April/Disneyland/Mother's Day

Well, not much happened in April, so I decided to not write about it until I posted in May, but I wanted to post some pictures of our California trip so I'm doing that now. In March-ish our van broke down. Jeremy tried fixing it, spent $500 on parts, but more and more things kept going wrong so we finally took it to the dealer's mechanic. They told us the computer's were fried and that if they replaced them, it would fix it. So we paid them $1,300. When Jeremy drove it off their lot, it was blowing white smoke and he couldn't accelerate very fast-only to about 25 mph. So we took it back. They were supposed to call us back, but they never did, which pissed me off. They'd told us the computers would fix what was wrong, but it didn't. Then they couldn't even call us with a diagnosis? It was ridiculous.

We ended up buying a new van, a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country, for $4,000, which took up our savings (we paid in cash) that we had to move out with. So, we're stuck in my in-laws basement, still, trying to save up to get out. And now our new van is having issues. I really feel like we can't get a break. The A/C is broken, which we had taken it back after we bought it to have the dealer fix it. They said they did, but on our way back from California, just as we got to St. George, it went out again. I was grateful that it was St. George and 4:00, about to cool off, not the middle of the Mojave and noon. But it was frustrating because they said they'd fixed it and they hadn't. Now the check engine light has just come on and the ABS system is freaking out. I'm ready to pull my hair out of my head. I'm sick of cars and car issues.

I finished my semester at the end of April. I'm taking the summer off to spend time with the kids and to finish at least one of my books. I've gotten quite a bit more done on one of them, and it feels really good to have been writing! It made me laugh because a girl in my American Lit class said to us, "I am not reading one book this summer and I am not writing one line." But I was so excited to be able to read a book for leisure and to write for leisure. I guess that just shows my personality. :)

But we did get a vacation, which was nice. We left on April 30th to go to California. That night we stayed at Buffalo Bill's in Primm (just outside of Vegas). Then on the 1st we drove the rest of the way. But before we got to our hotel in California, we went and saw my Grandma Linda, Great-Grandma Sanders, my Uncle Brad, his wife Jenn, and their kids, Ashley and Amber. It was so nice to see them. It's been quite a few years since I have and I really missed them. They prayed for us to find a way to get to California, if that is His will. I'd like to be closer to them, but I'd also miss my sister and nieces. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, that night, and for the next three nights, we stayed at the Castle Inn, which is right across the street from Disneyland. We were at Disneyland for three days and then the beach on the fourth day. The whole time at Disneyland, I made sure to keep sunblock on us. But Ben and Noah both got a rash from it (either that or it was a heat rash). So on Thursday, I didn't expect to be at the beach that long. We ended up being there for like 3 1/2, 4 hours. Oops. We all got sunburned really badly. It was really nice to play in the ocean, I did the most, Noah quite a bit, Jeremy a tiny bit, and Ben even less. Ben loved the sand. But the sunburns killed us. I felt horrible. Ben's never been sunburned before and his even blistered. Poor kid. He couldn't lay on his back for a good week after. I seriously felt like the worst mom EVER. I just didn't think about the sunblock washing off.

Then it was Mother's Day. Jeremy got me (well, more like I ordered it, he wrapped it and handed it to me) a necklace and earrings from Avon. Then he went to the store and got me some Sally Hansen finger nail polish strips. They have butterflies on them and I have them on right now. I love these things. They're awesome. Plus he got me the latest Harry Potter movie, which I really wanted and a card that he recorded the kids saying, "I love you" on and some Stargazer Lilies, which are my favorite flowers. He made me crab for dinner and I made a caesar salad, frog eye salad (family specialty) and rolls. Yum.

So that's been our month. Following are pictures of the vacation, for those of you haven't seen them on facebook, although there's more on facebook. :)

Pictures

Okay, so we finally found the camera (just in time for our vacation!!) so I have the random photos that I took. Here they are for your enjoyment. =) (Photos of the vacation to come soon!)




















































































































So I can't figure out how to arrange them so that I can write about them right next to them, so I'll just tell you what they are right here.
1-The kids and I just playing around with the camera.
2-Sorry to show you Jeremy's butt crack but I couldn't resist getting a picture of the fake tattoo he had right here. Bwahaha.
3-Clearly Ben playing with chalk.
4-Ben took marker to Jeremy's truck. Permanent marker. He was not pleased.
5 & 6-In 6 the dog ran in front of Noah, causing him to have to move. In 5, this is the result of the near crash with the dog.
7-Ben got stuck behind the couch. Ha ha.
8 & 9-More of the permanent marker in Jeremy's truck. =)
10-The hole from the leak in the pipes in the ceiling (the smaller version of the hole, I didn't get the bigger one).
11 & 12-The fixing of the hole (Ben wanted to help).
13-Ben playing in Grandma's laundry basket. Oops. Lol.
14 & 16-Noah's and Ben's fake tattoos, respectively.
15-Ben being silly for the camera. He's such a ham.
17-Playing Pirates. Aargh.
18-Playing on Daddy's Bug that he will be restoring one day. =)

So those are the pictures from March and the beginning of April, until I lost the camera (well, forgot where I put it anyhow). Thanks for looking.

March-ish, 2011.

Okay, so I've delayed doing this post because I have been trying to find my camera. I made a goal last month to start taking more pictures and so I did. I just can't figure out where I had the camera last. =/ So I've decided just to post this and once I find the camera, I'll post the pictures on their own.

I've been really down lately. For a good four years (or so) it has felt like nothing ever works out for Jeremy and I. We've had to move in the basement of my in-laws, have been here for ten months, and can't seem to get into a new place. There have been a couple of times where we thought we were, but it didn't work out. Now we can't even find a place we actually like. Everything is ghetto and needs updating and they're asking way too much for these houses. It's frustrating and I'm really having a hard time not being able to be with just my family. Not having our space. Cleaning up after other people's messes. It's getting harder and harder every day and I don't know how much longer I can take it.

Then our van broke down. Jeremy thought he could fix it, but every time he gets it back together, it seems like something else is wrong. We've had it for probably two and a half, three years and this is the first time we've had any real problems (other than the electrical problem last year). It's been down for about a month now and it's costing us a fortune in gas because we have to drive Jeremy's gas-guzzling truck all over. We seriously spend probably $100 in gas a week driving it around. Jeremy is so frustrated because he thought he could do this, but he feels like it's just chalking up to be yet another failure. He's really depressed because nothing works for us and I just don't know how to help him feel better.

I've started selling Avon again, which is nice. I really enjoy doing that because it makes me feel like I'm doing something to help us. But I always seem to struggle getting orders so it stresses me out. I hate asking people if they want to order something, because I feel like I'm imposing myself on them. I don't know.

Then there's school. I should be doing homework right now, but I felt like I needed to do this really fast. I'm super stressed with it because I have so much homework to do this weekend plus a math final that I'll be taking. Jeremy feels like he has so much to do (and there really does always seem to be yet another thing added to his list) and I can't even help with that right now because I have so much schoolwork. Luckily I've decided to take the summer off. I couldn't handle doing classes over the summer. Plus, I want to have that time with the kids.

And the kids. We've been working on potty-training Ben for a good month and a half now, but he's so stubborn. He knows to go, he's just too lazy. If he doesn't want to, he just pees in his underwear. If he does, then he'll go. But more often than not, he's just being too lazy. I know that he knows, but he just won't. He even tells me when he's peed his underwear. It's so frustrating and I don't know how to get him to do it all the time.

So that's what's going on in our lives right now. I know it's a really "downer" post, but that's how we're feeling right now and I don't really feel like sugar coating it. One thing that does cheer me up is the kids. Like this morning, Noah helped me cook his egg and he did quite a bit of it by himself. I cracked it and then he opened it into the pan. He helped me put salt and pepper on it and then I got the spatula under it when it was time. Then he flipped it by himself and he got it out of the pan by himself. When we were done, he was so excited to have cooked his egg. He said, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a chef!" It was so cute and it made me so happy to have him so excited. I try to focus on small, sweet things like that, but the bigger, difficult things just seem to be overwhelming me. Maybe we'll get a break soon? I sure hope so.