Can you dress yourself this morning?

This week is a bit of a crazy one, so I'm not sure how much I'll be on to post. We have a lot going on but after this week Ben will be done with law school forever!!

So, in the midst of a busy morning, Anna has been great about getting herself dressed. She likes to do it herself and usually does a pretty good job. But last week she came out like this.

Note the red shirt on backwards, paired with a clashing bright pink....shirt. She actually played like this for quite a while and didn't want to change, said she liked her "pants." Also note the background of the picture. We pretty much live in our bedroom right now, so you can see the closet in the background, our towels lying on the chair since the bathrooms don't really have a place for them, Anna's little table since she eats all meals in our room, and our computer and backpack since we also work and study in our bedroom. It's a cozy room!

You're Hired!

At this point, we are in a hurry to finish up the house, and we'll hire anyone. Now that Anna is almost three she qualifies to work eight hour days...

I tried to get Adam and Isabel to install cabinets, but for some reason they prefer playing with each other or with their pretend house. Slackers...

Hot Date

Last night we put the babies to bed and a babysitter came over to put Anna to bed while Ben and I went out for the night. Anna was excited and even offered her money to us for our date night (it was about two dollars from her bank).

So where did we go with our four hours of alone time? First we went to Lowe's and picked out some lighting, bathroom accessories, and other random items for the house. Then we went to The Melting Pot for the first time. We aren't really fondue people, but it was really good - check it out if there is one near you. We didn't do a full meal, especially since they told us the whole experience takes over two hours and we got there at 10 o'clock. We shared an individual meal, and then got dessert. It was really good.

Now it's Saturday and Ben is going to study all evening so I'm on my own. I'll see if I can get him to post when finals are over!

Feast or Famine

My freelance work goes in waves...in January and February I wasn't really doing much. Then in March I took on a new client, one of my old ones came back around, and then yesterday another one that had been on hold called with more work. It's always feast or famine.

In my perfect world, I have this great balance between work and the kids. I get to stay home and see them all day, but work when they sleep and for a few hours when a nanny is here to help out. We have a nanny who comes 15 hours a week - a small amount of time that makes a huge difference. This week she has pneumonia. Every time we talk and she is still sick I get a pit in my stomach. I'm getting used to having the help and now I'm behind big time.

When I'm behind it's not just work. It's more the fact that I didn't take a shower until 6 o'clock today, there is a huge pile of laundry, and we haven't left the house all week. It snowed yesterday and it would be a pain to go out, so I guess I won't feel bad about that part. (It is way too late in the season for more snow by the way - this better be the last time!)

The kids are all asleep now, so I better get to work. When things settle down I'm looking forward to using the time after they go to bed to relax in our new tub.



P.S. I love these guys, they are worth it!

To Placate Allison

Allison has been hassling me to post for the last few days. I've had a hard time finding the inspiration for my inagural post. However, Allison's recent nagging will suffice. I don't think Allison thinks she is nagging. She often couches her criticism in gently worded questions. Like, "Will sod survive for more than two weeks sitting on pallets in our driveway?" Blank stare, blink, blink, "Yes!"

I appreciate Allison's attention to detail, but the details are rarely ones I would overlook. It's not like I ignored one of the twins as they were crawling precariously close to our deadly stairs. It seems like some nagging would have been appropriate at that moment (you will have to ask Allison about that one).

Besides dealing with the family, I spend most of my time trying to complete a house project (you probably thought I was going to say law school, ha!). Without going into too much detail, we purchased a 4200 sq. ft. home in Bountiful, Utah and sold our old home (also in Bountiful). Contrary to the original plans, we are renovating the entire home and the project is hopefully nearing completion. The following are the original pictures. I will post updated pictures later.

Just to get a feel for what is going on. This week the painting will continue and will hopefully be completed. New carpet is going in the master and a few of the other remaining rooms. Why do we feel the need to replace the carpet? As much as I love the color green, the master bedroom looks like the literal interpretation of the "green room." Don't worry, the lovely wallpaper has also been eliminated.




The end of the week will also find the kitchen cabinets, basement cabinets, and master bathroom cabinets completed. In case you are wondering what any of the old cabinets looked like, enjoy the following from the master bath. The picture is misleading, no one would buy the house with those cabinets. Also, half the walls have been removed from the master bath.

Well, that is all I have time to talk about for now. I have to go prioritize tasks for contractors this week. Wish me luck that any of them get completed. Oh, and don't tell Allison I called her a nag.

Three Amigos

I'll be honest - the first six months of life with twins was not fun. I did not enjoy it most of the time, would not want to go back, and pretty much got through it in a sleep deprived haze. When I see pictures of Isabel and Adam as newborns, I have one moment of "awwwww, they were so tiny." But then I remember what it was like, and I think "thank goodness they are easier now."

It got easier when they started sleeping through the night, and recently it has gotten a little easier again. Isabel and Adam are both on the move! All three kids are turning into great friends now that they can start to play together. The babies entertain each other a lot of the time, and I have noticed if only one is awake, they are not nearly as content to crawl around and play as they are when the other one is around. They even gave each other a spontaneous kiss the other day - I wish I had a picture of that!

Anna coudn't wait until the babies could crawl and is so excited to play with her little brother and sister. She has realized however, that being able to play with them means having to share with them. I often hear, "No Adam, don't play with that, you aren't supposed to do that." Luckily she is very nice about it - so far. She loves to lay on the floor while the babies pat her on the head, tickle her, or even pull her hair. What a good sport!

Take me to the Hukilau

As the babies get older I am starting to smell the sweet smell of freedom! I don't even need a vacation alone yet, one with the kids will be fine. A few weeks ago we went to California for a wedding. I'm glad we had an excuse to finally leave home with the kids, because we realized we can probably go places now.

We are trying to think of a place to go for a short trip after Ben graduates. I said somewhere a short plane ride away. Ben says Hawaii. We went to Hawaii in 2005 and left Anna with her grandparents in California. Ben thinks we should rent a little bungalo on the beach so we can sunbathe while the kids nap. Sounds wonderful, but the 6 hour plane ride - not so much.

So give us your ideas of where we can go and maybe this blog won't just be filled with pictures of all of us in our PJs...

Welcome to my world

I spend a lot of time online, so I might as well record some of the happenings in our life, right?

Let's start by setting some expectations.

- We pretty much never leave the house, so you probably won't see lots of vacation, amusement park, date night or any other pictures of the sort. When we do leave the house, it's usually to do something awesome like go to Costco.

- Sometimes I have lots of free time, sometimes I have none. I can't promise to be consistent, but I can say that I like to unwind on the computer after the kids go to bed, so I'll try.

- I like to write, but as a public relatons major in college I was taught to write at a 5th grade level so everyone could understand it. Ben might be able to offer some colorful vocabulary, but I write for "the people."

- This blog belongs to Ben and Allison, but whether or not Ben will contribute is yet to be seen. I guess if he doesn't, he has a good excuse since he is coming up on finals, working, and trying to renovate and sell our house. I only have to work while taking care of two infants and a two year old while living on the only floor of the house that is not under construction. Okay, so we are both busy but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Despite these disclaimers, I hope getting a peek into our lives will be fun for friends and family, and I think our little family is so darn cute it has to be good!

(Okay, I already lied about leaving the house...here is a pic of Anna and I at SeaWorld a few weeks ago! It was great to take our first trip since the babies were born.)