Before and After

For those of you who have done home improvement projects know what I mean when I say "one project leads to another and another and so on." Several years ago my dad installed a toilet in the "kids' bathroom" that has a power flush - not unlike some of the commercial toilets in some public restrooms. Well, since the floor was going to be torn out anyway, he thought (with a little coercion from my mom and me) that another power flush toilet would go great in their bathroom. And, since he had the manpower to do it the same weekend, well why not? So, he did. My Dad and brother put together and installed the toilet while Adam worked on floors. One project lead to another.

I was able to sneak in throughout the day as Adam was working on the tile and snap some pictures. Some of the "before" pics aren't great, but you'll get the idea. Truly, it's the "after" pics that are the best!

BEFORE





DURING

Owen definitely couldn't be left out on the project happenings (of course), so he joined in on the fixing fun!







AFTER

The kids' bathroom:



The master bathroom:

This is the ugly rust colored carpet that went into the bathroom. Good riddance!!!!!

Homeward Bound

One benefit of coming from a large family is being able to split costs when it comes to presents. That's exactly what the 5 kids in our family did for my parents for their Christmas present. The five kids pitched in and bought my parents new flooring for the two upstairs bathrooms in their house. My parents have lived in their house for 29 years and some new improvements were long overdue. I've never understood why home builders put carpet in bathrooms, but that's exactly what they've had all this time. So, the perfect Christmas present was truly new floors for the bathrooms.

Flash forward a few months and that's exactly what is happening this weekend. Adam had today off of work. It was a lucky break we caught with it also being Easter weekend. Adam and I left our house yesterday and drove over to my parents house. The kids weren't so great in the car because they were over tired, especially Caroline. But, the important thing is we got here safe and sound. My brother, Scott, woke up at 4 am in order to drive over and help Adam.

I'll post pictures in a separate posting, which should be fun (for me anyway) to see the difference. I won't have any true before pictures because my Dad ripped out all of the carpet and padding beforehand. Thanks, Dad! That was a huge, nasty job, but such a time saver.

Gangsta Girl

There's really nothing to say about these pictures except for how dang cute she is!

Look Familiar?

I gave Caroline a bath the other day while Owen and Adam were out in the garage. She had a bath toy in her mouth and it reminded me of a similar picture I took of Owen when he was maybe a little bit younger, but approximately the same age. So, what's a mom to do? Yep, I ran and grabbed the camera in order to snap pictures. Now, every time I look at the one of Caroline, I can't help but to see the one of Owen in my head. Can you say deja vu?



Although they look different, they definitely look the same. Can you tell which is which?

Special Delivery for a Legacy

When we lived in SLC, Adam worked a second job to be able to purchase a project truck. He purchased a '66 Chevy pickup truck. Adam loved working on that truck and was sad when he sold it in order to go back to school. On one of our many trips down here, we would stop by my Grandparents house where there are (okay, were) about a dozen different vehicles. My Grandpa would go out and tinker on them in his spare time. After his stroke in 2003, he didn't do much tinkering anymore, which was hard for him.

When my Grandpa passed away in 2006, one of the things mentioned in his makeshift will was that '66 Chevy pickup truck. This pickup truck was left to me and Adam. Adam was thrilled to have a project truck again, and I was pleased that he had a project truck again. More importantly, I was pleased that it was a truck that belonged to my Grandpa. We are the second owners of this truck. No one else has owned this truck. After my mom and dad came back to the mainland from the first 2 years of medical school in Hawaii, this same truck moved all of their worldly belongings to SLC.

Adam has tinkered on the truck here and there. He got it running - more like smoking - and has really enjoyed working on it. But, because it has sat for some 20+ years, the engine needed to be rebuilt. I don't understand this logic, but to rebuild a motor is much more expensive than purchasing a brand new engine. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which way to go. Last Friday, the engine was delivered by FedEx Freight. Adam was like a kid in a candy store - couldn't wait to start working on it.

Do you think the truck was big enough?

Adam has promised me that once he gets the truck running, that it will help him got more projects done around the house for me. We'll see.......

Pictures. . . . At Last

Last Friday, I took the kids up to see my Grandmother (a.k.a. Grandma Great). As usual, it was a wonderful visit with her. There are too many opportunities left to visit with her as she will be 93 in August. Although she is in her "elderly years," she is still just as spry, mentally, as someone half her age. She can talk to you abou anything happening in the sports world; voices her opinion about the political world (wonder where I get it from); and lectures anyone who comes through the door. But, none of us go to visit Grandma without expecting some sort of lecture on one thing or another, or both!

I was exceptionally pleased with myself because I remembered to bring my camera and get some pictures. This is the first time, literally, since Caroline has been born that I have gotten pictures with Grandma and Caroline together. Grandma is definitely smitten with both of these kids, but is really enjoying Caroline.

In the pictures below, the kids are sitting at the same table that has fed thousands (literally) of meals, dozens of people, and now 4 generations. This is the same table that my grandparents ate from; my dad grew up eating from; I ate (and eat) from this table; and now, my children eat from this table. These pictures are really priceless to me because of the emotions it recalls while having them sit there. My grandmother still has the high chair from when her youngest child was Owen's age. All of her grandchildren, and most of her great-grandchildren have sat in the same highchair. I didn't get a picture of that chair, but I will, one day.




Grandma, we can't wait to come back and visit again!

Analyze This!

Part of the prerequisites that I have to take for the Nursing program is Psychology 101. I saw that on the list and I just about died. I HATE PSYCHOLOGY! It's boring, uninteresting, over analyzed, over questioned, over everything.

With that said, I am currently taking Psychology 101. I got my book on Tuesday after a huge mix-up between DHL Home Delivery and the USPS. I have barely managed to read the first 2 chapters. I'm dyin' here. The "mechanics" to psychology, which is what I've covered in the first 2 chapter, er excuse me - "modules" (I'll continue to say chapters...sounds less like psycho-bable). The next 2 chapters I'm really excited about. They are The Neural and Hormonal Systems and The Brain. That kind of thing I understand (keep your comments to yourselves, especially the hormonal ones - LOL).

Somehow I'll muddle through this course and be ever so grateful when it is over with and all is said and done. It's a good thing that I only have to take one psyche course. I now understand why when I signed up for the class while attending the junior college I promptly withdrew from it. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.

The Nerve of It All

When I was pregnant with Caroline, I would get these sharp shooting pains down my left leg. They would start at my lower back and go down to just about behind my knee. These pains would hurt severely and would come and go. One day they would be there and the next gone. I couldn't figure it out. I asked my OB what was going on and he said that it was probably my sciatic nerve that was causing the problem. He said a lot of the problem was because I was pregnant AND because I tended to carry Owen on that hip which would throw my back out of alignment. He suggested to have Adam carry Owen and if I had to carry him, to carry Owen on my right hip.

First of all, being right handed, that's just a little more than awkward for me. Second of all, being right handed that is not feasible as it's more than awkward for me. Third, well you get the idea.




Over the last few days, I've noticed this pain coming back (let me reassure you that I am NOT PREGNANT! I may look like it-which a whole other issue - but I am NOT!). I could be walking along just fine and the very next step I take with my left foot I get the same sharp shooting pain down my left leg. I called my Dad tonight to make sure it was the same thing that I was experiencing and he's pretty sure it is. This time the remedy would be take some Advil to alleviate the pain and possible swelling, put a piece of plywood under my side of the bed to allow my back muscles to relax, and don't carry Caroline or Owen on that hip. Excuse me?! I told my Dad that the next time she's crying I'll call him and have him tell her that mommy can't pick her up and carry her because of her back and that really it's all Caroline's fault anyway that I have to carry her.

How in the world am I suppose to get rid of this pain and have my back heal, all the while not being able to pick up or carry my daughter?

It's Just Keeps Coming

In this new found "freedom" of Caroline's, she has discovered a few things, that while harmless, are just one more thing to clean up after this kid.

Over the past 3 weeks or so, all of us have had a cold or some sort of illness that has required the use of several kleenexes a day, sometimes going through an entire box in a day. I was at the store the other day and grabbed a box for Adam that was the Puffs brand that had Vicks in them. They smelled wonderful and were soft too.

Flash forward about a week......I'm in my bathroom getting ready for the day. Adam and Owen are outside doing yard work. I hear this sound (the sound of kleenex coming out of the box), but in reality it's a background noise that doesn't really dawn on me to do anything about it. Then, I am hit with the wall of Vicks smell. Still doesn't really mean much to me. Until......BAM! Now, it has hit me. I peer around the corner and there is Little Miss Caroline enjoying herself with a BRAND NEW box of kleenex. She just can't seem to figure out how they just keep coming and coming and coming out of the box, when she just pulled one out. "How does this work?" she wonders as she keep pulling out one after the other.

In the meantime, I run to go get the camera and snap a few pictures. She entertained herself for few minutes until she pulled the very last tissue out of the box. Then she got mad and couldn't understand why there wasn't more where the previous 60 or so came from. I on the other hand was grateful it was over. Now for the clean up........

And She's Off....

Caroline has been toddling around the couch and chairs lately. I thought it was time for her to get the "wheels" that Owen used when he was learning how to walk. But, if I bring out the "wheels", Owen is for sure going to go after them and not want to give them up. What do I do? I decided to get the "wheels" out and teach Owen - as painful as a lesson for him can get- that the "wheels" were no longer his and that Cari needed them now. Needless to say, this has NOT been going over very well at all. Owen loved, and apparently still does love, his "wheels". I don't know if it's because he is in the phase of wanting to push everything around, or if he truly remembers that toy. Either, or both, of those explanations wouldn't surprise me.

So, while Owen is sleeping or outside with Adam, I bust out the "wheels" for Caroline to walk around the house. Surprisingly, she does great with them and LOVES them as well. She took right to them and now there's no looking back. She's tasted the freedom (walking) and can't wait - or at least I can't wait- for this new found freedom to be a permanent thing (for reasons I'll explain later).

Bedtime for Two

Lincoln likes to jump up onto Owen's bed when I am getting Owen ready for a nap, or even at night. (He actually spent the entire night with Owen, I not having realized he was in Owen's room. Lincoln is camouflaged when it's dark.) Saturday when I put Owen down for his nap, Lincoln assumed his usual spot at the foot of the bed. Owen giggled with glee to see Lincoln jump up on his bed. I usually pick Lincoln up and take him out of the room when I walk out. But, this time I allowed Lincoln to stay and have a little snooze with Owen. Owen LOVED it and now asks for Lincoln to always sleep on his bed.

When I was sure that Owen was sound asleep, I very carefully snapped a few pictures so as to not wake Owen. I know when I was growing up, I would always try and hide the cat in my room so my Dad wouldn't come along and boot the cat out. I LOVED sleeping with a cat on my bed, and still do!

3 Down 1 To Go

The other day when I went to Costco, I purchased the last 4 cans (2 2-packs) of formula for Caroline. This makes me so very happy. Formula is so very expensive, even if you buy the Kirkland brand, which I did, it is $20.00 for 2 cans. So, when I purchased the last 2-pack, I was extatic, but kind of sad. Sad, because it means my Big Girl is growing up, but thrilled to not have that extra expense.

So, without further ado, I opened up the last 2-pack over the weekend, which means I have used (or am using) 3 out of the 4 cans - 3 down, 1 to go. Now, I need to get her eating more table food so I can quit on the expense of baby food. The convenience of baby food is fantastic. No thinking about what to get them to eat. But, again, the expense is killng me. She is eating more and more table food, but Caroline still needs some baby food. I told Adam that I am buying baby food through this month. After that, no more! I'm even thinking about cutting that off and buying it only through the middle of this month. That way I will use it all up and won't have any of it sitting in my cupboards, which takes up way to much valuable space.

BTW-Paid just under $80 for groceries this week that would've cost be just under $200!