"You dumped out the whole loaf??"

I find myself asking questions similar in nature all day, every day with my funny little boy corban. He is getting to be quite self sufficient I guess you could say. He will nab the corner of a bread loaf sack hanging off the edge of the counter, and pull it down, untie the twist tie, and usually just remove a single slice (avoiding the heal of coarse. I did teach him that ;) ) but lately he's discovered the art of holding any sack by the bottom corner and letting go with the other hand that was stabilizing whatever was being held in the bag, thus dumping the contents onto the floor. Which is fine with a sack of peek-a-blocks but not so great with bread. luckily it was the butt end of the loaf so there were only 3-4 peices left. To brag a little...he did just try to put the slice he had taken out of the stack on the floor back when I questioned his endeavors. Don't worry, I told him he could eat it since he got it out. I'm not heartless. ;)
Anyway, I just kinda have this desire to post about a whole hodge podge (for lack of a better way to phrase it) of things that have been on my mind. Spring usually does that to me. Here we go: Does anyone else every really really really want to throw caution to the wind and take an impromptu road trip someplace??? Someone always comes along when I'm thinking this and rains a whole bunch of "responsibility" on me. I don't know whether this desire comes from being a stay at home mom and wanting to go on a new adventure with my little heathen, or wanting to see how much car time corban can really stand being an angel, or if it's just simply I've been on one and only one road trip that was completely wonderful (even if I was nauseated almost the whole trip because I was about 12 weeks pregnant). I just don't know the reasoning, but I am just hankerin for a road trip. HEY I just had a thought! maybe it's me missing the road trips to places like lake powell and yellowstone. Those were always the greatest. Family+cousins+warheads (usually) =good times.
next item on my mind: jack is officially leaving Carrabba's. They (jack and carrabba's as an entity) are leaving each other on good terms. That's pretty much all I can "officially" tell about but there will be more to come as far as dates that he's actually leaving, and a new job and such but just so you don't worry, he has a prospect in the works right now that is quote "80 percent sure things will work out on our end" (perspective employer said to jack on the phone).
Next: our contract is up on april 30th and if we want to stay for another year we'd have to sign a 15 month contract on top of the extra 100 bucks a month they're upping the rent. In other words, we can't afford that extra 100 bucks on top of the extra 150 a month we're payin in my fun appendicitis experience. To make a long subject longer: we're moving. don't know where exactly. but we're moving come the end of april.
Kinda next but mostly connected to the last one is that we're super super house hungry. I think that's pretty self explanitory: House Hungry.
You think this is a long enough post? I think yes. I hope you've enjoyed the ramblings of an unorganized crazy person.
any comments on house hunting or apartments in the greater salt lake area (including the draper and more westward valley) would be greatly appreciated!

I'll tell you what...

Man oh man...my angel baby wasn't quite his usual angel-self tonight when my family and I went to Stella's grill to see my cousin Ryan off to Iraq. I had no stinkin idea what to do! Here's the scenario. We walk into this cute little place off of 900 E. in SLC, corban had just barely fallen asleep in the car 30 seconds before we turned into the parking lot so he was just kinda waking up. We see the Kirk/Wells fam. around the corner of the door way and corban is just smiling at everyone, like he normally does...you know that shy sideways smile tired toddlers do??? anyway, he's pretty mellow at first and then he see's that I am wanting him to talk to the other kids there and say hi and he starts into a mood that I've never seen him in before! I was letting him walk around the table by himself until he wandered into the other portion of the dining room where he banged on some LOUD wooden chairs. So I carried him back to the table and he lost it. he wouldn't sit on my lap, he wouldn't sit in the high chair (and I didn't want to start the high chair fiasco until food had arrived) he wouldn't sit on grandma's lap, he just kept doing that toddler arch that negates you bending their body into any sort of sitting position. then he started wailing and whining. We tried sitting on the chairs, and the bench, neither were to his satisfaction. The only thing left was to take him outside. Did you people notice the weather in Salt Lake around six tonight???? two words for you. BLI-ZARD. anyway, I got him into the carseat after breaking a very good sweat trying to fight the toddler arch, and turned on the car, put in good ol' josh groban and started trying to navigate an unfamiliar neighborhood during near-white out conditions while my son is just wailing at me...he did eventually stop because he fell asleep. There was no way I was waking him up to take him back inside the restaurant so that I could fight him all over again while trying to get a few bites of my dinner into my mouth so my bestest mom in the whole world brought my food out to me in my little igloo so that I could eat while he slept. phew. This sounds as though I'm being facetious about acting shocked about his actions tonight but I really really am!!! this was totally uncharacteristic. And of coarse it's a night where jack's at work so I don't have a back up ya know??? I swear that he is normally a joy to take out to eat. He shows off all his little "tricks," and shares crayons with other kids, and eats his food, and says please and thank you. No joke. PLEASE and THANK YOU. in his little baby signs of coarse.

well, my venting is all done so now I can just tell you to click on tina's link on the side of my page so that you can all check out her post called LOOOONNNNGGGG POST or something like that, it has some of the really great pics that she did of corban for me on a digi-scrapbook page! Super cute! I was going to tell ya'll about it sooner when I typed up a whole entry about stuff I was grateful for then our stupid wireless went down, and it hadn't saved anything that I had typed so I kinda forgot for a minute. Tina does an amazing job and digital scrapbooking and you should all check out her link on my page, then also click on her link to her design blog if you've got a sec. thanks a bunch.

here's a pic of corban's pony tail getting ready for that girls night in last week. sorry you can't see him very clearly-he's wiggly.

oh and ps thanks for all the comments. I love getting comments. that's my fav. even when it just shows you that someone read your entry you get a warm fuzzy ya know??? ttyl

I just finished this blog entry and then watched this video that my grandma sent to me...I'm so heartless. Watch this ****TISSUES REQUIRED******* http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/570/99-Balloons

Girls night

I had some chiquitas over tonight for a girls night in. it was a blast, I made mini cupcakes and cheese fondue. yummy. anyway I'm going to bed now. jacks staying up playing halo.

silly boys

Here's a funny toddler video for those of you that need a chuckle. (Sorry it's all grainy, major bummer...)


He just started doing this all on his own the other night so we laughed and clapped to encourage him until I could get some on my camera phone. I'm not sure if he's the ham for attention or we're just too easy a crowd... ;)


Okee doke I'm doing my long overdue "tagged duties" and I'll add some latest corban pics!

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Clean flix (personal fav...get paid to watch whatever I want while doing nothing else!!! and take home whatever four movies I wanted at a time as long as I'd like for free??? it was a slow slow store.)
2. Viewmont Child Care Center (crazy underpaid....)
3. Express (loved loved loved getting a discount on their clothes and loved working retail!)
4. Adventure Time (another child care position which was a hoot but sad because not a single child in the zebra's class (3-4 yr olds) that I'd sub in had a dad living at home.


Four movies I would (or have) watch over and over:
1. You've got mail (cliche I know)
2. Cars (for corban's sake)
3. Pillow Talk (woot woo rock hudson....)
4. Notting Hill (I have to get rid of it because corban's starting to copy cat things he hears in movies and those brits just don't use the same manners when it comes to the f word...)

Four places I have lived:
1. (this is going to be saaaaad.)
2. Orem, UT
3. Centerville, UT
4. why are you still hangin around this question silly? I'm done....sad I know.

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. House
2. The Office (when my grandma invites me over for a girls night which is one of my absolute favvvvvs)
3. Everybody loves Raymond (did I mention our tv's busted so I can only watch old seasons of this stuff on DVD?)
4. Used to love America's next top model when I could watch it

Four places I have been:
1. San Fransisco
2. Oahu, HA
3. Zions
4. Yellow Stone (in the wintertime on snowmobiles best vacation ever!)

People who email me (regularly):
1. Mom
2. Grandma A
3. DeAnn
4. Facebook crazies...

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Mac and Cheese. yes I'm coming out of the closet.
2. Chocolate-any and EVERY kind!!!
3. anything expensive and really pretty and small ;)
4. King Crab from Flemmings...their butter reduction is heavenly...

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. getting a massage I've never had one but my back is voting that I try it out.
2. sitting in a clean apartment? (that I didn't have to clean)
3. Hawaii (my lucky in-laws are there right now, I offered to join them.)
4. Getting any other spa treatment

Four Things I am looking forward to in 2008:
1. getting jack away from carrabba's!!!!!!!!!!! I just broke my exclamation point button...jk
2. i would say paying off my appendectomy but that's not until march 2009 *tear*
3. finding out more of what corban has to say (he really really really wants to talk!)
4. the half way mark for ben's mission!

Four friends I tag:
1. Tina
2. Gwyn
3. Sara Davia
4. Kristen Phillips
*copy and paste then delete my answers and put your own down*


Now that I'm finished with feeling guilty for not playing tag we can move on :) here are my two cute boys when we were all driving down to utah county for my cousin erica's wedding. Take note that this was a short lived sweet moment between the two of them because corban thinks that when I tell same "No!" I'm hitting him, (which I'm not), so now he thinks it's funny to smack my puppy....we're working on it though, and sam is being better than you could ever expect a 9 month old puppy to be. he just kinda squints and flinches when corban's smackin him. poor guy.

Oh I have one more video to add of these two yahoo's. It's off of my phone so I can't guarantee that it'll be very clear but here are the basics. I bought corban a hand held bubble blower that has a little fan so it makes a little whirring noise if you push the button. Sam doesn't like the sound of it and tries to kinda hide from it (he's kind of a wussy puppy when it comes to unfamiliar sights and sounds) while corban wants to play "chase the puppy" which is a game where we chase Sam around the table and bark and he runs all over too. Diagram that sentence. ha.

Boo to the wireless...

My wireless internet connection at my apartment is apparently poopy folks, and I don't know how to change it. But alas I am in centerville while Jack is in Colorado for some rediculous meeting until wednesday, which means I can post from my parents computer. Let me know what this tagging thing is and maybe I can play, it looks fun. man not having internet really kicks ya in the pants when you do all your bill paying on line with paperless statements and such...Yikes! anyway, it's just about midnight and I know that the second I go to bed corban will wake up because he's not in his own bed but I'd better just brave it and go get some rest. I'll finish tomorrow. (man like I haven't said that about a TRILLION times in my life)

true story

So, here's an email that my great aunt DeAnn sent to me...soooooo true sometimes!

AN OLD MAN WAS GROCERY SHOPPING WITH HIS GRANDSON. THE TODDLER WASCRYING AND AT TIMES SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS.AS THE OLD GENTLEMAN WALKED UP AND DOWN THE AISLES, PEOPLE COULD HEARHIM SPEAKING IN A SOFT VOICE...'WE ARE ALMOST DONE, ALBERT... TRY NOT TO CRY, ALBERT... LIFE WILL GET BETTER, ALBERT...'AS HE APPROACHED THE CHECKOUT STAND, HE CAREFULLY BRUSHED THE TODDLER'S TEARS FROM HIS EYES AND SAID AGAIN,'TRY NOT TO CRY, ALBERT... WE WILL BE HOME SOON, ALBERT...'AS HE WAS PAYING THE CASHIER, THE TODDLER CONTINUED TO CRY AS A YOUNGWOMAN IN LINE BEHIND HIM SAID, 'SIR, I THINK IT IS WONDERFUL HOW SWEET YOU ARE BEING TO YOUR LITTLE ALBERT.'THE OLD GENTLEMAN BLINKED HIS EYES A COUPLE OF TIMES BEFORE SAYING . . .' MY GRANDSON'S NAME IS JOHN........ I'M ALBERT..........'

I kinda cheated tonight on my doc's orders and carried corban in his car seat, plus a huge sack of toys, in from the car tonight because I didn't want to wake him up. and of corse there weren't any close parking spots left so I had to park further away...so I was in essence saying all those things to myself as a waddled under all the unfamiliar weight. oh, and p.s. if you're reading this mom or dad: don't kill me because I did it...you'd have done it too I bet :) Love ya'll! (as ben puts it in his emails.)

And last but not least here are some funny old people bumper stickers:
Florida: God's Waiting Room
Sometimes I Pee when I laugh
(and my favorite) The Snap crackle and Pop in the morning aint my freakin Rice Crispies!
gnight!

I'M ALIVE!!!!

Ha, it wasn't that big of an ordeal but I'll tell ya about it anyway. On January 2 at about 5 am (ish) I was woken up by the large amount of pain my abdomen was in. At first I was thinking: oh crap, this is what I get for eating a Ruben from Arby's at like 10:45 last night...then I realized it wasn't like a nauseated feeling but just a pain feeling. I tried peein just in case that would help...it didn't. Then a light bulb came on in my head! It's gotta just be cramps! Midol here I come! but at that point I was in more pain than cramps had ever caused so I was doubting it before I even could get back out of bed to find some midol. After rolling around in bed for a little longer clutching my guts I woke jack at 5:45 am. I told him I was going to die. Actually I think I just moaned that my tummy hurts....it wouldn't go away....he asked how the pain was feeling: sharp, wide spread, or just in one spot. He started pokin my belly to see where it was hurting, but before he could even ask "is it your appendix?" I said: "Don't worry it's not my appendix because it's on my right side not my left." Oh and for those of you that don't know (like me before all this happened, your appendix is actually on your right side, quite opposite of what I had been thinking for the majority of my life) Jack just kinda stared at me for a sec then said: "umm amanda, your appendix IS on your right side...." So we got on the phone with my mom, jack explained my symptoms to her and she voted that we head in to the ER. Then I tried to wake everyone else up that I've ever met by finding someone that would watch corban until my dad could drive down to get him. The ER checked me in right away, hooked up an IV, gave me some very nice pain meds intravenously, then sent me to get a CT scan. They loaded me up with iodine to show contrast on the CT scan, which felt bizarro!!! as it is flowing into your blood you can feel it because it creates a feeling as if youre burning up slowly from the inside (not painfully but uncomfortably warm) then it makes you feel like you are not in control of your bladder! We waited a while longer till the CT scan was developed and got a thumbs up for an emergency appendectomy (the surgery to remove my appendix that was considered to have acute appendicitis) They did the surgery, it went well, I just slept through it.

(Gorgeous!!! not)

Then I just had to sit tight for a couple days with an ice pack on my tummy. Then I got the worst news of my life: I was not allowed to lift anything 20 lbs or more for AT LEAST 2 weeks! eehhhhemmm corban is just over 20 lbs. My parents came to the rescue, they babysat corban the whole two weeks while I just bummed around their house uselessly for the duration. Corban had an absolute blast though with my dad. He tries to say Daniel now. My mom even let him go to town with some Dulce De Leche Yogurt, He was in Heaven!

Everything is peachy now though (Corban still uses my middle incision to push off of my lap with his elbow and that hurts but he can't help it). I had my check up yesterday and the doc gave me the go ahead to lift corban again, I just have to still take it easy, no throwing stuff, tossing corban into the air, stuff that would herniate the incision. So I'm home now for good. ahhh. what a long post. sorry. you're welcome to get back to your much more interesting life now. ;) Thanks for being interested.