Stalker

We had another showing on the house yesterday. Whenever we have a showing Jeff parks his car one street over and waits for the agent to arrive with the buyers to make sure they can get in OK and also to see how long they are in there and that they don't walk out with something they shouldn't. Maybe we are a little paranoid. Last night he again parked his car one street over so he could see the house, but this time he was approached by one of the neighbors on that street and threatened to have the cops called on him. The man was livid and was asking Jeff what the heck he was doing there and why he had been there so many times. He wouldn't even let Jeff explain. Jeff told him that he just lived in the house across the way and that just made the man madder and he yelled at Jeff to just go home then. The man said that he had kids and that Jeff was scaring all the neighbors. He said if he saw him there again he would call the police.

LOL LOL LOL LOL! I can totally see how this man thought that Jeff was up to no good- parked there day after day- just sitting, stalking, waiting..LOL. He probably should have just parked on our own street down aways- where all the neighbors know us. I felt bad for Jeff to have to get yelled at. At least if makes me feel like we live in a safe neighborhood where people look out for each other- if they know you that is..LOL. I actually had a similar experience with an actual policeman when I was picking up Ethan from preschool. He goes to a home preschool in our neighborhood and some one again saw all these cars- just sitting and waiting every Tuesday and Thursday and they called the police. I was the car approached and the officer didn't act like he believed that I was picking up my child- so he sat and watched and waited till school got out to make sure. I'm sure he thought it was some big drug conspiracy- where we use the kids as cover up and smuggle the drugs in their back packs to make it look legit. LOL. It's probably best that we are moving now- before that guy sees Jeff parked on some other street...LOL.

Loser Parents

Ashtyn lost a tooth yesterday. She put it under her pillow. The tooth fairy did not come. We are such losers! I totally forgot- luckily she bought the new lie that the tooth fairy must have run into some bad weather or something. I cannot keep up with all the lies we tell our kids. Santa, The Easter Bunny, Leprechauns, etc. Maybe this is why Valentines is my favorite because it's all us- there is no made up character. Ashtyn is starting to ask so many questions. Leprechauns are the new ones. "If they are tiny then why are their foot prints so large?" "How do they lift a heavy box of cookies onto the table?". She is right at the point of discovering what it's all about, so my question is what would you do? Do I tell her the truth- or try to continue making up new lies to cover the old lies. I don't remember being devastated when I found out the truth. OPINIONS PLEASE!

Quotes

Here are a couple of funny things the kids have said the last couple of days:

Ethan:" Mom how many are you?"(he means how old are you)
Mom: "31"
Ethan: "Oh my gosh you are gonna die soon!"

Ethan:"Mom, when I go on a mission I think I will go to the zoo or the North Pole."

Ashtyn: (After losing another tooth) "Dad I am so glad I wasn't born when you were because the tooth fairy only gave you change."

House Update

No offers yet- but we have had three showings and have seen numerous people stop and check out our sign(That sorta sounds like we sit in front of the window and watch..LOL.. W hen our blinds are open you can see the street from four different places in the house.) The house has only been officially up for sale for a week.

I have gone through some intense emotions with the sale of our house- one of them being the green monster- JEALOUSY. It is so hard to drive around and look at all the thousands of huge houses and not start to covet everything everyone else has. This is not like me at all. I have more blessings than I can count and Jeff and I have made good choices in our lives and have everything we could ever hope for and need. Here is some inspiration I read recently that help put that little monster to bed HERE

We are not moving so we can have a million dollar home. We are moving to find the place that is right for our family- right now. I made a list of all the things I want in a house- so that when I find the right house-I won't get caught up in wanting more than I need.

1. A house in a neighborhood filled with kids so that our kids will find and make good friends.
2. Four bedrooms- we have three now and the girls share. I believe that everyone needs a space of their own. I want my kids to have their own rooms so they have somewhere to go to read and to think in quiet. I am not against sharing rooms- I did as a child- but if we can find four that would be great.
3. More than one bathroom- we have one and a half now and it will not cut it with three females living in the house :)
4. A clean neighborhood- where people for the most part care about their homes and maintain them well.
5. A good school for the kids.
6. A large kitchen and great room- this is where we spend all of our time- doing homework, baking cookies, laughing, playing games. I don't care if the other rooms are tiny- I just want space for us to all be together and not climbing over each other.
7. A home that is not too old- so that we don't have to spend a lot of money replacing things right at the start. Our home now is 20 years old and will need some work in the near future.
8. Close enough to Jeff's work that his commute will not be too long. Jeff works long hours and we don't see him as much as I would like- if he had an hour commute everyday it wouldn't be worth it- even for the best house.
9. A yard big enough for a swing set.
10. A garage- you can't go with out this in Utah winters!

The rest doesn't really matter to me. We don't need a huge house. We don't need lots of upgrades. We just need a house that will keep us warm in the winter, safe in the summer and give us somewhere to tuck our kids in at night. I have found that the best thing you can do to have a nice home is to keep it clean. Our home was never a total disaster- but if we were in a hurry to go somewhere and there were toys all over or dishes piled up I would just leave it as is. Now- we can't- the home has to be ready to show all the time- so we have all tried to pitch in and keep it clean. Just after a week the feeling in our home is different. I actually feel like I have more time to be with the kids because I'm not trying to clean every minute. I feel great knowing that any one can stop by any time and the house is clean. It has cut down on my anxieties a lot. I am happy that we are in the habit now so that we can still keep a clean house when we have a new house.

My sister in law has a sign hanging on her wall that says "A house is made of bricks and beams, but a home is made of love and dreams." I love this because it reminds me that I already have the best home of all and that is my family. The house is just a place to live.

WARNING!

I wanted to post about something that happened to my girls recently. We love microwave popcorn at our house. We eat some every Friday when we have "Popcorn Movie Night". About a week ago we were having our usual night, but this time I let Whitney eat out of the popcorn bag instead of putting the popcorn into a bowl like I usually do. A few minutes and handfuls into the bag and she suddenly developed a very bad rash all over her hand. She was screaming in pain and her hand was covered in a bright, raised, red (almost like a burn)rash. We quickly rinsed her hand in cold water and then I slathered it in Eucerin. Whitney has eczema and very sensitive skin to begin with, but this was way worse than I had ever seen. After about an hour it started to look better. The only thing I could think of that may have been the cause was the popcorn. I started to research popcorn related rashes on the web and was shocked to find out that there is a chemical in microwave popcorn that gives it the butter flavor called DIACETYL. Diacetyl can cause a number of conditions including skin irritation and in some factory workers cases a serious lung condition.

Yesterday afternoon I took the kids to see the movie Bolt and we of course bought popcorn and this time both Ashtyn and Whitney developed the rash- not as severe this time. I can not be certain that this chemical is the cause, but it is very suspicious. Diacetyl is found in other food items as well to enhance the butter flavor. Some popcorn companies have stopped using it. I don't think we will be eating much butter flavored popcorn in the future. I'm still researching this chemical.

Valentines Day

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I adore Valentines Day-It's my favorite day all year- even more so than my birthday, my anniversary(sorry babe), Christmas, etc.

I love pink and red and hearts and candy and all the sweets things that go along with this holiday. Well this year was different because of our house. First off- we are on a DO NOT SPEND ANYTHING budget. This is by choice- so that we have every available penny to put down on a new house(I know this will be worth it in the end). Second- we had a showing on Valentines Day(YEAH!)- so we spent all day- really every last second- cleaning and making the house look perfect. I have been really diligent at making the beds and cleaning as I go(pat on my back) since the house went on the market.

So I took the kids to Jeff's brothers house while he waited for the agent to arrive so he could let them in(we don't have our key box yet). They ended up being later than we thought. It wasn't exactly the best day for the kids. We did give them a little candy and we also had our love buckets out all month so that we could write each other love notes. In the evening the kids went to our date night party and we drove around and looked at homes until it was dark. Then we got Chinese and came home and watched a movie because I wasn't feeling well.

I didn't get to put up any of my Valentines decorations this year- so it didn't feel very Valentiney. I hope our house sells quickly because I don't want to miss another holiday and St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner:)

Change #2- Change of Scenery

Our house is up for sale! We have lived in our little yellow house for six years. It is our first house. Jeff and I both have lived within two miles of this house nearly our whole lives so we are ready for a fresh perspective, a new start and a little more space. I love change. I love meeting new people and seeing different cities. We don't know where we will end up or if this house will even sell. We feel good either way. We would be fine living here a little longer and we would also love to move on and try something new. I am excited to see what will transpire and how it will all work out. Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Ryan

Happy Birthday to the sweetest boy in heaven and on Earth. Today you are five. Wow how the time has flown by. You would be starting school this year. I know that you would already be able to read, because I have a hunch that it's one of your favorite things. You would love the library. For your birthday you would have a party and invite Ethan and Porter and the little girl that lives around the corner even though she only likes to play with Barbies and she won't pretend to be the octopus when you play pirates.

You are getting very tall now. Your dark hair would be long and beautiful. You would be a thinker like Dad and love to ask questions, so many questions...like Why do I have to wear socks on both my feet? Why are you my mom? How do "bugs" get inside of me and make me sick?

You would love to play outside. Especially in the mud. You would track it into the house because you'd be so excited to show Dad the grasshopper you found on the back lawn. I bet you could even ride a bike by now. You'd be fast and make Mom chase you on your bike all the way to the park, but she wouldn't mind because she loves to run and so do you. You would both run and run all over the field until you dropped. Then you would look up at the sky and watch the clouds. They are white- like huge cotton balls against blue Jello- that's what you would say.

You are the most beautiful boy. I know you are kind and so smart. We love you so much. Everyone loves you. We can't wait for the day when we all get to hold you and hug you. Mom and Dad of course will be first- then after they get enough- and they will never get enough- they will let us share you too. For now you wait. We wait too. Love you Ryan. Happy Birthday!

Change #1- Spend more time unplugged

What do you do when you don't know what to do??..................................Build your own miniature golf course- complete with sand traps and water hazards.