See, I *can* stick up for myself

This week has been a week of lots of little headaches that, when compounded, make for a week that...well, I'm glad is almost over. One of the highlights was having my car hit again, though it was parked, we weren't in it, and it's just the rear bumper. Not a big deal, but I just hate dealing with car things. My car was parked in front of my friends house, a guy in the house across the nice wide street backed his car out of the driveway and into my car. He fully admitted that he just didn't see my car, which is silly because my car was not wearing an invisibility cloak nor is it a matchbox car. So he failed to use his rearview mirror or look over his shoulder; it's not like the street is really narrow and hitting my car was inevitable.

He seemed really irritated, since he was going to be late to work ("trust me! we'll deal with this later!"), but I insisted that we exchange info. He called later and asked that I use a certain body shop that would repair, instead of replace, the bumper. I didn't want to drive the 70+ minute round trip there, so I emailed the shop pictures and asked if that could even be repaired there. They said yes, but they'd recommend replacing, since it would be cheaper. I called back Mr. Can't-look-backwards with the $500 estimate, and told him I'd get another one closer to me. He responded with "Well, why don't you come to my house, I'll order your bumper and paint and put it on?"

Uhhhhh...seriously? He's got a thick accent, so I'm thinking I must have misheard. "I'm sorry, you want to go to the body shop and order the bumper yourself? I think they can do it all there."

"No, no...I'll order it, order matching paint, and put it on your car myself."

"No, I---"

"I'm really good at that kind of thing. I painted my car myself. You can come see. I did a good job."

"Really. Do you own a body shop? Are you a mechanic?"

"No, but I know people. And body shops charge a lot for overhead, so I'll just do it myself."

"No, you won't. Are you ASE certified? Do you have any sort of guarantee? Because most places will stand behind their work, so if something happens, I can go back and have it fixed. If I let you fix my bumper and it falls off in a week, I have no recourse."

"You just have to trust me," he said indignantly.

"No, I have to do what's best for---"

"You have to trust me!" he interrupts, obviously irritated with me at this point, but I was ticked.

"No, sir, I don't HAVE to trust you. You hit my car, and it needs to be fixed. By a professional. Granted, it's in your best interest that I trust you and let you fix it on the cheap, but I have no reason to trust you. I would be happy to go through your insurance if this is too much for you, but my car will be fixed in a body shop, not by you." I wish I had thrown in you can't be trusted to use your rearview mirror and yet you want me to trust you to fix my car?

He suddenly switched back to Mr. Polite, "Okay, okay, so you'll get the car fixed and I'll write you a check."

"No, I'll get a quote, then we'll discuss the next step as far as payment goes," I corrected him.

I was hopping mad by the time I got off the phone, but also laughing at myself for how worked up I got. The day before, Dave was worried about me letting him bully me into using a certain body shop, doing things this guy's way, etc. I assured him I would stick up for myself. See, when I know I'm right or really care about something, I'll fight for it. Getting my car fixed right, I care about. Where we eat for dinner--not so much.

And since I don't want to end on that rant, here's what you really came for:

On my birthday, with flowers from Dave & Mabes and my Young Women

Dave and Mabes proudly displaying the Chocolate Delight they made--it was fantastic!

Mabes and Dave show their jumping skills

Walking on the greenway--it seems like you're in the middle of nowhere. There are so many trees, you can't see much of the houses that are really close.

Sisters

The summer before college was a pivotal time in my life. A week into what I thought would be the most fun summer of my life, my parents strongly encouraged me to get a job. I didn't want a job. I wanted to enjoy my last summer as a kid. However, boredom, peer pressure, and parental pressure won out, and I begrudgingly got a job with a company that was a client of my dad's. I was particularly unenthused because my sister, Sarah, had been working there for just over a month before I started, and didn't exactly skip off to work each morning. Also, she would basically be my boss, a role she had tried to claim for most of my life (how many times did my mom say "Let ME be the mom!"), and one she would relish. I wasn't excited.

I don't mean to make it sound like we hated each other--quite the opposite. We played well together as kids, and were pretty good friends. Of course we had our moments, followed by my mom saying, "Be nice to each other--you'll regret this fighting some day." (We don't--looking back, those fights are funny!) But by junior high and high school, we had our own sets of friends, and she was 3 years older and therefore much cooler than I was. Since we shared a room, we'd talk about boys, school, etc., but would never hang out together on weekends. We were sisters, we were friends...just not great friends.

That summer changed everything. Because we were working on a super secret law suit, our boss had us hidden in an office and we couldn't talk to anyone about what we were doing. Sounds exciting, huh? Basically we had to organize countless boxes of thousands of discovery documents (seriously--by the end we had hundreds of 3" binders full of documents), index, tab, and then create a database. It was tedious work. But through that tedium grew a friendship, one with silly inside jokes, stupid songs about tabbing (we still sing it occasionally), conspiracy theories about our Jelly Belly-hoarding coworkers and their large underpants, and laughing so hard about our anonymous departmental complaint box and fighting to regain composure when our boss walked in. And yes, we were the only two people in our "department."

I think that was when we realized that we genuinely liked being with each other, not because our parents made us, but because we had fun together. That friendship grew as we went to school that fall, and though I lived in the dorms, I spent a fair amount of time with Sarah both on campus and just hanging out at her apartment. We even took a French class together (ma BONNE soeur!), we'd go out together, she'd let me tag along with her friends, only it never felt like "tagging along."

I used to roll my eyes when my mom would say we'd be best friends someday. But I can admit when I'm wrong, and I'm so glad I was wrong in this case. Though I wish we lived closer, I tell myself it's for the best, as our shared love of food and TV would leave our kids neglected and our posteriors enormous. Sarah is one of my best friends, someone I can call when I want to vent, whine, or just chat. She has an enthusiasm broadcasted by the color of her hair, and I can count on her to celebrate my joys with more enthusiasm and mourn my difficulties with more sadness than I do. She makes a good time better. Happy birthday, Sarah.

How many boxes of candles do we have to buy?

Well, Allison's teenage years are now more than a decade past -- now we can't even trick ourselves into thinking we're cool anymore. I welcome my best friend into her 30s with best wishes for the next 30 and a tremendous appreciation for knowing her throughout her 20s. Here are just a few things Mabes and I love about her:

• Her cooking. She's our in-house Julia Child (but still centuries younger and much sexier).
• She's smart and loves to learn so much about so much. When maps are desired wall art and you can carry on debates over the merits of Chicago Style, MLA and Strunk & White, you can call yourself a nerd.
  
• Great sense of humor. She's a nerd but she loves to laugh more than anything. When you intertwine Seinfeld and Dumb and Dumber into the discussion on style formats, then you have a true Renaissance Woman.
• She puts up with us. She listens, she cooks, she pushes us to be our best, and she even cleans up floppies (fortunately, the last one is just for one of us).

She's just a great person to be around and we like her just the way she is.

- Dave & Mabes

(Mabes isn't much help in showing me how to post a pic here, so we'll save that for later)

My favorite things

1. Del Taco. It's official, I like Del Taco better than Taco Bell. We went while we were in Colorado, and I forgot how much I love that place. It brought back memories of when Emily (who introduced me to it) and I would drive to North Orem for a fix. Their spicy jack chicken quesadillas and chicken soft tacos are fantastic--and don't leave you with that icky what-was-I-thinking feeling that Taco Bell does. Unfortunately, the nearest Del Taco is in Ohio, so I won't be getting another fix for a long time. Toledoans don't know how good they have it.

2. Spring. When we left, the leaves were just beginning to come back on the trees. Now, everything is green, it's warm, sunny, and gorgeous.

3. My birthday, proving that I still haven't matured beyond the "it's my birthday--heeeeeeeee!" stage. But birthdays are a fabulous excuse for going out with friends, eating lots, and general self-indulgence. I bought everything I need for my perfect dinner (tri tip sandwiches and chocolate delight!) on Sunday, and the aforementioned perfect weather will be a nice compliment. Between now and then, there will be much celebration, but again, it's just an excuse for excess. So go ahead and eat that ice cream/leftover Easter candy/midafternoon meal at Del Taco--you're not bingeing, you're celebrating me!

4. My new skirt:
I tried it on at Ann Taylor Loft and quickly realized that I may be spending my entire summer in this skirt. So thanks to a buy-1-get-1-free coupon (who knew ATL did those?), I got it in black and green. It's much cuter in person, and the elastic waist and jersey knit make it more comfortable than yoga pants. (I realize according to Stacy and Clinton, "comfort" isn't reason enough to buy something. But perhaps if they had to chase/wrestle a 40 lb 3-year-old at the park on a humid Southern summer day, they'd change their minds...) So just a heads up to those looking for flattering, comfortable summer wear--run to Loft, thank me later.

5. Vacation planning. Sarah's post pretty much sums it up. And while August in Orlando may be slightly uncomfortable, we'll be having so much fun it won't matter. Plus, I'll be wearing my marvelously comfortable new skirt. I was initially excited merely by the thought of Mabes getting to go to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. Between the castle, princesses, rides, and--oh yeah-- celebrating her birthday, she very well may explode with joy. And after reminiscing about past family vacations last week, I'm looking forward to having a ridiculously fun time posing for pictures on rides (have you found those yet, Moom?), keeping silly Captain's Logs (more on those later), and all the general craziness that accompanies Ostler gatherings. It's going to be a blast.

Springtime for Mabes in Colorado

Again, we were prepared for cold weather, rain, and warm weather, but this surprised us:

Mabes was delighted, though. So the kids bundled up and headed outside to play while Sarah shoveled the driveway.

"Uhhh...little help, guys?"

Mabes tries to help Aunt Sarah...


...while Moom plays.

Mabes discovers that sledding is much more fun.

When we talked to Dave on Saturday night, Mabes told him all about the snow and sledding. He had gone to Columbia (SC) that day to go to the temple and play golf with a friend. It was 83 there--a slight weather difference.


Sunday was much warmer, so much that it seemed like the kids were just playing in sand rather than snow.

...until Mabes tried to walk in the snow barefoot; she quickly realized that just because the air was warm, didn't mean the snow was, too.

So they put on their boots and played on the swingset.

And this one's for Becca:

Travel tips

1. If a friend offers to watch your kid the day before a trip, take her up on that offer.
As my parents can attest, I don't like to put people out. So when Tanji called and offered to watch Mabes so I could pack, my first thought was, "oh, that's not necessary, we'll be fine. I'll save the offer for when it's really needed." But then I started thinking about how nice it could be, and how much more fun Mabes would have playing with Tanji's kids than running errands with me, so I took her up on the offer. I was actually able to pack early and get all my laundry and errands done. It was so nice to leave for a trip and not have a knot in my stomach from being rushed. I'm very appreciative when a friend watches Mabes when I have a dentist or doctor's appointment, so when someone volunteers to watch Mabes for something unnecessary? It was huge, and made for a fantastic start to the trip.

2. Get your kid pumped up.
On Tuesday morning, Dave woke up Mabes just before 7 so we could get her dressed and rush out to the car. She yelled something about chicken (must have been having a dream), and generally doesn't like to be woken up. But then suddenly realizing what day it was, she threw her arms in the air and said "today we're going to get on the airplane to go see Ainsleigh and Dono!" She happily got dressed quickly and hurried out to the car. Very un-Mabes-like.

3. Choose your breakfast wisely.
If you're faced with a to-go breakfast choice of a Chex bar or Fiber One bar, you might think the Fiber One bar would be the healthier, more filling choice. But if you haven't had one in a while, choosing one on the day of travel is not the best idea. That, combined with all the carbonation they give you, make for very bloated and uncomfortable traveling. (Dave pointed out that they don't give it to you unless you ask. But hey, if American Airlines charges for snacks but gives you the whole can during beverage service, you bet I'm going to get my complimentary Diet Dr. Peppers!)

4. Take advantage of fun things at the airport...but be aware of the time.
We may have been a little late boarding the second flight because Mabes was having so much fun riding the train between terminals at the Dallas airport. But we were in a later boarding group and we totally made it, so it was fine.


5. Despite your best efforts, there are always things you could have packed.
See post below. Also, before we left, I checked weather reports and was prepared for warm weather, cold weather, and thunderstorms. I wasn't prepared for this:



We landed in Denver just a few minutes after my Mom, so she was waiting for us at the gate. Mabes was very excited to see her and squeeze her, and then we were off to get our bags and see the cousins. Since then, they've just been running around, playing to exhaustion. My Mom posted some pictures of swimming, and here are a couple of others:

Heading outside for a backyard camping trip:


Proving that jumping on a trampoline is made exponentially better with fluffy skirts:



And these are the other pictures I wasn't able to post the other day. Another Easter dress pic:

From Mabes & Co

And a skirt I made for Mabes with my new sewing machine, courtesy of Dave's grandma. Mabes picked out the fabric herself and loves her new twirly skirt. Thanks, Granny!

From Mabes & Co

Party Pooper

Despite being potty trained for over a year now, Mabes still has the occasional problem of forgetting the importance of bowel control when she's having fun. She's 3--I understand accidents happen. So when I packed 11-12 pairs of underwear for an 8 day trip, I figured I was overpacking and planning for the worst. I did not expect to be doing laundry on the 4th day.

Other than that, we've been having a great time. The kids are playing together well, allowing my Mom, Sarah, and me to chat and eat at our leisure. It's just a little annoying when the chatfests get interrupted by a certain 3-year-old claiming she doesn't need to go potty, but the dropping in the entryway begs to differ. (Mom and Sarah both asked if we should take a picture--it's good blog material, right? I decided that perhaps some things don't require photographic evidence.) We've reverted to potty training mode, and so far, no accidents today. Fingers crossed.