Lions

Sam and I were looking at animal flash cards today and a picture of a male lion came up.  I asked Sam what it was and he answered "Lion".  I said yes and and added that it was a "daddy lion." 

Sam then said, using a lot of body language and hand motions, "a daddy-lion is something that grows out of the ground."

Hooked

Sam and Josh went grocery shopping and Sam was able to pick out some of the cereal.  Apparently Elijah approved of Sam's choice because shortly after breakfast this morning he said to Josh:

"I'm trying to focus.. focus and not think about that cereal because, man, I am hooked!"

My Artists

Elijah does most of his art fresh out of his head.  He has an amazing imagination.  I'm constantly coming across something he drew and saying "Wow!".  I found a couple more pictures of his that I had set aside:

This one I just came across and was wow-ed.  When I caught him later and asked what it was he said it was a puzzle.  You were supposed to look at the picture and the items in the circles and check the one that was missing in the picture.  The circles are: bones (with the check), heart, blood (notice it is blue and red), and brain.  I don't know where he came up with that.  He's seen it in some of our books but those have been packed away for months.  Yeah, I don't know... it just blows me away.

This one is a picture of a Chickadee (as written up top) that Elijah copied the features from a photo online.  Elijah came to me one morning and said we should go outside and look for chickadees in our trees.  I asked him what a chickadee looked like, he didn't know so we looked it up online.  We ended up on a cool website that had photos and recordings of their sounds.  Elijah then trotted off and decided to draw a chickadee picture and then wrote about it underneath.  "Small blackcapped with black bib.  Habitat is trees and shurbs"

Meanwhile, I'm writting this post and Sam has cozied up on the chair and fell asleep.  I guess he aproves.

Art Show

I mentioned earlier that the boys have been doing A LOT of coloring.  I've taken pictures of some of my favorites that they did while we were in our temporary apartment.  There are many more floating around the house that I'll have to snap pictures of.

Sam holding hands with Grammie and Papa by Sam

(he put the first letters of their names under each.  Sam's "S" until recently was a scribble)

Sam holding hands with Grandma and Grandpa by Sam

Spring picture by Elijah

Sonic flying through the air by Elijah

Olympic rings and flags by Elijah

Lilly flower and Bird by Elijah

Look what I've got!

FLOWERS!

Spring is popping up all over here.  Many of the trees are starting to bloom and there are flowers blooming all over including in MY yard!  I've never been able to say that before.  The yard in general is a BIG mess.  There are sticks, nuts, bricks and glass all over the place not to mention the entire thing is mud.  But we do have one bright spot, there's a group of dafadils blooming outside my window.

Today I also welcomed so new friends into my house.  They plan on staying a good long while and I think they will make our house a lot more cozy. 

They are actually our FIRST ever furniture purchase from an actual furniture store.  Up until now all of our furniture has been from garage sales, friends, family or purchased from Walmart and Target.  It also means that these cost a lot more that any things else we've ever bought (house and cars excluded).  The room needs a little (lot) of tweeking still but I like them a lot!  As you can see they are red.  The fabric is a textured striped microfiber fabric and the sofa is a queen sleeper.  Hear that?!? We now have a bed for GUESTS!  Any takers?  The rest of the house is a mess but I have somewhere for you to sleep.  The only cost is to unpack a few boxes while you're here. :)

We've (well actually it has almost all been Josh) have also been painting the boys bedroom.  The boys picked out an "apple" green which is technically called asparagus.  I really like the color and can't wait until we can get their room pulled together.  We're looking for a bunk bed to go in there along with an Ikea Expedit bookshelf and a dresser. 

Okay, the picture doesn't do the paint color justice.  It's an almost electric green.  There is a lot of intensity to it.  The boys love it and I'm very happy with the color.  Now that we've gotten our feet wet with the painting we are getting ready to tackle the big main floor room and the family room down stairs (with the couches). Oh boy oh boy!

Drowning

I'm drowning in a lot of things right now one of them being GUILT for not blogging in a while so here I am having avoided it for long enough. 

A lot has been going on in the past month.  The big thing is we closed on our house on February 26th and moved in March 1st.  The move went very smoothly, Josh and Elijah supervised the movers while I was at the apartment trying to get our suitcases packed and the apartment cleaned.  Keep in mind that all of this was happening while I was drowning in NAUSEA which really just complicated everything on my part.  On top of all that I came down with bronchitis our first week in the house.  Not a great mix with the nausea -- at all. 

We are very happy to be in our house.  Josh has been drowning with little IMPROVEMENTS around the house like door stops, toilet paper holders, curtain rods, blinds, etc.  He's got a list to keep him busy for months.  Oh the joy of home ownership!   The big thing for us to attack is the yard.  Right now it's a muddy mess. (Thankfully we aren't drowning in actual water with that one)  We might need to call in professional reinforcements for that project.  It feels a bit over our head.

I'm also drowning in PREGNANCY HORMONES.  You heard me right.  The nausea is "morning sickness" and though it isn't fun there will eventually be a positive outcome from it. (I'm finally starting to feel a bit better) The hormones are also making me very scatter brained, I have a hard time concentrating and remembering things.  The hormones, resulting nausea, and bronchitis have sucked away all motivation to unpack thus I am drowning in BOXES, still even three weeks later.  And the boxes I have managed to unpack, out of pure necessity mind you, have me drowing in pounds of PAPER that the movers used to wrap every item we own.

I'm drowning in LONELINESS missing my family and friends out West.  Our ward here is massive and has made getting to know people difficult and slow.  I imagine once we get settled a bit more the loneliness will receed a bit.  I hope.

I'm also drowning in the POSSIBILITIES for our house.  We came here with little furniture so I am pretty much starting from scratch.  Not only do I get to actually paint my walls (!) I get to actually spend money on furniture (!!).  I'm feeling overwhelmed by the possibilities and decisions that I have to back up with a good chunk of change.  It is all exciting though and I think I'm getting it figured out.  At least we have started looking at furniture and I have found some stuff I like... now I just have to committ.

Well, that seems like a pretty good list.  Things are going well.  The boys are happy and have kept themselves occupied with a ream of paper, markers, and a paper airplane book (most of the toys are still packed.  I'm hopeful to go through them and weed them down while they are off the boys radar.)  Thus I'm drowning in ART WORK and paper planes.  Elijah is reading more and more and Sam is constantly asking about letters and their sounds.  Josh is enjoying his job and goes off happily to work every day.  He's been the one holding us all together (and feeding us for a while there) and I am drowning in LOVE for that wonderful man who has put up with a lot these last few months.

I guess overall I'm just drowning in CHANGE, a lot of change.  I look forward to the dust settling because these are a lot of exciting changes and I'm ready to sit back and enjoy them.

You know it's time for bed when...

Your three year old suddenly starts crying and when asked what is wrong wails, "I have a ooggie!"  And when you respond by saying, "It's okay... I'll get a tissue," he wails back at you "It's NOT okay!"

First order of business...

The closing on the house was a piece of cake!  Other than signing our name another 100 times and munching on chocolate it was rather painless and I came out with a hand full of keys to *OUR* house.  I literally have about 10 keys that go to the house which is a bit insane.

The first order of business with the house was to buy a shovel for the snow.  The owner/real estate agent had shoveled a narrow tunnel down the driveway in order to get the appraiser in but we had to clear the rest in preperation for the movers tomorrow.  It's pretty crazy that we own a house... with a driveway!

I also went to IKEA last night with a friend to buy some window coverings.  It's nice to start with a clean slate but it also means I have to commit to things NOW, like what color of curtains to buy so that we aren't on dispaly for our neighbors.  I'm not very good at committing.  Thank you Anna (not my sis) for coaching me and holding my hand!  Now the challenge is for Josh to actually get them hung.

Background on the/*my* House

It occured to me last night while I couldn't sleep that I didn't give much information about the house.  Pictures are worth a thousand words, but they were small and a bit confusing.

The house is a 1970 split-level in an older established neighborhood with mature trees including a bunch on our lot.  Last year the house went into forclosure and was bought by a real estate investor who completely renovated it and put it back on the market.  All the flooring, paint, doors, windows, lighting, appliances, granite counters, furnace, etc are brand new which is rare in a home in our price range.  I'm very excited to have a clean slate to start with.  Another thing that really was appealling about the house were the schools.  I have heard nothing but good things about the elementary school which is within walking distance of the house. 

As for the layout, the main level is completely open.   When you enter the front door there are stairs down to the family room and up to the bedrooms on your right.  The kitchen sink and refrigerator are on the left on the same wall as the front door, there is a back door to the carport by the fridge, and the stove is on that far left wall.  Directly across the room from the front door is a massive sliding door that opens to the deck and backyard.  I love all the large windows in the house (once I tackle all the window coverings).  All of them are practically floor to ceiling. 

By far the biggest challenge for this house will be STORAGE.  There is practically none and I've been aware of this from the beginning.  It's going to take a lot of planning and creativity to solve but I'm excited for the challenge.

Final Walk Throuh Complete

Yesterday we all went to THE house -OUR HOUSE- for the final walk through before closing ToMoRrOw.  Other than a lot of snow still in the driveway the house looked perfect and I am getting so excited that it is going to be ours.

We had told Sam that we were going to our house, and he had been there before when we did the inspections last month, but when we got inside he came up to me and told me with a concerned look that the house was Patrick's (our real estate agent).  The poor kid is so confused.  For a while he kept thinking that our house was going to be next to Grammies house, now our house is Patrick's, and I'm afraid what's going to happen when we have to switch wards again.

The kids were right at home running amuck in an empty house.  The quickly took off their socks and shoes.  A while later we heard them yelling somewhere in the house, nothing out of the ordinary but it went on long enough that Josh eventually went to check it out..  He found the boys stuck in one of the closets together.  Apparently they weren't distressed about being stuck but Elijah accusingly asked if we had heard them yelling and why we didn't come to help.  Hmm... I wonder why?

Anyway, enough babble.  I've got more pictures to share.  (They were taken pretty quickly beause I forgot my spare battery charging at home so some of them aren't very good.)

View from front door with sliding door in back and the front door with stairs down to FR

Kitchen bar with dinning area in corner and view from sliding door

Lower level family room

Master Bedroom with double doors and lower level bedroom

Other two upstairs bedrooms

I've got so many plans buzzing around in my head.  I can't wait to actually spend some real time in the house plotting it all out.  First things to tackle are the window coverings!

The Melting Pot Experience

Yesterday was Josh's birthday.  To celebrate we were able to go out for a quiet evening together.  We had some generous friends offer to watch the boys for us and we were off.  We had heard about the restaurant The Melting Pot while we lived in Colorado but never took the opprotunity to go.  Apparently they are a chain and there is a Melting Pot here in Columbia.  The Melting Pot serves fondue and it turned out to be a fun, though rather expensive, experience.

The atmosphere was very intimate.  The tables were secluded and the lighting dim.  Each table has its own heat plate intigrated into the surface and the food is mixed and cooked right there in front of you.

We started with a cheese fondue.  We chose the spinach and artichoke fondue.  The waiter/chef comes out with a tray of ingredients and proceeds to mix our cheese right there.  He made it look SO simple and it was really good.  The ingredients he used were chicken broth, minced garlic, chopped spinach and artichoke hearts, and cheese (some white soft cheese) grated.  He mixed that all in the pot (double boiler) then added a bit of parmesan cheese (fine grate) and a titch of tabasco sauce.  The cheese fondue came with bread cubes, tortilla chips, apples, celery, carrots, and califlower to dip. 

Our dinner consisted of a broth mix and a platter of raw meat.  The broth started with a chicken (maybe it was vegetable) broth base and they added some fresh orange juice, fresh lime juice, garlic, and cilantro.  The meat platter was a wide array of options including lobster, shrimp, chicken, brautwerst, and steak- all raw.  There was also a vegetable platter that included broccoli, red potatos, and mushrooms.  They also provided us with 7-8 different little dishes of dips.  The idea was to stab the raw meat and place it in the broth -that was at a rolling boil- and leave it in there for 2-3 minutes until it was cooked then dip it in one of the sauces and eat it.  It was a really fun way to cook and eat your dinner!  My favorite dip was one that had sour cream, cream cheese, chives and maybe garlic in it.  It was super yummy on the vegetables.

Dessert consisted of chocolate fondue - of course!  We got the turtle mixture which was chocolate, carmel, and pecans.  The dippers included strawberries, pound cake (white and chocolate), rice krispie treats, bananas, and marshmallows. (Sweet memories!)

I'm going to be keeping my eye out for a fondue pot and figure out how to do all this at home!  It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my evening with the birthday boy.  Happy Birthday, my love!  I love you so much!

Toys worth having for a LONG time

A lot of thought went into what were were going to bring in our suitcases to Maryland to live with for these first two months while our apartment is in storage.  A good amount of room was set aside for toys.  Toys are my sanity!  They are also a big investment.  So far we have been surviving well on what I was able to pack into our suitcases but tonight I got to thinking about what toys we own that stand out to me and why.  Most of them had one or more of the following qualities: 

Durability- something that doesn't break or come apart easily is a must for mommy's sanity and pocket book;
Creativity- has more than one use and allows the boys to use their imagination in different ways;
Longevity- I want a toy that we will go to again and again that also interest multiple age groups (me included).

Here is my list (what comes to mind right now) and suggestions on where to find them.  I would love to know what toys you have that fit one or more of the above qualities.  Please share!

• Kid K'nex - don't confuse them with K'nex which is geared toward the older crowd with LOTS of tiny pieces (and are also pretty cool, we have the dinosaur set).   Kid K'nex is the younger brother.  They are bulkier, sturdier, and very versitile.   They stick together easily and aren't frustrating for Sam (3 yrs) to put together and take apart by himself.  There are a plethura of different kinds of sets, each with their own set of instructions.  They come with quirky creative pieces in addition to the standard pieces.  Elijah is notorious for making guns, swords and aliens; can you tell he is five?  Kid K'nex are great toys to get second hand because the are so durable.  I got most of my Kid K'nex at a consigment store or garage sales.  You can also find them at your local stores though the selection is very limited.  You can see more at Kid K'nex's website. (I am not familiar with the new blocks sets)
• Fisherprice GeoTrax- If your boy loves trains these are totally the way to go (sorry Thomas wood trains, you don't even compare).  Again very durable with so many options.  You can make a different track every time you get it out.  The options are endless.  The electric trains are also really nice though they do take 6 (yes SIX) AAA batteries each.  Older kids 4+ can build their own tracks without help from mom (yay!) though I've found that building the track is actually a fun mental challenge.  GeoTrax can be a bit pricy but because they are so durable they are another toy that is excellent second hand.  Consignment stores are likely your best bet.  Also watch http://www.craigslist.com/ or http://www.ebay.com/ for local sales.
• Legos and Lego Duplo- depending on the age of your child these are a staple building block to have.  We are just getting into the standard sized legos and Elijah is eating them up (not literally, he is 5).  Legos call back to my own childhood and my sisters (10 and 12) are even still playing with the legos I grew up with.  Legos don't die! Plus the creative possibilites are endless!  Duplos are the bigger blocks for smaller hands but their size doesn't limit the creative possibilites.  New Lego sets are nice in that the come with instructions for the kids to study and follow.  You can also find patterns online.  Buying secondhand is the economical way to do it though you will find that legos maintain their value.  Garage sales are a good bet.  Always keep your eyes out for them, you will not regret it.
• Wii- I know, I know... it's a video game system not a toy but right now it has saved me many a painful afternoon and it is something we enjoy playing.  Our family focuses on games that are multi-player and are active.  Many of the games teach sharing, turn taking, rules and mechanics of sports, thinking, team playing, etc... So maybe one paticular game doesn't fall under my list of qualities but the system itself is ingenious and not completely pointless fun.

Limbo

I thought being in Limbo was a familiar feeling as we tredged through last year with job searches and graduation, but that had nothing on the limbo I am feeling now. 

Everything worked really smoothly to get us here to Maryland and I am ever so grateful for that.  Josh's job is paying for us to live in temporary housing while we work on getting into a house.  They have us covered for the first 60 days of room and board.  This is a pretty nice set up and is saving us money but has proven to come with some unforseen "costs".  We pulled up our roots in Colorado and because we are in temporary housing I have yet to be able to really put our roots back down.  It's an aweful feeling.  I don't know if, where or when to put the boys in preschool, I'm afraid I'm getting attached to our ward, I haven't changed my address with anyone (it's all just getting forwarded), I'm excited about our house but afraid to get too attached in case it doesn't end up working out, etc...  I'm pretty much just existing and living off of high calorie restaurant food.  Blehh!  I'm going to have to break down and stock the kitchen.

I kept saying if I could make it through graduation and the move all would be good.  Well, now I'm saying if I can make it through to the end of February...  I wonder what it will be next.

Could it really happen?

I've had a few questions about our house hunting process.  It is quite a rollar coaster!  Housing prices are quite a shock coming from Utah and Colorado.  We finally found a house we like and just recently got our contract ratified.  Inspections were done today and everything seems to be good (still waiting on the official report).  Next step is to get the appraisal done and we are also working around a silly FHA loan rule which supposedly won't be a problem come Feb 1.  Anyway, it all looks promising for closing the end of February.  I'm excited!

Here's a quick picture of the outside.  Hopfully I'll have reason to share some of the inside soon.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner...

It's hard to believe that January is soon to end and February is just around the corner.  Now's the time to start plotting and planning if you are going to be doing the 14 Days of Valentine's.  I've moved my Mother-in-law's Valentine's Day blog link back to the top.  Be sure to take a look.  There are some really fun and creative ideas on how to express your love to those around you.

Private Showing

The boys got a doorway puppet theater for Christmas and finally got the chance to try it out today.  They haven't quite figured out the whole storyline/conversation process.  Mostly it was just puppets popping up and making funny sounds and then disappearing again.  Elijah kept asking me what time it was and how to change the clock on the front to match the time.  I think it's a hit and look forward to many more private shows put on by the cutest boys I know.

First time on the Metro

Despite my dragging my feet, Josh got all of us out the door and onto the METRO for the first time on Saturday.  It was a bit too spontaneous for me but Josh was very determined and in the end I was happy that we all went.    It turned out to be a quick afternoon trip to the Museum of Natural History at the Mall that we all enjoyed and are sure to repeat soon.

My boys infront of two Giant Sloth skeletons.  I've heard of giant sloths but didn't realize the "giant" was ment in relation to humans.  Wow!

Sam wanted to take some pictures of a massive whale that was hanging from the ceiling.  While I was helping him I turned the camera and grabbed a shot of the two of us.

Alive and Well in Maryland

I thought I would have more spare time on my hands to finally catch up on my blog, but find that most of it is either spent researching houses on the internet or actually seeing them.  House hunting is a process! 

Josh and I made it safely to Maryland.  The move with surprisingly smooth.  The moving company got everything packed up and loaded on the truck without a hitch.  I was amazed how many boxes it took; they tagged 370 items including furniture.  There was a lot crammed into that little apartment.  Having someone else do the packing is certainly the way to do it.  I was able to clean the bathroom and the kitchen while they were packing.  By the time they were done loading everything up the apartment was clean.  Wahoo!

The only hitches in the whole process have been related to our apartment.  The first night it took us 30 + minutes of walking around to find our apartment.  Finding stairs to take us down to the second floor was a trick and the parking garage is a nice feature but we got lost thoroughly the first night. 

Josh had his first day of work on Tuesday.  Went out to get in the car and came back in a minute later and said the cars were gone.  I was shocked and didn't believe him and had to go see for myself.  Indeed our Sienna and our Prism were not where we had left them.  Talk about a pit in your stomach!  Josh scrounged to get a cab to work (he was late) and I was left to figure out how in the world to get our cars back.  The temp housing company was a lifesaver.  Turns out we had put the wrong parking passes in the windows  (they gave us two white and two green and didn't tell us which to use where) and our cars were towed.  They found out what company had towed our cars and an employee was even gracious enough to drive me to the boonies (lets say gheto/white trash area in the middle of nowhere) to get my cars.  The operation was a man sitting in his SUV on a gated lot full of 20+ cars.  He had a laptop in his car took my drivers licence and my credit card, took my thumb print twice and $420 then let me take my cars.  Insain!  The lady from Oakwood was a lifesaver!  Prayers are answered.

House hunting is a rollercoaster ride.  We've adjusted the area we are looking in.  I saw one yesterday that has a lot of potential and I'm going out to see more today.  If only I had a million dollars!

I'm missing my boys.  I am grateful that we were able to leave them in Utah during the move.  Things would have been very difficult with them around (can you imagine if I had them on Tuesday with the car towing?).  I look forward to seeing them on Sunday.  It's cute to talk to them on the phone.  Most of the time I'm on the other end listening to them talk to someone else.  It melts my heart to hear their little voices on the on end of the line.  Man, they are cute buddies!  Sam is excited to get a house.  I'm afraid he will be disappointed when we get him here and we are living in a pretty minimal apartment but I'm sure working hard to find him a house.

Something else I'm very grateful for... GPS!  And I'm grateful we got two of them for Christmas.  I don't know how anyone can survive without them out here.  I am so turned around without the mountains.  It doesn't help either that all of the roads are curved and windy and that none of them are on the North/South East/West axis.  Everthing is either NW or NE or SE or SW and then they call them North or South when really they aren't.  Arrgh!  I'm going nuts!  It also doesn't help that the GPS map turns so you are always driving up.  I think I'm doomed to be GPS dependent as long as we live here.

Ramble... ramble.  I'll see if I can find my camera cord and put up some pictures of Josh's graduation.  The rest of my pictures are all on our portable hard drive and that will take some time to set up.  My goal is to do better with the blogging even though I'm being slow on the start.

Happy New Year, everyone (who hasn't given me up for dead and still checks my blog)!

Dr. Strong

Josh Passed!

Josh had his doctorate defense yesterday.  It was a crazy day with a few technical bumps but despite it all Josh passed with flying colors! There are a few changes to be made in his paper by December 2nd and then we are officially done.  Woot Woot! 

A few of the bumps:

• We missed the IT people with the projector and had to call them back up to the room (11th floor tower overlooking the stadium).  They were late.
• Two of Josh's committee members were late.  One eventually responded to a phone call and made it but the other had made a schedualing error and couldn't come.
• Josh didn't have a laser pointer and ended up using a fire poker (a lot heavier and more menacing than a little lazer, to say the least).
• Because of the late start they got kicked out of the room before they were done questioning Josh and they had to all squeeze in an ancient small elevator and go to a different room.
• The whole process took longer than expected so Josh and I didn't get to go celebrate like we had planned.  I had to run home and get the boys from my friend and Josh had a group meeting at work.  We still haven't been able to properly celebrate but are very relieved and excited that he passed.

Thank you for your support and prayers.  We have felt of your love and greatly appreciate it.