I Should Have Just Said “NO!”

I really should have, and I knew it.  A company called Peak Communications called me to tell me they were switching my phone service.  They assured me it was not a sales call, and that while they were not actually AT&T (our home phone service provider) they were an affiliated company contracted to do long distance for AT&T.  They were just calling to inform me that my long-distance was going to change providers, though our bill would still be through AT&T and that it would lower my monthly bill.  They said AT&T was doing this in order to be more competitive with cell phone companies, as many households were getting rid of their home phone altogether.  No contract or other change.

Yada- yada- skip to the part where all I do is say yes this is okay, and I am now under Peak Communications for long distance.  Yeah, it was a scam.  At the very end of the conversation when they transfer you to a third party so they can record your consent, I thought, “You know, I don’t really understand this, and I’d really prefer it if Shawn did this.”  I had asked numerous questions trying to figure out just what was happening and why, and after all their reassurances I still wasn’t quite sure how it worked.  BUT, I felt kind of badly, having put the poor guy through the ringer trying to figure it out, and it seemed a harmless change that actually promised to lower my bill.  Ha Ha.  What I should have felt was not guilt at quitting at the last minute, but justification at not making any changes without a full understanding of what they actually were and a discussion with my husband.  Really- why would I feel pressured to do that, or dumb for still not understanding, or like the decision needed to be made right away?! 

However, we often make decisions under a false sense of pressure, or when we haven’t had time to sleep on it.  The business world is famous for these kinds of sales tactics.  I’m hoping to leave this situation a wiser person, and am resolving never to feel guilty about saying “no” again, or at least “call back when my husband is home.”  I like to think I always have the option to change my mind if something is really worth looking at, and if I miss the occasional good deal anyway- it’s okay. 

BTW- Peak tries to charge 6.5 cents a minute for long distance and uses AT&T as a cover.  When we called AT&T they sighed and said they’ve had a lot of trouble with that company, and switched us back.  Oh, and they have a BBB rating of F, with everyone having the same problems I did.  (Not that it should, but the idea that tons of other people have been taken in by the same scheme made me feel slightly better.) 

Now my blog is officially up to date :)

This week has been a little blah- though I’ll take that over drama and the wrong kinds of excitement.  We’ve got a packed weekend planned anyway.

I’ve had final presentations in two classes.  I learned a lot about Powerpoint and I can now awesomely embed music into a presentation to go along with a previously mundane series of mouse clicks.  Well, I played a lot with animation, transitions, backgrounds, etc. as well, and it was really kind of fun.  Some of Shawn’s geekiness must have rubbed off because after that I was so excited I sat thinking up ways to use my newfound skills and seriously considered a family Christmas Powerpoint presentation to end the year on.

Oh yes, and I now have a smartphone.  A MyTouch 4G to be exact, which Shawn spent many hours poring over eBay to find.  Shawn’s is still in the process of getting here.  He must be more picky about his phone than mine :).  So, I’m learning how to use it, and spent far too long last night downloading apps like “shopping list” and putting music on this novel device.  Shawn just hopes I actually use it.

“We” (read, Shawn and Demetri- but I have been chauffeuring) have spent much of the week planning and making a Pinewood Derby car.  The big event is next Tuesday.  I am completely surprised at the amount of work it takes to actually make one of these things.  Demetri has been up late doing a lot of sanding.  It has to be spray-painted like, 3-4 times, and in between paintings it has to dry for 24 hours!  In my opinion, they’ll be pretty lucky to get it done by Tuesday, but they’re sure working on it.

Last night’s famous quote:  Demetri walked in the bedroom on his way to bed and immediately came back out to tell me that Teddy, who had been in bed for a very long time, was still awake.  When I peeked in to look Teddy quickly shook his head and said, “No, I not still awake!” 

The Smoothie Incident

I’ve been meaning to post for a while…yeah, good intentions and all that. 

So, last week's highlights:

We bought, put up, and decorated our Christmas tree.  The children also strung lights throughout various parts of the house.  Unfortunately there are no pictures of their decorating, because Shawn’s camera broke in China and the one I bought for his birthday is still on its way here due to several complications.  So you’ll just have to take my word for it- for the first time in my life (that I can remember) we have a tree up before the week of Christmas (usually on Christmas Eve).  I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but the kids sure had fun.

We made cinnamon rolls, a garlic-parmesan focaccia bread that didn’t really turn out very well, bread, home-made pizza, and the kids are once again taking turns making dinner.  I even have a 3-week menu that I laboriously planned, complete with shopping list.  However, I did not plan well enough.  I failed to remember which nights were going to be impossible to make something like lasagna or chili-from-scratch because of homework.  The menu has now been “rearranged” significantly.

 
I bought stocking stuffers and Christmas candy, and hid them.  Since I hid them instead of having Shawn hide them…I’m going to have to go buy more Christmas candy before Christmas.  I’m sure I can find something the children will like better than dark chocolate and peanut butter/ dark chocolate with almonds anyway.

Oh yes, and the smoothie.  Sometimes I don’t put all the food away right after lunch.  I get busy putting children down for naps and possibly get distracted by something else.  Maybe I will learn my lesson.  After one normal lunch hour all the boys were standing around peering into the yogurt container.  Demetri thought it smelled funny.  When I checked, I did smell soap, but assumed it was from all the little hands that were very near the yogurt container.  When I made a smoothie the next evening to go with dinner (because I was craving one), it looked gorgeous.  But it tasted like soap.  Yep, it really was soap in the yogurt.  Although I felt sad for Olie, who was the only one who didn’t get a smoothie that night, I was still rather upset about pouring an entire blender-full of frozen fruit down the sink.  My big question was “WHY?”  Who goes around putting hand soap in the yogurt?!  We’ll chalk it up to a science experiment gone wrong, and little boys who wonder “what would happen if…”

Life on the coast

Back in California; getting settled in again.  We had to catch up on grocery shopping and menu planning, and I’m hoping today is going to be a bread making day.  I have several lists of things to do…I didn’t realize a trip would put me so far behind.  We’ve redone the chore charts and we’re working on a homework/chore schedule. 

Teddy alternates between calling me Mom and Grandma.  The children are working on retraining the parakeet.  I have been tying and retying blankets which are acting as capes for my three batmen.  Well- Teddy says he’s a guard helper.

Maternity pictures appeared on my facebook instead of my blog.  I don’t have the originals to put them on here. 

We had a great trip!  We got to see everyone, and we were so grateful to be able to see lots of family we haven’t seen in quite a while.  We spent time with grandmas and grandpas, and had a blast in general.  I was sad to come home, but surprisingly re-energized and newly motivated to be a good wife, mother, and homemaker.  I got to catch up with Mandi, who just moved back to Kamiah.  Yes, I’m jealous…but I’ll work through it :).  I finally met her adorable daughter, and seeing how happy Mandi is was wonderful.  We were able to stop by the Grants house on the way home J which provided a much needed break for the kids- who were happy to run off and play, and some great time with Jenny!  I love seeing my friends.

Shawn and the kids are playing hide-and-go-seek.  Olie just asked Shawn, “Where’s a good place to hide where you won’t know where I am?”  Silly boy.  They are having so much fun!  Demetri’s excited about working on his Pinewood Derby car with Dad.

Okay, break’s over.  Back to homework. 

Holidays

I’ve learned how to make several things I’ve never tried since I’ve been here.  So far, I’ve made breakfast casserole, ramen salad, and manicotti.  We finished the apple pie filling and made applesauce.  Hooray!  The criterion apples we just bought are so delicious. 

Jeri and her family are here.  Teddy and Audri have been fighting all day, just like Jana and Justin used to.  Picture two children clinging to the legs of their respective mommies shouting “My mommy” “No, my mommy” at each other. 

I’m extremely grateful for the router my mom bought while I was here.  Not only does it mean I can use my laptop while someone else uses the desktop, but I’m getting rather large and uncomfortable now and it’s much nicer to sit on a couch than in an uncomfortable kitchen chair for hours on end while I do homework.  Speaking of which, Jer is going to take pictures of my ever growing belly tomorrow, which may well show up on my blog soon.  I’m up at night a lot with restless legs…so far my least favorite pregnancy symptom.  Everything else is going pretty well.

 I love Thanksgiving.  I'm excited to see all my aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, and tons of cousins.  We don't all get together very often.

Thankful for knowledge of the gospel today.

It’s been a sad day.  A friend of the family was killed in a car accident.  It’s hard to imagine a person suddenly being gone who has always been there.

We finished remodeling the living room…not that I did much of it.  The internet has been disconnected for several days.  I missed a lot of homework, but can’t bring myself to care much about it. 

I’m being grateful for my kids, my husband (who, despite being far away, is still on the phone with his wife quite a lot), and for family. 

Fun

The drive was long, but the kids had fun and we got to see family on the way :).  We bought apples on the way up, and we're looking forward to apple pie filling.  Although I've only been here since Wednesday evening and we've already finished off a box.  I found some more if I need to go buy more for canning.  We have to wait until the grape juice is done though.

We're doing much better.  Even in the cold, rainy weather.  Today has been fairly productive as well.  The kids have played outside--they pretty much just ignore the rain.  At the moment they (Ashley, Demetri, Logan, and Theo...with Olie standing by as an observer) are doing the disco to the 80's song "Stayin' Alive."  Where's my video camera when I need it?

I have a huge list of things to do, but everything's more pleasant to do here.  If anyone knows how to finish corners and texture...I'm considering it in my bedroom here if I can figure out how.

The kids get to go to Grandma Pitcher's on Sunday :).  We have a present for Anna that they're excited about.

Trying to be more positive, or at least only scream into pillows

I’m done.  I’ve cracked.  I’m going to my mother’s house.  Sometime soon.  When I get my homework done, and the house clean and if by next week I’m still on the brink of meltdown.  I think I’d rather be in solitary confinement than be here.  I don’t know…do they let you have books in solitary?  This decision has made me feel much better (even though in my opinion it pegs me as a weakling) and I’m cutting my hiatus short, because I write every day anyway, and there’s not really a reason some of that writing shouldn’t go on my blog.  I was just feeling anti-social. You know, I've noticed that there are a lot of different kinds of blogs.  My entries are often just a chronology of how the day went, which many people hate, but that's the kind of blog I like to read, so maybe that's why I write that way. 

Today I cleaned marker and makeup off my couches, vacuumed up chips and eggshell from the living room floor, etc.  It’s been one of those kinds of days. 

Okay, I also picked up some books and a new wardrobe for Demetri today at yard sales.  And several organizing bins- with drawers.  I reorganized the bathroom closet, wrote a paper on parenting styles (ha ha), and managed to throw French fries and frozen burritos in the oven (we will ignore the fact that I burned them).  We watched a Shirley Temple movie while I finished a Powerpoint presentation, which I’m proud of getting in before the due date because I’ve missed so many this week. 

We watched Rio the other night, which I hated, and the second Chronicles of Narnia, which we loved.

Today Teddy was busy singing “Oh MisMis Tree.”  It’s so funny because he sings it over and over, and he even has the right tune.  It has felt like the holiday season for the last month because we have this big book with Christmas songs (Winnie-the-Pooh style) and the buttons on the side that actually play the music to go with them.  I can’t believe how quickly they’ve memorized all the songs.  Shawn wonders if Deseret Book might have that kind of book for the primary songs.   Teddy also has some sort of obsession with being a dancer.  His two most common phrases (aside from “No, I Baby” whenever someone calls him Teddy) are “I goin’ to be a dancer when I gwow up” and “I LOVE to dance.”  Funny kid.  He got the whole idea from a Curious George book (his George book, which holds some sort of special status akin to the blanket he drags behind him all day) that has a page about occupations.  All the boys picked occupations by finding their favorite picture, and Teddy’s was the dancer.  So in his words, “Demetri’s goin’ to be a daddy, Olie’s goin’ to be a soldier, and I goin’ to be a dancer.”

Olie’s newest favorite idea probably comes from the book Guess How Much I Love You- although his statements don’t make quite as much sense.  “Mommy I love you SOOOO much you can talk for 8 minutes.”  “I love you SOOOOO much we can drive all the way to Grandma’s house.”  Silly boy. 

Demetri is busy being my helper.  He’s learning how to cook (last night he only drained one of the four cans of soup because he thought there was going to be too much broth).  He is helping me clean the entire house so I can leave in good conscience.  He reads to his brothers.  We went through clothes today and put away all the ones that are getting too small (including mine).  He loves growing into new clothes.

Shawn is having the time of his life.  I think it’s the first time since before we were married that he doesn’t call me every day that he hasn’t seen me (not counting basic training, because he wasn’t allowed to).  He said he misses my cooking though, which is hilarious, because he generally just tolerates it.  What he really misses is vegetables, especially fresh, raw ones.  He tried scorpion, gets to go to lots of little and big marketplaces (any requests?), has been to the Imperial Palace—and lots of other significant places, and is happy with how much he’s learning just by being there.

I'll be back...sometime

Can I take a hiatus from life?  Well, I'm taking one from blogging, and e-mail, and the phone.  So don't be offended if I don't answer e-mails or pick up the phone (it's probably off).  I'll rejoin the social world when I feel more like a functional human. 

The kids are doing okay.  I'm trying to make sure they get out of the house and get to do some fun things.

See you all later--and my apologies to those I may have just recently invited to my blog.  I'll return shortly.

This one's for you Jer-- Today's Gratitude List

I am grateful for the Relief Society activity that kept me busy for the majority of the day, and that the kids could run themselves to distraction in the sealed-off parking lot.

I’m grateful for the baptism of one of Demetri’s friends that we were able to attend.  I got to answer lots of questions from the little kids, and it was nice to see them excited about being baptized and behaving so well there (okay, until the last 10 minutes!).

I’m grateful that my kids think tuna sandwiches, fruit smoothies, and popcorn for dinner is an awesome treat and that they sing my praises for letting them help out with making such a treat.

I’m grateful for friends and family who care, even though I don’t want to talk to anyone right now.

I’m grateful for my neighbors and their working internet connection which they’ve sweetly provided me access to, so that I don’t have to go to the library anymore to do my homework until the provider decides they have time to fix it.

And for those interested, I've decided to stay.  In part because I really need this van to last for approximately another year, and at 200,000 miles accompanied by some strange noises, I'm trying to prevent more wear and tear issues than absolutely necessary.  But I reserve the right to arbitrarily change my mind at any time, even if it means going without a car for 6 months (which my husband has deemed an impossible pipe dream).