Dear Girls

Dear girls that sit out in the hall during Sunday School,
Thanks so much for playing with my daughter on Sunday. I really appreciate all the time I was able to set up people coming to help us move. Without you I would have had to run back and forth after Danielle who loves to run away. My beautiful Marc Jacobs shoes cut a little bit on one of my toes and running around church would not have worked.
The only downside that I could really pinpoint in your 20 minutes of free babysitting is really a minor detail. It happened over and over again, and Danielle has done it before. I'm not exactly blaming you... Please don't let Danielle jump on you or pretend that she is pushing you over. Maybe she really is pushing you over. Not that I'm against wrestling or think that baby body slamming is evil in some way. It's me. I don't like to be body slammed. Those little baby elbows she throws at me can really hurt.
Danielle doesn't always understand when she can and can't run into people with all of her might. For instance today she tried to ram into our friend's dog who thought (correctly) that she was trying to wrestle and knocked her over. She didn't cry but I think that she was less than thrilled. I know that dog was confused. Think of his confusion next time you pretend she is "getting" you.
The day after her little party in the hall I had a bit of a cold and when she rammed me in the stomach I sort of threw up all over her. Luckily we were already in the bathroom so I didn't have to clean the carpet, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling. I guess my stomach muscles just don't hold it together anymore. I had no idea that a Danielle to the side could induce vomiting.
It was messy to clean up and a little hard to explain to Danielle, who was less than thrilled with the "big mess."
Luckily after an hour and a half long bath with bubbles Danielle forgave me. I think I forgave myself a little later, although I still feel guilty that it was a little funny. Who throws up on someone and then laughs about it a day later?
On the plus side she hasn't body slammed me since the incident with the throw up, so maybe she can learn to be a selective rough kid.
Thanks
Janae

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The Box

When we moved here someone told us it would be shocking to get out of the box of Provo. I was baffled since we hadn't told them where we came from. Plus I think they were from Idaho. I only think of this now because of the boxes all over my house. We are moving this weekend, if I don't quit before then. Of course then maybe I will have something to post- pictures of our new place and the projects Danielle and I come up with.
Some people say that moving is really hard on children. So far for Danielle it is mostly about blankets and the new wire bin that she carries with her everywhere. When my aunt Sara came to visit and help pack up boxes Danielle just yelled at her for thinking about packaging up her room. So we avoided her room and toys would mysteriously disappear if she ever visited friends.
The other day though she saw me packing up an unopened pony present. I bought it on clearance at Target and am planning to save it for some holiday later on. She ordered "open" but I told her we were saving it for the new house. She asked "new house" (which didn't really sound like new house) and I explained that we were moving to a new house and we had to put everything we wanted to keep in boxes.
Two minutes later the box with the ponies was full of all her favorite toys and all her blankets. Then with her.
I fished the blankets out since she would need those for sleeping and loaded the box full.
So Danielle has a new favorite hobby- it is called hiding in the box. She likes to hide balls and toys and food and wipes and even herself in the box. Saying that moving is hard on kids might also mean that kids are hard on moving- you can't hide things in the box anymore if it is taped up. And Danielle wants to tape the boxes and help label them but I can't say that she is really helpful. She is one of the best work destroyers I know.
Maybe I only say that because we don't have any mommy sized boxes though.

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Money Saving Tips

When we first moved into our current townhome I wanted window coverings. There weren't ANY. Not even cheap mini blinds. Then again if you don't spring for ceiling lights window coverings probably aren't a huge priority. I didn't really want the neighbors to be able to see me at night so we bought some nice yellow drapes on sale.
Then we painted the wall brown and had to start over again. We ended up with silk ivory colored drapes and it is only now that I realized there was another option.
John and my uncle Mark disappeared for 20 short minutes to Lowes and then reappeared with "cordless" mini blinds. You just take the strip off the top and attach them to the window- the folded paper naturally comes down to cover your window in a day or two. Then the cordless feature can truly be appreciated, with just two little clips you can raise those mini blinds to just about any height (but putting them all the way up can compromise the stickiness and render them useless so use caution). Total cost? less than 5 dollars each.
My sliding glass door was a little bit trickier- but with the help of some Hallmark wrapping paper our window was usable and a little bit of happiness. Plus now Austin doesn't look out the window and bark at the neighbors.

Although I am in love with my new window coverings, I will leave them as a gift for my landlord. After all, the best part about finding something fantastic is sharing it. If you think you can't afford window coverings- think again. And you can always change the wrapping paper for birthdays.

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The Jersey Shore

We drove to Jersey Friday to see Uncle Mark and Aunt Sara. Danielle picked herself some flowers from the boardwalk and then went to run in the ocean. We are going to teach her to swim really well or else hope she learns some natural fear. I liked the pictures of my cousins and Danielle on the bench- it captures their personalities.
We went around 5:30 so it wasn't too hot and we didn't have to get tags to be there. Mark and Sara bought us some curly fries that were really good. I captured a really perfect man photo with the store in the background.
This was Danielle's first time seeing the ocean and John's first time at the beach out here on the East coast. Eddie was super cute because he is afraid of the sand. I thought he wanted to go down and walk in it but he was actually asking for a towel. He wanted to sit on a towel rather than walk on the sand. Mostly dry sand is scary.
We didn't find anything like money or rings like the men with metal detectors towards the end but we did find an extra bucket which Danielle made sure we didn't leave in the ocean as the tide was coming in. The Bergs are really good hosts, and we got to eat some yummy chocolate chip cookies when we got back. Here is a rare photo of my with my 30 weeks pregnant belly. Sara was there, even though we didn't get a photo of her tank top or what she claims was a swim team swimsuit. Some things you can only see in Jersey.
While we are here John is learning how to wire a fan and light. You can count on the Bergs to teach us the skillz. Yes- that's skills with a "z". They like doing house projects and so do I. I am so excited to move into our house in Scranton as soon as we close... sigh. Only three more weeks. Then we Bergs will have to come paint our house.

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Cheap

Once again I found some things I want. The first is a pair of shoes that is on sale for only 329.99. Too bad it is only in size 6.5. Oh wait, that doesn't really make a difference. But they are beautiful.
the second is a book that my sister in law Carlie sent me a link to. The Author was featured on NPR. It looks really interesting. here is a quote from the NRP site:
"In the world of Cheap, "design" has become a stand-in for quality. Companies such as Target, H & M, and Zara offer consumers the look they love at a price they can live with — but at what true cost? I n Sweden we visit IKEA, the global furniture retailer made famous and fabulously successful by a scheme of designing not just for low price but to low price. The consequences of this are both obvious and subtle. IKEA makes furniture available to all at a low price, which means college students, young couples, and others on a budget can furnish their homes in style. But IKEA does not overly concern itself with what Homer Simpson calls "fall-apart." The company designs for easy construction, uniformity, cheap production, and transportability around the globe. Ultimately, what it markets is disposable, with everything that implies. The genius of IKEA and other cheap-chic purveyors is that they have made fashionable, desirable, and even lovable objects nearly devoid of craftsmanship. The environmental and social implications of this are insidious and alarming."
There is an interview with the author on NPR that you can listen to. I thought of this because I finally caved in and bought some of those adjustable height table legs at Ikea. They were 25 dollars for each side of the table and can be tall enough that Danielle can't get them. Also maybe parents of toddler's need some disposable furniture? Danielle and her friend have convinced me that all furniture should be subjected to crayon tests before purchasing. Why is it so easy for kids to learn bad habits from other kids? Her friend can also say a lot more than Danielle but that's not what she picked up- send her into a room and no matter where it is, this duo will find a pair of crayons. Even if you already went through and tried to remove all of them. I remember having lots of cheap bookcases when we first got married. Then we moved to pennsylvania and didn't take the bookcases with us since they were broken in some way. Now we just don't have bookcases. Sometimes I miss the cheapies with their broken handles and shelves and drawers you had to use a spatula to open. My boycot of crappy furniture has also meant that Danielle doesn't have a dresser, which has been interesting. Her clothes which should be in their bins frequently end up on the floor.

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Bad thoughts

If Danielle could have her way she would be watching TV all day. I think this is a sign that she is a lot like her dad. Today my friend asked me why I have been missing on my blog but I realized this month that I have nothing to say. Except some advice for people I happen to know.

1. Maury Pauvitch is not a show you should try to be like.
2. Sorry your spouse turned out to be crazy. Really Crazy. Like bat sh** crazy. Now one of your parents is going to be able to say I told you so.
3. Don't go to family events if you hate everyone. Just stay home.
4. Don't pretend to be poor if you are just cheap. It is annoying, especially to people that have actually been poor or are poor. It is always easy to spot people who just don't want to spend the money over people who really know what it's like to not know if they will be able to buy groceries. This type of phony is offensive.
5. You shouldn't change your status to single unless your really are single. That means post divorce. Sorry if this hurts your dating plans. And the it's complicated status is also inaccurate. How about you don't talk about your dirty laundry on facebook? Everyone knows it's all about the pictures anyway.
6. Facebook friendship is just that- facebook friendship. What is the big deal here people?
7. How can you argue with crazy?
8. If one of your siblings says they raised the kids more than your parents, it is best to change the subject.
9. Stop asking people when they are going to move for small talk. Just don't talk to them at all if that is all you can think of.
10. Passive aggressive blog posts are lame. But mentioning everyone by name and then saying negative things is even worse, especially if you include a link.

Well I think next time I will try to have Jen guest post her birthday list. I should stick to that type of post since it is actually useful.

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