Groaner. . . But it's a good one!

It was said that pigs would fly before a black man became President of the United States. Well, they were almost right.

100 days into the presidency of the first African American President, swine flu.

Hahahahaha. . . Thanks for the laugh Brittney.

I Am Pathetic: A Confession

I feel like a do a relatively decent job on my VTing. . . at least I did until today. I've only really been contacting the active sisters on my list. Yesterday, one of the other sisters came to church, but I didn't know it was her until she had left. Then today, I got a call letting me know that the other sister is going in for surgery! I felt awful! I should have been the one letting others know that she needed surgery. . . how horrible.

Anyway. . . this was actually the month that my companion and I were going to try harder to see them (pshhhaw--didn't/won't happen this month). . . so that made me feel a little better--but I still hadn't contacted them: I didn't know what to say. "Hi, this is Ali Mae Johnson, you don't know me, but I'm your VTer." Well, that's basically what I did say. . . and my sisters are AWESOME! I talked with both of them for quite awhile (both have been major sick, and I really could/SHOULD have helped them. . . but I'll make sure I'm there for them next time). I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better. I kind of assumed they would reject me or something, but they so totally did not!

Sooooo Warm

I slept with the fan on--in fact, besides the necessities, that was pretty much all I had on. I am SOOOO not ready for this summer. (Just thought I'd start complaining now :D).

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY

I just wanted to let everyone know how happy I am. Robert has been so good lately. The kids have been so good lately. I've been so good lately (lol). Friends have been so good lately. Times have been so good lately. The weather has been so good lately. . . and. . . WE'RE HAVIN' ANOTHER BABY!!! Can I just rewind the past two days and live them forever? Pleeeeeeease? (Okay, I would take out the backpain, the restless nights, a less-than-great haircut, and some unfortunate things that happened to some friends, and then I would add a BBQ with all of the friends we weren't able to see (pretty much everyone of them)--but other than that. . .)

Here's some pics so you can see how happy we are (basically everything is on Saturday, becuase I wasn't too dizzy or tired that day, but Friday was awesome too--Robert played in the backyard with the kids and I swung in the hammock--then we rented "Fireproof"--totally cheesy, but it left me wanting to be so much better--I highly recommend it).
The wind was perfect--no running involved :D.

Enoch likes to pick up rocks at the beach and throw them in the water--just like big sis.

Weeeeeee!!!

(Another one of our self-portraits. . . lol. . . we'll get it down someday :D--maybe if I would actually edit my pictures. . .or stop wearing glasses. . . or not make Robert look directly into the sun. . . [*post lost to incoherent mutterings]. . .)

In-Store Coupons

Just thought I'd tell you about something I found. I don't go clothes shopping much, but I might try some of these coupons out.

I got a coupon from JCPenney in the mail for 10 dollars off a single 10 dollar or more purchase. Last time we got a coupon like this from there, we bought a really nice Sunday outfit for Enoch. We only paid 4 dollars.(They had Ralph Lauren ones for the same price, too, but they were about a 3T, so it wasn't worth it.)

Old Navy at oldnavyweekly.com I hear they regenerate on Thursdays??? You can only use one per transaction, and only find one per pop-up window because you have to swap the first one you found if you want to take the second, but put up a few windows and do a few transactions. . . (am I really this lame?) The "holy grail" there is the 75 dollars off of 100 dollar purchase. I'm guessing it goes pretty quick. There are other decent ones, though--for example, today I got a 30% off purchase one.

Easiest way to find them is to move your cursor over the add--and where it turns into a hand instead of an arrow "click." Keep clicking that spot, or maybe something moved--try to figure out where to drag and drop it (today one was a shirt you had to drag and drop on a mannequin). Also, look for clues in the top bar. It will talk about all of the coupons for that week, and give clues as to where they are--for example--5 dollars off when you buy adult and child's shorts (click on the adult and then the child)--or 5 dollars off when you comb your hair like this mannequin (click on that mannequin's hair a few times). I just checked, and the mannequin hair one is already gone--wow, the good ones go fast. I think the 5 dollars off 25 is still there--click on the African-American's shoulders.

Nana's Birthday Party

Yummy cupcakes: I didn't want to buy a grass tip--so I just cut a hole in the end of a ziplock, zipped it up, and squeezed out little grass spikes.



Proof that I made the cupcakes from scratch: I didn't like the recipe as well as the German Chocolate Cake in the Joy of Cooking book, but they were similar, and I was out of sour cream anyway.
Daddy made Nana a bundt cake: we wanted to make sure we had enough. (We had PLENTY--it was a busy weekend for a lot of Nana's friends)

We also dyed some eggs at the party before the egg hunt.

Enoch went through a small identity crisis during the party. He dyed himself orange, took off his soiled clothes, and then tried to hide outside like one of the Easter eggs.

We had a lot of fun with all of our friends that were able to make it during the holiday weekend. I think the kids did too.

I Am Stinkin' Mad--and It's Making Me Dizzy

So far my pregnancy has been pretty awesome. I wasn't super morning sick--Robert knows how to ease some of the back pain (although my pelvis has pretty much split in two, and he can't put that back together). I've done better with my weight gain (although technically I should have gained about 3 pounds less--ppphhhht). And I've completely accepted the fact that I waddle, and sometimes I don't look pregnant--just fat. After the first two, I get it. I've even embraced the carpel tunnel (I got that with Enoch--and it's slowly coming back full force--seriously, worst pain ever [yes, it can be comparable to labor--it just doesn't last as long]).

So. . . I was feeling pretty well off. . . WAS. . . This morning one of my biggest pregnancy fears came true. My glucose test came back "slightly elevated" (4 points out of the good range) and they want me to come in for another one. Ugh. My family has diabetes, I have some of the "susceptible" signs, and obviously my optimal BMI and I aren't best friends--in fact, we stay as far away from each other as possible. I started getting extra dizzy a few days ago--I almost called Robert at school to let him know I might faint--so I kind of figured the glucose test might not go well. At least the baby's probably okay. I just want to be able to drink as much orange juice as I want without getting dizzy--and I'm already a fainter.

Okay, Complain, Complain, Complain. . . I was bound to get diabetes some day--might as well be now. I'm not even sure I have it yet. I shouldn't freak out right now. I'll freak out Monday--I'll probably know by then.

Can You Tell What We Spent Our Tax Return On?

Okay, not ALL of our tax return--most of that is going to more responsible things. . . like paying off the student loans. But Robert's and my birthdays are right around the corner. . . so we HAD to get something fun, right? Okay, not right. . . but I'm going to keep telling myself that :D.

a) food

b) a cute baby

c) fingernail polish

d) Canon XSi DSLR camera that took all of these pictures

e) Hint: it's "d"

I feel a little guilty. . . DSLR cameras run about 1K dollars (of course ours wasn't nearly that bad--I love ebay--we got a great deal [about 200 less than retail] and a lot of bonuses, like an extra battery and a 16 GB memory card!) I'm not used to spending money (*stop laughing, Robert), so it took us a long time to decide whether or not we should buy a new camera when Robert's broke last year (in fact, Robert told me I could get one for Christmas, but I didn't think we could afford it then). We thought a 60 dollar point and shoot would be enough. It wasn't. I HATE taking pictures with that thing. It works in a pinch--but it's not much fun. Taking pictures and digi scrapping is what I DO (one day I would LOVE to be a photographer--I still have a lot to learn, though--I'm no Suzi). . . it was miserable to be without Robert's camera. We missed so much. There are almost no pictures of the kids during the months we only had our point and shoot. I am so happy now. (It's kind of scary--I didn't realize how materialistic I was :D. . . j/k). Don't you love how it takes pictures? I've taken a picture of every meal I've made since we've got it. It's so much fun that I've been cooking prettier foods so that I have a new subject to take a picture of. . . I LOVE THIS CAMERA! I can't wait to learn more about it!!!

And now you know just how greedy I can be. . . okay, actually not. Robert keeps it in check a lot :D.

I am SooooooOooo Hungry

We used to have a rule that we wouldn't eat past 7:30--it was good for us. I would feel sick all night long when I broke it--kind of like when I drink soda. That rule is one of the first to go when I have a baby in my belly.

I've been busy tonight, and since Robert was gone, and Eenie had leftovers (Nana wasn't feeling up to eating anything more than bread and juice tonight), I forgot to make myself dinner. I need to start getting ready for bed, but all I can think about are the immitation oreo cookies way up high above the kitchen pantry cupboard. . .

Nana's Turning 3!

Wednesday is Nana's official Birthday--6:30 AM mountain time :DThis is the most recent (the others are from 3 months ago) picture I have of her actual face--she's kind of smiling. . .

Update

Back pain
Heidi = Williams Sonoma pizzas, cheesecake, native american foodstuffs. . .
Alterior Designs = way behind
Canon XSi 450D
Cute moss bunnies on a stick
Laptop
Incompatible hard drive
Straight A's! (Alice)
Sandi=funny
Hava and Brigg=amazing babysitters
Danielle=cool friend
.
.
.
.

He looks a little like you, dad. . . okay, maybe it's just the glasses :D

Brisco County Jr.

Did anyone else out there LOVE this show? To be honest--I was too young to really understand innuendo when my family watched it (I would've been about 8). . . although I do remember some parts that weren't exactly high quality television. . . so I don't exactly recommend this show. But. . . it was my favorite growing up. I remember being at dinner and we all had sat down, and then I remembered the show was on, and all of us got out the tv trays and went down to the family room to watch it.

I think this show gave me my first real movie star crush, too. What? You don't think Bruce Campbell is a hottie? Okay--he looks a little different than I remember :D. But I do remember a pretty vivid dream where there were all these bad guys trying to get me and my family, and I locked myself in the bathroom, and Brisco came and saved me. . . (*sigh).

(I was eight--it's okay that I was pathetic).

Besides Brisco, though, I really LOVED the professor. He's hillarious. What is his name? I really can't remember. What other movies does he play in. . . It's going to bother me that I can't remember!