Garage Organization

Our garage has bugged me since we moved in. None of the tools were organized, we would trip over our bikes, the lawn mower or snow blower when we would try to get in the right side of Jeff's car, and we couldn't get out a snow shovel without something else falling over. Yesterday morning we put up a rack to hold shovels, brooms, rakes, and other misc. yard tools, some bike racks, and a garage utility cabinet.

Cooper chillin' in his stroller.

Jeff putting together the garage utility cabinet.

All finished! And now we can walk on that far side of the garage without tripping over everything. Thanks Jeff for all your hard work!

Cooper update

Lately Cooper has been doing this really funny thing where he will cover his eyes with his hand or arm. He will do it when he does something that he knows he is not suppose to. I guess it's his way of "hiding" from us. Or if he is just really tired and doesn't want to "deal with life" anymore. He shows us every day that he understands WAY more than he can communicate with us. We'll ask him to do something, and he will. (like when he covers his eyes when he knows he has done something wrong)

He also learned (from Mason) how to say "auh-oh".

Cooper has been REALLY cranky this past week. His top molars that are right next to the eye teeth both pocked through. Instead of just crying and wanting to snuggle with someone, he has learned to scream; and has decided that would be a much better way of telling us that his teeth hurt. I think I prefer the cuddling method.

Change

Over the last few weeks we have had issues with Mason not wanting to stay in bed. He has been telling us that he is scared. The other day I asked him if he would not be scared if Cooper was sleeping in his room with him. Funny how in a three year old's mind he thinks he will be safer if his 17 month old little brother is in the room with him. Humm...well OK if that's what it takes for Mason to stay in bed, then OK. So this morning we moved Cooper's crib and dresser into Mason's room. We will have to see how well the two of them do sleeping in the same room.

You live in Washington if:

Here is yet another really funny forwarded email I got. Enjoy!

THIS IS WHAT JEFF FOXWORTHY HAS TO SAY ABOUT LIVING IN WASHINGTON STATE:




If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Washington....


If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Washington....


If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Washington....


If you measure distance in hours, you live in Washington....


If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Washington....


If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Washington....


If you install security lights on your house and garage but leave both doors unlocked, you live in Washington....


If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Central, Southern or Eastern Washington....


If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over 8 layers of clothes, you live in Washington....


If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80, and everyone is still passing you, you live in Washington....


If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Washington....


If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your WASHINGTON friends, you live or have lived in Washington.

Our tour of Station 95

Last night we took Mason and Cooper to the fire station that Jeff volunteers for. Mason was SO excited to see the fire trucks, but once he was next to the fire trucks he wasn't so sure he wanted to be there. Sitting on the front of the engine
Inside the engine. This is where the Captain or the officer in charge sits when they go out on a call.

As you can see, Mason did not want to go near the engine.

Forwared Email

I just received this in an email, I thought it was hilarious and wanted to share it with everyone.

Email reads:


Life Lesson #45893 - Always check your child's homework ..........before it gets to school!!!

Note sent to the teacher the next school day with 1st grader...


Ms. James:


Sorry, That's NOT me pole dancing onstage in a strip joint! I work at Home Depot and that's me selling a shovel.


(signed)

Mrs. Smith

Rescued

Thanks Maryanne for rescuing me from having to deal with a boring background! She knew of another really cute blog background site. I found some really cute backgrounds and decided to go with this one. What do you think?

The site is http://delightfuldots.blogspot.com/ check it out!

HELP!!!!

I was getting tired of my Happy New Years background and so I thought I should choose a new one, so I deleted the old one and tried to get on thecutestblogontheblock. I was not able to figure out their new "temporary" site. So I thought I would try a different site. I went to Leeloublogs and again did not have any success figuring out how to download a background from that site.

Any suggestions?.......Please help! I don't like any of the templates blogspot has to offer.

My Birthday Part 2

Well, I promised I would write about where Jeff and I went to dinner on my actual birthday. We went to the Olive Garden. I have only been there one other time in my life.We knew there was going to be a bit of a wait, but we figured that if we arrived before 5:00pm, the wait wouldn't be too bad. Wrong. Our wait was still 45mins. long.

After going to Tomato Street the week before, I think I like Tomato Street better then the Olive Garden. The food and prices are comparable, but for the longer waiting time at the Olive Garden (and the fact that you have to pay to park downtown) makes it not so great.

After dinner we went to the hospital to visit Jeff Grandpa Long, who had surgery the day before my birthday. He was looking great! And was able to come home yesterday.

My Birthday

Even though my birthday is today, we celebrated my birthday last Saturday with our friends Kevin and Corrine. We celebrated it early because Jeff's Final Exam for his EMT class was today and so Jeff didn't know if he would be done with the exam in time to still celebrate my birthday.

We went to Tomato Street for dinner. Yummy!!!

And then we went and saw Seven Pounds starring Will Smith. It was a really great movie!

Jeff did have his final exam this morning and was home before noon, so he is taking me out to dinner tonight. He won't tell me where we are going, I just know it is somewhere downtown, or around downtown.

Sammy the Snail and Drooling

This morning Mason and I played with some play dough. I made him this snail and he named him Sammy. After I took the picture, he got out a book of his that has a snail as the main character. He noticed that the snail in the book had a tail, ears, and a nose (mine already had eyes and a mouth), so we added those features to Sammy.
While Mason and I were playing with the play dough, I looked over at Cooper who was looking at this Pooh book so intently. So cute.
*One little side note* The big wet spot on Cooper's shirt is drool. I don't know if I have ever seen a child who drools as much as Cooper does. Seriously. I will be walking around the house and step in something wet. Then I will realize that Cooper was just in that same spot and that what I stepped in was drool. AND he had only been wearing that shirt for a little over an hour and look at how wet it was!

Mason's first day of Primary

Mason's first day of Primary was this past Sunday. It is hard for me to believe that he is in Primary, wasn't it just last week that we brought him home from the hospital? He wore his new suit that Papa and Grandma Meador got him for Christmas. Jeff took him to Primary and said he went into the Primary room just fine. Mason's Grandma Meador is his teacher, so that probably helped him transition well into the new environment. Grandma later told me that during their lesson, they were talking about how we are all God's children and that all the people who live on Earth are God's children. Mason said, "No, I live on the hill". Which Grandma thought he said he lived on Hell. She asked him to repeat what he said and then she heard him clearly.

***See, ever since Jeff's parents have lived on Five Mile, Mason has distinguished between my parents and Jeff's parents by saying Papa and Grandma up the hill (Papa and Grandma Borders) and Papa and Grandma down the hill (Papa and Grandma Meador). Now, that we live on Five Mile, Mason says we live on the hill too.

Cooper's first day of nursery was this past Sunday as well. He technically, is not old enough to be in nursery until Feb 12th, but the Primary President said it would be OK if we let him start early since all the older kids are now in Primary. He did well, I dropped him off and while he was looking around at everything, I snuck out. I peeked in the window a few times and each time I did, he was doing great!

Cooper's Fear of Vacuums

For the longest time, Cooper has been afraid of vacuums. He would begin to cry as soon as he saw the vacuum (it didn't even have to be on for the crying to begin). Once I would turn on the vacuum he would have to be in my arms, which made vacuuming very difficult. Finally a couple of months ago, he decided he could sit on the couch (or bed) while I vacuumed, no crying, just watching intently. Last weekend Jeff vacuumed and when he was all done, Cooper wanted his turn. The vacuum was not on, but he did push it around for a few minutes, and when Jeff put it away, Cooper began to cry. :(

Diaper Duty

When Cooper was just beginning to walk, he would hold our hand a walk with us when we would throw his diaper away after changing it. Now that he is walking independently, he enjoys throwing away his diaper all by himself.

Here is a video of Cooper walking around.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone was able to have a great New Year's Eve! This year we stayed at home. We had some friends over, we played games, and ate lots of yummy treats. I remember when I was younger, I was always so excited on New Year's Eve, to get to stay up until midnight and watch the ball drop. Now that excitement has turned into an attitude of "ugh, is it midnight yet? I really want to go to bed!" (Or like last year, Jeff and I were in bed by 10:00)

I have never been one for making a New Year's resolution. I guess I figure that I would only make good on my resolution for a few days anyways, so why set one in the first place. Maybe I'm being too realistic, but why bother in the first place if I know I'm not going to stick to the resolution.