Immaculate

For those of you who don't know already, we are moving in a few weeks. So, on Friday, Eva (the rental agent) called and said that she had someone who wanted to come see the house on Saturday at 3pm. That sort of put me into a panic because I wanted our house to look really nice for anyone who is interested in looking. I would hate it if they were totally turned off because our house was too cluttered or dirty. So, we woke up and got to work Saturday morning cleaning the bathrooms, doing laundry, vacuuming, etc. For the most part I was pretty satisfied with the end result, but in NO way thought it was perfect. So, Jakob and I left and went to the pool because I didn't want to hear any comments they would make while looking around. Brad stayed home because Josh was taking a nap.

When we got home from the pool, I asked Brad what they thought about the place. He said they used the word "immaculate." That shocked me. It put a smile on my face, but shocked me! NEVER would I EVER call my house immaculate. But, what mattered is that they were impressed and hopefully will be approved to rent it after we move out.

I personally find it funny that they thought it was so well kept...didn't they notice Jakob's artwork on the wall in the stairway from that time he got into my make-up? Didn't they notice the crayon stripes on the doorframe of the bathroom by Joshy? Didn't they notice the smudges and fingerprints all over the sliding glass door that I forgot to wash? Didn't they notice those toys sticking out from under the couch that weren't put away? Didn't they notice how dusty the blinds were in my bedroom? Or the piles of "stuff" that have collected on top of my dresser?? I could go on and on...but I won't. Thank goodness their idea of "immaculate" is very different from my own!!!!!

On another note...we are excited to start packing up. We bought a lot of boxes from someone off of craigslist and are ready to start packing all of the stuff that we don't use every day. Since we have moved so many times you'd think that we have a good system by now. Well, the only thing I have sworn to do this time is to have at least 95% of our stuff boxed up before everyone shows up to help us move. In the past we have probably only had about 60%...so that left a lot for us to do on our own without extra help.

Here's some interesting info:

Move #1: From our first 1 bedroom apt. to a 2 bedroom. I was about 3 months pregnant with Jakob.

Move #2: From the 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom apt. Jakob was about 7 weeks old.

Move #3: From the 3 bedroom apt in Sandy, UT to Brad's parents' house in Fountain Valley, CA. Jakob was 11 months old.

Move #4: From his folks' house to our first place in FV. I was almost 6 months pregnant with Joshua.

Move #5: From that place to our current place. Joshua was 6 months old.

And coming up, Move #6: From our current place here in HB, back to FV. I will be almost 6 months pregnant with baby #3.

Kind of interesting that we have moved during each of my pregnancies, and within the first year of all of my kids' lives. Luckily most moves have been local and not across the country or overseas! I am grateful for that at least! I am also grateful for the chance it gives us to purge a lot of clutter and junk. (And then more of it finds its way back into our life once we move!)

Joshua's 2nd Birthday

Wow...I can't believe how fast the past two years have flown by! Joshua has just gotten so big and is really turning into a little boy...the baby boy is still there, but he's just growing up. He is talking a lot now and is really funny. He still makes funny faces and still likes to bite, pinch, hit, headbutt, etc to show affection. I have absolutely no doubt that football is in his future! He is fearless and loves to do everything Jakob does. One of their favorite things is jumping off the end of the couch...even though we have a strict rule forbidding that! I don't know how many times I've told the story of my little brother jumping on the bed and breaking his leg. It just doesn't seem to sink in with my boys!!! I hope and pray that they will always be kept safe through all of their crazy stunts!

Anyway...we celebrated Joshy's birthday at the park with some family and it was really fun. Thanks to all who came to celebrate with us...we love you! Oh yeah...as you can see, Joshua no longer has his adorable curls...Brad decided to give the boys a buzz a few weeks ago. I was a bit sad at first...but hey, it's just hair and it will grow back, right? Here are some pictures from his party:

Our Planet

Today on the way to school:

Jakob said, "Did you know our planet is RO-TATING?"

I said, "Um, hmm. Isn't that cool?"

He said, "And it NEVER stops!!!!!"

I love his enthusiam! He makes me smile. :)

The price of a mom: $138,095

I found this article very interesting...nice to know that all the work we moms do is noticed! The article can be found at:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/ThePriceOfAMom.aspx?GT1=10019

A new report assigns a salary to a stay-at-home mother, based on the jobs she does in a normal week.

By MSN Money staff

What's a mom worth?

According to one new report, $138,095 a year.

That's the figure in a report by Salary.com, which calculates the wages that would have been paid a stay-at-home mom in 2007 if she were compensated for all the elements of her "job." That total is up 3% from 2006's salary of $134,121.

Moms who have jobs outside the house would earn another $85,939 for their mothering work, beyond what they bring home in existing salary.

The job descriptions that Salary.com used to determine a mom's salary includes 10 jobs that moms do on an average day: housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, CEO and psychologist.

Plenty of overtime In calculating a mom's wages, Salary.com looked at the "overtime" that both working and stay-at-home moms put in each week.

"Mom works multiple jobs and rarely gets a break from the action, working an average of 52 hours of overtime," said Bill Coleman, senior vice president at Salary.com, in a statement.

According to the Salary.com survey, stay-at-home moms work a 92-hour week, with more than half the workweek spent in overtime.

Working moms, meanwhile, logged more than nine hours of "overtime," with an average 49-hour "mom" work week -- on top of their full-time paying jobs.

For the Salary.com survey, more than 40,000 moms quantified their hours per job description; Salary.com benchmarked the median salaries for each job to the national median salary for each position as reported by employers.

The final salary was calculated by weighting the salaries and hours worked in each role.

A 60% Chance It's A...

BOY!

Yes, you read that right. :)

Here's the picture to prove it.

Now, keep in mind I'm only 14 weeks along...so that's why it's only 60% sure. I guess that little boy and little girl genitals can be about the same size at this point...so if they can get a good view of the ANGLE of it...then they can "guess" if it's a boy or girl. So, from that angle...she said she thinks its a boy! Of course I'm going back in for another ultrasound in about 4-5 weeks, and we'll hopefully be able to confirm it at that point, but we'll see if the baby cooperates! It was so exciting to see that little one again...and to show Jakob the pictures and explain to him that if the baby were born right now, he could hold it in one of his hands. That's how small it is! Just over 3 1/2 inches long. CRAZY and SO utterly amazing. Here are a few pictures of the baby...

All 5 fingers!!!

Baby arching his back, which apparently is a good sign because it shows muscle tone!

A view of baby's profile...will he have Brad's bottom lip??? (Joshy sure does!)

We are of course very excited to share this with all of you...and hope you enjoy hearing about it! Brad was able to be with me today, so it was really cool for him to see the baby this time. It's such a cool thing that we are able to actually see the baby!!!

Well, I'm feeling pretty good these days...no more migraines (KNOCK ON WOOD!) but still get tired and constantly hungry...but that's normal. So, I'm grateful for that. :)