This week I learned.... and updates on the kids

Ever heard of an ejection pump?  Well I have.  Apparently one is needed when a house is built on a hill. It ejects sewer from the basement up to the main line.  One day none of the plumbing in the basement worked (thank goodness the tub was backed up with water from the washing machine and nothing else, ewww).  The home warranty didn't cover it.  :(  Sooooo, I'll never complain about having to do the laundry again. It was so nice to get the new pump installed and start washing stuff again!

Braden and Dominic start baseball this month.  All three are in swim lessons and Dominic and Samuel have gymnastics.  I'm trying to keep them busy and active in this rainy weather.  All three love to swim.  After baseball is over Braden is going to start doing swim team.  He's a good little swimmer and loves it.  He doesn't so much love team sports.  I'm going to have him do soccer in the fall and after that it's up to him if he wants to do anymore team stuff. Which I'm pretty sure he won't.  The jury is out on Dominic.  He really needs some practice interacting and cooperating with other kids so this first season will be a learning experience for all of us in a totally different way.  Yesterday was his first Gymnastics class and the teacher looked frustrated when I told her he doesn't have any experience, but she was impressed by the end of class and said he did great.  He's very strong and built for that sport.  I couldn't find any programs in Sammamish that I liked so I was anxious to get him started.  He LOVES it and I explained to him if he really likes it and gets good at it he can join a competitive team.  We'll see.  Sam's gymnastic class is more like a fun little obstacle course with not much gymnastics and is more to give him something to do that's fun since he's not in preschool right now.  He loves it and if it's something he wants to keep doing, we will.

Dom Helps

A couple months ago Dominic (without being asked- I've never asked the kids to hang up towels, but I have asked them to switch the laundry for me) got the towels out of the dryer and put them away for me.  This is not how I hang up towels and I thought it was so cute the way he hung them up.  They all looked the same and had his little touch to it.  I was so grateful!  But, this is pretty common. He's my sweet little helper. Since we moved into the new house he likes to unload the dishwasher.  Just one day he opened it and neatly stacked everything that goes in the upper cupboards and put away everything else.  This is a chore I have never asked the kids to do because 1) they can't reach 2) I don't want anything broken.  I was so grateful for his help. I thanked him and made a big deal out of it.  Now he does it every few days or so.  I think he likes the attention. He's a pleaser like his daddy and Dom loves to make me happy.  Today he cuddled on my lap and we chatted for a while.  After a bit he put his arms around me and said "Mom, I don't know what I would do without you."  Not to sound cliche, but little moments like those make all the hard work and sacrifice worth it!  I'm so proud to be his Mama!

Cub Scouts

We're digging into Cub Scouts and I was pleasantly surprised at how great it is.  I was like a blank slate, but now I'm learning lots and Braden LOVES it.  At the blue and gold banquet he led the flag ceremony. He was so confident  and did a great job.  When he sat down after, I hugged him and saw his hands were shaking. He was nervous!!!  So cute!!! I had no idea. He did great.  He's such a great kid.  Typing this reminds me of last Sunday.  Sam had left one of his little toys (he takes a couple favorite figures to primary to help him feel safe) in the primary room.  Braden came in for Senior primary and saw one of  the older kids with it. Braden told him it was his brothers and the kid wouldn't  give it to him.  Braden traded part of his class handout in order to get it back. He's so sweet and thoughtful. It was very kind of him to give something away to get his brother's toy back.

Sam Paints

What is it about paints and kids? All my kids loved to paint as preschoolers.  It's just so much work to dig it out, clean it up, sigh. :)  Sam has proudly showed us his master piece daily.  He insists we admire it or he won't leave any of us alone.

Green Eggs and Ham

They were excited about it, but didn't eat much of the eggs.  A leprechaun visited our house and turned all the toilet water green and the milk green. He also left gold coins under their pillows.  It was a fun day!

Sleeping Sam

Sam cracks me up!  It seems he'll sleep in just about any position.  Everyday since we moved here he takes the cushions off the couch to create a "house".  Last week after snack time he looked at me and said, "I'm going to take a nap in my house."  He dug in and fell asleep. I ended up moving cushions around so he wouldn't suffocate.

Mall Rides

I spent  a lot of time walking the mall when we didn't have keys to the house yet and I was waiting for Braden to get out of school.  Dom and Sam got to enjoy a ride one day while we were there.

Hotel Life

DJ lived in this hotel room, a residence inn, for 3 months. The boys and I stayed with him sometimes on weekends and a lot over the Christmas Holiday.  I had timed the movers to come right after we closed on the house here so that the boys and I went from 1 house to another house, avoiding living in a hotel.  But life throws other plans at you!  Because of Paul Rich, ie crazy insane guy, the boys and I had to leave Seattle suddenly and we ended up living in the Portland hotel for about 3 weeks.  When the principal from the Seattle school found out about the situation he wouldn't let us come back to school so I enrolled the kids in Portland early and I commuted back and forth from hotel to school.  About 25 minutes, 1 way.  And I had to be there three times a day because Dom is in half day kindergarten.  It was difficult at times, but given the circumstances we felt very lucky and were glad we were moving soon and had a hotel to go to that the kids were already familiar with.  It actually worked out really well in some ways because we closed on our house here early and I was able to hang out there with Sam and clean and run errands while the kids were at school. We even started using the bus system since I was there to meet them anyway. 

I have lots of fond memories  of this hotel. We spent a lot of time at the pool and Sam learned how to swim.  He can jump off the side and swim to the stairs, or back to the side. It's so cute. He looks like a little fish. :)  One morning I woke up and Sam wasn't sleeping next to Braden on the pullout bed, or on the floor by Dominic.  It took me a minute to find him and he looked so cute on the chair I snapped the pic of him sleeping. I have no idea how much of the night he spent there instead of in his bed.

New House

We were ready to put our 3rd offer on a house and I was torn between this one and one around the corner.  This house is 2356 sq feet and the other one is over 3300 sq feet for only $30,000 more.  This little house has some huge pluses that swayed us.  It has breathtaking views (the pic's don't do it justice!) and it has a master on the main floor, very important to DJ.  We love having the kids in the basement.  There's 2 bedrooms down there and a big family room for them to play in.  Although the other house was much bigger, 4 bedrooms, huge playroom plus 5th bedroom/office, 3 car garage and let's face it, better curb appeal, but it looked down into another houses back yards and had no view. Plus there was this tiny deck and no access to the backyard, anywhere. Why they closed in the deck is beyond me and no back door was a huge problem. Plus taxes were a lot more.  DJ and I like a more cozy space.  I like to maximize space and keep belongings to a minimum (sort of!  You should have seen how many boxes of toys we brought with us!)  There are 3 houses in the neighborhood like ours and the shorter homes do look kinda different, but the house is very nice and we are pleased with it.  Happy Valley is an incredible location and we're very happy with choice of city too.  It's just a few miles away from EVERYTHING and I mean everything.  Shopping and restaurants.  We love it!

Pretty Views.....

Mt. Hood

The best part about our new house are the views from the back deck.  Today was finally sunny so I could snap some pictures.

Braden's Baptism

Braden and Uncle Todd

Braden and Russell, enjoying a snack after their baptisms

Braden and Meemaw

My hunky hubby and handsome daddy

I love love love love this picture of Braden with his Dad and Grandpa's

The tie my Dad wore was one that Braden made in preschool and gave to him.  It has paint and decorations on it.

Braden's reaction when he opened card from Grammy that had picture of his daddy 8 yrs old with Peepaw, both dressed in white, ready for DJ's baptism.  Braden thought that was pretty great.  If my scanner worked I'd scan it in and add here.  I need a new printer......

Going Private

I'm ready to post some new blogs and pictures but I have to go private first because of the crazy insane guy. Please send me your email address so you can see updates.

Thanks!!!