Life at Grandma's

We have been living here with John's parents for 2.5 months. Things have gone really well and we are at about exactly our halfway point. We should (emphasize should) be moving into our new home at the end of May. We have plenty of space here, and couldn't ask for betters hosts. The very best part - besides the rent, wink wink - is the toys, swing set, sport court, and endless playmates. Boston wants to play outside, rain, snow, or sunshine everyday. Their plethora of cousins who all live close by are here daily, and so usually the first thing the kids ask when they wake up is "who's here" because they know we are never alone in this house.

We have had our struggles with discipline, and eating habits. To be fair, it hasn't been all easy peasy since moving in. Grandma is famous for spoiling the grandkids like crazy, so time-outs were a struggle. Picture me wresting my naughty toddler to the naughty steps and my child wailing "GRANDMA!! HELLLLLP!" Ugh, so not fun at all. Then, every meal can be a battle when I want the kids to eat what's for dinner, and all my kids want is the ginormous plastic bin full of Cheese Puff Balls. Seriously?? WHO EATS THAT?? It's getting better... but we will have some major adjustments back to normal life when we move out. They will be demanding play dates daily, and won't know what to do with themselves that they won't get treats after every meal. It's going to be rough.

The Goings On

I have pregnancy brain. Half of what comes out of my mouth makes no sense and I forget words all the time. Here is a little catch up of what's been happening this summer.

We moved in (did I tell you that already)

We love love love our new house and neighborhood. We have had a few minor and not so minor issues with our home, but they have mostly been resolved and weren't really anyones fault - but we have had a string of some bad luck I guess you could say.

We are re-discovering Utah county. Things have changed since we were here in college. We have a lot of fun reminiscing about our dating/engaged days.

We love our new ward and new friends. Kids make socializing so much easier.

The new Grease Monkey is finally under construction after the longest hardest most frustrating last few months for John. This economy sucks.

I finally chose a new Dr. and hospital to deliver at down here. It was not an easy process. The good news is that I love him. The bad news is my insurance is frustrating and I'm probably going for a C-section this time.

We have had several visitors since we moved in. My parents and Landon came and then Tanner came. My mom will be back next week. It's been really fun, but exhausting and I pay the price with lots of contractions.

I think (knock on wood) Boston is finally officially 100% potty trained. It has been an ordeal to say the least. Bribery of a big 2 wheeler "Cars" bike (with training wheels of course) was what finally did the trick. I'm praying we have no relapses.

We spend all day every day in our front yard. Living in a cul de sac is seriously all that and more. I absolutely love it. We open the garage, the mom's sit in our camping chairs with our water bottles and popsicles, and the kids ride bikes play in the dirt with the tonka trucks and play in our little kiddie pools. It's the life. I don't get much done, but I'm soaking this up for now.

John is working and commuting which makes for really long days and a really tired Dad, but it hasn't been as hard on me and the kids as I thought it would be. He is definitely getting the shorter end of the stick, but in a few (5) months it will end and he won't be commuting, but will probably be working even longer hours. Owning your own business is no joke. We are grateful he works so hard and complains so little. Except on days when I don't have any dinner ready. : )

So there you have it. Our first month is Pleasant Grove has been eventful. I'm entering my 3rd trimester now and with open arms. My 2nd wasn't as kind to me as last time, so at least I'm nearing the end of this pregnancy. Although I'm still in denial about what that means... a new baby. How is this my life??

Just in the first 2 weeks...

The kids made some artwork while I rested on a hard day.

On that same particularly difficult day (I had quite a few after we moved, it seemed to exacerbate my pregnancy symptoms) the kids completely tore apart the loft. I took this picture because it looked so bad, but to be honest, it has looked worse since. Far worse.

John hired landscapers before we had unpacked a single freakin box. No joke. The kids and I would sit outside and watch the tractors dump dirt and watch "the workers". The kids liked to take them "pos-ca-pels" popsicles and water bottles.

Our first Sunday here was Father's Day. I have lucky kids.

After about a week of staying here, we discovered we had a pretty severe plumbing problem. Really long, frustrating, disgusting story short, the pipes that connect our house to the city sewer were full of gravel and therefore not draining. After 2 days with a basement full of waste water, and therefore having no running water in our house, this humongous hole was dug in our front yard to fix the problem. It was a nightmare. I never want to talk about it again. Moving on...

Elaine got us tickets to take the kids to the Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was probably the hottest day ever. Elaine was brilliant enough to bring some Knight costumes for the boys, which was perfect because Boston cried all morning when he realized Naomi got to wear her Tiana dress and I wouldn't put him in one. The highlight for them was Naomi getting her face painted and Boston getting a black dragon tattoo on his arm that he appropriately named "Toofless" aka Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.

Maybe you noticed, so maybe it's worth mentioning, that Naomi is crying in 2 of these pictures. All I can say is that she is 2 and I have never in my whole life met another 2 year old who gave her mom more of a run for her money. We have reached a stage with her that I would call a serious power struggle, among other things. She is too smart for her own good, and I swear you have never heard such sass. I'm literally exhausted just thinking about it. Hopefully things calm down a bit before October. But if they don't, please pray for us.

Life at Grandma's House Ends...

We had discussed the possibility of moving into the house slowly since the new store down here was months behind schedule and it would mean a very long commute for John, but like I said, I got antsy and as soon as we had keys I was moving in. We waited about a week before we started sleeping here, but that was all. This period of time feels sort of like a blur. We got back from Vegas, left for Disneyworld, came home and closed on our house and then spent an insane week of John working and me lugging the kids down to PG every day to unpack and organize what I could myself. It was super exhausting. I took a bunch of "before" pictures of the house, but won't post them until I have some "afters", which could take years, so don't hold your breath : ) Otherwise, the pictures I have of this time period are random and few and far between.

John's mom had just gotten herself some Mopeds and the kids were obsessed with them. In the evenings when John and I would meet back up at his parents to sleep there, we would take the kids out on them, usually to the park. They were awesome. We totally want some now. The kids still talk about the "no-peds".

I was super excited to install the new front loaders we got such a great deal on in our new laundry room. Embarrassingly, we didn't know there were bolts in the back holding the drum of the washer in place so we had some major shaking issues for a few days. I made John sit on it while I tried to run a load. No biggy, it was just a stupid $88 dollar mistake. Damn.

In the middle of moving week, one of my lifelong BFF's graduated from Nursing School. We were so proud of her and happy for her. She worked so hard! We had a great time catching up at her Graduation luncheon.

Up next, our first few weeks in PG. We had some bad luck, but we LOVE it here!

While we were building our house...

I was getting really antsy at the end of the construction process to move out of my in-laws. It was driving me crazy that I felt like our stuff was everywhere. We had 2 storage units, stuff in the house with us, stuff in every nook and cranny of Cloward's garages, etc. It was starting to make me crazy and I was dying to get organized and have all our belongings under one roof. It was also time to just have our own space again after 6 whole months. So, since the builder was already moving at a fast pace and I couldn't make it move any quicker, we spent many of our days making the long drive from Syracuse to Pleasant Grove. The kids would nap in the car, and I could have some peace and quiet. Win win.

On this particular day we went by the house to see it's progress, and then we got popsicles and headed to the park. Naomi had a new do'. It wasn't until I was done with this 2 hour style, that I realized what was funny about it... most people put beads in the bottom of the twists, but I'm not a big fan nor did I have any beads, but then I learned that no beads=Snoop Dogg.

An almost finished house!

We are one week away from our final walk through. Carpet and finish work is really all that's left. It's crazy. We are pretty happy with how it's progressing. Besides the kitchen, my new favorite thing is the shower! I wanted to cry happy tears when we saw it completed the other day.

ALL the colors are way off in these pictures and I'm too dumb/lazy to fix it.

The mudroom, viewed from the powder room. We love how the slate turned out in here.

A bad shot of the walk in shower in the Master Bath. It's hard to take pictures in such small spaces! The tile in here is all gray, not at all the brown color it looks like.

The laundry room. SO SO SO excited about this room. We doubled the size of it by giving up an extra closet, and added cabinetry all along the left wall. We bought new Maytag front loaders for my birthday/Mother's Day gift and I'll die of happiness when we move them in there. I'm obsessed with this tile as well. It's a dark gray/charcoal color with linen stripes in it. Love love.

The kids bath, another horrible picture. This tile is the same as the laundry room, but in a much lighter gray color. I think it looks great!

View of the family room, from the kitchen. That space there in front is where the kitchen table will go. I desperately need to find chairs for that table soon, or we will be eating on the floor : )

An almost complete kitchen. The glass door inserts and panels for the island should be in soon. Then appliances. We love the granite we picked!

The beginning of a fireplace.

So, we are probably moving in around the beginning of June. I almost don't believe it! John is getting super antsy about getting a yard in, and I was feeling anxious about decorating but now I'm past it, and all I can think about is having all our belongings under one roof again (instead of storage units) and getting organized before this pregnancy takes over - like it hasn't already. Decorating will come later. Probably much later. Late in pregnancy and during the first 6 months of a new baby's life, I'll be totally useless. But come visit anyway! There might not be anything hanging on the walls, but I'll put sheets on the guest bed at least!

Thoughts on Building a House

Don't do it.

Just kidding, it hasn't been that bad. Okay, so I was literally sick with the flu and pink eye all during our design and selection process - which we naturally blamed on the stress. It seemed logical but a few months later we also realized I was actually pregnant, and that might be a better excuse for having no immune system, but either way, that was really stressful.

But, getting back to my point, it hasn't been that bad since. We have really liked our builder,and besides a few things not turning out quite like we pictured, and some mistakes the builder made and quickly resolved, it's been pretty smooth sailing so far. We are in the home stretch now, and I couldn't be more excited for it to be done. We are crossing our fingers there aren't any issues between now and May 26th when we have our final walk thru scheduled. I'm by far the most excited about the kitchen, the walk in shower in the master bathroom, and the laundry room. Oh, and the loft. And the mudroom. Ok, I'm just excited. The only things I'm really not looking forward to - actually moving, paying the mortgage, and putting in a yard. And don't even ask me about John's commute until the new shop is finished. I'll be a single mom for a while. Here are some photos of the progress.

A framed house!

View of the family room from the kitchen nook, at drywall.

The brick getting done and Hardie Plank almost done.

The finished outside, without the cement poured obviously.

Some of the mudroom lockers - the wall you see coming in from the garage. Half bath to the left.

View from the front door when you walk in. Love the railing.

The beginning of a white kitchen! And a peek at the hardwood (which is gorgeous, but WAY darker installed than it looked to us when we chose it). Can't wait until all the upper glass cabinets are up - like above the fridge opening. My favorite thing about the house.

So we are a few weeks from completion. We walked through the house today, like we do every Sunday, and we are just giddy with excitement. We can't believe it's really ours. I can't wait to make it feel like home and make memories and spend holidays and bring this baby home there. I don't think it will take long to make it feel like ours. Best of all, the kids, particularly Boston, are SO excited about their new house! Boston asks to go there regularly and loves to run around the room that will be his. He has nicknamed the parks he likes in the area, and can't wait to move our stuff in. Pleasant Grove, here we come.

What was waiting for us...

After all the fun we had in California for Tanner's wedding and Christmas, we drove the long 11 hours home to pack up the whole house in about 6 days.

It went a little something like this:

I open a box.

A kid gets in the box.

I kick them out of that box so I can fill it.

They unload what I put in it.

I want to tape them up in the box so I can get something done.

Just kidding. Sorta.

I re-pack the box in a huge hurry before they can sabotage my progress.

I hurry and tape it shut.

And write FRAGILE on it, because apparently every box I packed had something breakable in it.

Then the kids climb on it and jump off.

I wonder if any of my belongings will survive the move.

Or either of my kids.

We are never moving again.

Catching Up - Sorta

My little brother got married a week before Christmas - it was a great party.

We spent Christmas (my favorite Christmas ever) in California.

We came home to pack up our sold house and move out.

We moved in with John's parents.

We started potty training Boston (ahhhh!)

We have looked at at least 30 homes since then.

We put an offer on one - but didn't make a deal.

We have filled up our gas tanks probably a dozen times.

We are sick of touring ugly houses, so we think we will build our own.

We narrowed it down to 2 floorplans with 2 different builders.

We feel pressure to make a big decision tomorrow.

Wish us luck.

871 West

We accepted an offer on our home. It's a tough pill to swallow in this crappy economy, but we are grateful that our home sold so quickly and that we are in a position to sell at all in this unfortunate housing market. This offer came kind of out of the blue and it's scheduled to close fairly quickly. Between leaving for California for my brothers wedding and spending Christmas there as well, we have about one week to pack up our home. It's sad, scary, exciting, among many other things. We will be moving into John's parents home while we search for the perfect house. We are planning (hoping) to make this next home purchase a more permanent move for our family. Building is a possibility as well. It will be so nice to move into something we plan to stay in long term and imagine raising our kids there. It's a strange feeling to be homeless and not sure exactly where we are going, but we are just going with the flow and trusting that we will be happy with the outcome. Wish us luck. We will miss WX a lot lot lot. Don't forget about us WX 5th!

Lots to be thankful for

I know, this post looks more like Christmas than Thanksgiving, but oh well. Thanksgiving day we put up our tree and decorations. The kids helped a little this year, which was fun. Unfortunately that also meant Naomi chewing on a broken glass ornament but that is another story for another day.

We spent the day at home as a family after I bailed on the 10k I signed up for when the weather forecast predicted under 10 degree weather. So we took it easy that morning and then headed up to John's parents for Thanksgiving dinner. I took my camera but took no photos. I hate it when I do that. We had especially good food this year and had a great time.

That evening we came home and lit the Christmas tree and put the kids in their Christmas jammies for the first time. I love the holidays! The kids love the tree and Boss runs down to it every morning and begs for me to turn on the lights before I do anything else. They aren't allowed to play with it however, which has gone ok so far but they still test me. The other day I was sitting on the couch with the tree at my back and I heard Boston whisper to Naomi "wanna touch it, wanna get in trouble?" He said it in such a mischievous way too. They both thought it was pretty funny.

I think the best part of the holidays is the opportunity is gives us to reflect on the past year (that has FLOWN by) and count our blessings. I know our Thanksgiving was full of thanks and I feel like I have a life full of blessings and privileges that I don't deserve.

Cheers to the Christmas season!