Cookin' with Gas.... FINALLY!

So, I'll be the first to admit, we (mostly Tim) are undeniable Craigslist junkies. We are always looking for a great deal/steal/story. So last week Tim saw 3 awesome gas stove/ranges on c-list he thought were good deals, so he quickly posted our stove (GE profile ceramic cooktop oven shown) just to see if he'd get any hits. He priced it high, and we got a call, some guys came and bought it in 3 minutes (I timed it 'cause I was home on my lunch break) and suddenly we were without stove. Tim called one of the ranges he'd been eyeing... no response, 2nd one... no response... 3rd one (you guessed) no response. Yet the ads were still on c-list for 2 days, there was no email or call to say they'd been sold. Bottom line, we were without oven/range. Mostly I find this ironic because there have always been range/stoves on c-list at any given time. This week was famine! Nothing even posted! So we have been really creative with cooking. We have learned how to make Mac-n-cheese in the microwave, we've used our electric frying pan daily, and even broke out our camp stove and hooked it up outside. It wasn't so much that we didn't know how to use alternate forms of cooking, but the irony of the situation. Tim has actually been inspired to be more of a minimalist, he is curious to see what else he can do without (should I be afraid?) or find alternate uses for things, multitaskers, etc. Anywhoo, it has been a funny lesson in well, creativity, patience, fun, food storage/ preparedness, and cooking. I am grateful today for my stove. I am also grateful to know that it isn't the end of the world to not have it (just leaves a gaping hole in the kitchen). Here is a short list off the top of my head of things I am grateful for (and wonder if we could or how we would do without...( in no particular order))
*Microwave
*Toaster
*cable tv (television altogether)
*diapers
*dishwasher
*extra freezer
*sippee cups
*high speed internet
*diapers
*paper plates
*mini-van w/ dvd player
*trampoline
you get the idea.

Here are pics of our new stove, newly installed, actually new in box from previous owner, so never been used before. I haven't cooked on it yet, but I'm excited for eggs in the morning!!

Family Pictures... for real

I am super excited, I saw my friend Aften posted our pics on her photo website, and you can check them out too. She is awesome!! Aften has a talent for seeing personality and capturing it. It is amazing. Thank you so much Aften!!

Happy October!!

I love October. Candy on all the store shelves, orange is everywhere for Halloween, which I have always associated with my birthday. So this will be my month to shine. I am turning 30 on the 30th. Isn't there a name for that birthday? Like ultimate, or something. I have had 30 years to plan what to do, and well, I'm still planning. I will also be celebrating 9 wonderful years of wedded bliss to my Prince Tim. No stress on the gifts, I'm easy to please. ( a high five and a clean floor would make me giddy). I went into costco the other day, meaning in SEPTEMBER and Emma runs like a bullet down the aisle to where she can see.... a CHRISTMAS tree..... in SEPTEMBER! Take it how you may, but I remember growing up and seeing Halloween until by Birthday (or actually Halloween) then THANKSGIVING decor (the long forgotten holiday in retail because it is not a highly shopped for event) then comes BLACK FRIDAY which I don't believe in, but that's probably because I've never been on the ball enough to actually have a gift list before December. Maybe someday. Anyway, I love October because it is at least 6 months before we see raging summer heat again and we trade comfy swim temps for sleep-with-the-window-open temperatures. I'm sad to see the days get short, but I love the cozy feeling of fall. Okay, I'm officially rambling. Here are some of my latest pics of the kiddos. Emma and Audrey wanted to wash the car, so we let them sponge it off, about 30 min before a dust storm blew through. Now it's "speckled" instead of "sparkled." Audrey feels the world is her canvas, literally. She took the markers to the wall, and she had to clean it all off. Down side to that punishment is tonight after dinner she ran up to me with a colored pencil and said with all the gravity she could muster, "Audrey draw on wall" and pointed to the wall. I told her she has to clean it up, and she shouts, "Yeah!! I get clean up!!" while dancing around. I think she missed the point; or maybe I did. Next is lil' Kennedy, not so little anymore. She is sitting up almost fully unassisted. She also won't roll over to save her life, but hey who wants to look at the dirty floor anyway, I'd rather sit up too. That's the latest from this side of the keyboard.

new tooth, save the pennies!

Kennedy cut her first tooth on Thursday. That might explain part of why she's been trying to keep both of her fists in her mouth all the time. Given the fact that Audrey is only about a year ahead of Kennedy dentally, and that I wore braces twice, Tim has been through them once (and needs another round) Kennedy and Audrey will be in braces at the same time. Yeah!

Time goes by...

I really don't know what happens somewhere between 7:30 am and 8:30 pm. I guess I feed kids, do some chores, change diapers, feed kids, settle arguments, feed kids, change diapers, bathe kids, put kids down for sleep, feed kids, feed myself, then sit for a few minutes and think about all the things I need to be doing while I sit there trying to gain strength to tackle the stinkin' list in my "AA type" brain. And all that is just on the days I'm not working; I lovingly deligate all that without the self inflicted standard and guilt trip to Tim until I come home in the afternoons. I have classified myself as "AA" type which is highly uptight about the way it is done, to the point it's not worth doing. I think I get that from my folks, "anything worth doing is doing well (a.k.a. perfect)." So, I managed to clear off the computer desk of my to-do pile and had a few minutes to post.
SO, I had a working interview for a DH position p/t 2 saturdays a month last Saturday. How does it make me feel when I leave the interview at 1:30 and the doctor says, "I'd like to hire you, I need to get to my next patient, bye" then 3 short hours later the job I supposedly was hired for was posted on C-list, again. Um... your opinions? I'm not sure what to think.
Audrey is going through a phase right now. I think she's teething, but she isn't due for more teeth for a while, so lame excuse. She can't be pms-ing because she's not there yet (like i said someone keeps speeding up the clock), so hopefully she'll come out of it soon. Last night as I was changing her diaper for bed, she exclaimed, "We're going to Disneyland tomorrow!" I asked her who told her that, she said "Daddy!" and I heard Tim call from the other room, "No I didn't!" Apparently Audrey is also going through her "inconceptual truth stage" (Lying through her teeth) and if it weren't so stinkin' funny how blatantly she fibs, I'd be upset. For example, I sent her in to ask Tim if he wanted to go on a walk after dinner tonight; she runs to the bedroom and asks him and he says, "I have to do homework." Audrey runs back with enthusiasm and says, "Daddy says YES!" (Tim calls, NO I DIDN'T!).
Emma must be eating fertilizer, because she's growing like a weed. Her shoes are all "pinchy" and her shirts show her "button" and her shorts are all super short. Any hints or tips on fall sales (or summer end of season) let me know.
Kennedy is almost rolling over. If she wouldn't get so screamy about being on her back, she could do it, but she has no patience for the view straight up from the floor and screams the minute she lays down. Thanks to a friend who lent me her "Bumbo" it's a lifesaver.
Tim is taking an English class. I am no help to him. Look at my grammer, puntctuation, and thank heavens we don't get checked on blogs for plagarism or works cited references. He just trucks through it, luckily he has smart friends. That is a tip I picked up along the way, hang around smart people, they.... I don't know make me smarter? Or the... Something. Well, I want to invite all who have actually read through this terrible long post to comment, let me know you came along, I love this blogging thing, even more so when I have time to do it.
Peace out.

Childhood

Kennedy. What more can I say.


I enjoy the words that come out of my kids mouths so much. Audrey never ceases to crack me up. She is always the first to say "Naaaaoooot" meaning "not me, I didn't do it" and she sings it like a disney princess. She'll even do this when I have seen her do what she says she didn't. It's great. Emma likes to just tease and be teased. Honestly, if they didn't tease each other, I'd be worried. We came up with aliases for the girls tonight over dinner. We decided Emma is "Screech" for her alienesque screem, Audrey is "Twister" for her ability to twirl like a princess and recover in record time, and Kennedy is "Bubbles" due to her amazing ability to blow spit bubbles, which Emma and Audrey never actually did. Tim made killer chili and I made rolls to boot and we had lots of fun after Church tonight. Once I can get the kids to get it through their brains that we are NOT WATCHING A "KID CHANNEL" then they go and play great. Pictures of our newly renovated play room to come, stay tuned.


As for the amazing process of "de-junking" our house, we rediscovered this amazing piece of furniture my parents gave to us, well as a filler for our house, to get it out of their garage, then never really took it back, then said, it officially belongs to us. I don't have a before picture, but if I come across one, I'll post the before with the after (in your mind's eye picture yellowed oak stained with wood grain and lots of water spots). We had it painted and moved it to our front entry way. It looks AMAZING. Thanks Mom and Dad.


Here is a picture of how we sometimes pass the time, Rob and Tim playing some "shoot-em-up" game on X-Box 360 with Kennedy chillin' out in the middle.



I live for the brief moments where everyone is happy, relatively sweet smelling and dry and on my lap. They are brief moments. I love my family so dang much it hurts, and I often feel like I don't make the most of them. Well, good thing we have new beginnings, like Anne Shirley said, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." Good ol' Anne.

Make up time...

Kennedy keeps us laughing, she is getting really good at hers...(laugh, that is). This is what our house looks like when it's clean (HA)



Emma and Audrey goy their hair cut last night. It was so much fun. The gal who cuts our hair does it out of har mom's house and they had 2 week old yellow lab puppies. The girls loved that.

Audrey in the process of her hair cut (notice the pink wash sink, she was thrilled about that!)

After the cut of 4 inches and BANGS! She said she was ready for the BALL!!

Emma with her long pre-cut hair. It was down to her elbows!
Emma after her cut. She cut off 6 inches and added layers again. It was a long time coming. She has amazing hair!

Audrey tucked herself in, or under the bed, er... Emma's bed. Audrey's bed is on the left side of the video. Emma reported the next morning that she was singing the whole time (scroll down to hear her song).





Audrey likes to hang out, well "nakey" so if she's not wearing her dress ups she's wearing her birthday suit. I never cease to be amazed at what she comes up with. I caught rockin' out the other day, and I had to capture it. A few explanations, though she usually beyond explaning; she wanted to try panties that day, emphasis on the word try, they haven't been back on since. She has a bandaid over a spot on her leg where she was the vicitim of a moster mosquito. She came up with the song (ABC's/Twinkle, Twinkle) on her own as well as the jig. Nothing is out of her realm.



Another nakey video. I don't realize she's without chothes until I upload the video on my computer and the moment has passed. Oh well, its hot outside. The story behind the cheer leader dance is we went to a basketball game where cousin Kelsie was cheering. We were a little late, and Jr. High basketball games aren't long, so in the literally last 2 minutes of the game Audrey saw Kelsie cheer and saw the basketball players make one basket and she talked about cheer for weeks on end. Now when she's asked to do her cheerleader dance, she throws her arms up and shouts, "GO TEAM, GO TEAM!!"

Sent from Heaven

Okay, 2 super sweet confirmations that we (Tim and I) are doing something right here. On Saturday evening we went swimming and came home and Emma was passed out asleep before bedtime rolled around. Audrey was still awake and demanded we follow through with our night routine ( scriptures, prayers, hugs and kisses, brush teeth, and tuck-tuck- tight). A new element I've added to this routine just recently is personal prayers. My girls are too short to reach the top of the bed when they kneel by it, so they just sit by the bedside. Emma was already zonked in bed when I was done helping Audrey brush teeth so I was just going to tuck her in and walk out. No, she wouldn't have it. I almost tripped over her in the dark because she was sitting by her bed saying, "Fada...day...Emma...Kendy...Wobby (Rob)...Tah (Tara)...Gaga... Gacob(Jacob) ...Ali... Mommy... Daddy... Happy...Jesus AMEN!" I could barely get her into bed before the tears started falling. She is so sweet, and that was her first prayer all by herself.

Then this morning Emma was on her way to school and for some reason Audrey was throwing a huge fit. I couldn't understand what she was saying "PED!!" and finally after Emma was gone and Audrey calmed down enough I said "Show me" and she knelt down and started her prayer. She wanted to say family prayer. She is so sweet, and a good reminder of what's important. I hope you all remember your prayers too!