Progress?

So, I am playing the waiting game of the last 2 weeks of pregnancy, like almost everyone does. I was all set to have him tell me the same numbers at my OB appointment, but I actually progress to 3cm. I pulled out my ruler to make sure my mental calculations are correct...and, yep, that is a tiny distance.

Who knows when Sir James the Baby will make his appearance, but Brian will share lots of photos and such when he does.

Let it begin

We are beginning to see first hand why this stage is called the "terrible twos." Poor Brian, he is getting the brunt of it all. I miss sweet, reasonable Lilly; she'll be back again some day.

In the mean time, let the games begin.

Summer's End

Paige started back to work today, and I start again in a week and a half. (I almost typed year and a half, silly Freud.) So, today Lilly and I are having a rare all day at home day. Soon it will be half days, and after that, it will be half days with a little sibling.

So what do we do? Well, right up until she took herself upstairs and put herself to bed for a nap, we were playing with the trains.

She was insistent that every piece of track be used. If not, she would bring the piece to me and say "fix".and once it was all fixed, she put train cars on it all by herself and pushed them around the track. Well, partway, anyhow. Lots of fun.

One Month Out

Well, It was one month out when I took the pictures, anyway. James is now due oh, in 20 days or so. Feel free to make a guess in the comments as to when he will actually arrive.

Filling Mommy's Shoes

So proud!

This is the sight that greeted us when we checked on Lilly napping this morning:

Notice Grandma...it is her "sister" book. (still a favorite)

I hope she has many more nights/days falling asleep to a good book...I have so many to share.

Google It

I have been quietly making models for Google Earth Again, and Have Had Several Accepted. Check Em Out.

Washington D.C.

Baton Rouge

Birmingham

Bismark

Columbia

Raleigh

Detroit

Louisville

Quality Time Together

 
Brian and I have fun together doing all sorts of things.  We have, however, branched out these past couple of weeks into the realm of arts and crafts.  I wanted to make James' room space themed ever since I did his magnetic board.  (I know, nesting and all that.)

I tried to find amazing paintings like Linsday did for Lilly, but, of course, they are one of a kind and IMPOSSIBLE to find anything even close to a substitute.  So, I decided to try to embrace my inner artist and try my hand at painting.  Despite some amazing lessons as a teenager from my incredibly talented aunt, I...am not so good at painting.  I did okay with the basics, but when it came down to shading, I got lost.  Enter my hero, Brian. Once again he stepped in to help me finish a project...and these are what we made.

Elvis has left the building

Acrylic on Canvas by K.P.B.Olson

Green planet on black background 

Acrylic on Canvas by K.P.B.Olson

Where is your Jimminey Cricket now?

Acrylic on Canvas by K.P.B.Olson

Kilroy was here

Acrylic on Canvas by K.P.B.Olson

Then, he suggested paper-craft models to add to the decor.  If you have never heard of these (like me), think a lot of exacto knife cutting tiny fiddly bits of paper that glue together to form some thing pretty cool.  Our first masterpiece: The Millennium Falcon.

Up next, X-wing or R2D2.

The Short Life and Times of Sir Perciville Uppington the Third

Meet Sir Perciville

Uppington

The Third.

Perciville because he's British, Uppington Because he's a BMW, and the Third because he's a 325e. A 1986 325e to be exact. We purchased him off a guy in Logan who, in retrospect, shifted his eyes a lot. Whether or not this is true is immaterial.  The fact of the matter is that we had owned Sir Percy here for about 2 hours when the AC belt snapped, taking out the Power Steering belt, and causing the Timing Belt to strip 4 or 5 teeth. Upon attempting to restart the engine, the Timing Belt snapped completely, leaving us to be found by the most charming tow truck driver I have met.

One would think that there would be a way to look at a car and just know it is a straight up, fresh of the tree, sour as they come, Lemon.

Ohp, There it is! I see it now! How did I miss that when we were test driving it....

As you clearly can't see from the above picture, I removed a radiator for the first time in my life, and tore on down into the engine to find that yes, in truth, there were no belts left on Perciville. After visiting every parts store in the city, I found it was going to take nearly 1/3 of the $1500 we had already put into Sir Uppington (Towing and Gas Included) to get him off his lazy duffer and back onto the mean streets of Utah County.

At this point, on a whim and to explore all available options, I stopped by our old friend Doug Smith Autoplex to explore one other option. Just not the option you would think. In talking with their salesmen, Pedram and Ron, I asked them if they had a wholesaler who dealt specifically with purchasing used BMWs. Ron, who knew I had been on the lookout for an affordable used vehicle from the week before asked what had happened...and the whole sad tale came out with a wry forced smile on my face. Pedram spoke up, said he could give me the number I was looking for, as they have one wholesaler who buys all the used vehicles they choose not to sell themselves, and then added that he could just as easily get me $1000 trade in on the BMW instead.

I admit I nearly cleaned my ears out at that point. I said, "Pedram, the thing doesn't run, the timing belt snapped and you know what that does to an interference engine!" having just found out what that does to an interference engine myself.

He shook his head, and said, I don't care, I will do what it takes to get you $1000 trade in.  I would like to point out that Pedram, besides selling me my Oldsmobile, which I owned longer than any other vehicle in my life to date, with Ron's assistance, sold us the Malibu we road tripped in (a car I have been happier with than any other I have owned).

Upon informing Paige, she was as relieved as I was. We returned to Doug Smith that afternoon and asked to see the cheapest car on the lot.

That turned out to be a car that had just been released for resale after I had left that morning, and which he had been having detailed on the hopes I would come back. The lowest priced car on the lot turned out to be a 2004 KIA Optima, all leather interior, Sunroof, V6, automatic with "Dummyshift", 72,000 Miles.

I feel we were really blessed. We took a loss of $500 on the BMW. but ended up with something much more reliable. It's not without its little problems, but I'm OK with that. This is a car that I feel comfortable taking kids to Day Care in.