Random Facts and Updates

Parenting Update: We decided not to break the news to James yet about the reality of the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. And as for now, Andrew has kept his diapers on. Thank goodness! We have a little talk before he goes to sleep that goes something like this: Mommy says, "Andrew, diaper ON," followed by a kiss, a song and a good sleep. When Andrew awakens, he tells me, "Mommy, biaper ON." Very good, Andrew. Very good.

Challenge: At church on Sunday, our bishop gave a wonderful talk. At the end of it, he challenged us not to grocery shop for the week and live off of food storage. Darn. I knew I should have gone grocery shopping Saturday night. Opening my fridge all week has never been so depressing.

"Honey, Guess What? I Got Us a Free ______": My husband hates it when I begin a sentence with those words. That's because there's usually a catch. Someone from church referred my name for a free carpet cleaning. Sounded good to me, and it came from a source I trusted. So I signed us up. Well, come Monday night, Drew and I decided it wouldn't be a good idea. We just weren't in the mood to listen to a spiel about what they were selling. We had every intention of turning the guy away when he came to the door.

Only problem was, the person who came to the door was a nice young fellow from church! Ouch. We both felt we couldn't turn him away. So, he pulled out his ridiculously thick 3-ring binder as well as a $2500 Kirby vacuum and proceeded to tell us (FOR FOUR HOURS) about how buying this vacuum would be an "investment in our future." A bit of a stretch? I thought so too. He showed us every stinking page from this mother binder. It was painful. He finally left after 11pm. We were trying to find a kind way to kick him out, but in the end we were both hoping the other person would do it.

Lesson learned. You get what you pay for. And what you don't pay for. Come 9:30, I was saying to myself, "OK, Kirby guy, please go home." By 11:15, I was thinking, "KIRBY, GO HOME!"

My Cooking Still Stinks: James has quite the sophisticated taste in food and how it is prepared. Here are some of his favorites: Lamb, steak, shrimp, ribs, artichokes, and sour dough bread to name a few. He even enjoys dipping his warm bread into the juice from the meat that comes fresh off the grill. Hmmm, sounds like his daddy's boy. As you would suspect, he's figured out that Drew is a good cook. While deciding what to fix for lunch the other day, I suggested quesadillas. James really loves the way Drew prepares them. He hesitated. Then replied, "Sure. I guess. Even if you cook it." I couldn't help but laugh. He realized he may have hurt my feelings then said, "Mom, I do like a few of the things you fix."

Blogging Help: What are your tricks for making blogging more efficient? Do you have any? I've found out about a few great resources for bloggers. One of my friends told me about blurb.com, a site where you can print/publish your blog. I'm very interested in doing this every so often since my blog has also turned into a fun way of journaling. This same friend told me about bloglines.com, which is a way to keep track of when everyone updates their blogs, thus giving me less excuses for wasting my time. I've heard of igoogle, too. Anything else?

Ok, Speaking of Help: I seriously need suggestions of names for girls. If you have any suggestions, would you mind posting? I am at a loss. Please, don't share a special name if you feel strongly about it. But, if you don't mind sharing, then I'd be most obliged.

Thanks for reading.