The Inferno

I never in a million years would have imagined that when I answered the phone at work that it would be my husband on the other line telling me to hurry and come get the kids because our van was on fire. I looked at my boss who sits next to me at work and shares a similar string of bad luck and half laughed as I told her I needed to leave because my van was on fire.

In my excitement to leave work I of course forgot my cell phone, pretty typical of me. As I'm driving down route one a good two miles or more away I see black smoke billowing in the sky and it finally clicked in my brain; YOUR VAN IS ON FIRE!

As I pull in to the parking lot that Tom abandoned ship in, the fire truck also pulls up. I didn't see my kids right away and breathed a sigh of relief once I saw them with my own two eyes sitting in the chiropractor's lobby. Hannah immediately burst into tears and began telling me about the van catching fire. This of course made me want to cry, I'm just glad they all got out of the van in time.

Our van is a mere two years old, it is or rather was a Dodge Caravan. It is now a hollowed out carcus of its former self because anything plastic, rubber or fabric is gone.

I think I'm still in shock. The one thing I am certain of,  is that this all happened for a reason and is part of God's grand plan. He was definitely watching out for my husband and kiddos today as Tom unbuckled all three of my babies from the van while it was on fire. Them coming out of this unscathed is my only concern. The rest is just stuff and will sort itself out in the long run.

I don't really know anything yet from the insurance company. I'm hoping they'll call back tomorrow with word on what our next step is.

Please pray for Hannah, she is having a hard time with it and is super upset still. Unfortunately, she did see the van on fire and doesn't quite understand that this is just a fluke thing that happens.

The van being towed away:



Where Carter and Hannah used to sit:



The driver side:



Amongst all of this I did find humor in a few things:

• The claim specialist who told me to collect my belongings from the car, blahahaha


• The irony that I just filled the gas tank up with nearly $60 in gas yesterday


• I had the car serviced 2 weeks ago for regular maintenance and spent $125 on air filter, oil change and new wiper blades


• Tom managed to save our big stroller, he said he needed something to hold Carter in


• My best friend wondering if I'll now be buying a Toyota

The Week of N

Norwhals, noodle necklaces and Valentine's:



Hannah had her first school Valentine's and was totally stoked about all of her little goodies. I had dental work done while she was at school. After my appointment took so long I ended up taking the rest of the day off of work so afterwards we went to see Beauty and The Beast in 3D...so awesome!

Amelia stopped nursing around the 10th of this month and I FINALLY got her drinking formula. My supply was drying up and she was NOT eating formula so I was beginning to get a little panicked. Thankfully after much determination on my part she took to the formula and has been doing excellent since!

Carter is talking up a storm. My favorite thing he says is Aleelah, translation Amelia. I think him talking is definitely helping with his behavior so that's been a welcome change. This boy will be on the straight and narrow in no time!



 

The Week of M

Memories with Mom:



I took off work Tuesday to join Hannah at school. Watching your kid along with the rest of her class is THE cutest thing ever! They did the pledge and the alphabets. Vowels and the days of the month. It's just like I remember when I was in school. After the normal classroom things we made valentine bags and the letter of the week. Not long after muffins were served it was time for all the Mama's to hit the road. I can't wait for next year!

Minnie Mouse, Marshmallow prints and Valentine's hearts:

Things I've Learned This Week

First things first, the other night I had intended to eat a salad with my chicken and then it happened...we ran out of dressing. Some how both dressing bottles were empty at the exact same time. Weird. But, then I remembered that I had a Hidden Valley ranch dressing packet in the cabinet, I typically only use it to make spinach dip. I whipped up the packet of powder with my milk and mayo and oh my gosh it was insanely delicious! Not only was I thankful to have that packet and didn't have to take the kids to store to buy more dressing. But even better I've decided I'm going to start making my own salad dressings. It reminded me a lot like the ranch dressing you might find at your local steakhouse and didn't taste anything like Hidden Valley in a bottle which I'm not a big fan of. So there you have it folks run out and buy your ranch packet immediately and make it to your liking, you can switch out regular mayo for low-fat mayo or whole milk for 2% or low-fat milk to make a healthier version.

The second thing I've discovered this week is that I can no longer eat chicken breast nor do I enjoy cooking it because it takes fifty forevers. Just the thought of eating it makes me ill.

And lastly, I LOVE, like big -pink-puffy-heart love, the new ShopRite. The prices are insanely low and they core and cut your pineapple, need I say more? I was super excited to see they had a coupon for snow crab legs. While I enjoy crabs I don't enjoy their price so I have never bought crabs ever from the grocery store, I know blasphemy. Thanks to ShopRite I bought crab legs for Tom and I to enjoy before the SuperBowl came on and they were insanely good! So thank you ShopRite for having low prices that make me not want to scream when I get to the register :)

The week of L

Lamb, Lion and Groundhog:



Lemur, Lilac and Lace:



A bearded boy:



And of course, Hannah and baby Jesus tucked in bed!: