Working the System

Two years ago our yard underwent a complete renovation – tons of hard work and quite a bit of money, but we’ve loved the results. However, there’s one variety of plants that started to spread and little shoots would pop out in nearby areas. Check this out:

(We couldn't save that poor purple plant in the middle)

I called the warranty lady at the landscaping company (kindly explaining that we made it clear we wanted a low-maintenance yard) and after several weeks she agreed to send someone out to help pull out the shoots and prune them back. The plants are only under warranty for the first twelve months and they would only replace dead plants, not plants we don’t end up liking. So they could have easily told me “Too bad, your loss.” Anyhow, when a gal came out she tried to fix the problem, but soon realized it wasn’t an easy task (she didn’t want to do it herself). We talked it over and decided it would be an on-going problem (they will continue to spread, even if we pull out this years shoots). I told her I’d like them completely removed then. She said she would send one of their employees out do it another day. She took several pictures to show the warranty lady and we bonded as we talked about how horrible the situation was. I was friendly as I expressed my disappointment about having to be liable to replace all the plants (we planted 17) and asked her to relay all we discussed to the powers that be. Within a few hours I received a phone call and was told not only will they pull them all out, but they will replace them all and bring in new dirt and bark to make it look as great as it should. Wow, I hoped for this result, but didn’t really expect it. I was hesitant to call and look stupid thinking they owed us anything, but just shows that it pays to ask.

Here’s a picture of a few of the plants after they were dug up. The plants filled up the entire back of their work truck. It took the guy over five hours to fix everything.

Over the years I’ve gotten some killer deals on things. I think you have to expect great things, but not demand them. Here’s one of my favorite and proudest:

June 2005: Our freezer wasn’t working great. It was no longer under warranty but I decided to pay for them to come out and look at it. They ordered a part to get it fixed. In the meantime they gave us a credit so we could purchase a freezer until they could get ours working. It was a big enough credit to purchase a large upright freezer which we put in our garage. I even purchased one that wasn’t their brand and they still paid for it. THEN, they couldn’t get the part in to fix the freezer in the house, so they ended up replacing the entire 4+ year old fridge and freezer for FREE and we got to keep the freezer they bought in our garage. Best deal we’ve ever gotten and I didn’t even have to pay the small fee to have them come out in the first place.

I like to think that I am an awesome deal getter, but maybe, just maybe, this is one of the blessings we’ve received from always paying a full tithing... Maybe it’s a little of both.

Sunshine

Saturday was a beautiful day. It seems like I always go into a weekend hoping we will get lots of things done around the house, but we hardly scratch the surface. Disappointing for me, but I think the girls would say it was a perfect day for them. Justin and the girls went on a long bike ride and ate lunch at the park. They both LOVE riding along with their Dad and want to go any chance they can. I wouldn’t be surprised if Carly is riding on two-wheels this summer.

Like me, Carly needs her shades on anytime the sun is out. The sunshine is so foreign to us lately that we didn’t think to put sunscreen on the kids. The both have sunkissed cheeks and bright red farmer tans.

The girls also played outside with a few of the neighborhood kids (always a great time). That evening we enjoyed our first outdoor BBQ of the year. Love that Famous Dave's BBQ sauce!

Jason has finally mastered drinking from a cup – yippee!! What a big boy… he’s nine months old today!

They're Here

For the last year it’s seems like our house has been all about losing teeth. As fun as that is, I’ve been waiting for Jason to get some teeth. He wants to eat everything we are eating and I’d feel much more comfortable giving him food if he actually had some teeth to chew with. Jason will be nine months old on Sunday so it’s about time. Abigail got her first tooth at six months and Carly was five months.

Okay, so I know the whole snot situation is a little disgusting but it’s the best I could do. Between cutting his first tooth and dealing with a cold, we’ve had some rough moments this past week.

All sorts of crazy...

Abigail has allergies: she’s allergic to nuts, eggs, fish, trees, dogs, cats, etc… She used to be allergic to milk, peas, and beans, but she’s thankfully outgrown these. Almost a year ago we took Abigail off of Singular, an asthma medication she had been taking for three years. Things seemed to be okay. Her asthma would really only bother her when she was sick or traveling. The past week though she’s been coughing a lot. It’s so hard to tell if it’s asthma or a cold. She’ll seem fine otherwise until the end of the afternoon and then she’s so wiped out she’ll just lay around for hours. I kept her home from church on Sunday, but she’s been fine at school all week. Then this morning she’s wiped out and not sure she can go to school… What’s up? One minute she’s running around the next she’s out. I rarely take my kids to the doctor, but a few more days of this and I may have to.

Then there's our little man Jason. It’s nearly noon and he still hasn’t woke up!! Justin put him to bed last night around 7 pm. He did wake up last night around 1 am and struggled to get himself back to sleep, but come on… isn’t this a bit extreme?

So not to leave out our crazy little Carly, I’ll share part of her prayer she said at lunch last week. “...please bless Daddy that he won't get taken from the policeman and that he'll be grateful to be at work." I’d love to look into her thoughts and see where she was going with this… so funny!

Little Mother

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?!?

Last night Jason woke up a few times so this morning I was even more tired than usual. I could hear him in his room this morning babbling. As usual Abigail was already up and quietly reading downstairs. She came up to my room and asked me if she could go talk to Jason… the girls are always excited to be the first to greet him each morning. So for the next half hour she played with him in his room. I finally got up and got him out of his crib and laid him on the floor. Abigail again spent the next 15-20 minutes entertaining him while I rested. (I sound horribly lazy, don’t I?) Eventually I dragged myself out of bed, again, and dressed Jason in the clothes Abigail had already picked out. We came downstairs (Abigail carried down a pile of diapers to the garage) and I put him in his chair with some cheerios to keep him happy while I went into the office to check my email. When I returned several minutes later Abigail had put a bib on him and was feeding him his leftover applesauce from the fridge. It was then that I recognized how amazing my six year-old daughter is. She essentially took care of Jason most of the morning without being asked. She is such a huge help to me everyday. While I finished feeding him she got out her leftover pancakes from last nights dinner and heated them up in the microwave for breakfast. I love this girl!

The Instincts of a Mother

I’m sure I’m not the only mother who has worried about her baby falling out of bed on those nights they’ve slept next to you. There have been times I’ve even dreamt of my baby rolling out of bed. I wake up as I desperately try to save them, only to find that they are sound asleep in their own room. Last night I had some crazy dreams.

I could sense my baby rolling near the edge of the bed. I lurched toward him to catch him from falling. He hollered out in pain. It wasn’t my baby. It was Justin. And I didn’t save him from falling, but I did stop him from rolling over.

This morning as Justin was getting ready he noticed that I left a two inch scratch across his chest.

Thank heavens it wasn’t my baby!

What's for dinner?

My friend Chrystie tagged me. I’m supposed to post what we eat for dinner during an average week. Chrystie thought she was bad, but I’m about to make her look really good.

I never know what time Justin will be getting home. It depends on IF he can get out of the office in time to catch his bus into Seattle AND whether that bus gets to Seattle in time to catch the train home. If he drives to work that usually means he’s either coming home just in the nick of time for me to leave or he has to work late – either way we don’t eat together very often. To try and have a meal ready when he gets home from work doesn’t work for us. Besides that we’re pretty frugal when it comes to groceries. Neither one of us can just go to the store and buy whatever we need for a meal. If it’s not on sale, chances are we won’t buy it. Now that I’d expressed my excuses… lets get on with it. I thought it would be easiest to just go over what we ate this past week.

Sunday: Justin is a good cook so he usually cooks on Sunday since that’s the day he actually has the time. This past week he cooked chicken enchiladas. They turn out different every time, but always yummy. We heated up a can of black beans and a box of Mexican Rice-a-Roni. (He makes really good Mexican rice from scratch too, but he wanted to take the easy route this time). Justin also makes paella at least once a month.
Monday: I can’t remember. Typical meals include: spaghetti, funeral potatoes w/country fried steak (frozen), and stir-fry. I have a few other favorite meals, but since they require more time we don’t have them as often.
Tuesday: I was at the dentist till nearly 7 pm so Justin was on duty. He said they just had leftovers.
Wednesday: The Papa Murphy’s special on Wednesdays is a 3-topping family size so we end up picking up a pizza at least once a month. Justin also takes a quick survey so we get free breadsticks too… delicious!
Thursday: Out to dinner at the local BBQ restaurant with Justin’s Dad.
Friday: Justin worked late so the girls and I ate leftovers.
Saturday: Justin went to the general priesthood meeting so the girls and I shared a Pasta-Roni boxed meal. But to my credit we made Panini sandwiches for lunch… they were fantastic! We’d typically either eat out on Friday or Saturday night.

So, there you have it. All you ladies can give yourselves a huge pat on the back and all you husbands can be grateful you married the women you did. In an effort to hide the shame I feel having revealed my poor cooking habits, I dare say no other mother of three spends less on groceries than I do (Justin can be proud of that).

I’ll tag Tami B. because I hear she’s looking for uncontroversial topics to blog about. ;)

Anyone game for a lock-down?

Since Jason was born I’ve had this constant feeling of being behind. On any given day I have several different things that NEED to get done. Hundreds of things that I WANT to get done. And thousands of things I SHOULD do. I usually accomplish all the NEED’s, but beyond that I barely scratch the surface.

Today as I run around the house straightening up, doing laundry, and taking care of the needs of my three children I found myself wishing for a mandatory lock-down. A week where we can’t leave our houses. No kids to get off to school. No husband spending all day (and sometimes all evening) at work. No errands to run. No extra-curricular activities to chauffeur the kids to. No pressure to squeeze in time at the gym. No phone to answer or emails to respond to. A complete cutoff from the world. Nothing but getting things done around the house. I wouldn’t just clean. I’d like to read a book without feeling guilty. Hang up the pictures I purchased several months ago. Watch a movie together as a family. Help Justin organize the garage (cause the likelihood of it happening without my help is slim, but I love him for trying.) I would start Jason’s scrapbook. Play games with my kids. Plant my garden and weed the yard. All important things, but things that constantly get neglected because of life.

Sitting at the Big Table

Last spring I sold our high chair at the garage sale for $15. It had been through three children (my two girls and one of my sister’s triplets). I decided I didn’t want anything that large taking up precious space in my kitchen. I don’t miss it at all. Our neighbors gave us their old booster seat that simply straps on to one of our existing chairs and wha-la.

Jason likes sitting at the table with us too.