Productive But Embarassing

I set out on a quest this morning. Seth was on the bus and we were out the door by 8:45, showered, dressed, fed and ready. It was time for Henry's haircut and I had found a kid's haircut salon in the yellow pages way up north. I dropped Sammy off at preschool and drove across town looking for this salon. I forgot the address but was hoping to find it with with my memory and good eyes. No luck. I drove all the way up to the "Y" (that's basically the end of town) and couldn't find it. On my way back down, I stopped by Sonic to get Jay a grape creamslush as an unexpected pick-me-up. I drove over to the hospital with Henry and surprised him. I told him about my fruitless haircut quest and he looked up the location for me. It was right past the "Y". I was almost there! Argh!

After that, I drove up to the dollar store and got a bunch of stuff for Seth's first grade valentine's day party that I am co-in charge of (I'll call you Alisa!) and noticed a beauty supply/salon right next to it. I went inside hoping I could get Henry's hair cut there. They don't usually do kids hair but agreed to do it. It's not perfect because he was wiggling everywhere but he looks so grown up.

Before.....

After! The guy who cut his hair took this picture and it's all blurry and he didn't use the flash. Oh well. I was holding Henry the entire time so couldn't get any pictures of the actual cut. Which was the point of finding that kid's salon.

After the haircut, I went grocery shopping and then to pick Sammy up. I got home, parked in the garage, opened the door to my dining room and yelped. There was a strange woman in my kitchen washing my dishes!

For the last two months, I have been having someone come and clean every other week. They do the whole house, including making the beds, for $50 and I knew it would really help me. I'm not the greatest housekeeper but having someone come and do all of the cleaning keeps me on top of the picking up. It has to be picked up for them to clean. So, twice a month, my whole house is clean for usually a couple of hours (sad, but true). I don't know how clean freaks do it. Unless they just clean all the time which I have no desire to do.

Anyway, I wasn't happy with the two girls who were coming. I might not be a great housekeeper but I know what clean is and I know what sloppy is and I wasn't going to pay for sloppy. I called to cancel the service and the owner of the company offered me a different cleaner, someone who had worked with her for 10 years. I agreed to try someone else but cancelled when she was supposed to come two weeks ago due to my washer/Sears woes. When the owner had asked me if Tuesday was alright, I figured it was just for that one time as I had requested Wednesdays originally. Well, I guess Tuesday is my new cleaning lady day. As I wasn't expecting her, I had left all of my breakfast stuff out (I was out early!) and clothes all over the place. Really, there was just stuff everywhere...my makeup, toys, laundry to be folded. Horrified, I explained to her that I wasn't expecting her until tomorrow and I in no way expected her to do all of the picking up. I think they were a little afraid of me from my earlier complaints. She had picked up everything and done all of my dishes. My bathrooms are sparkly and all of the beds are made. I have lots of things to put away as she just picked stuff up and put them on tables and dressers in neat little piles but overall, my house is clean. And I'm not beet red anymore either.

This afternoon, Sammy and Seth both have dentist appointments, home to make pork chops for dinner and then off to financial peace tonight! Can you stand the excitement?

Pictures at Kiddie Kandids

I go with the best of intentions. Thank goodness for my new cash budget or I would have gone hog wild. I did manage to stay within my allotted amount but not without weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. I just cannot say no to cute pictues of my kids. Not to an 8X10, montage, precious treasures. O.K. I can say no to the heart shaped mouse pad and ceramic tile. Here are their pictures.












They did do some cute cropping, and other editing effects that of course are not on the archival CD that I purchased (waste - as you can go online for low resolution pictures and all I really wanted it for was for the blog. Sigh). Now for the haircut.

Weekend Update

Well....boy's night out was surprisingly fun. Jay's friends, Nick and Matt showed up around 5:45 just as some Papa Murphy's pizzas were coming out of the oven. They both brought something sweet for later which I thought was thoughtful. Nick brought homemade cookies (which he pointed out were made with breast cancer awareness M&M's) and Matt brought an assortments of desserts from a wholefood grocery store. Jay had warned them that our boys would still be awake and probably hyper bit they were both really cute with them. Asking them questions, being impressed with Seth's challenge spelling words, even accepting (AND taking home) a paper with scribbles from Sammy.

After dinner, we put Henry to bed and gave Seth and Sammy instructions to play in their room for an hour while we played Settlers of Catan. Matt had never played it but picked it up very quickly . We played two games and he actually won the first time! I won the second game and then both of them left. I wouldn't hesitate to invite either over again. I haven't really liked Nick very much in the past as he swears like a sailor at any resident event and can't seem to ever remember or respect Jay's religious beliefs. But he was gracious and thoughtful in our home and actually likable. I think Jay enjoyed doing something social with the guys he hangs out with (as much as radiologists actually hang out) and I enjoyed getting to know both of them better.

Saturday was our work day. Well, not really mine. We promised Seth and Sam if they stayed in their room until bedtime that we would play a full game of Settlers with them on Saturday. So after breakfast, we set up the game again and played for an hour with them. I helped Sammy with his cards but he was on good numbers and almost won the game! Seth played completely independently and almost won as well. Jay struggled because Seth boxed him in but I won again! After the game, Jay got to work on the stairs and I took the boys outside to play in the snow. My kids seem to need a lot of direction lately and I think a lot of it stems from being under active. It's been so cold that they haven't been able to burn off all of their energy. Unfortunately, they seemed to need me to play in the snow and after almost an hour I went back inside. Guess who closely followed? I remember being outside all the time in my snow pants and loving it. Hmmmm.

Later, I was going to take them all to the YMCA to swim but Henry needed a nap and Jay was in a groove on the floor that I didn't want to upset by leaving Henry. We stuck around the house and tried to stay out of Jay's way. The boys were disappointed but had fun playing indoor basketball using the jumparoo seat as a basket. After they went to bed, I finished my book and Jay finished the stairs. It looks fantastic. Only the entryway remains and then we just need to get the baseboards up and the moulding around the stairs.

Hallelujah!

Today was our first day of going to 8:30 am church. We missed the first Sunday as we were at Sadie's blessing and last week was Stake Conference. I was substituting in Primary and had a treasure hunt to set up so I woke up super early to get to the church by 8:00. Jay had ward council so couldn't help me at all. I made it on time but I woke up at 5:45 and didn't stop at all. I loved teaching Seth's class. I think they are the perfect age. They are still young enough to be cute and get really into a lesson but old enough to read and write and do word searches! I really do love Primary and it was fun to be in there.

But when church gets out at 11:30 the rest of the day drags on and on. I took a nap with Sammy while Jay had to go to ward council part 2 (they didn't finish in the morning - poor guy - he's the Sunday school president for crying out loud) and then to ward choir at three. I could have been more proactive in my sabbath activities for sure. I'll have to have a plan next week.

Book Review #28 - Suite Francaise

A masterpiece. And this is the rough draft.

I've spent the last day trying to decide if I loved this book because I'm sentimental. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, was a Russian Jew who wrote this while living in occupied France. A respected author, she had married Micheal Epstein who had also fled Russia when the Bolsheviks revolted. They had sincerely adopted France as their home country, converted to Catholicism and were the parents of two daughters. She began writing this novel while simultaneously experiencing it. She and her family had lived in Paris but had fled when German troops invaded the city. While most of the country was occupied, she moved to a French village and tried to survive amidst the new harsh laws concerning anyone of Jewish decent. She could no longer publish her works, could not cash checks, could not travel freely. Her life and freedom, as well as those of her husband and daughters were threatened daily. She had every excuse to be as frightened and as hysteric as anyone.

Yet, she managed to write an unbelievably candid look at Frenchmen in their hour of need. Her intention was to write a five part novella in the idea of a musical symphony much like Beethoven's Fifth examining the behavior of people from different classes of society. She succeeded in writing two of the five parts: Storm in June and Dolce. Storm in June begins as rumors of a German invasion into Paris reach a frenzied level and characters decide whether or not evacuate their homes. The attitude, priorities and expectations vary greatly between the elite and working class. Desperation brings out the very worst in most, but not all. Food, gas, shelter - the basic needs of any person, become scarce and the desire to survive seems to super cede any desire to help a neighbor. Nemirovsky is an expert at exposing this without focusing on the misery. Instead, in her own words, she shows "the prosperity that contrasts with it. . . one word for misery, ten for egotism, cowardice, closing ranks, crime. But it's true that it's this very atmosphere I'm breathing. It is easy to imagine it: the obsession with food." Writing about the contrast is very effective. `What impresses me more is that Nemirovsky was part of this aristocrat class. She was privileged. To have the ability to understand at all the confusion and need of those without shows great compassion, I think.

The second part of the novel, Dolce, is quite different. Rather than following several loosely related characters, she focuses on a small village adjusting to life with the German troop based there. Most of the upper class members of the village, farmers, land owners etc., had to house the officers of the German army at the same time their husbands, sons, and brothers were being held as prisoners of war someplace else. Nemirovsky manages to weave in a few of the characters from Storm into the story but the overall pace and feeling is much slower and calmer (ah....dolce!) The slower tempo and close proximity force many of the French to look at the Germans as humans rather than simply soldiers. Boredom resulting from the restrictions placed on the villagers, jealousy and greed as supplies and food are scarce for many cause tensions to run high. The most interesting part of this story to me was the relationship between Lucille and the German officer staying at their chateau all the while under the persecution of an unforgiving and pompous mother-in-law. How disappointing when this story ended and there was no more.

Following the two stories are the handwritten notes written by the author. Plans for the third part to be titled "Captivity" were outlined and different storylines attempted. The realization that this was all a rough draft boggles my mind. They seem so....done and flawless. What a loss. After the appendix showing Nemirovsky's plans for the novel is another with the letters recovered from her and her family, acquaintances, editors etc. during this time period. The tone in these letters is so different from the tone in her notes for the novel. It's as if she was somehow push away her fear and trepidation while writing and thinking. Her personal correspondence, however, reveals that she was very aware of the danger facing her. Her last letter is written to her husband as she is being taken to a concentration camp. Following letters show the desperation of her husband, trying to find out where she has been taken and how she can be saved. then those stop as he is arrested and also taken to a concentration camp. They were both killed at Auschwitz.

Her daughters were hid by a close friend for years until the war was over. Her eldest daughter carried around this manuscript in a suitcase wherever they travelled as a link to her mother and finally had it published and translated sixty years later.

I don't think I loved this just because I am sentimental although I love it for that very reason. Independent of the author's tragic parallel story is the creation of something unique and special. It is as if someone was holding a mirror up to the French during the war but this mirror is alluring and beautiful, so much so that you can't help but pick it up and just gaze. But it's more than just a look at the french people during a specific period of time. It is also a timeless portrait of humanity. Highly, highly recommended.

Back In The Saddle

This week has been hard. I was telling my sister Emily that I feel like all I blog about lately is my woebegones and I wanted to avoid sounding like a complete bore.

Henry has been really sick for a week now. I finally took him into the doctor yesterday and discovered that he has a double ear infection! Neither Seth or Sam ever had ear infections so they kind of fell off my radar. Hello!! Sometimes, I feel like I'm a first time parent again with Henry. He is so different than either Seth or Sam was as a baby. Or maybe I've really lost my mojo. He's been teething and his bottom left molar is halfway up so I figured that was why he was so grumpy. But then he was throwing up which turned into a nasty cold with wheezing. After last year's scare, I had this awful feeling that I was attributing all of his suffering to teething when he really had pneumonia again.

Thankfully, that isn't the case. Antibiotics for the ear infection should help him be happy, Tylenol for the tortuous molar and menthol for his cold. Today, he actually smiled so I really feel like we've turned a corner. I have been holding him for a week but it has been while he's been screaming and crying so my nerves are shot. I've been staying up really late because I dread my peaceful nights ending when he is asleep. But, he could care less that I was up until midnight and starts his day around six no matter what. I'm hoping he'll be just as excited as I am to be more independent today!

Underlying all of that stress has been some new uncertainty for our future. I really hope to blog about it soon but for now, in the midst of it, I need to balance my inclination to vent and expose with Jay's need for caution and privacy until we have reached some solution. Hopefully, a nice shiny diamond will come from all of this pressure!

Add on a few more unexpected expenses, day eight of a dripping faucet so that our pipes don't freeze and the end result is some light-hearted stories about my kids for blog entries. Thankfully, they are always a source of humor and irony to insure me from being overwhelmed by the big, bad world. But, break's over! Back to the drama!

Yesterday, after taking Henry to the doctor, KariAnn and I shared a babysitter and went out to lunch. I desperately needed to get out of the house for something other than an errand or a commitment and we tried out a new restaurant, Vin Rouge (I just read this review...WAY more casual for lunch). For you local girls, I think Twigs is better. It's good but just not as good. Food aside, we had a great time talking. KariAnn was my very first friend here and hanging out with her is always so low pressure and easy going. We're pretty similar in ideals and goals so I can always bounce an idea off of her and get a pretty trustworthy response.

Henry let me know that leaving him wasn't so cool so I had to hold him for awhile afterwards. I cleaned a little bit and then met Chad and KariAnn at the hospital so KariAnn could get a 3-D ultrasound while I watched her kids in the waiting area. Chad and KariAnn have always been so willing to include us when they go boating, three-wheeling and now mountain cabining (I'm making up a new word..ok? KariAnn turns it into an experience). All we can offer in return is free ultrasounds! Her baby had been breech so she was relieved that he had turned and was now head down. Jay took a turn watching all six of our kids so I went to watch part of the ultrasound. At 36 weeks, it was hard for the techs to get a great picture of his little face but we saw pretty chubby cheeks, a cute little nose and pursed little lips. I'm sure he'll be a cutie.

Jay and I fed the fam at Le Cafe afterwards. Henry discovered that smashing saltine crackers is way more fun than eating them and made a huge mess. I was just glad he wasn't crying. There was a new enrichment group being held at Andrea's later that night and I decided to go to at the last minute. Jay assured me that he didn't care if I went so we switched cars and I drove up to her place for Relief Society's Girls Night Out. Andrea produced another yummy hot chocolate bar with the toppings, syrups and even chocolate dipped spoons. There were 10 of us there and we played a get to know you game. We had to rip off squares of toilet paper and then depending on how many squares we had ripped off, say one thing about ourselves for each square. I was well prepared from having recently done my hundred list. I left around 8:30 and went home to watch The Office (it was a great episode!) and Grey's Anatomy with Jay.

All in all, I feel normal again. Jay invited two of his fellow residents over tonight to play Knights and Cities so I need to get the house in order. This is so out of character for Jay as I'm usually the one who invites anyone over. I'm actually kind of nervous. I'm pretty good at chit-chat but I'm out of practice doing it with two non-member single guys. Hmmmm. So, that's what I'll be doing the rest of the day. The need there is always more than what I can actually accomplish.

Another One

This story is years old. My sister Jen used to bug me to write it down and submit it into Reader's Digest as one of their humor things but I never have. Here's my attempt at writing it down...

While traveling with my barely four year-old son, Seth, and my one year old baby, we stopped for a potty break in the airport bathroom. Seth was used to his little toilet seat and was a firm believer in the sit down method (much to the chagrin of his father) and large toilets scared him. I helped him balance on the seat and when he was through, had a turn in the stall myself. When he saw me on the toilet, he said loudly and with great relief, "Mommy, you don't have to worry about falling through! You have a big bottom!"

I never really thought about the upside.

On the Wagon

Seth is really into football. We've covered that. Unfortunately, that means that he occasionally sees commercials geared for football's coveted audience...the 18-40 year old man.

Yes, yes...we have a DVR and most of the time, any commercials are skipped over but there are some misses. This is how I can tell...

"Mom, we don't drink Bud Light, right?"

"Right. We believe Heavenly Father has given us the Word of Wisdom and he tells us that we should avoid drinking things with alcohol." (I'm looking at it as a teaching moment)

"So...I haven't had any Bud Light for....six years!"

Woot!

Some of you may be agog and aghast about this conversation but I am just going to take this streak and build on it.

Point Taken

Last night I made Chicken Cesar Salad for dinner. It's something everyone likes (mainly for the crunchy croutons) and every once-in-a-while it's nice to have a simple dinner. A few minutes after we had all begun eating, Sammy got up from the table and went over to the garbage. His trick is to quietly, without whining, go and spit out food he doesn't like. But I know he usually likes chicken and stopped him before the spitting could actually take place. He walked back to the table, finished chewing and swallowed the piece of chicken. Jay and I were in the midst of an engrossing conversation when Sammy chucks something over his shoulder.

"Sammy, did you just throw food?"

Eyes dart back and fort between Jay and me.

"Sammy, you go pick that piece of chicken up. We don't throw food."

He meekly went over to the high chair where the piece of chicken had landed, picked it up and threw it away. Jay and I looked at each other across the table and immediately got a case of the silent giggles. I hope he didn't notice. I'd hate for the food toss to become a regular feature at our dinner table. I guess he didn't like the chicken.

Attitude

I fully realize that I'm going to be exposing my lameness here and I accept whatever fall from grace that follows. But I have to be honest with my thoughts - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Stake Conference Weekend. My calling alone makes this weekend harder than most. I wasn't ecstatic about the choir turnout. We ended up having 50 people participate (20 primary kids) but a lot of the stronger singers chose not to participate and the sound just wasn't there this time. I knew it going in and perhaps that contributed to my attitude throughout the weekend.

Yesterday was the adult session and I came home and just whined and complained to Jay (he had to stay home - Henry was throwing up and Sam was running to the bathroom every 10 minutes). I complained about the music (the Stake President actually said he didn't like the closing song I chose - Love At Home, the organ was....erratic), the heat in the building, the volume...you name it and I probably snarked about it. I apologized later on to Jay for being so negative in my report and he assured me that I was entitled to be bugged every once in a while.

This morning, Henry still had a fever so Jay once again stayed home with the kids. I felt very put upon that I couldn't take care of my family. Which is hilarious because most days, that is all I do and I feel "put upon" that that's all I ever get to do! After all, Jay is completely competent to take care of our children. But I admit to smiling when Sammy told me Dad babysat them.

We sang "Teach Me To Walk In The Light" as prelude and six of my singers weren't there yet. I already felt the choir was several cards short of a full deck and was so frustrated by their tardiness. I had visions of a severe rebuking and letting people know that while I'm pretty laid back with choir, they needed to show some personal responsibility to participate. Missing the first number was unacceptable to me and I avoided eye contact when they came. Conference started and the opening prayer was too long. "Does this guy think he's giving a talk or something?" I thought negatively. One of the speakers was a low talker. I was on the stand and I couldn't hear him. He was older so I felt a bit bad for him but after 10 minutes of struggling to put audible words here and there together into sentences, I was more frustrated than compassionate.

Then the Stake President spoke. He is a seminary teacher and his wife is having their twelfth child in 10 days. This guy is amazing. He knows his scriptures inside out and taught doctrine. He spoke on the parable in Matthew 5 on talents and how those talents are really the spiritual gifts we have been given. Not just talents like singing, organizing, etc but faith and revelation. When the master returns and discovers that one of his servants just buried the talent he had been given, rather than seeking ways to add to it, he chastised and condemned him. When the Stake President spoke on these things, I felt the spirit very strongly. My heart was completely softened and I felt happy and positive and motivated. He spoke of examples of people increasing their faith from our stake and how most of the time it was a direct result of being obedient to a commandment. He bore his testimony about Joseph Smith and I wished I had prepared myself to feel the way I did at that moment the entire weekend. What a change for the better. I shook hands with the choir members who missed the first song and told them how glad I was that they participated. Very sheepishly, they apologized for being late. I don't know what their circumstances were this morning and maybe they just did the best they could.

I drove home and listened to the Book of Mormon on CD when Nephi broke his bow and everyone was murmuring and complaining. Instead of joining in the laments, he made a new bow and fixed his situation.

I'm glad my attitude changed but I wonder if I had to wait for the Stake President's talk for it to happen. Could I have been like Nephi and just fixed it? What was the purpose of my whining? Did it help the situation? Lift anyone up? Hardly. I realize we can't always be "up" but the feelings I felt at the end of conference were much more desirable than the ones I'd been wallowing in previously. I came home and smiled at my kids, kissed my sick little baby and enjoyed the opportunity to be together. I know we can't always feel this way but I think our actions can affect our attitude. I'm thankful for a stake president who showed me a better way to be.

This was a game Jay was playing with Seth and Sammy this afternoon. They'd build a tower (stacking cups - Henry's birthday present) and then take turns blocking eachother from knocking it down. The looks on the boys' faces was priceless...pure joy.

Sammy tries to pass on the outside.

Working as a team to keep Dad from knocking it down.

Jay tries to surge

Crash....all falls down.

Just Plug It In

On our third day of wedded bliss, Jay and I headed north for our honeymoon in Banff, Alberta. We went north for several reasons. We had a reception in Montana the day after we were married so we were already up there. We wanted to be back for Christmas in Montana in five days so our options were pretty limited as far as our destination went. Jay chose Banff for it's scenery and idea without really thinking about the temperature. Nothing wrong with a snowy honeymoon...we were married in December, after all. Not afraid of a little snow, we drove our Caribbean Mist Subaru Impreza up to the great Canadian Rockies for a few days of cozy cottage living. Our reality, however, when we arrived was below zero temperatures with a nasty windchill. We found our comely cottage covered in snow and immediately built a fire. We had everything we needed for the night so hunkered down and enjoyed our solitude. We didn't leave our fortress until lunch the next day but to our dismay, found our little green machine didn't start. Overnight, it had dipped to -30 degrees (windchill included) and the fierce cold proved too much for the little car. We called a tow company and they gave us a jump for fifty dollars. Finally mobile, we went looking for a restaurant in town and decided on the Hard Rock Cafe. When the time came to park, we both looked at each other with a "what now?" look. Neither of us wanted to risk another fifty dollar fee but the thought of leaving it running while we were in a restaurant seemed absurd. It was then that I noticed the convenient outlets that were part of each parking meter.

"Look! Just plug it in!" I said with confidence.

"Plug what in?" Jay replied.

"The car. Where's the cord that comes out of the car?" I asked.

"There is no cord to plug in," said Jay.

"Yes there is. Under the hood. All cars come with a cord" I retorted with smugness.

"Not this car. Maybe your cars come with that in Montana but I can't just plug this car in." he replied with frustration.

Plug the car in. That's what we did growing up. It was part of our nightly winter ritual. Last one to drive plugs the car in. I guess there are some cold weather adjustments you can make to your engine block, oil pan and battery to keep it starting in cold weather. I was used to seeing little cords coming out of the front grill of our cars and had just assumed that Jay kept his completely under the hood because we hadn't needed it yet. But cars in Colorado (and I'm guessing most places below the 49th degree parallel) don't come with the plug so our only option was to keep it running all the time.

We nervously ate our lunch and Jay ran out at least twice during the 45 minutes we were inside to make sure the exhaust wasn't iced over and no one had broken in and stolen it. Back at the cottage, we left it on again. We left that car running for three whole days. Upside...always warm when we were ready to go. Downside...never being completely at ease that our car would still be there when we went back to it. It didn't even use that much gas idling for three days. Only about a quarter of a tank which was much less than fifty dollars.

If you read Jay's post yesterday, you know that our pipes froze and we didn't have any hot water. Some genius put the water heater in the garage that has no insulation. It works except when the temperature gets close to zero. Two years ago, this same thing happened and we learned that if we just left one of our faucets dripping all the time, even at night, then the pipes were safe. Thawing the pipe in the garage took awhile yesterday, and Jay thought his efforts were for naught but we were saved a hundred dollar plumbing bill and haven't turned the water off since. I'm not sure Jay loves these northern winters.

P.S. This is why I didn't post yesterday. I've been having a bit of stress in my life lately and needed to avoid another ranting post. Plus...I had a bit of laundry to do:)

At Least My Breath Is Fresh

This morning I had a dentist appointment. I am not one of those people who hate the dentist. I actually look forward to it. An entire hour of lying back not being able to talk. Not to mention noticeably better looking teeth afterwards. That is my idea of a good time. But I admit to feeling nervous during the "check-up". You know, when the hygienist gets out her pokey tool and checks your gums and reads off numbers to an assistant. She told me that they like to see gums in the1 to 3s range which indicate healthy tissue and any number greater indicates poor brushing. The butterflies began because I'm not a great flosser. And that is being kind to myself. In addition, I missed my last six month check up so it's actually been a year since I've been in the chair. She starts on my upper right gum (I'm sure this area has a name and number but I can't remember) and hallelujah...the numbers are threes! And they get better as she moves towards the middle. I admit to a few fours on the back bottom and took my scolding with true humility but I feared much worse. Now I have this fresh from the dentist feeling and no cavities! Score!

With Henry at a sitter and Sammy at preschool, I had hoped to run up to Sears to return some parts. But the dentist took a bit longer and I had a few books to return to the library. I picked up Sam at school and headed up to Sears.

**Alert! Strong language may follow.**

This post was almost titled "I HATE SEARS!" Two weeks ago, I mentioned the catastrophe that was our washer. Andrea's husband, Jason, just happens to be in the laundry business and called after reading about my woes to offer an alternative to the expensive repairs. He offered a new Maytag front loader at a price just a little more than the cost of the repairs. A new, dependable washer vs. a lemon crapper...it was a toss up. Jay and I chose the new Maytag. I immediately called Sears to cancel the repair order. Keep in mind that this phone call took place less than 24 hours from the original service call. The clueless customer service rep I talked to made note of my wishes and said that I should receive a call from them soon confirming the cancelled order and instructions for the refund.

That was December 29th. We went away for New Years Weekend and came home to no messages, no attempted calls. I gave it a few more days but then noticed the deduction from our checking account for the first half of the repairs. Again, I called Sears and gave them the entire history. Three transfers later, a young-sounding gent told me that unfortunately, the parts had already been shipped. I snapped and told them that I had cancelled way before those parts could have been off the shelves. He assured me that there was absolutely no way of knowing exactly when they were shipped(load of bull) but they were due to arrive at my home the next day. All I had to do was refuse the parts and once they were safely returned to their precious warehouse, I would receive my money back.

The next day I waited patiently for the delivery. Anxiously, I left once to go pick up Sammy from preschool and left a note on my door refusing the parts. I came home to the note still on the door and thought perhaps they had come then because there was no delivery the rest of the day. The following day was Friday and the only time I left my house was to go to the YMCA after school. Again, I left the note on the door. No delivery, no mention of attempted delivery. I'd call on Monday to see if the parts were noted as refused.

We left for the weekend and Monday I took the boys to their swimming lessons after school. What do you think was waiting for me on my porch when I returned??? Two blasted boxes from Sears! Big boxes! Heavy boxes! My blood was boiling. I mention that I still didn't have a working washer so having no clean clothes and a pile of stinky clothes probably didn't help my mood. I called Sears early the next morning and lit into them. Transfer, transfer, transfer, transfer....to Carl. Nobody seems to know what to do and nobody seems to know how I can get my money back. Carl tells me they are sending a service tech out to pick up the parts on Wednesday. Tuesday night, I receive an automated telephone call from Sears telling me in that helpful, computerized voice that a service tech will come between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm.
I skip volunteering in Seth's classroom because I don't want to miss the service guys. By 3:45, they still hadn't shown up and I needed to leave for the boys' swimming lessons. I leave a two-page note on the boxes and put them on my front porch for pick up. At 4:30, Sears calls me telling me they are sorry they missed me but if I'd like to reschedule, I can call their helpful 1-800 number. I call it and they explain that no one answered the phone at my house and they need to verify that someone is at the home before they actually send someone to the house. It would be way too much of an inconvenience otherwise.

I am not a yeller. I cry if I get overly frustrated (my brother-in-law, Rex, can attest to that). But when I called Sears last night, I warned the poor 18 year-old college student that I was done being nice and I was finished being patient. I was returning the parts to Sears, getting a refund and leaving them with the problem of getting those damn parts back to their warehouse. Transfer, transfer, transfer....to Paula. Paula looks on her computer for a place I can return them to and tells me the Northtown Mall has a parts and repair center. Fine. Goodbye.

I get a sitter for Henry because it would be way too hard to deal with these big boxes with him around. I switch cars with Jay so that I can have the truck. I drive the 20 minutes to the mall after preschool and my dentist appointment with Sam. Park. Walk in. Explain. Told to move my truck so they can unload the parts. Walk back to truck. Move truck. Unload boxes. Told inside by another guy that return is impossible. Their systems are completely incompatible and they can't return them for me. They have to be picked up by service guys who occasionally don't show up. I can leave them there if I insist (which I was doing) but he can't give me a refund. Unfortunately for my sanity, I need that $300. So the boxes got loaded back into the truck and I'm expecting a service call sometime between the hours of 8 am and noon tomorrow. I am never buying anything, not a lawnmower, not a pair of pajamas for my kids, not anything from Sears again. They don't care.

Once back in the truck, I decided to drive to a Verizon store to get new phones for Jay and I. We have both been eligible for upgrades for awhile and my phone is breaking (the hinge when you open it is really wobbly) and Jay can't hear anyone he's talking to. I am a confident online shopper and wanted to do it online but called customer service with one question and was talked into just going into a Verizon store. I get to the store and, I'm not joking, he told me I should just do it online. After my experience at Sears, I had no sympathy for young twenty somethings in sales. He half-heartedly helped me and then disappeared when I was ready to go. I waited at the counter for 10 minutes and then yelled that I was just going to do this online. He didn't care.

Other than that, I've had a lovely day. My teeth look and feel fabulous.

Book Review #27 - Gift From the Sea/Book Group Highlights

I had never heard of this book a month ago. Andrea bought it for last month's book club book exchange and after all of the books were opened, switching so she could have it back. Curious about her motives, we decided to read it this month. I didn't know the author. Lindbergh. Not an obscure name for sure but I didn't connect the dots at all (she was the wife of Charles Lindbergh - the pilot of the Spirit of St. Louis). Four nights ago I climbed into a hot bath and started reading. I immediately recognized that this book was special. Why does this woman know my thoughts?

Lindbergh uses the seashells she finds on her vacation as representations of the various stages and complications in a woman's life. The beginning of her book talks about the importance of finding space and solitude every once in a while for balance and recharging. What woman doesn't need that? What human doesn't need that? The next phase is the early love, the passionate period, when the relationship is pure and intense. I don't think this is exclusively romantic love either. I couldn't help but think of friendships with other women when you are first getting to know each other and we show our best selves. Then after a few years of friendship, the flakiness shows up or the selfishness. Children, work, callings, husbands -- crowd that former ease and to remain friends takes much more effort. The effort moves into the next phase which was my favorite because it is life - the oyster phase. The shell is not necessarily beautiful but strong and purposeful. The bond between the two halves has many connections - habit, love, devotion, history. The last part of the book delves into the later years, which I'm sure I will find deeply profound when I am experiencing it.

At the end of this copy of the book, the author revisits her words twenty years later. In that bathtub, I thought, "I had no idea this book was written in the seventies/eighties." Only to discover that it was written in the fifties. I would have never thought that my GenXness would relate to a famous, upper class woman on the east coast fifty years ago. To achieve such timelessness is a worthwhile feat. It wasn't her intent but the result speaks for itself. It is our lives as women and while we are essentially alone to experience it, we have this commonality that once acknowledged, should give us tremendous support to one another.

Along that vein, bookgroup was a great night to bond and recharge. There is something about getting together with a group of women who you have things in common with, who you like, who seem to like you that is such a treat. I would say most in our group really love our monthly visits. A lot of us have started blogs. It is an easy place to be friends. Kariann hosted and had a hot chocolate bar (lots of different flavored syrups and toppings) and desserts. I didn't get home until after 1:00 am and am paying for it today. Totally worth it though.

I Often Go Walking...

in meadows of clover. Not really. I've always thought that song was pretty dumb...especially as an ode to mothers. But today is my mom's birthday and I want to write down how significant a person she is to me. I don't have access to a lot of her history as she is in Myanmar and difficult to communicate with and most of the pictures I'd love to use are in their house in Montana. Someday, I'll try and do justice to this incredible woman.

Me and my mom the summer after I graduated from high school. She took me to the airport to send me to Europe. Brave woman.

In January 1935, in a small wooden house in Hall, Montana, my grandmother welcomed her seventh child into the world...a little girl she named Karen Francis. Considerably younger than her older sisters, Ruth, Anna Lou and Marie, she was the baby until her younger brother, Fred, came a couple of years later. She never knew three of her siblings, Mildred, Lynn and Marine as they had died in infancy and early childhood. She was expected to help out the family farm but her favorite thing to do was hide and read books. Chores were a means to an end and her love of books took her through school successfully to graduate valedictorian at her small high school in Drummond, Montana. She went on to BYU to major in English and taught at various high schools and colleges for a decade after graduation. She lost her father to a heart attack and her sister, brother-in-law and baby niece in an airplane crash during this time. Her mother was now in Utah and vacations were sometimes spent there but she had a severe case of the travel bug and often travelled to various places with friends, family or just by herself.

She married later than most of her friends at thirty-three and started her family right away. Her firstborn, Emily, was born nine months after her wedding day and the day after she and my dad moved into their first and only home. Life moved fast after that with children coming frequently and plentifully (five in seven years with the last a restful three years later) and a husband who was frequently busy with church leadership callings. After my grandmother's stroke, she provided care for her in our home for six years, even though it involved having three kids in one room, another two in another and her only boy relegated to sleeping in the fruit room (that's what we called the storage room with the washer and dryer...it had tons of bottled peaches and pears).

She's often longed for a bigger home, but has made do and created a beautiful, loving home for all of us to enjoy returning to. A natural and gifted teacher, she looked into teaching English for BYU in China and when my dad was ready to retire, they practically caught the first plane. Even after a medical scare and against medical advice, she and my dad returned for a second year following both of their promptings. After a brief respite, she and my dad are now serving in Myanmar, a country located between Thailand and Bangladesh in Southeast Asia as humanitarian missionaries. I can only hope I have the courage and selflessness to follow their example when I am at that stage in life.

I've inherited many things from my mother. Her love of reading, for sure, and the ability to get through a novel quickly. We both love to travel and explore, eat off of pretty dishes, play computer games and drink diet soda. We can both be a little ditzy at times which doesn't bother me because I know we are also both quick and smart when it matters. I've always enjoyed talking to my "liberal" mother who can always see both sides of the story and never gets caught up in sides. She has a firm grasp of the gospel and often makes me think and wonder about things I hadn't before. We used to talk on the phone almost daily or chat through instant messaging but they lack access to that sort of technology so I am limited to emails and blogs. (I've already explained previously about the difficulty in calling - 14 1/2 hour time difference). I miss her tremendously but wanted to let her know I'm wishing her a happy birthday wherever she is.

I have a very poor selection of pictures of her so thought I'd post what's closest to her heart...her grandchildren. Happy Birthday Mom!

Reading to Sammy, Owen and Ansel

Grandma and Sammy

With Seth at Temple Square

Taking Seth and Ansel for a walk

Brendan's first Christmas

visting Caleb and Alyssa

Always willing to help out with our newborns

Natalie and Grandma at the family reunion this last summer

Baby Owen

Henry Turns One

One year ago, in about an hour, I met Henry face to face. I wrote his birth story several months ago so I thought I'd be simple and share some of my favorite photos from each month of his life. Sadly, I hardly took any when he was two to six months old. But you can see how much he's changed. He's not walking yet but he's an expert crawler so it might be awhile until he sees a need to travel by foot. His development seems focused onto his teeth as his two bottom molars just pushed through this week. That makes 10 teeth! We are weening him off of his baby food and made him eat cut up pizza tonight. It's time he learns about the budget. I am also going to cut his hair this week. I love his long, lucious locks but he gets called a girl several times a week, no matter what he is wearing, and my tradition has always been to cut it for the first time at a year. I am going to miss his wild mane, though.

First Day of Life!

Four Weeks Old and fighting for life.

Two Months and filling out.

In Austin with Mom and Dad at three months.

Storytime with big brothers at four months

Stuck in my carseat at swim lessons at five months.

Cute as a button at seven months

At Silverwood at eight months

Saying goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma in Helena at nine months

Could I get any cuter at ten months?

Bundled for travel at 11 months

Henry has amazing persistence, charm, determination and curiosity. I can't imagine life without him.

Digging into the free cake from Rosaurs!

All clean! Watch out world.

The Last Few Days

Playing catch-up...again.

Friday was the end of a long week. I knew that I needed to have some alone time with Jay. We had spent the previous weekend together with friends but were always surrounded by kids and after another busy week of just passing by each other, I hired the twins for Friday night. But Seth and Sam seemed to need some physical outlet so when Seth came home from school, I told the boys to go get their swimsuits and we'd go swimming at the YMCA. It took awhile to get out there as it had started to snow. I was talking on the phone with Sarah while I was driving and while turning at 5 mph, I skidded into a pole. Amazingly, I still can't find any damage (I keep thinking I'm just not noticing some huge dent in my front bumper). We ran inside the building from the swirling snow and were told that the pool was closed for renovations until the seventh. My kids were bummed but while I was out there I signed both Seth and Sam up for after school swim lessons and Seth for basketball. So it wasn't completely fruitless. Driving home, I barely made it up the hill. I have got to get new tires.

Because the weather was so awful, all I really wanted to do when it was time to pick them up the sitters was sip hot chocolate, turn on our Presto Heat Dish downstairs and watch a movie. But we were determined to date and got in the truck with four wheel drive and drove to a nearby restaurant only to discover a 45 minute wait. Jay wasn't sold on the restaurant in the first place so we decided to leave. No particular type of food was striking my fancy but Jay was in the mood for steak so I told him I'd heard good things about a restaurant downtown. We drove there and it said "Seafood and Steak" on the building. Ominous for a non seafood eater. Feeling hopeful for good steak, we went inside. The only steak they had was over $40 and the rest was every type of seafood imaginable. They had one pork dish (which I ordered...I really should have been more adventurous but it was expensive and who likes to spend $20 for something yucky) and we shared a bowl of French Onion Soup. They weren't kidding. They had scooped out an onion and had the soup inside of it. Clever but it limits the quantity of soup and I'm not mature enough to appreciate pretty food. I would have just preferred a big bowl. We scraped the bottom of the produce as best we could until the waiter whisked it away (apparently it's quite gauche to scrape at this restaurant). The pork was uninspiring and Jay had the trout with tiger prawns. I don't think we'd ever go back but at least we got to talk which was what I was really craving.

Yesterday, we drove down to Jen and Christopher's because they were blessing Sadie today. Jon and Tara came over too and all the cousins got some playing done. Christopher barbecued and his parents and sister and husband came over. We watched the Seahawks/Cowboys came and were screaming by the end. It's an experience watching sporting events with Jon and Tara. Especially a game that has a stunning ending like that game did. You kind of get caught up in the moment. After the kids went to bed, we pulled out the nifty Karaoke system that has been useful in providing endless entertainment. As always, there was a few tentative numbers to start the show but once Christopher lit into "Wild Boys" by Duran Duran (he has quite the power false setto), it was game on.

Christopher has many talents and I'd list Karaoke right up there at the top.

Jon was always ready to shake his grove thing but wasn't afraid of the ballad either. We enjoyed a moving rendition of "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche. The good old days.

Tara and I feeling DEBORAH (she's grown up now, afterall) Gibson. I know it looks like I'm swept away by the moment but I think I just blinked.

Jon's dance. If you know it, you love it.

Don't count Jay out. He still holds the all time best score.

A little NKOTB (If you don't know what that means, you're lucky) Hanging Tough. Woh-oh-oh-oh-oh. I adore my family.

Sadie's blessing was wonderful. Christopher has such a way with words and it was striking to see her surrounded by her father, grandfather and uncles.

Happy Parents. Hopefully Jen will post a better picture of her georgeous dress.

She really is probably the sweetest baby I have ever been around.

Scrumptious

She doesn't cry unless she's been sleeping for 10 hours and happens to feel a bit hungry. Otherwise, she quietly gazes at you or gives a bewitching smile. It's very easy to fall in love with her.

All our kids but Owen (he was too excited for nursery). Natalie was sick and Sam was Sam. I think he was upset that he didn't get better billing on the seating arrangement.

Our attempt. We just never pull off that nice family picture that other families seem capable of.

Case in point minus poor sick Natalie.

We were glad to be driving west as Jon and Tara's way home was closed. They ended up having to drive all the way to Portland and then up to Seattle. Our roads were fine but it was extremely windy. My boys are about ready to go to bed and I'm gearing myself up for a busy week. Swimming lessons start tomorrow!