Long Week

It was a very long week without Clara. I was able to get some major cleaning done though, which makes me feel so happy. I LOVE a super clean house.

On my way to work one morning, I missed a turn. So I pulled into a parking lot to turn around. Just as I pulled into the parking lot, I heard some very strange noises coming from the car. So I pulled into a parking space and left the car there for the day. I was able to get a ride to work with someone who drives the same way I do. Jeremy used his lunch break to pick me up from work and drop me off at the car. I waited for a tow truck, and got a lift to our mechanic. Turns out we just needed a few belts and a new battery. Our mechanic also lent us a car for the 2 days we had to leave our car in the shop! I was so grateful that our car died in a parking lot so it wouldn't be on the side of a road, or that I would have to push it anywhere. I was also very grateful that it broke down on the way to work so that I would have the necessary rides and not be stranded with a car. I was also extremely blessed that our mechanic lent us a car for free so that I wouldn't have to figure out rides and things for the next couple of days either.

We bought the new Beauty and the Beast DVD a couple of weeks ago. Clara had been watching it non stop, but she didn't watch it for the whole week she was at my Mom's. So on Saturday (just after she got home) I was a little puzzled when she crunched her cheeks up, smiled and said, "I'm speechless." It took me quite a while to figure out what she actually said. When I did figure it out, Clara said, "Just like Belle." I then understood the strange facial expression. I couldn't stop laughing. I wanted to share that cute moment with all of you. So here is the quote from the movie:

And here is Clara's interpretation:

So just like everyone, I had to take quite a few videos before I got a decent one. So this next video is my favorite, but it's sideways! I was disappointed when I realized that you can't turn videos like you can photos. However, it's so cute that I couldn't pass up posting it.

Sunday was our ward Primary Program. For those not of our faith, it's where all the kids in the ward do the "sermon" for our church. In our ward, they have the oldest nursery kids be a part of our program since we have TONS of toddlers, but not very many older kids. So the littlest kids are asked to memorize one word. This year, the kids in Clara's class were asked to memorize a word to complete the sentence: "I can be like Jesus by being......." Clara's word was thoughtful. Well, she can't make a "th" sound yet, so she got up and said, "oughtful." That would have been fine if it didn't sound so much like "awful." So our whole congregation thinks Clara can be like Jesus by being awful. But at least she said her part and wasn't scared at all! Here is what she looked like, all excited to go say her word into the microphone at church.Later that night, Clara wanted to get a picture of her. She asks for this quite a bit. So Jeremy got out the camera and took her picture. When Jeremy showed her the picture on our camera after he took it, she noticed that I was in the picture with her. She then wanted a picture of Mommy, Daddy, and Clara. I personally think it turned out great.I finished substitute teaching on Friday! The teacher I've been going in for was cleared to go back to work today. I'm so excited to get to be a stay at home mom again. The extra money was nice, but it's even nicer to stay home. I did some figuring. School has been in session for 40 days now. The real teacher has been there for 16 of those days, I've been there for 20, and other random subs have been there for the other 4. I think it's crazy that her students know me far better than they know her. But it was nice to be able to do so much math! :)

Those of you still reading this post are the ones who really care how our family is doing. This is a very long story, but here's a short version. Jeremy was talked to by his bosses last week. They feel like Jeremy isn't as creative as what his portfolio lead them to believe. They gave him a week to improve. Jeremy has been frustrated with this company since day one. So when Jeremy went in to work today and was told that he wouldn't get paid for the entire day's work, Jeremy talked to his bosses and told them he was done. His bosses were surprised and said that he had improved a lot and would like him to stay. But Jeremy mentioned that he still wanted to go. So keep us in your prayers that it won't take us 7 months to find another job. Jeremy did keep his part time job and will be able to continue working at that. So with him working 20 hours a week, my tutoring and the small amount of money we were able to save this last month, we should be OK for a little while.

Living Planet Aquarium

On Saturday, we decided to use some free passes to our local aquarium. It's not a very big aquarium, but Clara loved it and isn't that what is most important?

Clara's favorite thing there was a boat. They have it set up in the Utah area and it's used to tell about Utah's marshlands. I know, Utah's a desert, but apparently some marshlands exist here too. It took us a lot of coaxing to get Clara on this frog. When she first saw it, she was scared to death of it, even though there were lots of kids climbing all over it. It was right by the boat, and since we spent A LOT of time on the boat, by the time we were ready to leave the area, Clara had warmed up to it. I also think it helped that she saw every little kid walking by stop to sit on the frog to get a picture. She would still only get on it if Dad was there too.Some of the coolest things there were penguins, a big sea turtle, and the petable (is that even a word?) sting rays. Unfortunately, the penguins and sea turtle moved too much to get a non blurry picture. So if you want to see those, you'll just have to go to the aquarium yourself. Jeremy was the only one brave enough to pet the sting rays. Clara loved watching them, but would not put her hand in that water. I blamed my fears on gross slimy water.Jeremy was in charge of the camera, and whenever he is, we get LOTS of pictures. So 80 plus pictures later, I've narrowed it down to 6 for the blog. I think these ended up being the neatest things with the best pictures. I've never seen a red and white star fish before. I thought it was beautiful.As far as the rest of the week goes, I'm still subbing. A week ago today was supposed to be my last day, but the teacher I'm subbing for had surgery. Her Dr told her that her knees weren't healing like they were supposed to, so it could be Nov 1 before I get to stay home again. I cried a lot this week because of that. I hate leaving Clara at a babysitter. We have to wake her up 1 - 2 hours earlier than what she's used to. She would cry every morning we would drop her off. It made me so sad. I thought I was all done having to do that, but I'm not. Best case scenario now is I just have to teach every day this week, and then I'll be done. Worst case is me having to work this week and next.

When I called my mom in tears, she offered to help out. So last night, Jeremy and I drove as far as Tremonton, UT and put Clara into my mom's care for a week. Clara was so excited to go to grandma's house all by herself. I've talked to my mom a few times today already and Clara really is having the time of her life. I miss her terribly though. I guess I'll just have to use this week to get caught up on house cleaning and things since I don't have a 3 year old to take care of when I get home.

Random Thoughts Thursday

I have never done a Random Thoughts Thursday before, but I have a few things I want to share that just don't fit anywhere but a random post.

Why is it so hard to make dinner every night? (Even when you have a planned out weekly menu?)

Why does Clara insist on having every door in the house shut. And if she wants it shut so badly, why doesn't she just close it herself?

How is it that I can be so grateful that Jeremy has a job - two jobs in fact - and still feel so frustrated that we don't have any benefits?

Why does typing, "Health Insurance in Utah" into a search engine allow several agents to get my information and then contact me about selling me health insurance?

Why do no individual health insurance plans offer affordable maternity? The ones that do offer it have a separate $7500 deductible. Who can afford that?

Why do finances make me want to never have another child?

Football Games and a hurt foot

This week, I'm teaching the joy school that Clara attends. Clara is the only girl with 5 other rambunctious boys. It's been quite the experience for me. One day we were "dancing" and since boys do not dance like Clara does, her foot got stepped on at some point. After everyone left, she told me that her foot needed a sock to be better. I promptly got her a pair of socks, and she informed me that she just needed one. So I put her foot in the one sock, and she happily played for the rest of the day without complaint. I thought it was funny to have her wearing just one sock.This week has been so much fun. Jeremy got his first real paycheck at the end of last week, and so this week we got to sit down and talk about finances. After doing that, we found out that we have enough money to start buying some things that we've been needing for a long time. So on Saturday, Jeremy got to pick out several new shirts, pants, and socks so he has more of a selection for work. Also on Saturday, Jeremy and I got to order new glasses! We have both been needing new glasses for years, and I can't wait to be able to see again!

Also on Saturday, as Jeremy was leaving Graywhale (his favorite store,) the clerk offered him 2 tickets to that day's BYU football game. We got the tickets 1/2 hour before the game started, so we missed the 1st quarter by the time we got there. But we had a blast. I LOVE BYU football. Doesn't this picture just make you want to stand up and cheer? When we got to the stadium, Clara saw the cougar statue and asked what it was. We told her and then asked if she wanted to take a picture by it. She excitedly ran up to it to get her picture taken. However, once she was by the face, she was very leery. She still let us get a picture of her, but you can tell she wasn't too happy about standing next to that claw and mouth!Clara was very scared of all the noise, but also very interested in the game. Here's a picture of her sitting on Dad's lap, scared, but having to see what was going on.In the end, BYU beat out San Diego State 24 - 21. Since it was such a close game, there was LOTS of noise. Even though Clara didn't get a nap that day, I was still shocked that she fell asleep the last 30 minutes of the game - which had the most noise. She didn't wake up until I stood up to leave.

Happy Birthday Clara!

Today my little girl turned 3. I remember when I could hardly wait until she turned 3. It seemed like 3 year olds had the best personalities - they could do lots for them selves, but still did lots of very cute things. Now my little girl is there. I hope she stays this age forever. (She'd have to out grow her tantrums though....)Clara was so excited to see all her "surprises." (That's what she called her presents.) The first gift she opened was a Barbie, so for the next few days she kept hoping she would find a prince for her Barbie Princess. It was pretty cute. She'd look at me and say, "Should we go find the Prince now?" It made me laugh.

We had an extended family birthday party for her yesterday. She oohed and ahhed over all her gifts. Even the clothes she got brought on gasps of excitement. I was so pleased to hear her thank every one and be genuinely happy for each of her gifts.

We then had her open her gifts from my side of the family and from Jeremy and I on her actual birthday. She loved all her gifts so much that she wanted to show the camera all her loot.I can't believe how much Clara has changed in a year. Here's a picture of her from her 2nd birthday. She not only has so much more hair but so much more vocabulary, imagination, and personality. As I type this, she is happily playing with all her new toys. I'm getting to listen to her talk as she plays. That is my favorite past time these days - listening to Clara play by herself when she doesn't know I'm listening.

Happy Birthday sweet Clara, may you have many more birthdays to come!