I *heart* Home Service Plus

I've told you about my broken oven. It's been 10 days since my oven has produced anything resembling heat. When I called on Tuesday, they scheduled a service call for Thursday. When the guy on Thursday came, he had to order a part. When I got the part in the mail on Monday, I had to call for a second appointment for the installation. The installation was today. Unfortunately, the back and forth has resulted in a week and a half without my oven. BUT, the good news is in what is written on my repair records:
First visit, labor: $120
Second visit, part: $250
Second visit, labor: $50
Grand total: $420
Why is this good news? Because, dear blog reader, we have CenterPoint Energy Home Service Plus. The great little insurance plan that adds a minimal amount to our monthly bill and REALLY saves our butts in situations like this. Grand total for us, the Home Service Plus customer? $0. Awesome. :)
This cookie baker is back in business!

Brilliant

"What don't you know, and how will you learn it?"

This was the final question of tonight's presidential debate. I loved it.

What I didn't love? The fact that neither candidate really clearly answered it. Whatever.

The Secret Life of Bees

I think I've blogged this quote before, but it's probably been a while, and it's good enough to blog again. I am reading The Secret Life of Bees for a bookclub. I had started it a few years ago, and never got into it; now that I'm reading it for real, I'm not sure why I didn't get into it. I started yesterday afternoon and I'm 100 pages in. It's really good. Anyway, the chapters all begin with quotes from different books about bees. The quote at the beginning of chapter 1 is from Man and Insects:
"The queen, for her part, is the unifying force of the community; if she is removed from the hive, the workers very quickly sense her absence. After a few hours, or even less, they show unmistakable signs of queenlessness."
Oh, so true. :)

Some recent pictures

Just some recent shots to share with my blog friends. :)

Daddy and Jackson playing chess. Probably one of Dan's proudest days as a father so far. :)

Wrong move, Dad!

Relaxing with mom.


Sweet face!

Playing on what he dubbed the "big boy ladder" at French Park.

Going through the tunnel!

Ooh, big boy moves on the ropes.

Snuggling with Eli on the couch.

Three little monkeys - Jack, Davis, and Eli - jumping on the bed!

Oh, so much fun. :)

Jack actually got some air. Davis is clearly amazed!

No cookies

My oven is broken.

Funniest thing happened on Tuesday night. I turned my oven dial to 380 (random temperature, I know) and proceeded to mix cookie dough. As I finished stirring in the chocolate chips at the end, I realized that the oven was still not preheated. It usually beeps about halfway through my mixing to let me know it has reached its proper (albeit random, I know) temperature. So I stopped the chocolate chip festivities and opened the oven door. I was not blown away with heat, so stuck my hand into the oven. Stone cold. Crap. I checked all of the burners; they all worked, so it wasn't a pilot light issue. I turned the dial to "off" and then turned it again to "380." Nothing. So I formed my dough into two dozen cookies and put them in a container and in the fridge.

And I called Centerpoint Energy Home Service Plus. The wisest investment we've ever made. We pay a little extra every month to have the freedom of calling for help when something (namely the furnace, oven, dryer, and AC) stops working. So I explained to the nice woman on the phone that my oven wasn't preheating. She said she could get someone out on Thursday. Really? Two days away? Fine. Sure, I'll leave a key under the doormat. Yes, my cats are harmless.

So I came home today to a note on my counter from the kind gentleman who tended to my dear oven. "The electronic control isn't power to the back or broil ignitors." Hmm, that doesn't sound good. Next page, "Ordered - Electronic range control." And at the bottom: "Labor - $120. Charge to you - No charge." YAY! "Your part will be sent directly to your home address. Please call us at 612-333-6466 to schedule repair when your part arrives. You will receive priority scheduling." Well, I should hope so! Did I mention that I own a cookie business? Did you know that cookies can't be baked without a fully-functioning oven?

So, here I am. Ovenless for at least another week. I'm going to be employing the use of my crock pot for dinners and stovetop for our breakfast party on Saturday. Oh well.

And if you're itching for cookies and were planning on placing an order? You'll have to wait. :(

Hold the phone!

My two-year-old has a sense of humor.

What the heck? He's been watching Curious George for ages. Who said he was allowed to mature enough to actually laugh at the right time? He GETS it. He somehow understands, all of a sudden, why something is funny.

That's all. Just blew me away.

For my friends on the margins....

I Saw What I Saw
by Sara Groves

I saw what I saw and I can't forget it
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
I know what I know and I can't deny it
Something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me
Your dream inspires
Your face a memory
Your hope a fire
Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of
And what i know of love

We've done what we've done and we can't erase it
We are what we are and it's more than enough
We have what we have but it's no substitution
Something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me
Your dream inspires
Your face a memory
Your hope a fire
Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of
And what I know of love

I say what I say with no hesitation
I have what I have but I'm giving it up
I do what I do with deep conviction
something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me
Your dream inspires
Your face a memory
Your hope a fire
Your courage asks me what I'm afraid of
And what I know of love

Your courage asks me what I’m afraid of
Your courage asks me what I am made of
Your courage asks me what i’m afraid of
And what I know of love
And what I know of God

Bravo, basketball teams

No, not just for taking the gold medal in both men's and women's final games.

For actually singing the national anthem when the flag was raised in your gold medal ceremony. Seriously, I can't believe the number of gold medal winners from the United States just stand there and look bored. I mean, I've never won a gold medal, but I think if I did, I would be REALLY excited and PROUD to be from the United States and SING along! I happened to catch both the men's and women's basketball gold medal ceremonies, and was so pleased to see them excitedly singing along. (Not all of them were singing excitedly, but Lisa Leslie and Kobe Bryant made up for everyone else's mediocre singing).

So thank you, men and women of the United States basketball teams. For being loud and proud. And talented at your sport, to boot. What a fabulous way to end the Beijing summer games.

Ironic

You know how when you're getting groceries, and the cashier hands you the receipt, sometimes there is also a coupon? Well, usually the coupon is related to something you have bought. I've noticed recently, though, that they are often the opposite brand of the one you bought. For instance, if you bought Dannon yogurt, they'll give you a coupon for Yoplait. Or if you bought Huggies, you'll get one for Pampers. This makes me chuckle everytime I get them--mostly because I am faithful to my brands. Normally, those brands are the store brands, but if I have something I like (Jif peanut butter), I am not going to buy the "other" brand (Skippy) just because I can get 25 cents off!
Well, this coupon irony took an even funnier turn last night. We're having a friend for dinner tonight, so I went to Cub to buy everything I needed to make one of my favorite pasta dishes. So I get to the register with a box of penne, a head of garlic, a can of tomatoes, a carton of half and half, a bag of parmesan cheese, a bunch of parsley, a container of basil, and a package of proscuitto, along with some bread and a salad. After I paid, and was about to go back to bagging my groceries, I stuffed the receipt in my purse. Under the receipt was one of those silly coupons. But not for Creamette (I'd bought Barilla). Not for Contadina tomatoes (I'd bought Hunt). Not for Kraft cheese (I'd bought the Cub brand).

The coupon was for Stouffer's frozen lasagna.

Update

In light of Jenny's comment on my last post, I feel that I must update you on the situation. That first round of eye drops was obviously with a kid that was not Jack. That's the only way I can explain the fact that every eye drop session since the first one has been a hold-down-the-arms, pry-open-the-eyes, squeeze-the-eye-drop-bottle-as-quickly-as-possible-before-the-eyes-close kind of a situation. Oh well. The "eye drops are fun" stage was fun while it lasted.

Conjunctivitis

Here's one we haven't had yet - pink eye! Jack went to bed with a fever last night, and it was slightly worse this morning. So I called us both in sick and took him to the Minute Clinic (my new favorite invention) at CVS. My guess was another ear infection (his most recent one was a few weeks ago, and he was only on antibiotics for a week), but his ears looked fine. The culprit? The goop that I've been wiping out of his eyes for three days. Oops! I totally missed that one. So the nurse practitioner tells me that I should continue with tylenol for the fever and that she'll fill a prescription for eye drops. FREEZE! You've been struggling to take his temperature, look in his ears, and listen to his breathing, and you expect me to get DROPS into his EYES? HA! She kindly explained that it was the only way to treat pink eye, which is caused by a virus. So we wandered around the store until our prescription was ready and went on our way. I decided to attempt the drops after lunch, so as Jack ate at the table I decided to really play it up. "Jack! Wanna see your medicine?" Jack: "Yeah!" "Okay, this little vial has eye drops in it. (I tip my head back and pretend to squeeze a drop into my own eye). This kind of medicine goes in your eyes!" Jack: "Yeah!" So we finished lunch and I said, 'Jack, do you want to go put the eyedrops in your eyes now?" "YEAH!" I laid him on his changing table and held open one eye. Drip. Blink. Success. Next eye open. Drip. Blink. Success. And Jack's reaction? "AGAIN!" I said, "We will, but not until later when you wake up from your nap." Goofy kid.

New creation

Butterflies are awesome. I mean, they are really beautiful and fluttery and everything, but they are also a really amazing living creature. Jack's daycare provider Cindy had three caterpillars a few weeks ago. One morning when I dropped Jack off, we got to see a caterpillar hanging on a branch into a jar, getting ready to make its chrysalis. Later that same day, when I picked Jack up, I got to watch a video of that very caterpillar making it's cozy little home. Amazing! But that's not the end. Through some divine work that surely only God could be a part of, this caterpillar gets to completely transform itself into a beautiful butterfly. And sure enough, a week after watching that slimy grub of a creature spin himself into a green sack, I got to watch a beautiful monarch butterfly hang from and crawl around on Cindy's finger. It couldn't fly away yet because its wings were still too wet and heavy. So it just hung around for a few days and eventually fluttered off. The same process was seen with the other two caterpillars. And now when I see butterflies, I think, "You used to be a completely different creature! You got to change! When you were a caterpillar, frankly, you weren't much to look at. But now you are gorgeous!" :) There is a quote by Richard Bach that says "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."

Sometimes I would like to change. I'd like to magically transform into something totally different and fly away. Particularly when life is sucky. But the amazing news is that God does transform us. He doesn't just make us and say, "Okay, good luck out there!" He totally changes us every day. Which is so reassuring. Again, particularly when life is sucky. :)

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old [mediocre caterpillar] has gone, the new [beautiful butterfly] has come. (brackets mine....) ;)

Pool fun!

During our staycation last week, we had a couple chances to play in the water. The first was at a friend's neighbor's pool for National Night Out. A perfect night for a swim! The second was during a trip to the Maple Grove community center on Friday. A little chillier, so we did most of our playing in the water inside. :)

Jackson, being cautious on the steps.

Ooh, being a little more adventurous in the water!

Jack and Mommy swimming.

Jack and Eli, fascinated with a giant fiberglass shark. :)

Daddy and Jack at the Maple Grove indoor pool.

So much fun!

My baby all wrapped up!

This might be my favorite picture of the two of us!

Enjoying lunch while drying off before heading home.

A day at Como!!

We spent Thursday with Corinne and Eli at Como Zoo. From the looks of the pictures, we spent most of our time at Como Town on the rides, but the boys really enjoyed the zoo too. ;)

Eli and Jack watching the sea lions.

Jack riding a giraffe!

What an amazing animal.

Adorable Eli!

Dan and Jack in the "mist zone." Apparently it was noisy?

Riding the train.

Almost done!

Ah, the cars. Jack could have done this all day!

On to the blue car.

And the horse races!

Aladdin was a little boring.

But the teacups made up for it. Hilarious!

The carousel.

Awesome way to finish our day!

Children's Museum!

I can't believe this was our first trip here, but Jack LOVED it. We will definitely be back. :)

Working the gears with Daddy.


In a hollow log.

In a tree!

Being a beaver, swimming toward his dam.

On an ant. We couldn't get him out of the ant tunnels, he loved them so much!

Sliding down the stairs. They could probably make that an attraction in itself. :)

Driving the pretend bus.

Being a construction worker.

Being a fire fighter. The uniform came with boots, but they came up to his crotch and kind of freaked him out. :)

Playing with sand.

Playing with ping pong balls in water. I didn't really understand it, but it sure kept his attention!

See?

Racing boats with Daddy.

Working in the factory.

How much does Jack weigh? (35 pounds!)

Being silly with Mommy. He asked me to build a truck. When I said I didn't know how, he pretended to take a nap.

Sliding down the pyramid.

A bear hug with Daddy.

Ah, a busy morning definitely means a nap in the car!