I am a certified bug-a-phobe.....I'm sure there's a more technical term for that....in fact let me look that up. Ahhh I'm actually an Acarophobic which means I fear itching or the insects that cause itching. This weekend we went to my cousin Tony's wedding which took place in a garden/park. It was all very beautiful except for the millions of little oat bugs which decided to attend the wedding as well. It was horrible....we actually were late for the wedding and thank goodness. Millions of tiny bugs coated everything....bug spray was being passed left and right and let's just say I'm lucky to have come out alive. I now have somewhere around 30 itchy bites. I was freaking out the whole time constantly brushing my legs and arms to make sure no bugs were on me. I also avoid taking walks at night(something Daniel loves) because of this fear of itch-causing bugs. I now embrace spiders and all that they do to capture and eat these bugs. In fact yesterday while I was in my room Ashley yelled to me from the kitchen that there was a big spider on the floor. I yelled back...don't touch it ...I'll be right there. When I got there a big hairy spider was there...and Ashley confessed she had touched it with her finger...kids have no fear. AnywayI actually captured the spider in my house...this big scary one....and let it go outside in order to further my cause....killing these other bugs. My fear of itch-causing bugs has overrided my fear of spiders. I have to say my fear may be somewhat due to the fact that bugs seem to love biting me....Daniel also attended the wedding and I think came away bugbite free....simply not fair.

It's Alive!(imagine a spooky igor voice) Tonight my dad and I replaced the alternator on the white car. So, it lives on. I'm seriously contemplating going to vocational school after my kids are all grown up....to learn how to be a mechanic....even just audit a few classes. I love knowing about cars and how to fix them...and I hate being dependent on greasy sexist guys to fix them...I know all mechanics aren't that way....but so many are. Anyway we'll see how long this fix lasts. Anyone need a new alternator?

A weekend to remember. Since I don't know html well enough to figure out how to have a title and am too lazy to figure it out...the first line of my blog will be my title. This weekend was great...let me tell you why. Friday morning we decided to take a trip to St. Louis...again...we were just there last weekend....and we figured since we have such a reliable car....why not. Anyway Friday afternoon we went to the temple and then got to spend the night at a hotel which included swimming in the indoor pool and getting less sleep than we would have liked since all five of us were in the same hotel room....it turns out Ashley snores quite loudly. Today...we woke up and got ready and then headed out to the Great Forest Park hot air balloon race. To our surprise my mom called and said she'd be coming down to meet us...which we were all excited about. So she met us at the festival....where we ate overpriced food and the kids got to bounce in a few bounce houses. After a couple of hours the kids got wrestless though and we were wondering if there really were going to be hot air balloons since there were none in sight so we decided to head to the st. louis science center nearby. What a great science center they have...and it's FREE. While there we got to see tons of dinosaur exhibits and watched an omnimax movie all on dinosaurs(Andrew's favorite). Did you know velociraptors actually had feathers unlike the ones you see in Jurrasic Park? Did you further know that the chubby skeptical kid in the beginning of Jurrasic park was the missionary who taught me?...moving on.

After a fun day at the festival and science center we headed home in our reliable car. On the way home 'ol reliable's lights started flickering and all of gauges suddenly stopped working. Soon she shut down completely right while we were passing through a small town called Pinckneyville. Since our battery was essentially dead we pretty much just had to stop in the middle of the road with no warning to anyone. Luckily two guys in a truck pulled up and helped us push the car into what looked like an abandoned wearhouse's parking lot.....come to find out it was an auto repair shop that was open on a Saturday night....hoooray. The mechanic that was there said he'd be happy to charge our battery so we could at least make it home....but since the alternator isn't working we weren't allowed to turn anything on...ac...radio.....anything that would take extra volts. Anyway, the point is....we are so blessed. Imagine if it'd stopped a mile earlier......we would have had to get it towed and to who knows where and the kids would have been crabby...or if it'd stopped in St. Louis rush hour traffic on the interstate and the list goes on as to what could have gone wrong, but our car died essentially in a mechanic's garage where a very honest and friendly mechanic was working on a Saturday night. God knows us, knows what we're going through, watches out for us, and blesses us......we are so grateful. So it was a weekend to remember....full of fun memories. Is this the end of the white car?....stayed tuned.

So our car is on its death bed. We found out a week er so ago that it needs a new alternator and a new transmission...in other words bye bye car. It's a white chevy malibu with 192,000 miles on it...no I didn't mistakenly add an extra zero....some people actually keep their cars that long.....actually I bet most of you can relate. She's had a good run and definitely held up to her end of the bargain so I don't blame her. It seems odd to me that I get a little attached to my cars and start talking about them as if they were people...but I do. Anyway Daniel and I had always kind of said when this one goes it's minivan time since we do have 3 kids and hopefully our family will only get bigger. So we've been roughly making plans to get a minivan. As a side note we also have another car, a 1985 Honda Civic hatchback, which Daniel drives to and from school....great gas mileage.....but quite small and not so pretty. Last night we were talking about how we'd come up with the money for the van ......I can't seem to sell enough on ebay to do it so we were trying to think of another way....when Daniel came up with what was according to him a Brilliant idea. "How about you drive the 85 Honda when the white car dies?" I was/am less than excited about this idea. Imagine me driving around me and three little people....in a car about the size of those rides at grocery stores....the ones that cost like 75 cents and give the kids whiplash....not to mention I don't know how to drive a stick shift.....and I'm too proud to learn. I've told my father-in-law and husband that I can get through this life without ever learning how and I wanted to prove that to them. ANyway it'd be like those clown cars at the circus...all of us getting into this car. But....we can't exactly afford a new car...not without student loans.....so I'm torn between being a thrifty person and sacrificing in order to stay out of debt.....and being comfortable...perhaps safe...and having the convenience of having two cars still in the family. ANy thoughts?

First day of school ahhhhhhhh! So Andrew went to school this morning. Daniel and I got him ready and decided we both wanted to drop him off. We were a little worried he wouldn't want to stay when he realized we weren't going to be there but........After we met his teacher and we got everything squared away.....he ran over to us and asked for hugs and said "Goodbye mommy.....Goodbye daddy!"......as in get out of here. Mixed emotions of course....but the overall feeling from me is.....I'm happy for him.....he's really excited to meet new friends....play....learn letters....etc. Here's a pic of the little guy!

So it's been sort of an eventful week. Sunday my sister, Sarah, arrived to spend the week with us. This was much needed and I've definitely appreciated the help. First major help was on Monday....when Andrew got a physical for preschool. That day went a little something like this...

We wait in waiting room for like an hour while the kids play with toys that other sick kids have played with....I'm not sure what they're thinking having toys in the waiting room....but it's either that or have a room full of screaming crazy kids. Next.....we go see the doctor where Ashley asks(in her I have a cold voice)......"What are you gonna do to my brudder?"....the doctor assures her nothing bad will happen. Then comes the shots and tb test poke. Andrew was reluctant but got through it. One thing I didn't appreciate was the doctor saying...."it's not gonna hurt"......yeah right we all know it hurts and I know she meant well but come on don't flat out lie. If I were him I'd never trust another doctor. We thought we were done but next came the lead test....which was a little harder now that andrew knew needles actually DO hurt. They had to draw blood and I had to pin him down in order for them to do it. It was crazy but we got through it.

To make up for Monday's horrible happenings we went to the St. Louis Zoo on Tuesday. The highlight of the day for me was when the kids and I got to feed a giraffe. Giraffe's are pretty I think and very sweet.....with HUGE tongues. Anyway here're some pictures.

Andrew loved being surprised by the Hippo who would swim by the aquarium window.

Finally they got to sit on a gorilla who was bigger than the two of them combined.

Hey....sorry for all of the technical difficulties........a special thanks to Aunt Heidi for alerting me....I'm sure you've all been trying and trying to get to my blog...and probably panicking......Well panic no more! Also I'm feeling somewhat better since my last post. I read a friend's blog that talked all about the cute stuff her son says and it made me remember more of why I want to be home. Kids say the cutest things and I need to store up embarrassing stories to tell my kids' significant others some day.

Nothing special is going on therefore no special blog posting but a few ramblings. I haven't finished creating my blog or so you've probably noticed....I can't seem to find my camera to get some new photos to post...and by new I just mean not old ones....I realize we have none posted....what do we look like?.. you wonder...I hope to show you very soon. So sometimes I think I'm the only stay-at-home mom in the world who has a hard time with staying at home. I know this is where I want to be....I don't want to miss my children growing up and I certainly want to be a part of it.....the BIGGEST part....but I find myself going crazy daily and just wanting to get away. Whether it's my four-year-olds constant questions....or my two-year olds constant tantrums.....or my adorable 8 month-olds constant need to be held.....there's always someone who needs me....which I imagine(although I can't remember) is better than not being needed at all.....life is just tiring....and yet with how busy I am, I'm also bored and wrestless. Last year I depended so heavily on playgroups, trips to the mall, and trips to the local museum.....filled our time with lots of things, but now I find myself living in a smaller town....with no museum...a tiny mall where I don't want my children to be spending all of their time, and no playgroups as of yet. So tell me ....what do I do with my kids? The thing is I find myself thinking how can we burn the time....get through it....distract ourselves with this activity or that....but shouldn't I be thinking how can we enjoy each moment and live in it...not constantly hoping for the next or thinking let's get this over with. In the back of my mind I think I need a schedule...yes some structure would do us good.....I thrive on structure....I guess I just need to figure out what to fill our schedule with. If all goes according to plan Andrew will be starting headstart next week which will be every day for half the day. I have mixed emotions about that....it makes me sad to think he's getting bigger and soon he won't want to hold my hand or give me hugs whenever I want....and on the other hand I'm happy and excited for him to meet new friends and he too seems to thrive on structure so I know he'll like it as long as it's a decent program. ANyway I often find myself thinking this is my life and oh yeah there are the kids....but I think the key to enjoying being a stay-at-home mom is....thinking the kids are my life and embracing that instead of thinking of the kids part as a distraction which I sometimes do. I know it's also important to have your own things outside of the kids. ALrighty, that's enough for now....hope I don't win the worst mom in the world award now for thinking this way but I've got to be honest. But seriously I love my kids and I think one of the greatest things you can do for your kids is stay at home with them and I'm so happy to have this opportunity.......stepping down off of my soapbox. Goodnight.