One Small Step

First of all, Yes, I made this!! It is the first thing I have made with my sewing machine!

Next, a funny story.
Isaac told me his bum hurt so, with a little candy bribe I convinced him to sit on the potty and at least try! So we go to the bathroom and I get him all situated on his little potty and walk away, cuz let's face it, it's just easier when you don't have someone hovering! While in the kitchen preparing some mid day, quiet time hot chocolate I hear him in there, "Ok. Let's go potty! If we go, we get some candy! So. Go. Potty!" I laughed and then went to see how it was going. The best part about his little potty pep talk, IT WORKED!!! He went potty!!! I was so excited. now while this is not his first success, they have been so sporatic lately that every time is a HUGE deal!! We did a little potty victory dance, washed our hands and sat down with our hot chocolate, candy and Cars!!

There is just something about a movie, a blanket, and a tent.

Our poor little guy came down with a bad case of the "not feelin goods". He had a bit of a temp last night so after battling to get his temprature, I gave up and went out and got one of the Excergen thermometers. I LOVE IT!!! I'm slightly addicted to taking his temp now! Poor little guy at one point was up to 103. He's been bouncing around the high 99's and low 100's all day and occasionally complaining of his tummy hurting.

Never have had a sick baby (other than a cold) I wasn't sure what to do for my poor little guy. I know it's not fun to throw up, and it can only be worse if you've never done it past the age of 1 before. I can only imagine what having the flu for the first time could feel like! I tried to get him to have some breakfast but he only ate 1 pancake (if you have ever seen this child eat pancakes you would know. he usually eats 6, no joke!). So I filled his cup with juice and stuck in a movie. He hasn't really eaten anything else all day. He's been drinking Gatorade (or Daddy juice as he and his daddy so cleverly came up with) and grape juice. But doesn't want to eat.

So all we have done today is, drink, snuggle, and watch movies. . .but then again, what else is there when your tummy hurts!

Shingles 'N Tubs

Our roof is called a hip roof! Why?! I don't know. All I know is that that is what it is called and it looks like my house is wearing a hat.

It used to bother me but the more I see it, I love my little hat house

It kind of looks like the Moster house!

except it's not two stories and hopfully has no evil child devouring spirit living in it. . .

The tub in the Boys Bathroom

Plumbing is done in the house

Our Tub! It's 3 feet wide and 5 feet long!

I'm excited!!

That's it so far! It is nice to be out of the rain and have a roof over our head! 

I believe the next step is electircal and then sheet rock and insulation (not neccasarily in that order)

Smart Man!

Sometimes, something gets said from one person to another that maybe shouldn't have. "Tradition" is that said person (usaly the man) will bring home an offering to the offended party.

This, is not my man!

He is all about buying me flowers because I'm not expecting it!

He is all about bringing home a box of chocolates because he thought they looked good and wanted me to have some to share with him!

He is all about making sure I know he loves me on random occasions.

I don't get flowers if he's messed up. I don't usually get flowers on v-day or my birthday.

Sometimes I get them on mother's day, but only when I don't think I am!

He is very sneaky with his offerings of love and effection. He is very good about catching me off gaurd, and he is VERY good at suprising me. He likes to go over the top for, what seem to others, small stuff! This time it was the ever-favorite time of year, tax return! He came walking through the door, flowers, card, chocolates, sparkling cider and smile in tow.

The chocolates were gone within an hour, the sparkling cider was nice and bubbly, the smile said he was up to something and the card was sweet and made my eyes wet. Tucked away inside the card was the printed out version of the email he got that said our tax return would be deposited into our bank account in a couple days!  Ahhhhhhhh Sweet Relief!!

You see, with said return, came an amazing blessing! The chance to pay off student loans, credit cards and paying off the rest of our car loan.  It means having a little extra in savings.  It meant being completely (except for the house) out of debt! What a sigh of relief!!!
Greg is amazing with finances and he has kept us (sometimes miraculously) above water. We have an odd way of doing things but it's our odd way, and it works!
Thank you babe for doin what you do! and again, Thank you for my beautiful flowers!!

Shingles

This is what happend TODAY!!! They weren't quite done when I went home but you figure the first pic was taken at about 3 and the last was taken at about 6. I'm going back tomorrow for a final product pic! I was just too excited to wait to post them all at the same time.

Those Big things sitting in the garage (right behind the van) are the tubs!!!!

Tatoos, Fish, and the House

We went to the State Farm Easter Party last Saturday. The boys had a blast. We hunted eggs, went fishing (which is where we got these cool tattoos), ate cupcakes and other yummy treats, did a ball toss, made foam picture frames. . .all in all, it was laughter and smiles!

Isaac was not thrilled about his tattoo. He begged and begged me to put it on him and the minute I did he cried and cried.

I have been called to be the sunbeam teacher in our ward. I made sure the primary president was aware we

wouldn't be there that long and she said it would be ok so I very gladly accepted the calling! I have always wanted to teach sunbeams! I love that age! They are figuring out what they like, they are developing opinions, and for the most part, they know the answers (or at least can come up with super creative answers) to the basic gosple principle. Last week our lesson was on Being Greatful for fish. And I made this super cute hand out. I was very proud of myself. They were a big hit!

We finally got all of our trusses up! Greg and some of our rockin neighbors spent almost all day up on the roof making sure everything was nailed off so that we could get it sheeted. Greg had to walk out onto the porch beam which is only supported by 2 2x6's. One is nailed to it and then stood up on the ground. the other is naied to that board and then nailed to the wall. It was very nerve racking.

This is the house with all the trusses up and ready to be sheeted! The guy waving is one of our neighbors.

The roof has been sheeted but I don't have a picture of that yet. I will be getting one with in the next day, hopefully before it gets roofed, but if not, o-well.

Next is all the sub-contractors who will come in and do the plumbing, electrical, and lay out the countertops!

Being the mom!

Sometimes, this is the best job in the world! Your kids love you, you love your kids. They are excellent listeners, they get a long well.  They laugh and play together. You can get your kitchen clean, and vacuum and get the laundry done. . .OK. I don't think I know anyone that can get all that done in 1 day with 2 kiddos around and if you can, don't tell me.
But SOMETIMES, you wake up and kid karma is just not on your side. One of you little guys decideds to get up WAY to early, the other little guy decided that his brother has some kind of  plan to anialate him. Which results in screaming and crying if big brother comes with in 3 feet of him. They decide that the floor is the best place for their cereal. The bucket of toys gets dumped out onto the floor because they were looking for a train that was ALREADY OUT!!!  Spitting is a common thing all day long, and all in all, it is a very bad day.
Somedays, like today, Being the mom is the WORST job in the world. So whether it's because your little one is sick with the flu or other yuckies that cause nasty substances to come out either end of your baby (cuz lets face it, it's just another "perk" of being a mom, to clean up all those nasty smells) or it's because your little guys have decided to be complete enemys today. . .I am sorry. and know you are not alone in the "i am runnig away" feeling today!

Bissel vs Kirby

Shhhhh! don't tell Greg but, a couple nights ago, about 5, there was a knock on the door. I go, I look, I sigh, I open.
Hello Ma'am I'm with Kirby, are you familiar with our product?!
Yes.
What do you know about us?
Well, your a vacuum/carpet cleaner company.
Yes! I am going around trying to get in 1 more appointment for the night. Do you have a room that could use a carpet cleaning?!
Yes, but I'm not comfortable allowing people I don't know into my home.
*All of this has happened before. The conversation (almost word for word) I've had before. This is usually the point at which they smile and say "I totally understand, Thank you for your time and have a good evening" But not this sly guy!*
Well we have a woman if that would be better. . .
Yes it would be better but
GREAT! I'll go get her and the stuff and be back in 20 mins!
*and off he runs*
I sigh, decide i should get some dishes done and the table and chairs moved out of the dining room, cuz after all, how long could it take? Really! at 530 (About the time he should be back) I decide to start making some dinner for the chillins. at 630 (and he's still not back) I decide that now it's to late and I start moving the table back and what do ya know, *knock knock*. OK FINE!
I'm sorry we're so late, it's been a crazy night.
C'mon in.
This is Angela and she's new. She will be doing your demonstration tonight.
Ok.
*At this point. Mr. Kirby salesman leaves poor, new, shy, terrified Angela all alone. So Angela starts setting up at the speed of a Turtle taking a nap, and at about 7 starts reading off her paper her demonstration. Now if you've never had a Kirby Demonstration, it is ridiculous! If you have, feel free to laugh. She vacuums my dining room one 3 ft strip at a time. put the filter in, vacuum, stop, show me filter, insert new filter, vacuum, repeat! At 730 she finally finishes vacuuming my dining room. In the mean time the boys have been eating their dinner in the kitchen. 730 and we go to the high traffic area of the house and do a vacuum for 2 mins with my vacuum, the she vacuums for 2 mins with my vacuum and then vacuums with her Kirby to show me all the sand and grit that was left. She then pours baking soda (MY baking soda) into my carpet and vacuums it with mine, and then what was "left" with the Kirby (I am proud to say that it wasn't a whole lot) at 8 (YES 8!!!) she asked if there was access to a mattress, at which point I asked her how much longer is this going to take? She looks over her paper and says, "probably a couple hours" (A COUPLE HOURS?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!)
I sigh, because I hate being rude, and say..."I have to get my kids to bed. Can we please stop here?"
Yah, I just have to pack everything up and call my manager.
That's fine. Take your time. I'm so sorry. I should have asked how long it would take before I agreed to this. I feel terrible. I just really need to get the kids to bed and clean up before my hubby gets home.
*So I take the boys to their room to put on their pajamas and help them pick up their toys, coming back out occasionally to check on the packing up progress. when I come back out she calls her manager and says
I've been asked to leave . . . . . She has asked me to leave . . . . . . . She has ASKED me to leave . . . . . She has to put her kids to bed . . . . ok.
*I feel terrible! but it's true. I did ask her to leave so I'm not going to let it get to me. I start asking her how long she's been doing this and she tells me 2 weeks. and the only reason she got into it is because she was told there would be no door to door selling. This is only her 2nd demonstration and she does not like doing it. I told her she was doing a really good job and how I would not be able to go door to door doing this. When she has it all packed up (it's 830 by this time) I ask her if I can help her carry stuff out to her car and she says she'll just call her manager. She gets on the phone again. "Can you come help me carry this stuff out? . . . . Well it's really heavy . . . . . Not all in one trip! . . . . can you please just come help me?!" 5 seconds later there's a knock. (Her manager was outside in a van this whole time?! UN-believable) I open the door (it's not the same guy that dropped her off . . .oh-kay. . .) and he says "is the cleaning lady here?" (The cleaning lady?! Wow!) Yes! Angela is right here!
I apologize again about the inconvenience and explain that I have to put the kids to bed but she was doing really good job for how new she is.
He gives me this really sarcastic, yah-right, kind of smile and says. I totally understand. Thank for your time and have a good night.
At 845 I ran to the boys room, turned off the light, put their toys away while singing them a couple songs as they lay in bed. Had prayer, and kissed them good night.
Moral of the story. Not only would I NEVER pay $2,995 for a vacuum, I will NEVER EVER Allow anyone into my home who is trying to sell me a Kirby Vacuum all because of the length of the demonstration and that one Rude, sarcastic smiling manager! No Good Kirby! No Good!

Today our little man turns 3! Yesterday we went to the store and he picked out all our meals for Today. Blueberry muffins for breakfast, pb&j for lunch and corn dogs for dinner! He picked out his cake and frosting, which we had at 1030 this morning so that Greg could enjoy in the festivities! I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he said, chocolate with poka dots and sprinkles!

We did something a little different this year. We took him shopping this morning to pick out his birthday present. He had so much fun looking at everything and picking something out! I still wrapped it up because lets face it, what's a birthday with out ripping paper off something right?!

He is totally in love with his new Wheel Loader! He calls it his beautiful tractor. and as you can see in the picture, Gary is a little jealous. But no worries, we got Gary a hot wheel while at the store.

As usual, Greg had to preform a little un-packaging surgery. Look at Isaac all patient!

All in all it's been a great birthday, so far. A tractor from Mom and Dad, a Mac trailer truck from Grama and Grampa, and Where the Wild things are complete with matching wild thing From nana and papa. The other truck he bought with his own money at the dollar store!

Now, time for a quick Siesta before Daddy has to go to work!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Trusses 'N Windows

Saturday was a great day! We got the rest of our Trusses up. All we have left before it can be sheeted and roofed is to get the jacks up, which are the eves to the house and what gives it the corners.

Greg trimming one of the trusses. Yes he is up, sitting on top of the wall.

Walking the Truss over

View from the back/side of the house of the truss being rolled up. Greg is on the wall over the window.
After the truss is rolled up. Waiting to nail it down.

Trusses, Check! Windows in, Check!

A close up of our windows. This is the kitchen, The living room window has the same pattern, it's just twice as big.

It's getting exciting! We should have it all roofed and be working "indoors" by next month!