More Newest House Pictures

We had our house inspection on Thursday, so I took some pictures.  We'll call these the 'before' pictures since we are going to completely paint the interior and replace carpet.  My pictures aren't very good; I managed to show only about half of some of the rooms.  Oops!

 

This is my idea of a fantastic kitchen.  I'm SO excited to have all that counter space.!

This is my idea of a fantastic dining room.  For the first time ever our table won't be too big for our dining room.

Living room.  Carpet and paint will go a long way here.

Parlor, or what will be known as the school room.

Main floor bathroom in need of some TLC.

Upstairs Bedroom #1.  This will be our bedroom.  It's smaller than both of the kids' rooms, but it's the only one with a large closet.  It's large enough for our bedroom furniture, though, and we don't need the space to play like the kids do.

Bedroom #2.  This is the biggest bedroom and will be the boys room.  Logan is complaining about that because he wants the room with the blue walls.  He can't seem to envision that this room will have blue walls after we paint (and we won't be keeping blue in our room).  LOL

Bedroom #3.  This will be the girls' room.  Annie is fine with that.

For some reason I didn't take pictures of the other two bedrooms.  We also have a fourth bedroom on the upper floor and a fifth one on the main floor.  We're going to set one up as a guest room for now (it'll be a nursery when we have another baby) and the other will be an office.

Walk up attic.  For now, we'll clean up this space and use it for storage.  It's really nice that there is a full stairway leading up to it.  Eventually we'll finish this space; I'm already having fun playing that out in my mind.  :)

Upstairs bathroom.  This bathroom is in decent condition.

Main floor laundry/ mud room.  Woohoo!  I'm thrilled that I don't have to haul laundry up and down from the basement. 

I also didn't take pictures of the basement.  It's split into three unfinished concrete rooms and it's dark.  It could easily be finished, but we aren't planning that at this point since we don't need the space.  For now it'll be a great storm shelter.

Here's the exterior of the house.  The deck is in really good shape and there's even a place to hang my porch swing.

I took some more land pictures.  This is looking north.

The garage.  The mower stays with the house.  Yay!  :) 

This is looking northwest.

 
This is looking northeast.

When we were there for the inspection I had such a great feeling of 'home'.  I'm so excited to permanently settle here and make it ours!

Drive In Movie

On Saturday the kids had a fun Primary activity at the church.  First they built cars by going to various stations (wheels, headlights, etc.).

Then they redeemed their 'ticket' for treats and drove to the 'theater'.  They watched Veggie Tales on a projected screen. 

I thought it was a cute activity; the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Playing In the Dirt

I've decided that I'm fully initiated into motherhood because it no longer bothers me when my kids get dirty.  They are always finding ways to dig, and it's incredible how dirty Alex and Annie get.  We've had some pretty foggy bathwater lately!

Doesn't she look rough?  Wow...

Cute Abby

I am enjoying this baby so much!

 

It's still so fun for me to dress her up.

We fed her solid food for the first time on Sunday.  She actually didn't seem to mind it.  The spoon seemed to be a bit of a shock, but she didn't spit out the food.

I attempted these pictures this morning, but she kept blinking.  Oh well, she's still cute.

She'll probably think this hat is ridiculous when she's older and wonder why I persisted in taking pictures of her in it.  I think it's cute on her.  :)

Mommy Tidbits

When my daughters are old enough to have their own families these are some of the serious and somewhat silly tips I will pass on to them:

 

1.  Trust your 'Mommy gut'.  I've personally found most 'expert' advice to create unnecessary stress.  My kids have hardly ever done anything when they were 'supposed' to.  They rolled over late, crawled late, and walked late.  They are tiny and barely on the growth charts.  If I'd allowed the doctors to guide me on these things, we would have been doing infant physical therapy and stressing over calories.  I could see my kids were fine though!  And they really were!  I'd skip the baby and parenting magazines too, entirely.  

 

2. Schedule and routine aren't everything.  When Logan was born I completely trusted the 'experts'.  So we had a schedule and routine made of steel.  I was obnoxious with it and so inflexible because some harm would surely come to my baby if we didn't stick to it.  He had his naps right on schedule, he ate on schedule and ate exactly what he was 'supposed' to, and we had routines to get through everything (bedtime, bath time, meals, dressing, etc.).  No wonder I was exhausted!  He was a super demanding baby because of it!  With each subsequent baby I've learned to relax a little more and so the baby part has only become easier.  A simple routine and schedule is totally sufficient.  Naps don't have to be at 10 and 2 every day; baby just needs enough sleep, etc.

 

3. Know how children's clothing sizes work.  This one is silly, but I was seriously perturbed that I didn't figure this out until my second child.  There were a lot of clothes that my first two babies didn't get to wear much because I didn't understand that 'size 3 months' meant '0-3 months' or 'size 6 months' meant '3-6 months'.  Also '24 months' is the same length as 2T, but not the same width generally.  Diapers can be a mystery as well.  Luckily I figured that one out before Logan was born, but I've seen new parents (dads in particular) buying size 4 for their newborn because no one told them there were diaper sizes.  I'm sure they figured it out as soon as they opened the package and were frustrated that another trip to the store was necessary.

 

4. Dressing rooms are fantastic for nursing.  It took four babies before this bright idea occurred to me.  A fussy baby can make shopping really stressful, but many stores already have the perfect place to nurse...without a cover up! 

 

5. The best parking space is not the one closest to the store, it's the one closest to the cart return.  My conscience pricks me if I don't put my cart 'away' after shopping, so I've learned that it's better just to park by the cart return.  It saves walking time, I'm closer to the kids at all times that way (because I put them in the car before returning my cart), and it's convenient when I arrive (instant stroller!).

 

6.  You don't have to scrub 'baby blow outs'.  I wish I'd learned this one when Logan was a baby.  This is another thing it took four babies for me to figure out.  I've found that I can throw the soiled clothing into a bucket with water and a scoop of OxyClean.  Then I let it sit for a few days before dumping it into a regular load of laundry.  I don't scrub at all and the clothes come out totally stain free.

 

7. Baking soda cleans almost everything.  It takes crayon and pencil off of walls, cleans tiles grout, removes soap scum, and works on baked on spills in the oven.  It keeps your drains and pipes clear and gets rid of throw up smell.  It's also a main ingredient in the most awesome laundry detergent I've ever used.

 

8.  Vinegar cleans almost everything else.  I don't use vinegar much because it stinks and I'd much rather use baking soda, but it's almost just as awesome.  It'll eat away dirt on just about anything.  It's particularly wonderful when it comes to hard water.  Check this out: 

 

Before:

After

9. Sand paper is great for desperate situations.  Vinegar and baking soda did nothing for this nasty toilet and it really bothered me.   Even though I'd scrubbed and disinfected the toilet, I didn't really want anyone to use it.  So I tried sandpaper.  It didn't damage the porcelain and I felt like I had a brand new toilet!

 

Before

After

Building and A Day in Nauvoo

Logan recently finished building a car from a wood kit he had.  It came with stickers which actually cover up how impressive it is.  He built this totally by himself.

We went to Nauvoo again on Saturday.  It had been too long since Jim and I had attended the temple, so we made it a priority that day.  Now that we're an hour farther away it was an even longer day, but totally worth it.  Jim and I took turns with the kids so that we could both have time in the temple.

 

The weather was PERFECT so we were super happy that Pioneer Pasttimes was still open.  The kids love playing there.

Pioneer Pasttimes was shutting down for the day while we were there, so the kids helped the missionaries clean everything up.  They were so sweet.

We then went to the bakery for our free cookie (because that is a required stop with kids) and then to the Family Living Center for the last 15 minutes before they closed.  We were the only ones in there, so when Logan requested to see the barrel making demonstration, the missionary gave him a very personal walk through of it.  He let Logan handle the tools and talked only to him.  Afterward, Logan told me that he wants to make a barrel on his own.

Kids Say

Annie randomly, "Mom, if I say 'cut it out' will I be thrust to hell?"

Annie was crying so Alex told her, "Go get a tissue.  It makes me better."

Logan decided to dress like Jim one day recently with a button up shirt, khakis, and a belt.  Later in the day he informed me, "Today since I'm an engineer I'm going to write my 7's like Dad (by crossing them)."

Logan to me, "Too bad you're not pregnant with twins!"

Logan to Annie, "I'm an inch taller!"  Annie's response, "Well I'm an inch squishier!"

I noticed this wiggling rug at naptime one day.  Me, "Alex?"  Alex, "Me not here."

Annie, "That tree has tree blood.  It had red stuff inside it!"

I was cuddling with Alex one morning when I heard Abby start fussing.  So I asked him, "What do you hear?"  He answered, "I don't hear baby Gabby."

Alex, "Don't turn off the light!  It will make me die!  Turn off lights will make me die really bad!"

Alex through his tears, "I not grumpy!  I don't need a nap!"

Alex while I was reading my scriptures, "Mom!  Read!"  Me, "I am reading."  Alex, "No you not!  You just looking.  Read!"  So I had to read out loud.

Me, "Alex can you put some underwear on?  I can see your pee pee.  Mommy shouldn't see your pee pee."  So he pulled his shirt down and said, "You can't see my pee pee now."

Newest House!

So, rather ironically, just a few days after I posted those pictures of our old house we found a house to buy!  We weren't planning to buy so soon, so this is definitely a change of plans.  I'm really glad I kept most of our belongings packed!  We're super excited to have our own home again, and hopefully to stay put a lot longer!

 

I don't have house pictures yet; it isn't much to look at right now anyway because the rooms are really dirty.  We're going to paint and replace all the carpet before we move in.  I will try to take some pictures the next time we see it though.  This is an old house on 3 acres of land just south of town.  We've always dreamed of being rural, but land is so expensive here that we didn't know if we'd ever find what we wanted and could afford.  So we were thrilled to find this place.  We'll only be 10 minutes from town and main shopping, so that is great too.

 

I took these pictures of our view from the porch the day we made the offer on the house.  The fields will be winter brown when we move in, but it's gorgeous spring through fall!  On the other side of the property we have lots of trees. 

Everyday Affairs

We went for a walk one day recently and Alex wanted to ride his tricycle.  That's fine going down our street, but he can't quite ride it back up our slight hill to get home.  So I thought of a solution and it worked quite well!  (See the rope?)

I took Logan shopping with his birthday money.  Since he had gift money from four relatives, he made quite the haul.  He purchased a tool box, bike helmet, small LEGO set, and ice cream for the family.

He couldn't wait to organize his tool box with the real tools he received for Christmas.  We gave him some scrap wood and nails and he's been working in the garage a lot since.  He's actually out there right now.

Sweet Abby loves her daddy.  Have I mentioned what a happy baby she is?  She is such a joy.

Logan continues to have a lot of serious moments.  He's been reading and taking notes from this book over the last week or two.

I just love looking at my cute Annie girl, so I snapped these pictures one day.  I wish pictures could capture the light in her eyes.

We've discovered a new favorite (and easy!) meal.  It's called 'Egg In the Hole'.  Annie says it's the best lunch ever!

Annie FINALLY started dance lessons last week.  We've heard really good things about her teacher so we're excited for her.  She was beside herself with anticipation before her first class and said she loved it afterward.

I can't believe how fast our sweet baby is growing.  She's five months already!  She is such a doll.

I invented a new recipe last week for breakfast.  It was such a hit that we made it two days in a row and I took a picture.  We'll be making this often.  It's 7 grain hot cereal with apples, craisins, vanilla, cinnamon, and honey.  Yum!

On Saturday I babysat for a friend.  We walked down to the playground and enjoyed the beautiful weather. 

Check out Annie's hair!

They had fun going down the slide with their friends.  I'm not sure if their 'caboose' is making a scared face, but I like it!

Alex is 'photo resistant'.

I tried a second time.  Silly kid.