Lizards & Fish & Asians (Oh My!)

It's been a busy two weeks. I'm still trying to get the house deep cleaned from top to bottom. I discovered a Face Book group called Mother's Helping Mothers. It's primary goal is to give or trade unwanted items to/with other moms.

So now I make 3 piles when I'm going through a room: (1) items that will quickly sell online (2) items that someone might be willing to come pick up from my house if it was free (3) little stuff to go to the thrift store. I've sold some stuff, given away, traded a few items (received in return jam for one trade and a new Ikea Poang Chair cover that will better match the room I am moving it into).

We moved Brooklyn into a twin bed two weeks ago. The first week was pretty rough! She didn't want to lay down in her big bed alone and woke up at 4am a few nights but we've got it down pretty well now. This week has been difficult during nap time but night time has gone just fine.

With her bed out of the office I've been re-arranging the whole house. I gave away the crib (which caused major tears). Dave was given a large book shelf and dresser at work (a company they helped do renovations for just gave away their old furniture since they got new stuff). So we put those in the boys room, sold their old dresser (which caused more tears), traded their old book shelf for one in the exercise room, sold the exercise room book shelf (again cue the tears... we're pretty attached to our furniture), and generally switched and moved all kinds of items. I'm not done yet, but pretty close.

Two weekends we were supposed to go swimming but Dave was feeling under the weather so I took the boys to the Natural History Museum of Utah for an exhibit called Utah's Animals. They get out snakes, lizards, frogs, salamanders, etc. native to Utah and we got to see and touch some. One big frog secretes a poison goo all over his body which the boys were fascinated to learn about. We found out they put the container into his exhibit and they hope he hops into it before it's time to have the event. If he doesn't hop in then he doesn't make an appearance. Then we spent an hour hitting up "our favorite parts" of the museum before heading home to Dave and napping Brooklyn. The boys had a blast on their Mom date!

Brooklyn has been extra grumpy and throwing major fits over the past two weeks. She was complaining almost daily of headaches this week so I called the Dr and got her in for an exam. Turns out she had Strep Throat. No other symptoms but a headache! No fever, no runny nose, no sore throat, no coughing... just an ornery baby that I thought just had a BAD case of the terrible twos and "head hurts" while pointing to her forehead. So we have her on antibiotics and she should feel better soon. And I now feel, bad I've been so harsh with her during tough nap times.

grumpy girl

this is where Strep Throat hurts

Last Saturday we made our annual pilgrimage to Crystal Hot Springs. It's a place you pay to get into but has something like 10 different pools that are pumped full of the natural mineral water. It brags the highest mineral content of any hot spring in the world. Each pool is a different temperature so you can alternate from cold (they have a cold spring too) to burning hot (surrounded with warning signs and always full of Asian tourists). It's a little more than an hour drive which isn't too bad. Everyone slept on the ride home.

There was snow on the ground and it was about 30 degrees which is the perfect temperature to me! We were there about 4 hours. They have on site picnic tables so we arrived early, ate lunch and swam until everyone was exhausted. The boys LOVE our trips and beg to go more than once a year. The minerals in the water make you float extra easy so even Brooklyn can get around really well by herself. They also have two water slides which Dave and the boys took full advantage of.

enjoying a homemade cookie!

Thursday we had our first baking day of the year! I usually do weekly baking days but cleaning had consumed my life!!! We baked bread, 48 crescent rolls, and two dozen cookies. We also made 8 packets of dry bread ingredients. While the rolls were cooling Brooklyn decided our fish looked hungry. So she shredded about a dozen rolls and put them in the fish tank. I frantically scooped out roll mush in hopes that the fish wouldn't die of roll inhalation and by the time I scooped the last piece out of the murky water couldn't find Snowy (the white fish). The boys scoured the fish tank while I dug around the trash can looking for a dead body. Eventually we found Snowy hiding under the turtle arch. So we still have two fish that aren't so hungry anymore.

Logan has been obsessed with Imagine Dragons lately! He had a dance party with a friend from school a few weeks ago and BEGGED for us to get some of their songs. Before our trip to Crystal Hot Springs I downloaded 7 songs and we've been listening to them non stop ever since! I'm sick of them but the kids love it! Brooklyn even knows the words to some of the songs.

With Dave's Christmas Bonus he purchased a drawing tablet. So he's been spending his free time at night figuring out how to use it and designing things. Since I completely reorganized my sewing room I have been working on a box full of unfinished projects and mending. Grandma Yoder also gave me some sewing stuff she was downsizing so I've been distracted with a partly completed Double Wedding Band quilt! It was enough probably to make a queen size, but I am currently working on a lap quilt out of it. Later I'll probably use the leftovers to make a baby blanket. The pattern has been on my bucket list and I'm excited I can make one without having to cut out all the little pieces! All I've had to cut out is the white material for the centers.