Rub-a-dub-dub...

...two boys in the tub!

It's so great now that I can put both boys in the tub at the same time. They had sooo much fun together this morning splashing and sharing toys. It doesn't really save me any time by combining baths since I have to basically wipe down the entire bathroom from all the splashing, but at least my bathroom is now close to spotless! (And will probably stay that way as long as Josh keeps trying to eat the shower curtain.)

On a different note I am now starting potty training with Spencer. For some reason he has been really resistant to anything potty related, so we have been taking it really slowly. But this past weekend he and I had several conversations about going potty, and he said he was grown up enough to go potty... soon. Good enough for me!

Spencer is totally bribable, so that's the route I have decided to take. I discovered his "bribe sweet spot" - Spiderman toys. So I created a chart that showed what kind of treat he would get each time he went potty. This includes candy, cookies, and toys. (One treat or toy for each time he goes potty.) The ultimate treat once he finishes the chart is a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese, the coup d'etat for three year old boys. He gets to put a sticker on the chart each time he goes potty. I also created a picture chart that shows exactly what to do when he needs to go potty. (Like run to the bathroom, pull down your pants, wash hands, etc.) He really likes the charts and helped me tape them on the wall above the potty.

We went to Wal-Mart this morning and he got to pick out the toys, treats, and stickers. He was really quite excited. On the drive home we talked about going potty. We got home and... no dice. He will not go potty. We practiced standing on the stepstool, pulling down pants, everything. He completely understands the concept, but he's standing his stubborn ground.

So I have decided to tempt him by displaying all of his potty treats on my craft table in the office. He knows he can't touch anything on there until he goes potty, but I have seen him in there eying it. I can hold out indefinitely; I won't bother him or nag or even suggest. I'll just let the glamor of toys and treats do that for me. How long do you think before Spencer gives in?

Let the battle of wills begin!

Simple Luxuries

Today was Josh's first time in the shower with me. I love taking baths with babies! They're so cute and shiny and slippery! Plus, they're almost always happy in the shower with you. Josh bellowed and yelled like a deranged moose the entire time - a sure sign of Joshie joy. I had to laugh because his belly is so big it hangs down low enough that we wouldn't have to censor any pictures taken in the shower, if you know what I mean!

While I was in the shower I decided to shave. (Not a simple feat with a 22 pound slippery Hulk underfoot!) This got me thinking about the simple luxuries we enjoy in life. When we were starving students I always bought the cheapest Bic razors possible. It's not that we really couldn't afford nicer razors, it's just that I felt our money could be spent in better ways. So about a month ago I was at the store and realized "Hey, I can afford nicer razors now!" and I promptly bought a Gillette Venus razor.

Ooh la la! Yes, I'm livin' the high life now.

Most of the time I will buy the generic/cheaper version of whatever product I need. In most cases it's just fine; why spend more for the same thing? Jiff versus Wal-Mart peanut butter? Can't tell the difference. The big Malt-o-Meal bags of cereal taste just as good to me as the small $4 boxes of the brand name stuff. Expensive $10 t-shirts for my kids get just as stained and torn as $3 t-shirts.

But then there are things that I'm willing to pay a bit more for. I will never buy generic low fat low calorie yogurt again (it tastes funny to me) - it's Yoplait all the way, baby! High thread count sheets - totally worth the extra cost. But then again, Spencer sleeps on the cheapest ones possible, and he's fine with that. The cheapest hair spray and mousse work for me, but I do splurge a bit on my haircuts. (I give Lance and Spencer their haircuts because they just don't care!) I know people who are willing to pay for "fancy" toilet paper, but I just get the cheapest stuff at Sam's Club. And once I started using REAL vanilla extract in my baking, I knew I could never go back to imitation, despite the cost difference.

So, what are your simple luxuries? What are you willing to pay a bit more for? I think it will be interesting to see the results!

And the winner is...

Okay, so maybe this was easier than I thought. But it was still fun, right? I mean, you have to admit that they look quite a bit alike. By the way, Ginger, of course I can tell them apart. Whether or not I call them by the right name is another issue... but on to the winner!

And the winner is... Christy! Congratulations! This should come as no surprise, seeing as you all had the exact same answers. Christy, I thought a good prize for you would be to make a donation to Autism Speaks Inc. (Seeing as you live in Nebraska and the postage on a prize would probably put me over my "prize" budget for the month!) Christy has been doing a great job spreading the word about autism this month. I have learned a lot from her, and I think it's great that she's so passionate about it.

Okay, even though this is a short post it has taken me an hour to get this far. Despite their cuteness, the boys have been especially demanding this morning. Josh is fussy because of his latest cold, and Spencer keeps running around yelling "I'm a mad monkey!" and making unreasonable demands. (More breakfast, a bath, juice, etc. :) So before I get interrupted again, I'm outee.

Seeing Double?

The first thing I said (in my state of delirium) after Josh was born was "He looks just like Spencer". He still looks a lot like Spencer. It's a good thing that all of our digital photos have time stamps on them!

I thought it would be fun to play "Spencer or Josh? Which Baby is it?" (It's a working title.) Let me know who is who for each pair of pictures. The first person to get them all correct gets a mystery prize! (It's a mystery because I haven't yet decided what it is. Perhaps I'll get a prize to fit the personality of the winner. Perhaps I'll just get something out of the clearance aisle at Target. Either way, it's gonna be great!) The first picture in each pair will be "A" and the second will be "B".

So let me know - Spencer or Josh?

p.s. I just tested Spencer on this and he got 6 out of 7 right. The pickle pics threw him off!

Picture Pair #1


Picture Pair #2


Picture Pair #3


Picture Pair #4


Picture Pair #5


Picture Pair #6


Picture Pair #7

House WORK

Hooray! Our fence is finally finished. It was completed yesterday by Jared Harrington of Harrington Builders (he's in our ward). Good job - I highly recommend him. Now that the fence is in the real work begins. Lance and I spent the day digging up the big rocks in the back yard and patching the holes in the grass in our front lawn. (The builder did a terrible job of laying the sod, thus the holes.)

Here are a few pictures to show how things look now - hopefully in a few months the "after" pictures will look a lot better! (Assuming we have enough time, money, and talent!) The details are mainly for my family, so I won't feel bad if you think it's a bit boring - just scroll down and see the cute pictures of Josh and a pickle. :)

But if you are a gardener and have any suggestions, please feel free to let me know!

Front of the house - facing East

See the polka-dots patches on our lawn? Cute. Hopefully in the next few weeks that will be lush grass. We are planning on expanding the flowerbed out to the right to the sidewalk. We'll put a small ornamental tree in the middle of that new section (in front of the porch), and some ground cover of some sort underneath it. We're taking out the junky bushes in the front bed and putting in some conical junipers that will eventually grow up to shade some of the window. I think I'll also put in some marigolds or other flowers.

Front of the house - North side

We're not quite sure what to do with this side of the house. It's kind of a worthless piece of land, usually shady and full of huge rocks. It's so narrow that we decided not to even fence it in. I'm thinking of just planting two lilac bushes on the edge of the sod in order to hide the cheaper grass behind it. (We don't want to waste money sodding it!)

Front of the house - South side

This is the side the gate is on. We're going to sod in front of it, but don't really have any other plans for this side of the house yet. I'd like to put a Colorado spruce somewhere there, but Lance doesn't like them. We'll see who wins.

Back of house - South side

I plan on putting my garden on this side of the house. It will get sun most of the day (this picture was taken late in the day). I may have part of the garden against the house and part of the garden against the fence, with a grass walkway in between. (Maybe we'll even spring for some stepping stones!) Yay! A real garden!

Back of house - facing Northeast

We're going to put sod on all of this part of the lawn. We'd like to have a swing set or a sandbox at some point back here.

Back of house - facing Southeast

We're sodding all of this area, too. But I would like to put in some raised flowerbeds along half of the fence on each side (meeting in the corner). Nothing too tall - maybe 6-12". Maybe a small ornamental tree at the end of each side, just to "cap" it for the eye. I really like Dogwoods, especially in the spring. I think this will all make for a good view out of our kitchen/dining area and living room windows.

Pickle Me Josh-O

There's nothing Josh likes more than a good dill pickle. Unless it's a french fry. Or squash. Or Cheerios. Or applesauce. Or... well, you get the idea!

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Park Pics

We took advantage of the warm weather today and enjoyed an hour at the park. Spencer had a blast running out some of his pent up cabin fever energy, and Josh had fun eating bark and trying to figure out what grass is. They're both my hunks of burnin' love!
On a random note,
I can't get enough of Josh's fat rolls. They are the cutest! Don't his wrists look like they have rubber bands around them? Love it!

Spencer, on the other hand, is a lean, mean, playin' machine. He's so skinny we can hardly keep his pants up even when he wears a belt. Talk about opposites...