6 Quirks

I've been tagged by my friend Becky to post 6 quirks about myself. I asked Gus last night to help me think of some and he wouldn't shut up, just kidding. Here are some things that you may or may not know about me.

1- I HATE my feet being touched and I hate people's feet touching me (not too much cuddling going on in my bed!) I think it all stems back to my big sis popping my toes when I was little. Yes Jen, I am blaming this one on you!

2- I have to have things symmetrical. From pictures on my wall to things on my counter, they all have to be balanced. I even tell people that 3 kids are good because it is symmetrical. One in the middle with one on each side!

3- My kitchen has to be clean before I go to bed. This one is from my mom. I was kinda bad at this when I was pregnant, but it has gotten better. I can't sleep knowing my kitchen is dirty.

4- I put salt on my ham fried rice. Yes, we can say so-di-um, but it is so much better than soy sauce and so tasty! Try it some time.

5- Everything of mine is one the right. I didn't realize this until I got married, but I am very 'right'. Haha. If you look at our bed, I sleep on the right. If you look at our closets, mine is on the right. My stuff is in the right side of the medicine cabinet. I pack things in the right side of a suitcase. Weird, huh?

6- I love the smell of dirt and even craved it when I was pregnant with Alivia. I love when they plow fields and I can smell the wet dirt. I think this goes back to my childhood when I did a little more than make mud pies!


Okay, now I tag Heidi, Jen, Holly(who needs her own blog), Bonnie, Melanie M., Lois, Janet, Laura, Darlyn, Felicia, Hailey and Elaine!

How to get help at Wal-mart

From my experience today, here is a sure fire way to get employees to help a customer for a 5:1 ration.

1. Get a quart of paint--apple red to match my kitchen for touch up.
2. Have lady mix it, dry it and tap on the lid.
3. Put in cart in the child seat because it is empty (children are with dad at home, yea!)
4. Do some more shopping in fabric section.
5. Get some material cut.
6. Put material in cart and start to push.
7. Watch as the red paint slides through the leg hole of the child seat and watch it fall to the floor, spilling all of its contents as it lands upside down.
8. Silently curse under your breath and tell the lady it spilled.
9. Have lady call in help over the page system so everyone in Wal-Mart knows that there is a major spill in fabrics.
10. Blush with embarrassment as 5 employees quickly gather around to help. Help clean up the globs of paint.

Guaranteed to get employees around you in 3 minutes or less! Welcome to Wal-Mart!!!

Summer

Since our summer is finally winding down (and it has been a very busy one), I thought it would be fun to show our summer in pictures. So, here you go, the Gus Blad family summer in 30 seconds (give or take a few).

Zach's First Day

Okay, Heidi, here is a new post. So demanding! Have you noticed that since we've been blogging we haven't talked on the phone as much? We are turning into introverts and won't know how to communicate with people face to face!



Anyway, Zach started school today. Yesterday was the first day in the district, but Kindergartners had orientation. Zach was supposed to be going to Tendoy, but there were too many kids and so they had the overflow go to an afternoon session at Syringa. I honestly don't know how Zach was part of that overflow, but oh well. This district is messed up. Laura works at Syringa and pulled some strings to get us into a morning class. I am so glad she did! His teacher is Mrs. Swan and seems really cool.

We took him over today and when we left, Parker was crying. He wanted Zach to come with us. It was kinda hard leaving my oldest in the hands of strangers. I kept worrying about him. Would he find good friends? Would he be alone? Who would he play with? I shouldn't have worried because when we picked him up, he was saying good bye to his buddies in his class. He's just like Gus! I signed up for PTA and was put in charge of Teacher Appreciation. If anyone has ideas, let me know! I think it will be a good year for Zach and give me the chance to be involved in school again!

I Have Some Good News

Last night Zach was laying on the couch at my in-law's while we were on the floor playing Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on the computer (we are not smarter than a 5th grader), when Zach pops up and says "I have some good news!" We looked at him and blood is coming out of his mouth and he says "I lost a toof". He lost his front tooth! Now he really is talking funny. I didn't realize how true that song 'All I Want For Christmas' is until I heard him talk. He's funny.

My good news this week is that I don't live in a pink house anymore! Yeah!! I also haven't had to change a Parker poopy diaper in 3 days now. I don't know which one I am more excited about! Anyway, we painted our house last week. Gus really did a great job. He thought it would only take a day or two, but we will have touch-ups to do. Brian and Laura came and their kids came and helped on Monday night. If it weren't for them, we probably would still be painting! Thanks guys! Here is a before and after picture:

At one time there was white, pink and brown on the house and it totally looked like neapolatin ice cream! I'm just glad that our brown didn't turn pink. Thanks to the Columbia paint man for that one! It was a busy week.

Babies Don't Keep

I found this way cute saying on one of my sister's friend's blog.

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For Babies grow up,
I've learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby,
and babies don't keep.

Alivia had her 2 month checkup yesterday. Can you believe it?? 2 months!! Time flies when you're not pregnant! She weighs 12 lbs 8 oz which is in the 90th percentile. Her height is also in the 90th percentile. I don't know where that came from! She is such a special baby. We love having her in our family.

Potty Training a Dog???

Tonight I was sweeping my kitchen floor after dinner (okay, not really right after dinner; it was after I had gone to JoAnn Fabrics after dinner, found some cute stuff...but that's another story). Parker was playing with a stuffed dog, one of those Fur Real things, and he said that he peeed on him. He ran to the bathroom and I heard the toliet lid open. I grabbed my camera and snuck in on him. Here is what I found:

The little munchkin was making his dog go potty--even the right way. This is so frustrating to me because it has been an uphill battle trying to potty train him (Parker, not the dog). He is just not interested, but apparently he totally understands the whole poop and pee thing. I am just short of letting Parker run around naked so he will go in the toliet, but knowing him he will find a little corner and do his business and not do it in the toliet. ARGGGHHH!!! Any helpful hints will sure be appreciated! I guess I've successfully potty trained a stupid toy dog. Forget about the 2 year old!

Dr. Pepper Days

I will be the first to admit that I love Dr. Pepper way too much. It's sad when I know who has the best (K&B on Hiline) and worst (Maverick on Poline) fountain drinks in town. I seem to have more of the wonderful nectar of life on stressful days. Yesterday was a big Dr. Pepper day. Parker was stressing me out to the max. He was fighting me on everything from breakfast to potty to shoes (can we say hormonal, or is this too early????) I went up to Rigby to see my family and pick raspberries. I got there and was locked out of my parent's house which added to my stress. I had four kids (I had my niece with us) in a hot car after traveling for an hour. Anyway, my sister Holly (who needs to start her own blog) got me a big 44 ouncer from Stop & Go and it really saved my life. Okay, not literally, but it probably saved my kids' lives! Thanks Holly (who needs to start her own blog)! Love ya sis'!

We miss Zach!

Every year my in-laws do a cousins camp for the grandkids 5 years and older. Zach has been gone since Monday and let me tell you, I don't realize how much he helps me! Parker is even feeling the effects. Last night I was helping him say our family prayers. I said "Please bless Zach will be safe". Parker just grew really quiet, then you should have seen the look on his face. Yes I was peeking! He started to cry big crocodile tears and said "I miss Zach!" That was the end of our prayers. He didn't even stop crying for Zach until he went to sleep! We love Zach!!!

Reunions, reunions, and rubies

Well, we kept very busy this weekend to say the least. We started out down by Logan for the Carl Blad reunion. That is Gus's grandpa. We represented the Merlin Blad family sporting our green shirts (thanks Janet, they were great!) There was lots of good food and good fun. Here is a picture of us who where there:

We then went to the Browning reunion. This is my grandmother's side. My grandma, June, and her sister Joylene are the only living children of my great-grandpa. It was great to see everyone there. Alivia got her middle name from my grandma. Here is a pic of them together:

Finally, last night we went out for my mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary. The 40th anniversary is the ruby, so we met at Ruby River Steakhouse and ate. We were sealed together 9 years ago, so next year we will have to really do something fun!
Love ya' Mom and Dad!!