Reasons?

Remember that little thing we did last month called moving? And remember how the reason we had to move was that the fellow who owns our condo wanted to move back in? And so we spent the better part of July praying for a place to live and driving all over the area looking for something and packing and moving? And most of August unpacking?

As it turns out, someone may not have been telling the whole truth.

Soon after we moved out Bryan took up the habit of driving by our old place to see if the owner had moved in yet. Up until last week it appeared that nothing was going on. And then on Thursday evening we saw something new.

A for rent sign.

Yup, the same place we were kicked out of to make room for the owner was now being offered for rent. The next day we found a listing for it on the same site we had originally seen it. The condo was listed for $50 more a month than we had been paying.

Bryan and I have been asking ourselves the following: did the owner want to move in originally, but then changed his mind? Did they tell us the story just to get us to leave so they could charge more for it? If more money was their goal, why didn't they come to us first? True, we didn't want to pay more, but raising our rent would have cost $600 more per year. Moving was more expensive than that.

We both feel slightly violated.

Sleep Eating

We don't ask the boys to clean their plates during meals. It's often not even a concern. Both boys are pretty good eaters. There are two exceptions: Sunday morning before church and dinner. Neither boy eats breakfast on Sunday. At least they don't eat much and what they do eat is consumed VERY SLOWLY. I have no idea why. The other exception is Cooper during our final meal of the day. I think he's just eaten so much during the other two meals that he doesn't have much room left.

While we don't demand that they eat everything, we do ask that they at least eat something. Hence this conversation from last Thursday night:

Peter: (Upon completing his dinner) Can I have an Otter Pop?

Me: Sure.

Cooper: Can I have an Otter Pop?

Me: Cooper you haven't eaten anything yet. You at least need to eat a carrot.

Cooper: Oh, I ate lots of carrots before I woke up.

Did you now?

Sartorial Agency

Peter has liked picking out his own clothes for a while. I usually give him some caveat like, "It's going to be hot today, so you need to wear shorts and a t-shirt" and then let him decide on the combination. Usually he's fine. Occasionally I'll tell him he can't wear all the same color (I grew up around gangs and can't break that cautionary habit) and have him change, but that's rare.

This week Cooper jumped on the pick-out-my-own-clothes bandwagon. I knew for a fact we weren't leaving the house that day since all three of us had colds and didn't want to share our germs, so I didn't even ask him to find a different shirt when he handed me all blue clothes. When I asked what he had picked out he said, "My flag shirt and my dolphin pants."

Oh, and winter mittens.

Peter decided to join him and both boys added snow boots to the mix (Peter wearing Bryan's and Cooper wearing Peter's), because nothing says we're enjoying the last month of summer like build imaginary snowmen in the middle of your bedroom. Which is what they did.

Clean Up, Clean Up

Cooper loves to clean. This is a good thing...usually. Sometimes, however, it means that he creates messes just so he can clean them up.

Case in point:


Here's the rest of the mess.


It wouldn't have been so bad if he really had just dumped them out and picked them all up. But he didn't. He started cleaning, and then dumped them out again. Twice. I insisted that since he made the mess he needed to clean it up. ( I don't do this with every mess, but he was fully capable of taking care of this one.) It took so long and Cooper was throwing such a tantrum over it that Peter came over and tried to clean up the mess. I thanked him for what he was doing but said that Cooper had to do it.

He finally did, and clapped proudly for himself when he was finished, adding a self-congratulatory, "Good job!" It was cute, but would have been cuter if it hadn't taken thirty minutes to get to that point.

Home Sweet Home

Something very exciting happened yesterday. No, we didn't have a baby, something else.

I unpacked the last box.

Well, excluding the office, I unpacked the last box. Bryan's brother has been staying with us for a few weeks and most of his stuff is in the office, so Bryan is waiting until Spencer moves into his apartment for the school year before he moves into that room. However, all the other boxes are empty and flattened.

Cue sigh of relief.

Another big thing: we used our oven for the first time last night. It smoked, which was kind of exciting, but we determined that the smoke was the result of old food cooked onto the sides and it went away pretty quickly.

And we haven't seen any mice or their signs for a week and a half. We caught one in a trap a week ago Saturday, and we don't think they're necessarily gone for good, but at least we're able to use all but four of the drawers and one cupboard in the kitchen. (Those storage spaces need to have some holes filled before we can begin using them.) Someone bought the vacant condo beneath us, so maybe all the paint and remodeling they're doing is helping to drive away the furry critters.

It's almost like we live here.

Leader of the Pack

Sometimes it's a tricky thing having three oldest children living under one roof. Over the last nine years Bryan and I have learned to trade off being in charge, for the most part. But the struggle between Bryan and Peter...

I'm sure that Peter and I hassle over who is in charge. He does like to dictate how things will run, and I, well I don't take direction from my four-year-old with much grace. I often say the words, "You may not speak to me like that." But who am I kidding, I say that to Cooper too and he's not quite the Type A that the rest of us are.

Bryan and Peter, their conflict takes things to a whole new level. I sometimes feel like I'm watching two male lions fighting for supremacy of the herd. It's not violent, don't worry, but they both have iron wills so neither of them backs down very easily. Usually it involves Bryan asking Peter to do something (put away his toys, eat his dinner, find his shoes) and Peter wandering around doing everything except what he's been asked to do. Peter's common defense is, "Oh, I forgot." Bryan and I rarely buy it because Peter has a steel-trap memory and can recall ridiculously specific details that happened a year ago. Consequences are then doled out and Peter often throws a tantrum and yells that he won't have whatever is being handed down, timeout, loss of toys, etc. That reaction leads to more consequences and it goes on from there until one of them calms down or gives in.

I wonder what life will be like when Peter is a teenager and the same size (or taller) than Bryan. I remember my brother trying to wrestle my dad when he was annoyed with him and my dad always winning. Will Bryan and Peter battle over computer games?

Hunting Season

We went to Bryan's grandparents' house for Sunday dinner last night. Moments after we arrived home and pulled into the garage we heard someone knock on the front door. I was busy trying to extricate myself from the car (funny how I'm not so agile anymore) and open the doors for the boys, so Bryan went to see who it was.

It was a bounty hunter.

Seriously.

He wasn't looking for us. Some former tenant must be on the run because that's who this guy wanted. Apparently our visitor had a name tag on identifying his profession. And tattoos and a big gun.

Something similar went on within a month of moving into our last place. What happened in these condos before we took up residence here?

Please Listen to the Menu, Then Make Your Selection

I think most teachers work ridiculously hard. Anyone that thinks a teacher's job is cushy simply because they get a summer vacation must not know any teachers, or be related to any. I'm lucky enough to be related to quite a few. My mom (one of those teachers) posted this on her blog. I don't necessarily agree with what they say about languages at the end, but the rest of it is fairly awesome.



P.S. If you go to the YouTube channel directly, don't read the comments. Trust me.

Me Llamo...

We now have less than two weeks until Baby Sister is due to arrive. Notice how I capitalized Baby Sister? That's what we call her. Because she doesn't have a name yet.

Peter and Cooper didn't have names at this point in their development either. I am wildly jealous of people that have names picked out early on. Do you folks know how lucky you are? Bryan and I have some serious procrastination issues, but this is ridiculous.

In reality, we're not trying to put off picking out a name. We're also not battling over one name or another. We just have trouble thinking of names. Or liking names. My brother Isaac spent a solid twenty minutes suggesting every girl name he could think of. I liked one of them: Ruby. When I told Bryan, he made a funny face and said no. Bryan has been suggesting the name Zoe, particularly if she has red hair (which could totally happen, Bryan has a brother with red hair and a sister with almost red/strawberry blonde hair). It's too popular for me.

And so we call her Baby Sister.

Are you ready for the plea? Do any of you have suggestions for girl names? Suggestions you would be willing to share? Here are the things we're looking for: a two-syllable name with a good meaning that isn't too popular that sounds like it goes with Peter and Cooper.

Hmmm... perhaps our real problem is that we have to many requirements.

At this point, I'll take any suggestions.

Love and Marriage

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. I told Peter that yesterday and he couldn't remember the number. He kept asking about our 5th or our 1th (as in one-th) anniversary.

When I would say, "No, 9th. Daddy and I have been married for 9 years," he would ask,

"Why?"

Ummm... because that's how long we've been married. I have trouble answering those questions.

One thing that sets this anniversary apart from any of our others is that we recently reached a new milestone. We have now been married with children longer than we were married without children. Bryan and I were married for close to four and a half years before Peter was born, which is almost an eternity in Utah.

Happy 9th Anniversary Bryan!

Maybe next year we'll have enough energy to actually celebrate...

Foot In Mouth Disease

While I was pregnant with Peter, I was angry. Often. That was my go-to emotion. Usually it takes a lot to get me all riled-up, but wow, I remember being mad at the drop of a hat. I worried that this was a bad sign for the little baby I was growing, but for the most part, he's not a very angry kid.

With Cooper, I was weepy. Soooo weepy. I'm kind of a crier anyway (at things like commercials and stories I read in the Ensign) but during that forty weeks, I was extremely prone to tears. Again, I was concerned that my little boy would be excessively emotional. Actually, Peter's more of the crier and Cooper has more of a temper.

This time around, I have what I like to call "Foot in Mouth Disease." My personal filter is broken. I am usually amazingly tactful, but now? Words come out of my mouth that have no business even being in my brain. I've made people cry, including myself. My internal monologue has grown frighteningly public, and it's not a good thing.

I can't remember how long it took me to get back to normal after each of the boys, but I don't recall any crying binges after Cooper was born or any fits of anger after Peter joined us. Hopefully that means that I only have a few more weeks of saying whatever pops into my brain.

You know, I have held back a few times, but it's taken all of my large reserve of willpower to do so.

To anyone that has crossed my path in the last almost thirty-eight weeks, my deepest apologies. I hope to soon be back to the world of the tactful.

Security Item

Cooper has been having trouble sleeping. We do bedtime around 7, but he stays awake until 8, 9, or even 10. I'm growing concerned over his lack of sleep.

Last night when Bryan tried to say goodnight Cooper started his I'm-terrified-of-something cry. Bryan had been snuggling with both boys in Peter's bed and decided to leave Cooper lying next to the now sleeping Peter. Thirty minutes later I went to check on them and this is what I found.

Maybe Cooper just needed someone to cuddle.

Not Yet

It's bizarre to me that school has already started for some people. Not until I came to college did I have a first day of school in August. The thirteen years before that, school started in September.

Reading other blogs about kids starting kindergarten (in combination with the poem I posted yesterday) has made me realize that I'm glad Peter has a late birthday. While I'd like him to be able to start school with the other kids born in 2005, I'm glad that I have one more year to spend all day with him.

Selfish, eh?

Time Is of the Essence

I just saw this on a friend's blog (on her sidebar) and it really struck an emotional nerve. I'm still a little weepy over it. We could blame hormones, but honestly, I would have gotten all teary-eyed even if I weren't three weeks away from having a baby.

Now is the time to get things done...
wade in the water,
sit in the sun,
squish my toes in the mud by the door,
explore the world in a boy just four.

Now is the time to study books,
flowers, snails, how a cloud looks;
to ponder "up" where God sleeps nights,
why mosquitoes take such big bites.

Later they'll be time to sew and clean,
paint the hall that soft new green,
to make new drapes, refinish the floor-
Later on... when he's not just four.

-By Irene Foster

Thank you Christina!

Foodies

On Saturday we went to Costco and stocked up on foods that we could prepare in our rodent inhabited kitchen. As we stood in line at the check-out I looked at the boys and said, "Well, so much for your lifetimes of healthy eating." Bryan assured me that one week of eating this way wouldn't cause too much damage. I'm sure he's right, but boy, I'm glad this is not our normal diet.

See, we usually eat lots of fruits and vegetables, homemade wheat bread, meals that we've built from scratch, not scratched the plastic cover off of to heat up. Right now our freezer is full of Hot Pockets, Corn Dogs, frozen burritos, and (shudder) Totino's Pizza Rolls. We do have some fresh fruit hidden away in the fridge, but it's not nearly as much as we usually have sitting on the counter, ready to grab and eat.

I've discovered I don't really like junk food anymore. Potato chips do little for me. Corn dogs are adequate. Yeah, I'll still eat a brownie, but if I had my pick between a brownie and a piece of fruit, I would go for the fruit. I just feel better when I eat that way. I have more energy (and that's definitely something I can use these days) and I don't feel bogged down or greasy the way I do when we eat out or indulge in junk food.

And now, I really want a watermelon...

Whittling Down the To-Do List

We're getting closer to living in a clean, safe home. I think. As of yesterday afternoon (when the repairman paid us his second visit) we have:

• Hot water, which is truly glorious
• Functioning plugs in our tubs
• A tub faucet that can fill up the tub or be switched into shower-mode
• A working garbage disposal
• New, tight weather stripping around both the front door and the door leading to the garage
• Our own washer and dryer in the laundry room

We'll be seeing the maintenance man at least once more this week because he's bringing newly fashioned screens for some of our windows and picking up the old washer and dryer. It turns out they don't belong to the owner, a former tenant left them here at some point, so instead of paying to have them repaired the management company is chucking them.

Lucky thing, too. After the fellow carted the old appliances out (and brought ours up, which I think deserves major kudos) I went down and looked at the plug for the old dryer. The outlet fit our new dryer nicely, and I was curious because the fellow that removed it had said the plug on the old one was different. Apparently someone had decided to force a diagonally positioned three-pronged plug into a parallel positioned four-pronged plug. When I told Bryan about it he said it was a lucky thing the building hadn't burned down.

And some good news regarding our unwanted house guests: upon seeing how many traps we'd set up without catching anything (ten, I believe) and the volume of mouse droppings under our sink (yes, it is gross, thank you) the maintenance man called his supervisor and recommended they get an exterminator out here. Huzzah! He said the problem looked like it was more than one or two mice. My only concern is that whatever they put out for the mice be safe for small children and pregnant women to be around. We'll be hearing from the demousers sometime this week.

It's starting to feel like there might be a light at the end of this tunnel.

Honesty: The Best Policy?

Yesterday at church I was asked two questions over and over:

1. Are you ready to have this baby?
2. How is the move going?

I thought before answering either question and then replied in a way that none of my questioners were expecting.

Them: Are you ready to have this baby?

Me: (Smiling very sweetly) No.

And

Them: How is the move going?

Me: Well, we found mice. In the kitchen. So, the unpacking is on pause.

I often wonder if I should just give a general, non-committal kind of answer. A simple, "fine" or "okay" would placate most people. But see, I decided long ago that when someone asked me a question I would give them an honest answer.

Which has led to me saying some odd things.

Lots of people have been asking me recently, "How are you feeling?" It's a pretty standard, ask-the-pregnant-lady kind of question. Sometimes I say "tired". Other times I say I'm "okay". My current favorite (and most accurate) response is "round" as in "I'm feeling round". No one expects me to say this, which might be partially why I continue to use it. But really, I picked that word the first time because it was the most accurate description of how I was feeling.

And I'm not ready for the baby to come. Even though she could make her debut any day after Wednesday, I'd like her to stay in a while longer. With the current state of our house, she's much safer in than she is out. Also, I wonder if I should just say the move is "coming" or some other mildly evasive response. Does anyone besides us really care that we found mice? (The answer, as far as I can tell, is that some people don't care, but some people do.) And even if they do care, do they want to hear the saga while standing in the hallway at church?

I wonder, do other people give such bizarrely honest answers? Do they expect the standard "fine" when asking how someone is doing? Do people really want to know how those around them are feeling or what they're thinking?

Know this: if I ever ask you how you're doing, I'm not just asking to be polite, I really want to know.

Reading List

I'm in the middle of three books right now:

The Red Pyramid

Timeline


and Fablehaven, Book 5: Keys to the Demon Prison

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get off the computer and go read.

What are you reading?

P.S. While looking up pictures for the above books I found this. I know I'm not the only Percy Jackson fan, so I thought I should share.

Late Notice

I didn't write today's post last night for a handful of reasons:

1. When we turned on the stove to make dinner (for the first time since moving here) the smell of gas was so overwhelming it drove us out of the house for a solid two hours.
2. I had a Stake Young Women meeting.
3. We had a massive thunderstorm which caused the power (and the internet) to go out.

I've been too busy today to sit down and write, so I'm finally doing today's post when I normally would be writing tomorrow's post.

The storm was actually quite nice, aside from Peter being terrified of thunder. We slept with the windows open (only a few inches and with blockades so they couldn't be opened anymore) and by the time we woke up our house was lovely and cool. In fact, we haven't had the AC on at all today. It is much warmer now than it was when we woke up, but it's cooling off again.

We called the gas company and told them about the smell and the fact that our water heater won't stay lit. They sent someone out to check. The boys and I played outside while the fellow was here. Bryan's brother Spencer took one for the team and stayed inside with the man checking the gas. I mostly didn't want to blow up. Apparently we had air in the line (which was our theory) but it is now gone. The stove worked when he was here, but the water heater still wouldn't stay lit. Apparently the thermal couple is bad and needs to be replaced.

Better than a gas leak, eh?

Squeak, Squeak

So...we moved. We're totally out of the old place and all of our belongings are in the new place. Many of them are still in boxes as it is difficult to unpack when you are 36 weeks pregnant. There's another reason why many things are still in boxes.

We have mice.

Or a mouse.

I'm not pleased about either option.

We didn't notice evidence of their existence when we first looked at the apartment. However, when we came to do our write-down-all-the-damage-so-we-don't-get-charged-when-we-move-out walk-through, we found droppings. Bryan's mom was awesome and came and cleaned it all up so we could move in.

But we've found more.

We discovered tonight that the condo below us has been for sale and vacant for two years, so it's really not shocking that there's a vermin problem. But as not surprising as it is, it's still not particularly awesome.

Traps have been set and we're trying to be vigilant about cleaning up every crumb after every meal. We've paused in unpacking the kitchen though, which is bad because we're running out of food that can be prepared in the microwave and we're nervous about using the rest of the cooking appliances. Most of the dishes are still packed up. I decided that we would eat canned fruits and vegetables for dinner on Monday night, until I realized I had no idea where the can opener was.

Other exciting things about this new place:

• The dryer sounds like a Yeti and puffs smoke from the back when turned on
• The garbage disposal is rusted to the point that it won't move
• Our shower is stuck in the on position, which means no baths in the big tub
• The former item doesn't matter much because the pilot light won't stay lit on the hot water heater so we have little-to-no hot water
• We're missing screens in two windows and the sliding door, which is a problem because we try to keep the windows open and the AC off as much as possible

Those are the big things. We are thankful to not be homeless. We'd be even more thankful to be mouseless.

And to be able to use our whole house.

And have clean clothes.

And hot water.

Wow, high living standards really do put a damper on things sometimes, don't they?

Authentic Japanese Cusine?

We had sushi on Saturday night. I've been craving it my whole pregnancy and we don't exactly have a kitchen right now (I'll explain that in another post) and Peter heard us mention the possibility of sushi and latched onto the idea immediately.

I thought I would go and order a regular meal and not eat any of the delicious rolls. However, it turns out there are plenty of fully-cooked sushi (okay, not technically sushi) rolls. Man, it was good.

I was very proud of the boys. While we've gone to a sushi restaurant a handful of times, neither boy had ventured beyond their kid's-meal bento-box. But on Saturday, both boys tried a piece of a California roll and another one that I can't remember the name of. And only one boy spit any of it out!

Last night at dinner we ate left-overs. We brought home most of the California roll and Peter was eating a piece of it. That's when he told us the following story. Two things to keep in mind, he only went on Saturday and Bear is one of his invisible friends:

Peter: I had sushi on Saturday and on Tuesday. I went with Bear. They had sushi and taquitos there, which is WEIRD for a sushi place.

Yes Peter, it would be weird.

Forecast

Whoa, if that's the low, we really need to find somewhere else to be next Sunday.