November

Why Hello November!
I guess it's almost gone now so it's time I update the blog again.

Home ownership is busy!
We have now blown through all of the money we saved up for the last 3 years for home buying. "Where did it go?" you ask? So do I!
With several thousands of dollars we bought:

• A yard, sprinkler system, and the labor to landscape and install all of it
• Blinds
• Appliances (Dishwasher, Fridge, Stove/Oven, Microwave, Washer, and Dryer)
• Dinning Table with 4 chairs and a Bench (seats 8-10 when extended)
• Claire's "built-in" shelves and bench
• La-Z-Boy rocking chair

And that's all. So you look at our house and it doesn't look very furnished or finished, but it at least has all the basic necessities. For the most part we tried to buy quality items that will last and so far, so good! There is at least one last big purchase pending: built-ins for the living room. We're waiting for our tax return for that one. Our most recent purchase though was a couch set. We were looking at buying something new, but gosh! Couches are expensive. So I checked KSL Classifieds and found a set for a little less than half the price. The guy selling the couches had only owned them 6 months, and actually, unfortunately for him but great for us, he suffers from an OCD cleaning disorder. So the couches are in GREAT condition! (for now) We borrowed Phillipa's truck  to bring them home ridiculously late at night, so no one was out and about to help Peter bring them inside. I helped him drag them off the truck into the garage--like 3 feet. They are a sage green/gray. I really like them a lot. In the other guy's apartment they looked more gray than green, but in our house they look more green. Which is slightly unfortunate because I was really going for a white, blue, and gray look in the living room, and when I put anything blue near the couch, it just looks MORE green. So... green tones it is.Oh well. Not the end of the world.

What do you think, Kady? Is there any way to have my teal/blue, white, and gray color scheme with a green gray couch?

Our front room now holds the old couch:

So my days are full of entertaining Claire, crafting, cleaning, cooking, and babysitting. Then on the weekends Peter tries to knock off a few items from his never ending project list. We're constantly clearing out and rearranging the garage. Things tend to build up there.

But honestly, with all this stuff to do, most evenings, once Claire has gone to bed, all we want to do is die on the couch and watch TV.

I've been going to a chiropractor for a few weeks now, and I really feel so much better!  I hadn't realized that I was living with so much pain! I still need to work on strengthening my back muscles, but the doctor says that will have to wait until after the baby comes. Meh. Ok by me!

My next OBGYN appointment is on Wednesday(today!). We start the day off with an ultrasound which will hopefully show us what our baby's gender is! We are super excited. Peter says he wants another girl to save on costs, but I know he wants a little boy. He says it doesn't matter if it is a boy or not though because Claire already loves trains. :-)

Events that occurred recently:

Last Saturday (Nov. 16) I finally got around to doing a project that I've been planning for the last THREE YEARS involving felt, pom poms, and hot glue and I seriously burned the palm of my hand. I had just put glue on a pom pom when Claire came over WAVING her hands at me about something obviously important and I dropped the pom pom right into the palm of my left hand. It hurt SO BAD. I got a huge blister--between the size of a dime and nickle. Yeah... I cried too. And the rest of the day Claire kept saying, "no! Mama not sad! Claire kiss it better. Be happy!" She was very concerned that I should always be happy. One week later the blister is gone and replaced by what appears to be a weird scab-like callus. I'm thinking I should have released the pressure so the skin may have returned to normal. So I probably  now have a permanent reminder of a bit of crafting foolishness.

The next day (Sunday Nov. 17) our ward split. We still overflow into the gym, but only half of the gym is full now instead of all of it. (It isn't a full sized gym, but there are two basketball hoops. The 3-point line is a few feet away from the would-be half-court line.) So this week and next week we only have sacrament meeting while the presidencies and teachers are called. Our meeting time changed too to accommodate all the wards in the building (4). We made the switch for the year so our new meeting time of 1:30 will last all through next year. Right during Claire's nap time. I've been forcing her to continue her naps daily, and I'm really afraid that this will be the beginning of the end of Claire's afternoon naps. Oh well!

Friday Nov. 22 I had 5 kids at my house (including Claire). 2 three year olds, 2 two year olds, and 1 one and a half year old. Oh my goodness. It was a couple hours of crazy here. It really wasn't bad until we got out the food. I have no idea how to feed that many kids. There were many spills, a few tears, and several messes, but we all got through and all were fed.

Saturday we went to one of Claire's friend's birthday party. She turned 3 and Clarie now thinks that she is three so that she can have a birthday. She's really excited about having a birthday. She's also a bit excited about Santa this year. Super fun!


And Sunday Peter and I hung some pictures/calendars on the walls. We have quite a few large spaces to fill and now 3 are down. Then in the evening we went to Peter's mom's house to celebrate Phillipa's and Francesco's birthdays with dinner. Claire had a hot dog and lots of olives and pickles. The rest of us enjoyed potatoes and raclette. In case you are unfamiliar, it is a Swiss cheese fondue. Yum. Honestly, it smells kinda funny while it's melting, but tastes amazing.

And that is everything interesting that we've been up to.