Happy Birthday Maren! (2 days early)

Maren turns 2 on December 29th. We had her birthday party today because Adam works on Monday all day. Lots of family came. 13 children and 8 adults. Maren is obsessed with Brobee, from Yo Gabba Gabba. Its her favorite show and we watch it daily (thank you DVR). I made it my goal to make her a Brobee cake. At first I wanted to make his entire body but I figured that was a little too much for my meager decorating skills. I settled on just his head.

Watch the slide show and the video. The video is a little long but its cute. She was a very happy girl today.

Caught red-handed!

Or multi-colored handed??

Last night I was mixing color into frosting to make Maren's birthday cake. She was very intrigued by what I was doing and kept trying to grab the food coloring bottles and got a spoon and was trying to poke the frosting. My mistake was leaving the box of food coloring on the table.

This morning Maren was a little too quiet in the kitchen. Adam went in there and said "OH Maren!" and she immediately put her hands behind her back and said "Hi Daddy!" He took her off the chair and sent her to me and she walked over to me with her head down and said "I naughny (naughty)"

She got the food coloring bottles out and decided they were tons of fun! She emptied the blue and the green totally and the red and yellow are both half gone. Luckily the kids had left their cereal bowls with a little bit of milk on the table and they made a lovely receptacle for the colors. It was on the table, the floor, the chair, her pjs, her hands and a little on her face. Maren had to get a shower, which to her is a punishment. Poor kid.

Of course, us being wonderful parents, had to grab the camera and document it for all to see.

Adam had to go to the store to get me more food coloring so I could finish the cake.

Maren, super star!

She's learning new songs. And of course, you can't sing without a microphone. Just happens that she had the computer microphone this time. You can't sing alone either, so she called on daddy for back up!

And the stockings were hung

Too much partying today for Abbie's 2nd birthday and this is where we found baby Dalen. Passed out under the tree. Man, what is in that milk he's drinking?



Poor kid under the tree


We saw Santa today at the ward party. Maija was all smiles. Preston enjoyed it too but my camera died.


Maren, well, she's afraid of everything. Lots of screaming, crying and shaking. She grabbed that bag of candy and begged to leave! She even covered her eyes and kept saying "scary! scary!"


Maybe next year she will realize that he's the man with the big fat sack full of toys.



We are lucky. We get 2 sets of stockings to fill!

Crazy cute people

The title says it all!

Christmas tree

Its finally up. Took us about a week to finish it. We have 2 trees. One is a kid safe tree with no glass ornaments and then a big fancy one with ornaments. Maren seems to like the fancy one better since she is constantly pulling the glass balls off and carrying them around.

More chatty Maren

The search for Plex continues. Listen to her at the end. I guess she didn't want to sing a song. And yes, she still calls me Ahnah. :)

Move over Chatty Kathy...

The Marenator is in town! She was very chatty tonight and actually kept talking once I turned on the camera. If you know Maren, then you know she is obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba (google it if you don't know what it is). Plex went missing tonight. Its upstairs somewhere according to Preston. He said he had it last night but threw it somewhere in the bedroom.

Snow snow snow

It snowed. I've been in denial since we moved here that it would actually snow. It did, I am not pleased. Roads were icy this morning but were clear by the afternoon. It stuck around on the grass long enough for the kids to get home and play for a bit. Watch Maren the destructor smack down the snow wall they were trying to build.

Boot camp

We've begun our boot camp. Time to work those muscle-less stomachs and scrawny arms! Maren wanted to join in the fun too.

Maren's first haircut!

She's a big girl now! Maren got her first haircut (more like a minor trim) tonight. She is my baldest baby at age 2. Maybe cutting her hair will make it grow more? Yo Gabba Gabba and something to hold in each hand was a great distraction. The wiggle wiggle wiggle go song probably wasn't the most appropriate for being still for a haircut though. We got it done. Its cute. Its a long video and pretty loud so beware!

Halloween, finally

Ok, here it is. Halloween! We moved the day after Halloween and then my laptop got sent in for repairs so I couldn't post about it.

We had a ton of fun and have way too much candy. We went trick or treating at Adam's work, then to the Trunk or Treat at church, and then to round it all off, we went trick or treating around my parent's house. 3 TIMES THE CANDY!! Maren had a blast at Adam's work. She would grab and grab and grab the candy and every time we tried to stop her they would all say "No! Let her take the candy!" So we had to empty her pumpkin out twice since it was so full!!

Maren was a pink poodle, Maija was a Gossamer Ghost (thats what the tag said) minus the face make up and Preston was a vampire but everyone thought he was Harry Potter since he forgot his vampire teeth and didn't want any make up on.

The weather was so nice!

We also made special Mummy hot dogs and dirt cake for dinner.

Found!

The elusive #1 has been found! Thanks Dad Lingard! :)

I need your help!

I am desperate to find something! I need a house number that Lowes is selling. Problem is, its on clearance and places are running out fast! I need the #1. Its a 6 inch tall black metal number. I will even take the one off the display box, I'm not picky. Here is a picture of the zero for reference. I will love you forever and pay you for the number and your time and shipping too!

Happy late Birthday Adam

Adam's birthday was November 2nd. He turned 34!! We had a small party at my mom's house since we had just moved into our new house the day before and nothing was unpacked.

Adam got a fun MP3 player, some money from both parents (thanks!) and tickets to the Metallica concert which he is currently at right now!

Sounds like a pretty good birthday to me! ;)

A funny little November 2nd story for you all. November 2, 1996 was our very first date. Adam asked me out a few days before his birthday. The funny part of it all was, he had thrown himself a birthday party at his grandparent's house in SLC and he left his OWN party to go on a date with me. He says they understood why he was leaving and boy was it good he did! 12 years later, here we are!

In the new house...

We are here! Its lovely. We spent our first night in the new house last night. I love it.

We are still so behind on everything but at least we are here!

We still have a bunch of junk to move over from the other house. Hopefully that will be done this week.

I will get some pics up of the house with furniture in the next few days.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM! (he turned 34 today ;))

Only a few more days to go!

We move November 1st! Its coming so soon. We are SOOOOOO behind on the new house projects. Its 1:11am on Wednesday and as I type, Adam is at the new house working on flooring, getting everything ready for the new carpet to be put in on Thursday. We have to have all of our tile down so the carpet guys can do the fancy seamless edges where the carpet meets the tile.

Adam spent most of the evening (5pm and on) pulling out all the icky NASTY carpet and padding out of the house. Then he had to remove the darn vinyl stick tiles and plywood subfloors that the previous owners put down in odd places. Its been such a pain! He then has to lay down new 1/4 inch cement board so he can lay the new REAL tile. AYE AYE AYE! I don't think Adam will be coming home tonight.

In the morning the children and I get to go back to the house and vacuum it all up and then start on the lovely task of pulling out all the staples in the floor that held down the old padding. ITS GOING TO TAKE ALL DAY! The positive side for the kids is that they get 5 cents for each staple they pull out. Each has their own bag to keep track of it all. CHA-CHING!

Projects that have been completed so far
carpet/pad removed
vinyl stick tiles removed
new lights in house (just about every light has been replaced)
new cabinet knobs in kitchen
fixed outdoor garden lighting
half of the doorknobs have been replaced (most of the old ones were broken!)
new miniblinds on entire 1st floor
fridge was scoured down, it was left very dirty :(
new pretty curtains on front window
front door weather stripping repaired
new carpet as of Thursday!!

Projects to be completed (supposed to have been done before we moved in):
paint entire 1st floor
new tile in both bathrooms, entry, back door, and kitchen
change out all light switches, outlets and covers (old yellowed and most were painted?)
new counter tops in kitchen
new hinges on kitchen cabinets
weather stripping on garage door replaced
finish switching out doorknobs
fireplace professionally cleaned
clean the stove (left all nasty, just like the fridge, grrrrrr)

There are a ton more projects to do but most we will have to slowly work on through the winter. Our main goal is to get moved in and unpacked and get the upstairs bathroom finished and working again. Tile has to go down and the new toilet installed. Luckily we have a bathroom on the first floor that has a shower so we won't be without a way to get clean! I will have to work on painting wall by wall when the kids are at school. Don't worry, I won't be getting on any ladders. I will leave all the high stuff for Adam. Our living room has a 20ft high ceiling.

Somehow in the next 3 days we need to fit in carving pumpkins, Trunk or Treat, trick or treating at Adam's work, Halloween parties, etc... and we have to pack up our little house we are currently in! Hopefully packing won't take too long since about 3/4th of our belongings are still packed away and in the basement.

Wish us luck!! We can't wait to get in the new house and spread out!!!

A little Southern boy (my nephew Dalen)

I'm just a little Southern boy, borned into this world by an American mom and a real Southern dad.

I like to eat as you can see by the chins I support.

Sometimes I even do a little dance, ya know, to get the ladies. That's what real Southern men do.

And then I pass out on the floor when I am done with my drink. My daddy taught me well.

Does this make my butt look big?

Poetry

There once was a girl
with an itty bitty curl
right at the back of her head


And when she was good
she was very very good!




But when she was bad
She was HORRID!



The end.

Some kids just need to go to bed

Since Maren is now a big girl she has to go to sleep on her own. We are working on it. She sat down on the other couch and was watching tv and soon she was doing the bobble head. At the end I tried to grab her leg to tip her over so she would stop bobbing up and down. Those little heads are heavy!

What every good baby needs

2 cups
1 good old poke to the belly button.
0 clothing

Maren's nightly routine

Pull out the boppy. Climb on mommy. Ask non stop until mommy gives in. Listen closely to the beginning, its the best.

Someday

Someday soon my cute little baby will have a room to rest her weary head, instead of falling asleep on a little pillow in the living room and being transferred to a pack n play on the landing to the basement. Maren Potter shall have a room of her own! (she used to sleep in the master closet in Texas) but alas, no master closets for Maren in this house! Come to think of it, no big master closet in the new house either, but a bedroom of her own will be a lovely upgrade. ;) Oh, and Preston and Maija won't be complaining either about having their own rooms again.

We found a house!

5 months of looking and we finally found a house! If all goes well, we should be in our new house by the beginning of November. We are very excited.

Its 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 family rooms, eat in kitchen, formal dining room, nice big basement, rough in for another bathroom in the basement and a door that leads outside down there, 1965sq ft of space. The yard is lovely and has a super duper party deck! We even get to keep that neato entertainment center you see in the video below and the hammock out in the yard (thanks Pete!). Adam wishes the TV came with the entertainment center. Might have to get something fun to fill in the missing TV space. ;) YES, I AM BRAGGING, I AM EXCITED!

It does need some work to be done before we move in. We are going to paint the red walls in the living room a lighter color to brighten up the room and tile both of the bathrooms. The bathroom upstairs has carpet! Ewwww! We do have to make some changes to the railing on the stairs since the slats are a little too far apart and Maren can fit her head through them. Shouldn't be too hard though, I have an idea for that. Then we will take our time doing some other little updates here and there.

I forgot to tape a bunch of areas in the video, but at least you get the idea. Don't mind the mindless chatter on it either. :)

Whaddya think?

How BLUE are you?

Stay tuned to see how BLUE we are!

First day of school!

Such happy children...
Maija actually was excited to go
Preston, not so much
Ready to walk to school!
Maren tried to follow them
Go back home Maren!
She was NOT happy
Wait for me guys!
Hugs and kiss and go back home Maren!

Bye guys, have fun!

Bedtime is fun

As long as its not your own bed and you don't really go to sleep...

Maija's new glasses

Too cute!