Paul hard at work in his "shop"

He's gonna kill me for this one, but I couldn't resist...

I wanted him to pose with his shirt off, but this will just have to do :)

The Morning Routine

Right now I'd have to say the worst part of my day is taking a shower.  I dread it.  I admit I take long showers.  Right now I average about 15 minutes.  I really don't know how to cut it down anymore than that.  But is 15 minutes of peace really too much to ask from a 2 and 4 year old?!? Every morning when I'm in the shower I hear banging, slamming, running, screaming, crying, yelling, and fighting and it usually ends with one or both of the kids banging on the bathroom door sobbing for me to come out.  We talk about this every morning before I get in, but usually to no avail.  Yesterday this is what I heard from the shower:

Noah: Alex you ATTACKED me! (crying)

Alex: (laughing)

Noah: Do you want a piece of me?!?

Alex: NO!  I don't want a piece!!!

[insert the banging slamming running screaming crying yelling and fighting previously mentioned]

And Paul wonders why I don't shave my legs more often?!?!

I swear my kids don't hate each other.  They can be really sweet to each other...like on sunday after sacrament meeting when, as Noah and Alex were about to go their separate ways for primary and nursery, Alex walked up to Noah, looked up into his face and said, "I love you Noah."  Noah looked down at her, gave her a big hug and said, "I love you too Alex."  

I also swear that Paul and I have NEVER said the words "do you want a piece of me."  Ever.   

So...what's your morning routine? 

  

A Scripture and a Prize

Last Sunday Noah said the scripture in primary...for the first time!  This was not the first attempt, but the first successful delivery - by Noah anyways.  (He was asked to give the scripture about a year ago but mommy ended up having to give the scripture while Noah hid behind the podium and repeatedly shoved the microphone into my face).  This time around Noah was ready.  He did a great job, and I was so proud.  Noah was so proud too, it was really cute : )  We practiced every night for a week and we told him if he did it I'd take him to Target on monday to pick out a prize.  When he saw this tub of dinosaurs on the shelf he dropped all the other toys he was holding/considering and was ready to checkout.  He's been playing with them ever since.  

Highs and Lows

Here's what we've been up to this last week:

Paul found a project to fill up some of his free time: he's building us a bed.  After 6 years of marriage we are finally going to have a bed!  If it works...

I went to a Cheese Tasting Party hosted by a good friend.  We each contributed a different type of cheese - it was very interesting, fun and delicious!

(And I cannot take credit for any of these beautiful photos - that would be the work of Sarah Palfreyman)

Alex spends lots of time dressing herself up...and her dolls

She even dresses up in Noah's clothes sometimes.  I love the look on her face in this picture : )

Noah "made" himself a pet fish by removing the label from his water bottle and stuffing it inside.  He kept telling me, in a pathetic voice, that he had to do this because he doesn't have a real pet.  Well, water bottle pets work for me : )

It finally feels like spring so we've spent a lot of time playing outside, at the park, going on walks, bike rides, and jogs to the lake.  We made our bi-annual trip to the outlets to get the kids some spring/summer clothes.  Alex loves skirts and anything with pink or flowers on it.  We let Noah pick out some of his own clothes and his favorite is his hammerhead shark shirt.  I'm just happy to see him wearing something other than sweatpants everyday - the only kind of pants he would wear all winter. 

Noah's been enjoying his favorite springtime snack...lemons

And Alex has been busy sporting her "movie star" sunglasses

Our car was stolen.  Right out of our front yard.  Nothing left but some shattered glass in the street.  This was the second attempt on our car while we've lived here, and unfortunately this time it was successful.  It would have been successful the first time too, if a neighbor hadn't been up to see what was happening and call the cops.  And we only had a few more weeks to go in this city...

I was caught speeding by a camera and got a ticket in the mail.  Hello, I was trying to get kids to preschool on time!?!

Paul was on the radio.  He called into  NPR's "The Diane Rehm Show" to talk about national single-payer healthcare.

Dance Party

These kids have got moves!  What kind of moves exactly and where they came from we have yet to figure out.  But they love our music - how many years do we have until that wears off, I wonder? Alex's song is Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" for obvious reasons.  Noah's song is "Apologize" by One Republic - or at least it used to be.  He told Paul the other day that his new favorite is "Rocket" by Smashing Pumpkins.  Then last night in the car Noah said, "I want to be a rockin star when I grow up."  

The highlights of this clip would be Alex clomping around in Noah's shoes and a 5-pound diaper and Noah staring at a picture of Shakira on the i-tunes screen...oops!

Happy (early) Birthday to me!

Isn't she a beauty?  I LOVE my new cruiser that Paul got me for my birthday.  I'm actually not much of a bike rider.  I haven't owned one (or ridden one) since childhood.  Seriously.  Paul's been wanting to get me one for awhile though, so I can go on bike rides with Noah.  Well, we got it today...and I'm totally hooked!  I love it!  The timing couldn't be better either.  You know that trip to New York and D.C. that Paul and I are taking in...oh, about 2 weeks?  What are we doing?  Bike tours - of both cities.  I'm a little freaked.  So, if you see someone crusin around town on a bright orange bike a lot in the next couple of weeks, that's just me training for our vacation.  

Really though, I love it more than I thought I would.  Paul was really happy about this.  He said, "Maybe you have a new hobby!"  He asked me just the other day what my hobbies were and I couldn't come up with anything except reading...and, oh yeah, blogging.  So lookout everyone, I'm really branching out...bike rides around the block with my 4-year old : )  

Paul's a little nervous - he thought I looked a little wobbly, but I don't think he should be talking.

Of course, Alex thinks she's big enough to ride it too, and "by herself!"

Roadtrip

So, I shared pictures of the house we are buying in Rochester, but I neglected to share any stories from our roadtrip - and we spent more days on the road than we did in Rochester!

It's a 12 hour drive from Cleveland to Rochester so we decided to break it up and stay overnight in the Chicago area.  Good thing too, because after 6 hours in the car the kids were losing it - well mostly Alex was whining and crying and Noah was asking every 5 seconds where we were (as in what state) which was causing Paul and I to lose it.  Actually though, the kids did alright...not great (which we never expected anyways) but alright.  That may, of course, had something to do with the portable DVD player, 4 never-before-seen-by-our-kids movies from Hollywood video, juice boxes, crackers, pretzels, candy, etc.  Hey, this trip was all about surviving with our sanity (and our kids) intact.

We left Monday evening, after picking Paul up from the airport.  The kids both ended up falling asleep in the car before we got to our hotel...which meant that once we got checked in we were all up until about 1am, with the kids jumping, screaming, laughing, and bouncing from one bed to the other.  Noah LOVED our hotel...because the outside was lit up with blue lights.  It will forever be known as the "blue hotel."  

We woke bright and early (FUN) and took the kids swimming at the indoor pool, as promised.  That was one of our tricks for getting the kids excited about this roadtrip.  Anyways, the kids couldn't wait to wear their new swimsuits.  And we thought they looked pretty cute : )

Noah picked his out - yes, those are sharks.  He even has shark flip flops to match.  Thanks Grandma Hunt!  Paul and I picked out Alex's suit - you can pretty much get her excited about anything.  We couldn't resist the matching swim shirt.  I love chubby little toddlers in swimsuits!

The kids had a great time in the pool.  Noah was a little fearful at first, but slowly improved.  He did much better when we came back through a few days later.  Alex is a total water baby and has no fear whatsoever.  In fact, she thinks she can do it herself.  There was no "baby pool" so I had to hold her but she kept yelling at me and trying to wriggle free.  I finally resorted to letting go and allowing her to drop under water for a split second.  She'd let me hold her for about 5 minutes and then we'd have to repeat the process all over again.  2-year olds...HONESTLY!

The funny thing is this hotel has an indoor waterpark - the indoor pool is separate...and free!  When we booked it we thought we'd take the kids to the waterpark but we ended up being pretty short on time and the price was pretty outrageous.  It worked out great because our kids had just as much fun in the pool, which we had to ourselves most of the time.  They never had any idea there was a waterpark in the same building!

Other highlights from the roadtrip include: letting the kids run like maniacs through random Walmarts along the way and lunch at the MouseHouse CheeseHaus in Wisconsin - seriously delicious.

The night we got home, as Paul got Noah ready for bed, Noah said to him, "Daddy I never want to go on another roadtrip NEVER EVER EVER again."  Too bad we have to do the same drive in about 5 weeks...shhhhhh : )

Home Sweet Home

Our home buying experience was...in a word, CRAZY.  And let's just leave it at a word - because I could probably write an entire blog just about this.  It was a wild ride (and hey, nothing is TOTALLY final until closing right?) but after some stress, tears, and prayers, (with some fun and excitement thrown in there too) this is the house we decided on and we feel great about it!

Built in 1975.  Split level entry.  3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, family room.  2 car tuck-under garage (a must for those Minnesota winters).

Nice neighborhood

Great backyard

This picture is deceiving: it looks like a hill but it's actually pretty flat - flat enough for a swing set even : )  Beyond the grass is a wooded area that is also part of the property.  The kids are gonna love it!  In fact, when we told Noah that we bought a house he said, "Which one?  The brown one with the trees?  Yes!  That's the one I wanted!  I changed my mind about moving.  I want to move to Rochester."  Noah pronounces it "Wachista, Mini-soda" and Alex has already got the accent down : )

The entire main level has beautiful wood floors, which we love

That corner hutch is a built-in.  Hurray!

All 3 bedrooms are on the main level, which I'm so happy about

We LOVE the bathroom - it even has a clawfoot tub

The lower level family room is going to be the playroom.  HEAVEN!

Other than taking down some wallpaper and painting it's move in ready!  It may not be a dream home, but it is a MAJOR upgrade for us and we couldn't be happier!

Did I mention that it has a dishwasher?!?!  We're really moving up in the world : )

Yes

Yes, we are alive

Yes, I LOVE Rochester

and...

Yes, we bought a house!!!

more updates (and hopefully some pics) coming soon

P.S.  Yes, I seriously spent hours yesterday catching up on everyone's blogs.  By that time my kids were in desperate need of attention and I obviously didn't get a chance to leave comments.  So here is a mass comment to all of you:  Thanks for blogging, love and miss you all!!!

Update

Noah, when I put him to bed early last night for fighting with Alex:  "Mom, I want to be nice but Alex just wont let me!"

Alex, when I scolded her and swatted her bum (that's how someone who doesn't believe in spanking justifies spanking) for trying to wake-up Noah for the 50th time last night:  Laughing in my face, "You spank my bum!  That tickles!" followed by more hysterical laughter.

Me, when I finished reading "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home" and then contemplated putting an offer on a home next week:  an almost anxiety attack which I tried to fight off by laying on the floor and doing some deep breathing (while Alex yelled at me to get up and feed her her cereal).

Paul, on his last day as a medical student:  who knows, we haven't seen him all day.  He left before we were awake and still isn't home.  Yes, it's midnight.