Handy Husband

Reed has been having some trouble with his car lately: the windows won't stay rolled up! The driver's side window has been completely broken for years, thanks to not one, but two break-ins during our time in Provo. It's pretty awkward for Reed (and hilarious) when he rolls through a drive-through in a bmw...and then has to open his door to pay and get his food because his window's busted. Haha! He's had a pretty good sense of humor about it, but when two other windows started having problems--including rolling down overnight-- we knew it was time to fix the problem. The trouble with having a German car is that parts and repairs are sooooooo expensive! It was going to coast $500 to replace each window regulator! I was not excited about that, but when Reed told me he was planning to do the repairs himself, I was...concerned. He is a grade A, white-hat hacker, but I never think of him as being exceptionally handy. He watched a youtube video and assured me that he'd disconnect the car battery so that the side airbags wouldn't deploy while he worked on the window. I was having visions of my electrocuted, unconscious hubby covered in the remnants of an exploded airbag. 

Thankfully, Reed proved me wrong and did and excellent (and completely safe) job repairing the car! Here he is with his eager little helper:

Can you tell which regulator is broken, and which is new? (I could not.)

And finally, here's a video of me attempting to sing with Cal to distract him from "helping" too much. Unfortunately, this is the response I often get:

Thanks to my handy husband, the repair ended up costing about $150 for all three windows!

Co-Op Preschool with Friends

In addition to his formal preschool, Cal and I are involved in a cooperative preschool program with five of my friends from church. (Side note: I am constantly grateful for the amazing young moms we have in our ward. It is an incredibly friendly, supportive environment.) Ashley and Amanda got this program started and recruited us, and now I don't know what we'd do without our wonderful once-a-week preschool with our nursery and primary friends. Each mom teaches one lesson every 6 weeks.

 This is a picture from my week. We learned about the letter D, and birds. Above, the kids are learning how to use glue by sticking feathers on a chicken. (The picture was taken before the event I like to call "Feathergeddon.")

Cal opted for one, showy, blue plume:

The aftermath of an awesome day teaching preschool:

This is a photo I snapped the day my friend Natalie was teaching. Look at these cuties waving snowflakes:

Natalie and I live close to each other, and have worked out a kid swap that is saving my life. It's hard to live far away from Cal's grandparents (both sets), but I am very fortunate to have such a supportive network of wonderful friends.

Bugle Boy Trio

Back in May, when I was in charge of the ward talent show, my friends Teri and Elaine coaxed me into doing a trio performance of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." (These girls are pros, so when Teri explained that we'd be singing in three-part harmony while dancing, I was the only one who was skeptical. I cannot believe how talented they are.)

We had to learn it really quickly, so we basically had one insane practice session where we sang and danced it about fifty times in a row! It was hilarious trying to learn so quickly, and messing up so much, and thinking "This is CRAZY" and then jumping for joy when we finally got it right for the very first time, all with two of my closest friends. It was a hit at the talent show; we wore the awesome costumes pictures above (courtesy of Stars on Stage, Teri's dance company), and wore red lipstick and did our hair in 40s-style curls. It was so fun!

Last week, our friend Viviana asked if we would perform our number again for her, because Elaine is moving to Ohio! So sad! Vivana asked if we could come perform at the school where she worked. It was pretty funny -- there we were, singing and dancing in costume, in an office with about 5 people at their desks! Hahaha! We had a huge laugh about it. Then, they asked if we'd stay and do the number for the teachers in the lounge during recess. We reluctantly acquiesced. The kicker? Teri is the president of the PTA at this school, so most of the teachers knew her (and were maybe a little confused as to why she was dancing in a uniform during their recess?). We laughed so hard about it. Elaine is in Ohio now, which makes me sad, but I will always remember that day with a huge smile on my face. 

Potty Training

Honestly, potty-training has freaked me out for a while. It's overwhelming, and like anything relating to motherhood, there is way too much advice and way too many opinions. Frankly, if we didn't need to be potty-trained for fall session of preschool, I'd be fine just letting him tell me when he felt like doing it. Alas, we have a deadline, so I've had to make up my mind about my potty-training strategy. 

Jellybeans. That's what I've decided. I told him he gets one jelly bean every time he uses the potty, and it has worked like a charm. You know how some dogs are "food-motivated"? Well, this kid is candy-motivated. I have never seen someone jump so immediately through such foreign hoops. Maybe it's this no-sugar diet we're on, but he is jazzed about jellybeans. The other night at bedtime, I think I counted NINE trips to the potty. It got to the point where I had to say, "Okay, now please just go in your diaper. We're done with the potty for tonight."

Just imagine if everyone in your life were that motivated by a jellybean. I don't know if there will ever again be a time in Cal's life where I hold such power over his decisions!

Silly stories

That's what I feel like my blog (and life!) is lately -- a series of silly stories. They say we should keep records of our lives because they will bless the lives of our descendants. I have a feeling it's going to go something like this: "Well, there was nothing spiritual or profound in your records that we were able to glean, but thanks for all the weird anecdotes, great-great-grandma Megan." Oh well...

Silly Story #1: Walmart is testing out a pilot program in our area that includes free grocery delivery. I cannot fully emphasize how much I appreciate this program. I shop for everything online, and then the next day, a delivery man hauls it up the three flights of stairs to my apartment and puts everything on my kitchen table. No dragging my toddler to the grocery store, no long checkout lines with Cal screaming for candy, no trips back and forth to my car lugging heavy bags upstairs...IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE.

We have had a few interesting scenarios with our orders. Sometimes, you have to order produce by the pound (which isn't a big deal when you're dealing with apples, but who uses a pound of garlic at a time?). I needed a red onion, and just figured they'd pick me out three or four, and I'd find a way to use them. Nope, we received ONE red onion, weighing in at over a pound, just by itself. I had never seen a larger red onion. Neither had Cal!

Silly story #2: We were invited to go camping at the beach back in July, and I'd forgotten a few last-minute essentials like bug spray, so Cal and I made a trip to Target. The store had some summer items (including stuff for s'mores) displayed right at the entrance. Cal has been obsessed with marshmallows ever since getting to roast one at a backyard BBQ a few weeks back, so he grabbed a package and wouldn't put it down.

I often let him hold on to something until we check out (you do what you can to keep a three-year-old quiet in public), so I didn't think twice about it and hurried around collecting the things we needed for our trip. It wasn't until we were in line that I looked down and realized he had basically chewed a hole in the package.

All the marshmallows inside had teeth marks all over them, even in places where the plastic wasn't actually broken. I told him, "Stop chewing that! Gross, Cal!" But he didn't even flinch! His eyebrows just got all...troubled. It was like he was telling me, "I wish I could stop...."

We definitely paid for this package of mallows. Sick!

He was pretty excited about all the food that came with us on the campout. Here he is with his new best friend, a box of wheat thins:

(He held the box the entire drive to the beach!)

Silly story #3: We've been really grateful to have a pool at our apartment complex this summer, especially with some of the temperatures we had in July. Cal and I go down often; he is crazy about the water! There's a nice big pool, and then a really shallow, 8'x8' kiddie pool over to the side. (Side story: one time, when I was describing the pools to someone, they remarked, "Oh, too bad it's a kiddie pool and not a hot tub." It made me realize, at this stage in my life, I would SO much rather have the kiddie pool!)

Anyway, I looked over after a long afternoon of swimming, and this is what I find:

 Our little lizard, stretched out on the warm bricks bordering the kiddie pool!

Silly story #4: Cal loves playing hide-and-seek (which he pronounces "high-seek!"). Last week, when we went over to a friend's house to babysit her three-year-old boy, Cal found the perfect hide-and-seek companion. Take a look at these cute pictures:

My favorite parts of their version of the game? (a.) First, they watch each other hide, and then close their eyes and start counting. (b.) They hide in the same spot without fail. (c.) Hearing Cal's little voice counting all the way up to TEN! (d.) Cal makes squeaking noises as hints for the seeker. (e.) Listening to them giggle as I announced all the wrong spots where I was trying to find them. I think I may love "high-seek" just as much as Cal!

Silly story #5: I watch my friend's two daughters once a week, and they and Cal have become great little friends. Here we are at Red Robin this past week:

 And here they are having a CRAZY balloon fight in the back of the car on the drive home:

When the balloon-chaos had died down, the older girl started singing the lantern song from Tangled, and I joined in, trying to keep the car ride calm. We were almost through the whole thing, when Cal had apparently had enough. Out of nowhere, he bursts into a Broadway-worthy belt: "TINKA TINKA LITTA STAAAAAARRR!!!!!"

Someone does not like to be left out! 

That's it for my silly stories...for now. Really though, one of the best parts about my day is re-telling all of these anecdotes to Reed after Cal is asleep. We just laugh and laugh. Thanks for keeping life interesting, Cal! We love you!

Badge of Honor

At the park this evening, Cal fell and bashed his face against the slide. His nose was bleeding (scary sight for a mom), so we took him over to the car to get my first aid kit. I cleaned him up with a package of wipes (his two front teeth were bleeding, too! -- a dentist appointment is in the works), and thankfully the blood stopped.

That didn't stop him from demanding a band-aid...

As soon as it was in place, he was back to playing, happy as can be! 

Fire

I was driving Cal to preschool a few days ago, and as I pulled out of the school driveway, I saw a huge plume of brown smoke rising into the air. I thought, "That's funny, it looks like it's coming from over where I live." But really, I was more than a mile away. I must be imagining that, right?

Wrong.

I know you can't tell from these pictures, but there were probably 13 service vehicles blocking off the different streets around our apartment complex. I tried telling the policeman that my poor helpless husband was upstairs in the shower, and that he listens to loud music and probably wouldn't have heard any calls to evacuate, but he gave me a gruff signal to turn around, so I did...

 ...and then I snuck in a different way using backstreets and a discreet underground parking entrance.

 Lucky for us (and unlucky for others, sadly), the fire didn't affect our specific building. But it did burn the one next to it (the building you see over to the right in the photo above, which I took from our front porch area).

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the fire spread through four separate units before they were able to put it out. We walked over with Cal that night to check out the damage:

They're not sure how it started, but it seems to have originated on the general manager's balcony. (Insurance fraud, anyone??? Sorry, too much Law and Order.)

We're thankful to be safe and sound! Scary!