Chaos and Cupcakes

Cameron and Andrew had overlapping baseball practices tonight lasting from 5-7pm. Since Jared is out-of-town and it was also the last day of school, I decided to take the kids to IHOP for dinner as a treat (I was also exhausted and had just cleaned and mopped the kitchen and didn’t want to redo it right away). IHOP was not a good choice. The service was awful. First of all the server wouldn’t stop commenting that I must be completely crazy and she would shoot herself if she had 6 kids. Well, that is why I have 6 kids and you don’t, lady. I enjoy my 6 kids and they behaved like angels the whole dinner. She asked me how old I was and I said that I was 29. She replied to that, “Well, @#$*, you just keep poppin’ em out, doncha?!” Then it took forever to get our drinks and we were extremely thirsty, it took forever for her to take our order, and- you guessed it- it took forever to get our food. When the food did arrive we had one meal we didn’t order and were missing a meal we did order. It took 30 minutes for that meal to arrive and so, in the meantime, poor Cameron just shared my food. In that 30 minutes, I requested refills for all of us (our first and only refills) 3 times. We finally got them at the same time as Cameron’s food. Of course, by that time we had all finished and just wanted to get the check and leave. When I first ordered chocolate milk for the kids, I asked if there was a charge for a refill on chocolate milk (IHOP is funny about its refills and doesn’t have consisted rules or charges). The server told me there wasn’t. When she brought the check, she had charged me for both the meal I ordered that arrived 30 minutes late and the meal I didn’t order. When I brought this to her attention, she said, “I know, but I didn’t charge you for the kids’ refills.” I said, “Ummm, you’re right. Because you said there wasn’t a charge for them.” She said, “Well, there is.” To which I replied, “But seeing as how you didn’t bring them until 30 minutes after we asked for them and we had already finished our food, I wouldn’t pay for them anyway. I would ask you to remove the charge for the late food as well, but I’ll just settle for you taking off the meal I didn’t order.” So she took off the extra meal and I signed the receipt. Right in front of me, she then proceeded to hold the receipt up to a co-worker’s face and say, “Can you believe that’s all she left me?!” So I said, “Look. That is 15% which is way more than you deserved. I had a bad day and figured you might have too and so I was cutting you some slack. Don’t make me regret it.” She looked a bit sheepish then and we left. However, this is not the first time we have received horrible service at this particular IHOP and I’m sure it wouldn’t be the last. I think we will take a hiatus from IHOP. Sorry, kids, no more Funny Faces for you.

Faced with today’s economy, I’ve done a lot of thinking about the way a lot of people, my family included, live. We are a society of conspicuous consumption. We want what we want, when we want it. Our society, in general, shares a feeling of entitlement.

I have been trying very hard lately to curb my spending, to really evaluate and differentiate between my needs and wants. I would be doing a great disservice to my children if I didn’t try to set an example of not rushing out to buy everything I want. They need to learn to save and to sacrifice and to not be spoiled. If all children learned this, perhaps that feeling of entitlement wouldn’t be so pervasive.

We typically get to have fun with our tax return. This year we were slammed with major medical bills due to the events surrounding Parker’s birth (before, during, and after). Our tax return went to paying those bills. We even have a bill to pay now as we have been fighting with our insurance company and have just been denied coverage for it. So we didn’t get to have fun with our tax money this year. We didn’t get to buy all of the wants on our list and we didn’t get to squirrel away money into our savings account. We sacrificed to meet our obligations.

I have been talking to Taylor about this lately. He has a big list of wants. I told him right now our family is using all of our extra money to pay for Parker’s birth and to pay for all of the tests that I have had to have lately. With my recent health struggles, we are incurring another load of bills. I also have to have major surgery this summer, as does Taylor. So that will bring it’s own huge batch of bills. So Taylor is learning that having a healthy family is more important than new stuff that isn’t necessary.

Perhaps if more people learned to sacrifice instead of expecting others to enable them to maintain a consumptive lifestyle, the economy wouldn’t be as poor as it is now. My family just recently had this discussion. It was brought up that the majority of those people who have lots of money worked hard to get to that place, didn’t ask for hand-outs, and are innovators. I am proud my husband works his heart out to get ahead and takes pride in providing for his own family.

We are wrapping up a busy and fun holiday weekend. My sister Aidan and her husband Jeremy came to visit with their adorable little girl Shelby. The last time we saw Aidan and Jeremy was when we went to Louisiana for Thanksgiving 2005. That was the trip we decided we were never going back to visit as we didn’t have much luck traveling to Louisiana.

When we went to Slidell (LA) for Brianne’s wedding at Christmastime in 2004, we flew. It was Christmas Eve and Delta lost our luggage, which contained the kids’ Christmas presents and their Christmas outfits for church. I was very peeved. Then throw into that melee the flu. The kids all came down with a nasty stomach bug, including little 1 month old Olivia. Imagine 4 little kids, a stomach bug, and only the clothes we wore onto the plane. It was as fun as it sounds. And Delta was kind enough to send us each a $50 voucher for losing our luggage for 3 days. So I wrote them a nice little email enumerating how fun our Christmas was, what with the no presents and the no clothes to change into when we were covered in puke. So they sent us $200 vouchers and we were able to fly back to New Orleans the following Memorial Day uneventfully.

The following Thanksgiving we decided to drive out to Slidell. We had just gotten our Suburban and thought a road trip would be fun. This way we would also be able to stop in Colorado and have a little birthday party for Livi with Jared’s parents. We made it to Slidell just fine and had a wonderful visit. It was so fun that my brother Ryan convinced us to stay an extra day. Instead of leaving on Saturday and driving to Colorado and then on to Utah on Sunday, we didn’t leave Slidell until Sunday. Just in time to get stuck in a ferocious snowstorm in Kansas. The Interstate was closed and all the hotels were full. We ended up having to sleep in our car. Then to top that off, Olivia came down with a stomach bug in the middle of the night. Because of the horrible winds and snow, we couldn’t get out of the car and go around to the back to dig down to the bottom of the suitcases to get new clothes for her so we just wrapped her up naked in blankets. We waited for the Interstate to open up the next morning but it didn’t. We were desperate to get out of Kansas so Jared found backroads to drive on to get to Denver. I was freaking out because I had a chemistry class on Monday night that I was going to miss and I am the type of student who never misses a class (a nerd like my Taylor!). It was a horrible nightmare and since we had bad luck both flying and driving to Louisiana, we decided we just wouldn’t be able to travel there again. And we haven’t.

So I was so excited to get to see the Jordan family after not seeing them for 2 1/2 years! We had a fantastic visit with them. We went to SLC, up Provo Canyon, spent a lot of time playing a fun card game, and just had fun visiting with each other. Today we had a bbq over here with lots of people and lots of food. I am going to miss Aidan a lot when they leave tomorrow. She and I have always been close and get along fabulously. I will be lonely when she leaves, especially since Jared leaves for Canada on Wednesday.

It’s that busy time of year- the end of school. We’ve got all these little parties and graduations and ceremonies going on. Couple that with the start of baseball (coach pitch for Taylor, t-ball for Andrew, kickball for Cameron) and life is crazy! Taylor, Andrew, and Cameron have practices and games on the same nights and at the same times. Olivia also has dance at the same time so I am going to have to put her in a different class for the summer.

Yesterday was Taylor’s 1st grade awards ceremony. He got the Core Knowledge award. I am so proud of how he absolutely excelled in the first grade and how he didn’t miss a single day! He amazes me. He is an avid reader and learner and mathematician and social scientist and… . He just rocks. Our pediatrician wants us to contact the state education department to have them test Taylor so that he can skip a grade, but Taylor loves his friends so I’m not sure that I will pursue that. With Reagan’s leveled learning it’s not like he is stuck doing math and reading with everyone else in his grade. Our pediatrician graduated college when he was 14 (he’s a real life Doogie Howser). I don’t think I want Taylor doing that! He’s my baby and I don’t want to take away his childhood.

Andrew has a luau at school today that he is so excited about. I am really going to miss his teacher. She is having a baby this summer so she won’t be back next year. I’m happy for her but sad for Cameron because he would have loved having her next year. Andrew is taking a pre-1st grade session at his school this summer so it will be nice to keep to his school routine. I am also proud of how well he has done this year. It is so hard to have Asperger’s and be mainstreamed in a class yet he made it through this year with flying colors!

Cameron’s preschool graduation is today. I can’t believe he is done with this phase of life and about to begin kindergarten. Time really does fly. He is such an awesome kid who loves to learn. He is our mathematical genius. Just ask Grammie Ottley! He loves when we ask him math problems or how to spell words and he loves books. He is taking a pre-k session at Reagan this summer which he will love as he loves going to school.

Olivia is starting pre-school in the fall. Oh my goodness. The boys in her class better watch out cause she is a major flirt. She also loves learning and is so excited to go to school. She was ready long ago and has been anxiously awaiting the time when she was old enough to go.

At least I will still have my 2 youngest babies at home with me. For now at least. The next thing I know they will be leaving for their missions.

So here’s to the start of summer! It will be busy, but fun. Lots of swimming, baseball, summer school, dance, gymnastics…

When Andrew has a bad day, he tells us, “This just hasn’t been my day.” Well, this just hasn’t been my week.

My week kicked off with a bang with Monday and Tuesday mornings being spent in my neurologist’s office while he spent an hour and a half each day alternately shocking my arms and legs and poking them with a hypodermic while electrodes recorded my nerve impulses. It was as fun as it sounds. All that to tell me that I have nerve damage. Duh. The numbness and tingling alerted me to that.

Now I get to look forward to a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) tomorrow (along with 4 more vials of blood being drawn in addition to the 5 drawn last week). Then I am supposed to spend 24-48 hours in bed so that I don’t leak spinal fluid. It’s only going to be 24 hours as I have a parent/teacher conference and 3 pediatrician’s appointments on Friday.

At least I have one highlight to the week- I am going to get a manicure/pedicure with my mom tonight. I think we both deserve it!

The good news is that Taylor lost his 6th tooth today. The bad news is he has no idea where or when. Hopefully the tooth fairy will be understanding when the tooth is not in the tooth fairy pillow tonight since it is probably in Taylor’s stomach. I’m sure she will be.

Jared got this remote for an early Father’s Day gift. It apparently can control all the TVs, DVD players, DVRs, sound systems, game systems, etc. in one house and can even control compatible lights and appliances (like our fridge) and all with a touch screen. The best thing about this remote was that even though it was $250, I got it for free! How’s that for a bargain?!

What I want is a remote that can flush toilets when the kids forget to. One that can make kids go to sleep even when they keep saying “but I’m not tired!”? One that can do dishes. One that can fold the 4 loads of laundry I have to do each day. How about one that can add 8 more hours to my day? Now that’s an invention I could go for.

I’ve been tagged by Aidan, so here we go! It’s one about marriage.

1. What is his/her name? Jared Russell Ottley.

2. How long have you been married? Our 8th anniversary was last December.

3. How long did you date? Hmm, that’s a tough one. We sort of long-distance dated for a little over a month. Then we took a break. Then we dated for a week before we unofficially got engaged and for 2 weeks before we officially got engaged. Weird, I know.

4. Who eats more? Jared. Although I probably snack more and eat more sweets. But he can definitely out-eat me at a meal.

5. Who said I love you first? I don’t know. Neither does he. But I would guess him. Yeah, it would have been him.

6. Who sings better? I would say we are equal on this. I like to sing with him as we can both sing tenor. Also weird, I know.

7. Who is taller? Jared by 6 inches. Although if he would stand up straight it might be more.

8. Whose temper is worse? I would say Jared’s. I am more passive-aggressive.

9. Who does the laundry? Jared usually does his own laundry. But I do the laundry for the other 7 members of our family. And that is a full-time job!

10. Who does the dishes? We both do. He used to do them more often, but ever since he started working from home, it seems he has less time to do dishes and such. Go figure!

11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Well, since I always seem to get up on the wrong side of the bed, he must be sleeping on the right side, right?

12. Who does the cooking? Me. Jared’s one and only foray into cooking involved chicken, lemon pepper, garlic, cheese, apples, cinnamon, and sugar. TOGETHER. Actually, he does cook the crepes (after I prepare the batter).
13. Who is more stubborn? Ha! Are you kidding me? If you know Jared, you know this must be a rhetorical question. I am pretty stubborn but I don’t hold a candle to him.

14. Who proposed? Jared did. Well, I actually had to make him officially propose to me as he didn’t think he needed to since we were already unofficially engaged. How’s that for romance?!

15. Who is most likely to admit that they are wrong? Again, this must be a rhetorical question. Jared has never been wrong a day in his life.

16. Whose parents do you see the most? My parents since they live closer. But lately we have seen Jared’s parents quite a bit as we just went on vacation with them and then they stayed here last weekend.

17. Who pays the bills? He makes the money and I spend it. It’s a nice arrangement, wouldn’t you say?

18. Who wears the pants? Our kids.

19. Why do you love your husband/wife? Jared is absolutely wonderful. He is a hard worker, he’s dedicated, ambitious, extremely intelligent, fun, a terrific father, handsome, loving, compassionate, and he spoils me rotten.

20. Who are three other people you are going to tag? Let’s see… Mom Ottley, Kimberlee, and JARED! Tag, you’re it!

Tonight at Walgreens, I got a Cover Girl blush, mascara, powder, lipstick, 3 razors for Jared, 1 razor and 5 razor blades for me all for $12.48!  Woo-hoo!  I also intended to get 9 tubes of the toothpaste that is the only kind Jared and I use for 50 cents total but the shelves had already been cleared of that awesome deal.  Since Walgreens is on the way to Cameron’s school, I intend to check back a couple more times this week to see if they get more in as I really would love to have a little stockpile of toothpaste for us.  I think scouring the ads and coupons has now become my new favorite hobby.

I was going through yesterday’s paper this afternoon and saw that Albertson’s was having their General Mills sale, meaning great prices on cereal, granola bars, Fruit Roll-ups (nice to have a stash of these with t-ball season approaching), etc. In addition, I had several coupons to use on top of the sale. I coerced Jared into taking me since I had another MRI this morning and so I can’t drive (or even think straight) today as I had been sedated for the test. We ended up buying $165 worth of groceries for $47! That’s a savings of $118!! Albie’s groceries are generally higher priced so the savings is a bit inflated, but it is still an awesome deal and I am excited about it. With my coupons, I got boxes of Cheerios for 25 cents, Chex for 50 cents, 6-pack boxes of 100 calorie Chex mix for 50 cents, and Lunchables for 60 cents! The only price I wasn’t happy with was for eggs. I usually buy them at Sam’s but needed some and didn’t want to go to another store just for eggs.

With grocery and gas prices soaring, I love chances for stretching my dollar. Sales like this are also a great way to build up food storage.