Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Ultrasound Says....

As much as John hoped and prayed for a boy we are blessed to be having another beautiful little girl. The tech. is 95% sure too. I am ok with the outcome. I think in the back of my mind I always new it, but hoped for a boy for John. All is well with the baby. She is measuring well and all her organs are good. They couldn't see the 4 chambers of the heart so we will have to get another ultrasound in another month or so. In May we will welcome Piper Suzanne. Sorry for no pictures. John will scan them in later.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

What effective branding can do ...

The other day, since I couldn't work on the bathroom because the girls needed to sleep and I needed to make lots of noise to make progress, I decided to pull out an old apple iBook - a "turquoise clamshell". It is 1997 or 1998 era laptop, that originally came with OS 9. It is not a particularly powerful laptop, but it could be used for minimalistic purposes.

I don't have a use for the laptop, but I wanted something on it for Mallory to use. Well, Mac OS 9 no longer has anything really useful for it. Since I had some time, I started working on getting Linux installed on the computer so I could put some children games on it. It took me a little while to find something that was compatible, so I was working on it the next day as well. Mallory saw the computer and asked me "Is that going to be my computer daddy?" I told her it was, if I could get it to work.

As I was working on it, Mallory saw the lid, which of course has the Apple logo on it, rather large. Mallory saw that and called it her "Apple Computer". Apple has always been good at marketing.

I eventually did get it working. Mallory now loves it, and dislikes when she can't do things her way. She does enjoy working on her computer, just like her daddy.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Kid Kard


We went to Mallory's preschool today for a little show. They recited nursery rhymes and sang a Christmas song. It was adorable. Because I took Sadie with me I forgot my camera. The teachers with the students had a gift for the parents. It was a tiny loaf of homemade wheat bread with strawberry freezer jam. Delicious!!! Here is Mallory's report card for Nov./Dec.

Perfect...I know my shapes
almost...I recognize letters D-G
perfect...I can trace my name
almost...I can cut with scissors
perfect...I love to sing
perfect...I can say 2 nursery rhymes without help

The only thing in the comment area was WOW! They constantly tell me how how great Mallory is and what a big help she is. I wish I could have gone to this preschool! This is an old picture of Mallory but I love how innocent she looks!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A Guy's Wish


Above is a picture that John took while he baked and cut out Christmas cookies. Can you tell what he wants for Christmas? (pst..JJ is the nickname of the baby if it is a boy.)

Monday, December 8, 2008

Doctor's Appointment

Things are going well. I haven't gained or lost any weight this month so I am happy. My appetite came back and I am so happy. I have missed food. The baby's heartbeat was at 155 beats per minute. My blood pressure is finally in the good normal range and I can feel the difference. We schedule the ultrasound for Dec. 30th. It would be nice if it is a boy since John's birthday is the next day. We have decided either JJ (Jackson John) or Piper Suzanne.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Happy Birthday

For my birthday today John and I went on a date. Thankfully this year we didn't have to go to another boring ROTC ball like last year. We ate at Olive Garden and had to think of things to talk about since there were no children there to distract us. Then we went to see Twilight. I loved the books and know that movies are never as good as the books. However, I did enjoy it and had a smile on my face the whole time. The baby did too. I felt it kick for the first time during the fight scene in the ballet studio. Another hint that he is a boy...maybe.
Mallory enjoyed it being my birthday too. She kept asking me if I was excited and I even let he blow out my candles. 27 isn't a lot but I knew she would enjoy the helping part. Here's to another great year!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Wonderful Husband

I saw this tag today on my friend Julie's blog and decided to take the time to write some great stuff about my hubby.

1. Where did you meet?
We were set up on a blind date by his brother Jared. We had dinner at Jared's house and then went to a Stingerzz game.

2. How long did you date before you got married?
4 months

3. How long have you been married?
On January 29th it will be 4 years!

4. What is your favorite feature of his?
His dark chocolate eyes and his dimple on his left cheek.

5. What is your favorite quality of his?
He is very honest. He would rather not say anything than lie to someone. He will tell me when I look "interesting" in an outfit. Trust me I would rather have that than buy something that makes me look bad.

6. Does he have a nickname for you?
Sweetie

7. What is his favorite color?
Blue

8. What is his favorite food?
Pasta, pasta, and more pasta

9. What is his favorite sport?
football unless the Spurs are playing!

10. When and where was your first kiss?
Oct. 18, 2004 outside my parents house

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple?
Watch a movie together when the kids are asleep.

12. Do you have any kids?
2.5 Mallory, Sadie, and little baby

13. Does he have a hidden talent?
He can play the viola..I have never heard it but he told me he did when he was younger

14. How old is he?
At the end of the year he will be 26....yes that is right I married a man a year younger than me!

15. Who said "I love you" first?
He did. He blurted it out on the phone and acted like he didn't say anything. I let him sweat on the other side during the conversation before I said it back.

16. What is his favorite type of music?
I don't think there is a specific type. If he hears a song he likes he will investigate the band. One of his favorites is Nickelback.

17. What do you admire most about him?
I love how he is an AMAZING dad. He loves our kids and takes any minute he can to play with them. He helps me with getting them ready for bed and if the day is good he is sometimes around in the morning to help out. Plus he never leaves the house without a kiss and a hug from each of his girls!

I tag anyone would would like to take a minute to write nice things about their other half.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Surprise!

Sadie has been interested in the potty lately. I haven't been getting my hopes up since she just turned 17 months. Well today I let her sit on the potty because she was acting interested in it. She loved sitting on the little seat and while we were clapping and laughing because she looked so cute, she went POTTY! It was a total coincidence but nonetheless awesome. From now on anytime she wants to go we will let her sit on it! What a big girl!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thankfulness

I have been reading my friends blogs lately and even had some discussion about Thanksgiving being passed over. It makes me sad too because I love a holiday that pushes you to eat as much as possible! Just kidding! I love Thanksgiving. It is a time to get together with loved ones and celebrate what a lot of our ancestors did...coming to a new place. How many of us would be that brave? To leave everything we love and hold dear to go to a new world that we knew nothing about. Except criminals were sent there. :) I am glad that Mallory is starting to understand what Thanksgiving is about. We talk about things we are thankful for. A few of mine are: freedom of religion, freedom period, and my family.

I hope we all take a few minutes to think about things we are thankful for this season.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Baby News!

I had another Doctor's appointment today. I lost another 2 pounds and my blood pressure has gone up only slightly. It is still low which explains why I am still knocked out tired. The baby was moving all over the place and had to be followed to hear the heartbeat. It has slowed down a bit. It is now 145 as opposed to 170 last time. We could also hear the baby kicking. It makes a static sound and every time he moved he would kick and then move away. It was like we were invading his privacy. I will keep you updated after my next appointment next month.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Report Card Time Again

It is the end of October and Mallory has another progress report.

perfect...I can count to 10
almost...I recognize letters A-C...knows A & B called C an O
perfect...I can write the first letter of my name
perfect...I obey all school rules
perfect...I can retell a story I've heard
almost...I can name the parts of a book...work on: cover, spine, pages
perfect...I know how to hold a pencil

Mallory is doing very well and LOVES her preschool days!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tagged

Thanks Christine for the tag....here it is....

6 shows I watch
Charmed, One Tree Hill (totally high school but I enjoy it still), ER, Rachael Ray Show, 30 minute meals, Mythbusters (my husbands doing)

6 Restaurants I like to eat at (these are ones I enjoyed before pregnancy)
Olive Garden (only restaurant I can eat at now), Chili's, Goodwood BBQ, Los Hermanos, Ottavios, China Lily

6 things that happened Yesterday...still early in the day
took Mallory to preschool, Mallory actually took a nap (wahoo!), went to UVU kids Halloween party, thought about doing my quilt blocks and decided after getting up that it better wait another day, John did well in one of his class presentations, I was able to take 2 naps (my mom is great!)

6 things I am looking forward to
my ultrasound at 20 weeks (9 weeks left), getting over my first trimester, Thanksgiving, Christmas (I finally got good gifts that my parents are bound to love), Sadie talking so I can FINALLY understand what she wants, my little baby Lawrence being born in May

6 things on my wish list
a new house, losing my baby weight faster this time (anything under 3 years will be good), getting our savings bigger, Mallory and Sadie are healthy and safe this winter, having a healthy pregnancy, trying to keep my faith while times are hard

6 people I tag
I am tagging anyone that would like to do this one. It is fine and makes you think.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Patriotic

When I think back on my elementary days, I remember doing the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. On the way up to Cornbelly's on Saturday John and I heard Mallory reciting it. She had her hand over her heart and got almost every word right. I am grateful for her preschool that is teaching her to be Patriotic and show respect for her country.

Sadie is getting bigger every day. She gives hugs and kisses and loves her big sister. Sadie has two months left until Nursery! I think she will like it since her and Mallory overlap a week or two. I love my two little girls but the consensus is that this baby will be a boy! I don't mind that!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Baby Update


Today was my first Dr.'s appointment. I lost 13 pounds! The Dr. isn't worried so I am celebrating that fact. The baby's heartbeat was fast and strong. My blood pressure is a little low but nothing to worry about. The nurse thinks it is because I didn't get a lot of sleep and am exhausted all the time. The pregnancy is a go!

The picture is of Mallory's little hands. The red puffy one is the one that got stung by a bee for the first time on Saturday. She was in a lot of pain because the stinger got in deep and her hands don't have a lot of fat on them. It is all better now but very traumatic when it happened. Now when she sees any flying insect she goes into hiding!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Thanks Lyndi!

Since I tagged Lyndi it was only fair for her to tag me back. Here is my list of " 8 things."

8 things I am passionate about:
Mallory, Sadie, John, LDS faith, cooking, quilting, friends, babies

8 words or phrases I say often:
shut up! (in the sarcastic sense), no way, Mallory be quiet, Sadie no, John!, if I eat that it will make me sick (thanks pregnancy!), Hey Mom!, thank you for being nice to Sadie

8 things I've learned from my past:
people aren't always what they say they are, broken hearts can heal, kids grow up WAY too fast, telling the truth isn't always best :), true friends are hard to find, high school isn't that big of a deal, laugh as often as possible, always work hard even if it is working hard to take a nap.

8 places I would love to go:
New York, Australia, England, Hawaii, San Diego, CA, Italy, Indiana, Georgia

8 things I would love to see:
how my kids lives will be in the future, my grandpa on my mom's side that I never met, what the baby in my tummy is, Australian coast, dolphin up close, all the LDS temples in the world, John's grades, a million dollars (it would be cool to see what it looks like)

8 people I tag:
I tag anyone who would like to participate. Have fun!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I've been tagged!


This is for you Laura. Here is my 8th picture from my 10th folder. It is of Mallory on our sealing day. She is so beautiful!

I am tagging my best friend Lyndi. Here is a great way for you to get more posts on your blog!

Monday, October 6, 2008

Kids..They do hear

Sadie was throwing one of her famous tantrums today because I brought her upstairs when she didn't want to. I walked away from her to go look for Mallory's lost shoe when I heard Mallory say:

"When I get in trouble I do that too. You need to listen to mommy. Ok Sadie? Don't be scared Sadie."

Just because Mallory doesn't listen to what I tell her at least I know she hears me.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Report Card Time

I love the fact that Mallory's preschool does a report card...well a progress card really. I am so glad that I know how she does and they come at the end of each month. For those of you who would like to know how Mallory is doing I have decided to write a blog at the end of each month so I can keep you updated as well.

perfect...I can count to 5... comment: easy
perfect...I recognize my colors... comment: easy
perfect...I can recognize my name... comment: everytime
almost...I obey school rules... comment: I am learning to sit on the rug--I'm getting better everyday
perfect...I love my teachers... comment: :)
perfect...I am kind to my school friends... comment: always
perfect...I can share... comment: always

The things they do will change each month to go along with the new tasks they learn. Today Mallory got to go to an apple orchard and pick apples. Then they went back to school and made fruit leather. They have started the alphabet and learned about big A and little a. Mallory loves it and I love the fact the teachers really help the kids learn by having fun.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Funny times

We were talking to Mallory about the baby in mommy's tummy and asked if she wanted a baby brother or a baby sister. She responded by saying a baby Sadie. We told her that we would have a Mallory, Sadie, and a little baby. She looked at me and asked Why? I don't think she is sure about having another baby. Hopefully her mind will change in time for the little one to arrive.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Kids

John mentioned to me that I forgot to include in my last blog how the girls appointments went. Sadie and Mallory are great and growing rapidly. Sadie weighs 24 lbs and is 31 inches long (70th percentile) and Mallory weighs 31 lbs and is 37 inches long (75th percentile). I can't believe how fast they grow. I was looking at baby pictures the other day and it seemed like they were just that little. Mallory is loving preschool and doing very well. They start the alphabet next Tuesday with a field trip to an apple orchard. Sadie is sneaky. I was in our bathroom and heard my medicine bottle rattle. When I got to Sadie she handed me the bottle and the lid was partially off. I know that it was tightly closed before because I just used it. It was supposed to be child proofed but either the company didn't do a good job of that or my 15 month old is incredibly smart.

People say what they want

I was at the pediatrician's office with Mallory and Sadie for check ups. I was telling the Dr. that I was expecting and when my due date was so I can make sure he is around for the baby after the birth. I was just about to tell him my due date when he looks at my belly and says " you must be far enough along to know what you are having. So is it a boy or a girl?" It took all my energy to not slap him! I know I am bigger but come on...that was just plain stupid. I have learned to never assume, always ask how far along are you or when are you due. Later that day an innocent person (well for a moment anyway) walked up to me and ask what I was having too. That was the last straw. I have decided to stay in my house and not leave until I am having the baby or I am far enough along that I can tell them what I am having instead of saying " I don't know I am only 6 weeks pregnant." Do people think before they open their mouth?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Feeling Sick

Times are good although I am feeling the symptoms of pregnancy. I guess I believe that is a good thing since we are a little stressed after the last one. I met with my Dr. today and my due date is May 16. I am hoping for the baby to come sooner since John has drill that day and the day following. Mallory is proudly telling everyone of the baby in my tummy. Not that the ward doesn't already know. I accidentally told one of the ladies in our ward and the next thing you know EVERYONE knows! I was hoping to keep it quiet til I was 12 weeks along but that hope is out the window. I guess secrets no longer exist with a 3 year old around. We like the names Jackson John or Lyndi Suzanne.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

For the technically inclined

Kathy wanted a laptop to help her with her school work. So we got me a new one, and she got the one I used to have. The first thing I do with a new computer on it is put Linux on it. Well, I first to install PCLinuxOS on it, which is my favorite distribution of Linux. It wouldn't install. So I went to the distribution PCLinuxOS split off of, Mandriva. It installed, and I really like the administration controls it has. PCLinuxOS uses the same tools. The problem is that Mandriva isn't stable. Of the two installs I did with Mandriva 2008.1 one distro, both failed me. The first installed failed because I tried to make it go straight to cooker. Didn't work to well. The second failed because it would no longer work with OpenOffice.org, the office suite I use. It kept crashing repetitively, not to mention that the system seemed to be unraveling. When I first started using Linux, back during my high school years, I started with Mandrake for a little bit, but quickly went to Suse Linux. This was back when you actually had to purchase a boxed version from off the shelf of a computer store. I don't remember what version I started with, somewhere around 6.4 or 7. something. I'm not sure which one. I stayed with Suse or openSuse as it became until they released the 10.1 version. I found it unusable. Like many fans of Linux I had been sampling distributions for quite a while. I found PCLinuxOS .93. I liked it the best, and since openSuse had taken such a wrong turn, I decided that I should use that one. I was extremely happy when PCLinuxOS 2007. Lately I've been trying Kubuntu, but found that Firefox has some glitches with it on Kubuntu. The checkboxes don't always work like they should. After a brief discourse of my Linux usage, back to the original story. So when Mandriva had failed me, and kubuntu was no longer a viable option, I went to look for a distribution with KDE 4.1.1 on it, since KDE 4.0 is bascially unusable for everyday use. As I looked around I found one with KDE 4.1.1 on it, thought that one was not an official release. There is KDE-Live cd based on openSuse 11.0 that isn't too bad for this. Though I suggest waiting until KDE 4.2 to those who aren't willing to put up with some annoyances. OpenSuse seems to have gotten over there prior package management woes for the most part. So far, I've only had one real problem with openSuse 11, and it lies with a program installed by default: Beagle. I greatly dislike beagle, but it seems to do especially horrible stuff to a laptop. With beagle running, I couldn't really run it longer then 40 min, because by then the laptop was cooking my legs or the table it is sitting on. I also discovered that leaving it on all night was a bad idea, as it would nearly burn up the laptop, it ran so hot. I also noticed that battery life was greatly reduced. When I looked at all the processes, it turned out the beagle was taking 50% of my CPU on idle. I know it was indexing my files, but that is quite a bit. So i uninstalled Beagle, and now my computer runs faster, cooler, and it is actually usable. Anyways. Here is a small screenshot of my desktop. Except for one or two small things, I quite like it.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Grown Up Tantrum

Do you ever have days where you just want to lay on the floor and throw a tantrum? Today was one of those days. I am feeling horrible and house hunting is not going well. We looked at a house that has a huge yard but the inside is disgusting. There were beer bottles on the floor and broken glass from the windows all over the carpet. I wanted to feel better when we got home, so I decided to look at houses again online. I found the one that we really really want and they lowered their price $10,000 but it is still $50,000 more than we were approved for. Sometimes I would like to nod my head and wrinkle my nose and wish for the money to show up. We still have time before we need to move but I am hoping to do so before my belly gets too big.

Thanks for reading my grown up tantrum!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

And Baby makes 5!

Surprise! Suprise! John and I are expecting our third child. We are pretty certain everything is going fine so we felt it was time to share. I am due the beginning of May and am having positive thoughts that it is a boy. We don't even walk near the newborn girl outfits! I guess I am trying to get the pink thoughts out and put in the blue thoughts. :) I have cut down my class load from 3 classes to 1.

So far things are going well. I get sick after I eat something and really onry if I don't eat on time. Also I am already in maternity pants. My body loves pregnancy (isn't that fun) and has decided since this is my 5 pregnancy (3rd child) it will not let me in my regular pants anymore. Thank goodness maternity clothes are comfy!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Mallory is 3!


Mallory had her Cinderella party today. She loves to be 3 and had a great birthday. There was one glitch. Unfortunately she got heat exhaustion and got sick in the car. The poor thing felt horrible. Thankfully she was all better for her party. It was great to see family and friends to celebrate a great occasion. We had a princess cake, Cinderella party supplies, princess wrapping paper and princess balloons. The best part was watching the expressions she gave when she opened every present. You spend weeks planning the party and food and spend the day running around doing things and when your kid opens the first present and gets so happy, it makes it all worth it.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

First Day of School



Today was Mallory's first day of preschool. As you can see in the picture she was extremely excited to go. We were able to walk there and she wouldn't talk the whole time. I asked her if she was nervous and she said "No, I am scared." When we got closer to the school and saw the two teachers she decided she wasn't scared anymore. Mallory ran right up to the teacher and thanks to the teacher came back to hug and kiss me goodbye. Sadie wanted to go too but I don't think I am ready for that just yet.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Amazement

Last night Mallory told us that she wanted to sleep in her little bed (toddler bed). Since we already had it in storage the idea didn't really appeal to us. Then she mentioned that she would sleep the whole night in her bed and not get out to climb in bed with us. That did it, we were sold. John had the bed put together in about 10 minutes and Mallory was so excited to go to bed. She fell asleep quickly and we were really happy about that. Mallory woke up once but didn't climb into bed with us so we count that as a plus. This morning when we walked past her room she had made her bed by herself. She even wanted to help make our bed look "all nice." I only wish this keeps up. Sometimes I wonder where this kid gets this stuff.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Forgot...

To those who read our blog..family and friends...you are welcome to come to the Big party Mallory can't stop talking about. It is an open house type of party. It is on September 6 from 5pm-7:30pm at our house (if you need to know where it is email us). Please don't feel obligated to come I just wanted to get the word out in case someone did want to come. We will have food and if I get my way LOADS of it. John hates that I do pampered chef now because I can't seem to get enough of their recipes and cook them. Let me know if you would like to come and I will wrestle the crowd for a piece of cake to save. Have a great Labor Day weekend.

School Days

School is back in session for John and I as of yesterday. I was really excited thinking it would give me something to do with my time when the girls are in bed. Then I realized, what about the cleaning, laundry, getting ready for the next day...so on and so on. I am still very much dedicated to my schooling but have now decided I am only going to go half time, that is until I am done with kids or the older ones are in school all day.

Mallory starts preschool on Tuesday and can't seem to talk about anything else. Well I guess that and her Cinderella birthday party. At least 4 hours a week I will have only one child that claims all my attention and I am REALLY looking forward to it. Besides Mallory thinking she is smarter than I am, she has also decided that she is going to tell me what she wants to do as her activity. Everyday she pulls out her leotard and says "Mom I want to take dance." I give her "the look" and she adds "please oh please!" I don't understand where she gets her dramatics. :) John please don't comment on that because, yes, I realize it is from me.

Sadie is in her independent stage. Everything Mallory does she has to do also. The other day at the park Mallory was climbing up a slide so Sadie defiantly walks up to the same slide climbs up and proceeds to climb it. It wasn't until she was sliding back down on her tummy did she realize that it wasn't going to happen. I came over and picked up and told her she can do it when she is older. Sadie squirmed out of my arms and threw herself on the ground to throw a gigantic tantrum. I walked away, once I checked to make sure she couldn't hurt herself, and acted as though she was someone else's child. I love being a Mom!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Back Home Again

Well, I'm glad to be done with that training. It has normal Army training - lack of sleep, some cool things made not as fun (except the Helicopter ride). I did some really good things there, but also some not so good things. Well, one not good thing anyways. I had to take the pt test twice before passing, which is not good. But I did do perfectly on the land nav, and shot better then I ever have - 35 out of 40. It doesn't quite classify as an expert, but it was only one away. So it is the highest sharpshooter score you can get. I've never shot above a 27 before that. There were some other things that we did, like repelling, a few obstacle courses, and other such things. We did have a ten day period in which we got around 3-5 hours of sleep a night while camping. The 5 was if you were extremely lucky, none of it was continuous sleep. That was interesting sleep. Now I just have to get back into the swing of things for work as well as get ready for school. There is a lot to do there. So I'm back to get ready for a more hectic life. One step closer to getting on with my life after school. ( I would really rather that be now, but I guess I must have patience.)

Mallory starts preschool in two weeks as well as Kathy starting a new semester at UVU. She has finally picked her major and is working hard towards it. Her degree of choice is a BA in History emphasis in Public History which is more U.S. History than World History. Sadie is walking or should I say running everywhere and is a very happy toddler.

We are still trying to buy a house but with me being gone for 5 weeks and missing pay our savings has gone down so we are working on building it up again. We are hoping to be able to buy a house in January if not sooner.

(Written by both John and Kathy)

Friday, July 18, 2008

Life without John

As some of you know John is gone at an ROTC camp called Warrior Forge. He is gone for 5 weeks and sadly for him the kids won't stop growing. Mallory has decided that she wanted to be potty trained. Thankfully for me it only took 1 week and it has stuck. Sadie has learned to run now and is losing much of her baby weight. I spend my time quilting, crocheting, and chasing after the 2 girls. I though that staying so busy would make the time go by faster, until I looked at the calendar today and realized John has only been gone for 6 days. This is going to be a LONG 5 weeks.

My parents are living with us now. Well I guess it would be we are living with my parents since this is their house. We took care of it for them while they were on their mission. When they got back they decided they wanted to live in St. George, but that only lasted about a month. Now we have a full house and lots of helpers when it comes to the girls. I don't mind the few extra minutes of sleep I get until Mallory comes in and says, "Sorry for waking you up but I NEED pancakes." I guess Grandma doesn't make them as good as I do.

My goal is to get some pictures up on the blog so you can see how big Mallory and Sadie have gotten. I hope I can get that done before John gets home.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Follow Up News and a normal occuring life.

Well, I guess this time just wasn't meant to be. Kathy Miscarried, so we won't be having a baby in February. But we are young and more babies will come (we hope).

On another note, the flapper in the toilet in our bathroom had a rubber "chain" on it. Well that "chain" broke, so I got a new flapper and put it in. Well, that flapper didn't flush right. So we got a whole new flush set, the tube, the flapper, and the part that goes between the tank and the bowl. Well I was installing the new stuff, I saw a year stamped into the tank - 1977. The guts looked to be of about the same age. I also noticed some cracks in the porcelain. I didn't think much of it put the new stuff in and reinstalled the tank, and flushed a few times. It was leaking water all along the bottom. I tried tightening the bolts. but that only made things worse. It was leaking out of the cracks. So, we had to get at least a new tank. Since I don't own the house, my wife called the owner, my father-in-law. He wanted to replace the whole toilet. So I went out and mowed the lawn, and Kathy and I ran some errands, and we get a new toilet, in addition to a 1/4 turn shut off valve. We get home, got the girls to bed, and I go to town on getting the rest of the old toilet removed and the new one installed. As I go to replace the shut-off valve, I find out that they have copper pipe stubbed up through the floor, not a nipple. This stinks quite a bit because the current shutoff valve has some problems and really needs to be replaced. Unfortunately I can't go get one to fit because by this time, of course Home Depot/Lowe's is closed. The rest of the Toilet installed flawlessly, and it is definitely better than what was there before (no forceful jet on the old to help things move along = lots of clogs). That was the bulk of my day. The typical one to one and a half hour job turns into a 3 hour affair.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

News for those who don't know

Pregnancy Wonders
Well, number three is on the way. Hurray! Kathy is currently 7 weeks along. We are excited for this one. We had a little scare because Kathy had some light bleeding during the time she was supposed to, but everything seems fine now after confirmation with her doctor. She is showing most normal signs of pregnancy, except sickness. So far for names we have Jackson John and Meagan or Jenna Suzanne. That is the news of the family.

Friday, January 4, 2008

Progress

Well I seem to have been able to redo the Entity classes and get things to work better for Downloading and storing the database. Now I just need to see about getting notes taken care of on a per chapter bases. I think most things will have to be taken care of by chapter. Everything else is appearing to work for now. I would also like to figure out how to get the scroll pane to stay at the top. I will have to play around with that for a little bit. Once I get that and the notes done, I think I will be ready to go for a .1 release. The only "Compilation" I haven't yet gotten with the new entity classes is the Old Testament. Everything else has been gotten without a hitch. I little bit more coding and some outside testing and I should be able to release a 0.1 of it. I think I will tackle footnotes and Profiles/Users for the .2 release, then go back in and add highlighted text, etc for .3. Maybe for the .5 release I will deal with links and linking. i need to come up with a better release plan, so people will know where it is headed and when.