My Life as an Auto Mechanic

A friend of mine just made a post about working on her own car. Unusual for a chick, right? But I used to be a do-it-yourself-er myself. In high school, I drove my brothers 1963 Dodge Dart while he was on a mission. When the starter went out I learned how to get under the hood and use a wrench to connect the points while pulling the gas line with the other hand and get it started. Some hot guys at youth conference were seriously impressed, which got me thinking I should do more of this stuff. So for the next several years I regularly changed my own oil and brake pads. I gave my car its own tune-up in college, replacing spark plugs (including gapping them) and wires, fuel and air filters, etc. I even changed my own starter once, arms blackened to the elbows in the driveway of my house across the street from BYU campus.

But three years ago I married a guy who, despite having an engineering degree and a meticulous mind, just doesn't do work on his own car. Instead he prefers to have a new-ish car that has things like a "diagnostic computer" and an engine full of ridiculous amounts of wires and parts that requires professional maintenance. Within 6 months of our wedding he replaced my "much-loved" (totally falling-apart) 1987 Subaru with a shiny red 1999 Outback. Bless him. Since then I've brought my car to Oil Can Henry's when it needs a change. I have bought 4 brand new tires simultaneously (instead of one at a time, used). My car has mysteriously not needed any major work since we bought it (how is this possible? My last car needed something every couple months).

Two days ago I had to replace my windshield wiper. I went into the auto parts store and, much to my embarrassment, I couldn't remember the first thing about how to find the right one or even get them on and off my car. I stood there for some time trying to jog my memory. Eventually I had to go up to the counter and ask for help, and an employee did it all for me (a girl, mind you, much younger than me). I wanted to tell them all about my past mechanical know-how, and how it was really cool, for a girl, to know how to do all that stuff. I wanted to say, "I know I seem retarded right now, but I am really actually totally smart and mechanically-abled. I totally know how to work on a car. Or, er, at least I used to." But of course I didn't say that, and they all just thought I was a dumb, helpless, yuppie mom. Which, I guess, I am.

(p.s. the pictures are a catalogue of all the cars I've driven in my lifetime: 1967 Dodge Van, 1963 Dodge Dart, 1981 Honda Accord, 1987 Subaru Wagon, 1999 Subaru Outback)

I'm Dreaming of a White Birthday

This morning we woke up to a blanket of white over everything. I was soooo excited! So I showed Seville the proper way to play in snow...

Here she is checking out a piece of ice/show. Very curious about it.

Next "we" made a snow(wo)man.

Seville is trying to see what's going on underneath her hat, or how her head is attached, or maybe her inner bully is showing through. In any case...

Oops. Decapitated snow(wo)man.

I felt the need to replace her head. But this time I didn't try eyelashes. Somebody was getting tired.

All done with snow.

Jared's Birthday

...was on Saturday. He's still pipsqueak compared to his older and wiser wife, but he nevertheless continues to try and catch up to me.

He was in the mood for a low-key day, so we tooled around most of the day doing not much at all, and then a few family members came over for cake. Thanks family! And Happy Birthday Jared!

(side-note: I think this is the first time I've posted Jared's new look on the blog. As you can see, after his previous hairlessness he's decided to grow all the hair he can. As of this writing, however, the beard is gone. I'll have to post pictures of his sexy new self later)

My Birthday...

...was eventful, but not necessarily in a good way. I was up with Seville almost the entire night before, with a couple of brief fits of sleep between 4:30am and 10am. The poor thing has so many little problems right now (sore fingers, diaper rash, constipation, runny nose, teething) that it took us till morning to realize that she wasn't using her right arm. Once we figured this out we also realized that if you touched or moved it she would cry. So most of the following day (my birthday) was spent going back and forth to the Dr.'s office and hospital, getting X-rays, etc. The X-rays didn't show anything, and we were unable to determine exactly what was going on, other than that it seemed to be her shoulder or clavicle area that was bothering her the most. The Dr. told us to give her motrin, take her home and watch her closely for a while. If she didn't improve by the next day we were to bring her back.

Lucky for all of us, she is significantly improved by now. Who knows what was going on, but she seems to be getting better (also most of her other maladies are resolved or resolving. phew!).

So after all this we made some quick calls and went to dinner with family. They were great, and turned it into a festive evening.

For my birthday Jared got me a tent (well, half of it. He gets the other half for his birthday). It's a 3-man backpacking tent - an upgrade from our 2-man tents. In conjunction with the gift, we're planning a backpacking trip in the spring in S. Utah, which will be the best gift of all.

Thanks everyone for the emails, phone calls, cards, etc!

(...we'll see if Jared fares any better on his birthday this Saturday. :)

ONE!

Seville's Birthday:


Uncle Bryce came over on his lunch break and brought Seville daffodils. Her first flowers from a man. awwwww.

She got an activity play table for her birthday (which she loves), and a home-made dolly (which she didn't care much about beyond the first 10 minutes, but hopefully she will when she gets into "babies" later). It's my first attempt at makinga doll, and it's got some "character" (lopsided features). I figure if I want to make her a decent doll by the time she knows the difference, I better get started learning now. My next will be infinitely better, based on the learning experiences (read: mistakes) I had this time around.

We invited Seville's 1-year old friends to her birthday party. Between the Candland twins, the Faucette twins, and her cousin Ashlynn, there were 6 1-year olds in attendance. It was soooo cute watching them play together.

Here she is opening presents (which means I was opening presents while trying to keep her in my lap. At the time, she was far more interested in the other babies and existing toys to care what was inside a package. I'm sure all that will change by her next birthday.). (Thanks so much to her friends who brought her gifts. She loves all her new toys!)

Click on the slideshow to see more pictures.

I can't believe I have a one-year-old. The first year has gone by SO FAST! (I know it's cliche' to say. Everyone says that, but, man alive, you don't understand until it happens to you).

Happy Birthday baby girl!

3 days and counting...

So we're throwing a birthday party for Seville on Friday (her actual birthday is Thursday, but some relatives are coming from out of town so I'm bending my hard and fast rule about birthdays being on birthdays. Bad precedent, I know).

(yes, I made the invitation with TyBook graphics. Cute, huh?)

I have really mixed feelings about throwing a one-year-old birthday party. I used to think the whole idea was a bit silly, and I realize she'll have no idea what's going on, but now that I have my own kid I can't resist. Any excuse to watch her be cute is a good excuse to me. The tough part, really, is deciding who to invite without embarrassing myself. I don't want people thinking I seriously expect them to come and make a big deal out of Seville's birthday, but neither do I want anyone to think I didn't consider them a "close enough friend." I guess this is no different than the great who that you experience for baby showers, weddings, Christmas cards, etc. Anyway, I decided to go generally with family and people with babies her age, which I figure is a fairly safe bet. Of course, anyone not fitting that criteria who wants to come would certainly be welcome, but I would hate to presume any interest, and I would hate to elicit any eye-rolling by those who are either childless or more "experienced" parents than I.

So once again, here I am eating my pre-baby words. I kinda wanna start keeping a running tab on how many times I do that, but I've already lost count.

"C" is for cookie, and cookie is for me

We've decided to have "birthday week" instead of just birthday for Seville. Mostly because we made cookies for Family Home Evening tonight and she wanted one and, well, I just couldn't resist that pudgy little hand reaching out and that cute little whimper as she watched me eating mine.

So today, 4 days ahead of schedule (she isn't one until Thursday), she got to have her first exposure to chocolate, and her first grown-up, non-barley, non-sugar-free cookie (mind you, it was all whole-grain with no refined flours or sugars, but still).




Welcome to my world, little one.

Our Christmas Holidays

Happy New Year

There's something I love about a flower bud, and the symbolism it carries. It seems wholly appropriate for the New Year, and all the promise and hope it has to offer. I went out and picked the last of my roses this morning, figuring that one final New Year's arrangement was worthy of them all. I can't believe how many there are that are still in tact. And I can't stop staring at this arrangement on my dining table, and thinking about what this year has in store for us.

Fictitious Numbers

Are you serious people?! As of this moment, according to my little poll on the right, fully 88% of you think a jillion is more than a zillion! I mean, come on! A zillion is clearly more! I mean, it has a Z in it for heaven's sake. Anything starting with a Z obviously has to be more than something starting with a mere and paltry J. I mean, please. You can't be serious.

ok, I gotta get more votes here. All you who haven't noticed the poll up till now, you have to weigh in for me. (Also, if you don't vote for zillion I'm going to lose my bet with Jared. I am loathe to lose a bet with Jared, so think about this before you vote! The logical answer is SO a zillion!)

Merry Christmas!

(click anywhere below to see original size)

Lame Things That Happen Sometimes

Last night my car was broken into for the second time in as many months. Thankfully I had no purse, wallet, or ipod in there. They did, however, get some random things, including my diaper bag, so they made away with some pretty sweet #2 Huggies. I'm not sure of the street value on something like that, but they pretty much scored. Actually, in all seriousness, the diaper bag had these ( --> ) very cute baby sunglasses in it, for which I paid no small sum at Janie and Jack last summer (my one summer splurge, and the only thing I can afford at Janie and Jack). So then my ho hum attitude about them not getting anything worth much faded as I started to mentally add up what they DID get, that is valuable not to them, but to me. It goes something like this:

Bob Diaper Bag: $75
Huggies, Scented Bags, Wipes and Wipe Dispenser, Hand Sanitizer, A Toy or Two, Pacifier, etc: $15?
Set of Three TyBooks: $38
Velvet Handbag for formal evenings: $40?
My favorite lipstick: $25
My favorite lipliner: $30
Seville's Sunglasses: $13
Christmas Presents for Jared: $26.99
Box of Avery Labels: $28.99
Stamps: $26.70
The Last of my Christmas Letters: $5
Envelopes: $5
Custom Return Address Stamp: $30

TOTAL: Approx. $359. And that's not including stuff I haven't realized they got yet and Jared's relatively new iPod that was stolen a couple months ago (another $400).

CURSE THOSE THIEVES!! I hate thieves. That's not Christlike, I know, but I have to wonder if they'll look at our Christmas letter and see that they stole from someone who has cancer and a baby. Probably not. I don't think they'd care anyway.

Anyway, all this is to say that if you don't get a Christmas letter from us, it's probably because you were one of the stragglers whose address I didn't confirm until a couple days ago, and then yours was stolen. Since I probably won't be visiting Kinkos in the next days, I will post our letter for all to see (I was gonna post it right here, but then I realized that's not a very Christmassy introduction, and don't want a downer "Merry Christmas" post. So I'll post it on Christmas Eve or something, when I'm not feeling bitter and we've all had some time to calm down.

Gluttonous Cute Pictures

This is the view I get while brushing my teeth. And rather frequently throughout the day actually (can ya stand it?).

Seville in her Christmas Dress. It was a gift that's been in her closet since I was pregnant. I love how foofy it is! (I know. I'm eating my pre-baby words.)

Here is a terrible picture and you can't see much, but it is Jared's head: he is growing little hairs. The funny thing about his hair re-growth is this: I expected that when it grew back whiskers would be whiskers, hair would be hair, etc. Not so! Everything is a fine, soft, baby-hair-like peach fuzz, no matter where on his body it is. And it's blonde! So he has hair on his face that's like a little kid's, and the hair on his head is super super soft and white. We had heard that it may come in a different color or curly or something. It's not long enough to tell yet, but we'll see.

Seville Meets Her First Skunk

And since she loves all animals, she immediately took to him, having no sense of a normal adult's hesitation.

Here she is trying to pet him (Toby). Holding him is Kadra (my brother's girlfriend).

(yes, she's wearing real silk and velvet - a holiday outfit my parents brought home from Beijing a few weeks ago. Fancy, huh?)

Toby belongs to some friends of ours, and this was the first time we met him too. He's actually very cute (anything that uses its hands to eat gets bonus points on the cute-o-meter). And never fear - he's been "de-scented" - so in the picture above where he is pointing his little skunk butt and tail at Seville, he is actually harmless.

A Family of Geniuses

My family is full of geniuses (just call us the Pixton-Tenenbaums). First Amy with the TyBooks, then Clay with this idea! I got an email from him today. I was so impressed with his idea, I had to share:

Guys! I have an awesome idea for a new product/invention (Amy thinks she's so smart with TyBook). You know us men and fathers of multiples have our pet peeves too, and as they say, pet peeves are the mother of invention. Anyway, my pet peeve is never being able to find one of the three cordless phones we have in the house without scrambling all around in a panic when it rings, trying to listen to it, not finding it in any likely places, yelling at my kids to be quiet, waiting for the next ring, etc. Who wants to go through that every time the phone rings? Not me. I don't believe any man does.

But I've thought of a solution, and I believe technology has just reached the point that it can happen. I'm going to invent a phone that is physically tied to a spot in the house. That's right, it can no longer get lost! Just follow the string, and there you go! Piece of cake. But did you think I was going to use just any string? No, it will be a rubberized, curly retractable string, to minimize tangling (I'm a genius!). Never again will we have to hunt for a ringing phone!!! To make things even more convenient, I will make it with a hook on the base part, with a special sensor, so that if it ISN'T on the hook it will beep loudly until you put it back! Foolproof!!

This phone does everything, you're thinking. But I haven't even told you my best most revolutionary feature. This phone's battery will never die! That's right, it will NEVER DIE, because hidden inside the curly cord will be a tiny wire that carries the signal from the phone to the actual phone lines. No need for a battery! (Books for babies--HA! This will revolutionize the WORLD!!!) To top it off I will make it in a stylish black with a nice big handle for ergonomics (instead of today's dinky little things that just get lost in between couch cushions like a quarter), with a nice prominent round mouthpiece and earpiece, permanently affixed so you don't have to even open it! Talk about easy!

Now just when you thought I've thought of it all and then some, haven't you ever accidentally hung up on your conversation-mate because your face pressed a button, or pressed a button and it beeped and the person on the other end asked if you were still there, or you accidentally quick-dialed some number and you can't figure out what's going on and your conversation is basically ruined? Well no more! Because with this new phone (look out, iPhone) the buttons are all on the part that's connected to your wall or sitting on your desk! So that will never again be a problem! (I'll be accepting investments immediately.)

Speaking of Apple products I plan to roll out a model with an extremely easy-to-use user interface which consists of a kind of scroll wheel, except a physical, three-dimentional one that you can put your fingers in, to dial numbers. Kind of like an iPod, only more up to date. Truly ahead of its time. But like I always say, where there's a will, there's a way, and the brilliant minds of our day drive technology and advancement to new heights.

So that's my new invention. Please keep this a secret for now, as I'll be soon entering the process of applying for patents, etc. (Jared, I'll be giving you a call.) But I wanted you all to be able to share in my excitement. Do let me know what you think!

Clay