Ok, as I re-read my post from last night, I can see that I was pretty harsh. Here are some clarifications.

1. I don't hate the people who run the HOA. Like I said in the post, all they are doing is enforcing the rules that are already in place. And I understand that they have a very difficult job, and that they put in a lot of work on our behalf.

2.Really, I just hate it that I am living where there is an HOA. If I had known what an HOA really was when we were looking for homes, I wouldn't have lived here. I thought that having an HOA just meant that I wouldn't have to do yard work. I am the type of girl who likes to handle her own business, and the lack of control that I feel about where my money goes, how the rules are enforced, what the rules are, how difficult it is to change the dumb ones, etc. frusterates me to no end. It is a control issue for me.

3. I do agree with almost all of the rules. But I do not agree with many of the measures the HOA takes to enforce them.

4.I do not hate the stupid guy. Maybe he just needed to blow off a little steam. I really don't know what he expected though, living around this many people. Did he think he would never hear anyone? Oh well, he probably thinks I'm stupid too. That's ok.

In case you missed the HOA meeting...

I do not have adequate words to describe the level of hatred I have for the Home Owner's Association here.

I hate it that I cannot park in front of my house. I know it's against a fire code. I know that it is for our safety. I don't care. I still want to park there. Get over it.

I hate it that even though the insurance premiums the HOA pays for will be going down considerably, our monthly payment will not. (Because the money needs to be saved for future projects such as roofing, repaving, etc. All things that will probably happen when I no longer live here, so frankly, I don't care about them. This probably makes me a big jerk, but I don't care. It's further proof that I am not ready for the Law of Consecration.)

I hate it that although the people running the HOA hold some opinions that represent the VAST MINORITY, they are the only ones actively participating in it, and therefore hold all of the decision-making power.

I hate it that I have so many intelligent, level-headed neighbors who could really make a positive difference, but they don't show up to the meetings, and therefore have no voice.

I hate the stupid guy who spent 20 minutes at this meeting complaining about the fact that his neighbor drives a car with a loud diesel engine, and who wonders if there is any way that the HOA will make a rule about this. SERIOUSLY??? You can't tell people what kind of car they can drive! If you are that annoyed, then just move. (But I guarantee that wherever you move there will be an even more annoying neighbor with an even louder car. Murphy's Law.) Should we really spend 20 minutes entertaining such a stupid idea? Am I the only one here with better things to do?

I hate it that the HOA president asked someone to TAKE PICTURES of people who do not have their dogs on leashes, or whose dog's poop is not cleaned up. And then plans on fining these people with $100 fees. Yes, I know that those are the rules. And I totally agree with and follow them. But whatever happened to just being a nice neighbor and just ASKING the guy to please put a leash on his dog so that he won't get a fine? (When I asked this, everyone said, "I wouldn't talk to these people unless I had a police officer with me. You don't know how dangerous they can be." I don't buy that for a minute. I really and truly believe that most of my neighbors are not violent people who would cause me physical harm if I tried to help them avoid a $100 fine.)
I guarantee that whenever I see the tow truck, I run outside and start banging on doors to warn my neighbors that their car is about to be towed. (Probably much to the chagrin of my across the street neighbors who have more than once seen me running around late at night like a rabid madwoman in ugly pj's and Where's Waldo glasses panting, "Is that your car? Is that your car getting towed?") I think it's the decent thing to do, and I wish that someone had done that for us when our car was towed.

Yes, the HOA committee is just following the rules. I guess the main problem here is that I really just don't want to live where there is an HOA. I want to live in a house where I can plant a whole bunch of ugly plants all over the place, paint my front door florescent orange, let my dog run around and crap everywhere, and park diagonally in the middle of the street if I feel like it.

The End.

My sister-in-law told me about the community food co-op of Utah that she's been using for a while, and we decided to try it ourselves. If you live in or around Salt Lake City and you are watching your budget (who isn't?) here is a great organization to help with your groceries!

Here is what I got today for $23.00

4 lb whole roasting chicken
1 lb lean salisbury steak
1 lb lean pork cubes
1 lb lean ground beef

5 lbs red potatoes
5 oranges
1 head of broccoli
3 cucumbers (not sure what to do with those)
1 head red leaf lettuce
7 bananas
3 tomatoes
1 lb strawberries

stone ground Artisan wheat loaf of bread
16 oz rice

I also got some add-ons:

Nuts from the Nutty Guys and some Bratwurst for about $15.00 more.

Hooray!

Also, I've been anticipating the day when I would finally be able to do something with McKenna's hair besides the Pebbles Flinstone look. Now I can (kind of) put it into a ponytail. It is so cute but it falls out within an hour. Oh well. She has almost no hair on the sides of her head, so right now she is rocking a fantastic mohawk/mullet combo. I'm always trying to figure out ways to make it look cute. Here she is busily engaged in one of her favorite activities: creating as much mess and mayhem in the pantry as she can before I notice. Sorry the pictures aren't so great.

Easter

We had a great Easter weekend!



Growing up, we always had a big Easter egg hunt with all of my Brown relatives at my Grandma Brown's house. I am so glad that my cousin, Terri, is keeping the tradition going even though Grandma passed away almost 2 years ago. I probably wouldn't see my cousins, aunts, and uncles anymore if we didn't go to this party.





Do you see the purple piece of candy that McKenna is contemplating? Well, I gave it to her thinking that she could put it into her bag. Duh! What kind of baby would EVER let go of a piece of candy??? So I just decided she could hang on to it for a while...



Notice in the video that now the purple candy is mysteriously missing. (Hint: It's in her mouth. Wrapper and all.)

JJ got an OBSCENE amount of candy! (Don't worry- we're helping him out with that.)


James was able to emerge from his office a few hours to be there. And McKenna (Note chocolate stains on her clothing) is doing her cute, squinty 'it's too bright out here' face. She was not happy with me when I was forcing my finger into her mouth to remove all the chocolate and tin foil wrapper.


After the hunt we went inside for a pot-luck dinner. McKenna was missing her grandparents, who weren't able to make it. But she's a resourceful girl, and she found someone else's grandpa to feed her some chocolate. (My uncle, Kay, feeding her a peanut butter cup.)


I hope you all had a great weekend too!

When I Try to Talk on the Phone...

...This is what happens:


(FYI, JJ calls McKenna Paca. When we first brought her home from the hospital he couldn't say McKenna, it would just come out, "Paca." So it has stuck. Also, McKenna is doing her happy pterodactyl impression.)

Now for an update on the potty situation:

I was so worn out and fed up over the whole thing last Friday that I decided to give up and put him in Pull-ups. But after about a day of that I realized that he really was getting close to getting the number 1 down. It would be a huge waste to do all of that work and then to just give up.

So.

I've decided that the best course of action is just to give up on the number 2's. I haven't brought it up in almost a week. He still talks about his big boy bike every now and then, but he has never been on it. He knows that when he poops he can ride it. For a while I was torn about how much pressure I should put on him to go. One mom in my neighborhood told me that she sat her child down on the potty and made her stay there until she pooped. FOR 2 HOURS (!!!) I can see that approach working if it is just a battle of wills, but for JJ it really is an anxiety issue.

He is really and truly terrified of going poop on the potty. Or in his words, "The poops are scared." I hope that one day his desire to ride a cool, new bike outweighs his fear, but for now we're letting it go.

I think we are all a lot happier and calmer about this new approach. Just today we spent the whole morning at the Children's Museum, and we never had an accident. He is starting to get the hang of it. Now I'm going to start stretching the times between potty trips. Right now it is every 20-30 minutes. Tomorrow I'm going to shoot for every 35-40 minutes. I know we will have accidents again, but I also think it's the only way to learn.

My Newest Weapon

In my never-ending quest to get my child to poop on the potty, I've tried all sorts of things. Charts, stickers, treats, candy, praise, pleading, begging.... the list goes on and on.

Here is my newest weapon:



JJ got this exact bike, and it is all shiny and new waiting to be enjoyed. But this is a special bike: The only little boys who can ride it, are little boys who go poop in the potty.

This morning when JJ came down and saw it in our living room, he was so excited and wanted to try it. When we explained the rules though, his face fell and he was SO SAD. Then he just turned around and went to lay on the couch, totally dejected. I feel like such a mean mom!

My pediatrician told me that when they were potty training his little boy they had a big trip to Disneyland planned. He told his son that if he wasn't using the potty by then, they would just leave him home. (I thought I was mean!) The son was potty trained the next day.

This bike is the last thing I'm going to try. If it doesn't work, I'm giving up and JJ can wear diapers to college. I seriously can't deal with this any more.

Secretly, I don't think it will work.

Mama Went Shoppin'

Tonight as I was doing the dinner dishes James called me on his way home from work. He told me that my Sunday shoes looked like crap and that when he got home he would take care of the kids and put them to bed so that I could go shopping.

BLESS HIM.



I was so excited to go shopping without that big, cumbersome double stroller. I'm sure the other shoppers wondered what my deal was when they saw the stupid grin on my face as I effortlessly went up and down the escalator. Going in and out of dressing rooms was wonderful too. Usually I have to make like a 12 point turn to get in and out of them. (All the while bumping into walls and leaving a trail of raisins and goldfish crackers as I go.)

Here's what I got



The brown shoes look like they're wearing naughty lingerie and I like that.