It All Started With Salsa

I bought a 20 pound box of tomatoes to make salsa with and got through two batches before I ran out of peppers and various other things LONG before I ran out of tomatoes. So this morning I drove to Fry's to pick up some more so I could continue to make salsa today. I also ran out of jars to put the salsa in (I hadn't specifically bought jars for salsa I was just using the leftovers from making pickles). So I go to the canning isle in Fry's and even though the jars are on sale I know they are cheaper at Walmart. So I get my veggies and then I pack Peter back into the van to head down to Walmart for the jars. As I'm getting Peter out of the van in the Walmart parking lot I discover he is poopy and needs his diaper changed. So I debate with myself and decide to change his diaper in the van. Peter frequently has issues staying still while getting his diaper changed and even more so when he's on one of those diaper changing stations. So I put my bag back in the car and close Peter's door and go around to the other side of the van to get in and change Peter's diaper. But when I get to the other side I can't get in. I try all of the doors just to make sure I really have just locked my keys and an unbuckled Peter in the van in the Walmart parking lot. So now I really start to freak out because my cell phone is also in the car so I can't call anyone. I'm hyperventilating and a lady walks by me and I ask her if she has a cell phone... she doesn't but she's meeting someone on the other side of the parking lot and he does. So they come back and I call they ONLY phone number other than my own that I have memorized, Andrew's cell which is typically at his desk while he's in the lab. So he doesn't answer and the guy who let me use his cell phone goes inside to see if there's anyone in Walmart that can help me. He brings back a manager and she uses her cell phone to call the police. They send a cop, an ambulance and a fire truck to help me. The firefighter tries to use his tools to get the door open and the cop calls a tow truck (that takes AAA whom I would have called but didn't have the number since my wallet was also in the car) that will be here in 20 minutes to get the door open. Meanwhile the paramedic and I are trying to keep Peter occupied and in his seat which lasts for quite some time but he got interested in what all the guys were doing and climbs/falls out of his seat and starts to crawl around the van. He goes for the back seat first but there isn't much for him to do so he changes direction eats some random piece of food and then climbs into the front passenger seat. The firefighters were getting anxious to get the door open and the cop calls a different tow truck company that can make it in 5 minutes. Peter is in the front seat and starts playing with the door handle which if he had been strong enough he could have gotten himself out. Then the tow truck guy shows up and Peter gets interested in all the middle console buttons and we get him out. Then I still have to change Peter's diaper and get jars. Whew! I decided that we'll go into the store to the family bathroom to change him and I quickly got the jars and left. So I checked out of Fry's at 10:37am and didn't check out at Walmart until 12:05pm. Poor Peter was a little bit warm and very tired from all the climbing around he did that he fell asleep in the car on the way home. He, of course, was happy and fine through the whole ordeal, while I was an awful mess until they unlocked the door and got Peter out. What a morning! And now I need to finish making salsa. I almost just went home after they unlocked the car but I thought that would have been a TOTAL waste of the morning instead of just a partial waste. But that trip to Walmart ended up being $40 more expensive than the ones at Fry's. Oh well, maybe my car insurance will pick up the tab? Doubtful. At least it wasn't 100 degrees and it wasn't raining.

Peter's 1st Christmas

We decorated our house, inside and out.

My lovely "childproof" tree.

Aaron & Kjerstin's "childproof" tree all of the ornaments were moved out of Peter's reach.
We drove to Texas where it snowed on Christmas Eve and the snow was still on the ground Christmas morning. Peter didn't like the snow much.

We opened presents on Christmas morning.

The only present Peter really opened on his own wasn't his and it was a couple days before Christmas.
Some people get presents from Santa or their husbands. I get presents from Monkeys.
Peter got crayons and colored some paper for Grandpa Thatcher.

A White Christmas?

Not for me. I've been reading about the snow that Western Washington and even Las Vegas is getting so I thought I would look up the weather forecast for the Tucson area. Who knows, if it can snow in Vegas (which is kind of like hell freezing over) then maybe it can snow here in Tucson too. No such luck! In fact the forecast here is going to be cold for maybe 3 more days and then it's predicted that it will start to warm up again. Christmas day is supposed to be a high of 74 and a low of 43.