Got Gas?

I've been trying to do a post for a few days now by my pictures wouldn't show up on Picasa. I finally got them so here are some of the things I've been meaning to post about:

Kira had a really cute little girl last week- Bella Darley. She ended up with a c-section after pushing for 2 hours trying for a VBAC. Looks like her body is just too tiny to push babies out but she feels a lot better than her last c-section. I wish I could hold that baby.
Last Friday was a wonderful rainy day so I decided to build Chandler a fort. I thought he would probably like it. He thought it was so cool and loved going under and than using a flashlight. We mostly played with him underneath and me crawling around outside and scaring him.

Later in the day, Steve took Chandler out in the rain and Chandler had so much fun. Sooooo much that he came in with his boots filled with water and his pants soaking wet. Guess rain boots don't really work when you fall down in a puddle!
Saturday turned out to be a pretty awesome day. We were suppose to go apple picking but because of the crazy gas shortage here, we decided against it. Instead, I went to a consignment sale and got so much great stuff for cheap. I went in the morning and spent $32 on the trucks, jumper, lawn mower, and potty chair. Then I went back in the afternoon when they had the half price sale and I spent $40 and got everything else. Here is just a list of a few of the items and the price in a store:

Potty Chair- 24.99
Rocker- 40.00
Jumper-30.00
Booster-16.99
Car seat travel cover-30.00?

That right there adds up to 141.98 and that is just for some of the items. I don't even know the value of the rest of the stuff. I feel like I got a lot of good stuff for $72. I got a whole bunch of girl sleepers and dresses and they were all .50 or 1-2.00. The booster was 2.50 and the vibrating baby seat was 7.00. It is actually the same one we used for Chandler but we were borrowing it from Meagan so now we have our own. Chandler is in love with his big dump truck. I've been wanting to get him some big trucks but they are so expensive so when I saw this for $4 I couldn't resist. The mower was only $5 and is awesome because it actually talks and now we have two so that when we have friends over there hopefully won't be so much fighting.

We gave all the toys a nice bath in the tub to clean them up and now everything is like new. I was pretty proud of myself for getting some good deals on things we need to buy. Thanks Melissa for telling me about the sale!! Hope you found some good stuff too.
Here is a picture of me at almost 25 weeks. It is so weird but this time my belly button sticks out so much. It is horrible and kind of embarrassing. You can see it pointing out in his picture. Chandler loves to poke it back in. The baby kicks all the time and my stomach is constantly getting tight (braxton hicks). Hopefully that means my uterus is getting good practice and this baby will come out in 3-4 hours when it's time. I have to beat the 5 hours it took for Chandler!

On another topic: Have you all heard about our crazy gas shortage???? I guess when Hurricane Ike hit Texas, it damaged the gas line to Charlotte so gas stations haven't been able to keep up with the demand. We were supposed to get a shipment last weekend but I guess it didn't turn out to be enough. We waited in line for probably 15 minutes on Saturday to get some gas. There was a sign that said to only take $25 so we were honest and didn't fill up since we didn't really need to. We just needed enough for church.

There is still a shortage and a lot of stations will have gas and huge lines with only a few pumps open and then later in the day be closed because they run out of gas. It is so crazy. At church, they cancelled the father/son camp out and the Relief Society broadcast dinner last weekend. They told us to watch it at home. Then this week all evening activities have been cancelled. We thought for sure church would be cancelled but they didn't. Thankfully I don't go many places and Steve rides the train to work (he was actually told to work from home if possible) and we have stores less than a mile from us and I have no problem having days where I just stay home.

Crazy times right now. On a wall street note.........we are very happy that Steve works for Bank of America right now.

I might be in Heaven

So I know I have complained about the weather being so hot here and everything. I've also mocked all the locals for saying it gets cold and you need winter jackets and such. Well, I am sorry.........the past few days have just been wonderful. We've worn sweaters and opened our windows and have had a glorious cool breeze come into the house. We've slept with our windows opened in our room and it is cold in the morning so you crawl under the covers more. It has just been so nice. I LOVE IT!!!! I suppose if it stays like this throughout the winter months, I just might love the weather here. I am still sad that I won't have any real snow storms but we'll just have to travel for that. Because of this awesome weather, we've spent more time outside.
This morning I took Chandler for a walk to a little playground. The kid impresses me- he walked almost the whole way there (about 1/2 mile he walked!). I kept asking if he wanted to get in his stroller and he shook his head and would start running. It was really cute. I never let him walk on the sidewalk because he is such a naughty kid and always runs in the road. I don't think I ever mentioned on the blog but he ran in front of a car one day. I don't trust the kid at all. Anyway, he was being so good today I decided to trust him and give him a chance. I made him stay on the inside of the stroller and he totally impressed me with his obedience. He was so cute on the playground. These pictures just make him look like such a big boy:( It's bitter sweet.
Yesterday I think I should have gotten the coolest mom award. I made Chandler his very own portable sandbox. How cool is that?! I can't take all the credit though. I had a doctors appointment on Tuesday and didn't bring Chandler for once. It was very pleasant because I could sit and read magazines. I saw this idea in a magazine. We've been wanting to get Chandler a sandbox but don't want to spend the money yet. I thought this was a great alternative for now. It cost me about $8 for the bin and sand. Chandler loved playing in it yesterday- and the great part was it kept him contained in our yard so I didn't have to chase him everywhere.
My very own idea was putting the blanket down underneath. I didn't want him dumping sand all over our grass so I thought the blanket would keep it contained and then when he was done, just pick the blanket up and dump the sand back into the bin. It worked great. Chandler still dumped sand on the grass but it helped minimize the mess. He loved his sandbox so much he decided to climb right in! I think we'll eventually have to get the kid a bigger one but for now this is great.
This is Chandler begging me for keys. He loves playing in the car and always wants the keys to try to open the door. Keys is a new word for him from a few weeks ago but yesterday Chandler's new word was tractor. It is really cute to hear him say it.

By the way..........my sister Kira is having her baby right now. She is probably in a lot of pain right now as I speak. Sorry Kira, it will be over soon:) I can't wait to see pictures and hear the name!

Lots of stuff........not many pictures

Saturday was a busy but fun day. We started our morning early by going uptown to do a heart walk that the bank was part of. I have never done any kind of "walk" before and I have to say I never want to do one again. It was horrible because it was so crowded and you had to go so slow and that is especially annoying when you are pushing a stroller and trying not to hit other people. The other gross thing about the walk was there were sooooo many dogs that people had walking with them. It really bothered me because I hate dogs and there was poop on the ground from them. (yet another reason I hate dogs). Anyway, besides the bad parts about it, it was still nice to get a 3 mile walk in and get my exercise but we both agreed we would rather run a 5K than do another walk. Even though it was painfully slow. I think it took us an hour. Plus the weather has been so wonderful lately. Nice and cool- I've been in heaven.

After our walk, Steve wanted to show Chandler some cement trucks so we took the long way back to our car. I think Chandler would be perfectly happy living in a city. He LOVED just looked all around at everything going on around him. And cities always have some sort of construction so there is never a lack of big trucks and there are always buses and (light rail) trains! Nothing makes this boy happier than big vehicles.

Chandler took a really nice long nap when we got home and then in the evening we went to a ward activity. It was really fun. A fantastic activity and we got to know some more people in our ward. You know before you have kids, all the kids at ward activities seem so annoying because they run all over the gym. Well, guess what??......we happened to have that kid last night. Chandler was a crazy maniac. Seriously, I have never seen the kid so hyper and crazy just running wild. It was annoying but at the same time- he's so darn cute!! I was so tired when we got home but I still had to plan my lesson for the CTR class I was subbing in.

Today was a great day. My lesson went well and the kids were really good. When I picked Chandler up from nursery, I found him vacuuming the room. How cute!! The nursery teacher told me that he was so good today and vocal. I guess he was saying snack, ball, car, choo-choo and just talking a lot more than he normally does. And she said that he was the big helper picking up toys. It made me so proud because every Sunday I always worry that Chandler is the terror kid who is always hitting and fighting in nursery. I think he is starting to finally get the routine down and he knows what to expect.
Anyway, onto a few pictures: A long time ago we got a notice that we had to order a retrofit part for our car seat because of a recall. I never did it but I finally got around to it this last week. I had to get the car seat out to read the model number on the back. Chandler thought it was so cool. We spent a long time buckling his baby in it and taking her back out. Then he decided that he wanted to be buckled in the car seat. It was really funny to see how huge he looked in it.

I don't think I ever mentioned on the blog that I bought Chandler a baby. We figured it would be good to get him used to a baby. Sometimes he really likes it and sometimes he wants nothing to do with it. The first day I got it, I found him with his bat and golf ball and the baby on the floor, hitting her face with the ball and bat. Hmmm....we'll have to work on that one! He will give her kisses and if her hat or blanket falls off, he is always concerned and brings it to me to fix. I think it will be good once we have the real baby because then he can use the fake one to copy what I do with the real baby.
Chandler will sometimes bang his feet while falling asleep at night. I think he just lifts his legs in the air and lets them fall back down. That's what it sounds like at least. The other night we heard so much banging coming from his room. Steve tried to peek in to see what it was and he said that Chandler was banging his legs on the sides of the crib. Well, when I went to check on him before we went to bed, this is how I found him. I guess he was kicking his legs on the crib.


Lastly, here is a video of Chandler watching Animal Planet. As long as the show continuously shows animals, he loves it. This one was on cougars and other big cats so you can hear him saying Kitty. He was so funny just laughing at it and getting excited.

(Steve's Note: BYU has outscored their opponents 103-0 since I got my new shirt. Coincidence, I think not. I don't know how Katrina left out the highlight of the weekend from her post, plus the Red Sox have clinched at least a tie for the AL Wild Card.)

Popcorn Popping

Tonight at family home evening, I was able to get a video of Chandler doing the actions for popcorn popping. We sing this song more than once every FHE. He loves it and it never gets old to see his cute hands trying to copy us on the actions. He also loves head shoulders knees and toes.

Choo-Choo

Saturday was a great day. BYU took UCLA to the woodshed (as Steve has been reminding me over and over again) and we finally had time to go to the NC transportation museum. It was awesome and we knew Chandler would LOVE it!
We got to ride on a train from the 1940's. We rode on this red one that said Chicago and North Western.
This is Chandler's choo-choo face. It is so cute because he puckers his lips so huge as he says choo-choo.
It was a hot day. Really hot. Steve and Chandler chillin' on the train ride. We chose the un-air conditioned car so we could have a seat with the windows opened.
Chandler watching out the window. At one point he was leaning out a little bit and the train blew it's whistle really loud. It scared Chandler and then he had to come sit in my lap.
More of Chandler's choo-choo face. We passed a lot of trains just sitting in the train yard so that was exciting for Chandler to see.
Chandler and Steve wore their new BYU shirts for the day. I had ordered us all white shirts with the same logo but of course mine didn't come because I guess they didn't have any in stock. I'll have to try again to order my shirt. Chandler was watching the train pull away after we got off. (Steve's Note: I have a new lucky Game Day shirt)
We walked all over the roundhouse. They had lots of old engines to look at and different displays all about trains and travel and all kinds of interesting stuff. This was one train we could actually climb on and Chandler loved being able to turn the wheel.

While Steve watched the BYU game, I took Chandler swimming. Chandler loves swimming a lot and loves the water. I just hope that next summer he still does. I've heard how sometimes kids will all of a sudden be scared.

Saturday night we had to stay up late to write our talks. We've known about them for 2 1/2 weeks but of course we left it until the last minute to write them. Stupid stupid us! It made for a stressful, very late evening and then a tired Sunday. Oh well, our talks are over. My calling is an enrichment counselor. Steve got a calling today too but you will have to wait until next week to find out what it is.

Oh, one crazy thing we heard at church today: They announced that a family had had her baby and then added, "and she was delivered by her father (He is not a doctor!!!)." How crazy is that??? I guess she had gone into labor a few days earlier but it was false and labor stopped. So when she started going into labor on Wednesday, they didn't rush to the hospital and I guess everything happened so fast that her husband ended up delivering the baby at home. I don't know all the details but how cool would that be to say your husband delivered one of your kids?! This has actually been a big fear of mine. I always have these dreams about going into labor in the middle of the day and not being able to get to the phone and trying to tell Chandler to bring me the phone so I can call 911. It is actually more of a nightmare than a dream.

Thoughts about trash day

So you all already know how we love trash day around here. Chandler gets to see lots of big trucks and it keeps us entertained all morning. I have another reason why I love trash day. It makes me feel like I am doing my part to help the environment. I always feel good when I go to put the trash out and I have an overflowing recycling bin and a huge trash can with one trash bag plus a few grocery size bags of diapers. Seriously, I've been keeping track and we only fill our trash bag about one a week!! That is amazing. We always have a paper bag full of paper to recycle and then our recycling bin is full. I think there is usually 2-3 small bags of diapers. I could be even more economical and use cloth diapers or potty train. It is a definite NO on the cloth diapers but potty training........I've been thinking about it.

I remember living in apartments and not being able to recycle. I think we would take our trash out at least 2 times a week usually 3. What a difference recycling makes!

I do have one dislike about trash day. It ruins my morning walks because I have to walk by everyone's smelly trash cans. YUCK! Not only does the smell disgust me but the wastefulness of some people. I see trash cans where the lid doesn't even shut because they have so much trash in it. How could you ever fill a huge city trash can in one week?!?! And then there are the people who don't even have a recycling bin out. That always irritates me. It isn't any more work to recycle things.

I'm not very good at saving the environment in a lot of ways but I do believe that recycling is important and easy and a good place to start. We were slackers for a long time while living in apartments but now I'm so happy that I can recycle so many things. I was impressed when we came here to look at houses and apartments, that some of the apartments had recycling centers.

Anyway, those are my thoughts about trash day. I love it! Everyone should recycle!

Chandler was tagged

Name: Chandler Martel

Name meaning: Candle maker

Age: 21 months

Nicknames: Chand-man, Bud, C-Dawg

Favorite activities: playing with trains, making messes, being tickled, watching t.v., swimming, swinging bats or golf clubs

Favorite Foods: chocolate milk, candy, cookies, cereal, basically anything sweet

Least favorite foods: any fruit or vegetable, whatever we're having for dinner, you know-he doesn't eat very much

Favorite music: anything with a good beat. He loves to dance and will start clapping to the music in the car. He also loves popcorn popping.....a lot!

Favorite toys: his TRAINS! by far. and any kind of car or moving vehicle.

Favorite book: this is weird but I would say Richard Scarry's Find your ABC's. (I don't know how many people know this book but last time I was home, I took some books from my mom that I remember from growing up. This was one of them and Chandler absolutely loves it. It is the weirdest book so I find it kind of funny that he likes it so much.) He also loves his train books and any book that has the buttons to push for noises.

Favorite item of clothing: Nothing..he loves being naked.

What makes him happy: his pacifier and blankie, getting treats, playing with other kids, going outside, playing with daddy

What makes him sad: when he doesn't get what he wants.

The two pictures are signs of a T.V. addict. He seriously always has this look while watching t.v. and if I get in his way, he will lean to see around me.

Boring weekend

I need to get better at blogging when I think of something. I've had all these things to blog about and now I can't remember. Until I remember I'll just say we didn't really do much this weekend. We were supposed to go someplace Saturday morning but then Steve ended up helping a family move. I brought Chandler to Lowe's to make a pirate ship. He loved it. The people at Lowe's Build and Grow now recognize us and even remember Chandler's name. He has so many patches now that I might have to ask for a new apron for him.
We went for a short walk this evening. It was way too hot so we turned around a lot sooner than normal. Chandler carried his "cell phone" the whole time and was talking on it for most of the time too.
More talking and walking little dude. Last week when we were walking into a store, Chandler had his phone and was pretending to talk on it as we were walking in. It was so cute and funny.
When we got back from our walk, Chandler helped himself to some yummy ice cream.

I finally got a calling today. I'm excited for it. The longer we went without getting callings the more worried I was that it might be something big. It's not though and it is something I've never had before. Steve still doesn't have a calling. We do have to give talks next week. I'm scared and hate giving talks. Good thing I have a husband to use up all the time that I leave for him:)

Oh, I just remembered one thing I was going to blog about. I'm actually glad I didn't blog this when it happened because it would have been a really negative, angry post. Chandler got a hold of some miniature screwdrivers and put SEVEN scratches on the seat of our couches and one is pretty deep!!! I was so so so mad at him.......and myself for not paying closer attention (ahem, I was on the computer). Friday was a really bad day for me. Chandler didn't nap the day before and then woke up at 6 in the morning. Then he scratched the couches. I was just so grumpy and tired that day.

It's hot here and I just wish I could feel fall air but I doubt that will happen anytime soon. The hurricane missed us which I was bummed about because I love the rain. Oh well, it is starting to cool down in the mornings a little. I felt that Chandler needed long sleeves a few times last week on our walk.

Okay, I think it is time for bed. Chandler got tagged so I will be working on that soon.

AH.....it's September!!! How'd that happen?

Wow, has it really been a week since my last post??? I am so sorry. Steve kept asking me if he could do some post about sports or something and so I was holding off doing a post and now it's been a week and there's been no post from the Mr. I'll have a few words with him:)
Anyway, we haven't been up to much. On Saturday we went to a labor day parade in the morning. Chandler liked it more than the last parade we went to. It was burning hot but we survived. I was just glad Steve insisted Chandler wear his hat even though I didn't want him to since it didn't match.
Chandler was way cute when we were waiting for the parade. There were golf carts that kept going by and after one would go by Chandler would start signing for more. It was funny. He really loves anything that has a motor.
Chandler ate a lot of candy while watching the parade. He kept finding more pieces and bringing them to me and signing please. He finally will sign please and thank you and most of the time without me telling him to. He might not talk real words but he does communicate very well. It is especially cute when he wants something really bad and he signs all three of them repeatedly. He looks like a baseball coach!

On Monday I was planning on us going to the lake and letting Chandler dig in the sand and play but we ended up not doing it. We just did a few errands and then in the afternoon went swimming. Then we got some really yummy pizza for dinner using one of the many free meal coupons that we got for being new to the area.
Today I took Chandler out in the yard to swim. This is one of his favorite tricks he always does. Sucking a cup to his face. I was trying to get some cute pictures of him swimming and splashing but he is so stubborn when I get the camera. He will not look at me and do what I ask. Oh well.
Chandler has a fascination for bellies. If I ask him where his belly is, he immediately wants to lift up my shirt to tickle mine. I think he is starting to notice that my belly is getting bigger. He also loves to blow on my belly like we all do to babies. He thinks it is so funny and we just sit on the couch cracking up laughing because it really does tickle.