Random Pictures

These are just some random pictures of the kids that we thought were cute. Oh, we added a new link on the left side of our blog to some of our family pictures. So if you want to see anymore pictures of these cuties, you can just click there. Allie all ready for church
Allie loves her little brother
Allie helping Daddy wash the car (they make a great team)

Allie reading to Jack-they look like they just got caught(the pacifier is officially gone-Adam threw it away)
Allie and Jack playing together at their "new" (craigslist) kitchen
Jack playing in one of his favorite places, my mom’s down blanket
Jack and Daddy looking cute and comfy

C is for Cookie

Adam has had a hankering for his mom's ginger snaps for weeks. He kept claiming he was going to make them (I know better than that). So, Allie and I decided we would surprise him and make them ourselves. I emailed Kristen to get Cynthia's recipe. In the meantime, I looked online to find a similar recipe for moist ginger snaps. I found one that looked really good and when Kristen emailed me back, it turned out to be almost identical to Cynthia's (the only difference was it had salt added and cooked at a lower temp.) I used that recipe and they were so yummy, just like the ones Adam's mom and sister make. They were so good that we had to make a second batch before the weekend was over (sad, but true). I never ate ginger snaps growing up. It's one of the many things that Adam and his family have introduced me to. I am kind of surprised that his family likes them so much since, as Cynthia often reminds me "Adam doesn't come from a spicy food family". I'm just glad that this is one recipe full of spice that they do like. Yum-O!

Here is the recipe I used

3/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 t salt
Combine the shortening, egg, sugar and molasses. Add the remaining ingredients. Chill for 1 hour, then shape into balls. Roll the balls in sugar and arrange on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for a scant 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. They come off the cookie sheet much more easily if you let them sit for a minute after they come out of the oven.

How much would you pay for a hub cap?

A few weeks ago, after driving a number of miles from home on the freeway, we noticed that a hub cap was missing from the right, rear tire on our Toyota Corolla (see right). We tried to back-track on some of the roads we had just traveled, but did not find out missing hub cap. I thought to myself, hub caps are usually made out of cheap plastic and polycarbonate materials and shouldn't be too expensive to replace.

I started my price searching at a local Toyota dealer because I figured I would get a ceiling price for one hub cap. Needless to say, $85 for one lousy hub cap was too much for me. So I tried the trusty old Internet. A few online stores offered good deals at only $75 per cap. Wow, I thought. I had better jump at the chance to save $10 off the dealers, price.

None-the-less, I decided to keep checking for a lower price. I made my way to eBay and found a few sellers offering "slightly used" hub caps for only $35 a piece. Now, we are talking! Upon further inspection, however, some of the ads mentioned that their hub caps may or may not have the original Toyota symbol in the middle of the hub cap--in other words, they are selling "original" Toyota hub caps, but shipping cheap knock-offs to customers.

By this time, I had decided to give up and buy a set of 4 cheap, non-Toyota hub caps. Last Saturday, I ventured into Wal-mart to pick up a few odds and ends and made my way to the automotive aisle to price hub caps. Low and behold I found the exact hub caps that are on my 1993 Dodge Shadow for $13, so I now know where to find some replacements, if I need any. I also spotted a set of hub caps, also for $13, that looked very similar to my authentic Toyota hub caps.

So, for less than $15 we are the proud owners of four new, Toyota-like hub caps (here's a comparison of the two types).

Anyone need three, slightly used 2005 Toyota Corolla hub caps?

Only $85 each.

He's a stand up kind of guy

Jack just learned to stand up by himself (holding onto things). Now that is all he wants to do.

Jack standing and holding onto Allie’s bed (he is so proud of himself)
This is usually how I find him when he wakes up.

Our week with Grammy and Nana

Last week my mom (Grammy) and my grandma (Nana) came into town. We had so much fun with them.

Here is Grammy putting makeup on Allie.
The finished product
We have been trying to get a four generation picture taken of me, my mom, my grandmother, and Allie since Allie was born. We have all of our matching outfits picked out, we just never make it to Sears when we are all together. So, we decided to just go ahead and snap one as Grammy and Nana were on their way out the door (no matching outfits).

While my mom was here, she stayed home with Jack so that I could take Allie to the Austin Children's Museum. We met some friends there and had a great time together. The picture above is of Allie driving a replica of an Austin City Bus. I think there may be a future in it for her.
Allie and her friend, Ellie, at the museum dressed up as construction workers.
My mom stayed with the kids for the day on Tuesday so that Adam and I could go to Sea World by ourselves. We had so much fun together, just the two of us (and Shamu).

We have finally entered the "blogosphere"

I am so excited that we finally have a family blog and that Adam set it up because I have been wanting to, but never would have. I have always thought that Tammy and Andrew’s family letter was a great way to journal what was going on in their family. A family letter is too much of a commitment for me, but I think that this blog will be perfect for us. Even if everybody else gets bored reading it, I figure we can still use it as our family journal/scrapbook. Well, here goes….

Saturday morning I hit a few garage sales at 8am. Before Jack was born I was never up early enough to get out the door before 8, but now we are up by 6:30 or 7:00am. I had never really gone to a garage sale until my mom came to stay with us when Jack was born. She found one in our neighborhood and bought a bunch of great toys for Allie that we never would have paid full price for at the toy store. When I saw what good deals she got, I figured I should try going. The only problem is that you have to go to a lot of different garage sales before you find anything you want. That's ok because it gives me some much needed alone time early on Saturday morning.

I found this scooter at a garage sale on Saturday. I only paid $2 for it, but the time that Allie has been spending on it all weekend was worth a fortune.

I also found a great chore chart at another garage sale and it had a spot on it for setting the table. So, I figured this might be a good time to have Allie start helping me set the table. She had a great time helping Mommy. She did a really good job and much to my surprise it really was a big help. She is also starting to clear her place at the table when dinner is over.

New and Used Books for sale

Anyone looking for a quick search engine for new and used books? If so, check out Fetchbook.info. FetchBook indexes pretty much any book you could ever think of--textbooks, novels, handbooks, and even comic books. Usually, I can find what I am looking for at a decent price. Buyer beware, however. Some of the lesser known book stores will advertise a used book, but only offer new books when you go to their Web site. Happy hunting!

New & Used Books - Find the Lowest Price - Compare more than a hundred book stores, 60,000 sellers, in a click.

It's up

We have decided to enter the 21st century by joining possibly hundreds of people across the world who use blogs to inform others of their personal happenings. We're not sure what will be posted here, but it will probably be a crude collection of thoughts, news, pictures, and needless, but important information. Quite simply, we call this blog "West Family musings." Please leave comments, tips, suggestions, disdains, or really anything you want in the comments box.

Good luck.