Saturday Visit

I know in my post earlier that I mentioned we were going up to Avry's in Syracuse. We went up late afternoon and Justin was able to help Marsh replace the battery and fix some wiring in the Focus. THANK YOU!

It was fun to visit and let the boys run wild. Chandler was super excited to play with his cousins and was especially excited to see Maeli. We had a great visit, and had a super good dinner. Avry and I got a little carried away with the cameras and I won't post some of the pictures on behalf of both our sakes, lol. But here are a few pictures from the day.

I can't remember the name of this game, but all of the kids were playing it when we got there.

Marsh & Justin

Avry & me

I told Chan he could have a brownie if he smiled for the camera.  This is what I got :)

Maeli & Rowan

Chan enjoying his bribery brownie

Fun Facts - March

Chandler

*Can't get enough of the Wii and wants to play it all the time.  This boy loves video games in general.

*Has started taking naps again here and there...yay!

*Is getting really picky about food.  Getting him to eat is a constant struggle.  He does like hard boiled eggs a lot right now.  Oh and chocolate milk.  I think chocolate milk is a staple.

*Favorite movie right now is Bolt.

*Has picked up on our nicknames for Rowan.  We call him Bubba and Rowan Bagowan.  Chandler has started calling him Bubba and Bagowan.  In fact, the other day when he heard Rowan wake up from his nap he said:  "Mama - Bubba's awake."  

*Thinks there is a monster under his bed and gets pretty scared sometimes.  We asked him what kind of monster and he said: "The BIGGEST Polar Bear ever is under there!"  I think he's starting to believe us that there is nothing under his bed.

*Is constantly asking to go play outside.  Maybe if the weather would just cooperate and the snow would go away, we could play outside more.

*Peed in the potty for the very 1st time a few weeks ago!  Hopefully this will spark more interest.

*Loves to do puzzle books.

Rowan

*Does this cute little thing with his lips, I finally caught it from the side in the picture above.

*Has been sick on and off again all month.  Just when I think it will end....it doesn't.  

*Is becoming even more obsessed with my hair.  As soon as his paci goes in his mouth, he reaches for my hair.  If I'm not holding him, he reaches for his own. He's mastered putting his own paci in, it just isn't always right side up :)
*Loves to shut drawers, cabinets, and drawers.

*He is a monster eater when he is feeling good.  For example, one day last week at breakfast he had a yogurt, 3 eggs, a bunch of grapes and half a sippy of chocolate milk.  I don't know where it goes.  Then I will put him down and he will see if there is any food on the floor to eat?  He also can reach up to the edge of the table and will pull food and drinks off.  Marshall started keeping a sippy on the edge of the table so Rowan can get it when he is thirsty.

*Is really intrigued by animals.  We went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point this last week and he couldn't get enough of the animals.  He was mesmerized.

*His hair grows in a funny pattern.  The top sticks straight up and the back gets long quickly.  On the sides it doesn't really grow and isn't that thick.  Looks a bit like a mullet sometimes. :)

*Goes down for naps and to bed really easily.  You can just lay him down and he'll go to sleep.  

The Best Day Ever

Marshall took the day off work today.  We spent lots of time together as a family and did lots of fun things.........

Ok, so not really.

Lots of sarcasm intended in the title of my post today.  Marshall did take the day off work but not to do lots of fun things.  It all started last night with a super busy shift in the ER.  It was my first day on my own and of course we had a HUGE rush.  I was more than exhausted when I started heading home at 4 am.  At around 90th south, (just south of Salt Lake,) the focus started going nuts.  It has been having a few electrical problems, but nothing we thought too much of.  The speedometer was going back and forth from 140 to 0, and the car shut off and then started again.  I was more than panicking as I was on I-15.  Even though it was just after 4 in the morning, there was still some traffic.  I was in the left lane so I tried to get over to the left shoulder.  Feeling TONS of anxiety and very disoriented, I wasn't sure if I was out of the toll lane. My emergency lights weren't working and the car wouldn't start.  I called 911 and they told me to buckle up just in case a car hit me from behind.  Ok...thanks, I'll brace myself for it?  Are you kidding me???  Like that didn't make me panic any more.  The dispatcher also told me she would send an officer.  I sat there, freaking out, not sure what to do, and hating the fact that we have a black car that wasn't easy to see as it was still dark.  I called Marshall and started bawling on the phone.  I was more than an emotional wreck. Woman hormones and lack of sleep don't mix.  He wasn't sure what to do since we took our Blazer in a few days ago to get a few things fixed and all we had was the truck.  He ended up deciding to get the boys out of bed and we would all try to squeeze in our 3 person truck.

The officer finally showed up and I lost it even more.

He comes up to the window and says,

"What happened?"

"Snort......sob....snort.....sob.....my car won't start....snort."

Have you ever cried so hard that you can't talk and when you breathe in it ends up just being a big snort?  Me, right there.  He couldn't understand me and told me to calm down.  Of course that made me cry and snort harder.  I'm sure I was quite the sight.

I went and sat in the back of his patrol car while we waited for the tow truck to come.  We then went to meet Marshall.  

After a few hours of sleep this morning, a neighbor agreed to watch the boys while we went to pick up the blazer and get the car out of the tow yard.  Of course the tow man wanted $200 in cash,  (So much for working last night.) and come to find out our insurance only covers $50 of that.  Whoop de doo.  It looks like the battery is really corroded and ate through some of the wires.  Super frustrating considering we paid $400 for a tune up a few weeks ago and the place that did it said nothing about our battery, just cleaned it.  More like they probably poured a bottle of coke on it and charged us $40 to do it.  

So we spent the day chasing about and I'm still not running on a lot of sleep.  My brother in law knows a lot about cars and has mechanic experience, so we are headed up to Avry and Justin's on Saturday to see if we can get it figured out with spending $500+.  Somehow I think our cars conspired and thought I got a job to pay for car repairs.  We have vowed the next time we buy a vehicle it will be a Toyota or Honda, something dependable.  Sure, things could always be worse, but I'm entitled to complain and vent, right? End of my rant, end of the day.  Let's hope tomorrow is better. 

Firehouse Field Trip

Once a month, both the preschool playgroups in our ward get together and go on a field trip. This month it was to go to the firehouse. Chandler LOVED it. He has a fire truck/fireman he plays with and of course has seen them on tv, but I think it was fun for him to see it up close.

Getting outfitted in a fire hat

A little big?

Chan and most of the kids, I think we are missing a few

Sitting in the firetruck

Proudly modeling his fire hat/badge

Sharing

Yesterday, the boys were eating lunch and I had to run downstairs to do something. (Yes they were still in their pajamas, that's what happens after working 3 days in a row.) I came back upstairs and Chandler had pulled the step stool right up next to Rowan. He was giving him some of his food and making sure Rowan got a drink when he wanted one. They had some ice cream after lunch, and the same thing. Chandler sat on the step stool and shared with Rowan. I have no idea why, but it was one of those moments for me where I just sat and watched my boys and thought about things. (Maybe it was due to the fact that Chan was being nice to Rowan and not picking on him ;) ) Before I know it, they will be grown up, and even though it's years and years away, I'm sure it will come fast. For now, I'll try to soak in these moments and my two sweet boys.

Warm Enough

We've had snow for a few days this last week and today was finally nice enough to go out! We've all had cabin fever and I am dying for some warm weather. Sara, Carson, & Jonas came over for a playdate and the boys all played outside. Good times :)

Little Man

Isn't he just adorable?

Taxes

We totally looked forward to filing our taxes this year.  It could be because Marshall didn't really work much the first half of the year, and I was on maternity leave for 3 of those months too.  It could also be because of the first time homebuyers tax credit, or the fact that Rowan was born last year.  All combined, it was nice to get a big return this year.  Some of it went to some not so fun stuff - Chandler's dentist appointment and car repairs.  We did a few fun things though.

#1 - A new camera!!

We bought a Sony Cybershot 3 years ago.  I loved the camera.  If you remember, the lcd screen got smashed under my parent's couch.  Then we got a Canon A590.  Although this little camera has great reviews, I didn't love it.  Thought the pictures weren't that great and it felt a little bulky.  Plus it took AA batteries and the batteries would die after about 25 pictures - no matter what kind of batteries.

So I decided on a Sony Cybershot again, the DSC-W120 model.  It came in the mail yesterday, and I am LOVING  it.  I do have to get a new memory card though as the one from my old cybershot doesn't fit.  One of my favorite features is that it has a smile detector.  It waits until the person smiles and then snaps the picture.  SOOOO nice to have with kids.

#2 - New Carseats!

I have had my eye on the Graco Nautilus since it came out last year.  It's a front facing car seat from 20-100 lbs.  The awesome part is that the five point harness works from 20-65 lbs.  Most front facing car seats only have the harness up to 40 lbs.  The car seat then converts to a high back booster, and finally to a backless booster.  These will be the last car seats we have to buy for either of the boys.  We decided to get both the boys the same seat.  They are made with memory foam and seem super comfy.  So far they've worked great!

#3 - The Blazer

We found an awesome deal on a 2001 Chevy Blazer.  It has pretty low miles and was really cheap.  It'll be nice to have 2 cars that will fit all of us, and use the Focus for commuting.  We are going to try to sell our truck since it doesn't really make sense to have it.  All in all, Uncle Sam was pretty good to us this tax season :)

Back to Work

The last few months I've been looking for a part time job.  With the way the economy has been Marsh and I have just been feeling like we really need to build our savings, food storage, and pay off our student loans as soon as we can. I started looking in December and have applied countless places. I've had a few interviews and finally got a offered a job as a Health Unit Coordinator in the ER at the LDS hospital in Salt Lake. Luckily it's going to work out perfectly as it's only 2 nights a week and I'll be off by 4 am. Enough time to get home and get 2 hours of sleep before the boys wake up.  Plus it means no daycare since Marsh will be home with the boys.  That was definitely an issue for me.  I wasn't willing to give up my days with my boys.  It will be about a 45 minute commute, but the pay is good enough that it's worth it. I started the hospital orientation today and start my actual job orientation on Friday night. I'm excited but a little apprehensive. Coming from working in the Mom Baby Unit in Rexburg to an ER in Salt Lake will be a little bit of a change....ok maybe a lot.  Bring it on.