So… we’ve had gas problems lately, and I don’t mean from Levi. My car, Stacey, was spilling gas out its hose right next to my engine!!!  I mean, God really protected us because we could have blown up driving (and I wouldn’t have been driving had I known what was wrong).  All I knew was that the smell of gas was so strong that I got sick from breathing it in (seriously- sick for like, 5 days!).  My father-in-law, awesome mechanic that he is, did a temporary fix on it for me while we are ordering a new hose.  Yesterday, driving to my mom’s house (me, her, and Levi in the van), the hose broke in another place- so we pulled over.  My father-in-law, in the middle of his hectic day, still came to fix it for me again!  The only funny thing about this, I am planning a surprise camping trip for Tim this weekend (which he will know about when he gets home in a few minutes).  So I had the car mostly packed yesterday so he wouldn’t see all the camping stuff out.  Well, when Mom, Levi, and I were stranded on the side of the road (actually a look-out area over the lake), we got out the camping chairs and chips!!!

So a few weeks ago, Tim and I went garage sale shopping.  An area close to ours does semi-annual garage sales and the people usually have REALLY good quality stuff, in good condition, with (of course) garage sale prices.  I mean, we got a leaf blower for $7.00!!!  We also got a “big boy” car seat for Levi (usually $60-100 new) for $15, some toddler riding toys for him, winter clothes, books, and other good stuff.  Any way, my point in all this is that why spend loads of money (like $60 for exersaucer) for baby stuff that can only be used for a short period of time (usually a few months)???  Answer: DO NOT spend all that money for those toys- go to garage sales and spend a little money for those toys.  NO, it doesn’t matter that little Stacey and Jon are playing with a toy that some other child played with (God forbid).  Its called bleach, you use it to bleach things down and it disinfects!  So with a little bleach water and a little green, you can buy all the toys your kids could want!  Remember, this works just as well for house-hold items, too.

So my mom is a personal trainer, I believe I’ve mentioned that before, and she had some great clients that paid for her and a person of her choice to attend a BALL!!!  Its hosted by the hospital annually, and is annually out of my price range.  My mom would have asked my dad to go, but he doesn’t care to dance much so I GOT TO GO!!!  Tim got to “babysit”.  It was loads of fun, we dressed up like Princesses and were served a four-course dinner (yah, there were several forks to the side of the plate- my mom panicked about which to use and I told her start from the outside and work your way in- watching Titanic has finally paid off).  At dinner we talked about the Opera (I LOVE the Opera!) and dog shows (I love dogs).  Then we danced for hours!  The doctors and their wives performed the Mambo Italiano for us!  It was great!  Funny story- mom and I went to get our picture taken while there.  The lady photographer asked upon seeing my very young looking mother and I together, “Girlfriends?” I understood her to mean, friends who are girls? but my mother instantly responded (before I could stop her), “Oh no!  We aren’t like that, I’m her mother!”  Lol, had me laughing anyway.  I’m sending her clients a Thank You for giving me a chance to dress up and dance!  Speaking of my mom’s clients, please pray for their family- their son and his family were in a bad car accident and the situation doesn’t look good right now.

Well, I’ll let you know how the camping trip goes!