One Year Old!

Discoveries

So I have learned that when I get frustrated I growl. Yes, really, don’t ask me why, and how I started, I don’t know, and actually I didn’t even know I was doing it, until my shadow (Michael) started to growl when he got frustrated. I started to wonder if it was something he picked up in nursery, until one day I did it and realized he learned it from ME!

On a completely different topic:

Michael has also discovered the Cars movie. He has had some Cars toys that he has gotten as gifts, but he was never a TV/Movie watcher until he turned 3. I know the movie has been on a couple of places we have been, but he was always too busy playing to notice it. Since he has gotten into the movies we have started a family movie night each Friday. So 2 weeks ago we borrowed the movie Cars from a sister-in-law, and Michael LOVES it.

The cutes part about it was that he really caught on to the “best friends” part between Lightning and Mater. Since then he has been calling Kent his best friend instead of daddy. He would tell people, “My best friend just left to go to work.” And when daddy would have to run errands without him he would cry “My best friend just left and I wanted to go with him!” It is just sooo cute!

Frustrating

Can I just say I haven't posted in a while because the blog was doing funny things and wasn't letting me paste text in and move pictures around. My time on the computer is limited. If I can't get it done in 5 minutes it will not happen. And thus the blog posts have not been happening. Finally I took the time after all are in bed to get the last one up. But to be honest if it keeps taking me this much time, the posts will be fewer and fewer.

Redecorating

So I don’t have a clue when it comes to decorating. When I got married and got an apartment of my own to decorate I just did what I had grown up with, put all the chairs facing the TV, random pictures that you like around the room and call it good. So that is what I did. I’ve always known I wasn’t a “decorator” type and felt that there wasn’t really much I could do, I didn’t have “the gift.”

One day I was at my sister-in-laws, and commented to her how I just loved how she decorated her home. It wasn’t my style of decorating, but it was beautiful. And what did she tell me? She told me that at first she had no clue how to decorate, but she found a book that told her step by step directions that told her how to decorate. She gladly loaned me the book.

I am very much a book learner. Tell me step by step what to do and why with some examples and I can do it. This book was just what I needed to learn how to decorate my own home. It is called, “Use What You Have Decorating” by Lauri Ward. I love it because first it tells you how to use what you currently have in your home (because most likely it is what you like already) and then tells you step by step what to do and why. It is my type of book. So I have already redecorated the play room, and living room, put together the entry way, rearranged the kids bedroom, and straightened up the kitchen. I am still working on the artwork on the walls. I don’t have exactly what I want (a big picture of Christ, preferably with children, and two other gospel related artworks) as a focal point in the living room behind the couch. But I can say that rearranging the furniture has made such a big difference. Now I’ll just improve on it step by step as I find what I want at garage sales, and have time to make things I want. Step by step I am working on it. Improving a little here and a littler there as I have time and as I figure out how to use what I have in other rooms. It is a constant work in progress.

Here are some before and after pictures. It’s funny I didn’t do much, but rearrange the furniture. But really that makes a huge difference in the feel of the room and how comfortable it is.

The entry way

The toy room before (ok so it was messy too, I didn't feel like cleaning up just to take a "before" picture)


and after

Our living room before (ok here it really was cleaned up but the bookcases just gave it a messy feeling anyways)

Our living room after. It still needs work, but it is so much better, I feel so much more relaxed in it. :)

Phone Pictures

I got some more pictures from my phone off, and thought I would share a couple with you. Sorry they are not the best quality.

Emma with her cute new hair do

Michael at the dentists

What our morning walks look like

Michael's reward for being good at the store, I don't put the money in, he just gets to sit in it and play until I tell him it is time to go.

Michael with the pig outside the Children's Hospital

Trying New Things

A new hair style for Emma. I'm still trying to get use to it, and learn how to do it well. So I guess we'll see how it goes. :)

Pajama Time!

I would have to say that one of my favorite times of the day is after bath time. When the kids are all clean and smell so good. When they have their pajamas on and we get to snuggle together with a book, and do all of our night time routines. It's a good time of the day!

Blessings

We are very blessed, in so many ways. Our kids are healthy once more as are Kent and I. I am amazed at what wonderful children I have and the sweet spirits they have brought to our family. I am enjoying watching Emma’s personality come out more and more, and seeing how loving Michael can be to her. We are so blessed that Kent actually has not missed a day of work, even though he was laid off, and we were worried for rough times ahead. They never actually came. He found work the next Monday being promised only a few days as the company didn’t have much work themselves. Yet Kent has gone to work every day for the last 1 ½ months with work still coming in. There is never a promise of work and we go week by week, but the work always seems to be there. It is a wonderful blessing in our lives, a testament to the power of paying our tithing. Of course I wish there was a steady promise of work, but in this economy this is great. And the miracle of it all, is actually Kent is now earning more money then he was before working for the other company. Of course we learned a number of lessons through this all. To spend wiser, to have more is savings, and to get our food storage in better shape. If we stop and look, we can see the little miracles that God is performing in our lives day by day. We are so very blessed!

Easter

Easter was good, except that we all had bad colds. But we tried to have fun none the less. So Saturday we went to our little city annual Easter egg hunt. It was tons of fun. It is free for all and the kids have to be line up by 9:30am because they say “go” and it is over by 9:31am. I was able to get my sister-in-law to bring her kids this year too. We didn’t see them during the hunt (all her kids were in a different field than Michael) but we meet up after. (here are our husbands with the kids after the hunt)

Then we went to a ward party for lunch and Michael got to do another egg hunt. For him the fun of just putting eggs in his basket was enough to make him happy. (I actually haven’t let him eat any of the candy in the eggs as he was/is sick; poor guy, but I don’t think he realizes that he’s missing out)

Sunday morning Kent got up with Michael and Emma to let me rest some, but I couldn’t miss Michael discovering that the Easter bunny had come. I had put plastic eggs all around our house for Michael and Emma to find at their leisure (I didn’t put any candy in them, which Kent said was cruel, but I don’t see why, Michael wasn’t expecting candy, and I would like to keep that expectation off as long as possible). So Michael found eggs and we cheered when he found some. I hid some in places that I knew Emma would be the first to find (places that she goes to play). We would just cheer and clap when an egg was found during the morning routine, and that was enough to keep Michael and Emma happy. Eventually I asked Michael if the Easter bunny brought baskets. It hadn’t dawned on him yet that morning so then he looked around and found them on top of the piano. He was excited to get a new coloring book, a few pieces of candy, and play dough. Emma got some “little people” figures and an adorable stuff monkey, which has been great for cuddling with as she has been sick.

Sunday I was feeling so miserably sick, but had to go to church to teach sharing time as our President had her baby and was getting released, our secretary was just called and didn’t know what was going on, and we don’t have a current chorister nor pianist. So I couldn’t miss and give everything to the 1s counselor to run as she was already conducting and being the chorister. Kent stayed home with the kids and I taught sharing time and helped keep things running, luckily we got two subs for classes that we didn’t have teachers for and I was so happy when church was over. (that sounds bad, but it was a hard day for me, luckily the primary kids were great!)

Then it was on to cooking for our family Easter dinner. I worried about going, and was willing to stay home to keep everyone from getting sick, but we were told to come anyways. So we had a good dinner and chatted with family. Michael saw parts of Bolt and played. Emma would scream if anyone but me was holding her, so I just cuddled with her most of the time. But all in all it was fun to chat and catch up with family. We got home late. Kent some how still thinks that if the kids go to bed late they will sleep in late, like that has ever happened. Nope they went to bed 3 hours late and woke up 2 hours early! But none the less that was our Easter, and it was a good one. Next year I will try to teach more about Christ, lets hope that we are not as sick as we were this year.

An Annoyance

So because we live in a mobile home park the yard waste and recycling are a little different. For yard waste there is one big bin for about every 3 or 4 homes and they all have to stay in a central area, which means that we have to walk a block to pick up the yard waste bin, use it and return it the same day. You can imagine how annoying this is when I have to do it with Emma in a sling, and Michael riding his big wheel in the street, because there are no sidewalks, while I pull a half full yard waste bin a block and then weed or mow the lawn only to repeat the process pulling a full and heavy yard waste bin back. Needless to say I don’t do yard work often mostly because of the inconvenience of trying to coordinate everything between naps, lunch, and all.

However, that is not the reason for my blog post. I am actually more annoyed about our recycling situation. Everyone else in our city has big recycling bins like this


but we get three small open top recycle bins like this.


The problem is that it gets really windy here being near the mountains and if you put paper, etc. into the bins by morning it will be spread all around the neighborhood. I have asked management about getting the larger bins like the rest of the city, to be told that if we get the larger bins the city will require us to have central locations and not pick up house to house. Which would mean pulling a large bin to your house to place recycling in and then hauling it back. I’ve already talked about how annoying that is. And our manager knows that less people will recycle if that is the case.


Solution, I have noticed that some neighbors have just bought their own trash can, written recycling on it and fill it with their recycling and put it out. So I used one of our old trash cans and taped paper to it that said recycling and have been putting it out with our trash on our recycling days. Good solution right?

Well, no. One day I was looking out the window when the garbage truck came and realized that they threw the recycling out in the garbage truck with our other trash. Now technically if we put two trash cans out we are required to place a sticker on it that shows that we paid the extra fee to put out an extra trash can. I thought it was a fluke and forgot about it, until 2 months later I noticed the exact same thing happen! I got mad, I was going to all this work to help the environment and recycle, and what was happening? They were throwing it away as trash anyways!

I called the city telling them my problem asking for them to give us the big recycling bins. I was told no, because the truck was built to pick up the big bins without the use of people and they would only do that at the central locations like the yard waste. And since our management did not want to do that, they would only give us the little bins so that they would not be too heavy to lift by their workers. It all makes sense somewhat, yet I don’t see why the truck can’t go down the street and pick up the large bins, just like they do everywhere else in the city. As for throwing the recycling away as trash, I was told that they shouldn't be doing it. Yes, I know that! So the best I could come up with, larger signs with the recycling logo and one sign telling them NOT TO THROW IT AWAY AS TRASH. I will have to watch this Friday and see if it works or not. But needless to say I am annoyed about the whole thing.

Objective: To Learn and Play

Our adventure to the Seattle Children’s Museum was a long day packed with fun. We went with Nancy and her four little ones. It was funny to notice how when Emma, Michael and I were at an exhibit (which only happened a few times) it was very much one-on-one time with Michael, but as soon as Nancy and her kids joined it was an instant party! I can only imagine how hard four little ones are, but they sure are a BLAST too. Emma was so content to stay in the baby carrier and observe. She did not fuss at all (even though she missed both of her naps), and was such a sweet, happy baby just taking it all in. Michael also had a blast being partnered up with his cousin Naomi. There was so much there and so much to do, and I think we did it all! I think Michael’s favorite was the Curious George exhibit (Michael had just watched the golfing episode and had tried “golfing” in the house) and they had a Curious George Crazy Golf area. They also had a rocket slide, which I think Michael went down at least 20 times. His other favorites were the fire truck and Metro bus that the kids could pretend to drive, and ride. Here are some of the pictures of our fun adventure.

Michael dancing to the music in the dance room

Meeting Curious George

In the fire truck

Alain driving the Metro bus, with Naomi, Aunt Nancy, and Michael riding

In the theater (a place where the kids can dress up and put on a play, while other kids control the curtains, backgrounds, and lighting) I couldn't help but cringe at the thought of Michael putting on the clothes (how long has it been since they were washed?) But he had a blast as you can see.

The construction area, where they could build their own creations. Michael and Naomi building a dog house (according to Michael)

Warning!

Warning! The following is a birth story. If you choose not to read it I totally understand.