The Walls Have Ears

Dan has been complaining about needing a "project". He loves using his hands to build and repair things. Only his projects seem to take a lot of money(which isn't growing off the tree in our yard), and time(I'm not willing to let go of the help around the house quite yet). I have suggested many projects such as: laundry, cleaning toilets, grocery shopping, bathing the dog, etc. But for some reason he just isn't that into them.

Yesterday was our last day off together(I'm going back to work next week). So while he complained of needing a project, I complained of needing to mop the floors. Well...the walls heard our cries. While I was upstairs putting some laundry away I heard a horrific crash and came downstairs to find this...


My kitchen shelf decided to give out. Dan had a "project", and I got to mop the floor.
Aren't we lucky?

Gassy Gus

He's been known to have quite a bit of gas. So when the smiling first started I sorta brushed it off. But for the last week he has been all smiles. I'm happy to say it's here to stay(the smiling...okay and maybe gas)!

Stolen Goods

I got to teach the lesson in Young Women's today and came up with a rather clever "attention getter/object lesson" involving cookie dough. I was so excited to eat the cookie dough and thought the girls would enjoy it also. Afterall, who doesn't love them some raw eggs, butter, and sugar.

Right before my lesson was to start I went into the church's kitchen for my bowl of goodness. To my dismay, when I opened the fridge my dough was no where to be found. I immediately went to Dan demanding he give it back, but he hadn't seen it either. Some punk stole my object lesson on a Sunday, in the church. I'm pretty sure they will be struck by some serious lightening!
Needless to say I looked forward to eating that goodness all morning long. And the only thing that would make me feel better about my loss was making another batch. So that I did, and I came to a crossroads that I've never ran into before. Do I need to lick the mixer if I made the entire batch just to eat raw anyway? In case you're wondering...I did.

What's Yours Is Now Mine

I have to admit I was rather hesitant to introduce Camden to the world of Play-doh. I didn't want it in the carpet, in his mouth, or on the dog. But indeed he was in heaven when I finally busted it out. He sat and played with it for over an hour. It was priceless!

His face was to die for, he was so serious and interested in this stuff. I could see the wheels just turning in that little head of his with the endless possibilities he could create.

This new favorite past time of his is also a favorite of mine. You see, it gives me a good amount of time where he is entertained and I am free to do as I please. Now if only I could figure some way of taking this to church without a mess we'd be set.

Sleep Deprived

For the last week one of my children has been sleeping through the night, the other one not so much. From day one Jace has been a good sleeper only waking up once to eat. But I never expected he would start sleeping through the night(8 hours) at just 5 weeks old. I love it. This will make going back to work a bit easier on me.

Camden on the other hand has been an awful sleeper the last few weeks. On top of not sleeping I noticed he was snoring really loud, choking on his own saliva, producing fierce breath, and all together more cranky. I accounted the crankiness to not sleeping, the choking to being a drama queen, the bad breath to him being a boy, and the snoring...got me thinking. So one night while I was fighting him into his pajamas, he yelled at me and I saw the size of his tonsils. HOLY COW, it's a wonder the poor kid was even breathing. Those suckers were huge.

Luckily we had a follow up appointment with the ENT for his ear tubes that we were able to bump up and get him seen. His tonsils were indeed enlarged and infected. So here goes yet another round of antibiotics to try and kill this one.

So in an attempt to mask the crankiness and playful abuse on his younger brother, we are trying hard to keep him occupied with exciting things throughout the day.
I'm learning to think like a little boy and use my imagination to make awesome sound effects. Before lunch we played dinosaurs and locked them in a cage while Camden took his nap. After he woke up I had all his cars set up in the middle of the floor. When he walked down the stairs and saw this creation his eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.

Oh to be a kid again.

The Sun Will Come Out...

tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after, and the day after that! It has been way too hot, way too soon. Yesterday we broke another record; 14 days of triple digit temps in May. Stupid I say, just stupid!

So instead of cleaning like we had planned, we headed for the pool. Jace absolutely hated having a wet diaper and wet clothes in general. So he got to sun bathe in his too short, too tight, white trash onesie!
Camden on the other hand took just a minute to warm up to the idea of swimming again this year, and quickly regained his love for the water.

And seeing how we weren't very prepared, his water toys consisted of a floating sippy cup and some left over wedding bubbles I had in my purse.

I guess I had better come to terms with the sun being here to stay, I'm pretty sure it isn't leaving!

I Survived...

I really need to get Jace a onesie that says, "I survived my 1st month with an older brother". Camden absolutely adores his little brother and along with that comes a whole lot of smothering. I often find Camden "burping" Jace rather violently, "sharing" his blankets or pillow by covering his face, or trying to pick him up. This second child really is a trooper!

On Mother's Day we were over at our friends for dinner when Aunt Ya Ya asked how old Jace was. After remembering what the date was, I about fell over...he is one month already!

I have been dying to post these pictures Ashley took for me but had to wait until after Mother's Day. He melts my heart!

Jace is really starting to focus on our faces and react to different noises. He hates his tummy time and would rather be swaddled super tight. He is a rockstar sleeper and a very calm baby. He has been known to show a smile or two but I'm sure it's just gas(he gets quite a bit of that).

Happy one month "sideburns", we love you!

Jealous?

Being out numbered 3 to 1 has it's perks ya know. For example, days like today I received 3 different deliveries from 3 different men in my life.

Camden sent me this delicious fruit bouquet. I have always dreamed about getting one of these in the mail and it did not disappoint. The fruit is crisp and the chocolate delish!

Next came a cookie surprise from Mr. Jace. I'm not sure who will enjoy this one more, Camden or I? When I opened the box his eyes got huge and he said, "Whoa"! And I felt like I had just stepped into a bakery from the smell that overtook me. Yumm-o!And of course the hottest man of the house had to one up all the rest with these beautiful roses. I was thoroughly impressed and love all my surprises. Thanks boys, I love your guts!

Farewell Mr. Umbilical Cord

We have been anxiously waiting for Jace's black nasty cord to fall off. I seriously think his stayed on for record time. Although this is one step out of the newborn stage; which scares me, it also means he gets to have a real bath!

There is still one little yellow gooey part that remains, but hopefully that will go away soon.

Overall I think he enjoyed this relaxing adventure. He was a tad fussy at times but I'm pretty sure it was his hunger speaking. I mean really, check out the size of this kid. He needs to eat. And I wanna eat him up, he is delicious.

SOLD

Today is a sad day! So sad that instead of calling to talk to my mom, I opted for texting her because I was afraid to cry. Several months(6+) ago my Dad got a job in Idaho. While he "moved" there to work, my mom and brother stayed in Utah to sell our house. As badly as I wanted that house to sell so my parents didn't have to live in two separate states, I must admit there was a time or two I prayed it didn't. Selfish? I'm well aware. But despite my best efforts, the house sold.

That was the house I grew up in. It was where my first date came to pick me up. That driveway was where I parked the car I first learned to drive. That was the big yard I complained about mowing! Cleaning up trash from those stupid trees is where I spent plenty of my Saturday mornings. The swimming pool in the back yard is where we had so many fun parties. The "girls hallway" was intriguing to all the boys never allowed back there. The "boy baby" room that turned into my moms sewing/craft room is no longer. The hardwood floor I hated mopping on my hands and knees will now be mopped by someone else. My neighbors will no longer hear the "Lissa Laugh" through the bathroom door and know when I'm home. I will never "have to" go get my mom a can of anything from the storage room downstairs. My sisters and I will never fight over what part of the girl's bathroom to clean. That house is where I would just walk around and make sure everything was the same as the last time I came to visit. Who will fold newspapers every afternoon in that garage? Will anyone sit in the computer room till all hours of the night finishing a paper they procrastinated? Will the new mom of that house yell down the stairs "wrong note" to her kids practicing the piano in the front room? Will they take pictures before a highschool dance in that same room? Will their grandkids get dirty fingerprints all over the sliding glass doors? Will they repair the crack on the wall where "the fault line sits"? Who will write on the white board in the kitchen? Will they call that house their home?

Ever since Dan and I moved to Arizona, whenever we'd go back to Utah I'd tell people we were "going home". That house is what I called home. Right now I'm feeling homeless.
To try and ease my misery I went to Walmart last night to find happiness in a can. I had every intention of blogging that money can buy happiness, hence I took this picture. I have already consumed 3 cans today and one 32oz from Circle K. I guess I'm going to agree with my mom's text, about the house being empty and "Dr. Pepper doesn't even help".

Can Time Stand Still?

I'm having a hard time letting go of my newborn. With Camden I was so anxious for the next phase or milestone, I think I may have forgotten to enjoy the stage he was in. But with Jace I'm so wrapped up in his newborn stage that I fear I'm forgetting to enjoy each milestone.

From the time he was just a week old people would ask how many months he was. I am starting to cringe at this question. Not because I don't like me a big baby, cause I definitely love some good chub(hence the reason I'm having a hard time letting go of my own). But because I'm not sure it's just his size that makes people question. It's also in his face. He is a man already!

I have heard of people taking a face shot of their babies everyday for the first year to notice how much they change. This sounded like a good idea until I missed his face shot even before the first week was over. This top picture is Jace at just 3 days old. And below is a picture on day 25.

But back to this whole growing up thing. I think I know why I'm having this dilemma. There is something special about holding a newborn so fresh and innocent, straight from a perfect Heaven and a perfect Father. The longer they have been here and the older they get, the more that innocence is lost. They learn how to hit and yell, how to say no and eventually talk back. And I'm supposed to teach them right from wrong and hope they learn to make wise decisions. Talk about some pressure! This whole parenting thing gives me more anxiety than I ever knew one could have, and my oldest isn't even two.

Maybe with Camden I didn't fully understand this concept. And now I can see the bad habits we created in him and the things we could've taught him differently. But seeing how we can't go back in time to fix them, I can hope time stands still until I perfect this parenting thing. Wish my kids luck!

PS. Happy 29th Cinco De Mayo Chad!

You Know It's Not Your First When...

This morning I decided I had better take a shower seeing how I didn't get to it yesterday. Being the space cadet I am, I forgot to hide my second child from the first, and left him in his swing. And since I have this hearing problem in my left ear(that's another story for another post) I can't hear what's going on unless it's the only noise in the room. I should've known something was wrong when the dog, who is terrified of the shower, poked her head in on me several times throughout my LONG 5 minute shower. So after turning off the water I was able to hear Jace screaming bloody murder and Camden saying, "Ace okay? Ace Ace okay?"

When I arrived at the scene Jace was no longer in or near his swing. Instead he was face down in the middle of the floor with Camden shaking him. After pausing for a minute to think if I should go get the camera first, or examine my child; I decided I was no longer a "new mom". Jace was definitely not my first or I wouldn't have stop and think about taking a picture.

So I took a minute to explain to Camden for the 15th million time that we can't pick up the baby without asking for help. Immediately after that Camden said, "On me pease, elp".
How could I resist?