Aunties and Candies!

Who doesn't like a visit from their Auntie?! I know my kids LOVE their Aunties to death!! Aunt Kelly was kind enough to come for 2 whole weeks to watch and play with the boys while we worked on the house! There are a ton more pics on her camera but I did get a couple on mine.

Aunt Kelly reading before bedtime

Dylan showing Greg something under the computer desk

While Kelly was here we made Candy Trains, which is a tradition in Greg's family that I Love so we are continuing it in our family as well.

Gary favorite part of the candy trains was, well, eating the candy!

Isaac showing me the front of his Train

Side

Back

We had so much fun having Kelly come to stay! And the boys miss playing with their cousin. Can't wait for our next visitor!

Our Stem Walls

Saturday the 5th we poured our concrete for our stem walls! It was Soooo cold!!! By the time we were done I could not feel my feet! The end result was totally worth it though!

Concrete in our stem walls!

Me attempting to thaw out in our back yard
Our first backyard pic-nic

I was attempting to gain feeling back in my toes so I took off my shoes and socks and my friend Tracy stuck the Hot Hands that she had in her gloves on my toes

The end result! Our Stem Walls!

Stem Walls

The stem walls almost ready for concrete. Just a few more things to do before we can pour again. Hopefully we'll pour Dec 5.

If you're in the area you should come help pour! It's really fun!

It's getting exciting!! I'm really starting to feel like we're making progress!

These are the videos from Saturday! I'm up, walking the wall. It's not our house. We only poured footings on our house. This is the Stem wall for one of the houses across the street from us. Sorry these are really Grainy. They were taken on my phone.

Concrete!

Pics from pourin concrete Saturday. I have some awesome Video on my phone so I need to figure out how to get it off my phone and on to here!

I got to pour the concrete for our footings!

The finished product!! Nice huh!?!

We also poured 4 stem walls. For some houses across the street! It was a very busy day and a very cold day! All in all...you can't go wrong with pourin concrete! It is a very fun, very rewarding job!

Pics coming!!!

We are pouring concrete for our footings on saturday! Starts at 8 out at the house! Want directions comment, email me or call for directions!! Come help! It's a blast! I had so much fun when we poured the footings for the first 6 houses! I got to run the Boom Truck (and when I say run I mean hold the tube that the cement comes out of....not as easy as it looks!)
There's alot to be done! So bring your rubber boots and your "Gettin Durty" clothes and come help out!!

New Person

If you have kids you know that with kids (fortunately or unfortunately, you choose) comes new perspective on life. A new love for everything. A new kind of love. Your body does this amazing thing! It creates this life out of something you can't even see without the help of science. All babies are a miracle and some are more miraculous than others (in a how you came to be or got here or whatever the case may be) Some just come without issues, some give you a little bit of a scare. Some take a long time and some can't wait to get here! The amazing thing about babies is that they are all different and with each one you change a little more.
When I was a teenager I Loved Life! I wanted to experience everything! I was always with friends and HATED to be alone! I couldn't stand the thought of it. I Hated silence and was bored very easily! Some of that has not changed. I still don't like to be alone and I still get bored easily. I now enjoy silence but in very small portions (not more than 5 or 10 mins) The noise I enjoy has changed though, the laughter of children, the silence of a cry, the sound of "Lub Ooos" from little voices, the tiny "Hi" that greets me when I open the door after every nap. I love so many things about my little miracles!
Part of me longs for the person I was before I had kids. The "fun" me. I miss being able to go out and not even think twice that it was 10pm! I miss sleeping in past 9am! I miss the spontaneous, just throw a couple t shirts and a pair of jeans in a suitcase and go trips. I miss being able to get my hair cut without trying to find a babysitter. I miss being able to do whatever, whenever, wherever. I miss my body. There is a lot of "pre-kid" stuff I miss.
There is a lot I don't. I don't miss feeling left out of all the "mom stuff". I don't miss feeling like a kid in a room full of parents. I don't miss working. I don't miss the constant need for radio or TV, cuz let's face it...kids make enough noise. I don't miss the acne!!
In my search to find out who I am as a mother I have learned several things.
I am to paranoid to not vaccinate. I am not good at time outs. I don't mind the mess that kids make. I am horrible at making my kids pick up their messes. I am not good at routines. I still like to take them on spontaneous trips, it just takes a little longer. I love to watch them sleep in the car at night. I am willing to be pushed out of bed if it means that he finally sleeps at night. I don't care if they watch movies all day if it means I can get dishes and laundry done. I don't see anything wrong with top ramen and peas for dinner. Sometimes, we have cake for breakfast.
Being a parent is hard. It's the hardest job out there. It's 24/7 with no lunch breaks! Don't get me wrong you GET lunch, it's just a little different and you have to clean up more than just you when it's done. When you become a parent you become ALL professions. For example today I was a Dr., chef, janitor, pillow, a sense of security, friend, referee, maid, teacher, scientist, barber, speech therapist, and an expert in tractors. And that's just to name a few.
We moved to be closer to the house while we build it which has made it nice for building but obviously we moved from our friends. And making friends is hard! We've only been to church once due to different circumstances so I don't know anyone in our ward and everyone that we are building with lives no where close to us. It's the first time in a very long time I have felt like I don't have any friends! All though I'm with my kids every day, it's hard to hold a decent conversation with someone that tells you what they want by grunting! And although I'm thankful for Alexander Graham Bell inventing the telephone there is just something about having a friend in your living room to talk to face to face.
I Love my kids and I love all the things they teach me. I just need to learn how to figure out how to love the new person I've become. I used to be fun, now all I do is sit at home cook, clean and make sure no one spins themselves into a glass door! Do I need a new hair cut?! Do I need to find a gym?! Do I need to find a new group of friends?! I need to find time for ME! I think that's something that is often overlooked. We get so wrapped up in taking care of our kids that we forget to take care of ourselves and then get lost. So off I go to continue my quest of figuring out just who I am, not as a mother (I think I've got a pretty good hold on that one....i think) but as a person! I know who Sonya Bendixsen is...or was....who is Sonya Buchanan?!

Though the world is fast asleep...

I tried and Tried but I couldn't get it to embed in the actual post so...The link below is the scene from Mary Poppins singing her every famous lullaby Stay awake...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yC_voMY6kY

Stay awake, don't rest your head
Don't lie down upon your bed
While the moon drifts in the skies
Stay awake, don't close your eyes

Though the world is fast asleep
Though your pillow's soft and deep
You're not sleepy as you seem
Stay awake, don't nod and dream
Stay awake, don't nod and dream

Now...The reason behind the post!
Isaac REFUSES to sleep through the night! I have tried everything I can think of. Night Lights, Laying down with him in his bed, reading stories on his bed before bedtime, warm baths, warm milk (which to that he said, "ross! dat yucky! I can't like it!"), rocking before bed, rocking him to sleep, no naps during the day, keeping him up later, putting a handle cover on the inside of his door, giving him a massage with lavender scented lotion....Short of dipping his Binky in NyQuil (which I'm very much aware is highly frowned upon) I'm at a loss!! He gets up in the middle of the night and crawls into bed with us...which would be fine if he would lay still while he slept, but he doesn't! So when that happens HE sleeps, (I'm not sure how well but he is sleeping) but Greg and I get no sleep at all! So if any of you have any suggestions I haven't tried...please!!! I'm begging you! I need sleep! Greg needs sleep! But most of all Isaac needs sleep! I feel like he hasn't slept in months!

Halloween

This year for Halloween Greg and I worked out at the house while Greg's mom watched the boys and then as soon as we were done came right down to take the boys out. Trick or Treatin!

Isaac was so cute! Every where we went! He was a cowboy (I was going for John Wayne) Every house we went to he was really good about saying trick or treat ("wicker weet" he would say) and then he would say "I'm a cowboy!" then they would say "where's your horse?" and he would say "No! No horse! I find all the cows"
So Isaac was a cowboy and Gary was superman! They were a a big hit everywhere!

They both had so much fun and as soon as we got back to Greg's parents house Greg and the boys dove right into the candy! We didn't go very far (only about 20 houses) so there wasn't very much.

I decided to assist in the Halloween spirit, which I seem to be missing this year, I would get the boys into the kitchen and we would make some festive cupcakes! It was adventure to say the least. I love cooking with my kids, but lets face it, any parent about to attempt what has been accomplished here needs to arm them selves with 4 things, Excedrin, A water bottle, Patience and a Smile because your kids will only have as much fun as you're having! WE had a BLAST doing this! It was Extremely messy and twice as much fun!

Bubba LOVES to help! Bear is quickly learning that being helpful means there's a chance that you might also get messy, which is enough for him, He's sold!

Stirring is an essential part of life! It's a life skill! Even Bear, at 15 months, learned it!

Proper paper cup placement is crucial when making cupcakes!

Bubba's job was to frost the cupcakes

I think his tongue got more frosting than the cupcakes!

Holla!!!!! These are Super Yummy!

The finished Product!

We used fondant to get the shapes! It was my first time using it and the boys loved making the smiley faces....and eating it!

I combined a lime green and the pumpkin orange to make this Fall leaf

Frankenstein Twins!

Isaac LOVED cutting these out for me!

Pumpkins

So much easier then carving the real thing!

Ghosts

All in all it was a very messy morning but well worth it! The boys had a blast and when all was said and done we had some tasty treats to snack on!

Happy Halloween and Happy Fall to you all!!

Homemade Hot Chocolate!

There is just something about it! Am I right?! Of course I am! Hot Chocolate is like a Blanket for your soul! It's a great Pick me up in the morning. It can calm ANY tantrum, Just ask Bubba! It can make you feel better on a cold rainy morning! It's best when too chocolaty and almost too hot with a little marshmallow on the top! This Hot Chocolate has been a staple in our house this fall season! Our apartment gets very little light which is a DRASTIC Change from our last which got sun through the slider in the morning and sun in the bedrooms in the afternoon/evening. Now because we are ground floor and surrounded by 8ft tall rock walls and bushes...Zero Sun :( My soul craves sun and warmth! This hot chocolate is like sunshine for my soul! It's always been amazing to me how food can be so comforting and how different foods mean different things to people. What may just me a piece of toast and a cup of hot chocolate to you, to me it's a reminder of early morning breakfasts with my dad before he left for work at 5 am! To me it's comfort food and sometimes all I want. What may be, again, just a simple piece of toast (our family really likes toast) and a hard boiled egg to you, to me brings memories of my dear grandparents, and sitting at their breakfast counter in the HUGE over sized chairs that seemed like mountains to climb just to sit! It reminds me of the way my Grampa smelled on a Sunday morning! It reminds me of my Grama and how she always made sure we always had something good to eat whenever we were there! Always Oreos in the cookie jar! Hot chocolate is universal! It's made Thousands of ways! The best part is no matter how you make it....it just makes you feel good! This is how I make mine!

Best Pic EVER

Greg just posted THIS pic of our little Gary on his Blog!! Go check it out NOW!!
http://gregseol.blogspot.com/

House Update

We've gotten the frames for the footings in.

This is the living room/front door

This is from the living room corner
This is from the back bedroom looking at the first bedroom, living room kitchen and bathroom. Mom and Kristen are standing near the living room the kitchen/dining room is to the left of them.

This is from the back 2 bedrooms looking at the master bed/bath and the guest bath. The big square is the garage

Next step: Bend rebar to go in the footing frames =)

Little Waiter

This is the progress on the house so far:

That would be the dirt/rocks that came out of our hole!

That means it's OUR hole!

Note all the rocks! I know right?!?!

Looking from the bottom right corner. Future Garage

Looking from bottom left. Future living room!

Next step is to build and place the footings so we can start pouring the foundation!

YAY!

And we're Off!!

We Got notice a couple weeks ago that our 35 hrs a week for our house started Oct 4th (yesterday) We got the permits in which means they can start punching the holes for the foundation and we can start laying footings! (how smart do i sound?! i know right?!) I am going out today to take pictures because they dug our hole yesterday! :D Hopefully this week we can start pouring the concrete for some of the houses...ours seems to be last on the round since we are on the "odd" side of the street. Only 2, maybe a 3rd in our group is on this side where everyone else (about 6 families) are on the other side. I would like to do weekly updates on the house and the stages we're completing so take the poll on the right to let me know if i should start a new House Blog or...if i should just post the updates here.
Pics coming soon!

Moved

We did it! We moved! *sigh* Talk about stress! We are still unpacking and the mess is driving me crazy! I have never viewed myself as a clean freak but I simply can not live in and out of boxes! I have been here hardly at all and when I am, I'm mostly dealing with Isaac who has taken this move quite hard! We've taken him out to the property so that he could see where the house is being built and that's all he can talk about now. He wants to go build the house! He isn't sleeping though the night anymore. He wakes up about midnight and comes to bed with us. We let that go on for about a week and then we noticed we weren't sleeping well and everyone was crabby the next day so Greg has been putting him back in bed. So he gets up at 12 and then anywhere between 2 and 4 to come and try again. So with the combination of not sleeping well and all the stresses of moving (living out of boxes, trying to find a home for everything, getting used to all the new noises), needless to say we are major meltdown central!! The next few days should be slower, not as much stuff to go and do so we should be able to stay home and chill for a bit! I just hope he mellows out!
Wish me Luck!

10 Days...REALLY?!

Part 1
Our house is about an hour away from us in Tumwater. So we decided that to save on commute time, gas and build time, we are moving closer! After a VERY hectic time finding an apartment, we finally found one! It's down stairs (YAY) And only 15-20 mins from the property! It's right between the house and work so Greg can go out and build in the morning and then stop by on his way home and shower and change for work without having to drive insanely out of the way (or right past work for that matter). We looked at it last week and decided to take it. so we put down the deposit/holding fee and we get to move in the 26th!! Which means I...WE now have 10 days to finish packing and clean!! I thought we were about 1/2 way done....until I realized we had to be out in 10 days! Now I'm going a bit crazy and am kind of wishing the boys had spent THIS week at my moms and not last! *Thanks Mom for taking the boys for week so we could find a place and do all our fun stuff* which leads to
Part 2
This past week the boys were at my moms. She SOOO Graciously took them so that Greg and I could get some work done on the property and do some other Super Fun stuff.
For my Birthday Greg bought me Jason Aldean Tickets! He was at the Puyallup Fair this past Friday. So while the boys were having fun with Nana and Papa, Greg and I found an apartment, went to my very first concert (which was AWESOME), and then went up to Bellingham for Greg's cousin's wedding (which was amazing) It was nice to have time with just the 2 of us, since Greg had the week off. They had lots of fun adventures! Isaac and Gary are now both fearless when it comes to the dogs! Before, both would scream and cry if they even came near them. and now Isaac goes out to play with them and Gary loves and hugs and tugs on them! They are such good dogs to be so patient to put up with a baby pulling at their ears, tails, and hair! Kelly took Isaac to the car show and Isaac hasn't stopped talking about it. Every time we get in the car he says "YAY!! Car Show!!!!!" and then gets mad when i remind him that we're goin to the store...or home...or somewhere besides the car show. Gary got stung by a bee on his lip so his it was all swollen for a good 12 hrs. Took it like a champ though, and now we know he's not allergic! Gary also learned how to go down the stairs so now it's a fun game to go up and down stairs! A good time was had by all and everyone came home Safe and Sound!! So Thank You Mom and Dad for allowing my tornado children invade your house for a whole week!! You are the best!

We Dood It!!

We have signed the papers!! We are officially land owners! We went in yesterday and got all the papers signed and we start construction THIS Saturday (Happy Birthday to ME!)! We get to go break ground Saturday morning and then we will work for a couple of hours! We are so excited to begin this amazing adventure of building our own home! Wish us luck (cuz we may need it)!!

right after we signed the papers

our property from starting from the white stakes

from the rightfurther back from the right

Let the Games begin! Remember, if you can swing a hammer or babysit, your welcome to help us out!! We can use all the help we can get!

It's a PARTY!!!

I'm having an ONLINE party!!! that's right! ONLINE! Partylite has a new feature where you can now order online! you now longer have to worry that you can't go to that awesome party because your kids have a soccer game that night, or football, or baseball, or dance, or chess, or whatever it is that your kids are doing that keeps you so busy you can't even remember what your name is! It's so super simple! All you do is check out my website and click SHOP, enter my name as the hostess (Sonya Buchanan) and "shop till you drop, then charge it" (my grandma bought me a shirt that said that when I was little and it's stuck with me ever since) We are having AMAZING deals in August! Save up to 75% on select items and when you spend $40 or more you can buy 1 dozen tealights or votives and you get 2 DOZEN FREE!!!! Can't beat that! Halloween items AND Christmas Items are here and they are Rockin this year!! So go check it out and when you find something you like, just hit "add to cart"!! Shop till your hearts content! No procrastination is allowed here!! Orders MUST be in by Aug 31st in order to get our great sales! so GO....now....before it's to late...or you forget!! Try it...You'll like it!! and you'll LOVE what we have to offer!
http://www.partylite.biz/sites/SonyaBuchanan

Finally!!

We had another meeting about our house Tuesday night. We met our supervisor who is super excited and motivated about the whole project. He's done habitat for humanity and LOVED it!! He's been in construction for 20 yrs and loves things to go fast (Which really appealed to us)! We got a date to close our loan (Sept. 3rd) and he's hoping he can get our permits in about 2-3 weeks. As soon as we get the permits we can get going on our house! So I've been apartment hunting the past couple days and have found a few. We toured one yesterday and like it. It's location is perfect as far as Greg's work and the property is concerned, it's right in the middle. It was a bit small and the price was a tad high but it will get the job done for the next year. It's a 2 bed 1 bath that's ground floor and the slider opens up right to the "park" area. Which is more like about 1/2 an acre of grass with wooden play area (the ones with the slide and swings). But it's all fenced up so as long as i sit out there with them the boys are free to run till they pass out! No laundry in the unit but the laundry in the facility is free! They said they would be willing to hold it for us and the holding fee didn't seem to bad. I've got a couple more i would like to look into though so we'll see. I've started packing so that when we do find one we can move ASAP. We have to give 30 days notice here so hopefully we'll find one soon.
That's all for now but I'll keep ya posted!

5 yrs

Yesterday, the 12th, was our 5 yr anniversary! We had a GREAT day! Greg's mom, Becky, watched the boys while we went to IHOP for breakfast! When we picked up the boys we decided to go to Charlies Safari, which is a family fun center, on our way there I turned around to find Isaac hiding from the sun! This was HUGE deal for me because every time it gets too bright in the car he starts freaking out, kicking screaming, crying...the works. So we were thrilled to see that instead he had figured out to just close his eyes!
After Charlies Safari we came home and our neighbor Allison watched the boys while Greg and I went to a Mariners game! For those of you who know us, you know that we are HUGE Mariners Fans!! At our last Mariners game (now this is MY version of the story, Greg's version is TOTALLY Different!) the announcer mentioned the Hit it Here Cafe and Greg suggested that we go there for our anniversary instead of going to the space needle (which is what we do every other year for our anni.) I jumped on that idea!! He was totally shocked and bought the tickets that night when we got home so that I couldn't change my mind!
Greg's version goes something like this. We were sitting at the game and I looked up and saw the Hit it Here Cafe and then I suggested that we do that for our anniversary and he clarified "Instead of the Space Needle?!" I agreed and we came home and he bought the tickets later.

Who's is true?! Who knows! Who cares! We went and we had a blast!!!

This is one of my favorite views of Safeco Field!

This is the Hit it Here Cafe where we sat! We sat outside on the deck that's off to the left in this pic. We were right in front! It was an AMAZING view and AMAZING food!! Greg had Ribs and this chocolate cake that looked like someone might die from eating it! Sooo good! And I had a chicken teriyaki burger and lavender cheesecake with a fresh peach compote! YUM!!! It was so incredible that we could have such good food at a ball park!

Before we went and sat down (because we were 2 hrs early) we decided to walk around the stadium. We have never done that before because we've never been that early! This is the view from right above the bullpen!

It was Irish Appreciation Day so they brought in Irish Musician and Folk Dancers!

They had a Special Olympics Softball game before the Mariners Game! It was so much fun to watch these kids as their faces lit up to be playing here! It was so apparent that they were thrilled to be interacting with some of the big league players!

FSN's Before and After the Game

seriously! it was like I'd never been here before! we saw so many new things!

The game starts!

Felix Hernandaz is Pitching

We sat right behind Ichiro

Which was great since he kept stretching through the whole game!! Right dear!?

After 14 innings of a 0-0 Game against the Chicago White Sox, they FINALLY brought Griffey out to end the game!

He hadn't played all game and when he came out the stadium rumbled with cheers!

He hit a Single to right field that gave Adrian Beltre the chance to score giving us the 1-0 win against the White Sox

The Mariners.com Website says "The longest scoreless game in Mariners franchise history"

He obviously was tackled! Griffey ran to first base and then straight out into the field!

One of my favorite things about baseball is the obvious feeling of brotherhood between the team mates!

After a GREAT game, 3 hrs, and 14 innings later we Take the win 1-0!!!

It was an incredible day filled with amazing food, from breakfast to dinner, Family time, and by the time it was all over I had NO voice!!