I Didn't Know They Still Came That Way

If all goes well I will be kid free and in good health Friday morning. My goal is to clean my oven; cause my two year old oven is not self cleaning! Seriously why do they even make that an option? If you can all remember we were not allowed to move into the house until Fannie Mae installed an oven. We were not allowed to buy one ourselves and of course Fannie Mae chose the cheapest oven Lowes carries. Go ahead and go to Lowes check out the ovens and the cheapest one is ours. It is a total piece of crap! It cooks unevenly and had ruined many a dish of mine. Now you may ask, So why not just buy a new one? Well, it is hard to buy something that expensive if you don't REALLY need it. Long story short when our renters move out of our other house next year we will probably swap ovens, but that is a year away. So until then this Friday is oven day and maybe moping the floors if I can get it in.

Schizophrenic

Um yeah, Mae is pretty much a schizophrenic. For the longest time of late she has been a beast... as seen here.


For the last three days she has been a total doll. So squishy cute. When she was born my niece Liesl would say Mae was a cutie pie bubbles and the nickname has stuck in our family. These last few days she has defiantly been a cutie pie bubbles.



*FYI I would like to point out to my mom that Mae does not have a pacifier in either of these pictures, so proof that she doesn't always have one in.

Above and Beyond

I needed to go to my monthly doctor's visit last Wednesday and Jeff couldn't watch the kids having missed so much work already for our sick weekend. My lovely friends Dandi and Kristy offered to watch my kids and took them to the Gentry Animal Safari! Talk about above and beyond. I am told my kids were perfect, for which I am so grateful, but at the same time, why aren't they perfect for me? Is it just me or does that picture of Max just sum him up in one shot?

Spring

Planted some dafodils last fall just on a whim. Glad I did.

Instead

I have lots of things I want to blog about, but so many of them are very intense or at least detailed and when I sit down it is just too overwhelming. So instead of sharing I have decided to let them go or at least simmer until I really feel like sharing. But a few brief points

I would like to thank all my friends who helped me out during our current sick spell.

I am encouraged and discouraged by the progress of my yard. I have been able to do a lot during nap times and with the help of a young fella in my ward. Little projects are underway, but there is just SO MUCH TO DO it is overwhelming.

We have our renters paid up in full and re-signed for another year which is good cause there is NO WAY we could afford to sell the house this year.

Baby Spike is healthy and presumably happy set to come June 30th. I was given the option of the 30th or July 5th and decided to go before everyone left for the holiday. After our group sickness this weekend, Jeff and I are a bit terrified about how we are going to survive the delivery while taking care of the kids. I am sure we will get through it but it will be super tough.

Took Mae to the doctor for the 18 month checkup and she is 50% for height and 50% for weight, but I really hate the way they measure kids based on all the other kids. So if my kid is normal and all the kids in the US are obese what does that mean? Why can't they just tell me how my kid is doing and leave everyone else out of it.

Jeff's whole area at work has been rearranged and we are still waiting to learn how things will turn out. He is on a new team and will pretty much be the most senior person on the team, which will lead to excellent opportunities to lead, but also possibly more work. He doesn't have a new boss yet, so that is always a potential worry. He has always been the luckiest guy at Walmart ISD in regards to bosses and pager schedules, so being ever the pessimist I am nervous that his luck cannot last. Jeff, the optimist, is not worried at all. I am so lucky to have bagged such a happy positive guy. Sometimes I just want to point at him and laugh, "FOOLED YOU! You're stuck now, it would cost too much in child support to leave me." But that wouldn't be too nice so instead I just make sure he has plenty of time to play video games.

Had to get out...and the consequences

Some of you may have caught my last really whinny post before I had the good sense to delete it and replace it with the Super Spy post. I went on an on about needing to get away and to get away from my kids. Well wouldn't you know that I got both my prayers answered this week. Saturday I persuaded Jeff to take us to Tulsa, about a two hour drive each way, to go to their zoo. I could tell that he didn't really want to go, but being the loving husband he is, he understood that I needed to get away. So off we went. It was a fairly uneventful trip. The kids did well and we didn't even need to turn on the dvd player til we were almost there. The one unfortunate part being that Mae refused to nap along the way. The zoo was fine. As many of you know I LOVE zoo's and so am a bit picky. I enjoyed myself, but the place really needs some TLC. (And lots of cash.) I think from now on we will stick to the Oklahoma City Zoo which is just an hour further away and way better. One really nice part of this trip was that for the first time Max actually enjoyed seeing the animals. He has just whined or only been interested in the playgrounds in the past. This time he was looking for animals and pointing them out. One thing going for this zoo was the reptile house. I usually don't like this area of Zoo's since I hate snakes but this zoo was heavy on turtles and low on snakes, just the way I like it. Mae did okay considering she hadn't taken a nap, but she when she decided she was done she was DONE! Luckily the zoo was so small we got to see it all before we had to leave which was also the time it started raining. We didn't get to ride the carousal because of the rain, but I wasn't too heartbroken cause 1. No carousal can top the awesome one at the Little Rock Zoo, and 2. As we got closer we realized they were blasting Miley Cyrus music from the thing, Now I am a actually a closet Miley music fan, but it just seems wrong for a carousal to play non- circus/old-time/ carousal music.

The trip back was long as it always is, Mae slept til we had to slow to pay the tolls. We stopped at the Taco Bell in Siloam Springs, (BTW Siloam Springs will be #1 on my next list of things that must go.) It was cute to see Max feed Mae rice. They can be so cute together. We got home around four in the afternoon and I started throwing up around six. I continued to have nasty vomiting for the next twelve hours happening like clock work about every two hours. Good Times. Poor Jeff didn't even want to go to the zoo and then had to take care of the kids all day Sunday. It was no wonder that he got sick by Monday evening. So in a way I did get an entire day away from the kids. I am saving up my thoughts on why this happened and how everyone reacted to the situation for my next post. Until then enjoy the pictures and be careful what you pray for.

Super Spy

The adorable picture comes from a birthday party Max attended last winter. The theme was spy games. They made badges for all the kids. Max's was so super cute I had to share.

BOOTS!

We love boots in this house. (Or at least boots for the kids. I have always had an unusual foot to fat calf ratio that prohibits the wearing of boots.) The great thing about boots is they are so fast and easy for the kids to put on, and yet unlike sandals can be worn year round and protect the feet. A few years ago we found some cow boots for Max at Target in the spring garden section. We bought them really big and he has worn them for years. Everybody loves the cow boots. They are real crowd pleasers; winning him compliments every time he steps outside in them. They also add to his yearly Chick-fil-a costume. The pirate boots came next. I found these on clearance at Gymboree and they have also been loved, more by Max then anyone else. People do love the whale boots though. I bought these online from some, group discount- limited time offer deal that made them almost free! They haven't held up as well as the cow boots, but we still like them. Today at the associate store we found Monkeys! Now yes, he has enough boots, but we just couldn't resist. Boots are just so great.maxmax

One Convert at a Time

Not a lot of traditions in the Tobler household growing up, but one of my favorites was eating strawberries. My mom taught us the truth that strawberries are best eaten dipped in sour cream and brown sugar. Now some people seem to think this sounds disgusting, but I assure you that this is NOT the case. It is the world's most wonderful blend of flavors that dance together in your mouth creating a fresh spring feeling. I even prefer them to strawberries dipped in chocolate. This spring I taught Max this secret and he is a big believer. We have eaten a whole package of strawberries this way and will possible go get some more. I love spring.

In the Shadow of the Belly

Happy half birthday Mae! Miss Mae is a rascal and a cutie pie bubbles. She has to get into everything and but offers an adorable smile while being naughty. She has a mind of her own and is stubborn to the end. Sadly she hates fruits and veggies and would rather die then eat what mom and dad tell her to eat. She loves scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, chocolate and goldfish. Like her brother she starts off her mornings with a frozen ego waffle. Go figure. She knows 6 words, Mama, Dada, stinky, shoes, socks, and uh-oh. She adores her shoes and socks; she plays with her shoes all day long. She and Max play together several times a day for a few mins. They are usually chasing each other. She has just discovered Max's old pull toy this week and thinks it is a great companion. She doesn't watch much t.v., but she wants it on constantly. When we came home from church last Sunday she ran to the living room and brought me the remote. She also knows when the baby Einstien videos have come to the credits and makes sure I know too. We have taken to showering together and her favorite spot is right under my baby belly. She likes that it keeps her from getting wet, but still allows her to play in the water. As I type this she is pretty steamed about something but I am not sure what. Happy half year baby girl.

Out like a lamb

This is what happens when you wake up at 3 a.m.

In like a lion

So true for us, March has been a doosey. Shall we start with the Mazda. In the past 2 and a half weeks we have had to replace the transmission, the battery, the front tires, the CV joint and the front axel rod. Luckily half of that was covered by our warranty, but we still paid a pretty penny and we were stuck with one car for about a week. Shall we turn to health matters. Two weeks ago we all came down with nasty nasty colds which the kids both still have. They have those disgusting honking coughs that sound like they are working the flem up from their toes. Jeff had to take a day off just to take care of us because when I get a cold my eyes water and I literal cannot see anything. When I was a kid it sucked cause everyone always thought I was crying and now it is dangerous cause I cannot keep an eye on my kids. Forget trying to drive anywhere. (Not that I had a car.) Then last week Jeff woke up Thursday with a 18 hour vomit bug. I got it on Saturday and had a worse case with other unpleasant symptoms. I have never been that sick while pregnant. It is hard to find comfort on the bathroom floor with a big belly in the way. So we had about two days where everyone was good, then Tuesday Mae had a fever and after a 2 hour Dr visit Wednesday we learned she had double ear infections! Poor thing. They gave her a shot of antibiotics and she seems to be on the mend, a bit crabby, but on the mend. Then this morning around 3 Max woke up in a pool of his own vomit. Poor kid. I am not sure whether he has what Jeff and I had or whether he just threw up from all the flem in his tummy. Jeff and I were way sicker and Max is jumping around playing video games. So who knows. So the rest of this month has to go well right? Maybe I should buy some powerball tickets cause my luck should change. But despite all this we are in surprisingly good spirits. On the positive Jeff was called to cub scouts, along with his primary calling, and has been enjoying his new opportunities. We scheduled Spike's arrival for June 30th. I had the choice between that and July 5th and decided not to risk going into labor during the holiday weekend. Included are some pictures from this morning. Mae is not really improving in her dining skills.

Well no one else is going to do it for me.

I love my new house. I love love love it. It sucks that we still haven't sold the old one, and that I have a "meeting" scheduled with our renters tomorrow night about how they are responsible to pay for their own propane, but it is all worth it because I love my new house. There are so many great things about my house that I could blog about but today I want to discuss my yard. I love my yard. The original owner of the house was a landscape architect and it shows. The yard, which sits on a hill, is leveled in well designed and quality ways. All of the retaining walls were built with the support beams actually going into the hill.

There are lots of great details. We have beautiful slopes of landscaped river rock and lots of potential flower beds. There are beds for an herb garden with a matching compost bin.

We even have a gazebo with bridge. The house sits on a 1/3 an acre lot and sits next to another 1/3 acre lot. Originally the lost were owned together, (they are even landscaped together with a path going from the gazebo up the other lot to a fire pit are,) but when the previous owner foreclosed, Fannie Mae tried to split them up and sell them separately. Well lucky for us Fannie Mae hires law students to do their closing and no one seemed to notice on the documents that the lot was included. I saw it, asked and the student was like, whatever it's yours now. SWEET. I love it when employees just don't care.
One of the major downsides to the property is that it takes a lot of tlc. It is really hard to find time to work on the yard. Max is old enough to play while I work, but the other downside to the yard is that there is no fence and lots of falls. No place for anyone under 3. Probably under 5 would be better. So I have to work when Mae is napping. Since we bought the house we have had to devote all our extra energy to the other house. (The other house always has a beautiful garden for potential buyers/renters.)
I therefore always feel the need to apologize to my current neighbors for the state of our yard. It isn't so much the lot our house is on but the neighboring lot needs a lot of work. So it is just a little bit here and a little bit there until... well it will probably never end.
Today's task was to get rid of this huge junk pile of leaves and logs behind one of our flower beds. I had been ignoring it for almost two years, hoping somehow it would be taken care of by someone else. I didn't really know who, just someone.
It is the kinda pile that looks smaller then it actually is and it looks like it could be the cosy home of snakes and other lovely animals. Luckily I didn't find any friends, but I am a bit worried that I have inhaled enough mold spores to kill me. I didn't know wood could decompose into some of the colors I saw>

Crazy. I would say that I have gotten about half of it busted up, but then the question is how am I gonna get rid of all the leaves, and all the logs. . Oof. But at least it isn't so visable to people driving by anymore. One step at a time.