We live in a car world

This week when Carter got his cars out to play I decided to make sure we still have all of them and to count them. (I haven't done this for a while and he's received a few new ones in the last few months as gifts or as rewards for helping around the house.) Our grand total: 44 cars and I have 3 left in my rewards stash. Marc thinks it's really pathetic that we have every color Ramone (5) but only 3 Lightening McQueens. At around $3 a pop, you do the math--more than enough money has been spent in supplying our addiction. I say our addiction because I'm as much of a sucker for a new car as Carter is.

First Annual Phillips Family Spring Day

In an effort to keep Easter focused on the miracle of our Savior's life mission Marc and I instituted "Spring Day" as one of our family traditions so the kids won't miss out on all of those fun commercial things that Easter brings. Spring Day for our family will fall the Saturday before Easter Sunday and it's a day when we will celebrate spring. I've already got a few new ideas for next year's festivities but here is what we did this year:

Egg Hunts

The "Spring Bunny" came to our house and hid eggs all over on Spring Day's Eve. When the boys woke up Saturday morning, their buckets were in front of their bedroom door waiting. The boys got right to it and hunted all the 70+ eggs down. Carter was so sweet to put a few eggs in his brother's basket when the thought struck him to do so. Carter ended up with 49 eggs while Anderson held his own for being so young and brought in 22. Why so many eggs for such a small family? Well, those are just the eggs I happened to have from college and grand kid care packages in years past. I swear I only bought 6 jumbo eggs this year. We also attended another egg hunt later in the morning that our good friends hosted. The eggs were in the back yard and in true Colorado fashion it began snowing right as the hunt commenced. (You can always expect snow on Halloween and Easter around here.) The boys each brought home their allotted 13 or so eggs. All these eggs = loads and loads of candy. The boys were definitely sugared up!

Spring in the Kitchen

Included in this years festivities were making bird's nests as treats and egg dying. This is actually the first year I can ever remember dying eggs so it's a good thing Marc had some experience.

Easter

We chose to use The 12 Easter Eggs tradition that is floating around Mormon land to teach Carter the true meaning of Easter. If you aren't sure what I'm referring to, there are 12 scriptures with corresponding items that you put inside 12 eggs. Every night for 11 nights prior to Easter we opened one egg and in so doing taught Carter about Christ's journey to Resurrection. He caught on pretty quickly and definitely remembers that Christ died on a cross where wicked people put nails through his wrists, hands and toes. In fact, today Carter gave his first talk in Primary on this very subject. He got scared and teary so Marc actually gave the very short talk while Carter held up two pictures. We spent a very peaceful Easter Sunday watching The Testaments and eating dinner with my parents, brother and his girlfriend.

And now on to the pictures:

While I made this slide show, I couldn't help but think: What a difference a year makes! Check out how Anderson spent last year's Egg Hunt:

To Go or Not To Go

That is the other question on my mind lately and it, too is causing me bad and very weird dreams. My 10 year high school reunion is coming up (gasp) and I can't decide whether or not to go. I only keep in touch with 2 people from my graduating class and there are at least 3 people who I dread running into. I have a list of people I'd love to see there, but since I don't keep in touch with them, I don't even know if they will attend. I hear that the 10 year reunion is still a show off fest anyway and well, I'm really not into that. However, I don't want to regret NOT going and the major problem is, I really have no good excuse NOT to go--I live in my hometown. So, the question remains, to go or not to go. I guess I'll just have to make up my mind.

Weird Weird Wednesday

We're a bit off schedule today since Anderson was up quite a bit last night--those last two teeth are coming in. By snack time this morning I couldn't listen to his grumpiness anymore so nap time it became. Carter watches a movie in my bed for his quiet time so we set that up, too and I got busy chopping up all the veggies I bought last night (I'm trying to conquer my sweet tooth once and for all so I've started a new "program" this week but that's another post!) for snacks and salads. I just finished and went to check on Carter--he's asleep, too. So, it's noon and both of my kiddos are sleeping. This is a weird, weird Wednesday but I'm not complaining! (Carter just started using the word weird--it sounds so funny coming from an almost 4 year old! This picture was taken on St. Patricks Day. Don't they look great in green?)

18 months and counting

Last Friday Anderson turned 18 months. For the first year of his life I was pretty good at recording his development, but isn't it funny how after they turn 1, you stop taking them to the photographer once a month (actually I've never done this but I know people who do), that baby calendar you got at your baby shower runs out of pages, and the recording seems to slow down dramatically. I know I occasionally share stories about his monstrosities, but in all actuality, I have a very sweet, loving and silly little boy who reminds me an awful lot of Pablo the penguin in Backyardigans because of his flat nose, pouty lip and waddle-like run. Anderson loves being in the middle of all the action. When we play Duck Duck Goose, Anderson gets up and runs every time even if he's not the goose at which point his little laugh is enough to get a not-in-the-mood-to-play-this-game Mom to smile. His wide mouthed smile, laugh, and even cry are some of the things I love the most about my mischievous munchkin. He loves to read books and sing and climb and wrestle with Dad and Brother. He's Mommy's little helper as you can see in the video (no, I am not a slave driver and I'm sorry it's so dark) and sometimes we catch a glimpse of his tenderness towards his brother like when Carter was sick a few weeks ago and sleeping on the couch, Anderson piled all of Carter's favorite toys up next to his head. He still sucks his thumb, but we have found lately that his favorite thumb is cracked and dry and sometimes a little bloody in one spot, so we've been trying to get him to suck the other one, but we can't for the life of us get him to keep a bandage on the owie. He loves meal time and bath time. His speech was concerning me for a while until our pediatrician helped me realize that every baby develops at a different speed and Anderson seems to be focusing his energies on comprehension before clear expression. He understands simple commands like "throw this in the trash" or "go get your shoes." However, yesterday he clearly said "baby" unprompted when he saw one so I was pretty thrilled. (I'm not quite sure why I want this child to start talking, I can barely get peace and quiet since Carter talks ALL THE TIME!) He has 14 teeth with 2 more on the way soon. While having a child who is 18 months does have it's challenges, I do clearly remember loving this stage with Carter and it's no different this time around. I adore having an 18 month old.

The House Chronicles Part II

I have the brand of brain that won't shut off when something is worrying me. Today and everyday previous to today since January I've had one thing on my mind. Paint colors. They float around and around and around inside my head and I can't for the life of me stop them from circling and make them find a hiding place so I can rest. It's gotten so bad that paint colors are popping into my dreams, clearly unwelcomed. In my previous post I shared our chosen paint colors with you, and we were pretty certain of them and most have turned out okay, I mean fabulous. To be sure we didn't waste loads of money on the wrong colors, yesterday we purchased some samples of our colors and put them on the wall. Every paint color we picked is perfect except for one and that's the one that has me ignoring all of my other housewife duties today and instead, munching on Easter candy (yes, I am unfortunately an emotional eater!) and catching up on blogging. Maybe my time out will help calm my nerves. So here's what we've come up with--

• LR/Kit: Beachwalk (a beautiful and dynamic yellow beige)
• 2F Hall/2F Bath?: Castle Stone (3 steps above Beachwalk)
• BR/3rd BR/1F Bath/Laundry: Expedition Khaki (1 step above Beachwalk--we obviously love this spectrum and this color is neutral enough until I find inspiration in towels/art etc.)
• MBR/Bath: Cliff Rock (in between light and dark brown)
• Trim/Window Sills/Door Moldings: Swiss Coffee

We've scratched Dill Pickle. After putting Dill Pickle and Mountain Forest samples on the family room walls I want to cry. I'm back to the drawing board for this room because wow--these colors are not as dark and muted as I imagined. They are bright and limey. So, I'm going to try something I should have tried before--I'm taking one or two of my pillows from my couch to Home Depot and hopefully the fabulous lady who mixed our paint yesterday will be back so I can get some other ideas.

We think we have all the little details done now so we can focus on paint--here's what else we've accomplished:

• sanded the spackle patches, (there were lots and lots) window sills and upstairs moldings in prep for priming
• primed all the patches and some of the window sills
• caulked all of the windows and other cracks between counters and walls
• selected our carpet for the 2nd floor (as soon as we finish painting the 2nd floor, we'll order it)
• removed everything from the walls--electrical covers, towel racks, window coverings etc.

I promise we'll take pictures again soon, but right now there's no noticable difference through pictures. Be patient, they will come. This is long and tedious work.

The House Chronicles Part I

As I wrote before, we closed on our house on February 29th. Our lease on our apartment isn't up until the end of May so we have plenty of time to get the work we need to do, done. Because Marc works such long days for the majority of the week, we really will have to cram it all into the weekends.

This is what we have done so far--

• filled all of the little nail holes and screw holes in the place
• prepped the three big holes for repair
• cleaned just about the entire house
• picked 3 paint colors, all from Behr: FR--Dill Pickle; LR/Kit--Beachwalk; Master--Cliff Rock

A lot of the work falls in Marc's department, but this past weekend I was on cleaning detail. My angelic friend Jen offered to help me clean. I felt a bit guilty taking her up on her offer, especially when once we were finished I realized she had basically spent her entire Saturday helping me (only to come down with food poisoning the next day so wow double wammy guilt) but she and her husband both insisted that she loves to clean empty houses and the finished product was amazing. Plus, it was so much more enjoyable to have a friend help out. We listened to lots of good country music and had a great gab fest, too. So, while I do feel guilty, I feel incredibly satisfied and so excited to continue working this weekend. We will probably begin painting next week and in the mean time I have about 2 more paint colors to choose. If anyone has a great neutral brownish or creamish color that works great in a hallway and/or bath/laundry room I'd love some advice! In the meantime, I have to share my really exciting realization about the house: the cabinets plus the pantry. We went to clean inside them, and they basically didn't need it! We gave them a wipe down, but they were pretty clean anyway. And I couldn't help but count them, too. 15 normal sized cabinets, 2 lazy susans, 4 drawers, 4 minis and a pantry! I also love that the windows are nice and and in good shape.

Quote of the Day

When either of the boys make us laugh we usually tell them through the laughter, "You crack me up!" This evening, Marc and Carter were having fun playing and laughing. Carter said to Marc, "You crap me up." Marc and I laughed. Ditto!

More Bathroom Adventures

Have you ever woken up one morning to find that your child looks different than he did the day before? I woke up this morning and discovered that Anderson's blue eyes deepened and his eyelashes grew over night. His eyes have always been his best feature and today they just looked so cute, might I even say cuter than yesterday. And thank goodness! Because last night he had another two diarrhea diapers--one before bedtime which thankfully I didn't have to deal with because I was gone but the other one was at 1:30 am. It required changing the sheets (and the crib bumper this time) again and soaking everything in the washing machine until this morning. After his nap this afternoon I decided to pop him back in the tub for a soak. (After 4 baths this week--he usually takes 2-- his sensitive skin is having some eczema flare ups that we had just recently cleared up--BOO!) While the bath water was running he peed all over the bath rug that was freshly laundered. Did I mention it was a good thing he woke up cuter this morning? Needless to say, it has been one long week and I am currently thinking of two things I am grateful for--it's Friday and I have a washing machine in my apartment! Happy Friday.

tantrum x 2; sick x 2

We are having a fun weekend/beginning of the week. It started out great--Marc and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by dropping the kids off at my parents house, spending 30 minutes closing on our house (is that some sort of record?), shopping for paint colors, going out to dinner with some friends at The Melting Pot (YUM! Can I go again this weekend?), waking up Saturday morning and going to the temple, grabbing lunch and shopping for some new work clothes for Marc. The weather was beautiful and spring like and we officially became weird Coloradans that pulled out shorts and flip flops only to put them away yesterday when a winter storm blew through. Anyway, the mood quickly slid down hill when, while we were picking up the kids after shopping, Anderson had a blow out diaper--I can't even tell you the last time he had one of those. Sunday morning we woke up to the winter storm and another blow out that happened sometime in the middle of the night. So, with 8:30 church looming we bathed him, slathered Desitin on his poor bright red bum and started a load of laundry and surprisingly got to church with time to spare. I thought for sure this would be the week we'd be late. The afternoon provided us 2 tantrums--one from each child. Carter's was after church but before we left the building. I never really thought Carter would initiate me into the club of parents whose children can't hold it together in church. I thought for sure it would be Anderson, but no, it was Carter. Once we got home and Carter was calmed down, Anderson had a fit when I tried to change his diaper and put him down for his nap. Don't you just love screaming, tantruming children? Then at about 8:00 pm with out any warning, Carter started puking. The first time he missed the toilet all together because he has only ever puked one other time which is a fun story but he was only 10 months old. No experience = missing the toilet and instead making it into Dad's hands. He proceeded to hit the toilet every 30 minutes or so until 11:00. Marc slept in the living room with him and I guess he did it again 2 more times in the middle of the night. I love that instead of going to Carter's movement class at the YMCA and my spinning class later tonight with lots of cleaning up in between, today became a "survival day" as we call it in my house. That just means I try not to focus on knocking things off my to do list and instead focus on getting us to 7:30 pm when Marc will come home and rescue us. Happy Monday!