Sunday, October 12, 2008
Local Culture
This weekend, we experienced some of the local culture- we attended the Apple Scrapple Festival. The name says it all! The highlight of it for Addie was the fact that the shuttle from the parking lot to the festival was a school bus! She about exploded when we actually got on the school bus, she was SO happy! Alden, on the other hand, was a huge fan of all the garbage that was on the ground. I couldn't let him down at all or else he would revert to crawling and attempt to pick-up all the cigarette butts, smashed board-walk fries, and who knows what else, all over the ground. We did enjoy all the various booths and listing to the local country music station's singing contest (the girl who runs the children's ministry at our church was a contestant). **Pictures to come soon!!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Little Cowboys
I guess my Texan roots are showing.... I have been trying to decide what I want the kids to be for Halloween, and this is 1 option. Alden was happy as could be right up until the girl put the camera to her face. Strange! Oh well! At least this picture was free!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Alden's Dirty Little Obesessions
Yes, at the ripe ol' age of 13 months, Alden has developed several dirty obsessions.
1. He loves playing in the toilet water. He has a special gift (and I shudder to call it that) for knowing the 1 time I don't put the lid down, or when I leave the bathroom door open. He is always highly offended when I sternly snatch him out of the water and tell him "No! No! We do NOT play in the potty!"
2. He has also developed a passion for the kitchen garbage. He crawls right up to, pushes the button to open the lid, and then his eyes just light-up as if he's looking at a golden treasure instead of the banana peel from breakfast! I have to check the garbage multiple times each day- only to find some toy he's someone sneaked into the garbage without me seeing. If it's quiet and the bathroom door is closed, I can almost guarantee you that he's standing, staring into the garbage can. Thankfully he isn't into pulling much out- he just loves to put things in.
3. His 3rd and final dirty obsession has to do with the dogs water bowl. The fact that my 2 dogs drink from it, and it's covered with dog slober makes it one of the grossest places in our house. When Alden was just learning to crawl, he pulled the bowl over onto himself, drenching him, the floor, and the poor dog who was trying to keep watch. He hadn't come near it until last week. Now he loves to throw any ball he can get his hands onto, into that bowl. The laugh that comes out of him as the ball splashes, is adorable. As much as I want him to be happy, I am not into cleaning the floor all day long!
I have always heard that boys and girls were different- and BOY! They ARE! I love Alden and the new things he teaches me everyday! I am certainly in for an adventurous ride being the mother of both a boy and a girl!!
1. He loves playing in the toilet water. He has a special gift (and I shudder to call it that) for knowing the 1 time I don't put the lid down, or when I leave the bathroom door open. He is always highly offended when I sternly snatch him out of the water and tell him "No! No! We do NOT play in the potty!"
2. He has also developed a passion for the kitchen garbage. He crawls right up to, pushes the button to open the lid, and then his eyes just light-up as if he's looking at a golden treasure instead of the banana peel from breakfast! I have to check the garbage multiple times each day- only to find some toy he's someone sneaked into the garbage without me seeing. If it's quiet and the bathroom door is closed, I can almost guarantee you that he's standing, staring into the garbage can. Thankfully he isn't into pulling much out- he just loves to put things in.
3. His 3rd and final dirty obsession has to do with the dogs water bowl. The fact that my 2 dogs drink from it, and it's covered with dog slober makes it one of the grossest places in our house. When Alden was just learning to crawl, he pulled the bowl over onto himself, drenching him, the floor, and the poor dog who was trying to keep watch. He hadn't come near it until last week. Now he loves to throw any ball he can get his hands onto, into that bowl. The laugh that comes out of him as the ball splashes, is adorable. As much as I want him to be happy, I am not into cleaning the floor all day long!
I have always heard that boys and girls were different- and BOY! They ARE! I love Alden and the new things he teaches me everyday! I am certainly in for an adventurous ride being the mother of both a boy and a girl!!
Cold Feet
Addie got cold feet during her nap today. When I went into her room to get her, she had 5 pairs of socks on. They were all different colors and styles. What makes this so funny is that she was so hot, she couldn't wear pants- and was napping in her shirt and panties. I guess this comes with the territory of being a big-girl-bed!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Favorite Blog
My friend Karen nominated me for an "I Love Your Blog" Award... so now I need to complete the ONE WORD ANSWER survey below and then nominate someone new for the award. So here goes...
Where is your cell phone? Diaperbag
Where is your significant other? Nearby
Your hair color? Brown
Your mother? Solo
Your father? Loyal
Your favorite thing? Beaching
Your dream last night? Happiness
Your dream/goal? Motherhood
The room you're in? Family
Your hobby? Scrapbooking
Your fear? Failure
Where do you want to be in 6 yrs? Together
Where were you last night? Inlaws
What you're not? Bored
Where you grew up? Southeast
The last thing you did? Facebook
What you are wearing? Comfy-clothes
Your TV? On
Your pet? Shedding
Your computer? Laptop
Your mood? Calm
Missing someone? AuntyBeccaUncleThomas
Your car? Pilot
Something you're not wearing? Socks
Favorite Store? Gymboree
Your summer? Paint-Filled
Love someone? Absolutely!
Your favorite color? Blue
When is the last time you laughed? Now
Last time you cried? Dumbo
I nominate Sarah and Elsie- I check their blogs all the time! I check other friend's blogs, but they have already been nominated!!
Where is your cell phone? Diaperbag
Where is your significant other? Nearby
Your hair color? Brown
Your mother? Solo
Your father? Loyal
Your favorite thing? Beaching
Your dream last night? Happiness
Your dream/goal? Motherhood
The room you're in? Family
Your hobby? Scrapbooking
Your fear? Failure
Where do you want to be in 6 yrs? Together
Where were you last night? Inlaws
What you're not? Bored
Where you grew up? Southeast
The last thing you did? Facebook
What you are wearing? Comfy-clothes
Your TV? On
Your pet? Shedding
Your computer? Laptop
Your mood? Calm
Missing someone? AuntyBeccaUncleThomas
Your car? Pilot
Something you're not wearing? Socks
Favorite Store? Gymboree
Your summer? Paint-Filled
Love someone? Absolutely!
Your favorite color? Blue
When is the last time you laughed? Now
Last time you cried? Dumbo
I nominate Sarah and Elsie- I check their blogs all the time! I check other friend's blogs, but they have already been nominated!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Addie and her Elephant
This is so cute, it really deserves it's own post!
As we were waiting in the Honda dealership for them to officially diagnosis our Pilot's transmission issues, I took the kids to play in their playroom. It was full of blocks, cars, a play kitchen, etc. You would think that my kids would have been thrilled to play in it for hours. Actually, they played happily for about 10 min, which is when they noticed that the showroom was full of cars. Addie loves sitting in the driver's seat and "driving" so this looked like a perfect playground to her! It didn't help that the CR-V was sitting outside of the playroom door- and that is her MarMar's car. She and Alden had fun "driving" it and getting buckled into the back seat (a novelty to them). All of a sudden, Addie spotted an Element on the other side of the showroom.
Addie: Oh Mommy! Wat's dat?
Me: That's a gray Element.
Addie: Oh Mommy! Can I go play in the Elephant? Oh peas?!?"
She proceeded to play in her Elephant for the next 30 min, very happily. She told anyone that happened to walk by that she was driving her "Elephant." The car salesmen, most of whom had kids, thought it was hysterical!
I will forever think of Elements as Elephants thanks to my 2 year old!
As we were waiting in the Honda dealership for them to officially diagnosis our Pilot's transmission issues, I took the kids to play in their playroom. It was full of blocks, cars, a play kitchen, etc. You would think that my kids would have been thrilled to play in it for hours. Actually, they played happily for about 10 min, which is when they noticed that the showroom was full of cars. Addie loves sitting in the driver's seat and "driving" so this looked like a perfect playground to her! It didn't help that the CR-V was sitting outside of the playroom door- and that is her MarMar's car. She and Alden had fun "driving" it and getting buckled into the back seat (a novelty to them). All of a sudden, Addie spotted an Element on the other side of the showroom.
Addie: Oh Mommy! Wat's dat?
Me: That's a gray Element.
Addie: Oh Mommy! Can I go play in the Elephant? Oh peas?!?"
She proceeded to play in her Elephant for the next 30 min, very happily. She told anyone that happened to walk by that she was driving her "Elephant." The car salesmen, most of whom had kids, thought it was hysterical!
I will forever think of Elements as Elephants thanks to my 2 year old!
Our Honda Miracle
It all started a humid summer afternoon, about a month ago. I had just picked-up the Pilot after having new brakes put on. The mechanic (a guy named Stacy), asked me if I had heard any strange noises when I drove. I told him that I didn't usually hear anything other then my 2 kids and/or the music that I always have on. He then showed me a torn piece of some car part, and said that I should have heard a clicking noise as I drove and turned. He said in his lovely country accent "Ya know, Ma'm, I would highly encourage ya to turn off da music, roll down da windas and just take a listen every once in awhile. You never know what ya'll hear and possibly be able to fix early on." I have taken his chastisement to heart and have tried to listen carefully at least once a week.
Just over 5 days ago, I was actually driving WITHOUT kids, and I noticed a new noise. I had Al listen to it, and he confirmed that I wasn't crazy, it wasn't a normal noise. Once Al described it to Stacy (the mechanic) he asked for me to bring it in for him to test drive. When he walked into the waiting room at the shop, the look on his face told me the prognosis wasn't good. He said, "I hate to tell ya this, but I'm pretty sure it's your transmission and that kin be a bit pricey." He then sent me to Aamco to have them confirm his diagnosis. Unfortunately, Stacy is rarely wrong- he works on everyone's car where Al works and has an impeccable reputation. Aamco confirmed what Stacy said. I was then encouraged to think about trading it in as the transmission wasn't bad yet and we could still get a good value for the Pilot.
I was devastated. We had 2 payments left on the Pilot! We had bought a Honda because we wanted it to last forever- and it hadn't even lasted 105K miles! Chagrined, we test-drove some other used SUVs and even some minivans. We even found an amazing deal on a Honda minivan, but when it came time to actually put an offer in, Al just couldn't do it. I was a little irritated and surprised, but I knew I needed respect his decesion. We left the dealership prepared to just put the money into the Pilot and hope that this was a fluke repair.
Once home, Al started to do more research on-line to see if anyone else had had this issue- or anything like it with the minivan. He was shocked to find out that our Pilot's transmission had actually been recalled right before we purchased it! He made a call to Honda and found out that there had been a class-action lawsuit against Honda about this whole transmission issue- and that the engine warranty had been extended from 100K to 105K! Our mileage was 104, 940. We had 60 miles to "spare"!
We drove the Pilot to the local Honda dealership and sure enough, they confirmed that our transmission was going and yes, they would repair it and several other things, all for FREE! I am even getting a rental car for 2 days while they do the repairs! I am so thankful that God gave Al a sense of hesitation about the minivan and the wisdom to Google Honda Transmission Problems. So I guess it really is true- Honda's DON'T die! Hopefully after all this work, my Pilot will run for another 100K miles without incident! And for the record, this is the 1st "problem" we have had with our Pilot!
Just over 5 days ago, I was actually driving WITHOUT kids, and I noticed a new noise. I had Al listen to it, and he confirmed that I wasn't crazy, it wasn't a normal noise. Once Al described it to Stacy (the mechanic) he asked for me to bring it in for him to test drive. When he walked into the waiting room at the shop, the look on his face told me the prognosis wasn't good. He said, "I hate to tell ya this, but I'm pretty sure it's your transmission and that kin be a bit pricey." He then sent me to Aamco to have them confirm his diagnosis. Unfortunately, Stacy is rarely wrong- he works on everyone's car where Al works and has an impeccable reputation. Aamco confirmed what Stacy said. I was then encouraged to think about trading it in as the transmission wasn't bad yet and we could still get a good value for the Pilot.
I was devastated. We had 2 payments left on the Pilot! We had bought a Honda because we wanted it to last forever- and it hadn't even lasted 105K miles! Chagrined, we test-drove some other used SUVs and even some minivans. We even found an amazing deal on a Honda minivan, but when it came time to actually put an offer in, Al just couldn't do it. I was a little irritated and surprised, but I knew I needed respect his decesion. We left the dealership prepared to just put the money into the Pilot and hope that this was a fluke repair.
Once home, Al started to do more research on-line to see if anyone else had had this issue- or anything like it with the minivan. He was shocked to find out that our Pilot's transmission had actually been recalled right before we purchased it! He made a call to Honda and found out that there had been a class-action lawsuit against Honda about this whole transmission issue- and that the engine warranty had been extended from 100K to 105K! Our mileage was 104, 940. We had 60 miles to "spare"!
We drove the Pilot to the local Honda dealership and sure enough, they confirmed that our transmission was going and yes, they would repair it and several other things, all for FREE! I am even getting a rental car for 2 days while they do the repairs! I am so thankful that God gave Al a sense of hesitation about the minivan and the wisdom to Google Honda Transmission Problems. So I guess it really is true- Honda's DON'T die! Hopefully after all this work, my Pilot will run for another 100K miles without incident! And for the record, this is the 1st "problem" we have had with our Pilot!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)