Our Kitchen So Far...

Our kitchen is our last big thing to do on our house and I am beyond excited to get it done. Excited enough that I may be becoming a nag to Bryan about when he is getting things done!

Last weekend Bryan took out the chimney that was behind a cabinet in the kitchen. By taking it out (we don't use it - we don't have a fireplace anymore) we gain about 16 inches that we will use to put the refrigerator in. What we thought was going to be a couple hours job turned into a several hours job because there were more bricks that we anticipated. But thankfully we have boys who know how to work hard (with bribery of course) and man did they work hard! Bryan would chisel out each brick one by one, and the boys would haul them out to the "drop zone" on the deck. It was hard work - the bricks were heavy - even for me - and really dusty. We estimate there were about 300 or more bricks! We paid the boys for their work, and boy were they cheap labor!

We have also put in new cabinet door and drawer fronts. On the one side of the kitchen we are keeping the cabinet boxes and just updated the doors and drawers. Bryan has to build the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen because we are completely reconfiguring that side. We will paint the cabinets an antique white when they are all in. We also bought new hardware for the cabinets. Bryan installed new granite countertops (love them!) and a new sink that I also love. You know you are getting old and homebody-ish when a sink tops your list of favorite things! We'll keep you posted as we do more to the kitchen as I know you all are dying to see more pictures!

Here is the old chimney. And a nice picture of Bryan :)

Cole helping. The big wooden box on the left side is the cabinet that was hiding the chimney. It just slid right out!

Rix got the play goggles out because it was all so dusty. They also eventually found sunglasses to wear too. I felt so bad for them. They kept rubbing their eyes and complaning of dust and rocks in their eyes, but they kept working!

Cole makes those goggles look good! Or do the goggles make Cole look good?

Our new cabinet fronts with the hardware. I can't wait for them to be painted, but it also means I'll have to paint them. I hate painting.

Our granite countertops.

One goal down...

Drumroll......

Come on, you know you are dying to know which of my new year's goals I finished.....



Okay.

I'll tell you.

Cole is POTTY TRAINED!

This is actually very exciting for me. It is the first time in 6 1/2 years that we have been diaper free in our house. And yes, I know, in 5 months we will have diapers again, but the break will be SO. NICE. And I thought that since I'm so used to buying diapers, I'll start stocking up on some for when the baby comes so I don't have to worry about it then.

Anyway, Cole was actually my hardest child to potty train. He has been three for a few months, and I am a HUGE believer in waiting until your child is ready to potty train to start because, well, it is much much easier. But Cole was so...old. He can't start preschool in a diaper, and honestly, he had no desire to be diaperless. So on Monday, which was a holiday, Bryan and I started potty training. And that first day was a complete failure. Cole would seriously cry (tears I'm telling you!) and shake his head (I guess telling us no?) every time we put him on the toilet. Treats weren't even a bribery option, which is huge if you know Cole. He lives off treats. We'd say "I'll take you to Chuck E Cheese if you go potty!" and he'd say he didn't want to go anyway. It was that big of a deal to him!

Tuesday wasn't that much better, but then that night, while I was at a YW meeting, Bryan texted me that Cole had gone in the potty chair! And I thought it would be easy from there. Um, no. Wednesday and Thursday were very trying on my patience and my washing machine. I always put my boys in tight cotton jammie pants because it soaks up the accident and doesn't let pee go everywhere, but I got over confident and put him in jeans. Ugh. I even called Bryan on Wednesday or Thursday and threatened to quit the whole thing! But I'm glad I stuck it out. By Friday though he was getting the hang of it, and Saturday he did awesome! We even took him to church in underpants! He hasn't had an accident since Friday (today in Tuesday) and for the past three nights he has done great, and woke up dry in the morning. We were putting him in a diaper at night because I got tired of waking up in the morning, waching jammies and sheets, and bathing Cole. But he's not wearing diapers anymore at all and now gets upset if I even mention in!

Now I am so far from a potty training pro, but here is my link from when I potty trained Bryce on how I did it. This is just what worked for me, and I have found the more ideas I have, the better prepared I am!

Next post: kitchen update! (Finishing is one of my goals!)

Let's call them GOALS (and not resolutions)...

I think if I call them that then I feel more inclined to do them.

2011 Goals:

*Pay off the Amex card. Again. We've paid this card off several times before, and then something always happens that makes us use it again. It's not very high, but I hate seeing a payment go to American Express every month. I'd like to use that money elsewhere, dang it! So I'd like to pay it off and keep it that way!

*Finish our house! We only really have the kitchen left to do. Bryan has already started redoing the cabinets on the side with the sink (and we got a new sink installed!) and then we'll do the other side (no sense it tearing out an entire kitchen at once!). By doing it this way I can still semi-function in my kitchen. We have some touch-up paint to do here and there, but hopefully the kitchen gets done before the baby comes!

*Potty train Cole. He's over three. Seriously, he should be potty trained. I think he gets his stubborness from his father! He is, as I type, in underpants, but he has yet to do anything. We'll see!

*Have a more consistent FHE schedule, and get the boys involved in scripture reading with us.

*Keep my house more organized. I'm slightly type A, and becoming more so as I get older (thanks to my dad). So clutter and piles and messy rooms stress me out. I hope to implement a chore chart that works and be more productive during the day.

*Lose the baby weight after the baby. I think that sums that up nicely.

*Eat healthier with the family. We live on a small budget (only about $200 a month in groceries) but I'd really like to buy organic produce (mainly the fruits and veggies with the most pesticides) and not buy soda, chips, or refined sugars, like white bread. This will take baby steps for my family (especially Bryan!) but I think it will be worth it.

*Speaking of food, I want to gather more food storage. (Gather...makes me sound like a squirrel). With the economy still questionable and hints that gas will go back up, I'd like to have a useful stockpile of food that we can use when times get tough.

Hopefully these goals are attainable. Some things are goals that involve my family, especially the part about finishing the house because I for sure am not remodeling the kitchen (it would like terrible if I did it!) but I think if all these goals are met, we'll have a happier more peaceful family!

Oh, and I want to go to Great Wolf Lodge again :)

Bob Marley and Mary

Here is my conversation with Rix this evening:

Rix: How long ago did people start living on the Earth? (I really don't know where this topic came from, but his mind is always working.)

Me: Well, I don't know the exact date (um, because I don't think anyone knows the exact date) but it was thousands of years ago.

Rix: Oh yeah. Thousands of years ago. Like when Bob Marley was living on the Earth.

Me: (Silence for a few seconds) Um, okay. Who, then, was the first man on Earth? (Hopefully he had been taught this somewhere - from me, or Primary, or common knowledge of most people.)

Rix: Ummm....I don't know. (I failed.)

Me: You know...his name is the first name of one of your uncle's (which isn't that great of a clue since Rix has a lot of uncles)...okay, I'll tell you. Adam! Did you know that?

Rix (looking perplexed): Adam? (No, he apparently did not know this information.)

Me: He was the first man on Earth and Eve was the first woman on Earth.

Rix: So Mary gave birth to all of them and us?

Me: (Okay, Rix is so confused). Mary? As in Jesus's mom? (Rix nods). Mary lived like thousands of years after Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were the ones who started having kids, and their kids had kids, and so on.

Rix: (looking at me like I have antennaes coming out of my head). Mom. You're crazy. That's just crazy talk.

So, I guess we have some things to work on. Seriously, since he thinks he knows more about Bob Marley than Adam and Eve. We have gone off track somewhere, but the issue is now clear and there will be some very focues FHE's in our future!

Christmas Take Two: Washington

I could blog on and on about how wonderful Christmas was for us. But really, do you want me to tell you, or show you?

Show you?

Okay, I hear you. Here goes the massive amount of pictures! As noted in the the previous post, our camera broke in the beginning of December, so all of these pictures are from three different cameras, which is sort of why the Christmas post has taken me so long. It's also because I'm lazy. No really, I am. Especially lately about blogging. Really I used to do most my blogging at night, but I've been going to bed lately at, oh, 8:30? Or 9? So lame, but I'm pregnant dang it! And I get up super early to take the kids to school! Okay, on with the pictures.

Every year for the past three or four years we have gone to the Festival of Trees, where designers decorate Christmas trees around a theme and people buy them at auction for outrageous prices. The money goes to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. The Master Builders Association is very involoved, and the past couple of years (or so) my dad has been the Chair for the MBA at the Festival. My kids love to see all the trees!

Really, my kids love to see the trees. Rix is just in one of those 6-year-olds moods. Most of the trees have extra things that come with the tree when you buy it. Like the one behind is a "log cabin" theme, and it comes with the tree, and also the log play house and the wagon of toys.

Phase II sponsored a tree for the MBA, and they chose a Barbie tree. My dad built the Barbie house that came with it, and all the Barbie stuff you see comes with the tree too.

Here is a better look at the Barbie house.

Bryan is superman! He does this all the time with these two.

After the Festival of Trees we met Dave and Lindsay at a tree farm to find our tree!

The boys had a blast running around. Although it's not the safest idea, with all the tree stumps sticking out from trees already cut down. No worries, no one got injured!

Cole wanted to "help" hold the hand saw. Also not a safe idea.

Looking for our tree. There were so many kinds of trees and in different price ranges!

We found our tree!

Bryan and Rix cutting it down.

Dave cutting his down.

Such strong men!

The next day the boys helped decorate the tree.

They are so proud of their work! However, after they went to bed, I rearranged it so it looked, um, better.

All ready in their Christmas outfits!

The weekend before Christmas we surprised the kids with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. They love it there and hadn't stopped talking about it since the last time we went almost a year ago. Here Cole is playing in the "kiddie" area. It has a lot of knobs and pulls and wheels that spray water, so Cole was happy for hours.

Rix took a break from all the crazyness to warm up with the towels. He loved the fact that he was tall enough to ride every water slide in the park!

Bryce became a wave pool fiend! He loved splashing in the waves, jumping over them, and playing in them.

Cole loved it too, as long as someone was holding him so he didn't get knocked over by the waves.

Yes, Bryce is wearing Bryan's shirt. I forgot to pack him an extra one. And yes, Cole's pants are wet, because after I got him dressed he forgot he was dressed and ran back into the pool.

This is Cole's self-proclaimed winter hat. So cute!

Christmas Eve we went to my mom's for traditional appetizers and finger foods, and she got these pipe cleaners and beads for the kids to make decorations. So smart! It kept them busy forever!

And, every party needs a party pooper.

Decorating cookies for Santa.

We had to watch the kids so we knew which cookies were safe to eat and which ones were totally licked and spit on (not safe to eat). Cole was decorating his with M&Ms and, if the M was showing, he would remove it from the cookie, lick off the frosting, and turn it over. Bryce kept licking his frosting knife. Talk about spreading germs to poor old Santa!

Cole's done! (note the green frosting on his mouth...hmmmm...how did that get there?)

Whhhhaaattt?!? Santa came to Nana's house???

Cole acted like Santa was a celebrity. And he kept telling Santa he was 6. And his non-specific request for "presents" guaranteed he was getting what he wanted for Christmas.

Bryce loved that Santa was there, but for some reason sat far away. He asked for a Nintendo DS (totally coached by Rix)

Rix thinking....thinking...oh, yeah. He wants a Nintendo DS too.

Christmas morning I got an early present. They slept until 8:30! I had been sick and coughing all night, so I was tired and had slept on the couch so I didn't keep Bryan up. And we had stayed up late wrapping presents (a "tradition" we need to break) so it was very welcome to sleep in!

The boys got slippers! They had been asking for them for a while.

Cole's face is priceless!

I wasn't going to post this, because, seriously, it's not that great of a picture of me, but look at the cute shoes Bryan got me!

Bryan helping the boys open up their new toys.

Christmas this year was such a blast! It was low-key, relaxing, and we got to spend it with our family. Kelli and Jeremiah were here, Carissa and Adam, and Kory and Ana Lee made it too! We went over Christmas day to open more presents, eat some food, and play games. The boys got a lot of fun new toys and we converted Cole's room to the play room, and moved all three boys in the same bedroom (which isn't really working out right now, but we'll see). I got spoiled with two new pairs of shoes, a new phone (which I love!) and some other fun stuff. Overall we had a great time, and we can't wait to celebrate Christmas again (I'm already saving my money!!)!