Shocking

I don't use a credit card very often. I don't have a good reason, the free flights and Disney dollars are great when I actually do use them, I just have my debit card in my front wallet pocket and it's become a habit to grab and swipe that one. Probably a good thing in the end. Other than big purchases that I know I'll just pay off the next month and get granddaddy size rewards, I'm a debit girl. Anyway, I've been using my Disney card recently because we are planning a trip to D-land in August and I want the bucks. It's nice to not have to pay for food on these trips.

I'm mentioning this because while paying bills I saw that I had a bill from my Disney credit card...a little unusual for us.... and for a moment I forgot I had been using it all month, for groceries and our trip to Vegas. I honestly wondered if someone had stolen my card.....not a great feeling. No worries, I quickly remembered and all is well. But as I opened the bill, I saw an interesting little grid. I hardly ever open my credit statements when they come, I remember what I bought and pay it off, no need to review it. But I am positive this is a relatively new graph they have added to their statements. I don't think I've ever seen it before. Do you know what I'm talking about? It tells you how long it will take to pay the entire balance if you only pay the minimum required payment. It's INSANE.

You may all know this. Surely we've all been warned about consumer debt, but this really did shock me. For a balance of $533.72 it would take me 8 YEARS to pay it off! And if I paid double the minimum balance (whoopee) it would take 3 years! That's a car loan, folks.

So, I paid the full amount, and then I gingerly placed the bill in my "paid" file and made a silent vow to only charge to a credit card what I know I can pay off the next month. Scary stuff.

Workin' at the Car Wash

Just don't tell my sister he's washing a car in the Kenneth Cole outfit she gave him.

Mixed Signals.

Nate had to buy Gray a new bib. We left his only one in Washington, then when we bought him a new one we left that one in Vegas. Very responsible of us, I know.

I like to buy him those plastic heavy duty ones that you wipe off and use over and over, so when Nate went to buy him his third bib, that's what he came home with...or so he thought. He actually bought one that is almost a shirt, it has arm holes so the bib covers the shoulders. Whatever, it fulfills it's purpose. Even better, I read the label and it says in big bold letters:


Machine Wash!! That means when it gets really nasty I can just throw it in the washer without having to spend precious minutes scrubbing the thing with steel wool. Or can I? On the back of that very same label, we have the Care Instructions:





I'm confused. Really confused. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but that seems like conflicting reports to me. To use "Machine wash" as a selling point and then instruct people to NOT machine wash? It says the same thing in Spanish, too, so it's not a typo.

Alas. Break out the steel wool.

Deprived

If you haven't ever played Mall Madness, you are seriously missing out. Nate and I played that game together last night. Three times in a row. We thoroughly enjoyed it!


It was kind of a random Sunday. In addition to playing Mall Madness for the first time, we also made coconut milk together. We got two coconuts in our bountiful basket and turned them into yummy coconut milk for some future Thai recipes. So excited!

I took Grayden to the church meeting formerly known as a farewell for the guy who was my "husband" in the last show I was in. I realized how spoiled I am always having Nate next to me in church to help with Gray. Without him there, I was sweating when the meeting was over. On my mission there was a mother of four kids under the age of 6 whose husband was the bishop, and she had to deal with all of them by herself. I have a new respect for her.

Blogging may take a back seat for a bit. In the next 5 weeks we've got Father's Day, a cousin's wedding reception in Vegas, Nate's birthday, the Fourth, our fifth anniversary, and my birthday. Gotta love July. If I'm really on top of things, I'll blog about all of these events as they happen with excellent pictures to document.....it could happen.

Explanations:

You deserve one.

First, the new title picture was changed to one that more closely represents our life. A picture of me and Nate alone and carefree, laughing on a hike up the mountain certainly doesn't apply quite as well as the little guy terrorizing the house. Much more appropriate.

And the next explanation is to let you all know why we aren't living in Vegas yet, since we were supposed to go in May....then June......then in 2 to 3 months.......and finally, the move is planned for November. Actually, there is not much of an explanation, the company just changed their plans. And ours, by default. I'm betting things will change again in a week or two. We'll keep all interested parties posted, but for now, we're staying in Phoenix for....a bit.

Party Heartily

I never posted Grayden's birthday party pictures. I made two round cakes, one for the adults and one for the birthday boy. He also got Ramen for dinner, his favorite food. Those things plus a balloon and the (Anderson) traditional Happy Birthday sign and box of cereal concluded the festivities.

Most of the pictures show him with one or both hands in the air, because Nate kept trying to teach him to put up one finger when asked how old he is. Also, you can mock me about the number of pictures, but I didn't take them. My sister and her husband were visiting from China and they took them. I may or may not have threatened them with their lives to get a good one, but you can't prove that.















I think it'll be a good year for him.

Adding to the List

Mostly for journaling purposes. Ye be warned.

Last night Brianna, age four, woke up twice telling me her ear hurts. I finally gave her some junior motrin, but she ended up sleeping next to me....(with the kicking, passing gas, talking, and laughing all in her sleep, I can't say I slept much)....she mentioned it again this morning about an hour after she woke up. I checked it with an otoscope and her sore ear is dark red. Fab! So, the four-year-old has an ear infection and, to top it off, Grayden is cutting a tooth. He cut his bottom two teeth over Christmas in Chicago, three of his top four during a February trip to Utah, and now in Washington he is getting two more on the bottom. What is it with this kid and teething while traveling?

Grayden has done other crazy things here, like weaning himself off a bottle. He weaned himself off breastfeeding months ago, and had no problem switching from formula to milk in April, but before we got here he loved having his one daily bottle of milk before bedtime, and it was a great way to get him to drink milk since he prefers water in his sippy cup. Ever since we got here, he takes a swig or two from his bottle, but then is done with it. I wouldn't mind, only now I have to think of creative ways to get some milk in him. Also, he has not crawled at all since we got here. At all! When we left Phoenix if he fell while walking and he was close enough to where he wanted to be, he crawled the rest of the way. I think it's because he saw the little kids walking, and he's decided he's one of them (that might explain the sudden anti-bottle attitude), because crawling ceased to happen the day we flew in and he hasn't gone back. It's led to many bumps on the head.

My sister Chandra left me about 40 frozen Dream Dinners. They are nice if you're in a bind, but I like cooking and I honestly haven't loved the taste of them. I can't make anything too exotic because these kids are super picky, but they liked my homemade spagetti sauce and they'll eat most things if put over rice.

I found Hostess raspberry filled powdered donuts at the Walmart here! They don't have them in Phoenix! When I can't stomach a Dream Dinner, it's a good alternative. Feel free to place bets on how much weight I'll gain in this two and a half weeks.

Josh, age 10, got Grayden out of bed this morning (I don't know why he suddenly felt the need, I've gotten him every other morning) and gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast. Peanut Butter. Awesome. Because that specific allergy and many others run in Nate's family, I've been told by the doctor to wait until he's 18 months or two years to give him peanut butter. So now I have to watch for allergies....he had two bad diapers in a row right after eating, I hope that doesn't mean anything. Apparently the first time doesn't really matter as much, but the second time can be worse so I'm a little nervous....I wouldn't even know how to get to a hospital around here. When I got here I did buy a peanut free almond butter and told the kids it's because Gray can't have peanuts yet, but who can expect a ten-year-old to remember much of anything.

And lastly, Chandra is choreographing the local "Joseph" production and apparently told the director I could help out if he needed me since I dance and have done that show twice.....which he misunderstood as "Mandy can come to rehearsal three times a week and teach the dances." So, when I'm not watching 7 kids here at home, I'm teaching 20 teenagers how to dance 60s style, calypso style, and partner square dancing!

There you have it, a day in the life. It makes me laugh to know that many mothers of multiple children are reading this thinking, yeah, so what? I agree, as long as I make it through the next week with no broken bones, I'll be happy.