No More Monkeys!

Let me start by saying, "Our kids are crazy!" This week was already stressful, what with my daughter being born and Steph going through major sugery. We spent all week in the hospital, going throuugh the normal newborn/ surgery recovery stuff. We even used the nifty alien bed to fight off the jaundice. We have several appointments set up the rest of the week to drive back up to Loveland to get Kinley checked out. Tiring, but normal stuff.
We got back from grandma's (and the doctor's) this evening and were settled down watching the rest of the Swiss Family Robinson, eating popcorn, when Tyler started screaming because he had a popcorn kernel stuck in his nose. After deciding we wouldn't be able get it out, we started packing up to go to the emergency room, then spend the night at Steph's parents' house, then go to the doctor in the morning for another blood test. We were calling people for ideas on how to get it out, fighting the boys to get in pj's and get packed, and trying to feed Kinley at the same time. And I broke a shelf in the garage.
Finally, after talking to my brother's wife, Heather, we decided that we would try to get Tyler to blow the kernel out, which did eventually work. So we put the kids to bed, fighting through the tantrums, locked their bedroom door, and set about preparing for our second night home. I was down in the kitchen, cleaning and starting the icemaker, washing the breast pump parts, and getting drinks for bedtime (mother's milk herbal tea and a white hot chocolate) when I heard a thump and a bloodcurdling scream in the boys' room upstairs. Even if Steph hadn't been feeding Kinley, she just had a C section, so I knew I had to be the one to check it out. I ran at ninja speed across the house, up the stairs and into their room, where Brayden was dangling from the siderail to the top bunk, kicking his legs and screaming in terror. I'm still not sure what he was trying to do, but they both swear Tyler didn't push him. Somehow, I actually believe them.
In the end, I think I will call this week a success if my kids are still in one piece, my house is still in one pile, and I am still allowed to sleep in my bed.

Getting Ready for Baby

So, my dear friend, Ash, pointed out that I haven't blogged in 4 months and with all we've been doing to get ready for our baby, I'd better get on it!

It started in December, when my mom took the boys for 2 whole days (and the night in between) so that Brian and I could start to get the house reorganized.



Our house was looked like a tornado casualty before it looked better! We worked hard and I'm glad we got it done so early, because we had a LOT more projects coming up!

In January, Brian received his bonus from work, so we were able to purchase the materials to take the carpet out of our dining room and put in laminate wood floors in the entry, dining room and kitchen.

Here are the BEFORE pictures:




Here are the AFTER pictures:


I'd like to give a shout-out to my wonderfully talented and hardworking cousin, Shauna, for her help in this project. She worked tiredly for 2 days with Brian to get this done. (Don't worry, I made it worth her while {i hope} by paying her with a massage.)

We also painted in the 1/2 bathroom:



We had to paint in the boys room before my wonderfully talented and hardworking Father brought his grandson's the rest of their Pirate Boat Bed!


And here's a sneak-peek at the mural that my wonderfully talented and hardworking friend, Heather, has been painting on the boy's wall:


The other big project that we've been working on is the Baby's room. If you look up to the very first picture in this post, you'll see her room. It was our office. Our office is now in our bedroom, along with my craft station. (Sorry for the mess in this picture. I'm blogging instead of cleaning!)

Don't believe that I'm crafty? Well, if you don't believe it, you DO know me well, but I had to learn some things in order to accomplish my baby goals. Check it out:



I had the help of one of my wonderfully talented and hardworking mother-in-laws to make the valance, but the boppy pillow cover and the flowers I did ALL BY MYSELF! (You can be impressed now.)
All of that, along with lots of painting and making chair rail fit on walls that aren't straight, brings you to the final product (minus 2 pictures that still need frames):



We've worked really hard on her room, and I'm really proud of it. Thanks to Ash, who helped me finish it with the flowers this morning!

Don't worry, I did take time in amongst all that hard work to party! A baby shower is a very important part of getting ready for a baby and my wonderfully talented and hardworking friend, Ash, threw me the most fabulous shower!







We had delicious parfaits, a cake that was SO perfectly me, fun games, and the rest of the pictures are of hand-crafted gifts that my wonderfully talented and hardworking friends made for me. It was a great day and I feel so blessed by all that helped make it special for me.

In case you haven't noticed the trend in this post, I am surrounded in my life by all sorts of wonderfully talented and hardworking people who have blessed my life in so many ways. I couldn't have accomplished all that I have in the last few months without their help. I am more than lucky. I know my Heavenly Father has blessed me with these individuals (and with so many others that I haven't even mentioned in this blog, including all of you reading) and I want them to know how much I appreciate their love and support and acts of kindness and service. I am humbled by your love for me. Thank you.

Our sweet baby girl arrives on Monday, and I will try to update as soon as possible.

Brayden's Words

Brayden is at such a cute age right now. (Aren't they always?) He loves to pretend that he's different animals, like dogs and frogs and sometimes even an alligator. He's also very talkative and likes to tell you everything that's going on. "He's drinking, Dad!" Or "He's swimming, Mom!" He's so excited about life and I love the enthusiasm he has for it.

We think that he's especially cute when he mispronounces words. Don't be surprised if you here us using some of these words. They have become a part of our everyday vocabulary! Here are some of our favorites:

Bernairn = Balloon
Ephalant = Elephant
Chalocolate = Chocolate
Rrrrelcome = you're welcome
Blop-Blops = Flip-Flops
Puhcakes = Cupcakes
Iraq-aroni = Macaroni
Dot Dogs = Hot Dogs


Here are some of our favorite conversations we've had with him lately:

"Dad - You guys are fiends!!
Brayden - I not fiend, daddy!"

While having lunch of quesadillas, Brayden points to his tortilla and says "Get off my cheese!"

Dad walks into the room. Brayden waves and says "Hi, trouble!"

"Mom - Brayden, are you cold?
Brayden - No. I'm cute."


We sure love our sweet boy, who happened to turn 2 today! Happy Birthday, Brayden!

Things Tyler is Good at!

For some reason unknown to us, Tyler tends to get down on himself. He's says he's not good at stuff, or he's not big enough or old enough to do things. To help him feel better about himself, we sat down for Family Home Evening and had him help us make a list of things that HE thinks that he's good at. I thought I'd share the list with you! (His extra cute thoughts are in parentheses.)

1. Balance Beam
2. Carrying Brayden to the couch
3. Building roads
4. Jumping
5. Running around (I'm fast!)
6. Cooking (but not by myself!)
7. Remembering things
8. Imagining
9. Telling stories
10. Reading/sounding out words
11. Swimming (in little pools)
12. Cleaning up
13. Playing with Brayden
14. Turning on lights
15. Doing voices, ie, pirate, old grandpa, etc.
16. Being reverent
17. Playing games, ie, candyland, candyland castle, hi-ho cherry-o, etc.
18. Conducting
19. Cracking eggs
20. Jumping on Dad
21. Roaring
22. Starting his own movies
23. Picking out books and movies at the library
24. Being funny
25. Getting in & out of the crawlspace
26. Helping people
27. Counting
28. Watering the garden
29. Getting dressed
30. Doing buttons
31. Opening and closing the toy box
32. Riding his scooter.

This list that he made doesn't even touch all the things that I think he's good at. What would YOU add to the list?

Friend At First Sight & Twilightmoms.com

I'm excited to announce that my dear friend Ashley and I are being featured as vendor of the month on TwilightMoms!!! Ash recently took me on a as a business partner for her wonderful domino pendant necklace designs after I suggested she make a Twilight line of necklaces. Our new collaborative business, Friends at First Sight (because that's what we were!!), was born. Now we're hoping to make a big splash by having our designs featured on such a wonderful (And wonderfully well know) site!

Check us out! We'll be designing some new lines very soon, like a tween line and a high school/graduation year line. (I'm even thinking about an ITLAPD line!!)

Thank You!!

I just wanted to give a big THANKS! to my wonderful friend Melissa, who has fabulous giveaways on her blog. I was lucky to be the winner of her latest prize, and she dropped off the goodies today!The candle smells incredible, and I've already eaten (and shared) most of the Cadburry eggs!! We definitely needed more spring/easter decorations, so this prize was perfect for us. Thanks again, Melissa! You're awesome!

Brayden's best friend

We spent last weekend in Vegas with Brian's family. All weekend long, Brayden followed his Grandma's dog around the house saying "Buh-he!" (The dog's name is Buffy." If ever Brayden was unhappy, we just asked him to find Buffy, and like a miracle, he was happy again as he searched for her! He was even looking for her in the bathroom of a gas station on our drive home! Buffy is a great dog and was very patient with all of Brayden's attention. Don't separate a boy from his (grandma's) dog!