready for bed.

But he wasn't there.

So they looked all through the house and all around the house.

He wasn't there.

After looking everywhere they could possibly think of, they called the police and church members. They had neighbors out helping them look. They had infrared lights checking nearby ponds. Unfortunately he doesn't really talk much yet, so even if he heard people calling for him, he wouldn't be likely to call back.

12 hours later, once it was light again, they found him about 1 mile away in a corn field.

He was a little confused and disoriented, but otherwise ok. Thank the Lord for answered prayers.

*UPDATE: If you want to hear more about this story and tips for what to do if this happens to you, read Hollywood's account of the story.

Locked Out

I locked myself out of the house today. We changed our locks about 2 months ago. These new locks are much more secure, but you can open the door from the inside and it will remain locked if you shut it again.

While Dean was taking his nap I decided to go thin the plants in our garden. When I was done and heading back in, the door was still locked. DOH! It was close to Dean's wake up time, so I was a little worried. I went and knocked on 4 neighbors' doors to see if I could use someone's phone to get Matt home. No one. Then the guys installing our neighbor's pool drove up. I asked if I could borrow a cell phone (first in English). Blank stares.

"Necesito un telefono mobil para llamar a mi esposo. No tengo una llave a mi casa y mi nino esta adentro."

Still no one said anything, but one guy pulled out his phone and let me use it. And then I felt stupid because I didn't know how his phone opened. (I swear I'm totally cell phone illiterate since we just have a pre-paid-no-bells-and-whistles-cell phone.) He opened his phone for me, and I called Matt. Luckily he wasn't in the lab and was at his desk. Luckily he only works 1.5 miles from home. Luckily he could easily come and rescue me. And luckily Dean was still asleep by the time I got back inside. Phew.

The only thing one worker said to me when I finished with the call was "Todo bueno?" my response, "Si."

Random Recreational Activities at the Park

When Dean and I were at the park yesterday, there were two noticably odd things going on.

1. There were two men with metal detectors and pick axes. I noticed several freshly dug holes that had been covered up again. They were there before I got there and after I left. Is there really that much "buried treasure" at the park?
2. A lady was walking her dog. Doesn't sound that random, except that THE DOG WAS IN A STROLLER! Very odd. And it was a nice stroller too. More expensive than the one I have.

Oh, and Dean LOVES to swing. He gets excited and giggly when I push him high. He totally just sits there and chills (sometimes leaning forward with his arms hanging over the front, and sometimes leaning back hanging onto the chain). It's very fun.

He didn't know what to make of the splash pad and getting wet, though. I thought he'd like it more than he did. Maybe he just needs to get used to it.

Spring Cleaning

Now that the snow has melted and it feels a little more like spring, we decided to do a bit of clean up around here.

Have any guess as to what would take up 21 huge trash bags?

The little snow angel

The first few are from last night when it was actually snowing. The rest are from this morning. After Dean woke up I dressed him in the bear suit so we could "play" in the snow. He was much happier before we actually went outside. I was going to be nice and just make him sit in the bumbo for the pictures, but Matt wanted him to really experience snow. So in he went. He looks so happy about it.

Wha???

So it's March.

And it's snowing.

In Texas.

Holy Hail!

There was tons of lightening throughout the night as I was feeding Dean. Around 6:30 AM I was climbing back in bed after one of the feedings and heard TONS of racket outside. It sounded like our house was being pelted with golf balls. Close, but not quite. I was almost worried about our windows and our roof. I was very grateful that both of our cars were safe and snug inside our garage.

It woke Matt up and I told him I wished we could get a good picture of it. He promptly got the camera and took a couple shots out our back door. He even braved the elements and got a piece of hail for a photo op.

When we moved here we heard that the hail could get bad, but we hadn't experienced anything like this yet. Insane!

The bloody BYU Cougar

My sister just emailed our family a horrible (yet true) tale of a Cougar. No, no. No football player scandals or anything. A real cougar. At my sister's in-laws' house in the UT mountains.

For the long version and more pictures, visit Hollywood Flakes.

The short version is this:

Her father-in-law discovered a cougar making a terrible racket in his garage. He called his sons who lived nearby for back up. They ran the cougar off, unaware if it was legal to kill it. Unfortunately, they later found some of their most beloved animals dead at the cougar's doing. (My niece's favorite cat, Crookshanks and their beloved family horse of 23 years, Fancy...A horse I've ridden a time or two.) The next day they found fresh tracks again and called their cougar hunting neighbor to come help track the cougar down since it had obviously lost its fear of humans and was very dangerous to those who lived in their neighborhood. How dangerous?

Think SF Zoo people. Possible death!

Their son Troy (who is my age) went with the hunter to find the cougar. It had ravaged a deer. The hunter sent his two $8000 dogs up a very steep hill to track it. Find him they did. And they had their revenge.

Though Hollywood posted this next bit on her blog, I wanted to share it too since Chelsea is also my niece...It is her dad's account of Chelsea's reaction to her cat being killed. Keep in mind that she waited through 3 rounds of kittens to finally get her beloved orange cat so she could name it Crookshanks after Hermione's cat in Harry Potter.

It was one of those tragic moments when we discovered poor Crookie. He was born 3 years ago on Chelsea's birthday, and has been her best kitty ever since. Those of you who were here for Christmas probably remember her heartfelt song "crookie the orange kitty" sung to the tune of Rudolph.

On the way home Chelsea paraphrased her Warriors books (books about tribes of cats living in the forest) to come up with an epitaph. It was something along the lines of "crookshanks lived a more interesting life and died a more heroic death than most cats. Some cats get old and sick, others get run over, but Crookshanks died with fangs bared and claws unsheathed, (maybe protecting the other cats we think?) He now joins Starclan in the great Silver Pelt (the milky way)."

Chelsea wants to make sure crookie is buried in Katalia, which is her imaginary land up by the water tank. I don't know how I am going to dig in the frozen dirt, but I'll have to try. She thinks that now maybe Vladekia and Blue Star (the other two cats) might get along better, because she thinks they were both rivals for Crookshank's attentions. (but we fear they might be dead somewhere...we didn't see them tonight).

A few weeks ago for Speech class, Chelsea had to make a Worry Chart listing the top ten things she worried about. She listed "my cat getting killed or injured"......and that was the only thing she could think of to be worried about. The rest of the chart was left blank.

So sad...so sad.

You know you're tired when

You know you're tired when you fall asleep while actually saying the family prayer. It was pretty funny when Matt had to wake me up.

We had a really full week last week with my in-laws here. We had a lot of fun and almost bought a car. We would have bought it if they had been able to get their hands on what we wanted. Who knew it would be so difficult to get a 2007-2008 Toyota Rav-4 with a V6 engine without the bells and whistles (and in a decent color)? Apparently people who want a V6 don't want a basic car. I guess we'll try again after Christmas. Too bad since we're not sure our Neon will actually make it to the airport next Tuesday since it tends to almost over heat at freeway speeds.

And now I need to work like mad to get my Christmas/birth announcement cards done. It's much harder to do projects with a little baby who needs attention I must say.

Tagged for 6

My friend Diane tagged me for 6 things about me. After my 100 things about me (in 4 installments) awhile back, I don't know what more to say. But I'll take a stab at it.

1. Sometimes I start books and don't finish them. For instance, this year I tried to read Moby Dick since it's my brother's favorite. I read it for a couple weeks, but it was slow going and I kept falling asleep. Dang. Another similar experience was with Tess of the d'Urbvilles. I just couldn't keep reading after awhile. While I wish I'd finished them to say I've read them, I don't really care that I stopped short.

2. I have a hard time keeping plants alive. I just seem to forget to water them regularly. It's a good thing Matt's much better about it.

3. I store my Tupperware lids according to type and size of lids for easy finding. I can't stand piles of lids in a jumbled mess. OCPD? Maybe. But maybe I just like my lids in order.

4. Postpartum is the first time I've used maxi pads since 8th grade. What more can I say? (I probably already said too much.)

5. I'm not a fan of talking on the phone. Aside from speaking with my family, phone talking is a little awkward for me. I kind of cringe when I hear the phone ring. I don't hate talking on the phone, I just usually don't enjoy it.

6. I LOVE steakhouse and pepper jerky. For one who was a vegetarian for about 10 years, my sheer enjoyment of it's kind of odd, but I love the spicy/salty combination a lot. I really don't care for original and I dislike teriyaki.