Awkward can be worth it

Devin spent all afternoon on Sunday making the walls of our house look beautiful. He was busy hammering, puttying, sanding, and painting until midnight. Because I'm the epitome of a perfect wife, instead of thanking him for all the hard work he did, I blamed him when the outlets quit working in the bathroom that day. "You must have screwed up the wires when you were hammering!" I know, he's just SO lucky! I mean, who wouldn't want me for a wife right?

I realized I never apologized for being such a nag (and when I say nag I am adding some extra a's..naaaaaag...Fran Drescher style). I should do that (apologize, not nag some more).

Anyway he tried pushing the reset button on the outlet and tripping the fuse box a few times with no luck.

I gave it two days for the problem to miraculously solve itself (funny, that never seems to work out very well!) and finally called the electrician (Tann Electric). I used them two years ago when our lights were flickering and our power was going out. Eddie put in a new fuse box and saved our house from burning to the ground (seriously). You know things are bad when you hear a sizzling sound coming from the fuse box.

I was happy to see Eddie again (even though he was four hours late) until he came out of the bathroom less than THREE minutes after he arrived saying "ok it's fixed now." Apparently the outlet in the garage is connected to the outlet in the bathroom, which powers the upstairs outlet. He had to push the reset button in the garage and that was all. I felt pretty dumb for not knowing that, but whatever. I was just glad it was going to be a cheap bill.

I got out the checkbook and asked him what the price was. $94. For three minutes. For pushing a button. I waited all day for him to get there and he pushed a button. I begged him for a discount. He said I should just be grateful that it wasn't something worse and told me all his stories about his other dumb customers that had to pay $100 for him to screw in a lightbulb. NOT HELPING.

I begged and pleaded some more and gave him my most pathetic, pregnancy face. He said he had no control over the pricing. I wrote the check, but just couldn't summon the strength to hand him nearly a hundred dollars for pushing a button.

I gave him more sad, pregnant puppy eyes. He said I could try calling his manager and that maybe they could give me a credit for next time. Yipee. Not. I asked if I could call before he left. I told him I appreciated all of his hard work and made double sure he wouldn't be offended. He said to "Go for it" and that he wouldn't be offended in the least and that he knew how ridiculous that price was.

Oh my gosh, it was so awkward! I had to call and leave the details with the receptionist and then wait, with Eddie sitting on my couch, for the manager to call back. Longest six minutes ever. I was offering him drinks, trying to make small talk, feeling like such a friggin' cheapskate the whole time. Finally the manager called Eddie and I overheard Eddie tell him "Man, she's pregnant with two small kids and could really use the money." Thanks Eddie!!

They slashed my bill from $94 to $45. I think the awkwardness was worth it! I have totally turned into that person...the cheapskate that embarasses her kids, but who cares. It put close to fifty bucks back into my pocket.

So lesson of the day, folks: it never hurts to ask!

I think I'm going to start blogging again. My life has been brimming with blog fodder lately, thanks to Addison and Ainsley.

The Addison quote of the day: "Mom, why do you life coffee so much?"
The Ainsley quote of the day: "Addison spit my head!" Devin found a puddle of spit on the top of her head. Seriously. Who DOES THAT?! Apparently my daughter....

Blog, Shlog

I'm sorry I've been absent for so long. There are so many things I could blog about my now I just feel too overwhelmed and don't know where to start! I could blog about:

-how I heard Addison reading aloud from the Bible about a witch that steals the sparkles from furry ponies
-how I've developed a second chin from this pregnancy and my belly is starting to hang out of all my shirts (takes the idea of mooning to a whole new level)
-how much easier Addison is to get along with these days and how we're already into "silly stage" where she runs around saying things like "miss me, miss me, now you're gonna kiss me" because she heard Shane say it at preschool and thought it was just so funny.
-how Ainsley bit my leg today and I am trying to decide if I need to start spraying her mouth with apple cider vinegar or just keep doing the time outs.
-how I'm supposed to rub prozac cream on my neighbor's cat's ear while she's in Mexico this week, but the blasted cat hisses and growls and scares the daylights out of me. And Devin!
-how part of me can't wait to have this baby if only to get a break from life for awhile to stay cooped up in the house with him, in sweats, and get a pass from all other obligations.
-how ridiculously difficult it has been to make a decision about where Addison will go to Kindergarten next year and how crazy fast these last 4.5 years have gone by!!
-that we've decide to name our little guy Ian Timothy Riley. And that Addison picked the name Ian on our way to church one Sunday and double checks from time to time that we're still going to name him that. Timothy is Devin's middle name as well as his dad's middle name.
-that Ian means God is merciful. We picked the name because we liked it and that it was kinda fun to tell him his sister chose it, so it could have meant "tree" and we still would have gone with it. I love that it represents the trait of God that means the most to me.
-how Ainsley turned 2 last week and how dang funny she is these days. Her favorite two songs are Jesus Loves Me and Jingle Bells and she asks to sing them both in the car whenever we go anywhere.
-how nice it is to be debt free and how totally worth all that hard work it is. Sadly Dave doesn't seem to want to take my call.
-how our stray cat, Squatter, survived his 4th winter living on our deck and how Devin bought me a house for him for my birthday because he knew I was worried about him AND how I fashioned a door out of duct tape AND how I know if my dad reads this he will mock me for life. It's all good--I was proud of that door!

The possiblities are endless. Someday I'll be back. For now I'll stick with being a blog stalker!

E-Mealz

I've been trying e-mealz for the past couple weeks. I've got to say I have really enjoyed it! There have been a few things that I just flat out refused to make because I knew we wouldn't like them, a few things that have been really good, and a few things that turned out to be just ok and I probably won't try again.

Pros:
-The recipes are printed off for you along with a grocery list so you just print your list and go to the store
-The meals were all pretty healthy (I'm trying the any store points plan)
-There are always one or two vegetarian options each week, which I think is great. 
-Even though they weren't based on sale prices, I was able to get most of my ingredients for 6 meals for about $60, which isn't bad at all!
-I had food! I had ingredients to make dinner! That panicky feeling around 3:00 that I usually get was non existent because I had options in my fridge and pantry! Yipeeee!
-Even though I wasn't crazy about some of the choices, I still had a starting point. For instance one of the meals was Curried Broccoli Chicken, which sounded like a less yummy version of Chicken Divan, one of our family's favorites. It was really easy to just switch that up a little.


Cons:
-Catfish? Ewwwww.....skipping that one!
-They didn't really plan the meals based on the fruits/vegetables that are in season. For instance they called for fresh basil and blueberries for a couple meals this week. I went ahead and paid $3 for the basil, but was not going to shell out money for out of season, wrinkled blueberries just for fruit salad. We had pears instead.
-A couple of the meals were a little lame. For one of them you used a box of jambalya mix and added frozen peppers/onions and chicken. I will admit that my four year old gobbled it up with no complaining. It was pretty tasty.....Ok so maybe that isn't a con. Nevermind!
-I wish they had a specific store list for my area that is based on what's on sale. It's hard to shell out money for the specific meat they call for if it's not on sale. It does seem like they use a lot of chicken and ground turkey, which is easy to stock up on. 


I think we're going to stick with it for awhile. Even though I probably am spending a little more than we did before, it's worth the peace of mind and the fact that we're not eating at 8 pm because I had no idea what to make for dinner. Just my two cents!

Ainsley's new bed

I bought the girls some new bedding from Target a few weeks ago. Ainsley's little toddler comforter and sheets were just so cute that I couldn't resist asking around for a toddler bed to put them on. Then, when a friend from church said I could have her toddler bed and mattress for a grand total of $10, the crib went down and in went the toddler bed

We 

Awww so cute! We even kept the bumper because she is obsessed with it. At first I don't think she realized she could actually get out of it and that made me really excited. Yeah that didn't last very long. Night time has been going ok, but naptime is a whole different story. This girl just loves her new found freedom. Maybe I should paint her face blue and call her Braveheart...errr....William Wallace. Nevermind.

The point is I really wish we had just kept the stinking crib up a little longer. This is what happened today:
12:30 Ainsley falls asleep in car when dropping Addison off at school. Yes! I can transition her! This is will be perfect...
12:35 Ainsley wakes up when I take her coat and boots off, but drowsily reaches for her bumper and closes her eyes.
12:40 I hear chatter from upstairs. I try to ignore it but go upstairs and see Ainsley playing with some of Addison's jewelry...with a poopy diaper.  Back in bed she goes with a myriad of binkies to choose from as well as some books to look at.
1:00 Talking has not subsided. Hear a crash upstairs. Ainsley is sitting in one of the plastic bins under Addison's bed seen in picture #1. Back in bed she goes with more books and a kiss goodnight.
1:15 I hear "mommmmmma! mommmmma! and more banging. Ignore it for a few minutes and look in the room. Hmm. No Ainsley. I look in my room and the bathroom. Still no Ainsley. I hear her calling me. She shut herself in the closet. ARRRRGGGHHH! Back in bed she goes. This child is not napping.

I eventually gave up on naptime when I realized I'd have to wake her up in 45 minutes to pick Addison up at preschool. I decided to try again after preschool. She proceeds to have the biggest meltdown imaginable because...big surprise....SHE'S TIRED!

After school she got up a few times but the Supernanny methode of sticking her back in bed without saying a word finally did the trick and she's sleeping. I know this will get easier...

ANYWAY

The last few days have been busy, but good! Rachel came in to town and sadly we did not get a single picture together. We had a great lunch with Andrea and Kelly on Saturday, and then she came over on Tuesday while Brandon interviewed for some jobs and spent the whole morning and afternoon together. It was wonderful. We talked, drank coffee (with creamer of course),  I got to have lots of cuddle time with little Nolan, and we even played a few rounds of Go Fish and Princess Yahtzee (to Addison's great delight). Rach I am not sure what these next few months have in store for you, but it sure is great having you back in town!


I'm at about 23 weeks and feeling pretty good: just BIG. My belly and other anatomical parts are growing at a rapid pace that I find slightly disturbing. My doctor reassured me that I am measuring where I should be, but I feel like a boat. A yacht, actually. Things are different with #3. How the heck did Michelle Duggar do this 20 times?! I always feel a little out of breath and am just plain pooped all the time.

I think we have pretty much settled on the name Ian for this little guy, picked by his 4 year old sister. We were in the car on the way to church discussing names and she piped up from her carseat "How about Ian?" We aren't sure on a middle name yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Now I am going to enjoy this brief moment of peace and quiet while it lasts....

Stuff heard 'round these parts

"Diaper cream is for bottoms not faces, Ainsley"

Addison: "Here you go Mom" as she hands me something...
Me: "What is that?"
Addison: "My booger"

"Ainsley is that poop on your hands?!?"
Ainsley: "yep!"

"Ainsley, plastic bags don't go on your head."

I would also like to announce that the kids singing "Sloppy Joes, sloppy sloppy Joes" from Billy Madison are mine. Can I help it if it comes to mind every time I make one? "I'll make them extra schloppy for ya!" ;)

Now if you'll excuse me I need to get downstairs. I do believe Ainsley could be walking around with that bag still on her head.

A good laugh at work...

A mom is shopping at Baby Gap with her 3 year old. Three year old picks up a pair of fleece pj's and says "This is sexy!"

Laughter ensues.

Priceless Gift

I have heard about Jesse trees for about a year now. They're a different kind of way to celebrate advent, but very visual and interesting for kids. It basically traces the lineage of Jesus back to Adam w/ really neat symbols and Bible verses.

I got an email awhile ago from a friend that said she was putting together a Jesse Tree ornament exchange. You pick your symbol, make 28 of the same ornament, and trade them amongst friends so everyone goes home with a completed tree. My first thought was "oh heck no. I don't do crafts and I don't do 28 crafts. And I don't do 28 crafts in the middle of all this morning sickness and busy-ness. I also don't do 28 crafts with Ainsley anywhere in the house." Can we say disaster? Then there was the money aspect: I know you can craft on the cheap, but I just didn't have any extra pennies to put toward this idea this year. To summarize: not the year for it. I found some neat Jesse Tree printouts and so my plan (for NEXT year!!) was to just hang those on a tree and eventually trade the printouts for ornaments as the years progressed.

At MOPS on Monday the presenter (who happened to be one of the ladies involved in the Jesse Tree exchange) had the finished tree on the stage to show off to give all the moms ideas for ways to introduce Spiritual things to our kiddos around the holidays. I sat there looking at that tree, wishing I had just summoned the energy to make the ornaments so I could have one to do with Addison and Ainsley. Again, it inspired me for next year (or let's be honest here....the next year after that!)

Tonight Devin and I were having dinner with my very wonderful friend Alicia and her husband John. At the end of dinner she came over with a shirt box and said "This is a Christmas present from the Hansens to the Rileys." I knew what was in there, and I started crying before I even opened the box. Inside were 28 ornaments from the Jesse Tree exchange. Alicia had taken part in the exchange and had given me all of her ornaments. The ornaments were all created by ladies from church that I love and admire. These ornaments will be in the Riley household for YEARS, and everytime I pull one out I will remember each of those ladies, and Alicia for so selflessfly giving me this special gift. I honestly can't think of a cooler way to kick off the Christmas season. I love you Alicia. Thank you so very much.