Growing Up

My Cutie Pie

Josh's New Room

More new Room!

Well in the past couple of months a lot has happened. In Josh news he is talking a lot more. I probably say that in every post though. He knows his alphabet and his letters pretty well. Sometimes he amazes me and counts all the way to 20. He likes pointing at everyone license plates to tell me the letters and numbers. At Target or Walmart he will count out the numbers of the check outs or when leaving stops on the curb to say the letters printed there such as no parking or fire lane. Even though he is a slow talker the speech therapist said that it is advanced for him to know his letters already so I feel good about that. As far as words go right now my favorites are library and jazzercise. They just sound cute when he says them. The phrase "ride rides" is a bad word in our home. It something Josh does with GM at the mall and he asks for it at least once a day. It just gets annoying because the answer is always no unless GM is coming to take him there. At the end of September I finished painting his new bedroom...I did it all by myself I would like to add... and we got Josh his new toddler bed. The migration was pretty easy. The next day he even put himself down for his own nap. I was amazed. I am still yet amazed that he does not come out of his room until I come and get him or I yell where are you and then he comes out. I have the perfect child. In other family news, Jason is almost done with his thesis...professor says this will be his last semester. It will be nice to say we are finally out of college! and no longer have to pay tuition! As far as my life goes I jazzercise pretty regularly and work is going alright (not stressing about the end of the year yet). I finished my new room for Josh project, but now have to clean up the pile of junk that came from closets that I moved to the unused dining room. I am the queen of clutter and junk. It just seems to appear around me. Lately I have gotten into reading and/or listening to books. Finished Austenland (corny cute & predictable), Hunger Games (loved) , Catching Fire (loved), Twilight series (again-still loved), and 3 books in a series that Suzanne Collins wrote (its more of probably Junior high level book but I like her style of writing). Some of my other hobbies have suffered. I haven't done scrapbooking or cross stitching or played games on the computer (I play WorldOfWarcraft) in awhile.

Slowly But Surely

Well the room swap is well on its way. It got slowed down by family stuff, but it is now up a running again. All of the desks are now in one room. Jason just has to finish organizing the computers so I can have the shelf back for all the books that are on my desk. Josh gets a little confused with the swap. Jason will say do you want to play computer, he gets excited and runs to the old computer room, but its not there. He will then go into a lengthy explaination or speech about something...probably would translate into something like where did the computer go? Then we show him where it went. It's kind of fun. I hope to have everything organized in the computer room by the end of this week so maybe next week I can paint Josh's new room! I hope he will like his new room.

Geared Up To Rearrange

So I am done working for the month! I was getting geared up for cleaning the 2 offices so that Jason can start moving desks around so that I can reorganize my house I'm so excited. I'm even going to paint, but I have hit a snag today. I am just too tired. I think I may take a nap with Josh today. Oh well there is always tommorrow. I figured I needed to get on the computer while Jason was at work. He never lets me use the new MacBook Pro. He is always on it. Our laptop died so we bought another one, but he crossed over to the dark side and decided to get a Mac & not a PC. For all the "discussions" I have had to sit through Jason saying how PCs are so great, I thought it was funny that we have now bought a mac. I think Itunes & Iphone helped in his conversion. I do like the programs for pictures & video clips that come with it though. I'm still getting used to the setup. Anyway life is good & I'm looking forward to reorganizing my house.

Terrible Twoes

So Josh has hit the Terrible 2s now. His head banging has come back when he is mad. It is so agrivating. He has also mastered opening doors & can play with the bolt lock. On the upside he talks a lot more. Still a lot of giberish but they are sounds. He repeated his first prayer (dad says 2nd...he did it without me) and it was so precious. Josh also sat through his 2nd fireworks show for 4th of July. He was a bit cranky but I think he enjoyed it once it started. In house news, I'm all geared up about moving our rooms around. I want to combine my work room with our office room and then I can have fun making Josh a toddler room. I want to paint and have a lot of fun, the only problem is Jason says he doesn't have time to move computers & the desks right now. I guess that is fine as long as he is busy working on his thesis. I instead fill my time with Josh, work, Jazzercise & Harry Potter at the moment (I'm rereading the books). Funny story the other day...I was babysitting at Jazzercise and a 4 year old asked if I had a baby in my tummy. I died laughing on the inside. 1. I'm not pregnant. 2. No one would think I look pregnant. 3. I know his mom is not pregnant so it was just weird that it came up.

Spring Break

I guess I'm on spring break too! Even though I have to work tommorrow. Jason is at a convention in TX at the moment and I just don't go to bed when he is not around. I clean and mess around on the computer till midnight. There are no seminary kids to wake me in the morning or should I say wake Josh who wakes me up. I did do a little spring cleaning today and I must say my garage looks fabulous! I keep going out there to look at it because it is so nice and clean. It was difficult to do because of all the dead bugs/spiders, but I got rid of them. Josh enjoyed the day in the garage too. He was covered in dirt when we were done. In other Josh news, he qualifies for Johnson County's Toddler Program for speech since he is not catching on that words are cool. It was funny when they came to evaluate him, he didn't say anything at all. Not even babbling. He did laugh a little and flirt like he always does, but didn't really talk. I was like he does say stuff although the next couple of days I realized how quiet he is in the middle of the day. Mornings & evenings he does make noise I swear. Maybe he knows that we need help learning words so he was extra quiet to make sure we qualified. Anywho, Josh needs to learn to use his words. Daddy, Uh-oh, Again aren't going to cut it any longer...he should have 50 words by now and forming sentences. It will be nice to have someone come to the house and show me how to help encourage him to speak and help us set goals.

Ode to Our Builder, Martins Inc.

Here is my endorsement for Martins Inc. If you are going to build a house in Gardner, KS (or Olathe area), then you need to build with Martins, Inc. They stand by their work and they are quick to repair things that are covered on your year warranty. I have just been very impressed by them and it has made my new house buying experience very nice...so drum roll please.....We are getting a new roof !!! I'm not sure if they ever figured out why our roof keeps blowing off. Granted it is windy, but it is ridiculous how often we loose shingles. The manufacturer came out and took samples of the roof and the builder was talking with them and the roofing company and the builder called today to say that we will be getting a new roof. It is such a relief that we won't have to take any action to get the problem fixed. Exspecially now that we have lived in our house for a year and I think we have had our roof repaired about 6 times and we are currently missing shingles. Such a relief. Yea to a new roof & Ode to the Builder who takes care of us!

Procrastination & Family Update

So the boy is asleep and I have a lot of work that I have to get done before Tuesday & I am not motivated to do anything. I just want to curl up in my bed and watch a good chick flick. Instead I'm surfing the net and updating my blog. I'm jealous of everyone elses blogs & I want mine to look cute too. I guess by being on the computer, I'm close to my work. I will be so glad when Jan 31st hits. Q4 reports will be done & W2s will be out the door and I can almost return to work 30 hours a month (almost because I will still have annual reports due by end of Feb). Then I can relax and focus on my dirty house.

Other family news...FHE on Monday will consist of going to a townhall meeting and protesting a rezoning of the land 2 or 3 house plots of land away from us. Prieb who owns the land wants to rezone it from single family homes to apartments. We were leagally suppose to be notified, but we weren't. Our neighbor went door to door letting our neighborhood all know. She is one of the only ones that got contacted (it's right next door to her). So we have all banded together and since there is not very many of us we also are letting the near by neighborhoods know. I hope we win. Only time will tell. That is going to suck big time if it passes.

Jason also just got told that the big project he was working on at B&V is being shut down so he could loose his job or get relocated to another section in B&V (out of nuclear division to another division). Hopefully the later. They do see value in Jason (he has received a couple of raises that aren't the normal inflation one & in his last review he recieved the highest rating you can get & not very many people get that one) so I'm quite confident they will keep him.

Rain is Falling All Around

If you would like to sing along page 241 childrens song book....

Rain is falling all around, through my house-top to sites unfound.
Rain is falling through my pane, down the wall and to the drain.

So with new houses comes new house problems. We finally have all our shingles and I believe with the warm weather they have adhered to the top of the house, but we are still getting water through the roof. Somewhere between Josh's room and the 3rd car garage. We called the roofing people again on Monday and they are backed up a week and half....Justin our builder called today and they are coming tommorrow or the next day depending on the weather. Go Justin.

Also our basement was leaking which Justin came out today and hopefully fixed. It was leaking in 3 spots. 1-was around the sliding glass door...all the water went down to the basement (thankgoodness). Aparently the workers put this tar stuff on and then the caulking which they aren't suppose to because it doesn't adhere to the windows. 2- was the window in the basement. They didn't seal it on the outside. 3-was a leak down the side of the basement. They didn't solve this one. It had everything it was suppose to have. They thought since there was a lot of flooding that is the cause?? Whatever I will be calling them again when it leaks again. The main problems are fixed for now though before we go on our trip.

We also had the main plumming line fixed today. There was a very small leak. Thank goodness I don't work anymore so I can be home to have everything fixed.

The verdict is in. My house loves water.

Roof

So I slacked a little today and started playing WOW (World of Warcraft) again while Josh was sleeping in the morning. I hear this thud while playing and thought they were working on the houses next to ours. So I looked out the window out back and no one is there. I hear another thud and it sounds like it is coming from Josh's room. Fear struck me and I thought that he had pulled himself up & out of his crib & had fallen out. I rushed to his room to find a peaceful baby in bed & I hear another thud...It's on my roof. I looked out the window & saw some guys and a truck. Yea they are fixing our roof again! I didn't even have to call this time. That was on my list of things to do today. Hopefully it will be the last time the have to fix our roof. I swear our house is situated in a wind tunnel sometimes. I did get to explore Gardner a little bit. Josh & I went walking on a trail and found a cool park to go swing at. This other little boy kept staring at Josh and then he told his mom that Josh wasn't wearing pants and that he was in his underwear. I about died laughing. Josh was wearing shorts. I have enjoyed my 2 days of mommyhood. I will be going back to work on Friday, but that should be my last day. :) Yea!!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU!!!

So we beat good old Roy and his boys or in other words we beat North Carolina. It was a good game to watch too! Now we are on to the final match up against Memphis. I watched the game in Lawrence at Erin's house and I made it home safely. KU fans are driving around like lunatics, half drunk, honking horns, and lighting off fireworks. Mass Street is just a hoard of people. (I saw it on the news). Jason is not home yet. I wonder if he will get home before he turns into a pumpkin. After priesthood he went over to Tate's house to watch the 2nd half and now they are watching the 1st half. Maybe it's a guy thing. If I watch the 2nd half & knew the outcome, I wouldn't go back and watch the 1st half. The excitement just wouldn't be there. I figure I would let Jason stay out late and have some fun since he had to watch Andrew & Josh today. I was suppose to watch Andrew, but I had to go into work & work. I worked 40 hours from Tue-Sat. and I feel more behind then ever. Can I just say close the freaking period. I can't do my job very well and not stress out about it until we do. I hate waiting last minute to do everything. I keep missing things and having to go back and fix them. I broke down and shut my door and cried at work on Friday because I was very hormonal and stressed out. Then I scooped myself off the pitty party and went back to work. I kept looking at Josh's picture on my computer and told him I was coming home. Stay at home mom is probably coming a lot faster then I was calculating originally. If we hadn't lost my old boss I would probably continue to work until child number 2, but I don't think it is worth it anymore because I don't enjoy it anymore. so I got off on a not so happy tangent...After work I went out to eat with Erin & Liz. It was fun but the service was slow. We ate at IHOP. How hard is it to cook a pancake. Anyway that's the low down on my Saturday.

In other news, we had real strong winds on Monday. Strong enough for us to watch the sides of the top floor of the house across the street collapse. (they were in the process of building it). Later that night Jason was like we forgot to put the trash out. I just laughed. It would have blown away if we had. We lost a handful of shingles. I have called the roofing guys, but they haven't come out yet. I also called the gutter guys to fix 2 gutters (too long...the final grading & sod are covering them) and they haven't come yet. They better come this week or else I'm calling the builder. On an up note I am getting couches on Monday! Yea! Only a month & half later. They will be here just in time for the Jayhawks to play Memphis.

And for all of you who are wondering what I did for my Bday. I went to work. Yea! Jason & I did go out for steak for dinner and Liz watched the boy for us so I wouldn't have to juggle enjoying myself and making him happey. I did make my traditional cake (yellow cake, chocolate frosting & the round sprinkles, yum!) We have been eating it all week.

Loving a Wash Room

You may not think there is a big difference between a wash closet and a wash room but let me tell you. Having a wash room is sooooo nice. If I decide I want to do something else and I'm tired of the laundry then I can shut the door and it all stays there. I can have mounds of clean laundry waiting to be folded and I can leave it there. How awesome is that. On the reverse side the mounds of laundry could be sitting on the bed or on the floor somewhere but nope because I have a wash room, its out of site out of mind. The funny thing is I have been folding most of the laundry as it comes out, but it is so cool to have a place where I can fold it. I could also be loving my wash room because of having new appliances and it's my first time using them. I will let you know if laundry is this exciting in a couple of weeks.

I'm basically unpacked. I have the junk that is left that I have to decide what to do with. Now I'm waiting on Jason to finish putting the electronics where the go in the office and living room. He also has to help me hang pictures and he has to hang the blinds that we bought 2 nights ago. Too bad he has to work.

Things I'm waiting on....My new couches from Nebraska Furniture Mart, the phone company to update our phone number so when we call Olathe it won't be long distance, and Jason to help me figure out what is wrong with our dishwasher.

Movin is So Much Fun!

So we are moved but not unpacked. I hate living out of boxes but I have just been so tired. We had a lot of people helping us move. Elders Quorums are great. It has been nice that Josh spent the weekend at Grandma Drapers (nice not to have to worry about him) and that my mom has helped out a lot with packing and cleaning the new house. I think we have a lot of junk and we will not be moving for awhile.

I've also had to work this weekend which has added extra stress especialy since what I'm trying to do for work is not working out the numbers don't match aaaa! An accountants nightmare. Anyway I guess I will finish it on Monday when I can talk to people and ask why those aren't matching. I just want to get it out of the way so I can just focus on my house and all the boxes laying around.

Today was nerve racking. It was our first Sunday in a new ward. I'm not one that likes to get out of my comfort zone. I didn't even have Josh to hide behind. Babies are such good conversation starters. Meeting new people is scary for me and new names never seem to stick with me. I haven't changed wards in 8 years. Friends have come and gone but I've always had a big group of people that I feel comfortable around some being closer than others. I guess I just feel awkward being in social settings where I don't know people because I clam up.

Anyway it is way past bed time so I will end this post with 2 words that I'm thankful for today.....Jacuzzi Tub

The Walk Through

So we had our walk through yesterday. Tom & Erin came along and helped us pick out all the flaws in our house. I felt like I was being so picky but hey I'm paying for it. There were a lot of little touch ups to be done. Nothing major. I must say I'm so excited to move in now. It looks so nice. My main annoyance with the house which I found that will be fixed before we move in is the light fixture in the kids bathroom upstairs. It is 4 vanity lights above a mirror that spans over the counter top. They were installed on the top left side of the mirror. So weird and awkward. Hello you center them above the sink. Maybe it stood out to me because I'm a symmetrical person. I don't know Jason didn't seem concerned with it, but our realtor agreed with me (our realtor is a woman maybe it's a man thing). Things about the house that I'm excited about is the tub. We fired it up and I just wanted to jump in. Nice and relaxing. I also liked the fire alarms. They are wired so when one goes off they all go off. Cool if there is a fire downstairs you don't know about and you can get out before smoke comes all the way upstairs. Bad if you are cooking, baby is sleeping and you burn something really bad and you set off the alarm. I like the light fixtures we picked out and the kitchen cabinet color too. So anyway lets all pray for good weather for the rest of the week so they can get all the outside stuff done and we can move in on time.

A Little Bummed...16 days maybe

So it is up in the air at the moment as of when the builders can pour cement...our front steps and driveway. As of right now it is too cold which may mess up our closing day/move in day and the interest rate we have locked in. :( So lets all pray for spring weather. I've already got most of the house packed up and I'm ready to go. I don't need this! I am so ready to move, get settled and become a full time stay at home mom. In other news, I now have a boss at work. I guess he started last week. He is being trained at the moment how to use the accounting program we use. He is a lot different than Brad (my old boss) so it will be interesting. I haven't had too much interaction with him yet, but I hope he catches on and fits in at EMR and can be an asset to them. I think he will have a hard time filling in Brad's shoes though.

Cough, Cough, Achoo!

So I have decided that Jason is the more concerned parent when it comes to having a sick child. Josh had a low grade fever yesterday and he has this awful cold that comes with a runny nose and icky coughs. His eyes were watery and reddish around them (from rubbing them). Not to mention the poor guy is teething. So Ibuprofen and some extra love should solve the problem. Jason always gets concerned and wants to take him to the doctor. He has his 9 month check up on Monday so I think he will be fine until then. Especially since he doesn't have a fever today. Although the cough is heart wrenching to listen to. I sometimes feel bad because I think it will pass, the body will fight off whatever it is battling and drugs will help along the way, but Jason is concerned and thinks he is on his death bed (maybe a little over exaturated). I just hate going to the doctor and they say he has a cold. Although I do get concerned about ear infections and that cough in the middle of the night. I guess Jason just freaks me out sometimes since he gets so concerned and then it seems like I'm not doing anything about it. I think I get it from my mom and he gets it from his. My mom is pretty laid back and his mom is an overly concerned mom...she just called because she heard that Josh wasn't feeling well. How funny when I am in the middle of writing this blog. Anyway I love Josh.

On other news, I made some really good white chili the other night for the institute chili cook off. I think I'm going to add it to my recipes. Although that is one that I will have to invite people over to eat. It makes a lot.

On House news, The have stained the cabinets in the kitchen (Jason saw them and loves it) and they are in the middle of painting...so that leaves staining the wood floors, carpet, lighting & the outside of the house. Oh my it is almost done!!!

Moving Sensation

I have an overwhelming urge to start packing the house. I guess I am ready to start fresh again and want to move in and find a place for everything. It kind of feels like I'm starting to live in a small house. Too much baby stuff I guess. My Christmas tubs are still in the living room because I'm not sure if I can put them back in the boys closet. Other things have encroached on the space they were taking up before Christmas. I just want to be organized again. I'm also getting excited about our house. Jason said they had the entry way and kitchen flooring done and the cabinets were there (not installed) the last time he checked out the house. I'm excited. I think it will make life a little easier on Jason so his commute will be less. It will be easier on babysitting logistics (I can do more swapping with Liz or visit grandparents easier during the day if I need grown up talk or maybe I will have neighbors I can hang out with since most have young families in our subdivision). It will be easier on me...I will be in my castle with a room to myself :) Maybe I will actually get some scrapbooking done if Josh lets me. I'm ready for a change.