Basement-day one

Almost done...





















































In the words of Jonathan, "It's amazing how quickly you can destroy 30 minutes of work!"
OOOOOPS~Uncle Jeff accidently drilled a whole through the main DSL wiring when creating a new whole for additional ethernet wire. All was fixed in about 20 minutes, but man alive was it a hysterical moment when the drill got stuck. It severed 2 wires! <3

Thank you so much to Uncle Jeff for coming down to help us with the electrical work in the basement, and to Chris for working so hard even though he hasn't felt well. We FINALLY have progress!!! I'm so extremely excited!!!

FRUIT SNACK ALERT

Winegars on 300 N 1000 W has their Kellogg Fruit snacks (Cars, Disney Princess, Strawberry Shortcake etc) on sale for like $1.46 a BOX! Um hello awesome deal. I grabbed 4 boxes this morning while on my cereal run. FUN FUN!

birthday festivities

So today Ava and I spent the morning crying--I was busy this morning with work and she was very sad about that! We then dried the tears and got to wrestling, which led to many giggles, breaking my glasses---again, and Ava saying for the first time, "I love you!"
We then picked up Ashwey, and had her come play for a bit. Ava finally fell asleep on our way home from dropping Ash at Old Navy for her pitiful 3 hour shift--seriously Old Navy? We woke Aves at 6:15 to wisk her off to a family dinner at Chuck-a-rama in Ogden. Papa, Granni, Becca, Ravis, Nat, Aaron, Scott Min & the boys as Aves so lovingly calls them. We sat next to an intersting family--think Orange County choppers--It was so much fun! Ava opened some presents--a new dress up set--complete with PRINCESS SHOES! She also got these cool re-colorable pages. It's like laminated color pages that can be cleaned and re-done over and over and over.
When we got home, Ava asked to watch Ice Age, and Chris and I tried to clean. Chris actually succeeded, and I .... well...lost the battle--and possibly the war on the living room. *despair* Aves unrolled her princess tunnel-her gift from Chris and me and LOVES it. She immediately requested my presence in the tunnel. Love for a child-its the only thing that could get me to even THINK about putting my pregnant-or otherwise-self into a kid tunnel. I didn't last long, but I did make the effort. She laughed as we pretended to nap. Then, it was daddy's turn. Now, she is playing store keeper, and selling us Chicken noo-noos, Hot Dogs and lemonaide. I'm pretty sure she's raising funds for a new set of crayons. :) Well it's past 10, and she's still running around.

Two is officially here! I'm excited, terrified, and loving every moment of being this chica's momma.

Today my baby is 2 years old!!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAA
How did this happen? I swear I still remember the contractions--ok maybe not realistically, otherwise I wouldn't have jumped back into this pregnant state so quickly, but it really doesn't feel like two years have gone by.
She is so incredibly smart and beautiful, that sometimes it is difficult to truly believe that she is my kid!

everytime i have tried to blog in the last week, total disaster strikes. i had had HAD to note though, that today--Christmas Eve--Ava requested a hot dog for breakfast. Yes, that's my kid!

Since failing my first GD test, and dreading my 15 hour 3 blood draw test coming up this week, I decided I would cut back on my sugar intake. The nurse at my dr office laughed and said "well, don't like...eat 3 cookies the night before, but nothing drastic should change." to which I thought...is it legal to eat oreos in quantities less than 4 per sitting? Seriously. Even as a kid, it was always 4 cookies for the snack. I'm not sure how to stop at 1. Hilary made some delicious cookies the other day and sent them over with Lana. Chris got 2, Ava got 1...and momma definitely ate the rest. So, today about 11, the need hits. I have to have something sweet. chocolaty. cadbury. But, no, I tell myself. I can go without. I caved about 3:30...ran into winegars and bought the Cadbury solid chocolate balls-the Christmas version of the mini egg. GLORIA! The problem, you see, with denying your body of something it craves, is that one (I) tend to then over indulge. Ava, thankfully, took a handful of these drops from heaven and I proceeded to eat 1/2 the bag in a matter of mere moments. UGH! My body is now happy--excluding, of course, my stomach which isn't too thrilled with the sugar overload. Had I caved at the first craving...I could have easily stopped at 5 or 6...a small sampling... let this be known, deny our body and it will take its revenge...and it won't be pretty.

journal entry...thus the rambling

I kind of feel like it's been ages since I've had a real post that would hold significance for me in the months and years to come. Although, the picture posts are pretty accurate depictions of my state lately.

Where do I even begin? I'm currently in my 6 month of pregnancy with baby Simon. It seems with this pregnancy, that I'm losing my short term memory at a more rapid pace, and that "pregnant brain" people laugh about is all too present. I make the most ridiculous and bizarre mistakes every single day. Take this past Thursday. All I had to do was take a spreadsheet, separate 2 of the columns (first and last name),then add a header to specify realtor or mortgage for the CE class that we held. It took....what? 6 tries? I'm not exaggerating here either. It was truely to the point of pathetic. It's amazing to me that Melissa has not replaced me at this point. I begin to just feel not only useless, but .... detramental to our department when this idiocy strikes me. It comes and goes, and there's no telling what triggers it. I'll be a super star one moment, and a total drooling moron the next. My ability to deal with even somewhat stressful circumstances has also completely disintegrated. Thus the post of a picture with a lady screaming. I love her expression. The distress, anger, frustration and sadness all in one. It really struck me. It's that release that I wish for sometimes several times a day, to find a place and let my lungs fill with air, and then in one loud long roar --- empty my being of all the confusion and emotion--freedom is what I think she finds at the end of that howl.

I had a complete emotional derailment the other night. Ava hasn't been feeling so hot this past week, and mix that with the inability to keep any kind of routine due to the craziness poor Colton has been through and it made for one TERRIBLE TANTRUM machine. The yelling, screaming, throwing, crying...seemed never ending on this particular day. Chris came home...and she calmed for an hour. But then it started all over again....and I broke. I don't even remember much of what happened...just that Chris took her upstairs while I sobbed in the chair downstairs...and then I walked upstairs and layed in bed completely numb. I woke up the next day...and the numbness hung around for most of the day--and it really scared me. Thankfully, it has been subsiding. I almost feel as though I have no right to be overwhelmed, or stressed out, because my baby is healthy and my little girl is healthy...and I see the trauma that Angie and Matt and especially Colton and Madison have been through the last week and I think--be grateful and pull it together already! GA! Pregnancy and rationality don't mix at all with me unfortunately. Let's remember this the next time I think I'm ready to be pregnant again--there is no emotional stability and rationality is thin as well.

It's almost 12am. Chris doesn't want to leave the door unlocked, but we didn't give Sarah a key, and she's out. Uh I hope the guy that took her to the Ward Party didn't wreck or kidnap her. I think I'm going to call and be like...uhhh I have 9 am church. COME HOME so I can sleep. --ring. --ring. --aaaaaaaaand she's at this party and stuck there until he feels like coming home. great. What happened to 12am is now the sabbath and you should be home? Seriously...ward activities going into sabbath? Wow--ladies and gentlemen I have become my father. It's seriously time for bed. I'm taking my phone with me. So that she can call when the idiot guy brings her back and I can stumble down the stairs to let her in. ugggggggggh. college kids.

Please keep Angie's baby, Colton Matthew "Flash" Black, in your prayers. He's currently in the NICU at Ogden Regional, due to heart and thus breathing complications. Madison will be here with us until things improve. Thank you!

basement tips
So-when Chris's semester ends in 2 weeks--we are going to race to finish an office area for him to have next semester. He is going to finish the electrical himself--since he's learned how to through his classes--and we have the insulation just sitting in the garage waiting to be thrown up.

The part that scares me? DRYWALL. I've heard nightmare stories about the mudding/taping process of the drywall. For anyone with tips, experience, a willingness to donate their body and time to helping us--or any referrals to a seasoned dry-waller who takes on smaller jobs, and isn't going to give me an estimate that is sure to throw me into hysterical laughter would be so appreciated.

Thanks!

donuts, pizza, other various bribary items will be provided to those who would come out to help. This is pretty much my gift to Chris for Christmas/anniversary...so I'm not above begging.