He-llooooooo!

Have you seen the Seinfeld episode when they say "he-lloooooo!" to each other the whole time? That's all I could think to put in the title...so there.

I'd like you all to know that I typed up a big fat post earlier this week complete with pictures and all, but when I tried to publish it, the internet crapped out. Then Nils decided to reformat the computer. He got Windows Vista (ummm, yeah, legally, of course), but we didn't love it. The biggest pitfall was that it's not compatible with Media Center, which we depend on to record and watch our "must see" TV shows. So we're back to XP as of now. How's that for the longest, most boring explanation of blog absence ever?

The most exciting thing I can think of is that my blood pressure is good. I had preeclampsia with both Anders and Addie, so of course it's a concern with this pregnancy. I went to the doctor yesterday and the blood pressure's looking good, so that makes me relax. The irony is that when I go to the doctor, I get nervous that my BP is going to be high, which makes it high. It's a vicious cycle, really. Sometimes they have to let me sit in a recliner and relax and then take it. It's really part of my master plan to dominate the universe, but that's another entry...

So I'll post some interesting facts and photos as soon as all of our pictures and data are recovered from the format. Nils loves to reformat. Is that weird?

So You Wanted Pictures, Heh?

I've been waiting to post pictures of the remodeled kitchen until it was done and as of... about 20 minutes ago- It's Done! I finished the crown molding on the cabinets just now and it really finishes it off. There are technically still a few little things to take care of but it's pretty much complete now. So here's the before picture:
Wall: Ugly blue.
Cabinets: Cheap Oak.
Fridge: None.
Microwave: White.
Countertops: Boring beige.
Floor: Boring Linoleum.
Sink: 4" Deep and wobbly.
Light Fixture: Ugly white and brass fan.

And this is AFTER:
Wall: Light Yellow.
Cabinets: Knotty Alder.
Fridge: Big, Black, Maytag.
Microwave: Black.
Countertops: High Definition Laminate.
Floor: Brazilian Cherry Laminate.
Sink: Super Deep and Volcanic Black.
Light Fixture: Satin Nickel Niceness.

None of the pictures I just took came out great because the table is in the way now but you get the idea. It was a lot of work to redo this kitchen but I'm really happy with how it came out. It's been mostly done for a while but in the last few days we put on the cabinet hardware, cut some of the trim for the cabinets, installed baseboard and sub cabinet baseboard, caulked the countertops and put crown on the cabinets. Those things really finished it off nicely. We'll post more pics in the near future. We have some pictures to hang in the living room before taking pictures in there but all in all we're really happy with how everything turned out. Thanks to all my family members (Grove in particular) who pitched in and helped it all come together.

My Little Whipper-Snappers

These are pictures of Anders and Addie doing their favorite thing: Playing hairdresser. Anders is the hairdresser, and Addie sits and takes it. If I don't check in often enough, he'll put soap and lotion in their hair because "it makes it look cool!" This is an example of how Addie worships him and puts up with his crazy big brotherly antics.

Kid Update: We've been so consumed with the house and moving, etc. that I haven't mentioned how good the kids have been lately. So for posterity's sake, here goes.

ADDIE PAIGE: Addie's had it rough for a few months. She's generally been in a bad mood due to her limited vocabulary. When we moved from Springville, she had a very hard time adjusting and went through a pretty hateful phase of hitting me, slapping me, throwing things at me, screaming at me, running away from me, etc. It's been quite difficult on this mom. In the last month or so, however, she's snapped out of it. She started talking in incredible leaps and bounds, and she's really acting like a big girl now. She LOVES Anders to death. She asks for him first thing in the morning. She copies everything he does. If I give her a cookie, she asks for one for Anders so he can have one too. Overall she's much happier and quite enjoyable to be around.

ANDERS HAYDEN: Or should I say Anders Hayden Lightning McQueen Mr. The King Kacheeka Rasmusson? According to Anders, that is his full name. "I have THOUSANDS of names!" Anders is impressing us with his abilities. Yes, I realize I'm his mother so I think he's the most brilliant child on the earth, but here are some of the cool things he's been doing: He writes his name in upper case and lower case letters, and he's practicing the whole alphabet in upper case and lower case so he can earn the much coveted Diego bike at Toys R US. The Big Wheel is sooooo 3-year old.
He's an excellent big brother. He inflicts plenty of brotherly torture on Addie, but for the most part he's very patient and loving toward her. They play together quite well, and he is cooperative when Addie wants to do something simply because he's doing it. He's also very excited for the new baby. I think it's sweet that he's always been happy it's another sister. I suspected he would prefer a brother, but he's a thrilled it's a girl.

There's my gushing session. I've been struck lately at how much they mean to me and how thankful I am to have these little people in my life.

And...we're here

Well, we did it. We moved on Saturday, and what an adventure it was. I tried to post earlier in the week, but it was so negative that I deleted it. I don't want any of that negative energy following me around, so I'll simply state the facts and leave emotion out of it.

Fact #1: 3 of my brothers showed up to help. One had a sprained ankle, and the other two got into a screaming match that almost ended in punches being thrown. This was all in front of our new neighbors, who ended up doing most of the work. Good times!

Fact #2: We have way too much stuff and nowhere to put it. Hence the thousands of full boxes that have no where to go.

Fact #3: We have too much garbage, and no handy dumpsters. The garbage man came yesterday, and I watched out the window as he looked at our can (filled about 4 feet above the rim), got out of his truck, and wrote a note that said, "Cut back, please". We really need a dumpster in which to put all the remains of our remodel.

Fact #4: Our master bathroom is the smallest bathroom ever conceived of. That's all I'm going to say because it makes me angry to talk about it.

NOW FOR THE POSITIVE SIDE OF LIFE:

#1: We have at least three really nice neighbors. They invited me to Enrichment on Tuesday, and about 13 people approached me and introduced themselves. Very cool.

#2: The American Fork Gold's Gym has a Cinema Cardio room. This is really one of the coolest things I've seen. It's basically a movie theater with cardio machines, and they play about 6 movies a week.

#3: The weather has been so gorgeous this week, and there are at least two parks very close by.

#4: It takes Nils 30 minutes to get to and from work instead of an hour now.

#5: The kids' rooms are much bigger than our previous home, so we can keep all the toys in them.

#6: We have the Disney Channel.

I know once all the dust has settled and we're living like normal people all will be well. And then I'll have a baby (who, by the way, still has no prospect of a name).

Oh Life.

I thought I'd check in briefly while I'm waiting for a file to transfer before work. As Katrina has mentioned I've been spending nearly all of my waking moments in one of four areas: work, school, kids and housework. We're in the final stretch (good thing, since we're supposed to move in two days) and our hinges arrived yesterday. We'll hang the doors and the house will be move-in-able. There are plenty of little things to finish up but they don't have to be done before we move. I just want to get over there and start our new chapter in life.
I'm really excited about how it's all turning out so far. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I'll be able to post the whole process (with pictures, of course) from start to finish. That way, some folks can see what we've been up to but also, those wanting to do their own flooring or install countertops or cabinets can look at what some other Joe has done and say "I can do that!" I'll probably wait until it's all finished, though.
I should probably also take a second to thank my Katrina for all her help. She's the one who's had it rough throughout all this. She's nearing the third trimester now and of course, that's no fun. She's anxious about the whole moving step and of course that's no fun either. She's often taking care of the kids by herself for most of the day, when she's used to getting a bit of a break when dad comes home. And to top it all off, I had to do a photo shoot for a new product for work yesterday and I was gone from 6:30 AM until 8:30 PM and Katrina was very sweet about it. Of course, she was exhausted and done with the kids and none too excited about my work day, but she was kind to me, knowing that I had no control over how long I had to be gone. That's make all the difference in the world to me. I'd rather be at home with my family and she knows that- she knows I'm doing whatever I can to get home as soon as possible so she keeps that in mind when I walk through the door. Very cool.
Well, my transfer will be done in 20 seconds (accourding to my status bar) so I will, too. Until next time. -Nils

Panic Attack

I have a confession. I'm secretly having a panic attack about everything. As I mentioned earlier, Nils keeps insisting that we move on Saturday. I suppose that's possible, but there's A LOT that needs to happen between now and then. There aren't any doors up- and that's really just the beginning. Bigger than all the physical, tangible preparation, is my mental state. Confession #2: I have a major problem with adjusting to new things. Gosh-I-wonder-where-Anders-gets-it-from. Every time we've moved somewhere new I've had this big fat time period of feeling really weird until I can get into the groove of life again. I'm trying to take it like a man and think positive. But I am secretly having a panic attack. Holy crap, Courtney, how did you move to ITALY? I'm moving 25 minutes north!

Maybe I should consider therapy.

PICTURES!

I've been waiting for Nils to post an update and pictures, but he's too busy. Every spare second he has is doing homework or working on this here house. So here's my abbreviated version:

This is where we are as of Saturday:


These are before pictures of the kitchen. Obviously Nils had taken most of it out, but you get the idea.

I'm painting the blue wall a light, muted yellow, which you can see part of in the top picture. I think when it's all done, everything will look really good together. The cabinets still need the crown and knobs put on, and the dishwasher and microwave (black in color) need to be installed.
The carpet was put in last week, and wow...what a difference. It's so nice. That was by far the biggest expense, but I'm so glad we did it. It changed the look of the whole house. Right now there's too much junk all over the carpet to post any pictures, but they will be forthcoming.

Nils keeps telling me that we're moving in on Saturday. He's quite insistent. I don't really see how that's going to happen, but I'll go along with it.

This last weekend some of Nils' family was here for a baby blessing, so they helped out on Saturday afternoon putting in the rest of the cabinets, the counter, sink and doorknobs. It was really nice to have some extra manpower!

More to come...