how to build a house 101

Pay somebody else!  Just kidding. Poor Jared.  

It's a good thing he likes this because it's been a ton 

of work for him.  I can't imagine ever wanting to do this again.

 Dirt sweet dirt, here is our lot all ready for some action

 Bronson and Levi love going to our house and helping Jared.

Although there isn't much helping going on, just playing on huge dirt piles and 

driving dump trucks.  I go a little crazy as a construction site isn't really the safest or cleanest

place to play.  But Jared has been working so hard till sundown everyday, so if we want

to see daddy this is where we are.  I think we might need to find some child size hard hats

and safety vests for the little helpers.

 Bronson and Grandma helped me paint some new (well yard sale find) beds

for the boys.  Bronson loved to paint.  Although this was a very simple project, a little

sanding and some paint was all, I can think of quite a few things I'd rather do instead.

I just haven't caught the DIY spirit I guess.  I'll blame it on pregnancy laziness. :)

 Of course the best part of helping daddy is riding in the tractors moving lots and lots

of dirt.  What a pain, and I haven't even done anything.  When your literally build your house

on your own you realize all the work it takes.  And when it's mostly one guy doing it, it's A LOT of work.  Jared's dad has been great helping him just about every day too.  Framing should start this weekend.  I wish I had more pictures, Jared has a lot on his phone, my camera went missing for about a week, in the exact place I left it.  Yikes.

Jared celebrated another birthday this weekend.  The boys had fun picking out balloons for him, making a cake, and wrapping presents for daddy.  Levi gave him a yellow soccer ball, and Bronson gave him a water jug to take when he works on our house.  From me he got some clothes, you know the kind that don't have construction company logos on them.  We also went out to eat with Buckley's and then they had us over the next night for a party too.  And yes this is when I couldn't locate my camera, so no birthday pics. :(


In other news Levi has done great potty training, he still needs some reminders and a little help but he's doing great I think. He has been doing well at staying dry at night too.  If I could find a cure for his whining . . . . he is just so particular about everything, or maybe he just likes to cry because it works best, I don't know.  Hopefully he's just good at being three and will soon grow out of it.  He loves to copy his brother though, phraseology and all.  What a funny boy.  Yesterday he told me, "Mom, that's what I'm talking about."  -  what would we do without big brothers to copy?

We've finally come to grips with the fact that Bronson occasionally has night terrors.  Luckily sticking to a consistent bedtime routine and bedtime seem to have done the trick (but it's only been 3 days so hopefully it will keep working)  It has been frustrating to not know what to do about it, when they are actually happening, so sticking to a bedtime is so simple for the pay off of all four of us getting a good night sleep.

After a long day and night without dad, Bronson and Levi were not happy campers.  Matt and Cami had come over and they took the boys out to "play ball" Bronson was so excited.  I made them take a bath first and he couldn't wait to go play with uncle Matt.  It made his day, if not his week.

The last part is Bronson doing his famous trick of tying things up or hooking them together.  Levi got some little sewing boards for his birthday, Bronson however prefers using the strings to tie whatever he can.  Or my favorite, when he makes cob webs arcoss the stairs tied to the railing.  I don't know what kind of knots he is tying, but they aren't easy to get undone.  When I saw the zip line for Mickey he made, I was laughing so hard, he is a funny kid.

HELP!  So here is our house, as you can see the front is mostly brick with a little bit of hardie board

and rock around the porch.  I think we might add some hardie board to the peek of the garage so it's not so much brick.  The back is all completely hardie board,  We had to take out the walkout from the bedroom because of elevation issues, so that will just be a window but really, what colors should I do?

 Here is my problem - I really want to do white trim.  99% of houses I've seen with brick and hardie board have tan or brown trim, as seen here.  Which isn't a bad looking house, but we are going to have a lot more brick than this, This is one of the bricks I really like but is it too dark?  I don't want a dark house, I like light and cheery, not rusty and dusty.

     I'd really like to have a look similar to this, (even though the front of our house looks nothing like this) but I'm not sure we can pull it off with brick.  The other problem is 99% of houses with white trim do dark shingles, we are looking more at the grey shingles simply because we don't want a hot black roof. . . .

 Here is a sample of I don't know but  I don't like it.  The only color brick I think we could do and be super safe with is red, but I don't want a red brick house.  So please tell me what you think about trim, shingles, brick and colors.

Lastly our baby carrot is growing great and moving lots.  He's weighing in at 1lb 4oz, and doing very well.  If I had a scanner I'd put in some pics, but since they are a little alienish anyway maybe we'll hold  out for a few weeks to get a better shot.

my baby carrot

The digestive system goes to work

Week 21: Your baby starts to taste things for the first time

By your 21st week of pregnancy, not only have your baby's important systems developed, but many of them now are operating, in preparation for functioning on their own after birth:

• Your baby might be about 7 inches in length, roughly the length of a carrot, by Week 21 of your pregnancy. She weighs almost11 ounces.
• Taste buds could begin to form.
• Your baby's digestive system is put to work. By your 21st week of pregnancy, your baby has probably begun swallowing amniotic fluid and absorbing small amounts of sugar from it.
  • Sugars pass through her developed digestive system, giving these organs important practice.
  • These sugars only make up a tiny part of your baby's nourishment.
  • Most of her nutrition still is delivered through your placenta and the umbilical cord.
• Your amniotic fluid changes day to day, based on what you've eaten. Because your baby is swallowing the fluid, she gets a "taste" of what you're eating.
• Your baby's bone marrow, rather than your baby's liver and spleen, takes over its permanent job of making blood cells.
• By your 21st week of pregnancy, your baby's arms and legs are in proportion.
• As muscles strengthen and neurons connected to her brain continue to develop, her movements become more coordinated.

Well we've past the half way mark, it seems very crazy, a lot has happened the past few months.  I love this stage, of being able to feel your baby move. I think with each baby it seems more and more of a miracle, what exactly is going on, and at the end a cute baby is born.  Unreal.  

We are settling in to living with Grandpa and Grandma.  It really hasn't been too bad, actually it's really nice having my mom around.  Bonus, she likes to shop, I don't, we take turns cooking, and I don't loose my temper like I usually do.  We moved down to G-ma Lynn's apartment so it is very nice to have our own space.  We've both commented a lot to each other how much better it's been having been able to live in the basement apartment.  One of the biggest reasons, everyone is sleeping much much better.

Jared has been busy working on the house since he's been home from Washington.  It's going to be a lot of late nights for him but hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

If anyone wants to choose the exterior colors of my house please help.  I'm really nervous about the brick, most hardie board houses have rock.  I don't want it to look dark, red seems too colonial with white trim . . . . so if anyone has seen any cute houses with brick and hardie board that aren't cocoa town send the ideas my way.

i'm so glad when daddy comes home

Jared was able to come home this past weekend for his Grandma's funeral. It was a nice break to have him here even just for two days. The boys were very excited to have their daddy back. On the way to the airport however they both fell asleep. Now that we've been doing this for a while it's not as bad as it was, its just getting adjusted to it I guess. Hopefully he won't have to travel for his job too much though, I do like having someone to sleep next to to keep me warm at night, no offense Simba.

Grandma Frew had a nice funeral. It did seem different to me than most funerals I've been to, probably because I knew how anxious she was go be able to go home. It was the happiest funeral I've been to I'll just say that, which is how funerals should be. Jared was thrown a curve ball at the last minute and was able to offer the dedicatory prayer, he was pretty nervous but did a great job. I think what stuck out to me most was realizing the challenge it would have been to not have a mother. Cora's mom died when she was only 18 months old. Not only was it hard for Cora but I can imagine a hard thing for her mother as well to leave behind two babies. So it was fun to think of the reunion that they'd be having after having only been together for such a brief time. She was a wonderful, sweet lady, who always made me feel welcome.

We took Bronson and Levi with us to the funeral which I was a bit nervous about but it worked out okay. Bronson didn't piece together that there was a body in the casket, even after explaining, he just kept asking where she was. But honestly even though we were able to have some discussions about it, I just think that all a 4 year old needs to know is that Grandma Frew passed away and is in heaven. I just don't think kids this age need to worry about it. I remember death bothered me a lot when I was younger, and it was like 10-18 years old not 4, so anyway it was good to have them with us so they could spend the day with Jared before he left again. Hopefully he will be back Friday if things work out. It has been hard, but also a neat experience for Jared to be working in the temple.

waitin' at the airport for daddy.

Levi was so wound up he didn't go to sleep till about 11:15 that night, and Bronson

came down to our room about 7 am, pretty excited to have his dad back home.

"I love ya dad, I always like to sleep by you." Followed with pats on the back, hugs and kisses.

Bronson is pretty cute when he's affectionate.

here's a shot of the 18.5 week belly - and the whole buckley crew too :)

pretty rare to have Bronson and Levi both smiling :)

Random note -

Bronson is so cheesy cute when he is happy. We took them to McDonald's while killing some time before we went back to the airport. Jared and I were sitting at the table, Bronson playing basketball. He looks over at us and gets our attention to watch him, Jared shouts some encouraging words to him, after which he does a little happy dance with his feet, gives us a big grin, and winks. I have no idea where he learned to wink but we were both laughing. He does stuff like this all the time, with big grins and a thumbs up, or something similar. He's so cute, I don't want him to grow out of this trait. One trait I wouldn't mind loosing, his oral sensory. . . . issues. Today he had his whole mouth on the doorknob, I about gagged. He puts the strangest things in his mouth, it's a little disturbing.

Levi was doing a puzzle of the United States yesterday. He kept telling us he wanted to live in Texas. When we asked him to find the Utah piece, he said, "My-tah"? It was cute. I need to do better at writing the funny things they say, I'm bad about taking the time to do it. Levi has been very clingy to me with Jared being gone. He doesn't like me to leave him anywhere with anyone lately. So his new nursery - nope, not a fan, even Grandma. He has to have me close by or he is one miserable boy - so I've been told, and I really haven't been leaving him. We've only had 3 or 4 nights when neither Bronson or Levi has woke up during the night crying. For this reason alone, having Jared back will be great. Big changes stress out even 3 year olds. I don't know how much longer I can carry around a 33 lb boy. I hope he'll be okay being a big brother, because right now he's really good at being the baby.

Spring Break

On Wednesday we headed up to Riverside Hot Springs for a nice warm swim on a spring day. The water felt great but the wind, brrr. Bronson has become quite the little diver, he loves to go under water and be brave in the pool. Levi didn't have quite as much fun, he couldn't really swim with his life jacket so we played on the steps, but still had fun. Bronson loves doing things with his cousins, and can't wait for his daddy to come back so he can take him swimming.

On Friday we had some fun with Grandma and Cami making sugar cookies and coloring eggs. Levi and Bronson loved it. Coloring eggs is lots of fun. Levi has even eaten one, he likes scrambled eggs but hard boiled are a bit different. We need to broaden his diet somehow. Then Cami and I went shopping for some much needed clothing for this expanding belly of mine. I swear everyone looks so cute pregnant but me, I don't like it.

Saturday we were getting ready for Easter, helping Grandpa, shopping etc. We went to Buckley's that night and had a nice dinner and fun easter egg hunt. It's a lot easier to find eggs with less competition and a lot more eggs :) and boy did we get a lot of eggs. The thing about Halloween is that you can go around the block, 10 - 15 houses and you're good, but Easter the candy comes to you. We have so much it's a big nauseating. I think my sweet tooth has died a little, which is a good thing. Bronson and Levi sure love candy though. Did we have this much candy when we were little?

Great little hunters

Bronson had to wait a bit for Levi to wake up, which doesn't happen too much since they've been sharing a room, but it did on Easter. They had fun finding more eggs and their baskets.

They both got a tee-shirt and a hat, a church shirt, swim clothes, googles, a ball, and squirt gun. They had lots of fun, it was nice to have a slow morning with our church now starting at 1:00.

Fun with "shooters" and modeling their shirts from Grandma and Grandpa Buckley.

I don't think the harshness of moving really hit me until we went to church on Sunday. It was awful to me, I missed everything about our ward, and all our friends. Starting over is crappy, and then we are going to have to do it again once the house is done. After church the rest of the day felt pretty blue to me, which normally isn't the case on Easter. I was missing Jared and feeling so displaced. I didn't really know what to do with myself. We did have a nice family dinner, Easter egg hunt, bingo, and relaxing. It was just a weird day for me though. So weird I started thinking about flying to Spokane with the boys. After lots of searching for flights and getting excited talking to Jared, for some reason I was hesitant to purchase the tickets and we kept having problems booking online today. Literally seconds before I bought tickets to fly out Wednesday Jared told me his Grandma wasn't doing well, which she hasn't for a while, but she ended up passing away this afternoon. I'm very happy for her to be released from her physical body and back with Grandpa Frew. It's hard for Jared to be far away and still have a lot of work to do. Life has been so crazy this past month, one thing keeps happening right after another, and feeling totally lonely and displaced in the middle of it all doesn't help.

Fun day

Bronson and Levi . . . and me, are sure missing their daddy. Bronson has been wanting daddy, especially at night. "It makes him sad when his dad goes to work, he wants him to stay here everyday." We did had a fun day today though. Bronson's ear and sleepless nights are finally getting better. We headed to preschool with a sad Levi, who has been wanting to go to Bronson's school too. He always wants to take his backpack and feels so gipped that he doesn't get to go. But he had fun playing with friends while we waited for Bronson. I had fun too and found an easy way to spice up my laundry soap recipe to make it a bit more effective, and also learned how to do dishwasher soap. Who thinks of this stuff???? For some reason I really like it, it helps me feel domestic, especially when making dinner is not so fun. I think it's time I start pintrest, I've stayed away thus far because I didn't want another vacuum of my time, but I think since we are about to build a house, I could use some fresh ideas.

Levi sure gets sad driving by our old house and just wants to go home to his room. It is a weird feeling to have lived somewhere for 8 years then all at once, you don't. But they are adjusting okay to Grandma and Grandpa's I think. After the fun with soap, we headed home and got to ride bikes and play with bubbles in the sunshine. It was nice, we love warm weather, and playing with cousins too.

Who is that cute boy?

I really love these bubbles, no blowing required.

Levi sure loves to ride his trike. He's not quite tall enough for a bike, he can't even peddle a big wheel, but his trike is just right. He loves fitting in with the big boys riding bikes. Bronson was riding with no training wheels last fall but then we had winter, we will have to try again.

Laundry Soap Recipe

1 4lb box borax

1 4lb box baking soda

1 box super washing soda

1 3lb container oxy clean

3 bars grated fels naptha soap

~1-2 TBSP per load

Dish Washer Soap

1 4lb box borax

1 4lb box super washing soda

3 cups epsom salt

24 packets of unsweetened lemonade packets

1 TBSP per load

- use a splash of vinegar in the bottom of dishwasher for periodic shining if needed