And the answer is.....

It was FREE! That's right. Steal of the century. I sat down to surf craigslist for a table and chairs and this was the first one that came up. A car dealership was going out of business and giving away the table and toys they had for kids to use while their parents shopped for cars. And the dealership was right down the street from where Jake works! So it was very literally free. And very literally awesome. Jenna loves it. She sits there to eat snacks "in a bowl", draw pictures and play play-doh.

Random sidenote: I was watching the Cosby Show today while Jenna was napping. It was a Halloween episode and the kids were singing a funny song that I remember singing with my brother. It goes:

Trick or treat
Smell my feet!
Give me something good to eat.
If you dont,
I don't care,
I'll pull down your underwear!

Except my mom didn't allow us to say, "I'll pull down your underwear." So we came up with this:

Trick or treat
Smell my feet!
Give me something good to eat.
If you dont,
I don't care,
I'll pull down your pizza!!

How exactly do you pull down someone's pizza? I don't know.... but it sure gave me a good laugh today!

How much did this Ikea table, four chairs and two toys cost us, including gas to pick it up?
A. $15-$20
B. $10-$14.99
C. $5-$9.99
D. $1-$4.99
E. $0

So She Thinks She Can Dance!

Jenna was groovin' to her own music one night so we quickly turned on the radio, grabbed the camera and watcher her rock out. I think her moves are pretty original and she's got great musicality! Carrie Ann would definitely give her a 10! (What I didn't catch on video is Jake dancing right along!)

We've been up to a whole lot of nothing. Here are a few random pictures....

Enjoying a little "i-seem!" on an unusually warm day

Painting toes

Reading books to stuffed animals in their "bed"

Just being cute!

Jenna is really turning into a little girl and talking up a storm! She is very into reading books to dolls and teddy bears and having her Little People use the potty in her doll house from Grandma. She also insists on having all snacks and meals in a bowl. One day after nap I asked her if she wanted to sit on her potty seat. She said, "Pobby, a show. A ce-wo ah boe." Translation: sit on her potty, watch a show and have cereal in a bowl. Wonder where she gets that from?

Hey, watch your language!

I promise I'm not raising a sailor. She's trying to say "FORK."

Haunted House

Jake and I were in bed last night, laughing about Jenna and wishing for a weekend get-a-way when we heard some music playing. I sat up, thinking it was the neighbors across the street because we'd heard music coming from that direction before. But as I listened closely, I realized it was the sultry voice of Chris Daughtry from a CD in our stereo. This wouldn't be so unusual except that I had turned the stereo off earlier in the evening. Freak. Me. Out. Jake immediately assumed the role of brave man and took off down the hall to investigate. He double checked all the locks then came back in to tell me that the CD was playing despite the fact that the stereo was still off! I was in a mild panic at this point but we were both laughing. A few minutes later I told him I couldn't stop thinking about it. To which he said, "Well, then think about cheese." "Cheese?" I asked. "Yeah. And how it's made." (I think my niece Sydney would appreciate that suggestion!) So cheese it was and soon I was fast asleep. But yikes that was creepy. Happy Halloween!

Fashion Statement!

Jenna has strong opinions lately about her clothes. She either refuses to wear them or wears weird things like several pairs of panties at the same time or boots with sweats or boots with sweats and jeans. She will not take these boots off (another clearance item from last year. Babies-R-Us, $6.95)!

Notice her bandaged arm? She had blood work done to test for anemia and lead, plus three shots. Not fun. For either of us.

Cheeser

Jenna, show me your teeth!

Can you see the new eye teeth on the bottom?

Picture Tag

My friend Hidie tagged me and I thought the tag was creative. I'm supposed to post the fourth photo in the fourth folder of my pictures.
This was taken in February, the day after her birthday. Jenna just woke up for the day and her hair was crazy! I was trying to get a picture of the wildness sprouting out of her head.

Get me outta here.

Some not-so-golden things are happening here in our state and we have been encouraged by the First Presidency to use the internet as a way to stand up for our beliefs. The biggest issue on the table right now is Proposition 8, which is simply comprised of 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." Californians voted on this in 2000 and the proposition was supported by 61%. However, a few judges in San Francisco have overturned the decision and so here it is again. Voting YES on Proposition 8 does three things.

It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined.

It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people.

It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs (http://www.protectmarriage.com/).

Jake attended a special broadcast from Salt Lake regarding this issue and learned about the future ramifications of this propositions if it does not pass. This proposition is a stone thrown into water and we must look at the ripples it will cause. This video is a good example of what might happen if traditional marriage is not protected. Watch here.

Please pass the word along and encourage all your Cali friends to vote YES on Proposition 8!

Jenna's new favorite words seems to be no. Last night at the dinner table she caught me glancing at her, shook her head and said, "No." I've been trying teach her to say, "No thank you" mostly so that other people know that I know that she's being a tad snotty. No one wants to be thought of as the mother of the brat!! (An apology goes out to my own mother!) This has been going on for a few weeks and I didn't think she was getting the hang of it until this morning when she threw a major fit when I tried to change her diaper and her clothes. She sat in the corner of her room and wailed. When I explained that she was going to wear a shirt but could choose between the two in front of her she said, "No, mommy, dah doo. Daaaaah doo!"

Come to our garage sale!

The rain couldn't stop us Saturday when my mom and I hit up some garage sales where we found an awesome tricycle for Jenna that was only $5! And a Barbie blow dryer and curling iron along with some doll house toys. It was awesome. As Jake and I were leaving my parent's house, we saw this brother and sister on the street corner frantically waving their garage sale signs. I yelled at Jake to stop!!! and rolled down my window to ask permission to take their picture. I was instantly thrown back to the early '90s when my siblings sent me to the end of the driveway to beckon drivers to take a look at our sale. I would stand out there yelling, "Come to our garage sale!" My frizzy hair was probably out of control and I was probably wearing my hot pink leggings with lace around the ankle under a pair of jean shorts, hoping I looked a little like Amy Grant. I guess I felt a little sympathy for these two, wondering if an older sibling had put them up to it! If so, they'll chuckle at the memory in another 15 years as they write about it on their blog!

Oh gross.

Jenna, usually a great sleeper, has been waking up a lot at night but I've shrugged it off and blamed it on those two new teeth. Well last night was awful (yes, that is bold and italicized!) I heard her at about 2:20 in the morning and decided this had gone on long enough, her teeth had come through and there was no reason for me to get up with her. So I layed in bed, waiting for her to fall back asleep. At one point, she was quiet so I assumed my favorite sleeping position and closed my eyes, only to hear her again crying louder and harder than before. It was now 3:30 and I figured I better go get her, if for no other reason than to allow Jake, who gets up at 4:45, to get the sleep he needs. I rocked her and turned on her music but when I went to put her back in her crib she clung for dear life and screamed, "NO!!!" That's when I knew I was in for it. I rocked her again. Same thing. I put her in her crib anyway and pulled the rocking chair up next to her and the whole time she's screaming, "MAMA! NO! MAMA! MAMA!" I asked her if she wanted me to sing a song, read a book, nothing was calming her down. I rocked her one more time and she freaked again when I put her down. Desperate, I said, "Do you want your back pack?" And lo and behold, my $1.98 clearance item did the trick.
Thank you Cinderella. Thank you Belle and.... who is that? I don't care. My baby slept in until 8:00. And then this morning..... we had other issues. Whining, whining, whining. She didn't want to eat anything, screamed if I walked out of the room, wanted to sit with me while I ate my breakfast. I finally sat down with her to watch "Between the Lions" and she snuggled up to me like she has never snuggled before. I'll admit, I was loving it. What I did not love was what came next. Suddenly, she threw up! And I just sat there in shock! I was not expecting that at all. It was all over her blanket and square, all over her jammies, me, the couch. And I just sat there. I had no clue. And all I could say was, "Oh, Jenna! Oh, Jenna!" Once I snapped out of it and realized vomit was everywhere, I took her right into the bath, called Jake, grabbed everything that needed washing and threw it into the washer then called my sister. I have never had to clean up barf on a couch and needed some help. She suggested Resolve, which did in fact resolve the problem. After the clean-up, Jenna asked for some Triscuits and ate about 6 of them. I gave her some water and we watched another episode of "Between the Lions." She snuggled up again and started closing her eyes. I asked her if she wanted to sleep in Mommy's bed and of course she said yes. And she slept for about an hour and a half. She must be feeling better because she just squeeled, "Shoe!" Yep, everything's back to normal!

I hope they call me on a mission... when I have turned 62!

This last week has been an exciting one for Jake's parents. They received their mission call on Friday, September 26 but were not surprised to be called to the Toronto, Canada mission because their friend, who is the president of that mission, had already "recruited" them. It was surprising, however, that their call said to report to the MTC on December 1 because the mission president said he needed them by mid-October. After a few phone calls back and forth between Toronto, Salt Lake and here, the mission secretary from Salt Lake called on Monday and said to be at the MTC the following Monday (today!)

Reading the call

With the help of lots of friends, we managed to put together an Open House last Wednesday so friends and family could say good-bye. It was a lot of fun and we had brownies and cookies galore!

They were set apart the next night and it was a very special event.
With the Stake President and Bishop

So they left early last Friday to make the drive to Salt Lake. They partied it up with family this weekend and even got to attend General Conference. We are so excited for the opportunity they have to serve a mission and think the people of Toronto are pretty darn lucky! Miss you already Elder & Sister Barnes! Don't forget to write!

Packing the car and driving away....