Ready to Move!

Our house is officially getting closer to being done! The (supposed) move in date is December 23rd. It has been quite a rigorous few months and I'm not sure I ever want to do it again. My Dad assures me that it will be like having a baby and once I'm in, I'll be talking about how much I love it and picking out plans and changes for round #2. I'm not convinced. We have done (with obviously some serious help from my patient and kind brother, Brandon) our own excavation, septic (thank you Dad, Brandon, Matt, etc), parts of our 900 sf wrap around porch, hardwood floors, a few extra lighting fixtures (thanks to my brother-in-law Anthony), painting (thank you Walker!), concrete (thank you Richie!) work.... and the list goes on. The good news is that Mark and I are still married. :) We had to rebuild parts of the porch, the septic requires FIVE 70 foot drainfields that have to be level within an inch from start to finish, the heat pump got fired up with the owners' manual in it and broke, our cabinents got back ordered, the line to the well has broke, the roofing was at one time the wrong color, and currently we have a 200 amp electrical box and the load is at 200.7 so now that we are almost done we have to have that upgraded to a 400 amp box. Oh, and Launa is angry because recently her favorite color has changed to orange and her room is pink. Ahhhhhh!!! It has been a learning experience, and almost every member of our family has helped us with something. I don't know where we would be without all the help we received (well, I do, probably at each others throats!:). The good news is that I love it. It's simple, but welcoming and cute -- exactly what I would want in a house. Did I mention that we sold the other half of our lot to my best friend Jande, that I grew up with and lived with in college for two years. Our kids are the same age, and I'm pretty sure that she knows and can tolerate all my quirks so the neighbors are going to be fantastic! Oh, and her husband, Chad, is the local game warden, which will only feed into Mark's hunting obsession I'm sure. Mark is also excited. The house is on Mark's family farm and Launa is excited to live so close to "Papa Rich" (Mark's Dad) because he spoils her and takes her to Bob's Korner and let's her eat as much ice cream as she wants (in her words). What are Grandpa's for, right?

We are so excited for this new little chapter in our lives. I will miss living so close to my parents and being in my old Basin City ward, where I have been once again inspired by so many people who played a role raising me as a kid. On the up side, in Othello, they all blame our kids "feistiness" on Mark-- in Basin City, they tend to lean a little more in my direction. :)

Thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped us so much!! I feel like I'll be owing favors to people for the next ten years of my life, but I am so grateful!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all.

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One of My New Favorites

Kate shares my passion for these Strawberry Limemade Chillers at Sonic. If you haven't tried them yet, you should. This kept her entertained for 45 minutes. Launa had a slumber party with her cousins and was literally talking and then asleep five minutes later.

And It's Only Noon...

Kate loves to get out of the tub and then run while I'm trying to dry her off. So, she ran off naked. While I was getting myself dressed, I smelled something. She ran into the bathroom (and closet) and pooped all over. The sad truth is that it didn't even phase me. I deal in a lot of poop these days.

Launa yelled to my Mom "Grandma, Kutter is going to ruin your trampoline!" We were indoors and there is no exercise trampoline in the house. She was referring to my Mom's brand new dark leather ottoman. Her perception did explain a few things though (like why she is constantly trying to jump off of it from various pieces of furniture)!

It's A Good Thing I Have A Decent Self Esteem

Or else my three year old daughter might really do me in. We were in Walmart and I didn't give Launa something she wanted. She started chanting "you're a loser", "you're a loser" over and over again. I ignored her (which seems to be the only effective way to deal with this type of thing -- if she knows I find it annoying or if she thinks it gets under my skin, she really pulls out the stops when she's mad at me). When that wasn't working, she started yelling (in the same sing song-y pattern) "Ashley Mollotte's a loser, Ashley Mollotte's a loser!" It continued for probably three or four minutes. I had to turn my head not to laugh. Really? She's three!!! I didn't even know she knew my last name. She's inherited her Dad's ability to really know how to drive people CRAZY!! I've always said I didn't want to be bored and Mark is never boring. Well, I have to appreciate that about my Launa, too. She is never boring.

A Few Indicators I Might Be Losing My Mind...

A few weeks ago, my Mom had Rhode's rolls out and asked me to put them in the oven, so I did. No one could figure out what the flakes on top of the rolls were. Um... so I failed to see the plastic wrap on top of the rolls before I put them in, whoops!

I have been missing the hair spray at my house for awhile, but since I don't use it that often, I didn't think much about it. On Sunday, I went to get out Rhode's cinnamon rolls. I was getting them ready, spraying the bottom of the pan and starting to spray the plastic wrap over the top when, wait a second, there was my hairspray! Without thinking, I had put the hairspray up in the cupboard and used it as cooking spray. I really hope that was the first time I had done it. The worst part is, Mark said, yeah, I was wondering why you were spraying the pan with hair spray but forgot to ask!

The moral of the story is, until my house is finished and I get my life under control, you might want to steer clear of any home baked bread (you know, from the bag) from me! :)

Update

I'm too lame and tired to spend time posting pictures. Sorry, I know it makes the blog less interesting. This week we spent a couple days in Spokane for Mark's work. I think he was not thrilled when I told him the kids and I would be accompanying him, but this kids did great and they loved it. We went to the Riverfront Park a couple times, swam in the pool and hot tub, and my Mom came up one day so we could shop!

Our house is officially underway. Yay! The footings and foundation are complete and they are starting framing next week. I'm so excited it's making time move incredibly slow. :)

Kate has started to babble and talk. Thus far, her first word was "uh-oh" and now she says "Dada". She has gone from walking to running (sort-of) and is so darn lovable! She is finally starting to be more cuddly and I love it. I actually look forward to playing with her when she waskes up in the morning. She's figuring out steps and feeding herself. So far, her favorite food seems to be banana bread.

Launa's hair has grown out considerably (thank goodness, it's easier to like her when she's cute:) and she is having more sweet moments all the time. I took her shopping for a couple preschool outfits and have been trying to teach her her letters. Let's just say she doesn't take constructive criticism well, no matter how it's presented. Her favorite things are getting her fingernails painted, four wheeler rides, and playing with her cousins.

Life is good. Wish me luck, I'm taking Kate for a long ride to Rexburg and then Utah this weekend.