Mmmm...Granola Bars

Isaac has been an unusually hungry little boy lately. So, when he begged for a granola bar right before dinner I didn't think anything of it and just handed one over. As the cooking routine goes with young children, I was running back and forth between supervising play in the living room and cooking in the kitchen. During one of my trips to the kitchen the living room grew a little too quiet. I left Grace on the floor playing with some toys and Isaac standing a couple feet away with his granola bar. When I returned to the living room Isaac proudly announced, "Mom, Ikes share grola bar if Drace!" Forgive me for not posting or taking any pictures. I was a bit more concerned with getting half a granola bar out of the mouth of my five month old. YIKES! Let's just hope there isn't anything in them Grace is allergic to. Needless to say, Grace spent the rest of dinner prep time in the kitchen with me.

Valentine's Day

Many thanks to my parents who watched the kids while I took my Valentine out cross-country skiing and to a romantic dinner. Needless to say, it has been a long time since we have used our skies. We got to spend a few hours on the trails above Mt. Ogden golf course breathing fresh air and making out in the trees. Afterwards, we went to dinner to the most romantic place possible -- Lee's Mongolian BBQ. I mean, how could one possibly pass up an all-you-can-eat-wok-it-in-your-face BBQ joint on free cheesecake night?

Pockets!

Isaac has really been into his pockets lately. There is no telling what we'll find in them at the end of the day. He has some pants that have fake pockets on the front. So, he tries to find his back pockets. We then end up with all sorts of things down his pants, socks and diapers. It's fun to have something spice up the diaper changing :)


Here's a glimpse into Isaac's day and his pockets. We've got seventy-seven cents, a button, a wooden dowel and half a crayon.

Ouray

So, I have to be in Moab for a District Court hearing on Tuesday, February 17th, the day after President's Day.  And while I'm so very close Ouray, why not ice climb? I WILL IF I CAN FIND A PARTNER -- wanna come?  

P.S. I have enough equipment for two!

Bye Bye Blossom

As if yesterday didn't stink bad enough, now this!

Blossom Dearie, Cult Chanteuse, Dies at 84 (Click for Link to NY Times Story)

Diana and I have been stalking her upcoming tour dates since she took a break in 2006 and were very disappointed last fall when the club she used to sing at closed shop.  

25 Things

So Facebook has a thing going around where you are suppose to list 25 random things about yourself. Diana isn't the type for lists, so I made one for her.

Over the weekend, we had one of Di's old roommates over and I discovered some additional quirkiness I dare not add here. So my question is: anybody else have some random factoid about Diana? Will you post it in the comments?

Here's the list I posted:

1. She eats the same thing no matter where we go out to eat: a fried chicken salad
2. She has a phobia of stickers and will squeal if approached with one
3. She LOVES to sew and constantly has ten projects
4. She has green eyes when she is happy; blue eyes when she is mad
5. She wants to start a Master in Library Science and be a research librarian
6. She is difficult to find gifts for because she never wants anything
7. She has never spent over $25 for a pair of pants
8. She has poor taste in men
9. She taught herself to play piano
10. She has a lovely voice but steadfastly refuses to sing
11. She could never do Atkins because of her love affair with bread
12. Her favorite car is a Subaru Legacy – but NOT the hatchback
13. Her favorite activity is an afternoon walk
14. Her favorite color is yellow
15. She remembers EVERYTHING from her high school and college classes, from human anatomy to physics, often shaming her husband in public
16. She has never had a ticket or been in an accident
17. She growls when upset
18. Small children adore her
19. Her skin will not tan, only burn and freckle
20. She has never dyed her hair
21. She often confuses her right from her left
22. She hates to be discombobulated (her word)
23. She gives great advice
24. She wants a small house and a big, big yard
25. She is always right

Pay It Forward

This is such a fun little game going around. I had to join in. THANKS PMB!!

"The Pay It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it forward". I will send a hand made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and posted out sometime within the next month (I changed that from "year". A year is too long. But it would make the next sentence make more sense). How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PROMISE TO POST THIS SAME 'PAY IT FORWARD' MESSAGE ONTO YOUR BLOG, WHICH MUST BE ACTIVE IN ORDER TO PLAY. YOU WILL PAY IT FORWARD TO THREE PEOPLE WHO COMMENT ON YOUR BLOG. I'd love for you to join me! Will you? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Pay It Forward recipients."

Have Fun!

House Hunting Stinks

Ok, this house thing is getting REALLY old. Our contract went kaput.

The deal was that the previous owners built a home in Daybreak but couldn't sell their Sandy home. So their contractor bought it from them and we were going to buy it from the contractor. We had worked the contractor into a killer, killer deal. So what's the problem? You can't do an FHA loan on a home bought or sold within the past 90 days, and the contractor closed on the house last Monday. We are pretty adamant about going FHA because it's such a great deal. If we do the same deal on a conventional loan, our payment will be about $300.00 more per month. So, we are back to square one. There is of course the possibility that the house will still be on the market in 90 days.

RAR.

Notice of Party

This is too funny not to share.  

We live below 3 single guys who live to make noise.  If you were pull a Plato and define their very essence, that essence would be noise.  About two months ago at three in morning, the big one and I had a very engaging conversation about the consequences of waking up my children. To avoid more physical confrontation, we just keep Officer Bryant on speed dial.  He has nice calming way of telling them to shut up.  And while they may argue with me, they don't argue with a large mustached man who happens to carry a firearm. 

For the past month, it has been relatively calm.  When Di returned from errands this morning, she found this note on our door.  I think it's a nice gesture.  At least we get some warning and they're making an effort to keep the noise away from the bedrooms and cigarette butts off our patio.  It is a little wierd though, getting a 'Notice of Party' instead of an invitation to party.  I guess this means we shouldn't show up with a plate of cookies and the Settlers of Catan.  

The best part is that our lease is up mid-March, when we will move into our house (just got it tonight, that'll be the next post).  

Family Pictures

We got our family pictures taken a while ago...in November. It was an adventure trying to get Isaac to smile, but I think we got a few good pics.

But, let's be realistic, is that what my family looks like every day? No way! Check out the pic in our new blog header, or this one.

I spend probably seventy percent of my day reading 'stories.' Isaac is a book fanatic. Hmmm, wonder where he got that from. By the looks of it, Grace likes stories too.

So, we've been hassled about giving a Rammell update, and there you have it. I wish there was something more glamorous to share. If Justin and I aren't reading stories or changing diapers, we are looking for houses. No progress on that front, yet. So, really, there's nothing else to update you on.

Don't give up on us. Once the house hunting is over, we'll get back to the Rammell adventures you all look forward to hearing about.