Tickets and tires

Wow...I hope this van isn't bad karma. I bought it on Thursday night. Saturday when driving back to Lubbock, I was pulled over for speeding (I guess I have had bad luck since moving to Lubbock). He pulled me over just a feet yards after a speed change sign, so I simply hadn't slowed down yet. Gratefully, the officer was kind - maybe because I was pregnant and Hattie was sleeping in the backseat - and only gave me a warning.

Sunday, when dropping off dinner at a friends' house, I heard a strange noise at the back of the van. I looked at the area where the noise was coming from, but saw nothing. Later when Sam and Brittney came to dinner, they said there was a bolt in my tire. Upon further inspection we discovered this:

Gratefully we patched it up easily, but now I'm worried about what other strange van trouble will happen!

A very long week

It all began back in July, when we packed up our house and moved to Texas. Before going to Lubbock, we spent a week in Dallas with Paul's family...to hang out with them and also to pick up some furniture we would be borrowing over the next four years. We loaded up my father-in-law's Dodge pickup and headed out.

So, for the last 10 months we've been in charge of the Iverson family truck. Most of the time, it sat idle in our driveway since it isn't the most reliable vehicle. But in February, our little Mazda started having some problems, so Paul didn't want me driving it anymore in case it broke down on me. So I started driving the truck. Let's just say that getting in and out of a 2-door truck with toddler and a growing pregnant belly is not fun or easy. This last month it has been more than uncomfortable. And I would often stay home rather than climbing inside. Not only do I dislike getting up into it, I feel like I'm 50 feet long when I drive it. It's too big for me to feel comfortable parking anyhwhere near other cars, so I always park in the back 40 of the parking lot at stores.

But alas, my truck driving days are over. Last Sunday Hattie, my father-in-law, and I drove the truck from Lubbock to Dallas. My goal in Dallas: to buy a minivan. Yup, we are a true suburban family now!

But finding the van is a story all in it's own, as almost all car buying experiences are. Let's just say that I will never trust one single word a salesman says, will inspect every feature and detail myself, and will bring someone along with me who is better experienced at negotiating! Thanks Erika!

This week in Dallas has been one of the most stressful in my recent memory. Before we left Lubbock, Hattie had been having some discharge from her eyes, but it never turned into pink eye. But once we were in Dallas, one of her eyes became infected and she was running a high fever. Diagonosis: pink eye, double ear infection, and bronchitis! Poor kid. She was so unhappy. And only I could console her, yet I was trying to buy a van at the same time, so she was miserable when I would leave her with my in-laws for a few hours. And I could feel some bronchitis starting in myself. So to make a long story a little bit shorter, we are both feeling a lot better, we have a van to take us home to Lubbock tomorrow, and I have never been so ready to see my husband again. I don't know how single moms do it!

Now that Hattie is feeling better, she has started to play and be her normal self...which includes discovering a pink marker and becoming an artist. Do you think she was trying to put lipstick on? And draw some knee pads?

Mothers, tests, and eye drama

Many people have asked how my Mother's Day was. Too be honest, quite lame.

We were asked to speak in church on Sunday about mothers. I don't do very well when given such a vague assignment. So all week long I thought and read a lot, but I hadn't sat down to write anything. And neither had Paul. Literally, ALL day Saturday Paul worked on his talk...from 9 am to 11 pm. He did take break to help out a friend, as well as a walk around the block to clear his brain. That put me on Hattie duty, so I worked on mine during her nap and after she went to bed. Gratefully, Sunday morning, all turned out well...at least as far as the talks were concerned. Halfway through sacrament meeting I realized that Hattie had an eye infection...pink eye or something like it. So I sent Paul home with her while I stayed behind to teach Sunday School. The poor girl woke up from her nap with her eyes practically glued shut, saying, "EYES! EYES!" Paul had a big test the next morning, which he had hardly studied for because he devoted Saturday to his talk. So Mother's Day was quite stressful, trying to stay out of Paul's way so he could study, and keeping little Hattie happy through her goopy eyes. I was glad when the day was over!

Miraculously, Paul did fine on his test...far better than we expected considering how little he was able to study. But Hattie and I have been stuck at home for a few days now. Sure hope her infection clears up quickly.

Yes...Another non-picky eater!

I like to eat. There are few foods that I don't like (polenta, tofu, ... a few others), and I am always willing to try something new. Melanie is not this way (although she may argue with that statement in the comments). That being said, I have been worried that our children would be picky eaters too so you can imagine how the following event brought joy to my heart.

Last Saturday Melanie and I decided to just get take-out Pei-Wei rather than make dinner. We both love Chinese food but have always felt a little bad getting it since Hattie essentially only gets to eat the rice because we order spicy dishes. This time however we decided to let her try something new so I gave her a crab wonton. Melanie later told me that, when I gave it to Hattie, she thought, "Well that's a waste of a perfectly good wonton" (I figured it was better than giving her some of the "Blazin' Thai Noodles" or the "Spicy Dan Dan Noodles"). Hattie looked at it, took an exploratory nibble, and then devoured it, crab and all. She then went on to eat another wonton, 3 fortune cookies, and some brown rice. She topped the meal by drinking her sweet and sour sauce. Yes folks, Hattie is not a picky eater!