Something to Grow on

As the weather has started to warm up, the girls are loving playing outside riding scooters, drawing with sidewalk chalk and most importantly picking dandelions for mommy. (They are plentiful in our yard! Good thing I pay my HOA fees to take care of those for us. Maybe I should start giving Paige and Claire my HOA fee!) As sweet of a gesture as it is, and they are lovely, I have started trying to discourage them because I am tired of holding on to dead weeds. I have told them that the flowers need to stay in the grass so that they can get water to grow.

Last night, Paige and Daddy went for a walk. Along the way, Paige found a dandelion to pick for mommy, but quickly lost interest in carrying it so gave it to Steve. She kept checking back with him though to make sure he still had it, so he couldn't just ditch in it the gutter. What a good daddy, he ended up holding on to that flower for two hours while they played at the park and stopped to visit with friends, who were making cookies, so who wouldn't wait around for a hot one... or dozen?? As they started their walk home, Paige checked with Steve one last time to ensure he had the precious treasure. Sure enough, in his hand he clutched the wilting flower. Paige told him, "Don't worry daddy, the flower will be fine. I spit on it to give it water!"

Yuk!

Poor Claire. I swear we feed her, but sometimes she just eats everything in sight. The other night Steve was out grilling some chicken for dinner and fish for himself. (He is only allowed to cook fish if he cooks it outside, I can't stand the smell, pregnant or not!) He had made up some concoction of garlic and soy sauce and left the whole garlic on the counter with a few cloves loose. Claire walked by the kitchen and to her saw something that resembled candy. She grabbed a whole peeled garlic clove and shoved it into her mouth. Upon the first bite she started screaming and burst into tears! Daddy was able to save the situation by feeding her a Zinger to get the taste out of her mouth, but I can still smell it on her breath three days later. I think it is coming out of her pores!

Preschool Crush

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have found Paige's preschool. I know finding Golden Start was a blessing from serving in my calling since I met Miss Kathy at a stake music leadership meeting and she had a girl drop out that day and was willing to snatch Paige right up. I have been so thrilled with the things Paige has learned, most importantly to read!! I feel so confident sending her to kindergarten a bit ahead of the game.
Paige has a class of 10, 6 boys and 4 girls. At her Christmas program last year, one of the moms stopped me to ask if I was Paige's mom. She told me that her little boy, Hayden, says that Paige is "kind to everyone". I told Paige and she was just thrilled! She hasn't said much about Hayden since. Well, a few weeks ago Paige came home to tell me about "something embarrassing". She, Hayden and another girl were playing house during playtime at school. Paige was the mom, Hayden was the dad and Emily was their daughter along with several baby dolls. As Paige (mom) was feeding a baby doll, Hayden (dad) needed her attention and called out, "HONEY!" I thought it was so cute and explained to her that Hayden probably hears his mommy call his daddy "honey" just like I call Steve "daddy".
Today, Steve picked her up from school while I was looking at houses with our real estate agent, so she and I didn't get our post-preschool chat. So, on our way to dance I asked her my usual preschool questions. "What did you learn about..." I asked her who brought the BRAG BAG and she giggled. Her answer, "The beautiful, handsome Hayden!"

I hate computers!!

I realize it has been forever since I have posted...the worst part is that I feel like I have a lot to catch up on. Well, as I was on the phone a few weeks ago with my sister-in-law describing our top house choice in Daybreak I got online to give her the MLS so she could check it out herself. (Yes, aside from blog-stalking, I also spend most of my days scouring the MLS on the off-chance that our house might sell sometime before this baby comes!) No sooner did my website pull up, my screen on our laptop went completely black. I could hear that the rest of the computer was still running, but could see nothing!! From what I have heard, it will cost more to fix the screen than to buy a new one, so let's hope the tax return comes quickly!! It is truly driving me crazy to not have a computer, even worse to pay my internet bill for a service I can't use!! Does anyone fix retarted laptops??

P.S. We got an offer on the condo today!! Apparently, our previous buyer accepted an offer on her home and still wants ours. I guess she was meant to live there! So, cross your fingers that this one sticks and we can get movin!!

The Rumors are True!

Yes, it is true. I guess I kind of slipped up there mentioning crazy hormones, or maybe the workers at Maverick are ratting me out for my daily hot dog cravings, or maybe Paige has gotten to you since she announces it to everyone we meet. Either way, it is true. I am pregnant. We will be having a third baby in October.

Holy cow...third baby. That just freaked me out. I guess I should have called this "What were we thinking". Especially since I can hear the girls fighting from here and still feeling the pressure of selling our two bedroom condo and now the need to buy a minivan! Is it true that carseats expire after 5 years? Did I save them all for nothing? And is it really not okay for boys to wear pink ruffles and play with dolls? What will I do? I'm not announcing that it is a boy, because we won't know for a while, but it is a true panic of mine.

Don't get me wrong, we are all excited. But I am preparing myself for at least one disappointed child since they both want different things. Paige says she asked Jesus for a brother but Claire needs a little sister to boss around. I am sure I would be more excited too if I didn't feel like throwing up all the time, and I could get my necessary 22 hours of sleep per day. Until then, I will live in scrubs, with no makeup (except special occasions), my children will continue to look homeless in their pajamas all day, and my poor husband will continue to starve or eat take out.
But in the end, we will have a new baby to love!!

He Made It!!

This is our sweetest nephew Brady. Just before Christmas, he left for the MTC in Provo to prepare for his mission in France. I wasn't surprised by how emotional we were to say goodbye to him, especially considering what we have been through together. Steve and I had dated for less than a week when I first met Brady and he instantly found a hole in my heart and weaseled his way right in. We have been best of friends ever since!

After a tough few months in the MTC, he finally left for France last week. He had a few hours to kill at the airport and I was so pleasantly surprised to get a phone call! We talked for about 20 minutes and both just cried! (It didn't help that my hormones are all wacky and I cry over burnt toast) It was so great to hear his voice and he was so sweet to talk to. We told each other how much we missed each other and how much we loved each other. I also told him how proud I was of him for making this life changing decision. It worked out great because I didn't grab the phone right away, so I have a short message on our machine for us to keep for the next two years.

The girls just adore him and ask about him all the time. In fact, we had French Toast the other night and they were thrilled to be eating food like Brady. They love putting daily stickers on his chart, counting down until he comes home. Paige has even figured out how to change the language on DVD's so they can watch them in French so that when he comes home they can all talk together. Paige was so excited to see that we got pictures emailed to us yesterday that she kissed the screen! It is at least a weekly occurance where I will find one of them quiet in a corner by themselves and when asked about the problem, the tears start to fall and they admit they "just miss Brady".

Well, we were certainly thrilled to hear that he has arrived in Toulouse safely and from what the mission president says, he has the best trainer possible! He is in good hands! The scary part is seeing his apartment...or should I say cardboard box?? Holy cow, I don't know how these boys have that much faith that they are willing to give up two years of their lives to live like that? I know he is being blessed, and I actually feel like we are being blessed through his service too.

We love you Brady!! Good luck!

SOLD...almost!

Oh, my poor heart can't take this abuse! After eight long months of "You have a showing in 20 minutes" and "Your's is their top choice, but...", we finally accepted an offer! It was lower than we really wanted, but it was a cash buyer so we wouldn't have to deal with financing falling through. We had agreed on a closing date of April 1, which I knew from the start was a bad sign. I even asked my agent if he was joking. After three weeks of looking for a home to buy, and no luck we went out one last time, determined to find "the house". I convinced my agent to take us through some brand new spec homes that were above our budget, but I knew that they had been sitting empty for a LONG time and the builders just might be desperate to get rid of them! As we pulled up to the house, Steve and I knew it was it. Especially as we walked through with me saying, "I love these cabinets!!" "These closets are huge!!". Steve walked through saying, "Check out this deck!!" and "This garage is huge!!". Aside from having plenty of room for our growing family, the house behind it was on a lower lot, so the view went right over the top of their house and we could see forever!! It had a great view of the mountains, the new Temple, we could even watch fireworks on the 4th of July at the U from our back deck!! We were so excited and happy, until our agent received a call from our buyers agent. She had come through in the early fall and loved it, but had to sell her house first. She was so excited when hers sold and ours was still available. However, her agent was calling to tell us that her buyers "couldn't get financing" and therefore couldn't buy the house, which means our buyer can't buy ours! Could timing get any worse? So, I guess we are back on the market. Back to shoving laundry under the bed because there is an agent in the driveway, and back to buying stock in Febreeze!! I am trying to keep a positive attitude and I know everything happens for a reason, but really?? This sucks!