Basement

Yay basement! The plan was to put the girls in one big bedroom and keep the boys upstairs in the biggest bedroom..........but now everyone wants their own room. I am trying to figure out how to do what they want and still have a library. Library..........that's what really counts. Looking from Riley's bedroom through her closet into the front bedroom/library, or as Jack considers it, his room.

Bathroom.......

Riley and Mad's room with sheetrock. The saw might stay if the girls show an interest in wood work.

From the hall into the family room. Yippee! I can't wait for the fireplace and flat screen.

The guys we hired are working so fast! Today they are already taping and texturing. I have to go pick out carpet and paint and get the girl's bedding............and convince Jack that I need a library more than he needs a bedroom in the basement.

Hazel

Some sweet Maddy mouth.........

We left church the other morning and the snow was really coming down. Mads looks up and says "It's hazeling!!" I think she meant a mix of snow and hail.......because the snow was little icy bits.
Then at dinner she was praying and she asked for her 'scarf ' to be blessed. That would be the owie on her foot that she thinks will scar and mar her beauty.
She also asked in her blessing on the food that we would be 'pretcted from drinking alcohol' because she has been obsessing over the song 'Whiskey Lullaby'. She doesn't want us to die from alcohol poisoning. I tried to tell her not to worry........but she does.
Yesterday as we were doing errands she was trying to speak Spanish....she gave up on French for now. I said 'goodbye family' in Spanish. It made her cry......neither of us are sure why. Then she tried to get rid of the tears running down her face so her dad wouldn't see, because sometimes tears make you embarrassed.
She is also in love with reading. She thinks I should time her like I do Ri and Jack. She has been reading 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. So far she has made it into the volcano and taken one of the forks........they have found water and are still traveling. I'm not sure why she likes it, but she does...........don't worry, she is a genius but she hasn't read all of it alone. I read the hard words like 'journey and volcano' she reads things like 'the, and, to, am, can, is, it, me, be, I, a, you'. It is beginning to feel like we really are journeying to the center of the earth.......slow going.

Verbal Assault

I'm probably really putting myself out here........revealing my kryptonite....but are there ever any words that really rub you the wrong way? We have banned words in our house. I'll only give you a few because I can totally see people using these against me. I beg you not to. They send me into a state of frenzy.

#1 Poo

I can handle POOP but not sans the P. That is just SO stinkin' ugly. I mean seriously I hear adult say this even. How can you consider yourself an adult and say this word? There are so many other possibilities.....crap, defecate, spoor, dookey, shat. Come on world......lets let this one go......no more poo. (Sheesh, I almost can't even type it.)

#2 Moist

This word makes me want to vomit. All I can think of is spit when I hear this word. Spit in the corner of your mouth......spittle flying out of an open mouth, snot, mucus drainage, pus. Please, no matter how good my meat or cake is NEVER tell me it is moist. I don't even care if you say 'Man lady, you make a damp pork chop!' or 'That is one wet pudding cake you got there!' Lets all make a pact now to steer clear of the word moist. Oooh I still see spit stringing from dry chapped lips.....make it stop.

#3 Belch

No joke, that is one step away from puking in your mouth. I'm not even that offended if you let one rip.......just call it something else. Or better yet don't even name it.

I know that I have auditory issues. Really, I am aware. The ugly words are only the tip of the ice berg......I get insane over hearing food. I may actually commit a violent act over the sound of someone chewing ice. I have had to ban the chewing of cereal and popcorn while I am near. I have been known to put a pillow over my head to stave off the sound of taffy in ones mouth. I'm making myself sick right now. Bananas.......you can't help that they are soft and sticky...but they are, and that is exactly how they sound in your mouth. I almost can't eat them myself just because I am tempted to swallow the whole bite just to avoid the chewing sounds coming from my own mouth.

I don't even think behavior therapy can help me.

8 Things to L<3VE Tag

8 Things Tag
I love getting tagged!
8 Shows To Love:
1. John and Kate Plus 8
2. The Office
3. Good Things Utah
4. Medium
5. House Hunters
6. Reno 911
7. American Idol.......but only the tryouts, I never watch after that
8. I'm really struggling here!!! I don't have TV anymore so these are only speculative!

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Chinese Buffet
2. Cafe Rio
3. Cheese Cake Factory
4. Bajio Grill
5. The Olive Garden
6. Canton Wok
7. Red Lobster
8. I feel like I am forgetting something..........I love food, you would think I could come up with 20 places to eat!

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Church
2. Superbowl party
3. Changed diapers
4. Read River Secrets by Shannon Hale
5. Ate Nachos
6. Pondered Homeschooling for the 400th time
7. Timed the kids reading
8. Talked to my friend right through the only episode of The Office that I have seen in months.

8 Things I Love About this Season:
1. Snow
2. Hot Chocolate
3. sledding
4. Hot packs that you heat in the microwave and cuddle with
5. Deer tracks in the snow
6. Cloudy days!!!!!!!! my ultimate favorite
7. Sitting on the heat vent with a blanket
8. Snowy nights!! They are so quiet and bright.

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. A finished basement
2. Kids who get along 24-7
3. A job that paid enough so Jason didn't feel compelled to have 7
4. To be absolutely CUT!! I want triceps again.........
5. Self discipline
6. A vaca with my dream man
7. A temple trip
8. A trillion bucks...........a million doesn't go very far anymore

8 People's Lists I Want to See:
1. I
2. refuse
3. to
4. name
5. any
6. names
7. So I guess
8. this 8 was pointless............ooh I'll do 8 books instead.......
1. The Giver by L. Lowry
2. Twilight by S. Meyer
3. Saints by O.S. Card
4. The Total Money Makeover by D. Ramsey
5. The Good Earth by P. S. Buck
6. Enchantment by O.S. Card
7. Pillars of the Earth by K. Follet
8. East of Eden by Steinbeck

Draper Temple

Friday we made a pilgrimage to the Draper Temple open house. The temple is beautiful and I can't wait to be able to use it. The colors inside are fabulous!!

Jack loved the 12 oxen and all of the tents we had to walk through to get inside, Mads liked the font and the bus ride, Ri liked the font too and can't wait to be old enough to do baptisms, Jason liked the Ordinance rooms that had murals of nature painted on the walls.......so did I, and of course I loved the bride's room. The temple is compact and has a good use of space. It made it apparent that the need for temple work is urgent in these days. Unfortunately it was really hard to get any pictures because we were herded like sheep.........kindly but quickly and we were in tents 99.9% of the time we were outside of the temple.....no pics inside. Get your reservations if there are any left!!! Otherwise prepare yourself for Oquirrh Mountain.

Carpet Padding??!! Really?

Note: before we begin.........there are some disturbing 'milk' pictures out there......so be careful when you google.

There I was, going to buy groceries. We nip out to the nearest Walmart (God's gift, Satan's empire). I decide to buy some of the refrigerated food first and take it out to 'the sport van' since it is mind numbingly cold here in God's country.........and I can't fit all of the love bugs in the cart with all of the food. (Duggars.........I love you, how do you do it? I guess that whole partner thing really works......anyway, we don't have partners). So the love bugs and I buy the cold items and I take the goods out to the car through the pelting ice, known to some as snow. I go back, finish the shopping and race back out to throw everyone/thing in the car. I'm strapping Mini Bob in the car seat and Ri decides to help load the remaining food. She looks put off and concerned. Like the beast I am I go back to see why she can't just put the bags in so she can get in and get warm. Then I see the horrible disaster that will follow us for weeks...........

Notice on the milk jug.........that circle on the side. At some pivotal moment that area gave away and all of the milk up to that point leaked out into the back of the van.

Okay...........seriously another reason I was in such a hurry is because it was date night......and believe me people, I take my dating VERY seriously.

We stash the rest of the goods in various areas of the van and slosh home. As I am taking the kids/food in Jason whips out the 'Little Green Clean Machine'. That's not a pet name..........it's a carpet cleaner. He slurps up all the milk he can.........which is freezing into the carpet at this point and then adds tons of hot water. Oh, happy day, we leave and go on our date. I stop thinking about the milk.

Days later the weather begins to warm up. I open the van door to put the baby in and a stench like no other slams into my face. I start looking for missing sippy cups, did a diaper get left in here? raccoons, squirrels, unreported vomit, ........yeah, I'm too dumb to remember the spilled milk. I find myself not wanting to roll down the window and chat with friends while I wait for the kids at school. I try not to put myself in situations where I will have to give rides to anyone. When I am too ashamed to park in a public lot and open the van doors Duh! I realize the milk must not have come out of the carpet.

Jason tries one more valiant effort to clean the carpet by pouring 15 gallons of hot water in the back of the van. When that fails to impede the grotesque odor Jason has to pull out the carpet. No joke did you know that there is actually carpet padding under automotive carpet? It's not like I toodle around in there all day in bare feet and lounge on the floor reading. Seriously.......carpet padding? Who knew?

A giant box of lavender and baking soda carpet deodorizer and it's like a brand new van. Riley and Jack, thank me now since this will someday be your legacy. I can just see you now hangin' with your peeps on the country streets of the Glen in your sweet ride.

Moral of the story........if you ever spill any 'liquid' in your trunk.........pull out the pad right away.

Rabbit Hole or Electric Lime Palace

Coppa calls all of the kiddies rabbits..........so this is the rabbit hole. The kids have their own little play place under the basement stairs........gratis Coppa and Daddy. They even have their very own mini doorway/secret entrance.

Max had to get some rolling in himself so that he is allowed to play inside. Service hours are required to gain entry. I wonder if keeping Max away will count towards my hours?

Ri, Jack and Mad agreed on the color......Electric Lime for those of you salivating to copy. By the end the floor was even covered in paint. I kind of stopped paying strict attention to Max and he wandered down and walked through the wet floor paint. If you look carefully you can see mini paw prints in the paint. It's the best part of the whole room.

The storage room is now finished with custom shelving! But it's holding everything from other parts of the basement that we can't put away yet. Someday it will be filled with enough food to usher me into the last days:)

The family room is framed Yippee!

The girl's room is being framed right now........I have a picture in my head of what it will look like, now we just have to see what I can find to make it look that way.

I can't wait for the basement to be finished. I am shaking from withdrawl........I haven't had my own books for almost a year and a half. If I'm lucky I will have a library. I will burn my scrapbooking stuff in order to make room if I have to.