Valentine's Day Surprise

Yesterday Jason and I traded in my car for a minivan.

We totally weren't planning on doing that this soon, but the opportunity presented itself and we jumped at the opportunity. My mom called yesterday morning to tell me that one of the car dealerships here in town was offering some special incentives due to the holiday weekend. I was hesitant at first because Jason and I had hurt our credit a little in the past while I was still in school living off of student loans and having to pay for daycare on top of that.

There was a time soon after Audrey was born that we had only one car. Looking back to those days, I sometimes wonder how we were able to make it work. We managed to survive with one car for almost a whole year until I got my current teaching job. That is when we knew that we needed to find a way to get another car without being slammed with an insane interest rate due to our bad credit.

God blessed us with some unexpected inheritance money which Jason's mom was generous to surprise us with. Jason's aunt Karen was also visiting us from California at that time, and she was also very generous to help us with a down payment for our car. We weren't looking for much at the time. We just wanted something to get me to work each day, but something reliable. We ended up with a little Chevrolet Aveo. It looked just like this:

It was a pretty small car, but it did the job. It was a great little car that suited me just fine. That was a great little car. It kinda reminded me of my first car: a 1985 Toyota Corolla hatchback. Our main problem with this car was that we found we were often needing more space than we had, and Jason's little Saturn wasn't offering much more space either. Our funniest experience was when we bought an over-the-stove microwave for our kitchen. In order to get it in my car, the microwave was in the front seat with the seat pushed as far back as it would go (I still don't know how I was able to shift with that box in the way), and Jason was practically sitting on the laps of our girls while they were cramped in their car seats!

Getting a bigger car has been something we had been talking about for quite some time, and I still don't think we aren't done having kids. I couldn't tell you when #3 might be coming, but we definitely didn't want to be putting one of the kids in the trunk just so the baby could have space in the back seat!

Our car buying experience yesterday was almost surreal. We were unsure of how things would go as we had the girls with us, and we didn't know how long they would be okay looking at cars. We were soon greeted by a salesperson who was the most laid-back, no-hassle kind of guy who listened to us so intently it was almost like he already knew EXACTLY what we wanted and needed. If you ask me, God had a hand in this one!

We drove one minivan which was along the lines of what we were looking for, but our salesperson told us to drive the car to one of their other lots because he thought we would like this other one better. He was so right! I drove up to the other car and immediately thought, "This is it!" After only a few seconds in that car, we knew it was the one for us. The girls were even excited too. I think they like being able to see more out their windows.

We like how the back seats fold down and the middle row comes out if we need all the space. We like that it feels safer and that the girls' car seats lock in there MUCH more tightly than they ever did before. Hopefully we won't be needing another car for quite some time. I know that I wasn't originally thrilled about the idea of being a minivan driving soccer mom, but it's not the car that defines me. What other options do I have if I end up having more kids? None. I'm happy with my new car. When does soccer practice start?

Adventure At 6 O'Clock In The Morning

I look forward to Mondays these days.

Part of the reason why I like teaching at my school so much is because I am off on Mondays. I take that time for myself. These days are mostly consumed with piles of papers to grade and planning for the next week's lessons. I also like Mondays because I can sleep in past 4:30 which is my usual wake up time during the week.

This morning started like any other. Jason woke up early (before his alarm clock) and started getting ready for work. He is also known for taking long walks in the mornings before he leaves for work.

I was woken up around 6:15 this morning because the phone was ringing. You know how it is, you are woken from a deep sleep because of a somewhat familiar sound. I was definitely disoriented, and was unable to get to the phone before it stopped ringing. I looked at the Caller ID and was puzzled as to why there would be an 800 number calling me this early in the morning. How strange. I proceeded to go back to bed.

Laying in bed and unable to go back to sleep, I started to think about what my day was going to be like. Suddenly, I heard my front door slam open, and I heard, "POLICE!" WHAT??? Is this really happening? In MY house? Did I really hear what I thought I heard? I raced down the stairs to find a flashlight beaming up my stairs and a police officer standing in the doorway.

"We're here ma'am because we got a call from your alarm company that your front door has been breached, so we came right away."

"Oh my goodness!" I explained to them that it must have been Jason who was leaving to go on his morning walk. Just then I see Jason running down the street towards us. The concern on his face was very evident as he caught the sight of three police cars sitting in front of our house.

We explain to the officers that Jason must have set off the alarm when he went through the front door this morning for his walk. We don't really set the alarm every night, but mainly when we remember. I didn't hear the alarm from all the way upstairs, and I didn't get the phone, so the next step was for the alarm company to call the police.

I felt so bad that the police had to be called so early in the morning for a stupid mistake, but I am thankful that it worked. Since we got our alarm system put in a couple years ago, I have been thankful for that added sense of security, but have always been wondering if it actually works. Well, now I know.

I thanked them as they left and definitely appologized for their waste of time. As they were leaving, one of the officers looked at Jason and said, "We need you to come with us so we can settle things. Why don't you sit in the back of my car, and we can give you some nice silver bracelets too!" He joked. It's funny how they can be so serious one moment, and the next minute they start joking around! We laughed and were very thankful that this was all just a silly mistake.

What makes this even funnier is that the girls slept through this whole incident! They had no idea that just moments before they woke up, there were three police squad cars sitting outside our house with officers prepared to deal with an unwanted intruder!

Whew! What a morning! I appreciate the time the officers took to make sure we were safe, but I hope I won't need their help like that again!

Meghan

Tomorrow is Meghan's 4th birthday. I know she has only been in our lives this short period of time, but every day I thank God for the blessing she has been in our life. It's hard for me to look back and remember what life was like before she was around. Sometimes I find myself just watching her as she plays in her own little world and many times I find myself welling up with tears because I am so grateful that God has blessed me with the privilege of being Meghan's mother. Now I have a better understanding of how my parents felt about me and my siblings and how much they love and adore us. Meghan is an amazing little girl. Here are some of the things I love most about her:

1. Even at 4 years of age, she is considerate and always thinking of others. Whenever Meghan asks for something, she always asks for another one for Audrey. She always remembers to say "please" and "thank you" even without being prompted to do so. When there are times that I am having a hard day, or may be not feeling well, Meghan tries her best to find ways to make me happy. It may be by coloring me a picture, singing me a song, or even playing with Audrey to distract her because "Mommy is a little bit sad," she says. She is so thoughtful.
2. Meghan is full of love. She is always going around telling us that she loves us and that she loves her sister too. It's not just the "I love you, Mom," but it is truly sincere. It's interesting to see that she does know what love means to her and that she knows how to express and show it to those around her. She's one of those kids whose eyes twinkle not out of maliciousness, but out of the love she has to share. Meghan is always looking out for her sister and tries her best to take care of her the best she can. They are great buddies. It's precious to watch the two of them play together and to tell each other that they love each other.
3. Meghan is a great storyteller. She loves to be told stories and she enjoys re-telling stories to anyone who listens. Just the other day she was telling me and Jason the story of "The Three Little Pigs," and she even went so far as making all the little voices for each of the characters. She was hilarious! We couldn't stop laughing.
4. Meghan is my little buddy. We love to go run errands together. Just the two of us. I remember how much I looked forward to having "date night" with my mom, so I know how much Meghan must enjoy spending time with just the two of us. One of my favorite things to do is to sit and cuddle with her. Of course our cuddling sessions quickly turn into "tickle time" instead. She is so irresistibly tickle-able. I can't help myself. That little giggle of hers is so hard for me to resist.
5. Meghan is so smart. She is always coming home from daycare with something new she has learned. It amazes me sometimes when I hear the things she has learned. One time while driving home from daycare, she started singing the song, "Jonah Didn't Listen," in Spanish! I couldn't believe my ears! She had sung that song numerous times at home, but then all of a sudden she started singing it in Spanish. That was totally cool. It is so exciting being able to share with the excitement of learning new things. I think that part of that is because learning is pretty exciting for me already considering the fact that I'm a teacher.

Here's some of my favorite pictures of her:

Meghan was born on her due date. That doesn't happen often. She was so precious.

Meghan's first Halloween. I love this picture of her.

Meghan loves hats. There's something about putting on a hat and feeling like you are a totally different person.

This has to be one of my most favorite pictures of her. I love how the setting sun made her little curls just sparkle. This was one of my favorite trips with the girls and how we had so much fun just relaxing and enjoying our time together as a family.

Meghan and Audrey are great buddies. I hope they learn to appreciate how lucky they are to have a best friend in a sister. I know I do.

Meghan is such a happy little girl. We are so blessed.

I love my Meghan so much. My birthday prayer for her is that she will continue to grow and learn more about the love God has for each and every one of us. May she continue to be blessed with good health and that she will one day hear God's calling in her life and that she will willingly follow His plan. I love you, Meghan and Happy Birthday.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

One of my favorite projects I have come up with for my 7th grade reading class is making a quilt. After reading, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I give my students some squares of fabric I had previously cut out and have them draw a picture that illustrates a scene from the book. I enjoy seeing what sorts of things students are able to come up with that represent the story.

If any of you are familiar with the original story, it is rather violent as Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired to write this story because he was living in London during the time of the well-known serial killer, "Jack the Ripper". I think it's kinda funny that I have asked a bunch of middle school students to illustrate these violent scenes from the story, and then to put it into a nice and pretty quilt.

The nice thing is that we finish reading the book right before Christmas break, so that leaves me two whole weeks to get it done. I don't need all that time, but is sure is nice to have the time if I need it. Once the quilt is completed, I donate it to the school where we auction it off to raise money for these students when they go on their class trip in 8th grade. Thankfully for me, no one stepped forward and bought the quilt last year. Now I have that memento from my first year of teaching. I am pretty proud of the one we have made this year, so hopefully we should be able to make some money off of it. Here's what it looks like:I really like the pictures that have "Bugs Bunny" in them because I was able to find the "Bugs Bunny" version which I showed to the class. Here's an up-close look at a couple of them:

In the midst of all these cute pictures that represent the "Bugs Bunny" version, there is one of the most violent ones like this:Apparently, this is supposed to be Mr. Hyde lying in a pool of his own blood with some nasty blue stuff seeping out of his mouth. When I get pictures like this, it makes me wonder what sorts of things these kids are being exposed to at home. I guess it's not my place to judge, but I can't help it sometimes.

As you can see, all three of these students chose to draw Mr. Hyde with a green face. I find that interesting. Maybe they see him as an early form of the Hulk or something, or maybe the "Bugs Bunny" version had some sort of influence on it as Mr. Hyde is depicted with long arms that drag on the floor with green skin.

What a fun project this has turned out to be. I hope to find a reason to do something like this with my classes each year. I have discovered that students enjoy doing these sorts of things, and they seem to remember the story and the experience better when it is creative and enjoyable.

No, It's Not Make-Up

I was playing "Guitar Hero" yesterday and Meghan was dancing to my guitar playing skills. Her version of dancing is turning in circles. Meghan got a not-so-sweet souvenir from that experience:

She got so dizzy she took a nice little header into our end table right in the eye. It looks a lot worse than it is. She cried pretty hard and it started to swell up immediately. Poor kid.

Pixie Dust

Yesterday my mom and I were hard at work re-doing the girls' room.

Shortly after Jason and I moved in our house in the summer of 2004, we did a lot of painting in various rooms throughout the house. That summer my mom and I painted one of the spare rooms and put up a nice border that helped it seem pretty inviting for a spare bedroom.

The girls have been using that room for quite some time now (it works wonderfully for their bunk bed), and I finally decided that we needed to change things to make it more like a little girl room instead of a spare room.

I found some adorable "Tinkerbell" border at Home Depot which matched wonderfully with our already green walls. My mom hosted an "Uppercase Living" party last month and got a wall decoration for free and decided to get something to go along with our "Tinkerbell" theme. The saying says, "All you need is faith, trust, and a little pixie dust." I am very excited with how it looks. Here is how it turned out:

This picture shows the border and some extra stickers I bought that went along with the border. I love the little saying. It is so cute and it works wonderfully for a little girls' room. Here are some more pictures of what we did:

I put these stickers on the wall by Audrey's bed. Meghan has one on her wall similar to Audrey's too:
The girls like how they each have their own Tinkerbell sticker by their bed. I am very pleased with how things look.

From Toothbrushes to Money

The other day Jason and I received a check in the mail for Christmas from his aunt and grandpa in California. It's kinda nice that they think to do things like this for us even when they don't have to. We ended up cashing the check and venturing out to find something on the day before Christmas. Thankfully it wasn't too crazy out there, but it was only 10:00 in the morning.

I ended up taking the girls with me to "Toys R Us" because I thought it would be fun for the girls to pick out their own presents. Not to mention I had no clue what to get for them. They have plenty of toys they don't play with as it is.

Here is my conversation with Meghan on our way to the store:

Me: Hey Meghan, do you want to go to a special store for Meghan and Audrey?

Meghan: For Meghan and Audrey??? Yeah! What kind of store?

Me: It's a surprise!

Meghan: Oh, I like surprises.

Me: Me too.

Meghan: What are we going to get at the special store?

Me: We are going to get a special surprise for Meghan and Audrey!

Meghan: For Meghan and Audrey??? All right! Is it food?

Me: Nope. It's better than food!

Meghan: Is it toothbrushes???

Me: No, Meghan. It's better than toothbrushes.

Meghan: Better than toothbrushes?

I'm glad to hear that Meghan sees her dental hygiene as something so wonderful and better than food. I couldn't help myself. I busted up laughing pretty hard at that one.

Then on the way home from the toy store, Meghan just said the funniest thing out of the blue:

Meghan: It's my money, and I need it now!

Me: Meghan, where did you hear that?

Meghan: From the TV.

For those of you who are not familiar with that phrase, there is this commercial that is on TV particularly early in the mornings when I am watching the news as I am getting ready for work. It's a commercial about this law firm that deals with helping its clients with structured settlements to try to get them into lump sum payments. Check out the commercial here. It's the last commercial at the bottom of the page.