Becky and Jared's Blog
Becky, Jared and Sarah
Happy Valentine’s Day
Feb 14th
It has been 4 years 4 months and 1 3 days since Jared and I have started dating, 2 years 9 months, and 2 days since we have been married. Jared is my best friend and the I am so happy that I get to spend the rest of eternity with him. Love you Jared.Happy Valentine’s Day!
Fish
Feb 14th
When we were babysitting (see last post) we forgot to turn on our automatic fish feeder. We had had our fish for a while so we thought they were pretty resilient and it might be okay. We were wrong. Anyway we used this opportunity to get more fish. We had tropical fish before. When we were at the pet store looking at our fish options we saw this Koi fish. Just a reminder, Koi are the ones in the nice ponds and grow very large. The large ones can cost hundreds of dollars. This one was small and cheap. We don’t have a very big tank but we have plans to get a large one later in life. (I was thinking closer to 3 years). We didn’t get any fish that day but we started to think about getting a Koi. Then we went to Walmart on other errands and looked at the fish. Low and behold they had Koi and were totally stocked up with fish (they didn’t have anything when we looked a few weeks earlier). So, the debate began should we get tropical fish again or go with a Koi and what they are friendly with. Koi play well with what Jared likes to call Japanese ornamental fish or the goldfish family. Well we spent some time deciding and went with the Japanese ornamental fish. So we got one Koi, one Calico Fantail, a Shubunkin, a Black Moor, and one goldfish. We really like them. They are very active and bright so they are fun to watch.
Here is our Koi
Here is our Calico Fantail, Koi, and Shubunkin
Here are our other fish: Shubunkin, Goldfish, Black Moor, and Calico fantail
Babysitting
Feb 14th
The last two weekends were spent babysitting my brothers FOUR kids while he and his wife were in Hawaii. We have Nathan age 10, Hailey, almost 8, Brooke around 5, and Ryan a very active 2. I was a little nervous about this. I am the youngest and had very little babysitting experience, Jared on the other hand is a pro. Overall it went really well. The kids were relatively well behaved. The biggest problem was the two year old. He is very active but the real issue was that he is a boy and doesn’t like girls. He is also very attached to his big brother, Nathan. So much so that he wouldn’t leave his room in the morning unless Nathan was the one who got the door, even though I told him that Nathan was asleep. I was very impressed with how Nathan handled this. He was such a good big brother. He played with him, put clothes on him, and even read him stories at night. I don’t know if we did much fun things. Jared showed Nathan some computer games, I watched movies with the other kids. On Saturday we took the kids geocaching. They didn’t last that long though because there was snow on the ground and soon their feet were wet. Overall, I think it went rather well. If we babysit again we need to think of more things to do though to make it more exciting.
One person asked us if this experience made us decrease the amount of kids we are planning on having. The answer is no. For one reason these kids are actually pretty well behaved and since they very in ages the older children get to help the younger ones and it’s not too bad. The second reason would be they would be our kids. I can’t help thinking how much different parenting will be from babysitting. For one, I will be the mother and they will want to come to me. I know there are daddy’s boys/girls, but they still go to their mom every once in a while. The second reason it is way different is they will be my kids I will know their little quirks and be ready for them. The third reason is we will be in charge of disciplining. It is always weird to jump into someone’s life. For example we don’t know how harsh they are about certain things. Maybe something that is a big deal to us is a small deal to them. So that is why it doesn’t phase us to babysit or maybe we are just being naive.
Anyway, Hurray for babysitting!’
Ryan had so much fun with this balloon. So much for expensive toys
Ryan loves to run straight at the couch and dive on it. He doesn’t get hurt and loved doing it again and again. 
Brooke
Here we are geocaching. You can see why the kids didn’t last long.
Our New Vacuum
Feb 3rd
I know, boring, right? Not really! We pitted our Hoover Turbo EmPower 4600 against our new Dyson DC17 we got today. But first, let’s introduce the contestants.
| Dyson DC17
We’ve heard nothing but great things about Dyson’s. We’ve been thinking about it passively for like, a year and actively for about a month. So I’ve been looking for deals and had almost decided to get a refurbished one where the vendor offered a 10 year warranty on the motor. But then this week, I found a new one at Best Buy that was only $40 more than the refurb and it was a better model. It was the last one at Best Buy in American Fork (Orem was already sold out). |
Hoover Turbo EmPower 4600
We’ve had this one as long as we’ve been married. It was the best vacuum at Bed Bath & Beyond that was under $100 AND we got to use 20% off coupons AND we used gift certificates from our wedding to buy it. We were pretty cheap back then. Since that time, we’ve learned the value of quality… |
So now comes the EPIC BATTLE OF THE VACUUMS! I decided that I wanted to prove that it was worth the money to get the Dyson. So here’s the challenge. I cleaned everything in the Hoover so it was like new and that suction would be at it’s peak. I vacuumed the top floor with the Hoover first. As you can see, it didn’t fare so well at picking stuff up.
| Before | After |
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Now it’s the Dyson’s time to shine! I vacuumed the same top level with the Dyson AFTER I had already vacuumed with the Hoover. Here’s how the Dyson stacks up.
| After |
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Becky came up with the idea to see how they compared volume wise. So she got two paper bowls and we put the contents into the bowls. Can you see who’s the winner?
Baby Advice
Feb 1st
So recently I have been looking into what I want to buy for my baby. Yes, I’m aware that I still have months before we will actually need it but I just want to have all the major purchases picked out so I can just buy them when the time comes. So if you are single or have no kids I’m sorry this is a wasted post for you. If you don’t have kids, but have researched baby stuff for some reason (like a baby is on the way) feel free to comment.
On a personal note, when I’m given advice verbally I get very overwhelmed. It is something that I need to work on I admit. But if someone gives me all their advice at once I can’t remember half of it and it is just stresses me. So, I haven’t been actively seeking the advice the way I should. The problem is I need advice! My solution, get advice in comment form, you see it doesn’t overwhelm me to read advice. So please comment!!!
So here is an insight into what I was thinking I would want to get. Remember I haven’t bought anything and don’t plan on buying anything for sometime, I’m just picking out what I want.
Nursery
I have already picked out some of my nursery things. I think we will do the furniture finish in Espresso. I am using my sister-in-laws old bedding. The material is shown below.
I have also picked out my crib. I am very partial to this crib. I realized this when Jared very innocently suggested another less expensive crib and I got really frustrated at him for even suggesting we use a different crib. I blame my pregnancy hormones and emotions. Anyway, I like I said I am very attached to this one. It is a Baby Mod Convertible Crib in Espresso.
We haven’t picked out a dresser yet. We were thinking of getting a standard dresser vs a dresser chest if that makes since to you. That way we could use it for a changing table if we want but if we don’t want or like the changing table option we still have a nice looking piece of furniture. Which brings me to my first set of questions.
1. Did you use a changing table?
2. Name one necessity for a baby’s nursery?
3. Name one thing that was a waste of money for your baby’s nursery?
Jogging Strollers
What I am really stumped on is strollers/car seats. I been thinking I want to get a jogging stroller because I like to run and all that. So, lately I’ve been looking into jogging strollers. Here is what I found that I think is important.
- 12″ wheels are mostly for walking, 16″ wheels are for moderate terrain and jogging, 20″ for serious runners on rough terrain
- Swivel wheels are easier to turn but not good for serious running and are only available in 12″ wheels
- steel frames are less expensive, Aluminum alloy frames are lighter, more resistant to rust and overall better, but are more expensive
- Most strollers are not for children less than 6 months!
- Most jogging strollers do not fold up compactly
If you have more information about jogging strollers that you found was important please let me know. Here is what I plan on doing with my jogging stroller. I plan on doing light to moderate jogging on relatively smooth terrain.
The biggest problem with jogging strollers I really found is that 6 month rule. The only way to get around that is to get a jogging stroller that is compatible with a car seat or one that reclines to a full laying down position. I am more partial to the car seat adapter, because it seems like the baby would be more secure. This predicament is especially important when you consider the month our little baby will be born–Beginning of JUNE. That means if I have to wait 6 months to use the stroller it will be DECEMBER. I’m not a martyr and usually move my exercises to the inside in the winter. However, I don’t want to waste the whole summer.
Anyway, so this is what I think I’m looking for:
- Jogging stroller with car seat adapter
- Preferable an alloy frame but I’m willing to go with steel to save money
- 16″ back wheels at the very least
Participation time–for those who bought a jogging stroller or knows someone who did?
1. If you had a jogging stroller did you like it/use it?
2. What kind of jogging stroller do you recommend?
3. What problems did you have with your jogging stroller?
4. What things did you love about your jogging stroller?
5. Should I get a jogging travel system or just one that has a car seat adapter?
Strollers
So, anyway I think I basically decided I would use a jogging stroller but haven’t decided what kind I should buy, should I wait until next year to buy one, or if I should get it new or used. (Craig’s List and KSL has jogging strollers listed every week). The question remains is should I get another stroller to supplement the jogging stroller. The issue is jogging strollers are bulky and big, so I have considered getting another stroller. So this leaves me to the next set of questions
1. Do/did you use strollers much?
2. What kind of stroller works/worked best for you?
3. What is the most important feature in a stroller for you?
4. What is the least important feature for you?
5. What do you regret in buying a stroller?
6. Do you think it is important to get neutral colors?
Car Seats
I think we will go with an infant car seat for the first year. My reasoning for this is because newborns fit better in infant car seats (from what I read) and so we can have a base for easy car seat removal. However, I still have many questions.
1. What do you think is the most important feature in a car seat? (I know everyone will say safety but the US only sells certified car seats as far as I can say, so if you say safety can you please say what safety feature you are referring to.
2. What is the least important feature in a car seat?
3. What did you dislike about the car seat you had?
4. What did you like about the car seat you had?
5. Do you have any other advice in regard to car seats?
I hope that helps explain a little bit about what I am thinking and where I need to go from here so please comment!!! If all those questions are overwhelming just comment on one section or a couple of questions. I will have other posts on different baby/pregnancy issues but this is what I’m working on right now. Thank You!
