Look what came in the mail!!

First off, I don't think there is anything more fun than getting something in the mail. It is just exciting! Even more fun than going to the store and just buying it. Today an awesome thing came in the mail!! Do you see that big fat number up there?? That is right! Birthday week is quickly approaching! This year I will be 30. THIRTY!! Some might say "you're going to be thirty, you might give up the birthday week by now" but oh no! I love my birthdays and being thirty only means it is that much more exciting to celebrate. That is old! Do you remember Deana Carter's song Strawberry Wine where she says "I still remember when thirty was old?" That is how I feel. I remember being young and I hung out with Dee Avila at a homemaking meeting one night and told my mom I had hung out with the "old people". She was in her thirties and quite thoroughly toilet papered my house in response. I remember when Andrea Collins turned thirty and I couldn't believe that someone so young was actually 30! And now here I am, married and four kids later turning thirty and feeling I like I did when I graduated high school. And celebrating my birthday like I was five. But I love it. And I love my friends. I seriously have the best friends (which I still wonder why anybody even puts up with me but I am glad they do). So next week you can look forward to our week long celebration!!

Olive Eater

Turns out that Blake loves olives. I showed him how to put them on his finger and he sat there eating an entire can before dinner. Then this morning the cupboard was open and Blake saw where the can were kept. He started his mindless chattering that means he wants something. So he had olives for breakfast too. He is such a super cute kid. His fists are getting better too so we may even have a nice kid on our hands before long.

At the table

I wanted to post all these pictures about Blake because he thinks he is pretty cool sitting in his high chair. When he wants to eat he will bring me his tray. He will run to the chair and be more than happy to sit there while I make dinner. But on occasion I will put him in without the tray and push him up to the table and that is when he thinks he is just awesome. He will sit there and lean back on the chair by pushing on the table with his feet. It is really funny. I tried to get a picture of his smug little look while he is leaning back but it didn't quite come out right. He is so fun to have though. In fact you can barely tell that he is even leaning back but he is and he loves it.

The Book Club

I love that my kids play 'book club' together. I love that we have stopped watching tv during the week and that they have been finding things like this to play instead. I love that our lesson on repentance is hanging in the background and that the girls have actually been doing what we taught. I was tired of the girls saying an angry 'sorry' whenever they were in trouble so we started a new thing where they have to say they are sorry and also ask 'what can i do to make you feel better?' It really all came about one day when Kaylee ripped the petals off Heidi's rose, she borke into tears and Kaylee sat there saying how it wasn't really her fault at all. It really bothered me that she said that when what she should have done was just try to make it up to Heidi. So now they have to ask what they can do and they have to actually do what the person asks. I'll be honest, it is always Kaylee who has to repair the damage. She ends up doing things like getting a cat for Daisy, cleaning up for Heidi or they will say she has to lick their toe. That poor girl never gets a break.

Dumpster Diving

I'm not someone who scavenges through the garbage. I've only tried to do it one other time and it failed miserably. Plus I never, ever, ever want anyone to see me doing it. And Ben is even more opposed to it. However with our move here I knew we were going to have to stoop to new levels because we don't have the money to buy anything. So I've been wanting a nightstand but couldn't find one at yard sales this weekend. But then on Tuesday morning we open the window and Ben saw a small table by the garbage. I went down to get it and turns out it is not a small nightstand table but instead a pretty tall, square table. Ben was willing to help me take it up the stairwell but only because he wouldn't be seen in the parking lot getting it. And of course it was bigger than he thought so he thought I was stupid for even wanting it. But we have this little spot behind our bedroom door that is pretty useless and the table fit it perfectly!! Now we have a table in our bedroom that the kids are using as a fort! My plan is to get some material and a spring curtain rod to make a permanent covering so they can play underneath and I can use the top. And it was all free!!

White bread, please!

I try to keep our kids nice and healthy. I buy wheat bread, brown rice, tons of fruits and vegetables for them to snack on. Kaylee pretty much hates anything that is healthy. She likes fruit and cucumbers but after that is pulling teeth to get her to eat anything else. Her favorite meal is peanut butter sandwiches but only on white bread. So here she is, not wanting a string cheese snack and instead making her own sandwich because I refuse to a restaurant. I don't know why I liked this moment so much but I did. Kaylee, who is lazy, is willing to do tons of work just to spite me-like getting the pb, getting the jelly, getting the bread, getting the knife, spreading the pb&j and putting it all away. And she will only eat it on white bread.

Ms. Money Bags

Heidi finally lost one of her top teeth. She was super excited except for the part where we made her take it out. I hate seeing the teeth flap around and even though it wasn't completely ready Ben grabbed on and didn't let go until it was out. Don't worry, the tooth fairy compensated her for the traumatic removal experience. She got two dollars instead of one (which is still a huge jump from the dime I would get!) The funny thing about it all is that she has been saving money and had $5. I had jokingly said how technically she had more money than dad and I-due to all our moving expenses and the student loan debt. So today when we loaded up the stroller to go to the grocery store Heidi brought along her purse but then realized she left her money at home. I asked what she needed the money for. "Well in case we need to buy anything since you don't have any money!"

Back Online

So for the last 5 days we have not had the internet. It has been a bit miserable even though I don't really do anything important on the internet but I'm sure all you faithful blog followers have missed me. :) I do have a few more fun pictures to put up but, until the 5-day slump, I've been trying to just put up one small thing a day. Today my picture is of my daisies sitting on my kitchen counter. I love them. I love doing the dishes because I get to look at my daisies the whole time. And I love that I got a huge thing of fake daisies for $10 at a yard sale! I totally scored! My mom was a bit jealous. She even tried to buy them off of me for $20. No way. I love them. They just make my kitchen look so happy.

My favorite things from the South

When we moved we spent 6 weeks not at home and I feel bad that I haven't made a post yet about the most wonderful things I've brought back from Tennessee with me. These are two things that when there is a fire I will grab them right after my kids. I love them. I still can't open either of these wonderful, delicious cookbooks without crying. (Tearing up now even) Oh how I love them. And I love the women behind them. Both were gifts. The first was given by my RS president and second mother because she knew how much I wanted to be Southern. Just today a new acquaintance here in Medford asked if I loved the Southern way and I just couldn't stop gushing over how much I wish I was a true blue Southern who said "You're fixin' to get in trouble" without missing a beat. I wish I had a caramel cake baked and ready to take when someone needed a little love. I wish I had that Southern charm where you can give a criticism so covered in sugar that it tastes as good as vinegar pie. I wish but unfortunately that take a lot of time to acquire so for now the one thing I can be is a Southern cook. I love looking through all the wonderful recipes and picking just which ones I want to try out next. The only problem is that they all are full of butter-either mixed in it or fried in it.

But that brings me to my second cookbook. I 'won' at a service auction 10 healthy recipes from my amazing (and super skinny) friend, Sheri. I was super excited because it also included a lunch with her and she is so busy that I'm excited for every chance I can get to hang out with her. As my time to move drew closer I would nicely and occasionally ask about the recipes because I really didn't want to miss out on it all. She was busy (no surprise) so I didn't push the issue. Then the Saturday before I left my other friend had arranged a surprise lunch with some close friends and here Sheri presented me with the cookbook. She had included not only her ten favorite recipes and a lovely letter to me but also healthy recipes from all my friends in memphis. It was absolutely perfect. And it even came with pictures of all my friends. I just love it and I can't thank my friends more for doing that to me. I have cried and cried when I pull that cookbook out because I felt so loved and I love those women so much.

Cooking and food is my favorite way to show love. If I've made you a meal then I have put my best effort into it and it will be absolutely perfect because it truly is a labor of love for me. And if it isn't perfect then I'd rather throw it in the garbage than give someone something that wasn't my best. Cooking is just something I love and I love my new cookbooks. I have one to fatten me up and one to help slim me down. I've been so excited to get into my own place so I can have my recipe books and start trying all the new recipes. (PS-I've done the pulled pork and coleslaw for Memorial day-a southern tradition-and I have to say the coleslaw is the best ever. Man I love Southern cookin')

The Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man

My family always teases me about how Daisy looks just like the Stay-Puffed Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. And she does. But Ben found this picture the other day and felt that maybe the title of marshmallow man should be transferred over to Blake. Blake has always been a more difficult baby and part of me has always wondered if my running had anything to do with it. Maybe my milk supply wasn't enough for him or something like that but when I see this picture I realize even if he wanted more food he did not need it.

Picture for the Day

So today I took this picture and I keep thinking phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words' or something like that. I took this picture to capture a number of things. First, it is Heidi doing her "show" where she had three stuffed animals caged in the laundry baskets and each did their own special talent. Foo-foo, the bear, was able to sleep while holding her breath for a minute. Raja, the tiger, was able to observe a rock through a magnifying glass that Heidi held for it. (Fascinating!!) And Amanda Panda, the panda if you didn't already guess, could dress up as a princess. After their talents we all got to pet and feed them. I sat through the show three times. She wanted to invite her friends from the parking lot to come see it and thank goodness they weren't able to come because she would have been branded a total loser by the 8 and 9-year-old girls. My poor girl. She thought it was a great idea but I'm sure they wouldn't have. Although maybe I would've been wrong and they would have loved that show.

I also wanted to capture the bed that still has no real bedding but instead our Donna Heller blanket. The bedding should be in tomorrow. There is also the books that Ben is slowly transferring over to his new office. There is the empty walls that I slowly am decorating as I find thing at yard sales. Heidi also has all her teeth in this picture but it is already outdated since Ben pulled her front tooth tonight! Her first top tooth! And then there is Blake's arm. I was lucky that was all that was in the picture since he walks right in front of me whenever the camera is out now. He's wearing a fake gold medal that the girls got from their grandma during the campout. He really likes wearing them but Daisy makes sure to remind him that he was not the winner. And I also would like to remember that this was all before Blake got poop ALL OVER the crib. It was everywhere.

I finally took some before and after pictures of the doll house we got at a yard sale. It's HUGE and it was pretty ugly but I spent days working on it. I painted it, ripped out the carpet, put in wall paper and my dad spent an entire day fitting three of the floor with pergo. My girls are a bit spoiled but they do love playing with it. Now I am slowly trying to find furniture for it. I love how it turned out. I'm having a lot of fun fixing things up. I'm still not great at it but I'm having fun learning.

Fun Day Friday!!

I'm so glad Heidi had fun day Friday in school so we would have a name for the day. We've established Friday as our fun day and that means they get to watch movies that day!! Yes! We were sick of the kids asking nonstop to watch movies so we decided they didn't get to watch ANY except on Fridays. Friday night we would watch a movie as a family. Tonight's pick was Hook...a favorite of mine.

As fun as that sounds, however, it was NOT the exciting thing that helped us today. Today we had a slew of small, heavenly interventions that I completely recognize as Heavenly Father helping us out. So for fun day Friday we decided to do a little yard saling (not a real word but a common term in the Hancock household). We got a few random things-I'm mainly going for cheap things I can fix up and decorate my place with. As we were headed out towards the last one on the list the traffic was backed up. So I'm chatting away with Erica about stuff and think that I should check the temperature of the car. I never, never, never check that even though Ben always tells me to so the fact that I checked at that moment when the temperature gauge was all the way up at the H is a miracle. I quickly drove right out of the traffic to the first parking lot available. It was a semi-deserted one so I sat there and called Ben. Then I called Mike for his advise. The only plan we had was to get it towed but I had me and all 4 kids! There was no way to get it towed and get us all home and we still have ZERO people we know here. I just didn't think towing was a possibility. That's when miracle #2 happened.

I told the girls we needed to pray. (I'm wondering why I didn't think to do that at the get-go but I guess even Nephi forgot to pray until after two failed attempts to get the plates). I prayed that something would work out. I didn't feel right to pray that the car would magically work but that we would find some way to get help, that it would be relatively cheap, and that Ben would be able to contact me through it all. So as soon as the prayer ends and I'm sitting there looking around I realize that the non-deserted side of the parking lot was a roofing company, a car dealership and auto repair place!! I seriously did not see that until after we prayed for help.

We headed over to ask for help, the guys took the car and then miracle #3 happened. The total cost would be $75!!! Now in my past car repair experiences I have never escaped without paying a minimum of $400 so $75 was like amazingly cheap! The only problem was that the part was a weird one that no one had in stock so it was going to have to stay overnight. In comes miracle #4.

I call Ben to let him know the situation. If you know Ben then you know he is fiercely committed to his work and will not be a flake employee so if he was busy then I was on my own. Heidi suggested we take the jogging stroller in the back of the van and just go home but I didn't think 10 miles with 4 kids was a good idea. However the Lord intervened AGAIN!! Ben's 1:00 appointment didn't show! He had just enough time to pick us up and me drive him back to work before his 1:45 appointment! It was awesome. I love when things like this happen so you can see so clearly how the Lord is watching over you and helping you out. I also love that the answers were right in front of me but I had to ask for His help. I love the lesson I learned to call on my Heavenly Father first instead of others. And I also love the opportunity it gave me to teach my kids about the power of prayer. As we walked to the auto repair shop I marveled to the girls how quickly Heavenly Father blessed us when we prayed. Heidi was impressed but Kaylee's reply was "I just think we shouldn't have prayed and just found it on our own. I didn't want to pray to Heavenly Father for help." Oh, Kaylee. I honestly can't say that surprises me because that is just how you are. What am I going to do when you get older?

Daisy's Birthday

We have just finished our crazy, busy month of June. We moved into our place, drove to Washington, drove back to Oroville, spent a week with Than and Erica, went away for a night without the kids (best night ever), babysat for my sister's own trip away and then headed to Fort Bragg for a family camp out that was so nice. We are exhausted but it was fun. During that time Daisy had her birthday!!! She is such a fun little girl. I really love having her in my family. I think my favorite part is just talking with her.

This girl seriously needs a dog. She loves them. And for a while she was willing to poop in the toilet to get to walk them so it helped with potty training (not enough though because she is still not potty trained...I don't know what her problem is!)

Daisy's birthday fell while we were at Than and Erica's. They are a good couple to have a birthday at. We opened presents in the morning and then decided to go to Six Flags and Erica just pulls everything together and we were out of the house within the hour. She took her 4 kids to Six Flags without her husband. Ben and I were there to help but she didn't even need it because she just manages her kids so well. It was a fun at the park, especially because of the cousins all pairing up to ride the rides. I loved it. It was a fun day but I didn't take many pictures. Erica always takes great pictures so I just leave it all up to her. It was a fun day. My only goal for this year is to get Daisy potty trained before she turns four. That sounds like it should be easy but she also should have been done like three months ago so we will see if we can manage that this year.