Happy Birthday! ...and in Limbo

Today is Dave's birthday. He's getting to be an old man now...hehehe...but I shouldn't speak to much because I'm older. We took the kids with us for a birthday late lunch at La Hacienda (yummy!). Not much else is planned because it's Monday and Dave has school tomorrow, but I hope he had a great day. Happy Birthday Dave!
We are now in limbo for our move. Our manager told us this morning that the former tenants of our new apartment are not out yet, they will be tomorrow. But that puts everything else behind and so we probably won't get to move in until middle of next week...which means we only get 1 day to move out. She said she may find a way to work around the dates so that we may have an extra day, but with Dave not getting home from work until after 9am and being in school until 5pm, leaving me with 2 active toddlers that don't let me get much done, an extra day does not help much, but it's better than nothing I guess.
Dave applied to 4 pharmacy schools for the fall. Two of them have already sent the "We're sorry..." letters. Those 2 schools were the only 2 that would keep us here in California, so now we will definately be moving out of state is Dave is accepted this year. Today, we received a birthday card for Dave from the school in Georgia. We thought that was interesting. Dave showed me the card and said, "Is this good news?" Keeping our fingers crossed.
Please keep us in your prayers that the best situation for us will happen, whatever it is that Heavenly Father has planned =)

Digital TV update

Some of you might remember this post from almost a year ago complaining about digital tv. I thought it would be appropriate to give a little update on that front.

It seems that, when it comes to digital tv antennae, you really do get what you pay for. At the time of the first post, I bought the cheapest, $10 antenna @ Wal-mart. It looked to be standard bunny ears with a knob to fine tune. Even in the summer on days w/o wind we would still get pixelation and a crappy digital signal. We constantly had to adjust the knob and recently, after the kids started bending and breaking the ears, to get the best reception you would lose one channel entirely but to get that one channel, the reception on the other channels would be horrendous. We finally decided to get a new antennae since the kids were destroying it. At Wal-mart we saw an antenna that had no bunny ear, just a flat disk that you rotate to fine tune it. then we saw a flat rectangle that said it had 360degree reception so no fine tuning necessary. BINGO! both of these were more expensive but we went with the rectangle. We plug it in and rescan and we gain 3 more channels we didn't have (granted they are the SD counterpart to the HD channels we already got, but still... its the principle of the matter) And the best part is...there has been little to none pixelating/bad recption on any channel! SCORE! so when it comes to DTV antennae, you definately get what you pay for.

One Of The Best Pieces Of Advice

...I got when I first became a mom. My aunt told me to let my baby's will become my own, then my will would become my baby's.
Schedules sometimes just won't work. One of the biggest lessons you learn as a mom...Sacrifice. Most of the time, we won't get what we want, our baby won't do what we want then to. When Jaron was a newborn, he would wake up for an hour at around 5am. Dave would get so frustrated. I did at first too. Then I thought about it. I could stay frustrated and look back on this as a horrible experience, or I could make it memorable. So I decided I would put a Kenneth Cope CD on and sing to Jaron until he fell back to sleep. Just the other day I remembered this experience. I really do look back at it fondly. It was a great experience and I don't remember how frustrated I was. I remember it as wonderful moments I had with my son.

We're Moving!

Yep, after being on the wait list for over a year, we're getting a 3 bedroom! We're excited! We move in a month, so lots of packing to do. Because of the apartmant rules and regulations, we only have 24 hours to vacate our apartment once we receive our key to the new apartment. Our manager is hoping to have our new apartment ready (the current occupant has to leave first) by Feb 26th so that we can have the weekend to move (office is not open on weekends, so that's how we can get a couple more days). If not, then we will have to move on a weekday, have only 24 hours to move out and clean, all while Dave is in school and working. No matter what, we could use all the help we can get. Anyone want to volunteer? Please keep us in your prayers that we'll have the best scenario =)

Crib Recalls, Parents Lack of Common Sense, and Sometimes Duck Tape Can't Fix It

Last night we found out that our crib was recalled. Oh joy! Our first crib was recalled a month before Lara was born. It was recalled due to reports of the drop side falling on it's own. We returned it and got our money back. We then bought a new crib that was not a drop side and made by a different company. Problem solved, right? How about no. There have been reports of slats breaking...not so cool if it breaks and your child's head gets stuck in it. This company wants to replace parts instead of having us return the crib for a refund. Really Dorel Asia!?! You need to replace all four sides of the crib and we are not suppose to use the crib until we send you photos of the manufacture stickers and you verify that you need to replace the sides. Then we have to wait for you to send us the new parts. Luckily we have a Pack N Play for our daughter to sleep in, but what if we didn't? Yeah, try to figure that one out.
Unfortunately a child died because of this defect. Sad that a child died, but the parents should have used common sense on this one. The crib slat was already broken from a prior child using it; and a month before the death, the baby's head ended up stuck between the rails. That should have been a clue. Instead they used duct tape to "fix" the crib. Hmmm...maybe duct tape can't fix everything. The parents have been charged with child endangerment.
When it comes to equipment and my child's safety, I find myself fairly anal in being extra cautious. I'd rather not have my child's death on my conscious just so I could save a few bucks. But maybe that's just me.

New Year's Gratitude

With everything that is/has been going on, I feel I need to make a post about things that I'm grateful for.

• My husband's job. It's so nice that he has one and that we have full benefits even though it's part time.
• Our home. We love our apartment. We love it's size and how nice it is, and that rent is cheap.
• School. I'm glad that Dave is able to go to school and is afforded an education to further his educational goals. Financial Aid is great too!
• Family. I'm grateful that we have family and for the help they have given us.
• I'm grateful to those who opened their homes to us when we have stayed in Sacramento.
• My children. They are wonderful. They are happy and full of life. They can make my heart smile. I'm grateful for the days when they are not driving me crazy =)
• My husband. I don't know how he is able to do everything he does, but he does. He puts up with my moodiness when my hormones are going crazy. He takes care of our children when I can't. I don't give him enough credit.
• Heavenly Father. He loves me and has carried me through so many trials. I look back at events in my life and don't know how I've made it through, that's how I know he's taken care of me.
• The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful I have it in my life. I know I'm loved and I know where I can turn to for help.
• My Savior, Jesus Christ. Without him, repentance is not possible. Without him, I would not have the opportunity to return to my Heavenly Father.
• My Testimony.
• The Book of Mormon. It truly is another testament of Jesus Christ.
• The Bible.
• The Holy Ghost. I love that I can have him as my constant guide, to lead me on the right path.
• Being a full tithe payer. I know we have received so many blessings by making the sacrifice to pay our tithing. There's no way we could be where we are if we hadn't.
• My friends. I love all of you! Thank you for listening and being there for me!
• The freedoms we have by living in this country.

I'm so grateful for everything. This is just a small list. There is so much more, but I'm keeping it shorter for tonight =)

The Quilts Are Coming Soon

I have mentioned before that I would post pictures of my quilts on my blog, and I have received requests from others to post pictures as well. Just letting everyone know that I plan on taking pictures soon and I will get the pictures posted soon...before I forget =)