Thank you Grandma and Papa Musick!

We got to start opening gifts early this year thanks to Grandma and Papa Musick! Darek loves his bear and took over everyone else's gifts too. He took the pink bear for baby Mia, ate Blayne's M&Ms (but Blayne made sure to hide his "treasure"), and desperately tried to get my teapot. Thank you so much for thinking of us! We love you!

(He wanted that bear strapped on his back :)

A wonderful man

My "Papa" (my dad's stepdad) passed away last Wednesday. It was unexpected and, as events like this often do, has put things in perspective. He was a wonderful man - I always remember thinking that he was like Popeye or Mr. Clean because he was so strong. He lived in Virginia, so we didn't get to see him very often growing up; but I remember every time we left at the end of a visit, he'd come out to our minivan and shake the whole car with all of us in it. Us kids thought it was amazing, but he always had a tear in his eye as he said goodbye. He was quiet, but always serving others.

I wasn't able to go to his funeral because of the cost, Christmas travel, pregnancy, etc., but I truly wish I could've been there to honor such a wonderful man. It has reminded me how important it is to make an effort to see and visit with those we love while we have the time. I wish that I'd taken Darek out to Virginia to meet him, but I just didn't do it. It has reminded me to take the time to be there for the people I love.

Happy Late Birthday Grandma T!!!

Happy late Birthday Grandma T! We sure love you and know that we're very blessed to have you in our lives. Thanks for being such a wonderful grandma to Darek and for continuing to keep Blayne in line :). You're a great example to us and we're grateful for all you do.

Three reasons why these last two days have been awful:

1. I have a cold

2. It has snowed almost non-stop and is supposed to continue through the end of the week.

3. My maternity clothes have gotten too tight...around my thighs.

Blayne told me this morning that he was going to be so nice to me this week it was going to drive me crazy (so romantic :). It was a good thing he had made that decision because I put him to the test today. It was just one of those days where I felt like being contrary. I'm not getting enough sleep because my nose is stuffed up and Darek's sleeping habits are a mess. So I found a way to be negative about everything. You know how sometimes you can tell you're overreacting and being ridiculous, but you can't stop? - That's been me today. Thank goodness tomorrow is a new day. And thank goodness for my patient, wonderful husband :)

And for the sake of putting up a picture - I took a photo of Darek's dinner. He poured his chocolate milk into his bowl of chili

And after he'd gotten everything he could with his spoon, he drank it:

All in a day.

Bless the makers of Crayola

It says on the box that Crayola markers are the most washable markers. It's the truth.

I left him in the basement while I got ready and he found a marker. It was everywhere, but it really did wipe off like water.

So cute

Darek's friend Elena came over for a few hours last night. Her bow fell out of her hair, and when I went to put it back on, Darek absolutely insisted that I put it in his hair. Luckily, Grandma T has already purchased hair bows for our baby girl, so I pulled one out to put on Darek's head. Precious.

Thanksgiving

Like most married couples, Blayne and I have alternated Thanksgivings and Christmases between my family in Iowa and Blayne's family in California. After travelling for both holidays for 4 years, we decided that with our family growing, we would have to cut our travel down to Christmas only.

Since we weren't going to them, both of our families decided to come to us in Idaho. Let's be honest, having both families in a confined area can mean drama. But as it turned out, we had one of the best Thanksgivings ever (at least for Blayne and I did :). The holidays are definitely one of the times when more really is merrier.

Blayne's family arrived first (after a 13 hour drive), and we put them to work. They helped us hang blinds, hang bathroom fixtures, and clean, clean, clean. Blayne and Teri (my mother-in-law) were in their element with "to-do" lists and a crew to carry them out (me, Kenny, and Keri).

My family arrived the day before Thanksgiving (after a 17 hour drive). My mom took over cooking and cleaning and everyone looked after Darek - no wonder I enjoyed it so much, it was like having a staff on hand :). On Thanksgiving day, Blayne got to play in a ward football game for over 3 hours - his dream come true and later we all enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving meal.

We watched movies, played games, talked and just had a wonderful time. By Saturday afternoon, everyone had left to go home and our house seemed so empty! I'm so thankful for my family (both immediate and in-laws) and for the support and love that they give us. Blayne and I could not have imagined a more wonderful Thanksgiving.

More Space

There are several reasons why I haven't been able to get on the computer lately and it all started with trying to get our basement finished before Thanksgiving - we were expecting Blayne's parents and two siblings along with my parents and three siblings. Holy cow.

First of all, we owe a huge shout out to our hero, Jay Anderson. He contracted out just about everything for us: framing, electric, sheet rock (hanging, texturing and taping), plumbing, trim, etc. Then he spent a lot of his own time making sure things got done and even primed the entire basement.

The week before Thanksgiving, it was time to paint and it needed to be done before the carpet could be laid. It just so happened that painting was the one thing I had said I would do myself. Not only was it my responsibility to get it done, but Blayne happened to be TONS busier with work because of the upcoming holiday and our trip to CA earlier in the month. So at 7 months pregnant, I undertook to paint the approximately 800 sq. ft. basement by myself.

I had 3 days to get it done and had to do it all while Darek slept. I was up until 12:30 am those nights trying to get it all done. My friend Brooke saved me a couple days in a row by letting Darek play at her house while I painted like a madwoman.

It was crazy, but it was so so so so worth it. The winters in Idaho are harsh and long, so we are very grateful to have extra space for Darek to run around. We were able to fit everyone in our house at Thanksgiving and, while Idaho is not a hot vacation spot, if anyone wants to come visit we have space!

This is the main room. There's also a playroom and a bedroom.

The bathroom.

This is Darek's favorite part of the basement. It's the area underneath the stairs. The previous owners had framed out the kid-size door and window and Darek absolutely loves that he can open the door himself and hideout in there.

Visit to CA

We left for California last Friday and got back yesterday. Blayne needed to do a ride along for Eli Lilly with the pharmaceutical rep working near Bakersfield, so he scheduled it for the same time frame as his high school reunion.

Tickets to his reunion were $100/per person! We debated for weeks whether I should go or not. It seemed like alot of money to pay for me to sit and watch him socialize with all of his old friends. Finally, at the last minute, we decided that I would go with him. The reality of it was, according to Blayne, that it was really only worth going so that he wouldn't wonder later what he had missed. I felt kind of awkward being 7 months pregnant in somewhat casual clothes while all the other girls looked so cute in their (little) formal dresses. But what can you do? It wasn't that bad. Blayne's friends all sat together and our table honestly got in trouble by the reunion's organizing company more than once. He said it was just like in high school! (Not for me, since I was biggest goody goody ever).

On the flip side, we got to spend a lot of time with Grandma and Papa Musick and Blayne's parents. One of the things I love most about visiting family is just staying up late talking about everything under the sun. We had a great time.

You wouldn't know it to look at this picture, but this group spells t-r-o-u-b-l-e.

Grandma T helped Darek take a ride on Andee. He looooved it.

Darek took every chance to lay on Andee.

This photo is just to give a shout out to Papa Musick in the background!

Grandpa Holloway Beware

We didn't take Darek trick or treating this year. We figure there will be plenty of years for that once he understands what's going on. We did, however, go over to our friend's house for hot chocolate and cookies.

Darek's Grandpa Holloway is a die-hard Redskins fan. Blayne is a die-hard Cowboys fan. This could get us into trouble.

Blayne's coming home

Blayne has had to make more frequent trips for work lately which isn't fun for me. The first day he's gone is the worst, but the day he comes home is great. He left on Sunday and my wonderful neighbor, Arin, had mercy on me and invited Darek and I over for dinner (we would have had cereal for dinner and been totally lonely if it weren't for her :).

Blayne will be home tonight, thank goodness.

In related news, I ate $21.57 worth of specialty candy yesterday (i.e. almond roca, toffee squares, and peanut brittle) and made myself sick. My intention was to give it to the ladies I visit teach. Apparently I have absolutely no self control. If I have food to give to someone, I have to give it right away, or I end up eating it. (And that was expensive stuff!)

And just because - I am in looove with my friend/neighbor's family picture. If you have kids, you have to check it out. www.natpete.blogspot.com . I hope you don't mind Natalie, but this picture has brightened my day!


A friend and I took our boys to get pumpkins and Darek just treated each one like a ball. He'd huff and puff to pick one up and then he'd throw it.


He thinks it's funny to put his hamper over his head and then chase me around the house. It really is funny.

The Backyard

We're blessed to have a huge backyard. Unfortunately this is what it looks like:

Up until the last few days, we thought it was sad that we had such a huge yard being left unused. Our plan is to one day put in a sprinkler system and sod and we figured up until then, it would just be an unusable space. Little boys have their own ideas, though. Darek has been throwing his ball, collecting rocks, and digging with his shovel for hours each day. Now I'm starting to think that he'd be sad if we put grass back there!

Hair Cut

I've gotten to that point where I'm feeling like a blob. My pants come down every time I bend over or walk too fast and the most comfortable shirts are the ones that are big and loose. My solution to this problem was cutting my hair - as my aunt said, I just wanted something about me to have structure. Looking at the pictures, it's actually not as short as I thought, but it's the shortest I've ever had it.

And just so you can see the belly...

Blayne took me on the most romantic date this week - we had a candlelit dinner for two at the top of a tower with rose petals, romantic music...the works. I don't think we've had such a romantic date since before we were married - in fact, we haven't had any dates at all in months!

I get so caught up in feeling like a housekeeper, it was nice to feel like a wife.

In more boring news, we have had a contractor here this week working on our basement and it has been a hoot. He turns his radio up so loud that it makes the floor vibrate and I can hear it throughout the entire house. The reason I haven't asked him to turn it down is the same reason I don't complain at restaurants: if you complain at a restaurant, they might spit in your food; if you complain to a contractor...well I don't know what he could do, but I'm sure he could think of something. The reason it's been a hoot is because not only can I hear his loud music, but he sings at the top of his lungs while he works. I get a kick out of the fact that while he's down there doing very monotonous work (texturing the walls), he's enjoying himself. Sometimes I even sing along too :)

After having snow last weekend, we've been very grateful to have beautiful weather for a couple of days. Blayne and I took Darek to the zoo today and it was wonderful.

We've taken him to the zoo several times and every time we go, his favorite thing to do is chase the ducks. He laughs hysterically.

Friends

My neighbor, Hunter-who's 7, comes over most days after school for about 20-30 minutes while he waits for his older brother to get home (both of his parents work). Darek absolutely loves it when Hunter's around and tries to copy everything he does.

In other news, at 24 weeks pregnant I've already gained 20 pounds. I still have a month until I start the third trimester, and that's when you gain the most weight. Awesome. In the end though, it really will be totally worth it.

Darek Boy

I just wanted to post this picture of Darek-I know I'm biased, but geez he's cute