I must be losing my mind.

On Friday night, I put the kids to bed.

I tidied up the house.

I put in a movie from Redbox to watch by myself since the hubby was at Scout Camp.

Then I went to grab my water bottle:

Yes, that was me that put the remote control in the fridge.

No, I don't remember putting it there but I do distinctly remember snatching it up off the floor after the kids were in bed.

Total pregnant brain.

Adventures in Business

Last week I decided to enter the world of running an in-home business. I became a consultant for Usborne Books and More.

My first home show is tonight. And I am way too excited.

Racking my brain

For whatever reason, I was at a loss of what to make my kids for lunch this afternoon. Maybe it was the lack of sandwich meat in my fridge or the one more spoonful of peanut butter left in the jar. 

And the fact that both Dick and Jane were both standing at my heels, with starving whines.

Then it came to me. I made some toasted garlic bread "sticks" {for future reference, kids seem to like things more when they're in stick form} and warmed up some leftover alfredo sauce {kids love to dip, too} from the pizzas we made last week to use as dip.

And BAM! Crunchy, creamy, cheesy goodness. It was a hit for both kids.

Twenty-fourth Fun

Where I live, the 24th of July is a big deal.

It is a celebration of the day the Mormon Pioneers came into the Salt Lake Valley.

There are parades and rodeos and community plays and everyone's family comes back into town for the weekend.

My kids loved the parade.

(It was on Saturday the 23rd.)

I always get a little emotional when the flags go by and I've got my hand over my heart. I feel so proud to be an American and so grateful for my freedom. And so indebted to those that went before me so I can enjoy these freedoms.

Awesome floats.

Dick and Jane pausing for a few seconds to oblige me. They were very concerned about missing the parade.

My camera died right after I took this picture and I didn't pack my spare battery.

So I only got a few pictures of the entire parade.

Oh well.

There's always next year.

Oh!

We had a close call yesterday. 
I had a major - and I mean major - accident yesterday morning.


I spilled Jane's cup of juice on the Mac keyboard. Like dropped it on the table and it splashed directly onto the computer. After about .5 seconds it powered down automatically.


"Oh no."


I immediately got some paper towels and wiped it down and then turned it upside down and shook it vigorously. Then I put the fan on it. I sopped up any drips I could see.


{The reason the Mac was on the table in the first place is because I was burning some cds of new music while fixing breakfast at the same time. Just multi-tasking here.}


"Ok." I thought. "It's been dripped on a little before; I'll just try and turn it back on."


Fail.


Tried again. Fail. It would turn on, but only for about five to thirty seconds before it powered down again.


So I called the hubby to see what I should do and took it in town to the computer medical center, along with our external hard drive.


{We back things up pretty regularly, but there were pictures and music from the last few weeks that weren't backed up yet. Like Jane's birthday.}


We waited a few hours for a diagnosis and received the news that it would still not turn on by itself and that it was most likely ruined. But they still had more diagnostics to do.


"Great. Like we can afford a new Mac," we thought.


After they took it apart, they determined that there were some damaged areas and parts of the motherboard were corroded. And basically it would cost $950 to replace the motherboard and another $100 for the labor. $1050 big bucks.


Or they would buy it back from us for parts for $125.


But after talking to my dad a few times {who, thankfully, had talked to a friend of his who owns a communications store}, we determined that maybe there was a possibility that it was not totally toast and that we should maybe take matters into our own hands.


That was the best advice ever.


We went in and picked up the computer {after paying them $94 for the diagnosis and retrieving everything from our hard drive} and brought it home. After dinner, the hubby took everything apart and gently {and very meticulously} cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. We let it dry and put it back together.


We said our prayers and tried to turn it on.


Success. And it stayed on for 30 minutes before the hubby turned it off himself.


Now, I know that only time will tell if it was really damaged or not. But so far, so good.


So my question is, were the computer technicians really about to totally and completely rip us off? Like extremely? Because that's what it feels like. Let's be honest, I trust that they most likely know what they're doing in most cases, but was this an exception? But why?


We could've payed half the cost of the computer to get it fixed or lost it completely for a mere $125, when in reality, nothing was actually that wrong.


I'm still a little sick about it. Sick that I caused such an unnecessary accident and sick that we almost got ripped off to the max.


I guess I can only be grateful that, in the end, we didn't lose anything. {Well, except for that $94.}

What did you have for dinner?

We grilled ourselves some pizzas.

Oh my, they were tasty.

I just made up some homemade dough and grabbed a little alfredo sauce, cubed chicken, cheese, crumbled bacon and parsley.

Have you grilled pizza before?

You must try it.

Go here for some tips.

Some Good Tunes

A girl after my own heart.

I'm so doing this sometime soon...

http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2010/03/refashioned-jeans-to-maternity-skirt.html

The supply has begun.

I bought my first pack of newborn diapers last week. I like to start early so I don't have to worry about buying diapers for a while after the baby is born.

I'll admit, even though I've still got one in diapers, I love buying the tiny ones.

They just smell so good.

Look who's 3!

Jane!

First, the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa and one of the aunts.

Second, the Tangled doll from mommy and daddy.

{She peeked in the bag and saw it before I had a chance to open and read her the card. It led to a little premature excitement.}

{Notice her feet are off the ground.}

Third, cake.

A purple cake - to be exact - to match Rapunzel's dress.

Happy Birthday Jane!

We love you so much!

I'm coming back.

Jane enjoying free frozen yogurt on her birthday in her swimsuit.

This new pregnancy has wiped me out.
Seriously, it has been significantly harder than the other two.
I haven't necessarily been sicker, it's just taken its toll in other ways.


Thank heavens for trimester #2.
I'm 14 weeks and just starting to feel more like myself. 
The morning sickness is starting to ease up (I think...some nights I can't quite tell yet) and I can cook dinner and eat it lately.


I actually planned a menu and made a decent grocery list last weekend.
I think the winds are changing, hallelujah.


But the fatigue is still sticking around.
I still consider taking naps every afternoon.
And sometimes I lie on the floor and suggest that the kids pretend to be the doctor and check me and do my hair and things so that I can stay in one position for a solid while.


I know. Pathetic and lame.


But the moral of the story is, I fear I've almost lost my touch.
Over the last two months, all the motivation I've ever had to blog and be productive in any way has been zapped away.
No cooking, projects, blogging, anything.


{Well, technically I have blogged some, but only because I forced myself to, not because I felt like it.
But definitely no cooking or projects...or anything else.}


Where did it all go?


Oh yeah. 


It was replaced by my raging pregnancy hormones.
Oh, the hormones.
In all seriousness, I love being pregnant and having babies; but in all reality, the first trimester is a killer.
Who wouldn't argue that?


But slowly, I can feel it coming back.
The past week I've been wanting to do the things I normally love doing - like keep house, listen to some good music and cook new recipes.
I am so ready to be Crazy Blogger Woman and Productive Mommy again.


Tonight I'm planning on making some fried mozzarella sticks, courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.
Love me some comfort food.


Speaking of her, have you read her new book, From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels?
I breezed through it a few weeks ago and found it highly entertaining.


{Ok and honestly, it kept my mind off morning sickness for a few hours at a time.}


But I am a sucker for a good romance story now and again.

*****

Still to come this week - celebrating Jane's 3rd birthday!

New Territory

Sweet, sleeping Jane

My poor little Jane contracted her first urinary tract infection last weekend. She's been a sleepy, serious, feverish girl for a few days.

We tried to take her to church yesterday but she didn't make it through the third hour.

I've had lots of medicine and drinks handy to help her achy body. It makes me so sad and wish I could take it all away.


Get better soon, Janey!

The word is out.

It's been a long few months.

There's been lots of sleeping and complaining.

And lots of nausea.

And lots of eating.

And lots of nausea while eating.

And some crying.

And more complaining.

And cravings.

And movie-watching.

And less blogging.

And road trips to pass the time.

But we survived.

And now, the word is out.

It's official.

We are becoming a bonafide family of five.

On or around January 11th, 2012.

Baby number three is well on its way.

And it's true, we will have three children under 4.

And we couldn't be more thrilled!

Post-Holiday Dinner

The hubby and I met up with a few of my old college roommates last night and got us some sourdough pizza.


It was our yearly summer reunion. The friend on my right lives super far away.


My kids were all over the place {what else is new?} and hardly ate a thing.


But I enjoyed catching up with my friends a little before Dick dumped his water cup completely down the front of himself and Jane was laying on the floor clutching the hubby's ankle. 


Welcome to life with kids. I'm sure when we get together it makes them a little apprehensive to have their own kids. Ha ha.


Man I love my family.


Thanks, friends. It was a good night.

Happy 4th

I hope you all enjoyed celebrating the blessed day of our country's freedom yesterday.

We sure did.

We all had a blast at grandma and grandpa's house and ate lots of food.

The cousins ran wild and the grown-ups chatted.

We were constantly looking for my kids.

{Sorry Mom and Dad.}

We sold pretzels in the park and crashed afterwards.

And the hubby even got 2 days off work.

It was a glorious weekend.