The Home Depot: Bringing People Together

Our toilet is leaking, just a dribble.  For awhile every time we saw the wet tile, we would blame Davis.  "Davis! When will you learn to aim?"  To his credit, and our parently-disgrace, he promised us again and again and again that the water on the floor WASN'T from him.  Aren't you glad we place so much trust in the bathroom-habits of a 6 year-old?  I know, you can hardly blame us.  The wet-floor problem disappeared after we placed a cup near the back of the loo.

Today, D decided it was the day to tackle the problem.  After a bit of tinkering, he discovered the offender was a leaky seal between the tank and the bowl.  The decision: a trip to the "depot." (pronounced: dee-pot )  For those of you in the know, this is either the gangsta-slang or white trash version of The Home Depot.

Now, to its credit, this place is the man-version of Target. Whenever the male species steps into the store, he spends too much time browsing the aisles only to discover something he must buy, even though he never knew he needed it.  A hatchet.  Double-sided tape.  A pair of hooks for the garage. . . .You know what I am talking about.

During a home renovation projection, this store is also referred by many as "our second home." And, why is it that no matter how many times you make a trip to the dee-pot, you always end up going back one more time?  Every time you start a new project, you VOW you will get everything you need and extra in just one trip.  Sadly, you end up going back for a follow up almost every time, and it is usually for something stupid like a smaller size screw.

On the plus side, almost every time you visit the store you end up chatting with someone while you are waiting your turn to harrass the friendly workers with your incessant questions.  Yep, this store brings together all walks of life with a leaking toilet.  It doesn't matter if you are from the East side or the West side, you can bond over a cracked sprinkler head that supposedly only needed one part-- 2 trips ago.

So, yep, D made two trips today.  He is putting things back together now and we are hoping that his second trip provided the proper valve he needed to stop the leaking. . . . .if not, it is comforting to know the dee-pot won't close for another 45 minutes.  How kind of them to think of us do-it-yourselfers when deciding upon store hours.

Skinny Jeans

I think the world is conspiring against me:  I met two great moms today who were ROCKIN' the skinny jeans look.  Me: tattered velour sweatsuit. I could blame the baby, but one of these moms has a 6-month old (Reed is 8 months).  I could blame the doggone Olympics.  Nothing makes me skip my morning workout like staying up late, on my behind, watching other people's athletic prowess. . . . .

Dang it you hot moms out there.  You are making me look bad! 

Enter to Win Free FaBULOuS Photography

My sister-in-law is having a give-away!!  She has her B.F.A. in photography from BYU and does a great job.  Her photos speak for themselves. . .  Here's the info:

Prizes:

1 free Photo Session

or

1 of 2, 50% off Sessions

How to Enter: You get an entry for each of these steps.

1- send Suzee an email from the contact section of our website:  http://www.suzetteandersonphotography.com/

2- comment on a posting on Suzee's blog: http://suzetteandersonphotography.wordpress.com/

3- refer your friends, receive an additional entry for each friend that includes your name in their entries.
Be sure to include your name on all of the steps. Drawing will be held on March 12, 2010. Winners will be notified via email and will also be posted on our facebook and blog.

Have I told you lately that I love you?

Here' my V-day post a little late:

My hubby just got a new super-small, super-sleek laptop for Christmas. . . . and he's left it home this week just because he knows I am down mine.  True love, right?

Who says the garbage man stinks?

I was downstairs this morning and heard the garbage truck. Oh, no!!  D went into the hospital during the night so the cans didn't get put out (he usually does it while he's leaving).  I dashed out the door and ran to get the cans.  Disaster. . . . my side had already been disposed of.  The garbage man saw me and waved me forward across the street while he backed up so I could take my can over there.  Wasn't that nice?  I guess he isn't trashy after all (no pun intended, of course).

A Simple Question

Sometimes, miraculously, your children are listening.  This morning while reading scriptures, my almost 3 year-old Roger asked, "Mom, is dee howy gowst scawy?" (translation: mom, is the holy ghost scary?)

In Threes?

I've always been told that bad things come in threes, and now we've experienced it. . . . with our electronics.  Two weeks ago we finally decided it was time to revive our car CD player (some time ago, it trapped a CD and wouldn't let go. . . .we thought it was because Roger put a penny in it).  Unfortunately the stereo was not revivable, so we had to replace it.  Then, my computer overheated.  And on Saturday night, we went to put a DVD in the player and it wouldn't read the disc.  So we tried another one.  No go.

So now we've replaced a car stereo.
Are down a laptop.
And to add insult to injury, no movies for awhile.

ARGHHH!

Guess that ipod was an even better gift than my hubby could have predicted.  I keep sitting down in front of my computer and sadly realize it is gone when it won't boot up.  I never realized how often I used it until I have to go downstairs to the desktop.

Post Mortem Report

Symptoms: fever, unarousable, black screen, does not respond to stimulus

Cause of Death: thermal injury and multi-system organ failure

(In case you were wondering, my laptop has overheated and the motherboard is fried)

Confession

I just stumbled upon my birthday present. . . .in case I don't look surprised when I am supposed to open it, I am hereby announcing one BIG WOOOHOOOO!!

Wondering what it is:  a pink ipod.  How cute is that?  Bet Eliza picked it out.

A Crazy/Fun/Learning Weekend thanks to gymnastics. . .

In case you haven't noticed, gymnatics has turned into our family's sport of choice. People ask me if I was a gymnast. . . hence the commitment?  The answer: no.  I just put the kids into a little class when they were three because I thought it was an okay thing for a boy and girl to do together (sorry to all of those out there who are bowing their head in shame that I wouldn't consider dance. . . I was a dancer and I LOVED my guy partners so nothing against male dancers. . . but that is a topic for another post, another day). I also would like to add we have put BOTH children in soccer and T-ball as well.  Anyway, the kids loved it-- and what's not to love: jumping on a tramp, flipping on mats, sommersaults, and obstacle courses, a kid's dream!

Now fast forward 3 1/2 years (seriously, are my kids that old?) and we are still going strong at the gym.  And I mean strong (well, for 6 year-olds).  Both kids work out with their teams 9 hours a week. Are there drawbacks to having them gone in the evenings so frequently? For sure. We are trying to be diligent family diners on the days the kids aren't at gym, and we're committed to Family Home Evening once a week.  For now, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, so we are sticking with it until that changes.  I know for sure this schedule isn't for everyone, but it is good for us, for now.

So, on to our weekend: Davis's first big time competition in Las Vegas.  On Thursday morning the family loaded into the car and we LEFT at 9:30 A.M.  I am very impressed with this.  It usually takes us much longer to pack the family for a vacay.  The drive to Las Vegas went really quickly, and all the kids were well behaved-whew, an unexpected delight!  We pulled into Las Vegas around 2:30 and booked it to the Sports Arena to watch a session of the Elite level gymnasts compete in their preliminaries.  THIS WAS AWESOME!!  I am totally amazed that bodies can do that.  We spotted a few Olympians (Jonathan Horton and Kevin Tan) and up-and-coming Olympians on the competition floor. . . . Did the kids appreciate that?  No.  Not at all.  They just wanted to go to the hotel so they could swim.  Kids will be kids, no matter the emphatic cajoling from their parents to appreciate what is going on right in front of them.  Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.  Did I mention the bodies on these dudes.  No?  Two words: eye candy. Ahhhhh.

We made it home early, with swimming for all, and an early bedtime.  We totally skipped the Strip this night. Davis had to be at the arena at an early 7:30.  All the kids got up at 6:00 A.M. so that wasn't a problem. . . for anyone except me. None of the kids seem to have picked up my propensity to sleep in.  Davis hit the floor with his coaches, and it was apparent that he was totally in awe of the arena.  His teammates pointed to the big-screem T.V. and said, "We are on T.V."  There were kids from all over: Texas, California, Tennessee, Michigan. Colorado. . . . it was clear that this wasn't going to be some home-town meet that every member of the team would sweep.

On to competition.  This is where I learned all about myself.  Rings was up first.  Davis was shaky and faltered a bit on his routine--s omething I hadn't seen him do much in practice or the other Utah meets.  Next up: vault.  He did a great run and then: after he landed he leaned over and touched the ground (well, that's what I saw, but I guess he lost his balance).  A fall is a full point off.  A wave of emotion went over me.  First, I was sad.  Then mad.  From this point on out, my stomach was churning, and I was totally nervous for my guy.  Luckily he performed solid High Bar and Parrallel Bar routines.  Did I mention youngest four boys on the team were all looking a bit shaky??  As Davis's best friend performed his P-bar routine he had trouble with his dismount. . . .and lost it- his mom says she's never seen him cry and- he did after that.  This was outward proof to the pressure these guys were feeling. Next, they got stuck for 25 minutes in a backed up line for floor.  The boys went nuts. The were goofing around and lost focus.  Davis and best buddy were wrestling on the side and suddenly it was his turn to hit the floor.  Davis quickly began and, what I atribute to lack of focus showed as he rushed the routine and skipped a part! Seriously, he practices this routine multiple times a week!  I was totally surprised at this.  Then Davis was up on horse.  It was a disaster-he fell again.

When all was said and done, Davis's overall score was 13th of 25 guys in his age group.  Not a shame.  But, definitely not the best.  He surprised us and got 3rd place on High Bar.  I was so grateful he got one medal because 4 other members of his team were pulling down plenty, and everyone except he and his buddy got an all-around trophy in the top 7 for their age group.  What surprised me was how intense I felt.  I think I totally took it more seriously than he did.  After the meet, he pouted a bit about not getting a trophy. . . . and said he was the worst on the team.  That made me sad.  As a mom, I wondered if I was crazy to put my little 6-year-old guy out there like that??  So, I tried to emphasize the fact that he had gotten one medal and it meant a whole lot more than the several 'participation' trophies he had recieved in soccer.  I would be lying to say that was the end of that for me.  I think I've been thinking a lot more about it than he has. . . .after the meet he downed 6 peices of pizza with a big grin.  He's only mentioned the competition once since then, and when I dropped him off at practice yesterday, everything was normal.  Wow.  It is awfully hard to be a mom and see your kid 'fail.'  (and yes, I know he didn't fail, but you know what I mean. . . .I am trying to remind myself that in life you have to learn to deal with disappointment, so hopefully we can turn this experience into something productive).

So that's that.  On to funner things:  After Davis's session we watched the Elite guys practice sans shirts. Another "Oh yeah," from me.. . . .  We went to our friends' hotel for more swimming for the kids.  Our f riends scored big time and got us half-price tickets to a show at the Wynn called, "Le Reve."  We thought the show started at 7:30, but when we showed up, we sadly found out that the show actually started at 7:00.  We had a little discussion with the kids and told them if they promised not to complain about being tired, we could go to the 9:30 show.  So we did.  For two hours we walked the north end of the strip. I have never laughed so hard watched the boys experience the 'volcanic eruption' at The Mirage.  They were screaming, "Fire! Fire! Fire!"  I thought I was going to pee my pants because we were the only nutsos that had children out, so all the other adults were pointing and laughing at their joy and delight.  We spent a good 20 minutes looking at an aquarium inside the hotel, tried our best to avoid casinos (virtually impossible), and sight-saw the beautiful architechture of the hotels while trying not to be disgusted at the total fakeness and inappropriate extravagance that Vegas is.

Le Reve was AMAZING.   I would recommend it to anyone- even at the steep price for tickets.  It was the highlight of my trip (although the shirtless gymnasts rank a close second).  When the twins and I got back to the hotel where D had volunteered to stay with the smallies, it was 12:00 A.M., but we were so excited and pumped we stayed up almost another hour telling D about the show and talking about the day.

Saturday, we lazily headed to St. George after a disappointed visit to H&M (seriously, that store has gotten more expensive and more tacky than I remembered: or have I just gotten older?).  We hung out with D's sister and slept at his Dads.  Sunday we went to church with his Dad and then headed home to Salt Lake.  Whew.  What fun.  Glad it's over.  Until next year, I guess.

Home call for the G.I. service

D is fielding calls from the G.I. service tonight.  I just listened to him give a woman a 10-minute pep talk about finishing her prep for her colonoscopy.  She threw up half of the liquid and is worried that the poop is not on its way out.  He asked about the color of her stool. The consistency.  He then advised her to run to the store for some magnesium citrate or Miralax to help things along their way. . . .it would be worth it, he advised her, so she wouldn't get half-way through the procedure and experience "blockage" that would leave the docs unable to view the colon walls. He advised her to finish up the prep at least 2 hours before she drove because it could, "hit her like a ton of bricks."

I am not doing the conversation justice.  It was funny. Who knew giving yourself diarrhea could be so difficult, yet so desirable?