Lessons Learned!

A few things I learned on our Montana vacation.

1 - Never give Augmentin to a child on a nearly empty stomach (especially if you're going to be in the car for a long time).

2 - If you don't follow the previous tip, never come between your husband and a package of wipes he's trying to open. It could be fatal.

3 - When it rains is Cardston, Alberta, it REALLY pours!

4 - If I ever strike it really rich, I'm going to buy my own island on Flathead Lake.

5 - Phil Jackson lives in the teeny tiny town of Lakeside, MT. Who knew?

6 - Flathead Lake is FREEZING!!

7 - Glacier National Park is still gorgeous even on a gloomy day!

8 - The border patrol people have absolutely no sense of humor. Seriously, don't even think about cracking any jokes.

9 - Much thanks to Colin for this lesson. Never approach the US-Canadian border on foot, especially with your hands in your pockets. And no, it does not matter how bad you have to use the restroom.

10 - My kids are amazing! We can survive over 12 hours in the car in one day. Whoa!

4th of July Weekend!

We had a great 4th of July weekend. That started with a family bbq. Everyone was in town so we were able to get a picture with all the boy cousins. As you can imagine, it's absolutely impossible to get a great picture with all these boys, so this is the best we've got. After dinner, we all had ice cream cones and the boys just loved it.

On Saturday, we decided against spending money to get into an overcrowded pool and had on own little pool party. For those of you who know James, you're probably pretty impressed with the fact that he's in the pool at all. Yep, we're making progress!

Pictures. . . YAY!!

I finally got the pictures from my camera onto the computer. It was a long process, but I can finally show you four months' worth of pictures. This post is kind of a jumble of some of my favorite pictures of the past little while. So you get to see Noah grow up to 4 months old (and James' crazy antics) in just one post. Lucky you!

The day we got home from the hospital. Try not to pay attention to me. I just had a baby two days before.

I love this picture! James gets a kick out of posing with Noah.

Just another one of the two brothers.

Apparently, James aspires to be a plumber. Hans can't leave tools around if he ever wants to see them again because James picks them up and puts them to work. If you look close you can see a wrench in his right hand.

Noah's blessing day. We never did get a great picture of him that day. So sad!

My three boys!

Easter egg hunt. James got into it a lot more than I thought he would. He picked up on the concept pretty quick and went crazy.

Showing off the spoils!

Just a great picture of Noah. In this picture, I think he really looks like Hans.

James apparently cannot be left alone with milk and Cheerios for any amount of time. Look close and you can see a drop of milk running down his forehead.

Just another cute one of my boys. Noah is about three months old in this picture. I can't believe how the time flies.

My little thumb sucker. I know it's not a great habit, but I think it's so darn cute!

This is one of the last pictures we took in our house. So sad! It's a rare moment to see James actually eating something, so enjoy it while you can.

This last weekend, we went to the Orem Summerfest. It's one of my favorite times of year and now that James is old enough to enjoy it, it's even better. He rode on this little roller coaster with his cousin, Brooklyn. This was at the start of the ride.

As the ride went on, he started acting funny. Each time he went around, he slumped down a little more and zoned out a little more. I couldn't decide if he was sick or falling asleep. Either way, he was just fine when he got off and eager to go on more rides.

The car ride was a huge hit. The carnival was a blast and we'll definitely have to make it a tradition.

Our House!

So sad! We're leaving it for good this weekend. I never anticipated forming such an emotional attachment to our house, but it almost makes me cry thinking about leaving it in the hands of someone else. As much as I complained about how it was so small, I'm going to miss it like crazy. We've lived here for over three years, almost as long as we've been married. We brought both our boys home to this house and we put a ton of work into to make it how we like it.

Someday we'll drive by and show our kids the first house we lived in. They'll wonder how we lived with two kids in something so small, Hans will complain about how the owners have the the lawn go and I might shed a few tears. We will miss this house, but it's time to move on.

Spillproof?

Whoever invented the "spillproof" sippy cup never met James.

Harness Giveaway

I was reading a friend's blog and she had posted a link to this blog. I was so excited, I just had to share. Ok, really I just get an extra entry if I post about it on my blog and I REALLY want it! They call it a 2-in-1 harness, but it's pretty much a leash. But hey, if it keeps James close and away from kidnappers and cars, then I consider it totally humane. Love it. Go here for the giveaway.

House Update!

I've had so many people ask me about what happened with this house, so I thought I should post a quick update. Well, here is a picture of the house. So cute, huh? I love it.

So, on Monday, we got word from the seller that they would be sending us a counter offer. I was so nervous because I knew we couldn't go any higher than our original offer. About an hour later, our realtor received the offer and gave us a call. All they wanted was to be able to take the fridge with them. I was so relieved! We ran right over to the office and signed the counter offer right away. But all is not well quite yet. This is a short sale, so the bank still has to approve everything and that could take months, if they even approve it at all. We're preparing ourselves for a long wait, but hopefully it won't take too long.

Up to this point, we feel so lucky. I feel like everything has gone so much smoother than I could have ever hoped. When we looked at the house on Saturday, we knew that there were three other offers already going in, so I felt like it was such a long shot. I just knew I was setting myself up for a huge letdown, but I loved the house so much, I felt like we at least needed to try. It turns out that there ended up being a total of six offers and ours is the only one the seller is even presenting to the bank. I couldn't be happier with the way things are going and we're just praying that this isn't too good to be true. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Crazy Monday!

It is 7:15 am and the craziness is about to begin. I've already been up for and hour feeding and changing two boys and, judging by the noise Noah just made in his pants, I'm going to have to change him again as soon as I'm done here.

First of all, our house is under contract (WOOHOO). After a few arguments, quite a few tears, and several counter offers, we finally have a signed contract. The inspector came through on Friday and the appraiser came through on Saturday. We have yet to hear about either. We were quite nervous about both of those going smoothly and the house appraising for the purchase price, so we are anxious to hear.

On Saturday, we went hunting for our new house. Well, we found it! The problem is there are three other people who also believe that it is their new house. So, we wrote up an offer and it will be going in this morning along with at least three other offers. Before we can put it in we have to get pre-qualification letters from two lenders.

So, to sum it up. Today we will talk to two lenders, go pick up pre-qualification letters from both, deliver them to our realtor, get the offer into the bank, find out about the inspection and appraisal on our house and hopefully hear something back from the bank late this evening. Oh yeah, and I have to go to the grocery store today (free mission tortillas from Albertson's). Wish us luck!

Oh James!

Yesterday, we discovered that Noah has an ear infection. So sad! It kills me to hear my babies screaming in pain. So, once again, we have a bottle of pink amoxicillin in the fridge. James has only had to have it once and it was awhile ago, but he still remembers how much he loves it. Every time I give Noah a dose, James freaks out.

Last night, James was in the kitchen by himself for a few minutes while I was feeding Noah. When I walked in I discovered that James is a little too smart for me to handle. He had opened the fridge and had taken out the amoxicillin. Then he reached up on the counter and grabbed the syringe I had just used to give Noah the medicine. Then he opened the silverware drawer, found a sharp knife and was using it to try to open the bottle of medicine. What am I going to do with him?

Outing

I've always heard crazy stories from mothers, mostly my own, about how hard normal everyday things are with kids. I always got a pretty good kick out of them until yesterday. I realized that those stories are not just stories anymore. They are my life.

Of course the grocery store is always difficult. At Macey's, they have these huge carts with a car on the front and those are wonderful. James sits in there the whole time, pretends like he's driving, and doesn't make a peep. Sometimes, I forget I have two kids. However, Albertson's is not so wonderful. I usually go to Albertson's a few times a week to take advantage of great deals, but boy, is it rough. Noah sits in his seat quiet as can be, but James is a different story. If he's walking around he is either begging to be held or ripping things off the shelves. If I put him in the cart, he tries to rip open all the packages of the things I'm buying. It's a lose-lose.

Yesterday, I thought I would be brave and go to the mall on my own to try to find something for us to wear to Marissa's wedding this weekend. I love my double stroller, but it sure can be difficult in the mall, especially when none of the handicap buttons by the doors work. I was feeling pretty accomplished after finding some new khaki pants for 5 bucks at Children's Place for James. Then I moved on to find something for myself. I walked into a store, found what I was looking for and made my way back to the dressing rooms (so difficult with a double wide stroller). I had to stop a few times on the way to pick up the clothes that James had ripped off the racks. While in the dressing room, James opens the door over and over and over again (he has a strange obsession with doors). I finally got him to quit that and he started crawling underneath the door. So here I am, half naked, dragging James back into the dressing room by his foot. Needless to say, the shopping trip wasn't near as productive as I had hoped it would be.

I got home and crashed on the couch, completely exhausted. Then I got to thinking. What on earth am I going to do when Noah can walk? That's a scary thought!

Bragging Rights!

You'll have to excuse me, but I feel the need to brag for just a minute. I get a little excited about grocery shopping these days and I want the whole world to know what kind of deals I'm getting.

#1 - Yesterday, I went to Wal-Mart and came out with 7 bags of groceries and only paid $17 (down from $49 before coupons). That included Kraft salad dressing for $.08, Duncan Hines cake mix for $.61 and McCormick seasoning packets for FREE!

#2 - I also hit up Albertson's in the afternoon. After buying six boxes of Raisin Bran, the store actually owed me $0.57. That's right! They paid me to take home a bunch of Raisin Bran.

#3 - Today, I went to another Albertson's and spent a total of $6.78. I walked away with 6 3-packs of Treetop juice boxes, 6 boxes of Ronzoni SmartTaste pasta (the good stuff), and 3 boxes of Red Baron French Bread Pizza. Can you believe it? I actually had to do that in few different transactions, but for one of my transactions, I only paid 9 cents!

I'm still in awe at how incredible this is and I still feel like I'm doing something illegal. It kind of does feel like a full time job, but hey, it's worth it.

Technical Difficulties!

Ok, so I'm a bad blogger, but I have a good excuse. Our computer was in the shop once again (fyi, if you ever buy a mac, be sure to buy the protection plan). Also, our camera is still having issues. It still takes great pictures, but I can't load our pictures onto the computer for some reason. I've been putting off posting because who wants a post with no pictures? Well, it's been long enough and it's time for an update with or without pictures.

My boys are both getting big and gearing up for the summer. James has an obsession with the great outdoors and throws a major tantrum every time he is forced to come inside. He just figured out the childproof door handle in nursery and spends most of the time letting the other kids out. Can you tell that he is Hans' kid? He also loves his little brother to pieces, sometimes a little too much.

According to the pediatrician, Noah is tall and skinny. He just started smiling about a week ago and can't get enough of it. We're counting our blessings that we've made it into the spring without him getting sick. We were quite paranoid. We blessed him on March 29 and it was an incredible day. We were surrounded by lots of friends and family and the experience was just amazing.

Hans is as busy as ever. He's doing a lot of little projects on the house because it is officially on the market. We're hopeful that we'll be able to sell in the next month or two so we can move into a house that fits us a little better.

I spend my days chasing James around, cleaning up his messes and feeding Noah. I recently picked up couponing (I don't think that's really a word). You can make fun of me if you want, but it's actually kind of a rush to spend 50 cents on 6 boxes of cereal or getting free cough drops. Not to mention all the money we're saving. It actually keeps me pretty darn busy.

So there you have it, a complete update on our lives. Boring, I know. But we're loving it and we couldn't be happier. Oh yeah, and it's snowing outside. A lot! Bummer!