Snow Snow and more Snow

We actually had a pretty productive weekend, despite the snow. It was lightly snowing when we left Saturday morning to go see the Chiropractor on the other side of town. Then we went to IHOP for breakfast. That's always fun. We don't go out for breakfast often, so it's a fun change every now and then.

As we were eating, the snow started sticking, and my car was covered by the time we got out to it. Then we went to BabiesRUs. They were having a sale, so I was hoping that the stroller/car seat set we wanted was included. It was, but we didn't buy it. We were looking at their floor model and really inspecting it. The way the car seat snapped into the stroller seemed really flimsy. Basically, the head part of the car seat snaps into the cup holder of the stroller, and then the foot part gets "secured" by these little clips that swing out of the arms. Only Alann had to push really hard to get the car seat down far enough into the stroller to set the clips, and then a little bit of wiggling on the car seat caused the clips to come off. He was not content with it and wandered off to see if other models did the same things. After a while, I gave up and put the model back and went to see what he was doing. He had found a totally different model (the Graco Metrolite stroller and SnugRide car seat) on CLEARANCE. There was one in the box and one floor model left. So we messed with the floor model and were much more impressed with the way the car seat clipped into the stroller. We talked to one of the car seat salesmen about the difference between the two models. The Deco model that we registered for comes with the SafeSeat car seat. The difference is very small according to the salesman. The main difference is the way the base adjusts. The SnugRide base is a little harder to adjust, but since we won't be moving the base once it is installed, it isn't that big of a deal. We ended up purchasing the clearance travel system (in the box) for $160. Then we bought the bassinet we wanted for our bedroom. So now, even if Claire comes early, we can bring her home from the hospital and she will have somewhere to sleep for a while even if the nursery isn't done. Whew. Load off my mind. So thanks Mom, for the travel system and the bassinet. We were able to get both with the gift you gave us from the baby shower. Oh, and Jersey says thanks too, because we just brought the boxes in out of the car and piled them in the living room, and it is now HER tower, where she can survey her kingdom. (Here's hoping the car seat fits in my car. Hopefully next Saturday it stops snowing long enough for us to test it out. All signs point to yes that it will, but you never know until you actually do it.)

After that, we did some random other errands, getting more and more covered in snow. It was almost a blizzard on the east side where we were, but by the time we got home the snow had stopped in our area. We shoveled the driveway and then I went to the library to pick up a book I had on hold and then to a store to get the last of Alann's Xmas presents. Alann mostly did homework, but I did get the house cleaned, a little, which Ian and Shannon probably don't believe since they saw it after I cleaned it, but it is better! (I swear.)

Sunday I gave my first Relief Society lesson. Relief Society is the organization for all the women over the age of 18 (in case you don't know). In our ward, that means that most of the women are over the age of 50, because all the younger ones have callings that make them miss Relief Society. I felt pretty good about the lesson. I hope it wasn't boring. A lot of the women said it was good. I tried to do more than just read the book and ask the questions listed in the book, so I think it was interesting. Of course the second I stand up in front of people I get all hot and sweaty and flushed. It isn't as bad when I am giving a talk, probably because I don't feel as exposed, since there is more distance between the pulpit and the audience. But in the RS room, there is about 4 feet from me to the front row, so it was intimidating. I made it though. Even got a few laughs. What I really wish is that I could either a) present the material that I have written down without it sounding like I am reading word for word, or b) not have to write things down. I am always afraid that if I don't write out the points I want to make, that I will forget where I was going with them. And they sound so good on paper, but then when I want to present the material, I feel like if I just read it, they will be able to tell and won't feel as connected. So it comes out differently. Ah well. I've never been an actor, I don't intend to start now.

Otherwise, we are just thinking, and praying, and debating, and hoping, and praying, and did I mention praying, about options for after Claire is born. Nothing is concrete yet, and it is starting to make me a bit anxious. That's always my problem. What is best is what will happen, so I don't worry too much about the actual outcome, even though there is one I want more than the others (my staying home), but the waiting to know what is going to happen is what kills me. The longer I go without knowing, or even having any inkling, the more anxious I get. That's all I think about when I wake up in the middle of the night. It keeps me from falling asleep. It wakes me up early. Maybe this is what the Lord means by "ponder it out in your mind", but it seems like all the thinking I do isn't going to affect anything. So far, we haven't had any brilliant ideas. We are waiting to see what happens with mortgage interest rates. Though refinancing always comes down to "what will our house appraise for". If we can't get the value high enough to make what we owe only equal 80%, then it isn't really worth the refi. Though the houses in our neighborhood are all listed at $160k-$170k, which is what we need. Course we could buy a much bigger house "pre-forclosure" for less, but we don't think about that...