I've been making a list of things I want to blog about. So, here we go! (Not that this is everything, but it is a start.)
Shortly after moving in, I started hearing "scurrying" around in the walls next to Andon's room. I only heard it in the middle of the night when I was in the room nursing him. I started worrying it was rats and was getting grossed out by it. I would sit there nursing him and be all tense, just waiting for the sound! I emailed my parents and they said to go ahead and hire an extermination company to come out. I found a great company from Newberg who felt like it was likely squirrels. And they were right! Not quite so gross but they can still wreak havoc on the insulation and wood inside your attic. You can't kill them all off, so you have to do "exclusion" work to keep them out. But, after they closed off the attic, the guy set traps just in case we had trapped them inside. Guess what he found next? Mice! Yuck! But the next time he set the traps for three days, we ended up with nothing, so we think we got them all! Mice and squirrels: gone! Last summer, Kyle had removed birds from the same attic area, so hopefully we've taken care of the problem for good. Result: a quiet, peaceful night when I'm up feeding Andon. Phew!
The weekend after we moved in, we had the Clark kids over for a sleepover. Jana had planned a special "date weekend" for Scott as an early Valentine's gift, so we took the kids off their hands. We all had so much fun with them over. The older boys helped me make dinner (banana and zucchini bread and canned peaches...healthy, huh?!), and I made pancakes for breakfast. Kyle had fun playing games with the boys, too. The rest of the time, everyone just went crazy playing or doing whatever they wanted. I think I only saw Kylene and Stephanie at meal times: the rest of the time they were in Kylene's room reading or playing.
We had Stake Conference a couple of weekends ago, so we hired our first babysitter in Wilsonville. Part way through the Adult Session Saturday evening, Kyle got a text from the babysitter saying it smelled like smoke in Kylene's room. We had her let Kylene sleep in our bed and she opened the window to air it out, and we drove home. After looking around the room for a few minutes to try and discover the source, I noticed one of Kylene's dolls sitting atop her lamp (which was on)! Sure enough, it was getting roasted. The dolls "back side" was burning and the lamp shade was starting to melt. I was shocked and so thankful the doll hadn't ignited. It was scary to think how close we were to having a fire--and in my parent's home that we just barely moved into! I realized after that my parent's only have one smoke detector in their entire upstairs, in the hallway. If a fire were to start in one of the kids' room with the door closed, we wouldn't know about it for a long time. Guess what we just bought and need to install ASAP? Four new smoke detectors!
A few weeks before we moved from Salem, I got a large envelope in the mail from an attorney's office. I thought, "What in the world could this be?" It ended up being mine and Kyle's first subpoena to testify in a lawsuit! Perfect timing (not)! Way back in October, 2009, Kyle and I had witnessed a car accident. Actually, a car had pulled out in front of a motorcycle. The motorcyclist had been cited for speeding, but was now suing the driver of the vehicle for injuries and damages. They are trying to settle out of court, so we only had to testify at the law office, but there was a court reporter and we were sworn in, etc. It was all a little silly, in my opinion, although they try and make it very official. I sincerely feel bad for both parties involved, but the attorneys (especially one) was a bit annoying and over the top. He kept trying to "split hairs" and pin me down to say something I didn't want to say. But, we both got through it. It ended up being the same day we signed the Lease Agreement with our new tenants, so I ended up spending the entire day in Salem. It was fun to get to hang out for awhile with my dear friend, Julie, and let the kids play.Shortly after moving in, I started hearing "scurrying" around in the walls next to Andon's room. I only heard it in the middle of the night when I was in the room nursing him. I started worrying it was rats and was getting grossed out by it. I would sit there nursing him and be all tense, just waiting for the sound! I emailed my parents and they said to go ahead and hire an extermination company to come out. I found a great company from Newberg who felt like it was likely squirrels. And they were right! Not quite so gross but they can still wreak havoc on the insulation and wood inside your attic. You can't kill them all off, so you have to do "exclusion" work to keep them out. But, after they closed off the attic, the guy set traps just in case we had trapped them inside. Guess what he found next? Mice! Yuck! But the next time he set the traps for three days, we ended up with nothing, so we think we got them all! Mice and squirrels: gone! Last summer, Kyle had removed birds from the same attic area, so hopefully we've taken care of the problem for good. Result: a quiet, peaceful night when I'm up feeding Andon. Phew!
The weekend after we moved in, we had the Clark kids over for a sleepover. Jana had planned a special "date weekend" for Scott as an early Valentine's gift, so we took the kids off their hands. We all had so much fun with them over. The older boys helped me make dinner (banana and zucchini bread and canned peaches...healthy, huh?!), and I made pancakes for breakfast. Kyle had fun playing games with the boys, too. The rest of the time, everyone just went crazy playing or doing whatever they wanted. I think I only saw Kylene and Stephanie at meal times: the rest of the time they were in Kylene's room reading or playing.
We had Stake Conference a couple of weekends ago, so we hired our first babysitter in Wilsonville. Part way through the Adult Session Saturday evening, Kyle got a text from the babysitter saying it smelled like smoke in Kylene's room. We had her let Kylene sleep in our bed and she opened the window to air it out, and we drove home. After looking around the room for a few minutes to try and discover the source, I noticed one of Kylene's dolls sitting atop her lamp (which was on)! Sure enough, it was getting roasted. The dolls "back side" was burning and the lamp shade was starting to melt. I was shocked and so thankful the doll hadn't ignited. It was scary to think how close we were to having a fire--and in my parent's home that we just barely moved into! I realized after that my parent's only have one smoke detector in their entire upstairs, in the hallway. If a fire were to start in one of the kids' room with the door closed, we wouldn't know about it for a long time. Guess what we just bought and need to install ASAP? Four new smoke detectors!
Amidst all the unpacking, organizing, and trying to keep up, Andon somehow managed to get a cold that kept getting worse. After several days, I was worried that it was in his lungs. We were in Salem for the testimony and lease signing, and since I haven't yet established with a doctor here, I decided I may as well have him checked in Salem. Sure enough, he had Bronchiolitis/RSV, same thing that Skyler got when he was about nine months old. (I don't think his was as bad, though; his behavior was much better, thankfully.) I've heard of a lot of people getting the bad cough/cold lately, but it hits babies worse. Thank goodness for the nebulizer we have; it saved us once again. He hasn't been sleeping nearly as well because of it, but he's doing a lot better now. Here he is "exploring" the nebulizer face mask.
A week before Valentine's Day I was having a particularly rough day. I had talked to Kyle at one point, not sure if I was going to make it! He came home that evening with this beautiful arrangement. Arent't they beautiful? He told me he figured I could use them more that day than on Valentine's, which he was right. They definitely helped to brighten my week, and guess what? They lasted 2 1/2 weeks! I have never had roses last that long! But it meant I got to enjoy them on Valentine's as well. Thanks, babe!
My dear friends, Beth and Memory, and I were finally able to plan a lunch together the weekend after Valentine's Day. It was soooo nice to go enjoy a relaxing lunch with them, have them commiserate on everything that's been going on in life (they have often had it much worse than me, so they definitely understand!), and rejuvenate a little. It was definitely just what I needed. I wish I had taken a picture, but I am now a fan of Biscuits Cafe. So yummy! And we have one right here in Wilsonville; yay!
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