Molasses

Our house is coming along slowly, but surely. PBTB took a job this entire month and he's been working upwards of 65-70 hours a week as a chemist and that was just M-F. Bless his heart, he would still go put in 16-18 hour days at the house on Saturday. Needless to say, my kids were going berserk. Luckily, he and his boss came to a mutual agreement on Thursday to dicontinue their relationship. (whew! didn't know how much more of that I could handle, even if it means I remain uninsured a bit longer, everyone else is covered) He had another interview yesterday and another one next Friday, so wish him luck. Since the last house post, the only visible exterior difference are the windows. Inside, we've got plumbing, heating/A/C and electrical all in mid-stride. (pics taken on the 16th,no basement pics)

Front

Back

Boys' Room

Office/Another Bedroom

This is the Front Room view from the entrance.

Front Room view from the back of the house facing the entrance

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Dining Room

Kitchen/Front Room

Laundry Room

ET 9 Months

ET turned 9 months old on the 6th, so I'm almost a month late, these pics were taken on the 11th, though. I wanted to get some more that weren't so impromptu, but you see how far that got me (we'll do organized photos for 10 months?). ET looks a lot like his brother, but he does have his own look. He's not nearly as big as "W" was, so they look alike at ages they were the same size, rather than the same age. He's got these prominent eyebrows that "W" didn't have and he squishes his nose when he laughs hard and has a raspy voice. His head is pretty small and that makes him look a little different. He only has his 2 bottom teeth, maybe more on the way? He doesn't make many word noises, but he took his first steps on the 16th, 9 1/2 months (a month earlier than "W" did.......didn't crawl until 2 months later than "W") He stands freely for about 20 seconds. He's said Momma for a while now (couple of months or more) and he said Daddy for the first time yesterday (29th). I have a hard time convincing his brother it's mean to beat on him because ET won't stop laughing hysterically. His favorite place to be is looking out the sliding glass door and if you can hear motorboat noises, you know he's close. If he can see his cousin, CPK, he's chasing her, pulling her hair and crawling over the top of her. He's been sick for the past month and has not been sleeping well (ear infection). After we got him on an antibiotic he did better for a couple of days, now the antibiotic is upsetting his belly. Hopefully he will be doing better when he finishes his antibiotics.

Ups & Downs

My goal before writing this post is to come up with more ups than downs about being "homeless" for the past 11 months.
UPS
1. My mom lives next door
2. The monitor reaches next door
3. I can leave my sleeping babies in their beds while I run errands
4. I get to see my baby niece everyday
5. No utilitity bills (except when grandparents leave)
6. No mortgage/rent payments (we give expensive Christmas gifts instead)
7. Less housework
8. Less yardwork
9. My babies have a close relationship with the grandparents
10. I rarely feel alone, even though PBTB is gone A LOT
11. I borrow things from my mom and grandma all.the.time
12. I can pick up my mom's wireless connection
13. We eat over at my Mom's and MIL's A LOT
14. My grandparents have cable (never had it before)
15. My parents have TIVO (never had that before)
16. My grandparents' stairs are carpeted (I'm notorious for falling and ours were wooden)
17. My grandparents like to keep the house warm :)
18. My grandparents are snowbirds (we'll see them again in April)
19. My kids have a huge yard to play in (hurry up spring!)
20. I have a garage during the winter (while my grandparents are gone)
21. I have a kitchen, even if it's not mine, for now
20. I do have my own fridge and freezer
21. I have very generous Grandparents
22. I have very patient Grandparents
23. I have very tolerant Grandparents
24. I am very lucky to have a place to live

DOWNS
1. The term "put it away" does not exist here (we live on surface tops, all "aways" are taken)
2. I miss housework/yardwork of my own
3. I have constant anxiety about my kids/husband breaking something
4. My kids are too close during the night (they wake each other up), probably single biggest complaint
5. I have to pick up messes as soon as they are made, no exceptions, I can barely keep up and probably fail most of the time
6. It's impossible to clean or pick up when there's no space
7. I am dying for my own space
8. I miss my pets (some live at the construction site, others took up residence at a nearby barn)
9. I can't have parties
10. I have horrible guilt if the house isn't spotless
11. Doing laundry before my grandparents left was a nightmare
12. I hate putting our clothes away, because they're more accessible in the laundry baskets
13. I am in EVERYBODY'S way all.the.time
14. My stuff is in EVERYBODY's way all.the.time

Boy, that felt so good. I am so relieved and feel so good that my "ups" outweighed my "downs", by a long shot and without even trying.

Captain Underpants

So, as suspected, potty training isn't the most fun activity for a mother, but you have to admit, pretty hysterical.

Build a Bear

The boys needed to get out of the house last Saturday, Build a Bear was having a sale, off we went. "W" picked out a wolf and I picked ET out a black bear. "W" liked filling his wolf up with stuffing, but mostly he loved brushing him and giving him a "bath". He wasn't so interested in dressing his wolf. He chose a hard hat and some big boy underpants. ET's bear got a flannel shirt. (Not the most exciting post, but we aren't the most exciting people right now. PBTB's always either at work or working on the house, and he's kinda the life of the party, especially our party.)

Original Instant

We all have them, photos from our camera phone. Not the best photos, but always capture a "moment". The modern day equivalent of polaroids. I recently got a new phone and it took me 3+ hours to e-mail all of my photos so they wouldn't be gone forever on the old phone. Luckily, my new phone takes a memory card, so no more of that. But, I think I will resolve to start e-mailing as I take them, 'cause what good are they on the phone? (I mean after the initial picture message that you send to relevant contacts) These are some of my favorites that I recently re-visited. Some of "W" look exactly like ET (There are only three pics of ET here).

Dear Sister...

I love this pic of my sis, courtesy of Jagerhaus. And, the headband's not too shabby either, courtesy of myself.

Fuzzy Butts

My MIL always talks about a dog she used to have named Fuzzy Butts........It just seemed fitting. I knit these pants for the boys for Christmas. You can make fun of me, but I LOVE them. (Matching shirts compliments of Great Grandma Maurine)

It's a Rarity

My family's really good at taking photos, lots of them. They are not, however, good at taking group photos. We made it a point to get all the cousins together for a photo. And also, the couples, and the siblings (even us, that hasn't been done for 14 years!) They aren't the best photos, but they will do.

Christmas 2009

I've been putting off our Christmas post because I was so disappointed with our pictures, or rather lack thereof. We woke up, I took 2 pics of "W" and the camera battery went dead. Of course I didn't remember to charge the backup either......so mad. Here are a few random pics of the boys in their always to die for christmas jammies, provided by the Yarn Queen (Grandma).

You'll have to use your imagination for their Santa surprise faces. "W" received 3 large dinosaurs, a wooly mammoth, a triceratops, a stegosaurus, a clear backback, some knit pants, a triceratops shirt, and some nesting dolls (warriors).

ET received a hand-turned baseball bat (just like brother got on his 1st Christmas), a laptop, a cement truck, a busy ball popper, knit pants, and a t-shirt.

They shared receiving a Tickle Monster book, an outer space mobile and other fun things for their future bedroom.

More family pics to come.

Attempt to Escape the Inevitable

I've come to the tangible reality that I will be eternally losing my boys. Not at the store or in the backyard, but literally losing them for good. Their quirks, their size, their sometimes annoying habits. I've always known that this would happen, but now it's my reality.......and I HATE IT. It breaks my heart everyday and I can't get it off my mind most of the time. They are growing too fast, changing too fast. I've had a nagging feeling to document their current little personalities for the last month or so and what better place than here, where it will eventually be turned to print.
"W"
"W" is 28 months old. His rapid accumulation of knowledge scares me some days. He is extremely OCD. He lines his dinosaurs or toys up wherever and whenever he can. Most things are black and white with him and trying to explain gray areas can be torture. Be careful, because if he sees something done one way it can never change. He likes to take hoards of dinosaurs or current obsession with him wherever we go, even if it's just next door. However, this extreme has lightened quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. From the time he was about 8 or 9 months old he has preferred to leave the house before noon. It doesn't matter where, just as long as we go, preferrably in the car or the stroller. He has been a wild child from the word "go". Even as a baby, he never stopped moving. The only fears that I've ever known him to have are swings (which I think he grew out of) and the garage door, and even then it's more of a cautious look than an actual fear. He could care less about being left in a pitch black room by himself. He has always been very strong and at this point, probably stronger than me (although, doesn't take much) He is a good boy and always trys to do what is right. He LOVES to tease, which must be genetic, not from me. He's very territorial, but I think a lot of 2 year olds are. He used to at least try any food we put in front of him, as of late, not so much. His main interest is definitely not eating. His favorite food is ramen noodles or soup. He likes to eat Eggo Waffles or Frosted Mini Wheats for breakfast. I take him into Salt Lake to go to pre-school twice a week. He loves it and we have both learned a lot. He loves to make animal noises and apparently instigated an entire conversation among the children one day that was nothing but animal noises. He can mimic any animal noise perfectly after hearing it just once. When he first started attending school, he couldn't care less about drawing and they never make the kids draw or color. One day I showed him that I could draw dinosaurs, now he loves to color and draw. He just discovered a newfound afinity for America's Funniest Videos. He LOVES cousins and asks for each of them by name throughout the day, everyday. He has always had a thing for his Daddy. He can be stubborn, but I win him in a contest anytime. He cannot leave a band-aid on for longer than 3 seconds. He has to have his shoes and his socks off to sleep. Oh wait, he doesn't sleep....I don't think he is capable of falling asleep unless he has been awake for at least 10 hours and not even then sometimes. I have a best friend named Melatonin. Once he is asleep, he doesn't wake up too often. His blonde hair is hysterical and soooo adorable. My mom calls him Jimmy Neutron and my dad calls him blonde Elvis. When he gets in trouble he covers an open mouth with one hand and runs in the other room or to the nearest chair where he buries his face. He is very theatrical and he is very quick to try and win back my approval. I have to talk him into getting into the shower everyday and then he stays in forever and I have to talk him into getting out. He usually plays too rough with his younger brother and cousin. He wants to growl at them and take anything they have away. He likes to tell them "that's not a toy". He had his fair share of tantrums for a couple months after turning 2, but now only if he's overly tired. He LOVES his movies and asks to watch "Up" aka;"Kid" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosuars" everyday. He is very good at communicating even if his annunciation isn't perfect. He is very independent and thinks he's the boss, but also good at asking for help when he needs it. He has the cutest smile and is very lovie, but hasn't always been that way.

ET
ET will be 9 months old tomorrow. He has had a tender heart and the sweetest look since he was born. He is a Momma's boy, but now as he gets older and likes to play, moving to the other side.....Daddy. He casually blows raspberries all day long. He is slowly getting used to his brother's wild play. They have made each other laugh hysterically everyday for the past three days, so cute. He LOVES toys, something "W" was not interested in at all this early. He is crawling and pulling himself up, waves and says "Momma". He LOVES any type of food he can get in his mouth and will do just about anything to get it there. Unfortunately he has a pretty sensitive system, lots of maalox. His stats today for 9 months were 20 lb. 12 oz. 50th percentile and 28 1/4" tall, also 50th percentile. This is over an inch shorter than "W" at the same age. His weight has tapered, he has been in the 75-90th percentile until now. He gets really excited when he sees anyone he knows, especially mom or brother. He has the cutest, raspiest, old man voice that barely reaches what someone could consider loud. He doesn't have a lot to say. I thought "W" was strong from a young age, but I'm pretty sure ET has him beat. He.is.strong. He has been pretty mellow until recently, he reminds me exactly of "W". He won't stop moving and he's impossible to dress. His eyebrows are one his most charming and endearing features, very pronounced. His hair is about as thick as "W"s was at 6 months, so less hair. It might end up being a little darker?, but definitely another blondie, we'll see. "W"s had a red tint to it, before it went white, ET's does not. They have the same hairline. They have the exact same button nose. They have the same crystal blue eyes and long eyelashes. And if not exactly, very similar little mouths. They have the same cleft chin. They have the same build and very cute round bum, but ET's may be more round....he can barely stay sitting up. He has one tooth, bottom right, and another one the way, bottom left. He is very good natured, either that or he doesn't quite understand what it means when "W" shoves him over or the CPK steals his cookies. Either way, you never hear a sound out of him. He is very curious about his surroundings, just like any 9 month old. He loves the bath and doesn't love to go in the car. He cries when he sees the carseat, but is done before I get my seatbelt on or at least by the time the car starts moving. Some nights it is very difficult to get him to fall asleep, just praying he doesn't have the same problem as "W". ("W" didn't start that 'til he was almost 2) ET was born lovie and can't get enough kisses and hugs. Everyone comments about how happy he is, as they did with "W" when he was a baby. He just took his pants off while I was typing this and I have no idea how.