My next house

It is yet another house we will not be buying--but I really want it.  If I had an extra $200,000 (on top of the money we're all already bringing to this sale), I would snap it up so fast...

It's a Utah Historic House, built 1898, but allegedly completely redone inside.  (I say "allegedly" because the listing says "New stucco, paint, flooring, wiring, plumbing electrical, etc", but I peeked inside.  (Don't worry, nobody lives there.)  The bathroom I was peeking into did not exactly look completely remodeled.  And you had to walk down three steps to get into the bathroom, by which I mean you open the door and then walk down three steps.  Weird.)  But the listing pictures of the kitchen, etc, look very nice.

It is on more than an acre, but with the downside of having the railroad tracks bordering (or cutting through, it's not clear) the property.  The property itself needs work--hence the extra $200,000, no driveways or garage, sprinklers or landscaping.  But..but...but...just look at it!

Isn't it gorgeous?  According to the Utah Historical plaque, it was built in the Swiss Chalet style for an artist.  I'm sort of Swiss, right?  And aren't those balconies to die for?  I want them.

Here is around the side, so you can see the various levels.  It doesn't look like there is more than one room on the very top floor, possibly two.

The backyard has an ooooold stone fireplace, which needs some work (and a cement pad in front of it, with a place for a table and grill, don't you think?) but is really awesome.  The barn...well, the barn probably has to go, or be renovated into the Grandma cottage!  Or, on second thought, just torn down and the Grandma cottage built on top of it!  (See the need for the money?)

This is the back door, which would probably need a patio or a pergola linking it to the outdoor kitchen area.  Maybe we would make this my mom's front door!  Then she could have a little outdoor sitting area with planters and a porch swing!

This is the rail line, a fair distance from the house.  There is no fence, however, and that would have to be fixed pronto.  A nice vinyl or pressed concrete number, with a locked gate to keep the kiddos from playing chicken with a freight train.

Here is the second floor, with the entry-way patio to the left.  We'd need paved walkways, but this might be a good location for a kitchen garden!

I foolishly didn't take a good picture of the front patio-door area.  It's big, though, and has a nice wrought-iron railing.  It would be a perfect place for an outdoor dining room, with comfy chairs and maybe a sofa.  And container plants, spilling over with ivy and pretty flowers.  (That's the bathroom window right there, nice, huh?  Probably need some curtains for it.)

Here's the National Register plaque.  Do you think that being on the National Register would stop us from doing renovations?  Have to look into that before we make our imaginary offer.

I swear this mint sold the house for me.  It's growing in the amazing ROCK WALL that holds up the front door patio area.  There was a sister plant just over, and lots of spring bulbs getting ready to flower. Oooh la la!

So, anyway, heh heh.  Not going to happen, but it sure was fun to dream.

Family Home Chaos

There is nothing cuter than a pint-sized, pantless Ishmael, running back toward Jerusalem.

We acted out the part in First Nephi about Nephi and his brothers going back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael and his family.  Only Ishmael didn't quite understand, and after traversing the hallway and dining room into the wilderness, decided to run back and forth, cackling wildly.  And Nephi and Laman held hands all the way back.  The voice of the Lord tackled Nephi at one point, I believe.

Instead of being frustrating (we're trying to learn about the scriptures, here!), it was hilarious.  And family home evening is just as much about family togetherness as it is spiritual learning, right?  We had a successful evening on that front.

Ishmael:  Hebs (potty training = pantless)
Nephi:  Zee
Laman:  Em
Voice of the Lord:  Gee

Roundup!

I have now indexed more than 4,000 names in FamilySearch indexing.  (You should try it, it's addictive!)  Now the stake has asked me to be an arbitrator, which is very necessary (apparently there are 2.5 million records waiting to be arbitrated), but not quite as fun.  Still, I'll do it.  (While still regular indexing on the side...heh heh heh.)

Today was a beautiful day.  It was the Hindu Holi festival (otherwise known as the Festival of Colors), and the Hindu Temple down the street puts on a lovely time.  That is, I assume it is a lovely time, but OH MY STARS THE CROWDS.  I haven't been, but out my front window I get to watch traffic crawl by on Main Street and very colorful people return to their cars, parked in front of my house.

Bradley's computer died (not mostly dead, but very very dead), and unfortunately we can't really afford to replace it with a similar, top-of-the-line Apple.  So he is the proud (?) owner of a new Dell.  Don't worry, we still have our six year old iMac, going strong.

During baths today, I made the mistake of turning my back for a moment while dressing Gee and urging a naked Hebs to hop into the full bath.  Yum Yum, sensing her chance, took the opportunity to clamber in the tub beside him.  Diaper, footie pajamas, and all.  Sadly, I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture before grabbing her out.  (Then we stripped her down and plopped her back in.  She was right, it was her turn too.)

Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful Sunday.  I love Spring!

Dr. Boyo

Gee and I were back up at Primary Children's Hospital today, and while it wasn't a fun experience (as he grows he recognizes certain unpleasant experiences match up with certain rooms, and when we walked into the room today he stopped short and started to cry.  "I don't want to go in there!" he wailed.), it was an encouraging one--the medication he is on is helping his bladder expand, and other good stuff.

I love how patient everyone is at Primary--it took us ten minutes to convince him to let us do the procedure, and yet everyone in the room was encouraging, and compassionate, and relaxed.  Gee had so many compliments on his snazzy (and well-loved) scrubs: a surgeon walking down the hallway asked if Gee was ready to do surgery with him, and wished for a camera, assistants fussed and cooed, random people in the hallway smiled and commented, and several nurses called him their twin.  He just soaked it up.

He also received, as a good job gift, an awesomely perfect play toolbox.  It has a hammer, pliers, two screwdrivers, tape measure, piece of (plastic) wood, screws and nails to go into the wood, a saw...he is totally enamored with it.

I'm grateful that the hospital tries so hard to make unpleasant things as pleasant as possible.  They truly are a remarkable group.

Overheard Today

Yum Yum sings all the time.  Generally it's either "ABCs" or "Twinkle Twinkle" (with the lack of distinct words, it's a little hard to tell the difference), but today she sang the last words (or at least their vowel sounds) of the She-Ra theme song.  So completely adorable.
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Hebs saw the flag at the school today and pointed to it.  "The pledge of allegiance, Momma!  Look, it's the pledge of allegiance!"  Sweetness.
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Gee has learned to write his last name, and now adds it whenever he is asked to put his name on something.  Except he usually forgets the "o", so it comes out as [his real name] RSS.  So he's a Real Simple Syndication.  Awesome.
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Em's class is researching rain forest animals this week for Writer's Workshop.  She has chosen poison dart tree frogs, and is thoroughly entranced and excited about her little research paper.  She enthusiastically reported that some little amount of poison would kill "TEN GROWN MEN, Momma!  Ten!"  Ah, science. I love that she loves it!
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Zee, today while watching Will Riker of the starship Enterprise being playfully chased by some lissome alien girl, asked me, "Do you and Daddy play games like that, Momma?"  Ummmm....oh, dear.

A World Without People

The pictures in this photo essay are just amazing and evocative and a bit disturbing.  As a child, I was a little frightened of abandoned buildings--they seemed so lonely and haunted.  Even as an adult, I'd always have eerie feelings when exploring old cabins or houses while out in the field--the delightful, slightly disturbing feeling which drives people to tell/listen to ghost stories.

Once, alone in southern Utah near Silver Reef, I approached an old stone pioneer cabin.  (I was one of the teaching assistants for field camp that week, and I was headed for group of students in the far distance to answer questions.)  As I timidly stuck my head in the gaping door, a huge lizard dropped down from the ceiling rafters, millimeters from my inquiring nose.  I shrieked and flung myself back, narrowly avoiding both wetting my pants and falling on my rear end in the sand.  Five minutes later, my heart finally stopped pounding.

I never did finish exploring that cabin.

Tender Mercies

On Friday, my friend Lindsay texted an invitation to our family to have dinner at their house that night.  Her husband is Bradley's scout co-leader, and so we were both husband-less that night, our kids are around the same ages, and it would have been totally fun to hang out and eat pizza together.

The only trouble was I got her text while we were at the dentist, and Em was having two tooth extractions, and I knew it just wouldn't work with a woozy Em, especially one unable to eat pizza.  So I sadly declined.

It was a VERY GOOD thing I did, too.

As referenced in my previous post, we were up all night Friday night/Saturday with explosive sickness (you're welcome for the mental image).  I was extra grateful we hadn't spread the germs around to Lindsay's family, until I read on Lindsay's facebook that she was very sick on Saturday as well.  Food poisoning, she believes.  She's the only one in her family who was sick, and so she blames the spinach salad she had on Friday night.

I love spinach salad.  If I had gone over, I would have eaten some.  Then I would have had the stomach bug AND food poisoning.  And my kids would have passed the stomach flu to them.  How fun for everyone!

So it is a tender mercy that Em has such horrible teeth.  Heh.

Sick Saturday

Quarantine Flag

Last night was one of those nights that, as an empty-nester or great-grandparent, I will look back on and say, "Yeah, don't really miss that part."

It started around midnight, when Em came downstairs and woke me up.  "I feel like I'm going to throw up, Momma."  I got her a bowl, laid towels around her bed, and tucked her in.  All the while, I was noticing that I, too, felt ill.  "I'm just tired, that's all, and maybe I ate too much pudding last night.  Yes, that must be it."

Twenty minutes later, she was calling and I was wiping, cleaning, holding hair back, and all, trying to control my own stomach.  Again an hour later, again an hour after that, you get the idea...

At five, Zee crept into my room.  "I threw up, Momma."  Even sick and exhausted, that announcement sure wakes a mother up.

"Where?"

"In the toilet."  (Oh, thank heavens for eight-year-old aim.)

"Oh, sweetie, good job.  I'm sorry you are sick.  Here, let me help you."

Bowl, towels, repeat, but only once so far.  Right now, we three are all prone in various stages of ugh.

The three youngers, so far, seem fine.  I have no illusions that they will stay that way.  My children take sharing very seriously.

Daddy will be home at four.  I hope he doesn't have it too.  As miserable as being sick at home is, being sick while camping...twenty times worse.  Good luck, Bradley.

A Sunny Day

At eight o'clock tonight, I tucked the four big kids into their makeshift beds upstairs in front of the TV (movie night!), and told Yum Yum that she could stay up with the big kids for another show, but then it was time for bed.  She looked at me, nodded, and headed downstairs.  Curious, I followed her.

I found her in her bed, waiting to be covered with blankets.  "MomMA?" she asked in her adorable lilting way.  "Nigh-nigh."

I guess she was tired.  I haven't heard a peep from her since I closed her door.

It was a long day.  It started early, helping Daddy get ready for his scout camping trip.  We met with the cub pack and walked over to the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds for the Spring Gem and Mineral Fair.  (The very definition of insanity--everyone and their wolf cubs were there.  We had seven scouts, five adults, two teenagers, and eleven crazy little kids.  Crowded, noisy, hot, crazy...let's just say that next year, I think I'll get a babysitter.)

We walked home after ninety minutes, rock sugar lollipops in hands and mouths, little polished rocks and shark teeth in pockets.  About an hour later, Em started screeching for me.  "My tooth broke, my tooth broke!"  One of her back baby teeth had indeed broken, damaged by a cavity.  Lovely.

I called our dentist, who managed to fit us in at four-ish.  Because of the emergency nature of the appointment, we waited about forty-five minutes.  Once in, it was apparent that the tooth needed to be completely removed (it was essentially shattered), and the tooth next to it as well, as infection from the broken tooth had spread.  Both baby teeth, both shallow, it was the work of just ten minutes (once Em was doped up on laughing gas and Novocaine.)  Still, we didn't get out of there until after five-thirty.

With orders to keep Em on soft foods for a day or so, we headed to the store to stock up on yogurt, pudding, jello, bananas, and eggs.  Pizza (for the rest of the kids) and Cafe Rio (for the frazzled momma) were obtained, and finally--finally--at 6:30, we got home.  Whew.

Caucus 2012

Wow, that was a fun/looooong/trifle disappointing/interesting evening.  Tonight was the Utah Republican Caucuses (did you go?), and Bradley and I engaged a babysitter and made it a date.  (What?  People go to sports events for dates all the time.  Political caucuses are like sports, only much quieter and filled with older-than-average people.)

Fun:  Bradley and I love politics, and local stuff is just as important.  We really enjoy participating, and sitting with friends from the neighborhood just increases the fun.

Looooong:  We told our babysitter that we would be home between 8:30 and 9 pm.  Ha ha ha ha.  We walked into the house at 10:30.  (And at least one precinct was still going strong when we left.)  Between higher attendance and a new rules change (a winning nominee must have a majority  of the votes, which necessitated multiple rounds of voting), what usually takes between 90-120 minutes took three and a half hours.  On hard cafeteria benches.  Yikes.

Trifle disappointing:  I oppose Senator Hatch being reelected.  I very much favor Dan Liljenquist.  The only way, here in Utah, to beat him will be at the convention, because he has too much name recognition and money to make a loss at the primary (if it even makes it to the primary) likely.  A loss at the general?  Practically impossible.  Our precinct will send three delegates to the state convention.  Despite my best efforts, two of the three are avowed Hatch supporters, and the third is on the fence.  That was discouraging, to say the least.  (I ran for a state delegate position, but, not surprisingly, was not selected.)

Interesting:  It's always fascinating and amazing to go and see the political process in action.  It just feels right to be there and do my best to be informed and involved.

We'll see what happens in the future.

Springing Forth

My crocuses are blooming!  Hooray, spring is here!

(It occurs to me that, if you follow that link, you'll think I only planted daffodils, tulips, and mountain bells.  Not so, for I couldn't resist the packages of bulbs in the stores, and bought some crocuses and (I think) grape hyacinths.  I love bulbs.)

Hair today...

I know, I know.  You are thinking, "Dear heaven, what is that THING?"

It is a pile of my hair.  For reference, a BIG pile of my hair--the mound, on the salon floor, was probably ten inches by seven inches.  Everyone in the salon--customers and stylists alike--couldn't stop commenting about it.

Yes, I hacked off my hair last Saturday.  It was driving me crazy--dry, split-ends, falling out.  I never did anything with it except pin it up, out of the way.  Washing my hair was an exercise in sheer frustration--I spent the majority of time clawing stray hairs off my back and shoulders.  And loose hairs were everywhere--in my children's clothes, tangled in the carpet, in my mouth.  (Shudder!)

So I took five inches of it off.  The stylist (she was awesome, one of the very best I've ever had) thinned my hair, too, so my head feels impossibly light.  She was fast and talented--for the first time in forever, I feel like I could go back to her, when I need another cut (in 18 months or so).  

I like it.  Even in this not-very-good picture (why did I pose with the window behind me?), I still think it looks good.  

My Little Geeklet

 

Last night, eight year old Zee brought this Lego creation to me.  

"Guess what I made, Momma?  It's the USS Enterprise, and this is Jean-Luc Picard!  Or maybe it should be the USS Enterprise-Lego!"

I'm so proud.

Strep

While I was growing up, my best friend (hey, Kristy!) would get sick with strep throat, at least once and usually twice a year.  We spent a lot of time together, and yet I never got strep, not once.  Nor did anyone in my family.

When I was college, said best friend was my roommate for three years.  Sadly, she continued to get strep occasionally.  I still never got it.

When I was engaged (less than a month before the wedding), I was very sick with a horrible sore throat and very high fever.  Bradley drove me to the ER on a Sunday when my fever wouldn't go down.  In the ER, they told me I probably one of two things:  strep, or mono.  We prayed for strep.

It was mono.

In the eight and a half years I've been a mom, I've never gotten strep.  Neither have my children.  Ever.

It is awesome.

Is it possible to be immune to strep?  Have you ever had it?

What an incredible world!

Isn't this an amazing picture?  I could stare at those clouds for hours.

(More gorgeous satellite pictures here, if you are patient enough to click through to each one.)

Black Eyed Hebs

And here we are, 48 hours after the big bump.  He thinks it is hilarious.  (It makes me wince to look at closely, though.  He insists that it doesn't hurt.)

My Little Bruiser

Hebs--my accident-prone child--had a little run-in with a sharp tiled corner yesterday.  He is quite proud of his black eye and swollen cheek, though.  "Take another picture of my block (sic) eye, Momma!"

What a cutie.

(P.S. Here's a picture of him at 8 tonight.  It looks even worse!)