There is a family in our ward, the Halls, that have adopted us. They are the nicest people, and our kids love them! They invited us over for dinner a while ago, and the kids just loved playing in their pool. Lucky for me the Halls have teenage boys who swam with the kids so I didn't have to get in a swimming suit! Other than Bella almost drowning and me almost jumping in the water fully dressed with my camera around my neck, it was really really fun! We roasted s'mores in their fire, and had a yummy BBQ dinner. They are just good people, and fun to be around. Bella is in her toddler bed and she takes advantage (way to often) of the fact that she can get out whenever she wants. I am used to Simon and Nolan (and Bella when she was in a crib) taking 2-3 hour naps every day. Needless to say, I am entirely sick of her getting out of bed. She maybe takes a 30-45 min. nap now. For my sanity, that had to be fixed. I was talking to my mom the other day, expressing my frustration, and I jokingly told her that I was so close to tying her door shut so that she can't get out. I never mentioned my idea to anyone else. I was a little hesitant to do that. If something were to happen, I didn't want to have to deal with untying a rope. Last Sunday, we were all sick, and we all stayed home from church. Everyone needed a nap and Ben and I were all to aware of the fact that Bella wouldn't be taking a very good one. I was putting Bella in bed and Ben walked upstairs with a rope in his hands, ready to tie her door shut. To ease my concerns about an emergency we put a knife close by so we could just cut the rope. We had the best nap. . .a whole three hours! . . .and then I looked in Bella's room. . . She had gotten out of her bed, and realized that she couldn't open her door, so she looked for other ways of entertaining herself. She pulled out every single toy and every item of clothing she owns. It was a mess. Not the greatest idea, but totally worth it. I have since come across another idea. Ben is going to turn the door knobs around so that we can just lock her in from the outside. You just have to turn the knob to unlock it, so I think I will be a little more comfortable with that, I have resigned myself to the fact that her room will look like a bomb hit. . .and I'll get my two hours of quiet!! Problem solved.
I'm horrible. Everyone keeps asking me to put pictures of our house on here, and I keep finding other things to do. . .but first things first. . . My poor little Bella was sort of forgotten on her birthday this year. It just happened to be in the thick of the move. Luckily, we had a little party for her before we left. . .so I'm not a totally hopeless mother. . .right?! My sweet Bella turned two at the beginning of August. . .and really she's not all that sweet. ;) She is always into everything. She will climb up on the counters and get whatever she can reach. (She bit open all of the bananas and took a bite of each of them. She has spilled the sugar everywhere, and also opened the chocolate milk mix and spread it all over, and she's always getting into my makeup, among many many other things). She keeps me busy, to say the least. However, she is so darn cute and I just love her to pieces! My mom says that I was exactly the same way when I was little so I deserve her. . .I'm not sure that's fair.
Also, Simon started kindergarten this year! He is so excited to go to school every day. He gets to ride the bus and he acts like that's the best thing that has ever happened to him. They have all day kindergarten here, and he is loving it. I'll have to tell you all about his school in another post but just so you know how great it is, it is one of the top seven elementary schools in North Carolina. I love it! Nolan seems to be a little lost without his buddy to play with. He is always asking me when Simon will get home. I'm looking forward to having some one-on-one time with him though. I just love that sweet Nolan boy.
And now, I'll include some pictures of the house. Keep in mind, the rooms aren't totally done, but good enough to show everyone. I'll put a before and after of each room. Some of the rooms I haven't painted yet, so you'll have to see those later! For now, we'll start at the top. . . The Boys Room: I still need Ben to hang the other curtains, and the walls need something on them but I'm not sure what to do yet. . .any ideas?
Bella's Room: I need to get her some curtains. If you ever think you want to do stripes in a room, don't! They look awesome, and I love them, but they were so much work. I'm very particular so that probably didn't help, but I don't think I'll do stripes like that ever again! Yes, that's her new big girl bed. Oh how I wish I had the crib back. . .and that she couldn't climb out of it! She can get out so easily now, and she does.
Master Bedroom: I haven't painted this room yet. I really don't have any idea what color to use (again. . .any ideas?). I'm going to have to think about that for a while. I'm having a hard time finding a color that looks good with our bedding. This is my new bedroom furniture, and I wanted to show it off, hence the picture. I also got a new comforter set!
The Bonus/Game Room: We aren't painting in here, and the boxes in the middle of the floor won't be there, they just haven't found a home yet. I love this room. It keeps me sane! If the kids aren't outside, they are playing in here.
Upstairs we also have another bathroom an extra bedroom, and there is a little room off of the bonus room. Those haven't been painted yet. Oh, and there is the master bathroom, and I haven't taken a picture of that either.
Downstairs we have. . . The Kitchen: This hasn't been painted yet. It will be an olive green color. It doesn't look bad now, so I thought I'd include the picture.
The Living Room: This isn't totally done. I am still going to paint the other two walls a light brown. I do love the rusty color of that wall. This is also my new furniture! I can't tell you how excited I am to not have the futon in the living room anymore!
The Laundry Room: I love all the counter space, and the nice deep sink! It's connected to the garage and also has a door to the back yard, so I guess it's a mud room too.
The Bathroom: I don't have a before picture.
There is also a dining room, a guest bedroom and an office on the main level.
Then we have the backyard. This is the view from the deck: And this is the view from the play house: I'll have to include a picture of the garage later. It's still a work in progress! So, there are the pictures that I have so far. All of the rooms aren't completely done. They all need curtains, and I still have things to hang on some of the walls, but they are good enough for now. I'll post more pictures as I finish the rooms. I'm completely sick of painting right now, so I imagine it won't be for at least a few more weeks! I will, however, try to be better at updating this blog, and checking out all of your blogs too! We really love it here, but we also really miss everyone in Utah. It's different here. But it's a good different Everyone, everywhere is so nice and it is so beautiful. However, they don't even have cinnamon bears, or salt water taffy. And the Subway's haven't even heard of a seafood sub! I mean, really?! I guess we'll have to load up when we come visit! :)
