Detailed randomness.

1.  I'm posting this from Brett's work laptop since he is using our home computer.  To log in to the computer he has to scan his finger.  Only his fingerprint will turn it on.  Isn't that wild?  It's like he's some kind of top-secret spy man or something.

2.  Tonight Brett went to Hazel's parent-teacher conference and came home with only good things to report.  In fact, she's in the top of her class in German.  She's such an easy kid.  I never have to ask her if she has homework--if she does, she just comes home and gets it done.

3.  A while ago I was supposed to be going to my friend's house where we were going to make caramels.  But after getting the little boys ready to go and everything, I couldn't find the keys.  Then I remembered that Jethro had left his hat in the van the night before, so I went and checked his pants pockets but they weren't there.  I figured they were probably in his coat pocket, so I wanted to just call up to the school to see if they were, but there's actually no central office at the kids' school, so there's no real way to reach him.  So, I hurried and walked up, and went to his classroom (actually I didn't even know what classroom he's in, but Brett knew the general area and there were some kids out in the hall and I asked them if they knew Jethro and they pointed out the right room).  He checked his coat pockets for me, but was sure that the keys were in his pants pockets.  I told him that I had already checked, but I thought maybe I just hadn't checked well enough since I was thinking they were probably in his coat.  So I went back home and checked his pants, and went through every little thing in his laundry basket.  No keys.  I called my friend and told her I wasn't coming, and started getting quite worried because we are super responsible and have no copies of our van key, and we'd have to pay a lot to replace our house, garage, and mail key.  Anyway, when Jethro came home we borrowed a neighbor's key to the garage, and went in and searched the van and area in the garage around it.  No key.  Then we finally clued in that when he had gone to get his hat, he had also gone and got milk at the farm. So we figured it was very likely that he had knocked out the keys from his pocket when he got the money out for the milk.  So Jethro walked to the farm and looked all around the milk machine-- no keys.  Then I went back with him and we asked the farmer's wife if anyone had found any keys, and lo and behold she had!!!  I said many grateful prayers.

4.  Brett has good news about work but I'm not allowed to tell yet.  Next month.

5.  Lately-- the last several months--we have been doing a lot of house hunting.  That's fun in a way, because it means we go on lots of 'dates,' but it's also a bit not fun because we haven't yet found something that we want to move into  (obviously).  We could have said yes to one last week, but I decided that I didn't like the house enough.  It was quite good in lots of ways, but nothing about it was REALLY great.  And I just felt like if we moved there it would be settling.  And who wants that?  There's never everything that we want all in the same house.  Either the house is nicht so gut, or the location, or whatever.  But I keep telling Brett that something great will come up.  My mom said she hopes it doesn't, because then we'll stay forever.  But we wouldn't.  Although we are happy here, and I feel much better about it than I did earlier when I had asked Brett if we could move back to the U.S. (and thereby lost the best house by far that we have looked at... so sad).  And by the way, I never said thank you to everyone who commented on that post of mine where I was frustrated, but I do want to thank you because it was wonderful and helpful to have so many sympathetic ears and supportive wishes.  Thank you!

6.  We went to look at a house last night (quite nice but too small) and we had left Jethro, Hazel, and Ethne at home, so on the way back we called Jethro and told him to go buy potatoes from the farm and start boiling them and we would buy Raclette and have it for dinner.  So we stopped at the grocery store and then realized that we had no money since Brett left his wallet at home, so we raided our change drawer, and had about 10 francs, so I went in thinking that would be enough, but it was about 3 francs short (unless I wanted to buy about half the amount for twice the cost).  And then Jethro called and said the farmer had no potatoes out for sale (that never happens).  So, we did not have raclette for dinner.  :)  And Brett and I said how awful it would be if you couldn't feed your children.  It reminds me of how my dad said he really hates watching the movie 'Cinderella Man' (one of my absolute favorites), because he just can't stand the thought of not being able to give his children food and warmth, etc.  But no worries, we had biscuits and fish sticks for dinner.

7.  A while ago I took Hazel to the doctor because she'd gotten the cold that everyone had, but she kept up the coughing and started having a hard time breathing when she was doing something strenuous or went outside.  It was the first time she's been to the doctor since we moved here.  The doctor gave her an inhaler and she's doing much better.

8.  Jethro and Hazel's school is having a ski day in January.  Hazel hasn't ever skied before, so Jethro took her out on the hill today with her to teach her.  She said she didn't ski much because there were too many people around.  But they sledded for a while.  It was actually sunny today.  A miracle.  And yesterday, Hazel's class went sledding all afternoon instead of having regular class.  Awesome.

9.  When it started getting cold and we couldn't just go hiking every Saturday, I wondered to myself, what is it people do again when it's cold outside?  And the other day when we were buying our Christmas tree, we parked in the parking lot across from the library (I tend to forget it's there).  So we decided to go in.  And guess what?  It's still small and lame and carries books in German.  Stupid library.  But while I was there I remembered that THAT was one thing we did a ton when we lived in Indiana- went to the library.  It was a great hangout.  Everyone, go to your libraries and be thankful for shelves upon shelves of books in English.

10.  MukiDeutsch is so fun.  Talmage and Orrin adore it, and Talmage always says that it goes by so fast (which is a high compliment from him, since sometimes he says he gets tired when things go too long, even if he really likes it).  Today they cut out ornaments from play dough and baked them and strung them on a string.  They also had a little parade around the room with one of the kids being Sammichlaus and holding a lantern with a candle in it, and the other one being the donkey, and carrying a little bell.  A few classes ago, I came in to the big play room for the snack time, and Orrin and Talmage were both in the kitchen with their teacher, standing on stools pulled up to the counter, and Talmage was cutting a banana into slices and putting toothpicks in them, and Orrin was peeling a clementine.  I didn't know Orrin could peel clementines.  They looked so big and soooo cute!  And then Orrin washed his hands and got down, and I was thinking, "Where is my baby?"  (But it's a little bit annoying that now he ALWAYS has to peel his own clementines, and usually makes a mess doing it.)

11.  I meant to do this a long time ago (like, you know, Halloween time), but you really should click over to this post on my sister Kami's blog and see the A-MAZ-ING pirate costumes she sewed for their family.  And she sewed it all--the hats, the boots, absolutely everything for everyone.  She's amazing.  Here they are. http://thelatorrefamily.blogspot.ch/2012/11/but-why-is-rum-gone.html
(Also, I love the title of that post so. much.  :) )
And, because these pictures of the costumes she made her little kids the year before are some of my favorite Halloween pictures ever EVER EVER- I will post some here.
 







There are more here: http://thelatorrefamily.blogspot.ch/2011/10/very-difficult-subject-to-photograph.html
(And for goodness sake, you should leave her a comment, those costumes deserve lavish praise- seriously.)
I just decided that even if I have no girls to fit in the girl costumes, Orrin MUST be a little gnome-boy for Halloween next year!  Soooo cute.

12.  Here is my master plan for the next while:

• About two weeks from now:  Have Christmas (note- before Christmas, get project ready for Brett to make before Christmas)
• About two months from now (probably more like 1.5):  Have baby boy.  (note- before having baby boy,  buy a van that will fit everyone (including baby boy) in it.  Also, convince Brett that the boy name I like he likes as well)
• Sometime soonish: Find a great house in a great location and move in
• About 5.5 months from now:  Fly to Utah and PARTY PARTY PARTY with my family for about two glorious months (note- before flying to Utah, get in shape, as we will be getting family pictures taken while we are there)

Yep, those are pretty much the things I am looking forward to right now.  My family has done a lot of partying without me lately, with Thanksgiving and Christmas parties, and Thanksgiving and baby blessings on the Bell side, horseback riding and frog eating??? and awesome stuff like that, so I try not to get sad and chant to myself-- this summer, this summer, this summer.

The end.