Getting Settled

No house tour yet, sorry people.  Although, I have to say this place looks much better with our furniture than the last people's.  I'm probably biased.  I do have things workable, a couple boxes in the corner of each room and all the things I need out.  Unpacking is so tedious.  Today I threw a bunch of stuff away since that was easier than trying to find a spot for it.  And working on it with two needy kids and a missing husband,  right now shopping and having sushi in San Francisco, is going to take longer than expected. (I don't ever remember being jealous of Brian, but this week I am).  Thinking back, we unpacked in the condo after one day, we were so excited, not that we aren't now.  The kids do well out in the yard on their own for an hour or so, but they are much more content when I'm out there with them. Right now I'm using otter pops to buy time. And this:

We have been enjoying our close proximity to EVERYTHING. When the kids and I need a break we find out about the neighborhood, shops, playgrounds. Today we walked to his future elementary school, a rigorous 3 blocks.

She doesn't need a toy stroller.

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He also visited his pre-school and met his teacher. He's finally excited.  He used to be so scared. All it took was going to a pre-school open house in Sandy a few months ago. The sand table had him hooked. Luckily Miss Sabrina's class room, with an under water theme, had a sand table too.

It's a really good school that our realtor recommended as the best in town and they magically got a space for him a couple of weeks ago. It will be a class of 10 boys, good luck teacher.  Eli will help, he's going to be a hall monitor someday, I know it. In primary he tells kids to stop this or that if he knows its against the rules.  Miss Sabrina even said he could bring Mousie to school.  But the spot she gave Mousie to sit wasn't secure enough, so he'll keep him in his backpack in his cubbie.

During Esme's nap Eli and I were together instead of me sticking a movie in so I could get boxes emptied. We hung laundry and laid in the hammock literally watching it dry. A nice quiet moment. I kept thinking, this must be heaven.

A Few Firsts

It has been an eventful couple of weeks.  Getting a house, visiting a new place, and a few other things. Definitely the most firsts for Esme. To start out with, her first time on kid rides. We had to do something fun the last day before Shannon, Curt's mom, went back to work after a carefree summer, so we took the kids to Jungle Jim's, like an indoor carnival.  Esme was so adventurous! She begged to go on rides and even went by herself which I was still trying to coax Eli into. She even preferred to sit with Curt over her brother.  For some reason they didn't fight over the steering wheel the way siblings do and she liked his crazy driving and crashes.  When Eli rode with him he would chew Curt out when he got jolted and Esme just laughed.

Looks like a date to me

Must've been her favorite, judging by the expression.
For some reason my kids have blank stares on rides and get off smiling and saying how fun it was. 

It might've been Mousie's first carnival ride
too, Eli would want this recorded.  His obsession
with that mangy thing just keeps getting worse.

And Eli gave his first talk in Primary his last day there before we move. He did so well, not as shy as I thought and did better than our practice runs. I had to keep reminding him that even though I was whispering, he had to talk louder. 

Oh, and on the same day Esme looked so cute (not a first for her), I couldn't resist a photo shoot.

And, this past weekend we joined Brian for one of his martial arts trips. A summer camp in Aspen.  I realized he leaves us 4 times between April and October just for martial arts, not to mention regular work conferences.  He goes places like, San Diego, Aspen, Sun Valley, Idaho, Whitefish Montana, Arizona, and we've never gone since driving that far is a nightmare, we just sit around bored waiting for him to finish, and hotels are pricey.  But now that he's "regional examiner" his expenses are paid and Aspen's not too far.

During our long wait for it to be over I ventured into Aspen by myself and it was my first time there, or even in Colorado. Luckily it was a small town and the road practically led us downtown, where there was a playground and farmer's market going on, besides the snooty people shops.  Hopefully Brian was proud, all I bought were these irresistible pastries and some awesome red shoes for Esme at a second hand kids shop.

I think she knew how many calories were involved,
couldn't get her to take more than a couple of bites.


So I found a diner and we had ice cream for dinner.  She wouldn't eat any until I called the pink ice cream "strawberries" and she opened up.  Maybe I should start calling fattening food things like "cabbage" "green beans" or "salad" hmmm....

It's a hard life trying to gain weight. 

Anyway, it was a nice trip. Definitely easier to stay home, but good to see where Brian's going all the time.

As for the last "first". We came home from that trip and the next day went to get the keys  for our first house. So exciting. It is now 11:30 at night and Brian just finished painting two rooms. I'm not too picky, but the peach/cantaloupe color in Esme's room had to go.  Well, the first thing I did was tear out the carpet to reveal some decent hard wood. 

As soon as we got in yesterday they ran straight for the sand box in the back yard, already full of toys to play with. First time playing in their own back yard.

Pretty significant, I'd say.

6 Years

Last Saturday was our anniversary. We're getting so practical now that we're old timers. No more hundreds of dollars dropped at a fancy spa. Last year was mini golf and Italian food in town. And this year my great visiting teacher (who LOVES kids and was surprised we weren't staying out long enough for her to have to put the kids to bed!) watched Eli and Esme.  We went up to Solitude for a hike and dinner at a nice restaurant there.  If you hike up the mountain and find where the chairlift ends, then you can ride it down for free.

Not sure how he mustered a smile, must've been after we figured
out how to pull the bar over our laps.

I even learned something new about Brian.  He's scared of heights!  Just like the old man!  I called him Frank the whole way down.  The only other time I've ever seen him scared was in Switzerland driving a one-lane road (where you have to honk before you go around a turn) on the side of a cliff in the heaviest fog I've ever seen.  In this not so equally dangerous situation he sat down, put his hand behind my back and froze. So I had to be the one figuring out his fancy phone for this unflattering picture.

I guess we won't be skiing, since I'm too scared of the steep hills and speed and he's terrified of the chairlift.

Summer Fun-More house pictures added

A little milk to wash down the chocolate ice cream cone

Crazy lady at the Provo Farmer's Market had bunny cages strapped to the top of her 1980's Civic,
even crazier, she was trying to sell un-weaned bunnies that needed to be bottle fed every 3 hours.

Rockport Reservoir

These hot days are filled with many trips to the pool, ice cream cones, playground visits, farmer's markets, and fishing trips while we anticipate moving into our new (old) house.

And, for the first time since becoming a mother, I let us stay up late and venture out to see fireworks instead of going to bed at 10 and cursing the noise outside.  I thought I'd start our new tradition early and go to the Sugarhouse fireworks.  It was perfect weather, Eli loved rolling down the grassy hills and playing at the playground while we waited for the show to start and neither kid melted down out of exhaustion or minded the noise.

Yesterday was the house inspection and despite some problems (you know, roof, plumbing, electrical), Brian says we can still take it. Don't worry about us parents, namely Suzanne and Frank. Buying an old house sure makes me appreciate past renting days and our newish condo.  But I'm totally convinced it will be worth it. I forgot to take pictures, but I'll try and find some on Brian's phone from our last walk-through on that rainy father's day.  He couldn't zoom out to include more of the room, so I'd been waiting to get some better ones, but here are some.

I love blue, I love aspens, and the neighbors are so nice.

Besides the house's location, this yard is the main reason we're buying it.

Eli coming back from petting bunnies.  Along with a big back patio,
there's this area for eating outside, complete with perennial herb garden.

Right when you come in the front door, we'll have to squeeze a seating
area in here too since they are using a bedroom as a living room.

Half of the good kitchen, maybe a new Ikea kitchen some day, but for now I'm happy.

Eli's future room in basement, complete with built in desk and book shelves.

And I went last Thursday for a sewer-line inspection that the inspector recommended. The owner was there and she told me about the garden she added with fruit bushes (elder berry, currant, raspberry), fruit trees (fuji and honey crisp apple, pear, peach, apricot, and plum that haven't been fruiting)  and that there have only been 4 owners since it was built 65 years ago. The first owners must've stayed for 40 of them, since some people knocked a couple years ago and said it was their grandma's house and wanted to see where they grew up.  By some strange coincidence our realtor helped his client buy it back in the 90's, one person after them, and the current owners. We've promised Eli bunnies and they're leaving the chicken coop.

When we went that rainy day we were trying to decide which of two houses to place an offer on. I had found this one in March, right after it was listed and had loved it since, but we weren't ready with the down payment then. Luckily it was still around in June. Brian liked another one better. It had a lifetime aluminum roof, was bigger, sizeable yard with garden box and play set (but zero shade) and was 3 houses from the elementary school. We were standing there in the rain and I was almost teary saying goodbye since I knew Brian liked the other house better and I was okay with it.  He took a walk out by the raspberry bushes (maybe his favorite thing to eat) and stood a while thinking.  He realized that this yard would make more of an immediate impact on our lives than a couple hundred more square feet and a formal dining room.  It would've taken 5-10 years to get the garden the other house had, besides the gigantic shade trees on the West side of the yard.  And so, he agreed. Can't wait. Every day we talk about our new house. But the owners one request was for a closing date at the end of August. Which is good because it gets us 6 more weeks to find renters.

For Rent

We knew we wanted to move to town at some point for Brian to be closer to work, possible martial arts students, better schools for Eli, and I'm intense about being walking distance to basic necessities. Prices are good and interest rates are low.  We've found a house and should have a signed contract this week. The only problem is we bought our condo at the market high in the summer of 2007 and can't sell.  I've seen neighbors trying to sell for literally years, but these condos do rent quickly.  So we're going for it. Yikes.

I'm kind of glad we don't have to sell.  I love this place.  Coming from our student basement apartment (in which we were perfectly content, but was too far from work) it felt like a mansion.  I remember being in awe of the walk-in closets, jetted tub, vaulted ceiling. I told our realtor we'd never move.

Scrawny Pants

Cystic Fibrosis sweat test in May.
I felt like a slave driver making her climb stairs. 

Well, she doesn't look skinny in two outfits covered with two snow suits.  Yesterday she was weighed, 17lb 5 oz at 19 1/2 months. Her first time slowing from her own growth curve that I noticed to be 1 pound/quarter.  Her blood and sweat tests all came back normal.  So I figured we were free and clear.  After the results came back our doctor said she wants her to go to all the specialists (pediatric dietitian, gastroenterologist, and endocrinologist) again, even though they went over her test results and said they think she's fine. I put my foot down, canceled the appointment for the dietitian and decided I was done with her ideas.  If there was no underlying condition causing her skinniness and she is thriving the way she is (full of energy, growing taller, above developmental milestones for her age) why do we have to force her on to the growth curve of anglo, formula-fed babies?

Brian got a second opinion from one of the many martial arts parents that is a doctor. She said that between the ages of 1 and 2 is a crucial time of development for the brain, especially the white matter which is largely made from lipids. This made more sense to me. My doctor has never said why she's so concerned with her weight and I've never asked why, assuming she just wants her to gain weight to gain weight. So yesterday I kind of apologized to her for my little fit and agreed to take her to the dietitian, wrangle her down twice a day to administer some antihistamine that hopefully will have the side effect of increased appetite after a couple of months, and count every calorie that goes in her mouth.  Thank goodness for the kitchen scale.

Deep down, I really think there's nothing wrong with Esme. I keep remembering a medical study I heard about where the doctor would ask the mother if she thought there was something wrong with her child and 96% of the time the mom was right.  But I can't base her care on my opinions, and what kind of mother would I be if I wasn't trying my hardest.

220 calorie lunch today. Pretty good. All rules have gone out the door.  She doesn't have to eat what we eat, she doesn't have to be in her seat, and she can eat off of our plates.  She starts out in her seat.  Gets down after a few bites, and I follow her around with bites.  I hide all vegetables until she's done eating, or she'll just whine for our salad. She basically eats carbs (rice, noodles, bread) dripping with butter, eggs smothered in cheese, and the cream from the top of the whole milk yogurt. She's been bad about drinking until this week I realized she will drink milk almost endlessly if she has her own big girl cup. It's scary to watch, mainly because spills mess up my measurements. Sometimes I think if her and I could just switch bodies for a couple weeks.  I would get nice and skinny, she would get plump... and this place would be a mad house.  After this paragraph I think I might actually be going crazy.

Boys

As the mother of a boy, I had to say I was a little offended when I first heard that nursery rhyme saying that boys are made "of frogs and snails and puppy dog tails" while girls are made of "sugar spice and everything nice."  Lately I'm starting to think it's true.  Whenever he encounters a bug, it must be killed. If it's at home he runs for his kid butter knife and I can hear him saying things like "I'm going to chop you up and throw you away."  And we all love how many words Esme can say. She parrots back anything you tell her to.  Eli's favorite?  "Esme, say poo poo."