It's a Birthday Par-tee!

Because (a) my boys were kind enough to arrive in the same month and (b) they're both too young to remember their birthdays and (c) their mother is sortof lazy and not a party planner and stressed out beyond all reason this year, we combined the birthdays for one big party of awesomeness and joy!

I couldn't think of any good themes* so about a month ago I asked Tommy what he wanted to have at his birthday party hoping for some inspiration.

"A cake!" He whispered in his most excited whisper voice.
".....and a party!!!!!"

So the theme was "it is my kids' birthday. have some cake." Go ahead, pin away.
The cake came from Costco.

This party marked some important firsts though.

1. John's "first" bite of cake. Ha ha ha ha! That is SO far from true it makes me blush just thinking about writing it. On Tommy's birthday it was his real first bite of cake. We put a cupcake in front of him and watched him smell it for like 5 straight minutes before he licked it and finally took a bite. John had devoured half of the cake before we had even set it down. He knew it was a mile away and wasn't gonna take any chances we wouldn't let him finish it. But he cried when he got to the ice cream because it froze his gizzard. Poor gizzard. Poor boy. 

2. Tommy quit being a Baby and has become my Son. You can tell because we spent the afternoon playing guys with the new superheros (or villains? I don't really know...) he told me over and over again that "I KEEEEL you Batman. I'm a super-guy with a willy willy dangerous! Now you dead. Pew pew pew!" and then my daddy taught him that a "willy willy dangerous" is technically called a super-duper-laser-blammer and the whole game changed. "I'm gonna super-duper-willy-willy-dangerous-blammer-weapon-laser-super-duper you mom!" he says in his most evil voice which naturally requires a furrowed brow. I don't know if there are words for how much I love this man-child of mine. Or how glad I am that he like laser-blammers more than kitchen toys and dress-ups.
In other news, the reign of the Boy Relatives Who Give Annoying Talking Hero-Guys As Gifts (BRWGATHAG pronounced burg-a-thag) has begun. It's been nearly a week and we have all started saying "The Bat Signal! We're out of time." and "crime never sleeps" in our sleep. Thank you Hunter Boys.

Tommy also wanted balloons. So I blew some up. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head. He (and others) went a little nutso.

 We sang Happy Birthday to Tommy, and he even blew out all his candles (with great effort!)

Tommy's big present from us was this trike we got for $8 at D.I. He LOVES it and every time anybody mentions going outside he runs for the garage and demands we "ridea MY new bike!" The back container thing dumps and he fills it with apples from the backyard, and sidewalk chalk, and sippie cups, and small children and......

John's "big" present from us was one of these things. He likes turning it upsidedown and dumping it. He doesn't like anything else about it though. Tommy however likes to snatch it from Little John and play with it...so I guess in terms of creating fights over toys it was wildly successful.

Stella came clear from Salt Lake for the party and I may or may not have cried when I watched these two hug goodbye. You can't tell here, but they really do love each other. Plus I could sit and talk with Ash until the end of time and still not be caught up with her. So they are lucky they get along so well.

As usual we are overwhelmed by how loved our kids are. We think they're adorable and lovely and wonderful, but we certainly don't expect everyone to love them that much. But it sure seems like they do. These boys have 3 lovely sets of grandparents, roughly a million cousins aunts & uncles, and dear friends who may as well be family who are always supportive, kind, loving and extraordinarily generous.

We are certainly happy to celebrate the two little cuties.

[insert heart melting adorable picture of the two brothers hugging with giant smiles on their faces in front of some festive party decorations here]

Or maybe this will do.

*I sortof thought a "we survived" theme would be awesome because it is probably a miracle that any of us survived the first year of John's life and in fact we all survived. But a real theme sounded like a lot of work....and us survivors? We're tired.

Clean Kitchen

Going to bed with a clean* kitchen gives me an unreasonable sense of satisfaction in life.

I don't craft or sing or dance, but I do know where all the pots and pans and silverware belong. So.....

PS check out the kitchen in our new place, not bad eh? Maybe someday I'll get my act together enough to take you on a photo tour, but let's be honest, that's not likely to happen soon. But I do know where my dishes go!

*My new definition of clean excludes spare birthday balloons - because that is a battle I may never win.

Girls Night

One of my favorite things about living in Foxboro was being surrounded by people my age and in the same stage of life. Because we had so much in common I have friends there who I love dearly and to whom my children likely owe their lives.

So a girl's night was all about crafts that we all thought were adorable, or doing some baby-related activity. And there was never a gathering in which the conversation did not eventually evolve to pregnancy and birth stories.

But this week my mom invited me to HER girls' night. She had an extra ticket to hear Louis Lowry speak and get some books signed. I secretly think she invited me knowing that I had no books to sign and would take her extras. Not one to turn down awesome opportunities like that, I gladly took her up on the offer. I jumped in the minivan with her friends and buckled in for a lovely evening.

The conversation revolved around hospitals - but not giving birth. What? People go to hospitals for things other than birth? Wha?!?! "Sister So-and-so just broke both of her hips it's almost impossible to recover from that!" and "What about Brother Jones, he just got out of the hospital again for <insert common old person ailment here>" which quickly switched over to visiting teaching. Did you know that even grown ups don't always love visiting teaching? The messages? The companions? The guilt? The reporting? It will likely always be hard. Who knew?! 

The good news is that I picked the coolest old ladies (which I call them with respect and love) I know to break me in to hanging out with people who are not EXACTLY my age.

Sister Hamilton, Sister Olsen, Gramma Fugal, a crazy young person who literally can't keep her mouth shut

Not to mention a sweet event. I mean really, is there a person alive who didn't read at least one of Louis Lowry's books (the only books I know that EVERYBODY has read but are not required reading) and much more likely many of them. Hearing her speak made me love her (and her books) even more, and having her sign a copy of The Giver for my boys is something they'll likely never appreciate because in a world where paper doesn't matter an autographed book is either extraordinarily valuable (but their mean mom will never let them sell it) or worthless.

Either way, the company was delightful, the seats were awesome (thank you library friends!) the speaker was enlightening and thought-provoking (do you think that technology broke child imaginations?), and the party favor will always be my first "I got the autograph" book.

I hate to say it, but this girls' night made me temporarily forget that I miss my friends so bad it hurts.

You won't believe me....

But before this month is over (barely) my baby will be 1.

As in...years old.

Right?

To celebrate I let him spend the afternoon eating grass in his pajamas.

Kidding.

Sortof.

Settling

Sunday was our first day in the new ward.

To say we were welcomed with open arms would be an understatement. Our church is just around the corner, and on our walk there we met a neighbor and 3 of her 8 kids. The older kids were already there, she only had the younger ones with her. Before we made it into the chapel 2 or 3 more people introduced themselves and welcomed us to the ward. After finding a pew we ran into our neighbors who told us how glad they were to see us at church. Yet another person came up to introduce herself and already knew who we were. I've already forgotten most of their names, but not their faces and certainly not their kindness.

The only name I'm positive I know and will not forget is that of Maxwell. He's something of a celebrity from what I can tell, and we were sitting just 2 rows in front of him. The little boy in front of us was very excited to see him and "hi Maxwell"'d loudly until he was properly acknowledged. Someone across the chapel followed suit and the two drowned out the organist's prelude shouting their greetings. Later an adult walked by and waved and greeted many people as he passed - but stopped for an especially long time to say hi to Maxwell. Maxwell can't be more than 5 years old and is just about the cutest little boy I know (but nowhere near as cute as my own). It makes sense that the whole ward is in love with him, but it makes me giggle just a bit.

I wonder what it takes to get Maxwell to say "hi" back? This might be my new mission in life.

Farewell Redbox

Last week Josh finally did what I honestly thought he'd never do. He quit working for Redbox.

He started there when we were engaged because the job fell into his lap and he wanted us to have health insurance. He was one of 3 employees in Utah then and he covered all of the machines from Payson to Salt Lake, Tooele to Heber. He LOVED it. And they loved him. There was a lot of freedom, some awesome benefits and when he had to work late he'd take me with him - which was awesome.

The bigger Redbox got the less he loved it. They had more rules and less flexibility. He still liked it, but before long he knew everything there was to know about a Redbox and he was bored AND restricted. Deadly combination.

It was always a job "just to get through school" so when he finally graduated this spring I got excited about the reign of Redbox ending. Always always on call.

But then we had to wait for him to find a job.

So when he found a job I (like an idiot) thought that he'd quit is existing full-time job in favor of the new full-time position in the correct career that came with a significant pay increase. But when he told his old boss that he got a new job, all they discussed was a new schedule working around his new job hours. So Josh worked 2 full-time jobs. (duh. What else would he do?)

I tease him a lot, but the truth is: that man is hard-working. And although I often say I'd rather have him home I can certainly appreciate the hard work he was putting in at both places.

After moving to Utah County though he was finished. He has been doing way too many way too long days and he was through, so he finally gave them a quit date and he stuck to it.

He handed over the car, the computer and the freebies and gladly exchanged it for life at home again!

It has all miraculously worked out - turns out moving is expensive and both incomes were greatly appreciated for that month or two. And now that we're here he's busy helping with the house and the moving and everything that comes with it and he hasn't even noticed that he sometimes has a day off.

So, while we both loved him working for Redbox, we are thrilled to finally say farewell. For real.

When we're old and gray we'll sit on the front porch playing "remember when" and joke about The Redbox Years.

Well, we've moved

It's funny how the place you grew up can seem so foreign and so terribly exactly familiar at the same time.

We're renting a house, a big, huge (comparatively), old (comparatively) house that echos because of the hard wood floors and lack of furniture. The carpet smells like pee (how did I not notice that?) and all 3 of my boys have been congested and sneezy since we moved in. There are boxes on nearly every horizontal surface and it takes an awful lot of planning to take a shower. The internet wasn't really hooked up and I haven't been able to work. The kitchen has an alarming lack of cabinet space and somehow I can't fit anywhere near what I fit in my tiny townhouse kitchen. The swamp cooler blocks the view from the kitchen window and the bedrooms are already hot enough to make me want to run naked down the street (kidding. an old family joke.) The apples have fallen off the tree so fast I can't keep up with chucking them to the over-growing bad-apple pile on the side of the house. Tommy has yet to sleep longer than 8 hours/night. That child NEEDS his sleep. Poor thing is miserable. And so are we.

BUT.....

When we showed up with a truckload of boxes and heavy furniture we were greeted by no less than 10 (but probably more like 15) strapping men (strangers!) ready and willing to help.

I attended the General RS Meeting with my family for the first time in (4?) years. And it was lovely.

My boys have fallen in love with my parents. All 3 of my boys. Not that they didn't like them before, but living there has only bonded them more. In ways I never dreamed. Plus I (sortof) got over my ridiculously irrational fear of swings and even let my dad give them underdogs.

Tommy and I sit on the porch during John's afternoon nap and spray the hose at the bushes, or take turns blowing bubbles until we're light-headed, or scribbling on the sidewalk with no fear of an HOA fine.

Wood floors (while creating an echo) make an AWESOME race track for cars.

A cricket which, based it's volume, must be large enough to fill Noah's Ark entirely on its own, has a nest just outside our bedroom window. I didn't realize that we'd been sleeping in silence for so long. I've missed the nighttime noises of a house surrounded by nature. (Grass! Trees! Weeds! Sprinklers! oops)

Macey's. 8 minutes from home. True story.

So like most things in life - there's balance.

Things I learned this weekend:

• John, who is a quiet baby back in our regular ward is a very noisy child when he's the only one. Likewise, links are a noisy toy. And the people in this ward want to listen to the lesson, so you sometimes get the stink eye if you stay in with a noisy baby. 
• Tommy can handle change better than I thought. He loved nursery, he loves his gramma's bed and he has only had a couple of meltdowns asking to go home and see his friends. 
• BYU football is mandatory viewing with my parents. Unless you wanna mow the lawn instead. (You don't. It's big.)
• We are welcome here.
• Bike rides are more fun on a long straight trail than they are on roads.

It's been one more on the list of long and exhausting weekends, but the good news is that we are still here. And we'll likely survive all the crazy.

Rejected

The day we moved out of our home in North Salt Lake I had a tiny breakdown (or 20) because I can't stand to leave Salt Lake. Mostly because of our friends there. Also because I love Salt Lake. It has been my home since I grew up and moved out. And it is the only home my boys know. And I love it there.

I also love Utah County. It's beautiful and filled with my family and familiar places from my childhood. But......so far I mostly just want to go home. And it would appear that Utah County wants me to go home too.

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I hate the freeway here, everything is under construction and you have to know 10 miles ahead of time which lane you want to be in to go the right way. Not only can you not get OFF the freeway and headed the right direction without inside knowledge, but you can't avoid getting ON the freeway if you're anywhere near it.

I am not a good driver and I don't love driving. Especially in places that I'm not familiar with. So I had a tiny "Utah County hates me" moment after being forced onto and not being able to get off the freeway when the last thing I had was time for a tour of I-15 construction.

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Then our first night here John (who has been mildly sick for like 2 weeks) woke up with a raging fever and a very difficult time breathing and I spent most of the first night here in the ER. Which is where I learned that we weren't giving him anywhere near enough drugs to control the fever and that everything else was totally fine with him. "He's perfect" the Dr. told me, then we chatted it up about triathlons. Most expensive tylenol instructions ever. The good news is, of course, that he's perfect.

****************************************************

I've been back and forth between Salt Lake and my parents' house AT LEAST once a day since we left, for one thing or another.

Somehow in Davis County everything is better. I went to the court house to pay a speeding ticket far more than the 14 days later. You don't get tickets all the time? You didn't know you have to pay it between 5 and 14 days after getting it? Well, aren't you glad you came here today to learn something new? I beat the mail man by what couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Beating the mailman there saved me a late fee and a court appearance explaining my flakiness to the Judge. Davis County loves me.

****************************************************

Furthering the love, the people adding some duct work to my house magically have openings "right now" to take care of everything I need before our renters move in.

****************************************************

But in Utah County the free storage unit costs me money, the freeway won't let me off, nobody wants us to be their tenants and my computer suddenly forgets how to function.

What's that thing about being rejected like a bad organ transplant? That's what I am. A bad organ transplant.

I honestly feel like there is a place for us here - I just haven't found it yet. And the looking is wearing me down.

*****************************************************

The good (and non-whiny) news is:
That we are surrounded by friends and family who are meeting our every need.
No matter how much I joke about it we aren't actually homeless.
My boys love being here. All of them. Josh is just 10 minutes away from the new job, Tommy has a trampoline and swingset, John has doting grandparents and we all have a hot meal every night. What's not to love?

Challenging Race: Success

August's goal was to register for a challenging race.

After spending too much time with my overachieving brother who just did the Seattle to Portland bike ride I was confident I could train for a rock a Sprint Triathlon. So I waited for August and registered for my local Labor Day Tri.

Nailed it!

For some reason I said all I had to do was register for the race in August, and since the race was technically in September that was good. I definitely DEFINITELY registered for a challenging race.

And then I even trained for it. Sortof. Except that for the 2 weeks leading up to the event I did not swim, bike or run even once. I was woefully unprepared, but determined to finish.

I had no time goals, in fact because I felt so (unnecessarily) rushed in my novice tri back in May (no need to rush when you aren't going to win anything anyway....right?) I was more determined to go slow and feel good than I was to hurry through any of it.

I walked through transitions, took my time getting a drink drying off and double knotting my shoes. I rode my bike at a very leisurely pace while listening to mormon messages and "la dee da ing" through the whole thing. I begged my mom to come run the run part with me knowing very well that I'd need extra motivation to survive. We walked the majority of the "run" and anytime my legs felt even a little sore we stopped to walk.

My adoring fans

But when I rounded the corner to the finish line there were my friends (and their spouses!) cheering me on and I got a medal. I was very close to dead last, I still didn't feel great (did I mention that I'd been sick for the weeks leading up to the race? and moving? and terribly undertrained?), but I was thrilled to have finished. And maybe someday I'll be all hardcore and train for and do better at one. But not this year.

Just 2 of the 5 other people in my neighborhood participating. Party at the tri!!!

Because this year I'm just stoked to have completed what is very much a real tri.

Time

Time is a funny thing.

A month ago Josh found out he got a job.
2 days later he started that job. Those 2 days felt long and were filled with excitement and nervousness.

A week later we listed our house for sale and had a couple of showings right off the bat. The days of the showings seemed to both drag on and fly by. Dragging because there are only 2 activities that keep 2 year olds occupied and living rooms clean. Flying by because nothing was really clean and there simply wasn't enough time. The days following those showings were painfully slow because I checked my e-mail and phone every 3 seconds to make sure I hand't missed something important.

One of those showings turned out to be our current renters.

We signed a lease on Wednesday, looked for places to live on Thursday and Friday and moved on Saturday.

It is no small miracle (the miracle of having generous and hard-working friends) that we are out of our house.

A few of my dear friends came and helped me pack up my mess of house. These women are clearly experts in packing, organizing and getting it done. What would I do without friends? Answer: I'd still be crying in a ball on the floor of my closet because I don't know whether or not to put totes in boxes. Thank you friends for making all the hard decisions for me. 

Then a bunch more friends and family members came on Saturday and loaded a truck, provided an extra trailer, and went WELL above and beyond the call helping pack and dissemble furniture getting us gone.

As if that wasn't enough kindness and generosity my parents somehow cleared out a couple of bedrooms for the 4 of us to occupy while we look for our place to live.

We've found lots of places we could live, but we haven't found the right place for us to go yet. We've been too slow on a couple and too fast on others, we've gone back and forth on price ranges we're looking in and I personally have walked through something like 25 homes and apartments in the past 14 days. We've seen dishwashers planted in living rooms hooked up to swamp coolers and we've seen places up on the hill with jetted tubs and huge yards.

Yesterday I thought we had found the perfect place. It's weird. It's round. Seriously, a round house. The rooms are a little pie shaped and there are secret storage areas behind secret walls in the closets. But I thought it might be the one. Until the owner told us they found someone who wanted to lease-to-own it. Denied.

And so we're back to square one. And I'm forced to decide (again) whether I should spend my time unpacking and getting settled here or scouring the internet for rental properties.

It's exhausting. All of it.

But at the end of the day, we're living with 2 of the best people on the planet (hi mom and dad!) in the perfect neighborhood with everything we could ever want. Including built in babysitters after bedtime.

Not a bad way to do homeless. Not bad at all.

August 2012 FB Status

 s

dronpetoS08h5202 g2amAa0tg2af9217g 2t8f,2198ulu116748uht97s  · 

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Watching Monk just brought me to tears. The Olympics have nothing on that crazy detective.

sodeoSrpnt,ttgAgma5828h2 3u6f1 h26h09s2mcgtui93857ll2lt10g90  · 

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Me: oh Phelps, why are you wearing that stupid dress?

Josh: it's a jacket, not a dress

Me: it goes to his knees and he isn't wearing pants. It's a dress.

Boom! #makingfunofolympians

Steoposdrn38ti0s2ht16gfAl91020i0gl3 c4u m,6u9fhl81m242905tlt  · 

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how do i watch the olympics online? I have my comcast info....but i'm too dumb (lazy?) to find the right place....

ndspSertoo5096m0a7t2g g05iut26t130,fufl8mag3s8ghi61li1lchgA   · 

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Sometimes I update my facebook status without even knowing it.

tdSnoerpsohagi33cagfau50utl99a9tg225t10A2,9cfags 07muf4 ic11  · 

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First reasonable bedtime since we left for San Diego in the 3 weeks ago!

sndoSproetlg u8h298711203hhucc2 l0022h5g4t798st83f0A286f25,g  · 

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Josh got a job! Three cheers for career jobs!

edSoonstrpiuh4133g9,521is l6t25h1g02ifa7331ugi6g407t1t 9056A  · 

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Me: Hey Tommy, do you wanna do anything fun today?

Tommy: Yes! Like, NURSERY!!!!

My boy really loves nursery. Thanks to the greatest nursery leaders! Liesl, Lisa

edSoonstrpiuh4133g9,521is1l6 25t1g02ifa7331ugi6g400t1t 9056A  · 

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My house is full of candy, but what I REALLY want is dessert. Gooey warm rich delicious dessert. #whitegirlproblem

estodoSnrp1gt8g152ummh8sa79ct7ua911gm99am2u7 8600A2 utl,403l  · 

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I don't know what I would do without my amazing and caring neighbors. Somebody tell me we're all moving somewhere amazing together?

psoSdreotnuug 1 0u1f7csl5,u02t7uh0A2g9l7u8711h2t1g207t92uf88  · 

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12 mile bike and just a 1.5 mike run this morning felt pretty good, but the triathlon in 2 Weeks just might kill me.

tosdnrSpeotu69tl151ftm899gm A693hu02272 1084gsh9u899,61um75i  · 

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What a fabulous RS Lesson - thank you Noelle Bradford for holding John so I could hear it and Shawnee Haws for teaching it so beautifully. It was exactly what I needed today and I LOVE it when that happens!

torsSpodnetglggi1ilhu226i 1af247shgt901 050256,tu3cl8tm197Af  · 

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poll: are you allowed to text later at night (or earlier in the morning) than you call? I only make phone calls between 9 and 9 - what are appropriate texting hours?

ronedStopstu35imm7gclu0l2016f2 a123a01gc45,5u l2s82ahutauf7A  · 

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"I'm just going to keep the comandments and assume that the leaders of the church are inspired and see how that works out." - Elder Oaks (I Mormon Channel)

nSdesproot92l22s, 3408c2lAtutf2iu9ac6111u281u t8t0cfl5g600l0  · 

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It's crunch time - anybody know anybody who wants to rent or buy our place? Send them my way please! It's listed on ksl both for rent and for sale.

nSdesproot92l22s, 3408c2lAtutf2iu9ac6111u281u t8t0cfl5g600l0  · 

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It's crunch time - anybody know anybody who wants to rent or buy our place? Send them my way please! It's listed on ksl both for rent and for sale.

optesodnSr6l42,960tlf0ul2tAc3s14h5u4mg3h23 u29ag195f1 uah920  · 

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Tommy just told me to go out to the "LIVin' room mom. I read Alladin" and now he's telling John all about "Genie of the La-amp" and "they're after me, they're after you?" before wrapping it all up with "and they all lived itty bitty ever after."

The book we have is pictures from the movie, so (obviously) we "read" it in lines from the movie. Duh.

tenoprodSsA93h222c6 8f6h2ml850t6, 222uit5ls436i0101uaut1g29g  · 

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Turns out Tommy has been playing draw something for me. Did you get a picture?

A93h222c6 8f6h2ml850t6, 222uit5ls436i0101uaut1g29g  · 

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3 more hours until I can put the sick whiny baby to bed. (but I have to take care of the boys before me)

I've barely left the couch all day, josh got up and went to work 11 hours ago and still has 3 hours in his shift before he gets to start the drive home. I'm glad he's willing to work so dang hard for our family.

dntsopeSor541u1h7072uf4clf2aA,0gg2 7h m9s4i1ugf5ggtc222th063  · 

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Smoke Detectors and children - one starts wailing they all start wailing. An unnecessary feature in a house this small.

dpeoornStst76t4h4g18mcA3l2u79t04ggt9gci901c st2ciu,i0 897l2t  · 

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If my reaction to last night's Nyquil is any indication of what kind of drunk I'd be, it's boring. VERY VERY boring.

Setsoodnprt11m3a,gtm6g08g6 i4huf g4c1mA02s29g72ci260030ilut9  · 

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Just signed a lease for our place - D day is just around the corner. This weekend being the corner.

dstnepoorS28m23flgs8fu648tl3li4ah 723,0g7h9u1mAhcug 704f14u0  · 

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quick quick - somebody give me a reason to pack my house instead of taking Nyquil and going to bed right now. (yes, it's only 7:30)

npoSsotdre309auuf us9t hm2uigt4g743501113803,g4tul188m2t8Ag8  · 

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Moving day tomorrow. If you're bored and/or want a good workout or to showoff just how much you can carry.... 9am the truck will be at our house.