Lust: Houseplans.com

We live in a sweet little house.  It's pretty old and pretty tiny.  When I first moved to town and told the townsfolk where I was living, every different individual told me "I knew that place when so-and-so lived there!" And every person told me a different name. 

Seth bought the farm and house and soon it became his "bachelor pad".  I believe he moved in with everything that had been left from previous owners... and I wouldn't be surprised if some of those priceless relics still existed in the attic or back porch. 

He enjoyed the cold winters here with only one or two functioning baseboard heaters and kept company with the mice he fed in the kitchen.

He spent very few hours in the house during the summer and those hours were spent with one window unit in the bedroom.

And then I showed up.  :)

We now have fully functioning heating and cooling... and we pay for it.  We also have added on a master suite which has allowed us to stay in this house in a much more comfortable position.  Seth even built a beautiful little deck and pergola that has added so much character to the house.

We have also tried to kick out each and every little critter that dares to shows it ugly little mug in this house.  So far... so good... See you later bugs, spiders, mice, rats..., frogs.... Die.  Tell your buddies.  Don't come a knockin'.

We have turned this little pieced together house into the home that I will never forget as my first "home" with my own family.  Seth proposed to me on the living room floor.  We discovered we were having our first and second child in this house.  We brought both of those children home from the hospital to their now comfy bedrooms.  The house is small; but it is our home.  It's filled with things we love and have been handed down to us from both of our families.

Obviously, all that being said, we don't plan on this being our forever house.  We would personally like a house with a basement and maybe an upstairs.... and more storage... and something that didn't apparently get knocked off its foundation by a tornado back in the day...  I would like the dirt that resides with us to be all just OUR dirt.... Not something that was left behind by so-and-so's second cousin, twice removed.

In the past few days Seth has been bringing up houses and plans.  So, of course, I've spent almost every spare second I have scouring house plans and home décor ideas.  I am an old pro at this.  I stumbled upon my "dream home" probably 5 years ago.... I'm not sure if that dream will become a reality... but we are looking into it.

I have no idea what and I have no idea where... but WHEN we are finally able to build, I'm going to be ready! 

Again, I'll be sad to leave this place and can only imagine how the boys will react when we go to our new home.  I know they'll miss this little place.  Amazingly enough, I will, too.

Well... Poop.

Something to check off of the list... Overflowing toilet.... Definitely not my bucket list....

When it hits the fan and mass hysteria strikes, 9 times out of 10, your kids will be running amuck/fussing/crying and it'll be right before bedtime. True story.

Last night, I had just finished feeding Charlie and came out to find Wyatt running out of the bathroom 'Oh no. Can't go poopy!' What?.... I walked into the kids' bathroom to find the toilet overflowing and filling the bathroom with about an inch of water. Toilet water... Wyatt had apparently already gone to the bathroom and flushed when something clogged and the handle was stuck down causing the bowl to runneth over....

Oh. My. Gravy. Panic sets in knowing that dirty toilet water is filling your bathroom and threatening the hallway. In the meantime, Mr. Charlie wasn't happy when I just plopped him on the living room floor to attend to the mess... Wyatt's crying in concern. Charlie's crying in abandonment. I'm darting around so quickly that I can't even focus my eyes.

8:15 and I sent out approximately 12 SOS calls to the husband. I can handle a lot on my own... But when it came to that moment, I desperately needed another adult to help contain the situation. When Seth called back I think the panic in my voice made it pretty obvious I needed help. STAT!

But go figure, by the time he got home, the bathroom smelled of bleach, Charlie was happily bouncing in the jumper, Wyatt was enjoying a nice little show on TV and I was having a beverage. If only he could've seen the chaos 45 minutes earlier.

So, no worries, friends. Dirty toilet water no longer resides here. For now. And hopefully not ever again.

Interview with a two year old...

Charlie was napping.  I was sunning myself and attempting to read a book (which I haven't done since probably last summer - when I was pregnant and morning sick and sunning with a younger Wyatt).  Wyatt was enjoying his baby pool and washing off his tractor, truck and gator.  I decided to take a second to enjoy this time with my little boy.  Because this time seems to fade fast.  He's growing up more and more every day.  Same with Charlie, of course.  But this was my time with Wyatt.

What's your name?
-Super Wyatt
How old are you?
-Two.  Just two.
What's your favorite color?
-Pah pah puppy.  Puppy puppy.
What's your favorite COLOR?
-My name Panky.
No, Wyatt.  What's your favorite color...?! Like red, orange, blue, green...
-Orange.  Orange mine favorite color.
Who are your friends?
-May. Puppy at mine park last time. Joe. Panky. Daddy. Papa. Papa Fred. Papa Fred. Joe.
What's your favorite show?
-Super Why. Daniel Tiger. Daniel Tiger mine friend.
What's your favorite food?
-Pah pah.
No, Wyatt... What do you like to eat...?
-Like to eat macky!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
-Ride in big tractor and the little tractor!

Clearly, Wyatt likes the letter P. Pah pah.

We seem to be missing poop in our stories here lately.  And guess what..?  I'm totally cool with that.

New Word of the Day

Cop-a-bird.

We have a little dog that showed up stray at our house about 4 years ago. She's a sweet little white dog who has since become a part of our family. Even though she's sometimes a neurotic, anxiety-ridden guard dog... She's a part of our group. Little orphan Annie.

She showed up one Sunday afternoon barking at our front door. I opened the door and she took off running! About 30 minutes later she showed up barking again. I lured her in with some lunch meat and sat outside with her for a while. She was tiny and covered in fleas. We put her on Pet Patrol on the radio and took her to neighbors and also two local vets. No hits. We haven't ever wanted an indoor dog and thought about giving her up.

The day Annie showed up.

About a week later I came down with a horrible flu. The swine. Or H1N1 as my husband insists. I was stuck on the couch and sleeping in a separate bedroom trying to keep from getting Seth sick. Who did I cuddle with....? Annie. That was it. We were bonded. We became the proud parents of a little girl who we suddenly realized required a trip to the groomer every 6 weeks. Fabulous...

This little dog is no priss. She likes to explore the farm. She loves when we have cows around... Ew, I don't need to elaborate on the savory treats the cows leave for her. She also loves running through wet grass that on a normal dog just covers their paws but on an Annie-dog comes up past her belly!

But one of the. most. maddening. things. ever..... Is our word of the day.

Cop-a-bird.

We have an abundance of cockleburs somewhere on our property. And Annie is proficient at finding them and becoming a walking pin cushion. She then comes in the house and picks them off of herself at random spots around the house. Thus, we have little Annie land mines throughout the house. Cockleburs. Wyatt has learned to recognize this little boobie traps and exclaims "cop-a-bird!" as he picks one off of his foot or out of the carpet.

Sometimes we would like to make an orphan of Annie again.  The cop-a-birds all over the place, random fits on midnight barking, mysterious prizes left in the hallway from time to time.... But she's such a fun sweet little dog and the kids love her.  Oh, Annie-dog.

"Got gross on me...!"

One of Wyatt's new favorite places of all time is Dean's shop.  Dean has a pile of the best old farm tractors and implements, ever.  Wyatt could spend all day just digging through this pile of treasures, hooking and unhooking each and every piece of equipment. 

Dean doesn't live very close to us, but very near a couple of fields that Seth farms.  He's very gracious and provides storage for our tractor, or planter, or mower, whenever the conditions kick Seth out of the field.  Which is quite often here lately. 

Wyatt rode with Seth one morning this weekend to go deliver something to Dean and Wyatt spent his time digging through the treasure pile.  But somehow he managed to get covered in grease... It's amazing how little boys find these hidden stashes of grease.  Magnets for messes.

Wyatt came home with grease all over his clothes and some remaining spots speckled all over his body.  But Wyatt hasn't mastered the word 'grease' just yet.  During lunch he proceeded to tell me how he got "gross" all over!  "Gross all on mine pants! Gross all on mine mouth! Gross all on mine hands! Dean clean gross off mine hands."

True story, Wyatt.  Grease is gross.  I am becoming proficient in nasty laundry.  Just in time for three boys to take over my life.

Charlie: Five Months

Big Charlie is five months old today! Every day he is so sweet and jolly. And quite ticklish! Tickles bring giggles. Giggles bring hiccups. Hiccups bring spit up. I have this sneaking suspicion that Charlie will be the boy who spins in circles after dinner and makes himself sick...

Yesterday, I wrote about Wyatt and how much he talks. I spend most of the day listening to Wyatt trying to meet his word quota.  I am excited for Charlie to find his words and start conversing with Wyatt. The conversations those boys will have... I know we will get a lot of laughs. But. I so enjoy the silence of Charlie. The sweet, quiet, breathy sounds coming from him are enough to warm my heart. Babies are just so sweet and pure and innocent.

And my how time flies. Charlie is almost half way through his first year and I wouldn't do anything to change what he has become for our family. He loves Wyatt and is always watching him. When Wyatt comes in for a good night hug and kiss Charlie smiles and giggles.

I always wanted a girl and was fairly bummed to find out Charlie was another boy. I wouldn't change a thing. I'm quite partial to boys. My boys. 

Interview with a two year old...

Little Wyatt is really starting to talk. He can put words together into complete thoughts and is making nice, choppy sentences. Most of these revolve around his favorite boots and some piece of equipment that is "broke down". So while swinging the other day, I decided to ask some random questions and write them down. I'm excited to do this often to see how he changes...!

How old are you?
-Two.
What's your name?
-Wyatt. Super Wyatt.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
-Farmer man.
Where do you want to live when you grow up?
-Live in a tractor over there.
What do you think will be the first thing you drive?
-Green tractor.
What's your favorite letter?
-Pah pah (P says pah, thanks leap frog)
What's your favorite food?
-Ham
Who are your friends?
-May. (I was very confused by this until I realized he was talking about a little puppy who visited.)
-I like dogs in the tractor. (Random.)
What does your little brother do?
-Good dog chartah.
And our interview concluded when Wyatt realized....
- Shadow back! My shadow over there! So happy. Tooted.

Oh, to be a two year old boy.
What a gooseberry.