Our BIG buys

We are quite the bargain shoppers. We've been looking especially hard the past few weeks for a few things that we thought we might need before moving to... well, as I describe it-- the middle of nowhere :)
Anyways, these purchases weren't necessarily "needs," but I thought I'd share anyways. Last week we found a double stroller on craigslist for a great deal. So TA-DA! Here it is!

I am really excited about this stroller. I was wondering how I was going to get two kids around with one stroller, but wonder no longer. I am now outfitted with the BeBeLove stroller.

And for our next purchase... you're not going to believe this one, but today we bought a truck. Tim's been looking around for a while, and all of the sudden felt like we needed to sell ours and get a new one (new for us of course, not brand new). So we drove out to Payson and spent the day looking at the truck, haggling a bit, and waiting for money to be transferred.
I don't really know much about it, except it's pretty :)
So for those of you that are wondering, or know more than me, here are the details:
It's a 2004 Dodge Diesel, manual transmission, and has four doors. That's the important stuff right? (This is why men purchase vehicles, not women...) Anyways, we're really excited about this truck. Hope you think it's as pretty as I do!

"Bye Honey"

Funny moment today... I just noticed that Brooklyn has started saying, "Bye honey." I have been waiting to see what she would start mimicking, and thank goodness, it's not a bad word :)

She hears me say that to Tim enough on the phone that she has started saying it to me and to Tim when she talks to him on the phone. Haha... awesome.

Cakes Again!

So last year about this time, I started taking the Wilton Cake classes with Rashann and Tana. Since moving I've wanted to take Course 3 and 4 to learn the fondant tricks... and I put it off until we're moving again. So I just barely managed to get Course 3 in, and I decided to teach myself Course 4 sometime in the future.

The point is, I had to make two cakes, my first cakes using fondant, and I'm proud with how they turned out and wanted to gloat a bit :) The first cake didn't turn out as well, but in my defense, it was the first time I had touched fondant, and I tried a homemade recipe. Let's just say that I have learned a lot, but still have lots to learn. The second cake is the finale from the Course 3. My first tiered cake.

Enough explaining, here are some pictures.

A few forgotten things

So as I was thinking about Tim being gone, I think I only really considered that I would miss him. Today I am realizing that there are several dilemnas with him being gone, and so, though I am really not trying to complain again, I am going to air the dilemnas.

1. His 7 week training is a great way to see the end of this pregnancy in a timeline of events. I mean, by the time he's done with both 7 week trainings, I will be about to have this baby! Sounds great right?... then I realized that 7 weeks= almost 50 days. Multiply that by 2 and you have 100 days. This means I have atleast 100 days to go... Wow, maybe we won't use his training as a timeline.

2. Me being the sole parent= me being the sole disciplinarian for a while= me being the bad guy= lame

3. There are very few cool one-player games

4. It is REALLY hard to be motivated to cook a decent meal for yourself and a child that just wants "cheese" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

5. I am not super concerned about showering, brushing my teeth, getting dressed... really just doing basic hygienic things when I know Brooklyn is the only person that will see me in close proximity for several days at a time. Yes I know, that's gross.

6. Even a half batch of chocolate chip cookies (which we generally make on Sunday afternoons) will be WAY too much

7. Ummmm... who is going to take the garbage out?!

8. Now I have WAY too much time to blog

3 hours of church is TOO LONG

I'm thinking about writing a letter to the First Presidency. I think they need to know that 3 hours of church is TOO LONG.

Now, I know what you're thinking-- "Buck up Amber, we all do it and we manage just fine."
Or maybe you're thinking-- "I have to deal with way more kids than you do, so quit your complaining!"
Or maybe even-- "We all get hungry in the 3 hours, take a few snacks and do a little less whining."

But no, this is not why I have a problem with 3 hours of church. I have a problem with 3 hours of church because 3 hours of church really means I'm gone for 3 1/2 hours. And I have a delicious roll recipe that calls to let the rolls thaw and rise for 3-5 hours. So I wait until I'm walking out the door to church before I pull the rolls out of the freezer. Then I rush home after church to bake them. But for some reason, my rolls only need 2 1/2 hours to rise here. Then they fall. And they fall hard. And they are no longer the melt-in-your-mouth rolls like my mom makes... they are flat hockey pucks, hardly worth making at all.



So there you have it. This is why 3 hours of church is TOO LONG. President Monson, with all due respect, I think we need to re-think our church scheduling.

Saga of a Lonely Wife

So Tim has just offially left for his first 7 week training period. Before I get into my whining/moaning/complaining I have to say I am in awe of wives that can handle their husband leaving for 12-18 months. I mean really, that is a LONG time to be alone (p.s. having kids around does not completely make up for a missing spouse). So to you men, women, and families, I applaud your patriotism and willingness to let your spouse/significant other leave for that long.

Right, so Tim just left. I've been bemoaning this up-coming leaving since I found out about it. Originally we were told that he would probably get to do his training in this area, which would mean he could still be home at night like normal, but that all changed in the past week or two. Grr... So much for accurate information from the Game and Fish.

I really shouldn't complain. He's just 3-4 hours away, so really, if anything happened, I could easily drive up there, or he could be back here in a matter of hours. Plus, we will probably be able to talk to him everyday on the phone. That's me being positive.

Now I'm going to be negative for a minute. Not because I have ANYTHING to complain out compared to MANY people, but because sometimes, you just need to complain. Sorry, you can skip the next section if you want.

I'm not a very good at being alone. I just don't like it. I like my moments of independence, but when it boils down to it, I like being around other people. And lets be real, I married Tim because I like being around him! So all else aside, I would not handle this next 7 weeks well. Then we throw in a critical variable: I'm pregnant. If you know nothing else about me, you may as well know this-- I'm not a very good pregnant person. I'm hormonal, and frankly, I just don't like it all that much. We're also coming off a week of Brooklyn teething and being very cranky, and well, I'm not super excited about being the only adult in my house for the next few weeks. Finally, I am somehow supposed to pack everything in my house to prepare for our move in a month. Sure I have great friends that I'm sure would be more than happy to help pack, but still, the pressure of packing is enough to make me cry... or vomit. Blah.

On a more positive note, Tim will be home for Easter Sunday because he has to get his last rabies shot on following Monday. And I know he'll be home for about 3 days when we have to move in April. And... well, that's all I can think of right now.

So after Tim left, I cried for a few minutes, got some hugs from Brooklyn who told me, "no crying," and then I did what I do best when I need to be distracted: I cleaned my kitchen. I may be a little dehydrated from crying, and the rest of my house is a disaster, but my kitchen is clean.

Whew... that's me venting for today. Sorry to post so negatively, but hopefully this is some insight into why I might burst into random fits of tears in the next few weeks. Just kidding, I think I'm over that now.

Again, props to all you who have to be away from your spouse for long periods of time. I really admire you.

Traveling Maniacs

The past few weeks have been CRAZY, but so much fun! We have been traveling maniacs. It started with going to Enterprise for a few days to visit Tim's family. We left the warm weather here and found ourselves in icy snow and mud. Despite the weather, it was still a wonderful trip. It's nice to be able to go and visit family when we get a chance.


Then right after we got home from Enterprise, we barely had enough time to wash our clothes before we were off again. Brooklyn and I went to Dallas to visit Andrew, Mandy, and their mischievious, yet adorable son Austin. Our timing was perfect because Tim had to be out of town the whole week anyways. We saw lots of Dallas, played at the Pump It Up Jr, had Nothing Bundt cake, celebrated Chinese New Year, visited several parks, had Texan BBQ, and spent every last second playing. Brooklyn is still talking about Austin and Mandy (sorry Andrew, you weren't around enough for her to remember your name).



Again, we got home just in time to wash laundry before Grandma Heaton came to visit. It was WONDERFUL having her come visit, and we tried to show the best of our state. We went to McCormick Stillman Railroad Park, Encanto Park, shopped, and we topped off the trip by visiting the Phoenix Zoo.



Now our vacationing is sadly at an end. There are no up-and-coming trips, nor planned visits from anyone until the baby comes. By then we will be living in a completely different place, and Tim will be done with training. It's crazy how much stuff will be changing for us in the next few months.

"Clean" is very subjective

So Brooklyn is really funny about being dirty. She hates having any kind of hair stuck to her hands, as well as any kind of food, especially sticky foods. This is particularly annoying when she whines during dinner to have her hands cleaned when I know they're just going to get food on them again. But lately I've noticed that it's a certain kind of "dirty" that she doesn't like. Here are two examples of "dirties" that she doesn't like.



Starting last summer when we were in Enterprise. We went out to fish for a few minutes and have a fire, and Brooklyn found the closest dirt pile and began to bury herself.


Then last Novemeber when we attended a funeral... at the gravesite, Brooklyn quickly found the closest grave and sat down on it and began to cover herself in dirt.


And this past week when we went to a few different parks in Phoenix, she decided that she would rather pick up dirt/sand and try to adhere it to her white shirt than slide or swing.

??? Is it the slimy things that bug her? Because clearly it's not just being dirty...