Misc.

Here is an update

School:
Jake started his preschool a few weeks ago. We spent all week prepping Jake for the school bus that was going to come to our house to take him to school. So there we are waiting and waiting and it never came. So Matt took him and made sure his teachers knew that he needed to ride the bus home. When Matt left the school Jake fell on the floor and cried "I want Ma Ma." When the teacher took him to the bus to go home he saw he bus and yelled "There it is. . . BUS." I have to say he has enjoyed his bus rides and I have even noticed a small improvement on his language.


FOOD STORAGE:
The nerdy homemaker in me has come out. Everyone knows I love to do crafts, sew, quilt, but I do not like to CAN food. It is a tedious process of cleaning the fruit, slicing and dicing, cooking, and more cleaning. We have a apple and pear tree and I have to admit last year I canned like a mad women. I did over 75 cans of applesauce, pears and peaches. I did so many last year that I have plenty for this year. This year I only did two batches of pears and applesauce. I guess I'm a still a little worn out from last year. It definitely is worth it because the food is free and is great food storage.


FUN:
Jake and Aiden got an addition to their play area outside. The reason I got it is because I have lost some of my daycare kids due to the economy. I saw this on KSL and decided that if it helps me get a kid it will pay itself off quick. The economy is not very good and parents who are looking for childcare are interviewing at 7 or more homes. Last year I got calls for infants all the time. But right now it seems like all day cares are struggling to get kids. It is so frustrating because every time I interview a parent I have to clean the house from top to bottom inside and out. And then they don't show up. . .grrrr or they call and reschedule which means I have to do it all over again. grrrr OR. . . the come act interested and then never call back. . . grrrr.


AIDEN: is almost 2 and I have decided to try AGAIN to get him off the bottle. I admit I am a slacker and give in to him every time he throws a fit for his precious bottle. I know I give in because of all the other situations that I have to go through with all the kids that I watch in my daycare. It is just easier to shut him up so I can do what I need to with my daycare. It is very hard because he wants his bottle for comfort. He loves his blankie and stuffed dog but he doesn't want them without his bottle. I have started watering down the milk, and offer him a sippy cup with the good stuff. He can definitely tell because he doesn't gulp it down so quick. He almost always chooses the nasty watered down stuff or just sucks out of the top of the bottle so he is just sucking air.


BAG: I bought a cheap looking bag from the grocery store and took it apart and used it as a pattern and wa la I have a new church/diaper bag. It only took me like 6 HOURS!!!! IT took FOREVER I know but I think it turned out cute. I got really frustrated at the lining part because it wasn't laying flat. I probibly could have done it quicker if I do another one. I can usually figure out how to sew things together without instructions but it takes me a little time and a lot of patience.


If you are a sewing freak -check out this site. They are having a drawing for really cute fabric. http://lilatuellerdesigns.blogspot.com/

Nightmare

So here is an update on our deck.

Matt has spent almost every spear minute of his time on the deck. He finally got all the joist done and we were ready for the fun part-laying down the floor. So we pulled out the Trex boards and realized that some of the boards were scratched.

When we bought it it was new on the market and looked beautiful on the web site. We ordered the most expensive Trex called BRAZILA. It is supposed resemble a hardwood that comes from the rain forest. We have heard nothing but good things about Trex and they are coming out with new products so we thought that we were safe ordering something new from them. WRONG!

After we discovered that almost ALL of the boards were scratched from shipping it-we just about freaked out because we spent $1500 on it and had it special ordered.

It didn't take us long to find how easy it scratches. You can scratch it with your finder nail. It scratches when our dog walks on it. It scratches when you move it. It scratches just looking at it. Can you even imagine what it will look like in a year or two-not to mention what it will look like after our kids ride their toys on it. Or when our kids put sand on it. Or when you put furniture on it. Oh I know what we could do -tell everyone to take off their shoes if they want to walk on it. WE ARE SO DISAPPOINTED.

We put an ad up on ksl seeing if anyone wanted it for a discount. Last I checked 250 people had looked at it but not one call. Who could blaim them? Why would anyone want this crap. If you want to see pictures http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=7903530&cat=&lpid= (sorry my computer is being difficult right now)

Matt called Home Depot and explained to them the problem. They said they needed to come and see it on our deck. I told Matt to scruff up his bushy sideburns and make his hair wild and if needed to use his angry voice -if they argued with us. But thank goodness they were very workable and Matt didn't even have to persuade them.

We are looking into another alternative called Tigerwood.

http://www.tigerwooddecking.com

It is more of what the Brazila Trex is trying to resemble. So we are just relieved that this mess is over. We are also very glad that it was scratched during the shipping because if we had discovered after we put in on the deck we COULD NOT return it. The only thing we could do is file a law suit to Trex and they would just say that it was not assembled correctly. I guess after we google "Trex Problems" we are freaked out about using it.

Pretty Boy

30 minutes before church started Jake found my mascara and well the pictures says it all. He actually did a good job with his top of his eyelashes. And this is not the first time he has gotten a hold of my mascara.

p.s I plan on using this as blackmail for when he gets older.