Monday, January 23, 2012

Closing, Injuries, Ear Infections, and Stuff kids say

We are so lucky to finally have a closing date, 1/30/2012.  Let's just hope that the world's worst phase 2 negotiator doesn't screw it up again :)  (so optimistic, I know.  I'm working on it)

Adam got his first real injury Sunday afternoon.  He was waking up from his afternoon nap and Tyler heard him.  It isn't unusual for the boys to go say hi to him while I finish up whatever I'm doing and then I'll go grab him out of his crib.  This time, I was putting a batch of cookies in the oven that the boys just helped me make.  In the time it took me to put the final 3 cookies on the tray, put it in the oven, and wash my hands, I hear a frantic Tyler saying, "Mom, come quick. I think I hurt Adam really bad!"  Not the words any mom wants to hear.

I flew up the stairs 3 at a time and run to Adam's room to find his crib has completely collapsed on him and he is pinned under the mattress and support board.  His eyebrow is cut and bleeding and as I try to pull him out, I find out that his arm is pinned too.  Great.  Momentary freak out, a few hasty maneuvers, and I have my poor, bloodied, crying baby in my arms.  I must say that I am proud for not loosing it on poor Tyler.  I just sternly told him to wait in his room for me and hurried about to rinse off the blood and see how bad the cut on Adam's head really was.  I know head wounds can bleed a lot, so I was relieved when the blood stopped fairly quickly and the cut was decent (about 1/2 inch) but not gnarly enough to require a Sunday ER trip- those are the best.

We got little guy all fixed up, checked his eyes to make sure he didn't knock his head too hard, then talked to Tyler.  Come to find out Tyler had crawled under Adam's crib and was pushing up from the bottom- which totally makes sense how everything happened.  All Tyler could say was, "I am so, so, sorry!"  over and over. We explained he did the right thing to get us right away but he should never play like that again.  I don't know who was more shook up by the ordeal, Tyler, Adam, or me.  After calming down the boys frosted some cookies and we dropped them off at the cousins house.

That night, Adam didn't sleep well again and he threw up so now I was up all night worrying about if the throwing up was from hitting his head or just from crying so hard.  I was already pretty convinced that he had an ear infection again, and our appointment this morning confirmed that poor Adam has ear infection #2.  More antibiotics for our poor boy.  He's still weighing just under 22 lbs.  Tyler had a well check today to get his shots for preschool that he go into on our new side of town.  He is 45 lbs right now (4 1/2 yrs old).

On to the funny things the boys have been saying.  My favorite involves Ryan.  The boys both keep saying how excited they are to work at CarMax with their daddy some day.  They really think it's the coolest place ever.  They love to check out the cars that Ryan brings home each day.  Tyler got to visit Grandpa Crooks at work a few times when we were visiting Roseville and he said, "Why does Grandpa work in an office?  That's boring. He should work at CarMax." If only we could get paid for Tyler's marketing campaign for CarMax ;)  Somehow the topic of marriage came up and Ryan and I were telling Tyler that someday he would get married and move away but we'd love for him to come and visit us with his kids.  He got upset and told us that he's never moving away.  He is going to work at carmax and live with daddy forever.  Later that night he told me he didn't want to marry a mommy because they are too whiny (better step-up my game!)
Tyler has also been full of questions about Heaven and how we get there and what do we do when we die.  He's giving me a run for my money!

Jacob has been doing awesome potty training.  He kept real underwear dry for two whole days including running errands and playing at parks.  He was phenomenal!  He is just a stubborn headed boy and it has to be on his terms.  We bought him some "Mater" underwear (he actually ended up picking out Buzz and Woody) and he loves to wear them.  I was still nervous and had him wear a pull-up to church but he has been doing awesome.  I think he's had maybe 2 accidents in the past 5 days or so and those were only when I got too distracted to remind him to go try every hour or so.  So proud of my Jakey!

Adam is a doll as usual. He will be a year old in a few weeks and I can't believe how fast it has gone.  It makes me  a little sad to realized that this is about the time that we typically would be getting surprised with another little one and knowing that it's not possible anymore (I can't have any more kids due to complications)  Bitter sweet.  We are excited to see these boys grow and turn into amazing young men.

So- that's the update.  I do have some pictures somewhere- just no time to do anything with them.  Life is good for now.  The boys are learning and growing and Ryan and I are trying to be good parents and love the little rewards we get from the boys when we succeed!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Keepin it real

Just for reality's sake....

I have given the disclaimer before that this blog is typically positive because the happy, calm, times are the times when I can catch my breath and  blog a little.

I think it was Sunday and I said to Ryan, "look at our boys.  I love to see them playing so well together and having so much fun.  You've got to take it in now because you never know when it will change."  ... then I went upstairs to print something...and it changed.

I push the "print" button and hear the most awful sound I've ever heard coming from our printer.  I rush over to inspect it and see at least two pens being sucked into the inner-workings.  I quickly cancel the print job and retrieve the pens, but the printer continues to make an insane noise.  I search, I open, I start to swear in my head about those "cute boys playing so nicely together".

After about 30 minutes of hide and seek I find part of our blinds from our old house stuck in the printer- don't ask me where they find these things, but they do.

Well, the printer is fixed, and that small crisis has ended.  I'm sure there will be more though. There always are.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Monday, January 2, 2012

I want to upload everything!

Ever have one of those, I-really-love-my-kids-and-they-are-actually-kinda-cute-nights?  I just uploaded Christmas Eve to present from my camera, and I think every, single, picture makes me smile. 

We were all sick, but it was so fun to be around family. It was so special to see two kids get crazy excited about presents this year. To see the kids reaction to a swing-set appearing overnight was awesome. Laughing at my brother's humor. Listening to Great-grandma's stories. Even nursing a family back to health.

I love what it is. I love what it stands for. I hope I can find the time to share it in pictures. Here's a belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I think it really is going to be a great year!

Monday, December 26, 2011

This Place Isn't So Bad

My happy moment of today: hearing Adam laugh and looking outside to see Tyler pushing him in a swing.  Maybe all the adjusting is worth it to have a backyard big enough for a swingset...and kids sweet enough to really love each other (regardless of where we live)

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Our New Place

I have so much to say and so little time.

I am sitting at our computer, which is hooked up (obviously) with a printer lacking paper and drawer contents are still hiding in boxes somewhere.

I should go shower, but the new room is big and open...and cold, so I'm letting the space heater work its magic for a bit first.

Moving has been way harder that I thought it would be. The last night in our home I was so sad.  I think it was mostly because we weren't all together as a family. Ryan was at work and it was just the boys and I on our last night.  I could hardly sing the boys their lullabies as they lay on just their mattresses tossed on the floor.

I'm normally not that emotional, but it was sad to think of all the things that happened in our first house. So many life events, milestones, and dreams. I remember walking through the house when it was just framed and watching it become a reality.  I remember driving over there with a sweet, little, 13 month old Tyler. I remember my car dying and driving to church our first Sunday in Ryan's single-cab Tacoma- all 3 of us. I remember finding out we were pregnant with Jacob- the same week we moved in. I remember Tyler learning to walk. I remember reading Tyler stories and rocking him to sleep. I remember putting in a back yard and buying a new van. I remember bringing home our sweet little Jacob to that house and just where the bassinet was and how we kept the pack n play set up downstairs so I could adjust to life with two boys. I remember Ryan working so hard and finishing his college degree- after many late nights at the computer in the guest room. I remember putting in the floors so we could stop scrubbing the boys' messes out of the carpet. I remember being so frustrated with all the little things that were wrong and too small and not quite right about our first home- but now, I just think it is perfect. It was clean, and simple, and ours.

Now, I live in someone else's home, who apparently doesn't care about their property- just getting our money. We like the backyard still- but it's been FREEZING since we moved in so the boys aren't quite enjoying it yet. We moved in to a house with NO GAS and in case you were wondering, that means no heat, no stove, no oven, and no hot water- that was a fun night.  Thank goodness for a little miracle that all 3 space heaters were very easy to find and actually kept the boys rooms heated okay.  Ryan and I may have been foul because we refused to shower in freezing cold water- but we survived. The kitchen in this place is kinda whacked, and any mom knows that the kitchen is kinda the hub of a home and where most of the day is spent making and cleaning up meals.  It has been a serious sticking point and it killed my excitement big time!

The good things about the move- although I felt useless, I was reminded that I was doing an important job taking care of the boys and my sweet husband really did move us all on his own. I packed the initial stuff, but Ryan and an amazing co-worker of his, moved everything with their trucks and trailers. They were amazing. I was so grateful because we spent the morning with Adam at the cardiologist where we got the all clear. No more visits- we've got a healthy little boy on our hands. We are also thankful that Ryan and his friend were so efficient because Ryan smashed his finger at work Monday night and ended up at the ER (per worker's comp requirements) and has a pretty splint and some sweet pain pills which would make moving now pretty difficult.

The boys have been acting out and they have been sick- all 3of them.  Fitting in somewhere new is never easy and learning new grocery stores really isn't my most favorite thing ever.  We are trying to get everyone healthy so we can get to church and meet some new people. The boys are itching to make new friends and play at the new park by our house. I am grateful to be close to my sister again and for how well she took care of us the first few nights with dinner (THANKS BEAR!)

All things said and done, I'm sure I'll be fine here because this is where my family is.  I will miss our house because I'm sentimental like that, I will miss the people because people are what makes a place, and I'll miss my routine- until I make a new one.  This is a good exercise for me to focus on what is really important, and when it comes to that, I am all set!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Breaking Our Silence

We have undergone a bit of blog and facebook silence because we decided to go ahead and list our home as a short sale.  We weren't sure when/if/what we would tell people, but the fact of the matter is, this is part of our life too, and I would like it documented that I survived this ordeal.

We listed our home October 17th (I think?) and we got the offer Nov. 1st.  Yup- quick!  We hadn't made mention of listing our home because we figured it would take the usual FOREVER to sell, but we were wrong.  The offer came in, cash, from some investor and it's at the bank now.  That doesn't mean we're moving this week, or this month even, but probably by the first of the year.  This has all happened way faster than we imagined, but fast can be good too...like pulling off a band-aid.

The crazy parts of having your house on the market:
- keeping it clean at all times...with 3 kids...no, make that 3 boys!
-showing your house with a husband who works nights, a baby who naps 3x each day and 2 kiddos who nap too.  It was very interesting and often involved waking people up.
- signing papers across state lines. The offer came in right as I left town for a break so Ryan could sleep and the house could keep itself clean (kinda).
- getting WAY less for the house than what we bought it for.  Thank you Vegas market and stinky economic times.
-praying that we can play the jump-through-hoop-games right and get the short sale approved!

That's the reason for the silence.  I had zero time to blog between cleaning, fielding phone calls, and showing the house.  And now, I will have no time because I will be packing...or at least attempting to pack as my children will most likely be "helping" me.