Hygiene and Cleanliness

One morning when I was getting ready and brushing my teeth while holding Owen, he kept reaching for my toothbrush. He was enthralled by the back and forth motion going on in my mouth. So I pulled it out and gave his teeth a swipe with my toothbrush. (Sorry if anyone thinks that is gross. I'm way over sharing spit/drool/slobber with my son). He seemed content and moved on. The next day, when he saw me brushing my teeth, he started yelling at me and pulled out his pacifier. I again swiped his teeth and he was happy. Now, anytime he sees me brushing my teeth, he starts yelling at me to brush his and will spit out his pacifier if it's in his mouth. I've found this can even bring him out of a bad mood when he's in a funk. Go figure.

Owen has also discovered the Swiffer. Whenever I bring it out to sweep or mop, he follows me everywhere I go like a little puppy dog and tries to grab the handle. When I'm done, I put a fresh cloth on the bottom and let him use it. He LOVES pushing it around the house, and lucky for me, he picks up some dirt along the way. :) Unfortunately, when it's time to put it away, he gets very upset and will often cry. So I usually give it back. Who am I to deny my child from cleaning?Owen also loves the dryer. He loves to throw things inside, pull them out, shut the door, and especially...to climb inside of the dryer.
One day, he woke up super grumpy from a nap. I mean, inconsolable grumpy. Nothing would make him happy...until I put him in the washing machine.

But then he started getting upset because he was stuck, so I took him out. Then he kept crying until I put him back in. He was happy for a bit, until he tried to move again and realized he was stuck and started to fuss. Then I took him out again and he cried. We did this about three times, until I decided we were done with that "game."

But hey, at least my kid likes all things having to do with hygiene and cleanliness...well, except having his diaper changed. We'll have to work on that one.

Buh-buh

Owen is obsessed with balls. He loves them so much and will immediately point and say "oooooooooo" whenever he sees one - or anything that closely resembles a ball (fruit, eggs, balloons, dots, pretty much anything round). When I first took him out to the pool this summer, he was oohing and ahhing over all the balls that people would bring. I realized I should have brought one to the pool as well. So the next time I brought his small beach ball. But he seemed to prefer all the big, bright, colorful balls other people had. So, like any good mother (who gets her child whatever he wants) I went to the store to find a big, bright ball. I let him pick out which one he wanted (determined by the extra oohs it received) and we took it home. He wanted to hold it the whole way home. It was ginormous, taking over his entire body and car seat. And anytime it would fall to the side, he would freak out. Therefore I was left to do some crazy acrobatics and stretching to get the ball from the sides in the back and onto his lap. I decided it was either the best or worst purchase I had ever made for him.

The next time I took him to the pool, I was certain that he would be so thrilled to have his big, bright, blue, ball with him. But no. After all of 2 minutes, he ignores it and starts pointing to the other balls in the pool - big, small, bright, dull, whatever. Anything but the one he has. Sigh. I lose.

More recently, Owen has been using the term "buh-buh" for ball. It's really cute to see him point and say, "buh-buh!" Sometimes it takes me a minute to find the "ball" (or ball looking item) that he sees. But the BEST was when we were all laying in bed together in the morning. He lifted up Daddy's shirt, pat his belly and said, "buh-buh!" Miles and I died laughing...maybe me more than him. ;)

My little Atlas:

He also has a really great overhand throw and loves to throw with anyone who will play with him.
And, just to prove his obsession, he looked up while I was typing this, saw the pictures with the balls and said, "buh-buh!" He is now in the other room, throwing his buh-buhs and yelling "buh-buh" at the top of his lungs. He is such a boy. And I love every minute of it. Time for me to go throw the buh-buhs with my baby. :)

STDs

Did I get your attention? Well...it's not really as exciting as it sounds. RCC (Reproductive Care Center) requires each patient (husband and wife) to get STD testing done before they begin the IVF cycle. The reason is in case you have embryos to freeze. They want to make sure there is no concern for contamination due to STDs in having them frozen with other embryos. It's really annoying. I did this testing two years ago, but they require it every year. We had the choice to opt out of it, but then we would have to find somewhere else to have our embryos frozen and it would cost more. Last time we didn't have any to freeze, but you never know, so I don't really want to take a chance on it. It's just so frustrating because it's not like anything has changed in the last two years and I still have the same husband/partner. Grrr. So I bit the bullet and did the blood work. I just got the bill in the mail. For them to tell me what I already knew (that I don't have any STDs, in case you were worried)...it cost over $500. So lame. Oh, and that's just for me. Miles still needs to go in. Sigh. Oh well...it will be worth it in the end if I get to hold another sweet baby in my arms.

Trash Digger

For the past month or so, Owen has become our little trash digger. He loves getting into any and all trashes. In the bathrooms, the bedrooms, and especially the kitchen. However, a couple days ago he took it to the next level. I was in the other room and heard a noise in the kitchen. I went to investigate and found Owen had taken the lid off the kitchen trash and obviously had something in his mouth. I did a quick sweep to find the remains of his quesadilla that he refused to eat for lunch and I had thrown away. Apparently it tastes better from the trash.

HP 7.2

Harry Potter has been a big part of my life. I started reading the books in 2001. I wasn't too sure about them, but decided to give them a try after a good friend of mine suggested it. I enjoyed the first book, but wasn't completely sold on them. The second was good and got me more invested. But it was the third book that really hooked me. I would probably say that is still my favorite book. The fourth book was also out at this time, but then I had to wait for books five, six, and seven. I bought each of them the day they came out, either going to a store first thing in the morning, or having it pre-ordered to arrive at my home. And before each new release, I reread the series through the latest book. I was pretty much obsessed by that point. I loved them all. I loved going on the journey with Harry as he got older and as the books became more mature along with him. I laugh and cried with the characters. I felt connected to them and knew that they would fondly remain in my heart (and on my bookshelf) forever.

I was of course ecstatic when they decided to make them into movies. However, it was hard to watch them. I was disappointed at how so much was left out of each movie - and often parts that I felt were paramount to the storyline. I was especially disheartened when they butchered the third movie, which is my favorite book. And although they didn't live up to my expectations or what I envisioned as I had read each book, I decided to stick with them.

The fourth movie came out in November 2005. Miles and I were casually dating at the time. He mentioned that he had an extra ticket to the midnight showing of the movie. I told him how much I would LOVE to go, and hoped that since we were dating (aka making out) that he would of course choose me. I was wrong. He ended up taking this freshman girl that was in his brother's ward and whom Mitchell had suggested he go out with. I was totally heartbroken and furious. Miles always jokes that he's never been able to live that down and I'll always hold it against him.

This year, he decided to make it up to me. On his birthday, he told me that he had a present for me too. He showed me a screen shot of the confirmation showing he had bought two tickets to the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I didn't know how to react. He said, "I thought you'd be really happy about this." I said, "Who's getting up with Owen the next day?" Suddenly, being a mom and the prospect of losing my much needed sleep outweighed any excitement of going to the movie opening night. I was also worried about who would stay at our place to be with Owen at such a late hour. Marci already had plans to go to a midnight showing as well. Miles told me to call Bridget to see if she would let Owen sleep at her house while we were at the movie. Bridget was incredibly nice and said that would be fine with her. She also said we could leave him there overnight and come get him in the morning. I decided this was the best plan of action, as I didn't want to wake him up between 3 and 4 am and have him decide he'd had enough sleep and was awake for the day. However, even with arrangements made for Owen, I was feeling nervous about how tired I would be the next day. I'm not the young, spring chicken I once was. After thinking it over, I decided that I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by since it was the final Harry Potter movie, and the end of an era.

I went to Bridget's around 7 PM to drop Owen off and put him to bed. I made sure he was asleep and down for the night and came home. Around 11 PM, Miles and I headed to the theater in Sandy. Miles bought the tickets for Jordan Commons since they have assigned seating and that way we wouldn't have to worry about getting there early to get good seats. Despite all the initial screaming and incredibly hyper fanatics, everyone seemed to quiet and calm down once the movie started. It was FABULOUS. I was not disappointed in the least. Alan Rickman was superb and Helena Bonham Carter was flawless. And of course I cried. I have to say, the hardest part for me, was when they do a flashback to when Harry's parents are killed. They show Harry as a baby, crying in the crib while his Mom is lying dead on the floor. It broke my heart. He looked to be about the same age as Owen. And all I could picture was Owen's sweet face, crying helplessly. We all know from my previous post, Morbid Thoughts, that I tend to think in terms of worst-case scenarios. So of course it hasn't gone past me to think about what if I die and leave Owen behind. And yes, I know that Voldemort isn't going to come and kill me and Miles and leave Owen behind with his own little lightening shaped scar on his forehead. Anyway...it just got to me. But it was an incredible movie and a great end to a journey that began for me 10 years ago.

New Floors

Ever since we moved into our condo, we have been dreaming of having new flooring. The linoleum in the kitchen was cracked and peeling up, the carpet was stained, and frayed in transition places, and the blocks by the front door came up easily. This was demonstrated by Owen (among other children and sweaty feet) on numerous occasions...


After a long long wait, we finally decided to move forward with doing our floors. We got some bids, but decided it was just too expensive and that if Miles did it himself, it could be done so much cheaper. Costco was having a sale on laminate flooring, so we decided to jump on it. We bought all the laminate for our place and Miles loaded it into our dining room area. (I know, not the most convenient.) This was especially true since it ended up sitting there for about four months. Yeah...we were a little slow to get going. But in all fairness, Miles was going through a transition at work and was swamped with work deadlines and business trips, and it just didn't work out with our timing for a while.

After some discussion, we decided it would be much better if Owen and I were not around for the remodel. With the house torn up and in disarray, it would be pretty hard to keep Owen contained, safe, and happy. Finally Miles told me to just book a trip to CA so he could get it done. So I went out to CA for 12 days while Miles worked his tail off in the evenings after work, on the weekends, and on his holiday for the 4th of July. I should also mention that he worked for a week without air conditioning and was sweating it out in 90 degree weather. Poor guy! :( Luckily we got a new A/C half-way through the remodel so he could work in cooler conditions. However, after doing all the demo and laying the floor in the front room, Miles was pretty beat. He was exhausted and had hurt his wrist and finger in the process. He called and told me he was worried about wether or not he'd be able to get it done by the time I was returning. He asked if he could call Curt Smith (a friend from our old ward) and get a quote from him to see how much it would cost to have him finish it out.

He got the quote on Monday, the 4th, and we decided it was worth it to have it done professionally and that way Miles could use his time more effectively for his side jobs. Curt was able to do most of the work on Tuesday and Thursday during the week and finished installing the baseboards on Saturday, the day before I came home. Miles stated that Curt did a much better and faster job than he would have been able to do himself. While I was away, and would talk to Miles on Skype or FaceTime, he wouldn't let me see any of the work that was complete. So I was very anxious to get back and see my newly remodled home. 

All I can say, is I was not disappointed. The floors look amazing. Everything looks so clean and fresh. It makes it feel bigger and more spacious. I love, love, love them! Now I am anxious to get our bathroom floor tiled, the shower retiled and the bedroom carpets replaced. Then it will feel complete.

Here are some before, demo, and after pictures. Miles really only took before pictures of the front room...which is sad, because our kitchen was the nastiest of them all.

You can see part of the nasty linoleum in this shot:

In this picture of Owen, you can see more of the gross linoleum as well as some of the cracks that were in the floor. Even Owen was grumpy about the floor:
 
And here are the finished floors:

We've been talking about buying a different/bigger home. And while I would of course still love to do that, I am feeling a lot happier living in our current place. It just makes it feel so much nicer. I've noticed that Miles has also taken a greater interest in caring for our home. He has swept and mopped more than once since I have gotten home. When you have something nice, it makes you want to take care of it. Owen seems to be adjusting to the hard floors just fine. However, we have to keep a closer eye on him to prevent lots of banging on the floors. We're hoping to get some rugs to help alleviate some of that concern. For now, I am just enjoying the new look to my home.

On top of all that, when I got home, I saw these beautiful flowers Miles had bought for me. What a good husband!