Wednesday, February 24, 2010

My Maisey!!!

It's nap time right now at our house, and I can hear Maisey busting out "Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow" from her bed. The funny thing is, she actually knows all of the words to the song!

Dare I say, her 2-year old tantrums are starting to dwindle. Not disappear, but dwindle. Whew!!! She has just been so funny and cute lately.

This morning I was making her breakfast and she was playing with her kitchen in her room. When it was time to eat she brought out a play cup with her and put it at the table in her spot and proceeded to tell me that she was having pop for breakfast! I served her her breakfast and a few minutes later she pretended to take a drink from her cup and said, "Mmmmm, Pop! Saaa-WEET!!!" I just starting cracking up laughing! I don't know where she got that from. We never say sweet! It was just too funny!!!

Also, on Monday night I starting shredding again. . . My 30 day shred! It wasn't as bad as it was a few weeks ago when I did it. Definitely something I am going to continue this time! (I already did it today!) Plus, it makes it easier when I have a sidekick doing to with me!

The only problem is she has to be right by me doing it! Today she did the whole thing with me! It is hilarious watching a 2 year old do jumping jacks and push ups! Any time Jillian says "Grab your weights, Get up, Hit the floor," or any type of instructions Maisey makes sure to repeat them for me just in case I didn't hear! Shaun helped her get some blocks to use as her weights! It really is hilarious!

I just love my Maisey girl!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

10 Months

This big boy is 10 months today!
A little about Gage this month:
At 9 months, 3 weeks, he got his first 2 teeth!!!!! Evidenced by all of the drooling on his clothes!

He LOVES anything with wheels! Especially my elliptical! He sits and spins this thing all day long! Hey. . . at least some one is using the machine!

He's quite the little monkey man! He crawls everywhere and pulls him self up onto everything! He loves when I let him loose in the library and pulls all the books of the shelves. It's a good thing he is dang cute otherwise the library ladies would hate us!


Doesn't that face just say to you, "I am mischievous!!!"


Gage also started waving this month! He is now pretty consistent at it and will often times wave both hands at the same time!

He is getting much better at independent play! He also LOVES to play with his sister! Together, they enjoy ripping up my magazines, playing in the toilet, unloading the bottom drawer in the kitchen and playing chase down the hall!

He lets me leave the room now with out crying. . . SOMETIMES! He still doesn't like when other people hold him, but at least we are making progress.

He has had a cold for about half of the month, so he's been a little more snugly than normal, and I'm really enjoying it!

He pretty much eats anything we give him, but I'd have to say his favorites right now are Mac N' Cheese and toast!

He reminds me a lot of Maisey at this age. Very determined to get her own way!

But we still love him so much!

Lazy Sunday

I took some NyQuil Saturday night and woke up at 9:00 am Sunday morning to this. . .

My 2 naked kids TOTALLY entertaining themselves!


Shaun had fed them, and bathed them and then crawled back in bed with me!

I'm pretty sure sleeping in is the ONLY benefit to having 1:00 pm church!

Clifford

For Valentine's Day we took Maisey to the Portland Children's Museum to see the Clifford Exhibit. We had wanted to go for a few months, but hadn't got around to it and that weekend was his last weekend there so we decided we would go! Maisey LOVES Clifford. . . well, at least in the books. When we got there she was terrified of the "real" Clifford and wouldn't go near him, even if Shaun was holding her. But Gage wasn't going to pass up the opportunity!


Mommy, Gage, and Clifford!

Clifford insisted on holding Gage, and Gage LOVED it!!!! (Gage looks so little compared to the big red dog!)

Maisey standing by Emily Elizabeth! She wasn't scared of her! Probably because she was just Maisey's size!




Tuesday, February 16, 2010

My ABSOLUTE Most Embarrassing Moment

It's not too uncommon for me to do something really stupid! But usually after a day or two I forget about it!

Well, I'm pretty sure I will NEVER forget this one!

Gage has had a rough few days! And Shaun and I were up with him several times last night. And also, in my defense, I am still sick! (Also my excuse for not starting my 30-day shred yesterday!)

So Zandi, the mom of the girls I babysit, dropped them off this morning, just like normal. Well, after she drops them off I send a text to Shaun that says, "Zandi looked pregnant"

Apparently I accidentally sent the message to Zandi!

Ooops!

I had no idea until she sent me a text back about an hour later that said, "I think you might have sent this to the wrong person?"

I was completely mortified! I called Shaun, who told me to call Janel!

Janel and I came up with our best attempt at an excuse and I sent it back to her! So lame. . . I KNOW!

Her husband calls me 3 hours later to see if I can watch the girls tomorrow and then says, Oh, by the way, we are going in for an ultrasound tomorrow.

I said, "Oh, really?" And he just started laughing and said, "Just kidding!" Glad he thinks the whole thing is funny!

I always look forward to 5:00 pm when she comes to pick the girls up. . . but tonight, I will be dreading 5:00 pm!

I want to hear what YOU would have done?

Friday, February 12, 2010

February: A little of this and a little of that

First, the Olympics start tonight! I am so excited! For the next 16 days you will find me GLUED to the T.V. trying to catch up on all of the events. We are DVRing all of them! What a fun time!

Second, We went to my mom's school for lunch today. Maisey loves when we do this. We usually wait to leave until all the kids come in from recess so my mom can show off her adorable grandchildren! :) As Maisey, Gage and I were walking to our car, Maisey said to me, "All of Grammy's kids think I am great!" She is just as humble as her mom!

Third, As a mom I have been so proud that Maisey stays in her bed for naps and at night. She never gets off or leaves her room. . . until last week, that is! She doesn't do it for no reason, it's usually a pretty legit reason, but it still makes me sad. My little girl is becoming more adventurous and exploring her own world without her mommy. It also makes me a little nervous because I don't want her exploring in the house in the middle of the night! But I do have to say it's pretty darn cute to see her poke her head around the corner and look into the kitchen as I'm feeding Gage in the morning and hear a very cheery and enthusiastic, "Good Morning, Mommy!" She always keeps me on my toes!

Fourth, Maisey is 30 months old today! 2 1/2!!! I can't believe some of the things that come out of my 2 1/2 year old's mouth!!! She is quite the chatter box and loves to talk to anyone who will listen! Especially her aunties! She has tons of words in her vocabulary and speaks in long sentences. She is still taking gymnastics and LOVES it! She is getting better at coordination and bravery!

Fifth, SURPRISE!!!!! We took a trip to Idaho for my Aunt Judy's 60th surprise party!

Look at her face! She had no idea!

Maisey was so excited for the party! She learned how to use these blow outs and couldn't wait to show Aunt Judy her new skill!


The blowouts also kept the older kids entertained as well!

My two CUTE boys!

And the 2 girlies!

Maisey with all of her "families" at the party!
After the party we drove back to Boise to hang with Shaun's g-parents and aunt's family!

Here is Maisey, Gage, and Shaylee (Shaun's cousin Amanda's baby)
Gage is about a month older than Shaylee and they had so much fun playing together!
We went to dinner one of the nights and someone asked us if Shaylee and Gage were twins. They look absolutely NOTHING alike, except for their size! Gage has dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. Shaylee has very light skin, big blue eyes, and blond hair!
We stayed at a really nice hotel in Boise right by the airport. I was excited because it was a suite which meant we could put the kids to bed at 7:30 then we could still stay up and watch T.V. in the living area with out it bothering the kids! Maisey was excited because it had a pool! I put both of these pictures up because in each of them Maisey and Shaun have the same smile! In this one they both look genuinely happy. . .


. . . and in this one it looks like they are ready to say, "Mom, if you make me smile one more time. . ."
Sixth, I tried taking some quick Valentine's pics of the kids a few mornings ago to send to Uncle Ryan on the mission! Yes, I know I'm a little bit late! Yes, I know that's not like me! I just don't know where all of the time went! Anyway, long story short. . . the kids were super grumpy!

You wouldn't be able to tell by this picture, but this was the only one I could use out of like 30! She would intentionally close her eyes, look up at the ceiling, cover her face with her hands, etc.

In this picture Gage is actually SCREAMING, not smiling! He would not stay still! It was so frustrating, he just kept crawling off!

This is the best of the two of them together! You can see right up Maisey's skirt and the shadows are HORRIBLE!
Like I said, they weren't great!
But that's why I don't pay to get them done. Because you never know when they will actually be happy!
Look at those faces! CLASSIC!
Seventh, I've been trying to eat better lately and exercise in an attempt to lose weight! Just like everyone else and their dog, I'm sure! I started the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred this week. I did it one day and then got a nasty cold and bad cramps so I didn't do it again this week! I have been so sore all week I haven't even wanted Shaun to touch me! I'm starting over on Monday! I'll keep you posted!
Eighth, 2 big surprises this morning! I stepped on the scale before I showered and saw that I finally weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with Maisey!!!!! That has been my goal pretty much since I had Maisey, but then Gage came along, and so you can imagine my excitement when I saw that number on the scale today! I immediately called Shaun at work to express my joy!!! But it didn't help that Mr. Valentine surprised me with a 1 lb. box of See's Chocolate this morning! Thanks hun! I'll enjoy them, slowly!
Like I said, there was a little bit of this and little bit of that in this post, but it was all stuff that I wanted to document!
Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Weekend!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Our *HOT* Valentine's Date

Shaun and I are going out tomorrow night for Valentine's Day. We are going to dinner and then going couch and car seat shopping!

Can you tell we just got our tax refund? :)

I was wondering if any of you locals have any suggestions for furniture stores? We will be in Tualatin for dinner and in SW Portland for Babies R Us. Is there anything around there?

Thanks!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Grumpy Grimmett's

We all have mild colds, but it seems to be affecting the kids dramatically. Maisey is an emotional mess, and Gage is agitated because not only does he have a cold, but he is also teething x 4 or 6. That's right, I can see 4 tiny little white lines on his gums and 2 very swollen areas (but no white lines yet). Please break through soon! For the love of everyone's sanity!
No one is sleeping
Everybody's noses are rubbed raw
We are ready for this to be over!
PLEASE!!!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Videos from FHE

Last Sunday, Jan. 31, Gage made like 2 crawling movements forward, but by Monday, Feb. 1, Gage started really crawling. This is what we did for FHE!

Toward the end of this video, you can hear Maisey screaming at me because I wasn't listening to her FHE lesson. Sorry sis!

Maisey loves singing church songs. Her favorites: Book of Mormon Stories, I am a Child of God, I Love to See the Temple, Popcorn Popping, Jesus Said Love Everyone.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Verizon Bitterness

So my phone broke last night! It's an LG Venus, it slides open. The tracks wore down so there are pretty much no tracks left. My phone is now in 2 pieces which are just barely connected by the wires in the middle.

I left my house at 7:35 last night to run down to Verizon to get a new phone. I get there at 7:52 and the lady has the keys in the door ready to lock it up for the night. She lets me in! The man tells me that I pretty much have 5 minutes to pick out a new phone. I tell him I don't want to pay the extra $9.99/month for the data plan that is required now on 90% of the phones. He shows me 4 phones. I choose the best out of the 4 horrible choices, he activates it, and helps me out the door at 8:05. I was in there for 13 minutes! They wouldn't even transfer my phone numbers from my old phone to my new one because they had already closed down the software or whatever they need to do it.

I understand they were getting ready to close, really I do! I used to work at a restaurant and I hated when people came in right before closing, but this was an emergency. I couldn't be stuck at home all day with 5 kids and no communication to the outside world!

This morning I pulled my phone out to take a video of Gage crawling, oh btw, Gage is crawling, and my new phone did not have video on it. Seriously? I thought any modern phone, like within the last 5 years, had video on it! Apparently I was wrong. So as soon as the girls I babysit got picked up today, I packed up Maisey and Gage and we headed back down to Verizon. Now, going in there with a mobile 9-month old and a energetic 2-year old is pretty much suicide, but I really needed a new phone!

The guy calls my name when it's my turn. I explain to him that I was in last night right before they were getting ready to close. I told him I got there at 7:52. And he said, "well, all clocks are different." I said "according to my Verizon phone, it was 7:52. I hope you guys go by Verizon time too!" Anyway I continued to explain that they were trying to rush to get me a new phone and that I'm not happy with it so I am returning it and wanted to get a new one. But I also said that I was not willing to pay the $35 re-stocking fee for returning my phone because of the customer service I received the night before. He told me there was no way around the $35 fee. After "discussing" it further with him, I could tell he was not going to budge, but I KNEW there was some way to get around it. He showed me my options again, even though I spent 25 minutes looking at them when I was waiting to be helped. There were only 2 of the 5 that didn't require the data plan (that's another story I'll get to in a min) that had video on them. They were HUGE! I'm not kidding. Remember those big brick phones in the late 90's? These were pretty comparable in size. It wouldn't have fit in my pocket if I was wearing my fat pants but thin enough to fit into my skinny pants. And they were UGLY! While the man was showing me the phones, the lady from last night came over and said, "I knew you wouldn't be happy with that phone." Why the crap did you not tell me that last night? Because she wanted to go home. I was so ticked! (I could have used several other words to describe my feelings, but my mom occasionally reads this! Hi Mom!!!)

Shaun was on his way to rescue the kids from their angry mother, so I told the man I would talk it over with my husband when he got there.

So after talking for like 15 minutes, we decided we had 2 options:
1) Keep the p.o.c (edited for the mom!) phone, but switch numbers. So I would take Shaun's phone and he would take the new one without video capabilities.
2) Switch the new one out for another new one. We would pay the $35 re-stocking fee and an extra $50 for the phone so a grand total from both nights would be close to $200 for a crap phone that I don't even like!
---I told Shaun that it didn't matter which of these 2 options we chose, every time I looked at my phone I would be ticked!---

Finally I was helped by another man. Malik. I was going to go with option #2 because Shaun really likes his phone and wanted to keep it. I explained the whole situation to my new friend. Malik tried talking me into the data plan. I told him I stay home all day and I can check my email whenever I want. And when I do go out of the house I don't want to be checking my email, I want a BREAK! He told me I could update my facebook status, and then was SHOCKED when I told him I don't have facebook. So we were back to option #2.

Then I had a thought. I wondered if they had any more of my old phones in the back that I could just trade it out for. Malik hooked me up! I ended up just returning my phone and not getting a new one from the store, therefore avoiding the $35 re-stocking fee that there was absolutely NO WAY AROUND! I also returned the pink silicone case and the car charger that was part of the accessory bundle. He allowed me to keep my blue tooth (it's the new law here, also kinda bitter about that!) at the discounted bundle price! Then he gave me the phone number for the warranty department. My old phone was out of warranty so I would just have to pay $50 and they would send me a new one. That beats $35 + $50 for the new ugly, huge phone. So he reactivated my old phone so I still could use it until my new one comes. And I walked out of the store with a discounted blue tooth, no phone, a new friend Malik, and feeling empowered.

BTW, I was sitting in my car and I could see inside the store. As soon as I left Phillip, Patty, and Rosalinda all gathered around Malik. (You better believe I wrote down all of their names. Verizon's Customer Service Department will be getting a letter very soon!) I could see them all talking. I'm sure they weren't saying very nice things, but I didn't have to pay the re-stocking fee! So I didn't care.

It wasn't even the $35. It was the fact that they were trying to get me out the door the night before. And I was also a little bitter about the phone selection for those not interested in the data plan. Seriously, the were so lame! I'm sure they do it on purpose so you will buy the phones and pay the extra $240 over your 2-year contract.

When I got home, I rigged my phone with a rubber band. That's right, a rubber band! Pretty ghetto, I know. But it still works. . . barely! Enough to call the warranty number. My good friend Maurice from the warranty department is sending me a new phone. It will be here Thursday afternoon. And you want to know the best part?

*

*

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He didn't even charge me the $50!!!!!!!!!! I was only over warranty by a couple of weeks so he let it slide!

Seriously? Now I really felt empowered! That is like a slap in the face to Phillip, Patty, and Rosalinda. So HA!

And, to top off my night Gage needed some more baby cereal, so Shaun and I paper/rock/scissored it out and I WON!!! I never win, ever! I should have gone to the store and purchased a lottery ticket, because it is definitely my night!

The details of Mr. Valentine, (aka ME)

First off, yes I got the mailboxes at Target! In the $ bins at the front of the store! :) I also got the stickers there.

Every night Maisey has to pick up all of her toys before she gets into bed. If Mr. Valentine is happy with how the house looks then he will leave a Valentine in their mailboxes. Sometimes it will just be a Valentine, other times it will be a little toy or stickers or a little piece of candy.

Then in the morning Maisey has to go potty before she can open her mailbox. She is always really cranky in the mornings. It takes her about an hour to warm up and be ready for the day, so getting her to go potty right when she wakes up is definitely a battle. I think this will be a good motivator. At least it worked today!

Monday, February 1, 2010

WOW!

$469.83
That's how much I saved this month! How exciting and motivating! We'll see what next month brings!

Road Trip + Potty Training = Need Advice

So we are taking a last minute, really fast road trip this weekend. We leave Friday, early morning and come home Sunday afternoon. That means there is going to be a lot of time in the car. Approximately 20 hours in the car total over 3 days.

Maisey has been doing so awesome potty training. She is pretty much in undies all the time, even running errands, and during naps. But at bed time we put her in a pull up. If she is wearing a pull up during the day she knows she can pee in it, so she does. But if she's in undies she doesn't.

So my dilemma is for all the time that we will be spending in the car, do I put Maisey in undies and run the risk of having her pee in her car seat, or having to stop every hour to let her go, or do I just stick her in a pull up and hope this doesn't hinder our potty training progression?

Has anyone done this before? Any advice?

Thanks!