I'm a big kid now!

He has been fully potty trained for a week now! Sadly, I probably could have posted this months ago, but I was too cheap (and tired) to let him out of his pullups at night. I figured I already had one baby waking me up - didn't want to change sheets in the middle of the night too. Plus, we had the Costco size box and wanted to use them up. But now they're gone and Eli has been accident free!! No, I'm not jinxing anything because I know he will have accidents, he just hasn't yet. If he does tonight, thats fine. I'll go to bed early. ;) I even heard him get up in the middle of the night. All by himself! Got up, went potty, went back to sleep (closed the door and everything!) He probably does it every night, but I haven't heard him. Anyway, just wanted to brag on my big boy.
And I had to take this picture of him. He hasn't taken a nap in months!!! I was shocked when I turned around and he was out. LOL!

Nathans first cereal

Well, anyone who has talked to me about babies know that I prefer to wait until they're 6 months before I give them cereal. Eli had a really hard time with it early on, so we waited until 6 months and never had a problem. Well.... we're a week shy of 5 months. ;) oh well. Eli has been asking about when Nathan gets to eat real food so we bought some oatmeal at the store last week. Then I was talking to my sister about it and how she had tried, and was going to try again and I thought - why not. Well, he is not quite ready yet. The spoon went in, and his tongue came out. To his credit though, he LOVED it. He would take some in his mouth and then bring his fingers up to suck on them so that he could suck the oatmeal down his throat. pretty smart! ;) Although since he is a finger sucker, it took him a minute to realize how to take the fingers out of his mouth and get some more. I guess we'll see how he sleeps tonight. If he sleeps alright, we might try again next Sunday and make it a weekly thing! Man he is growing up...

hmmm.... maybe I should have put a bib on him... oops. I guess I'm a little out of practice.

The Happy Tongue

Nathan isn't a huge smiler, but he definitely smiles. His thing has been when he is happy, he will stick out his tongue (with a cute grin). ;) So I finally tried to get some shots of his tongue, but this kid is seriously camera shy.

Time Apart

Can I just say how grateful I am that Nathan takes a bottle? (and to have a husband that will watch him when I go out) Last night I went out with my friends and decided to leave Nathan home. Mostly because his bedtime is between 7:30 and 8pm and I was going to be out later than that. I was sitting there talking to my friends, we got our food and I just got this feeling of relief that I didn't have a screaming, unhappy, tired child in my arms. It was also nice just to eat in peace and not have someone I need to entertain. you know?
I hope this isn't coming out wrong. I love my boys. I love being a mom and taking care of them and spending time with them and all the other things that come with being a parent. I love nursing my baby boy and watching him grow and develop and having that special bond. But at the same time, getting a break is just as important. I guess technically I get a break since I come to work every day, but I enjoy the other stuff as well. ;)
In the same breath that I say this, I start to wonder if I'm doing it too much. Eli has been having a bit of separation anxiety or something. He has been freaking out, top of his lungs - crying! To the point that you have to pick him up and he is screaming and stretching his arms across you trying to reach the door. He did it when Chris went home teaching last Sunday, he did at daycare yesterday... I don't know whats wrong with him. He has never EVER been like this. Even when he was at the separation anxiety age (is it 9 months or so?) it was only mild and he got over it quickly. I don't know. I guess it'll be something to watch.
For now, I'll just enjoy my time with them and away from them. Because it makes me a better mom.

Just in case you want to throw up

;) I had a friend post this link when we were talking about laundry. Since everyone washes clothes, thought you might be interested to know what you're sitting/sleeping on.
Click here
Sorry...
One thing that I thought was interesting was that even if you vacuum your couches, if you don't throw the bag away - the dust mites can leave your vacuum bag. hmm.... thats a nice thought isn't it... wonder if they can get out of the plastic canister. Hope not!

Earthquake!

So I guess there was a 6.0 earthquake this morning. Who knew? It was actually out in rural Nevada, but you could feel it in Utah. The guys in our office said they could feel the office shake/sway. My boss who lives in West Jordan said he could feel it in his car while he was driving. I didn't feel anything, but thats not surprising. At 7:15 I was rushing trying to dry my hair with a screaming (and hungry) baby in the next room. oh well. Guess we're not made to live in California! We're all whimps when it comes to earthquakes. ;) My question is that Wendover said they got hit pretty hard and have cracks in the walls, etc. So how do they know which cracks to blame on the earthquake and which ones were there because that town is old and cracking to pieces anyway? just curious.

I need a break... ;)

I am constantly getting funny forwards at work/from friends. I always enjoy a good break. The first one is my life. Thank you Nathan. The second one is a link to take a test and see how many 5 yr olds you could beat up... LOL! And the 3rd is just a picture of some stupid contractors.


(2) How many five year olds could you take in a fight??? Find out here
It is strangely satisfying. ;)


(3) These contractors are installing steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a downtown sports bar. They are now in the process of cleaning up at the end of the day and anxious to go home.


How long do you think it will be before they realize where their vehicle is parked?

My taxes are done, my airline tickets are purchased, and I'm not out of my pajamas yet! LOL! It is such a load off to have this done. The good news is that our tax refund is going to cover 90% of our new carpet. Thats what I was hoping for. I guess it would have been nice to pay for ALL of it, but its only a few hundred dollars short. And even better, we are officially flying home for the family reunion! We'll spend a few days at my parents, a few days at the beach (or other fun family adventures) and come home refreshed... yeah right. ;) I don't know if I've ever been on a vacation that I came home and just felt like I'd really been on a "vacation" and I was ready to go back to work. Either way, it'll be fun.
Although, I was realizing that we seem to be making it a trend to go out of town on my birthday. We did last year, and we will this year. Not that we ever do anything on my birthday, I just find it interesting. I still remember our camping trip to NY (when I was a kid) was over my birthday. I remember waking up to a bunch of pinwheels, or candy things on the tent... then it rained all day and we went to Canada. :)
Alright, off to get ready for the day! Not that we're doing anything, Nathan is just napping, so this is my chance.

Favorite Toys

I was just thinking that we rarely just take normal pictures in our house. I mean - who wants pictures of the mundane things that our kids do everyday... I guess I do. Well, here they are on an average evening (with the tv off! gasp!!) playing with their toys. Eli loves his trains. Those are by far the one thing he plays with more than any of the rest. Luckily he has 2 sets, so he gets to mix it up a little bit. These are his Thomas ones, and he has a Geotrax set as well.




And Nathan who is still a bit young and doesn't necessarily 'play' with toys has found this little toy to suck on. He'll shake it or suck on it for at least 10 minutes at a time. Its fun to see him start to be drawn to these types of things. Definitely growing up!! ...mentally that is... still looks like a 2 month old. ;)

There should be a new law

That all women need to get a massage once a week. I had forgotten how wonderful they are! The sad thing is I remember when my last one was. I was pregnant... VERY pregnant and it wasn't within the last 9 months. That means it was almost 4 years ago!!! My neck is feeling better. Its not 100%, but I didn't take any motrin this morning, so that is huge. Hopefully it'll only continue! But just in case, I am going back next Thursday... ;)

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Can't you feel the love? :) I'm not huge on these kinds of holidays... but figure I'd pass along a friendly greeting to you all. Anyone doing anything fun? I'm getting a massage tonight, but it has nothing to do with Valentines Day. It has more to do with the insane tension in my neck and back that has caused me to take prescription strength drugs for a week just so that I can function. Hopefully we can get some of it resolved.
Eli woke up at the crack of dawn this morning, so while he was watching his show, we made a Happy Valentines Day picture for Julie (his daycare lady). We didn't do any cards or anything for his friends.. Mommy is too lazy - and he has too many friends at daycare. I would hate to forget someone. We did make one however for Grandpa Gillie who is having his (gasp!) 70th birthday on Monday. Love you Dad. ;) I'll send it out today - I apologize if it doesn't make it by Monday... Miss you lots! I should send one to Grandma Gillie as well since we missed her birthday in December. :( Talk about an ungrateful child.
Well, I guess I better get back to work. I have to write a CatEx Environmental Document to help an elderly couple move out of their house before our project goes through. We would have bought their house anyway, but their health won't last until the project goes through... so I'm supposed to do theirs in advance. Unfortunately I hate Environmental Documents, and I've been putting it off for 2 days.. oops. Alright, alright, I'm going to work now. Hope you all have a fun day

Happy Valentines Day!

Update on the roof!

We had an insurance guy come out today and look at our roof and its covered!!! (of course this probably means our rates will go sky high) But they looked at our main floor as a whole and said that because part of our ceiling will need to be replaced, all of it will. This includes the laminate wood floors too. They supposedly gave us the money to hire a contractor to do it all, but you know insurance companies and how they low-ball it the first go around. So we'll see how far it goes. I guess this has been a major issue all over the valley this year because of the freeze/thaw and that the snow base hasn't melted so it just piles and piles and piles up. Anyway, it'll be spring before we fix anything, but at least we CAN now. What a relief.

Life is not fair

I know there is a purpose, but sometimes... it is just not fair. I have a co-worker whos son was diagnosed with Leukemia. I've worked with Bryce for the last couple years on my Clinton job (he is the Clinton city Engineer) and I've seen his kids a few times when they come to visit the office. Its his oldest boy. I believe he is 7 years old. I just can't imagine what that must be like. How do you tell your little boy that they have to go through chemotherapy? and surgery? and hospitals? and all the other things that go along with cancer. He had his surgery a couple weeks ago and Bryce just came in the office today with a shaved head - so you know his son is going through chemotherapy and losing his hair. I just want to cry because you know there are kids all over the world going through the same thing. Its awful for adults to go through it, let alone kids. I guess you just need to be grateful for the things you have. And enjoy the times your kids are healthy so that you can be strong for the times they are not.
My heart breaks for his family.

Nothing to post, but I will anyway... ;)

So this has been yet another boring weekend. (I like those best) Chris went ice fishing with our neighbor friend and I stayed home with the boys... grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry were heavily involved as well. The good news is that laundry is put away, groceries are bought for the next 2 weeks and ...well the house is a disaster again. Oh well.

So anyone have a good remedy for a strained neck? I did something to my neck and have been taking my prescription Motrin since Thursday morning. I can't move my head side to side, it gives me a constant headache and when its really bad I can feel my right arm going numb. Probably not a good thing. I think its getting a little better as my meds have worn off and I only have a dull headache. I think I might go in for a massage or something. I know its only the muscles that are the issue.

Lets see, what else... I tried a new recipe tonight. Probably the easiest meal I've made in a while. 2 chicken breasts at the bottom of a crockpot and pour 1 cup of salsa, a can of cream of mushroom, a can of beans, and a pkg of taco seasoning. Cook on low for 6-8 hours and when its done you shred the chicken with a fork (it literally falls apart) and mix 1/2 cup of sour cream. Serve with tortillas (make burritos). I used a mild salsa so that it wouldn't be too spicy for Eli - and he devoured it. This was of course after his tantrum that "he didn't want chicken" and "I don't like burritos". LOL! Never listen to a 3yr old I guess. ;)

Oh, and Old Navy is having a 40% off sale right now on kids clothes. Realizing that Eli has nothing for summer, I pretty much raided the place. oops. I got him a pair of jeans, 2 shorts, a bathing suit, 4 shirts, pjs for Nathan, and 2 pair of socks for $50. Not earth shattering, but it wasn't bad. At least he has SOMETHING now. After that I went to Barnes and Noble looking for a food storage cookbook. Our neighbors (whos calling is preparedness) mailed out their testimony on food storage and that its a real need and the time is eminent that we will need it. It was wonderful... siting parables and recent talks and everything. Since its something thats been on my mind anyway, this was an extra push in the right direction. Unfortunately B&N didn't have any books in stock, so I had them order one, but I might be looking online. If you know of any good books on what to do with your bulk storage - let me know. I am clueless. Anyway, for a boring weekend - I sure did ramble on for a long time. (sorry) Things are good, but I need to run. Nathan is still sleeping and its 7pm. His normal bedtime is 8... oops. I guess it'll be a late tonight. Church throws everything off. ugh.

One more and I'm done...

I just have one more political rant and I'm done... I PROMISE!!!! Its in regards to these rebates. I feel like banging my head against a wall. Are you kidding me??? We're 9 trillion dollars in debt. $9,000,000,000,000 (thats a lot of zeros) and we're borrowing more from China. And from the polls taken most people will be paying off debt, or buying Chinese products (like a plasma tv) So not only is it not going to stimulate our economy - it'll make it worse! I am just so frustrated.

I also want to warn you not to get too carried away. This is nothing more than a loan. Your 2009 tax refund will be deducted by the amount you get back. I read this article and it really put it in perspective. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Taxes/Advice/TheDetailsOnTaxRebates.aspx
Alright... I'm done. No more politics from me. I can't take the stress.

Edited... after doing a little more research, the loan is only 1/2 true. They're actually not going to tax the first 10% of your income, so you would have been getting this money back anyway... (ie you normally get $2000 back for a tax refund, you would have gotten $3200, but they're giving you $1200 now and you get your normal $2000) whatever, its still an awful idea.

And the field narrows!

Alright, I just can't resist. All I've talked about at work lately is politics... I don't know why, but for some reason I have gotten really in to the primaries. I've never been huge into the whole political arena, but something clicked this time around. If anyone wants to talk politics... give me a call.. I love talking about it whether I agree or not. I am interested just to hear different points of view.
I guess now Romney is out. So McCain is the obvious nominee for the republicans. And for whatever reason Huckabee is still in it????? Someone explain that one to me. I sort of understood going in to Super Tuesday as he wanted to steal Romney votes, but if you listen to him he touts himself like he has a shot. I think he has a shot of being a McCain VP (which has been speculated as the reason he was in it) but never as President. He's one step from the loony bin if he gives himself that much credit.
Anyway, then you have the democrats which are so neck and neck. Either of them have an excellent shot of winning. From what I've heard Obama is going to pick up more delegates in the next few primaries and get his momentum back up for the convention. I think there will be a lot of angry people if the decision is made by the super delegates. I would be... And the even MORE interesting thing is listening to people around the office who say they would rather vote for Obama than McCain. That shocks me! I mean I'm the first one to say that McCain is evil, but to hear other very conservative people say that they would NEVER vote for McCain is, to say the least, surprising. I actually heard our conservative radio talk show host (Utahs equivalent to Sean Hannity) say he's going to give Obama another look and that Utah could possibly become a blue state. I don't think it would actually happen, but the thought is there. Especially if McCain runs with Huckabee... ::shutter::
Needless to say the next 2 or 3 months are shaping up to be VERY interesting. I'm excited to see what it will bring. And mark my words... if McCain wins in November... I'll have my year supply of food by the time he takes office.

Riverdance...

Woohoo! I got to go to Riverdance!!! It was great, and it'll be something to remember. Thanks Mere for going with me. Its amazing to me how they're able to do those things with their feet. wow. My favorite was probably the tap dance guys. They had 2 tap dancers and they faced off with a few of the Riverdance guys. That was entertaining. And then there was this soloist with an incredibly deep voice that was just amazing. He had range too. He was starting to hit much higher and softer notes.. it was great. I guess my coworker got tickets for him and his wife to go tonight. I was happy to give him a good report and tell him that he will enjoy it. Unfortunately, that was the end to my eventful week. I don't have anything going on until next Wednesday. oh well.

As for the roof (since you asked Chrissy) we have a insurance guy coming to inspect it, but not until Tuesday. So we're waiting. It looks exactly the same and we still have water dripping constantly. I'm REALLY looking forward to this weekend (not) The weather is going to warm up which will be nice, but it'll melt all the snow on our roof and cause more leaks. Lucky us. We feel like we need to do something, but there really isn't anything that we can do. Its such a helpless feeling. My guess is that the insurance guy will tell us its not covered... and we'll have to wait another week to get a roof guy to come look at it. Maybe I'll just schedule a guy and if it is covered under insurance I can cancel him. I hate to let this go even longer. Anyway, we'll see what happens!!

Junior

Well, my little shrimp had his 4 month checkup yesterday. He gained 11 ounces in 2 months. Thats right... you can't even measure his growth in pounds. From 10# 14oz to 11# 9.5oz. And he grew 0.5", but the nurse actually had to remeasure him because the first length she came up with was shorter than he was last time! LOL! He has a minor ear infection and so we're on amoxicillan. Hopefully he won't end up allergic. I'd hate to find out with him being so young. (Eli and Chris are both allergic) Anyway, he did just fine on his shots. Last time he screamed for about 30 minutes after he got them and was cranky for the first 24 hours after. This time he only cried while they were doing it and immediately stopped once the bandaids were on. Plus he was just fine the rest of the day. YEAH! And even better he slept 10 hours straight last night. Anyway, just some random pictures from last night. My little shrimp. (or junior to be nice) ;)

We have a new prophet!

With the passing of Gordon B. Hinckley last week, it has been a long week of reflection. On life, and of the great accomplishments of this great and very humble man. I'll admit when I first learned of his passing, it wasn't sad. It was almost excitement for him that he was able to be with his wife again. He was able to be with the previous leaders of the church, his mentors... and you know that he just went right back to work. Helping and teaching.
Now we have our new prophet. He has always been an amazing man as well, and now we get to see him in a new light as our prophet, seer and revelator. I've always enjoyed listening to him and the stories he tells. He has an amazing memory and knack for remembering names and faces. It'll be a different presidency, but no less. He will take the church into the future and in the way that our Savior wants. And looks like he'll get some new (and young-er) blood in there too with his counselors Pres. Eyring and Pres Uchtdorf. Dieter F. Uchtdorf was just barely called to the quorum... and now to be part of the presidency... must be quite overwhelming. All of them seem to be on the young side compared to how its always been. Done on purpose? Its probably what the church needs right now, and I'm excited to be a part of it.

STOP SNOWING ALREADY!

Its still snowing outside... still. It has snowed on and off for the last couple weeks. It snows, then 2 days later it snows again. This morning we woke up to 6" on our driveway. They actually canceled Sunday School. It was a sacrament only meeting. They wanted the ward to be gone and out of the parking lot before the next ward got there so there wouldn't be any overlap with the parking lot being so treacherous. For whatever reason all the kids in the ward were screaming and tired so it was probably a good thing that we didn't have the block. Just one of those days.
Anyway, Chris (after shoveling snow for the last couple weeks) has now injured himself to where it would be not so much fun to do it some more. So I went out there to do it before church. Luckily the neighbor with the snow blower was out there too and I was able to get some help. The great news? We're only 1/2 done with this storm. We're supposed to get more before tomorrow morning. I just looked outside and theres at least another inch or two already. I hate to think what tomorrow morning will bring. Can't wait to drive into Salt Lake during the morning commute. :( Not to mention that tomorrow is Nathans 4 month check up and all those shots... So tomorrow is not going to be a fun day no matter how you look at it.

Speaking of Nathan, I was thinking about him lately and how many distinguishing features he has. I remember with Eli I was always thinking if something were to happen... what was his most recognizable feature. He was just so normal. I guess it would be his herniated belly button. Well this one... you can pick and choose! So cute... :)

His chin... to this day the most frequent comment I get on him. LOOK at that CHIN! :)


and his *hidden* features... he also has a herniated belly button (but only about 1/2 the size of Elis) and he has a birth mark on his leg.