'Bout time

Time for an update!  I have so much to share, but I don't want to be typing for the next two days (and you don't want to be reading for the next two hours), so you get summarized bullet points!

House changes:

• New rug!

• New throw pillows (Okay, old throw pillows covered with new fabric.  I used my mad sewing skills.)

• New entertainment center/Ikea bookshelf turned sideways.  

You may recall that I had aspirations to re-purpose an old dresser (sand, paint, new hardware, etc.).  Until I found that older dressers at yard sales average $150, and you have to have a truck to get them to your house, not mention all the work and extra supplies involved in DIYing.  So I went to Ikea and got this for $70.  (Which was an adventure by itself, but I digress.  Summarized bullet points, Em!)

• A yard!

• A vegetable garden!  And so far, nothing has died!

• A gopher, which was discovered digging holes in our yard approximately 24 hours after the landscapers finished.  If you ever need to get rid of a gopher, I have lots of tips.
• The facade of our house will be changing soon, too.  Our builder made a mistake in building our house with the same elevation as our neighbors, which is against city code.  They are making a small change so our houses will look a little less identical, and that makes me happy.  I will post pictures when it happens.

Kids:

• Benson walks!  For real this time.  

• Benson speaks!  Or at least, he communicates.  He understands most of what we say and nods or shakes his head in response to yes/no questions.  He also has a few words: Dad = dada or dah, Mom = mama, ball = bahw, dog = dah!, more = mah, that = dat.  While we're on the subject of Benson, let me mention that he is also super cute and quite a cheerful fellow.  He loves to climb (on anything!) and always wants to feed himself.

• Cassie is a Joy School graduate!

 

• Cassie "earned" a bike by completing a sticker chart- she earned a sticker every time she was kind or said please and thank you without being asked.  Really though, we wanted to get her a bike but didn't want to just give it to her without some work on her part.  We wanted her to be in the habit of being polite and kind without being asked, so we decided on the sticker chart even though the bike was sort of a disproportionate prize.  

And even though this is supposed to be concise, I really want to remember the craziness of actually buying her bike, so I'm going to write it here.  Feel free to skip.  We decided to try to find a used bike in good shape on KSL classifieds, and Trevor found one that belonged to some grandparents who kept the bike at their house for their granddaughter to ride.  It was a 20-minute drive from our house, but we decided to pack the kids in the car on a Saturday afternoon to go get it anyway.  Trevor called to arrange a time for us to come see it, then on our way to their house, I called to tell the husband we were almost there.  He informed me that they had just left the house and wouldn't be back for about an hour.  Weird.  So...we found a Walmart nearby and decided to do our grocery shopping and buy Cassie a helmet while we waited for them.  After an hour, we went to their house and waited for several minutes until they came home.  He showed us the bike and told us how much fun their granddaughter had riding it.  Even though it wasn't in great condition, Cassie was excited about the Disney princesses on it, so we decided to buy it anyway.  He sold it to us for $25.  The training wheels weren't attached and he didn't have bolts to attach them, but he figured we could get those at any bike store.  The closest bike store was a few minutes away, but we wanted to get the training wheels attached right away, so we made the drive anyway.  Three bike shops later, we learned that training wheels don't have a standard bolt that attaches them to a bike and we would need to buy a new set of training wheels ($15-20ish).  At that point, returning the used bike and buying a new one for $50 was sounding pretty good to me.  At home, I noticed a bright pink sticker on the bike, so I looked closely and saw that it was a price tag dated four days earlier for $20.  What the?  You can draw your own conclusions about that one.  Trevor called him and said he would be bringing the bike back on Monday because we couldn't get the training wheels attached.  Then he took Cassie to Walmart with plans to buy a new bike.  After an hour of searching and talking to clueless employees, Trevor finally discovered that the bike we were looking for was out of stock at that Walmart.  Poor Cassie was very understanding through the whole ordeal and Trevor bought ice cream sandwiches to satiate her.  We finally got her bike on Monday at another Walmart where it was available!

Coming soon: a post about Memorial Day weekend!

Can we freeze time?

Just for a little while?  Please?

My baby boy will be one year old next week!  Some days I want him to be my baby forever.  He loves to cuddle, and I never want him to grow out of it!  Benson has four teeth on the bottom of his mouth, and both of his top front teeth are coming in now.  One just broke through a few days ago.  He also took his first steps a few weeks ago!  We sort of forced it upon him by making him stand up in the middle of a room and getting out of his reach so he had to try taking steps.  He can stand without holding on to anything for a full minute, but lately he has been chickening out and sitting down instead of walking.  He still can't stand himself up without holding on to something, so he's not "officially" walking yet.  A few weeks ago, I got sick enough that I couldn't keep any food down, and I lost my milk supply, so I stopped nursing Benson.  I'm a little sad that I didn't get to wean him on my own terms, but it is nice to have my body to myself again.  The problem is that he won't drink from a bottle or sippy cup!  He used to drink from a bottle fairly frequently before we moved, but it's almost as though he has forgotten how to suck.  He will play with a bottle, chew on it, and drink whatever drips in his mouth, but he won't suck.  (He will suck on his pacifier...)  We are spoon-feeding him liquids now so that he doesn't get dehydrated, but it takes so long.  Any ideas from you amazing mommies out there?

Here is a video of our walking wonder:

Sometimes Cassie looks so grown-up to me.  When did she become a little girl?  She is a wonderful helper with Benson.  She loves to "read" books.  She recently learned how to write her name, and lately she has been trying to write the whole alphabet.  According to Cassie, the mark of a good skirt is how much it "spins up."  I received some compliments on Cassie's dancing skills from the Primary presidency today; she likes to stand up and spin during Sharing Time and Singing Time in her Sunday dresses. :) Cassie also likes to talk like a baby.  It's probably my fault for using baby talk with Benson...but it still drives me crazy.  Nearly every time she speaks I have to ask her, "Are you a baby?  Talk like a Cassie, please."  Our new library has an awesome movie collection, so we've checked out some classic Disney movies lately.  Cassie loves (loves!) Mary Poppins and has most of the lyrics to the songs memorized...sort of ("if you say it loud enough, you'll always sound mecocious!").  We also have a Disney song book, so she is familiar with a lot of Disney music just from hearing me sing.  Some Cassie versions of lyrics from our Disney song book: "Look for the bare necessities, the simple barren recipes..." and "Go on, unfold your men and take a glance and then you'll be our guest, be our guest, be our guest!"

They just started building the house next-door to us.  Cassie loves sitting on the window sill and watching the men work.  I took this picture when they started digging the hole for the foundation.  If it looks like it is very close to our house, that's because it is.  We have a teeny lot. :(

We had my niece, Lexi over for a sleepover.  She and Cassie are 20 months apart, but they still play so well together!  Here they are watching Cinderella.

So far

Well, it's still a work in progress, but I thought I would (finally) share pictures of our house, with a little commentary, too.

The finished product:

Come on in!

Presenting our new couch!  (Next on our list of things to buy: a big, shaggy rug)

Also on our list: a photo of the temple to go above the fireplace.  I asked my super talented and artistic sister-in-law, Becky, to take a picture of the Salt Lake or Bountiful temple for us (something a little artsy, you know?).  I'm excited to have a unique, meaningful piece of artwork.

Aaaand a new entertainment center.  I'd love to re-purpose an old dresser, if I can find one at a garage sale or D.I. this summer.  Bring on the DIY projects!


Eventually, I want to replace the dining room light, as well...the pewter looks a little out of place with the rest of our decor.

And the kitchen.  Oh, how I love my kitchen.  I'm not sure if there's enough space above the cabinets to decorate.  Any thoughts?

This is the hallway that leads to the garage.  The open door is the half bath, and the doors on the right are the stairs to the basement and a coat closet.

The half bath:

And now, heading upstairs:


Here's a view of the hallway from the top of the stairs.  This picture only shows the laundry room and bathroom doors, but the first door on the right is Benson's room.


Okay...it's pretty sparse.  Like I said, it's a work in progress.

He has a nice walk-in closet.  You know, for his expansive wardrobe.

Next on the tour: Cassie's room!  

Obviously, in here we're in need of a twin bed frame and headboard.

Cassie arranged her stuffed animals on the bookshelf.  Very nice, eh?

The kids' bathroom:

The laundry room:  (As you can see, we bought a washer and dryer.  We got them at a little family business where the husband fixes up used appliances.)

Our very bare master bedroom: (So many possibilities!)

Master bath and closet:

From the closet, looking back into the bedroom, so you can get the lay of the land.

The fourth bedroom/office/play room/guest room:

We love, love, love it here!  I had such high expectations before moving in that I was worried they were too high and I would be disappointed.  Ha!  I love the thick carpet, I love the pull-out sprayer faucet in the kitchen, I love that Cassie can jump all she wants, I love bringing my groceries in from the garage, I love that Trevor gets home from work earlier, I love it all.

I want to add some personal thoughts here, too.  I have hesitated to share my personal religious beliefs online.  I usually only share my testimony in church settings or with family or close friends.  I feel like it is important to share my beliefs in an appropriate setting, where the Holy Ghost can confirm truths to the heart of the listener.  I worry that sharing my beliefs online will take what is sacred and make it common or profane.  However, prophets of God have encouraged us to testify of truths in this setting, so I want to share  some of my thoughts as of late.  For the past several months, I have felt overwhelmingly blessed.  We have so much to be thankful for, and I know that God is the source of our blessings.  I have noticed His hand blessing our little family in big and tiny ways, and it makes me feel so, so grateful.  When we were building our house, Trevor posted a picture of it on facebook.  He felt a little embarrassed when some friends from his mission in Brazil commented on the photo, amazed that we would be living in such a nice, big house.  "No one from my mission lives in a house as nice as this," he told me.  It was another reminder to me of how blessed we are.  Then, last week on my way home from the temple, I gazed at several huge, gorgeous, expensive homes as I drove past.  I started feeling slightly envious and began thinking of the simple, puny starter home I was returning to.  Moments later, I snapped out of my jealous haze and realized how eager Satan is to make us unhappy with our lot.  Comparison certainly can be a tool of the devil, and can replace our gratitude with greed.  I have so much to be thankful for, and the most wonderful things in my life will never be taken from me: my family and my knowledge of the Gospel.  May I never forget to be grateful.

Busy, busy, busy

Two weeks from today, we will be living in a brand-spankin'-new house!  No more scraping car windows on frosty mornings!  No more children waking each other up at unearthly hours because they share a bedroom!  No more complaints from downstairs neighbors because of the exuberant, jumping 3-year-old in our family!  Yes, we are excited.
And a little overwhelmed.  December is always a busy time of year, but I think we've outdone ourselves this time.  Last week, for example, was filled with:

• Trying to buy Cassie her Christmas present (a kitchen) on KSL classifieds.  Sounds easy, right?  Wrong.  Play kitchens are a hot commodity this time of year.  I'm happy to say I finally snagged a nice one a few hours after it had been posted.  Let me also mention here that I was totally on top of the Christmas shopping ahead of time, and had actually already bought Cassie a bike (also on KSL...for some reason we're on a tight budget this year...something about buying something really expensive in the next few weeks?).  But she kept saying that she wanted a kitchen and play food for Christmas, so we decided to buy a kitchen and sell the bike (which we also did this week).
• Preparing for our Relief Society Christmas program, which was today.  Technically, I was released from my calling in Relief Society two weeks ago, but you've gotta finish what you start, right?  I was in charge of the program, but I really only had to finish up the last few details this week.  I spent a few of my evenings preparing musical numbers as well.
• Passing the "baton" to the new 1st Counselor, finishing up my responsibilities, and attending some final presidency visits and a presidency meeting.  We tend to chat a lot, so this actually took a good chunk of time...
• Practicing with my amazing friend Katie's choirs.  Katie teaches choir at a local high school and I am accompanying for her Christmas performances.  I'm accompanying for a junior high school this year as well, and I love getting the chance to practice piano and be involved with choirs.  Please note that high school choir music is WAY harder to play than junior high school choir music.  So I've also been practicing a lot.  As busy as this keeps me, I am so glad I'm doing it.  I'm a total choir nerd at heart, and I honestly get a thrill while I'm accompanying the final, polished product.
• Packing boxes!  We are trying to pack a few boxes everyday so we aren't too stressed when our actual moving day arrives.  So far so good!  We started with aesthetic things, so our poor little apartment is looking awfully bare.  I'm especially missing the Christmas decorations and lights this year.
• Trevor working late.  We hardly saw each other this week because one of us was gone every week night.
• Searching for a washer and dryer.  We'll need one of each.
• Dealing with the logistics of moving to a new place, like arranging for homeowners insurance, planning for our closing, giving our 30-day-notice, setting up utilities, etc.
• Regular life.  You know, Joy School, hair cuts, playing hide-and-seek, teaching piano lessons, making meals, grocery shopping, cleaning bathrooms, library visits, making forts, vacuuming...

I may have presented this too drearily.  Don't worry, we are very happy around here!  Just busy.  And the next few weeks aren't going to slow down at all.  But obviously we have some wonderful things to look forward to when all is said and done.  Like a garage.  And separate bedrooms for the kids.  And Christmas!

Now, would I leave you without some pictures?  Of course not!

Here are some pictures of the inside of the house the last time we saw it, which was about two weeks ago.  Our final walk-through is this week!

The dusty floor and the fireplace

 The kitchen!  Ahh!  So excited.

Drumroll, please...I sewed!  I made a nursing cover for my sister-in law who is pregnant with twin boys, who will probably be arriving the day after Christmas!  I also made these matching car seat covers for the boys.  Everything actually turned out quite nicely, and although they aren't perfect (don't zoom in...) and they're very simple, they looked good enough that I was willing to give them away.

Thanksgiving with cousins!  We had a super fun, relaxing Thanksgiving with Trevor's family this year.  Cassie loved playing with her cousins and Benson took a liking to Savanah.

House update

And now, for a house update (because I can't resist).  The changes are more subtle this time, but here's what's happened with our house in the last month:

And now, for a peek inside:  The entry:

Looking into the dining room: (the half wall is the kitchen island)

Standing in the dining room and looking into the great room: (the doorway on the right leads to the entry)

And the view from one of our master bedroom windows: (please ignore the scaffolding)

And some deets on upgrades:
The company we are building with was offering huge incentives when we decided to buy, so we were able to get several upgrades, many that we might not have otherwise splurged for.  Here are some that I am excited about:

• Fireplace!
• Maple cabinets!
• Granite countertops in the kitchen!  
• Beadbord doors!(Okay, enough with the exclamation points.  Just know that I'm excited about everything.)
• Upgraded carpet
• Laminate (fake hardwood) on the main floor
• Loft converted into a fourth bedroom
• Maple banister
• Banks of drawers in the bathrooms (instead of just cabinets)
• 2-tone paint

Advice for anyone who plans to build a house in the future:  When builders list their base price ("starting at $199,900!"), just know that you need to plan on spending several thousand more on upgrades, unless you want a very basic house.  As in, a house with no blinds, no appliances, no garage-door opener, cheap carpet, one paint color...you get the idea.  I think the average homebuilder spends about 15% of the base cost of the home in upgrades.  It's frustrating, but I guess all builders do it to be competitive with each other. Our experience really has been good, but we knew in advance that we would need to plan on several thousand dollars in upgrades.