Toy Cove: Final Product

That's right. We are done with our storage room, or toy cove as the kids call it. Remember how this was only supposed to take a month? Well, I do. In actuality it took a total of 4 months. Just as a reminder of what we had before...

which progressed to...

then we were fully committed.

Framing, sheet rocking and mudding. Blake hated the mudding the most.

And finally, this past week we had a guy come and put in the carpet. We got matching and free carpet from our neighbors up the street who put in hard wood floors. We totally lucked out on this one.

The kids enjoying the open and comfy space.

So here's the final product. Blake had to custom make the door. He bought a normal size one and after one long long long day, had it cut and put into place.

Here's the inside. Yes, this is what it typically looks like. Toys scattered everywhere. But that's the purpose of the door, right? I just shut it and don't have to think about it.

It was worth the time and minimal cost. I think this whole project cost around $125. Relatively cheap for the extra space we have. You can't see in the picture above that we have all the pushy stuff tucked back into the corner. (shopping carts, riding toys, strollers, etc) I am so grateful for a talented husband who can add value to our home and a little activity to his life.

Birthday Party

We couldn't have a birthday without a little party. Brody woke up and came downstairs to a decorated  room. He was excited to see something different. He had our usual, eggs with milk.

Dad & Son

 Mom & Son

 Two incredibly proud parents.

I have been known to have parties with 12+ kids. I've decided this year to be simple and as such, had 5 little friends over. Guests: Braden, Tegan, Isaiah, Brody, Evelyn, Dexter and Clementine. We missed 2 other  friends, but they are in Hawaii. I can't top that.

Brody loves anything music, so that's what we did for his party. The kids painted their own drum sticks. I made kitten mittens and we sang some songs. We couldn't have a music party without playing some instruments. It was loud, but the kids LOVED it.

Then came the presents. All the kids were excited to give their presents and help Brody open them. We have such great friends who are so generous. Brody got bath foam (which he loves), play-doh, car, leap frog fridge toy, and a new Baby Einstein movie and books from Grandma/pa Barnett. Blake and I got him a boat with toys for the bathtub.

Finally, we couldn't wait for the cake. Brody has been asking for some since Monday. Here he is patiently waiting.

I made him a little drum cake.

Singing Happy Birthday

Playing his drum cake.

It didn't take him long to eat everything.

We also had carrots, bananas and pizza. All of Brody's favorites, minus the carrots.

 More pictures with friends.

It was a successful party. I love having great friends who are willing to help a pregnant lady out, even though 3 out of the 4 people there are pregnant too. I know Brody had a great time and even though I am completely exhausted, that's all that matters. Happy Birthday sweet little boy!

Two Years Old

That's right. My little baby turned 2 today. Technically, not until this evening around 11:35pm, but who's counting? Most days Blake and I think this kid will be the death of us. He's into everything, has to do everything himself, and is great at pushing people's buttons (especially his family members). With all that said, we love him very much. He can be so sweet, silly and helpful. The moment we start the cleanup song (Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere...) he jumps right in to help out.

I had to include this picture of Braden. They were in their church clothes and I didn't want them to get dirty. They refused to wear bibs, so aprons it was.

Back to Brody. He wants to do whatever Braden is doing. Which proves to be difficult at times. He never gives up. He will work and work and work to master something. He can be very gentle and sweet. He's really into babies lately (good thing, right) and had to give Mr. Owl some snuggles.

He's like any other two year old, in the sense that he's not engaged for more than a minute at a time. For those moments that he's entertained longer, we threaten severe punishment if Braden interrupts him. They both have this love/hate relationship going on. His language is still pretty limited, but he's expanding his vocabulary daily. He's now willing to repeat what we say. That's a huge step. His favorite thing to say is "Bye, see you later." He will keep saying it until you've recognized him and bid him the proper farewell.

Honestly, as challenging as he is. We are so grateful he is a part of our family. He got his looks from his dad and his personality from me. He's great at throwing temper tantrums, but is quick to get over them and do what we ask. We love you little Brody and wouldn't want you to be anywhere else. We look forward to this upcoming year and what new adventures you will bring.

ACE Personal Trainer

About 8 months back my trainer and good friend, Annie, planted the seed in my head of becoming a trainer. For the next 2 months it was all she spoke about with me. After speaking with Blake and weighing the pros and cons, I decided to do it. What did this entail? A hefty investment for all my materials and the actual test, time, and motivation. I received my materials shortly after finding out I was pregnant. Ask me how motivated a first trimester pregnant lady is. Not very motivated would be my answer. 

ACE (American Council on Exercise) recommends taking 3-6 months to prepare for the test. I was hoping to stay closer to the 3 month category, but ended up completing it in 6 months. After the nausea and fatigue wore off from the first trimester, I jumped into studying. All my (most of my) free time was spent studying. I don't know who is more excited to be finished, me or Blake. He's ready for his wife back. I would literally say no to snuggling up on the couch to watch a movie so I could study. I think his comment one night was, "I never remember you studying this hard in college." To which I responded, "I didn't care to truly learn anything while I was in college. I just wanted to pass the class and move on." 

On Sunday I asked Braden earlier in the day to pray that I could do well on my test and pass. He said a sweet little prayer about me "winning" (passing) and then insisted on saying a second prayer to give me even more power. I can't help but feel proud that my son in his innocence recognizes the power of prayer.

I too had many sincere prayers and I have to say, they worked! Ok, I am a firm believer that the Lord won't do anything for us that we are capable of doing, but He kept me calm and clear throughout my test. It was a hard test. I have taken at least 10 practice tests, not including end of chapter test, and rocked those. The real test was nothing like it. The proctor of the test told me that the test would stop the moment I had a passing score, so how do you think I felt when I was about to push submit and it still didn't stop. I thought for sure I had failed. But, I didn't! I didn't even get close to failing. I didn't pass with flying colors either, but I will always take a solid B.

I look forward to shadowing some great trainers at my gym and putting what I have read into practical use. My plan is to shadow for the next 6 weeks until the baby comes and then work hard on myself for a good 6 weeks  (and longer) before I take on 3 trial clients. These are people who I will train for free under the supervision of our gym's head trainer. I need to do this before I am set loose to have official paying clients. I look forward to influencing the lives of those in this area. Making a healthy and happier Palouse. I LOVE fitness and look forward to gaining more knowledge and passing that knowledge along to family and friends.

As for now, it's time to celebrate and relax. And maybe start focusing on our upcoming arrival. That's a pretty big deal that hasn't received much of my attention lately.

Then There's a New Day

Yes, being a mom is hard, but then you go to sleep and wake up to a new day. With our 3 new rules in mind, we began our Thursday with a family prayer and I have to say, we had a great day. I didn't care that everything was closed and a rainy snow was coming down, I headed to the gym to get my sanity in check (not going to the gym on Wednesday probably was a factor in me blowing up the night before).

The boys loved the gym. We came home, had a great lunch, played all afternoon and were even spoiled enough to go outside and play with the neighbors. Brody doesn't have a good snow suit, so we were only out for 5-10 minutes. He loved riding on the sled.

Having great friends and in our case friends/neighbors makes being a mom a bit easier. Braden was outside playing with Isaiah for a good 1 1/2 hours. It was freezing and no one had good gear to combat the freezing rain, but the boys had fun.

These two fight like brothers and I am sure it drives Rachel just as crazy as it does me, but they love eachother. Braden is constantly asking to play with Isaiah. They do well for the most part, but definitely have their moments. I think Braden just wants to boss Isaiah around and Isaiah is too strong to allow that. So, even though they may fight, I think it's great Braden has a friend who refuses to give in. Keep it up Zay!

Ms. Rachel was so sweet and made the boys some hot chocolate to keep them warm.

And Stephen took the time to build a cool snow fort. We were able to get out on Friday and play more in the fort.

(Pictures courtesy of Rachel) Blake came home and we had an amazing evening as a family. I have to say this was the same for Friday too. The 3 rules/changes of our home have definitely made a more livable place with a much more determined and patient mom. I hope we can keep this up, because we are a pretty rockin family when we have our act together.

Being a Mom is HARD

especially on a snowy day when you are stuck in the house. We've had massive amounts of snow the past couple days. Enough to close down EVERYTHING (universities included) for 3 days. That's our backyard and yes, our wall is 4 feet tall. This was day 1, it snowed all day on day 2 and today, it's been warm with now snow in the sky.

Back to the title. Being a mom is so hard. Of course you know it's not going to be a cake walk when you take that step into parenthood, nor can anyone fully prepare you, but come on. I had my breaking point on Wednesday. I did everything I could do to entertain these 2 rascals. 

In preparing the babies room we needed to sand and paint a shelf Blake made when he was in 7th grade.

The boys enjoyed the sanding for like 2 minutes.

Then came the shaving cream.

Braden lasted 5 minutes, while Brody lasted 10.

Onto snacks, this was followed by some extreme bath time.

Somewhere we threw in some computer games.

 And a movie.

But honestly, by the time Blake got home, I was fresh out of ideas and done with these 2. Am I terrible for saying that? It's not like I wanted to sell them or anything (although it did cross my mind throughout the day). I feel like I had spent the day playing referee and I don't even get a paycheck to account for the whistle calls, name calling and overall disgust I received from a nameless 3 year old. After dinner, amongst another sibling fight, I gave myself a red card (for an extreme bit of yelling) and locked myself in the room the rest of the night. Fortunately, Blake understood and daddied it up for 2 hours until the boys went to bed.

Blake and I had a great parenting conversation after they were asleep and came up with a game plan. Braden is out of control and we realize this. Mostly because we have always let him get his way. Not intentionally, it just happens and we let it. So as of Thursday we had 3 new rules in the house. #1 Timeouts would once again be reinforced (as this was the only thing that seemed to help), #2 Blake and I would follow through on absolutely everything we said, and #3 Bedtime routine would start at 7pm in hopes that the kids would be fast asleep no later than 8:30pm. This is our game plan and we are motivated to change some things before baby #3 comes. Parents will once again regain control of this household so mom doesn't freak out again.

I would love tips on how you cope with sibling fights, disobedient 3/4 year olds, and a genuine lack of respect for parents. Let the advice begin.

Appliances

As you can tell, there's not much going on in the Barnett household, so, you get the post about appliances. Question: why are new appliances so hard to buy? What I mean is, Blake and I still have the blender and toaster we got from our wedding. That's like 6 1/2 years with these appliances. They were great starter appliances, but now the blender leaks and the toast takes a solid 5 minutes to get brown, just brown.

To sum it all up, I want a new blender and a 4 way toaster. Blake just laughs and says we're fine, but I can't tell you how much toast we go through everyday (honestly, it's my kids staple). And when it's a bigger hassle to clean up the blender mess than enjoy my lovely evening fruit smoothies, I think it's about time.

So why is it so hard to go out and spend $50 on this beauty when I know I would use it everyday. It's completely within our budget and I know we will have it for at least the next 6 1/2 years. Time is money, right? Well, I eat eggs every morning for breakfast (it's not a joke, I really do) and toast some form of carbs (english muffins, bread, bagels, etc). It's just hard when I have 2 appliance that technically still work, even though they don't.

I might just do it. Bite the bullet and buy something new for once. So ladies, I need some suggestions. What's the best blender on the market (yes, price does matter)? What toaster have you fallen in love with? I might have to get one at a time, but it's time. It's PAST time.

Elimination of Binky: Brody

A few weeks back we decided it was time to get rid of the binky. Remember when we did this with Braden? It was the exact same time of year, but Brody is technically a month older. Christmas weekend was our goal, starting Friday. Blake was off all weekend and through Monday, so I'd have support if it went terribly.

I spoke with my mom about it a couple days before and she bet me that Brody would win. Well mom, you were wrong, mostly. And thank goodness about that. So Thursday night I decided we were done. Why wait an extra day? He only uses it at night and naps anyway. 

I cut the binky and gave it to Brody. He put it in his mouth and was confused. I said, "Uh-oh, it's broken. Throw it in the garbage." We have a strict if it's broken we throw it away rule. Brody agreed and threw it in the garbage. He then looked at me like, ok lady, where's another one. Fortunately, we have lot the other 2 binky's we own within the last 2 months, so there was no additional binky to be given. In 22 month old words, I explained this. Once again, the look of, well lady, go to the store and buy a new one. Braden was never like this. He understood that it was gone.

For the next hour we heard from the crib a sad request for "ni, ni." (Brody's words for binky.) He wasn't crying, just yelling it. Finally he fell asleep and we had a great night. This is how it was with Braden too, but Braden did terrible for his nap and sleeping the next several nights.

He's done great most nights, but naps are another story. I remember Braden giving up his naps around this time and I think it has mostly to do with eliminating the binky. Brody is the same way. In order to get him down for a nap, we have to bring him into our room and turn on a Baby Einstein (thanks mom Barnett for getting us some). Within 10-20 minutes he is out for a usual nap (2-3 hours). It's annoying, but I am willing to do anything to hold onto these precious hours with just Braden. 

Nights have been no issue, minus the fact that he sometimes wakes up at 6am with a blood curdling scream and then goes right back to sleep. I am glad we eliminate it earlier. I think if we waited any longer, than the process would be much harder. People have suggested binky fairies or giving binky to kids who need them, but frankly, he's too young to explain any of that. The cold turkey method had worked great so far. We do it now because we want him to have no attachments when Baby #3 starts using one in like 2 months.

Barney's Ship

I rented a Barney cartoon from the library 2 weeks ago. I have to say, the boys really like him and I really like him. After watching Barney go on a boat adventure, we had to create an our own ship. This was done with tons of blankets and a variety of toys.

Braden was our Captain. He drew a map. We were headed to the Washington State Cougars. So silly! We honestly played for like 2 hours, so I had to mix things up a little bit. After about 45 minutes of the boat, I suggested making some stop at some islands to gather food. We had to climb banana and pineapple trees. Braden had to get water our of a well. We gathered a lot of food.

Mr. Brody was our first mate. According to Braden, his job was to stay out of the Captain's way. Brody did pretty well. He would swim in the water and head to the island to make sure everything was ok. He was also good at catching sharks.

So for those who hate Barney, he gave us a great 30 minute musical show, followed by an additional 2 hours of family fun.

Brothers

Is there anything better than licking the icing off a beater with your brother?

I think not!

New Year's Eve & Goodbye

After some bowling we came home and relaxed. We wanted to end the year with a good home cooked meal, so I made BBQ spare ribs, twice baked potatoes and fresh green beans. I would say everyone was satisfied. Earlier in the week Blake and Amber taught Brody to rub his tummy and pat his head. We would find him doing this (and still do) at random times.

Dinner was one of those moments. It would have been incredibly adorable if he didn't have potatoes and BBQ sauce all over his hands. Still, he's a little copycat. Anytime Amber did something, he was quick to follow.

There was no way we were letting our 1 and 3 year old stay up til midnight, especially with 1pm church (which means NO nap). They went down around 9pm, so us adults could play. Blake spent most the evening updating his sisters iPad (we he loved doing) and he'd sneak in to play games with Amber and I when he had a minute. We taught Amber some new games and look forward to the next time we can bring them out. Sure enough, midnight did come and so did the disgusting white grape Martinelli. I guess our options were limited. Amber refused to let me take a picture of her, but here's me and my man (correction, men).

We stayed up until 1am then crashed. We were sad to see Amber leave Sunday morning. Her flight time did get Blake out of speaking last Sunday, so he wasn't too sad. We made her promise to come again and look forward to seeing her this summer, as we plan a trip to Utah. We sure appreciate all of her spoiling behaviors and interactions with the boys. They really love her.

Aunt Amber: Bowling

I don't know if we bored Amber or kept her busy. I hope a nice mix of both. I am sad to say we didn't do anything real elaborate, Pullman in the winter is kind of boring. I guess that's why I like having babies in winter. It gives me something to do, JK!

We took Amber to library time, the WSU Rec Center, and the Science Center. She took Braden's to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Plus she got him popcorn and an icee so she is for sure his favorite aunt. On Saturday we headed to Zeppos for some bowling. Minus me embarrassing Blake and Amber (I was mad at the lady because I had a Buy One, Get One Free coupon that she insisted meant buy 3 games get your 4th free. It was annoying and false advertising.), we had a great time.

We have yet to have a great family experience bowling. Most of this deals with the fact that the boys are young. Well, Brody was terrible, but Braden did great. Look at that proud Aunt. (Amber, I promise these are the only pictures I will post, minus the final picture we took.)

Brody enjoyed bowling as long as it was his turn.

Braden was patient the whole way through. He was happy to cheer others on and eager to carry his own ball to the lane.

Brody was not as happy. He liked heading to the arcade of getting in his dads way.

After our game we headed into the arcade. Braden enjoyed the hitting games.

And so did Brody.

Brody enjoyed the riding games.

While Braden enjoyed the driving games. It was fun to watch these two. Blake also enjoys some good games. I think next year we might take Braden to Chucky Cheeses for his birthday. Just the family though, no friends. 

Overall, bowling was pretty good. Blake has a company party coming up in 3 weeks. It's a bowling party. We have decided to get a babysitter for Brody, but take Braden with us. I think we would all have a better time.