Eric is 2!

This week Eric turned 2.  Unfortunately, he had a nasty cold on his birthday.  But we still celebrated and he had a good time.  He's does this "camera face" every time I tell him to smile.  Squinty/closed eyes and pursed lips.  Cracks me up.

Unmotivated

So here I am, sitting in my house that needs a good cleaning.  But I feel completely unmotivated...why?  Because I don't have a Kirby Vacuum.   On Wednesday some Kirby people stopped by and offered to shampoo my carpet, if I'd watch a demonstration.  So I let them in. Here's what happened:

First, the salesman asks to use my vacuum.  He vacuums with my Hoover.  He puts his vacuum together with a special little filter to catch all the dirt. He vacuums for about 2 seconds while I watch the filter fill up with dirt.  Lots of dirt.  He proceeds to change the little filter papers over and over, continually picking up dirt.  He only vacuumed a strip of carpet about 10' x 2' and pretty soon I have about 30 paper filters covered in dirt. 

The salesman proceeds to tell me that other vacuums don't have enough air flow to actually pick up anything more than surface fuzz and dirt.  He also informs me that all that dirt will wear out the carpet.  Using a Kirby vacuum will prolong the life of my carpet, and rather than spending $5000 on replacing my carpet in a few years, I can save money by spending $2495 on a new Kirby.  

That's right, a $2495.00 vacuum.  I thought to myself "It can't be $24.95, so it must be two-thousand-ninety-five dollars."

So here's the problem.  I'm totally convinced that a Kirby is an AWESOME vacuum.  And the guy practically had me convinced that it would be worth $2500.  Seriously, I was embarrassed by my dirty floors that I do vacuum regularly.  

So the guy left without making a sale (after giving me a lecture about how I shouldn't have to discuss this purchase with my husband because he wouldn't want me to spend that much money on a vacuum because he doesn't do the cleaning, and just wouldn't understand.  His wife can buy ANYTHING she wants for the house, because that's her job -- taking care of the house.  His job is to make the money.....etc.)  

However, he did sell me on one thing -- I want a Kirby vacuum.  Seriously, it was impressive.  So I've checked them out online and they have some refurbished vacuums for much, much less than a new one.  Still more than a vacuum at the store, but I'm pretty sure we need one....after all, our carpet is FULL of dirt.  

So that's why I'm unmotivated.  Why vacuum when it's not even going to pick up the dirt?  So instead of housework, I'm writing this kind of boring blog.  (:  I guess the moral of the story is this:  Don't watch a Kirby Vacuum demonstration or you may never vacuum with your Hoover again.

I just can't seem to come up with anything interesting to write these days.  After reading other people's blogs -- their funny stories and comments, I feel so boring!  But in an effort to update my records, here's what has been happening around here:

- Lots of visitors to our house.  This weekend we had 2 of my sisters and their 12-year-old daughters fly in to go to the Young Women's General Conference meeting.  It was unfortunate that Karen was pretty sick, but it was still great to see all of them.  We mostly just hung out and visited, ate out, and did a little shopping.  (No, really, just a few hours this time!)

- I've been working on a quilt made from old dresses that were sister-in-laws' when they were kids.  I've only made one other quilt before, and have very little sewing experience.  It will be a far from perfect quilt, but it's been a fun learning experience.  I'll post pictures later of the 60's-70's style quilt. 

- Andrew has been singing the "My Eternal Family" song constantly.  It's pretty cute.  He loves it because it's about "building."  He's still enjoying Joy School.  And we're all looking forward to some nicer weather to go to the park more often.  

- A few months ago I had Eric's speech and hearing tested.  His hearing was fine, but his speech was delayed.  They don't know for sure why, but it's likely that it's due to poor hearing the first year of his life due to reoccurring earaches.   So a couple of times a month a speech therapist comes and plays with him.  It's really fun and I've learned a lot from watching her.  Most of it is stuff I've heard or read, but it's so much more helpful to see a pro in action.  He's added several words to his vocabulary and a few signs too.  

Speaking of Eric, I have wanted to post this picture of Eric.  He looks like such a little boy now!  He's standing by the basketball hoop -- he love playing ball (or carrying one around, or even sleeping with one.)  He will shoot hoops for 20 minutes at a time all by himself, yelling happily when he makes a basket.