AHHHHHHHH!

Today I picked up Quin and walked outside to water my garden. I opened the gate, stepped my flip-flop clad foot into the grassy area, took two steps and saw this! Now picture this snake the width of a garden hose, as black as death with a blood red stripe running down the center. You would do what I did too. Scream. Scream and run away. After recovering from the initial shock, I decided to do some research and make sure it wasn't on some "Top 10 Most Poisonous Snakes of America" List. I discovered that had the snake bit me I probably wouldn't have died. My research has revealed that the slithering serpent was probably a black necked garter snake. Below is some unsettling information I found about the beast.

"The Black-necked Garter Snake is semi-aquatic and is generally found in or near bodies of water ranging from streams to canals, ponds, and cattle tanks. The snake feeds on aquatic or semi-aquatic prey, including fish, frogs, toads, tadpoles, worms, salamanders, and crustaceans, though lizards, small mammals, rodents and birds may also be eaten. Garter snakes bear live young, generally giving birth to 6 to 18 baby snakes in the summer. If disturbed, garter snakes will bite, defecate, and emit foul-smelling musk to deter the intruder."

Needless to say I am a little freaked out about working in my garden. Who knows, maybe the creature is off giving birth to 18 more death snakes which are emitting a foul-smelling musk on my spinach sprouts while we speak. If only Harry Potter were here. He could speak in parseltongue to the creature and demand it return to the dark depths of despair from whence it came. If only. Will my spinach, onions, beans and cucumbers be left to shrivel and dry up because they are now encircled by this vicious predator? We will have to wait and see...

Attention all Jon and Kate Plus Eight Fans: My thoughts on the Sad Season Premier

So for the past year or two I have been a big fan of the show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" on TLC which is about the Gosselin family, consisting of parents Jon and Kate and their eight children—a set of fraternal twin girls and a set of sextuplets (three girls and three boys). The show follows the family through their daily lives, focusing on the challenges of raising multiple children. I became truely addicted to the show when I was pregnant and full of "mommy fears". In many ways the show was a comfort to me. I would look at Jon and Kate and think to myself, if they could survive raising 6 newborns, surely I can handle one little baby.

Like all families Jon and Kate seemed to have their struggles. I often got into conversations with my mom/friends/coworkers about Kate and her somewhat bossy mothering style. After watching every episode of the show, Bryce eventually got sucked in too. We had many a laugh and giggle about Jon and Kate.

Lately, there has been a lot of news going around that Jon and Kate are going to be getting a divorce. At first I just ignored it all, thinking it was just rumors. But as Kate started appearing on the Today show and as I read articles about their disintegrating marriage at the check out stand I couldn't help but wonder whether things really were falling apart. I anxiously awaited the season premier to find out what was going on.

Well last night was the Jon and Kate plus 8 season premier, and I have got to say I was really saddened by it. Usually Jon and Kate sit on the couch together an crack jokes about their little arguments and funny things their kids did. However this episode had an entirely different feel to it. Not only were their interviews mainly separate, but both of them seemed entirely different. Jon seemed bitter and angry and Kate seemed like she was trying to put on a brave face for the camera. This episode was on their sextuplets 5th birthday party. It started with Kate preparing for the birthday on her own while Jon was taking the weekend off. During the actual party it seemed like Jon and Kate were avoiding each other. You could tell that the kids felt the tension too. One of the little girls went up to Jon and expressed that she didn't want him to go away anymore. It was heartbreaking.

After the episode was over Bryce and talked about how it just made you feel sick to see this family falling apart on television. In many ways this episode was a wake-up call to me and made me realize how grateful I am for my family and for my relationship with Bryce. I am thankful for the blessing of being married in the temple because I know it has strengthened our relationship. Bryce....I know you secretly read my blog, so I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you that I love you and thanks for sympathizing with me as I mourned for my favorite TV family last night.

Sweet Sunshine

Today I got a sweet surprise in the mail from my cousin Lauren. She spread some sunshine into my life so I am going to pay it forward and spread some sunshine too!

So here goes: The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me! Made with tons of love just for you! It might be a card, goodies, or you might be surprised what you get! Give it a try! The catch? You must re -post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a lovely little treat for themselves! Have Fun! Ready........Set............Go!Come on copy, paste, and do something fun!!!! I want to send you something.

p.s. thanks for the treat Lauren...it was delish

Garage Sale Fever

Can you believe I went to a garage sale today and got all of this stuff for $43.00!
How did I do it you ask? I am a skilled garage sale shopper. For the past 3 years I have dedicated my Spring/Summer weekends to garage saleing. That is how I furnished my home, kindergarten classroom, and Quin's nursery on an extremely low budget. However there are a few tricks of the trade I thought I might share about garage saleing
1. Go to church garage sales. They are usually the best. Not only do they usually have a ton of stuff, but it is usually priced a lot cheaper because the people selling didn't own the stuff. They don't sit there thinking "I paid $20 for this and little Timmy only used it twice! I want to get at least half of what I paid!" No, no, no. Instead they think "We got two days to get rid of all this junk, lets just say everything is a dollar." That is the strategy they took at the garage sale I went to today. All of the children's toys, clothes, games, shoes, etc was marked a dollar!
2. Be the first one at the garage sales. Stuff goes fast. I am a good example of this. Today I arrived at my Oregon City church garage sale 5 minutes early and walked away with about 1/4 of all the children's merchandise.
3. Aim for the multi-family neighborhood garage sales. It is always a bummer to show up at a garage sale after driving for 15 minutes to find nothing but junk. At least with the multi-family sales there is more stuff to sort through and you have options.
4. The garage sales where each and every individual item is already pre-marked is a bad sign. If the person selling the junk, excuse me, I mean merchandise went the trouble of marking each and every item, they are probably gonna be picky about their prices. Aim for the places where nothing is marked or people just say "Anything touching the ground is a buck!" Now that is more my style.
And in closing I would like to thank the First Presbyterian Church in Oregon City for providing Quin with all the toys and pajamas he will be needing in the next year.

I love Harry

I think I was born on the earth during this time so I could read Harry Potter. I mean really, Harry is an integral part of my life. Today, Harry was my life. I will admit that I try not to read Harry Potter. I do this because once I pick up his book, my life is consumed by Hogwarts, Sirius and Dumblebdore in a borderline unhealthy way. But a few days ago....I got weak. I needed a good dose of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And since that fateful moment a few days ago my mind has been occupied as I have pondered questions like, "if I cast a Patronus, what form would it take? (I have concluded that it would be a silvery llama in case you were wondering). I also discovered while reading Deathly Hallows for my 2nd time that Harry Potter was born ing 1981. That means he just a few years older than me. I don't know, but for some reason I like this. This was the first time I read Harry Potter as a mom, and I have got to say it gave me a new perspective. I found myself really identifying with Lily, while previously my pre-marriage/baby self usually imagined herself as Ginny (hmmm...I wonder why). Anyways, I thought I would give a shout out to my number one favorite series of all time- Harry Potter

Thanks Mom

There are many reasons I am thankful for my mom this mothers day...
1. I am thankful for your cinnamon rolls. They are the best and alwyas will be.
2. I am thankful to have you as a shopping buddy. You will always be my #1 shopping companion because, well what can I say...you just have excellent taste.
3. I am thankful that you have always been a great example to me of service. You are selfless and love so many people and they love you (as is illustrated by your facebook page and all of the "second" children who claim you). You would give the shirt off your back to anyone who needed it. You are truly a Christlike person.
4. I am thankful that you understand the importance of "the little things." Pedicures. Girly movies. Trips to Starbucks for chocolate milk. They matter.
5. I am thankful that when I was pregnant you let me sit in your spot of the couch. It was amazing and I felt like a Queen.
6. I am thankful that you camed to stay with me before and after Quin was born. What would I have done without you in our tiny hot, house, on those many sleepless nights?
7. Thank you for making me practice the piano. It was good for me. Just like you said.
8. I am thankful that you make things happen. Without your many vacation visions we would not have all the wonderful memories that we share today.
9. I am thankful for always answering my phone calls. Even if they are a little boring.
10. I am thankful that Heavenly Father sent me to such a wonderful mom to lead, guide, and teach me how to be a great mom through her example.
Love You!

Free Fun

It is my constant quest to find free fun. There is many a day when I look out the window at the rain and wonder...hmmmm....what will Quin and I do today. Bounce off the walls? Stare at each other? Well, recently I have made a few discoveries that I thought I would share for those desperately seeking cheap entertainment days.

1. Parks are fun (when it is not raining) and free. I am a fan of memorial park and Murase Park in Wilsonville. Not only are these parks connected, but they are clean and have awesome water features which will be turning on in June (Yay). These parks are even more fun when you stop off at the nearby Sonic which has 1/2 price slushie drinks between 2-4pm. Try the strawberry limeade. It is to die for!

Quin thinks that swings are O.K.

And grass is AWESOME!

Bryce thinks that Sonic Drinks are really good...but slides are even better.2. Take advantage of the library. Not only can I get just about any movie or book that I want, but there is a super weekly storytime for the kids. I also recently learned that some libraries have something called "cultural passes" where you can pick up free tickets to places in the Portland area like the Children's museum, Japanese Gardens, Pitock Mansion....and the list goes on. Bryce, Quin and I picked up a pass today and went to the Children's Museum. It was a blast! Quin enjoyed baby playroom where there was tons of stuff to discover at crawling level. And best of all we save $16.00 by getting the free cultural pass from the library instead of at the museum.

3. Coming soon is the Regal Free Family film festival. Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival and are free. We are looking forward to seeing Horton Hears a Who and Inkheart...

4. You have got to check out my favorite website in the world. It is called Slickdeals.net. Everyday the best deals on the internet are posted. I have found some incredible freebies (like free personalized mothers day cards with the code CARD4MOM at Hallmark). This way shopping can be free and fun! http://slickdeals.net

These are my fun for free thoughts. Some may be old....hopefully some are new. Let me know if you have any to share. As I said before, I am always on a quest!