Paint, Paint, and more Paint

Well, we finally pulled the trigger...we're painting the house ourselves. We started upstairs and will work down from there. I'm excited to finally do a few home projects to make it feel more like home and personalized. I'll post some before and after pictures later...so far, we've painted the bathrooms and Maxton and Seth's room. Even though it's hard work, we're enjoying it...we obviously wait until the boys are in bed and then we tackle one room a night...we usually fall in the bed a little after midnight, but it's worth it. Sherwin Williams has become our favorite store these days, and frankly we've become their favorite customers.

Thanksgiving

There's nothing better than an oven full of yummy side dishes. We had a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful Feast. Along with our turkey, we had...sweet potato casserole, stuffing, rolls, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, asparagus, and pumpkin pie. We spent Thanksgiving with my folks down in Akron, OH, and we all helped to put the meal together...everything was so great!
Every year, we seem to learn a little bit more about cooking. Last year, I was learning how to make rolls. I didn't realize that you were to not only allow the dough to rise, but also let it rise again after you place the rolls on the cookie sheet. Lets just say that I cooked dozens of bite size nuggets...Ben liked to call them. Lesson learned, this time they were normal size and very enjoyable.
This year, Ali, my little sister, was the cook in training. After opening seven cans of cream of mushroom soup for her green bean casserole, she thought something was not quite right. She realized before she opened another three cans, that it was asking for one 10 ounce can, not 10 cans. So, my Mama was left with a container full of unused cream of mushroom soup. Yes, we all had a nice laugh. The thing that I thought was the funniest was that my mother had exactly ten cans of soup...I could see how Ali was a little thrown off. And among all of my many blessings, I'm indeed grateful for our sense of humor and a good funny story!

I'm still here...somewhere!?!

I know what you're all thinking..."Where is that Tara girl...has she forgotten about the old blog?!" Okay, lets get real...no one is thinking that...you more than likely haven't even realized that it's been a little bit since I've posted something new. The truth is...I've missed you guys...all your great comments and tid bits that you leave at the end of my posts. Yes, I'm still here...somewhere...we are in the midst of cleaning and doing home projects. You would think it's spring around here (spring cleaning), we have been busy sorting through the kid's toys, clothes, cleaning out the basement, and doing small projects around the house like hanging pictures, installing back up sump pumps, etc.

The project I'm most excited about is the basement. We are not able to finish our base anytime soon, so we've trashed and good willed the items we don't use and put the rest up on shelves. We purchase a 12 X 20 piece of carpet and will be laying that down and putting most of the toys down stairs. I'm so excited to get my family room somewhat back. I'm hoping Max will enjoy his own space this winter and that I can enjoy not having to pick up every little toy when visitors come over, and be able to relax on the couch and not be over whelmed with chaos.

Also, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving...and good luck on any shopping adventures you plan to go on this Friday. We will be spending Thanksgiving with my folks, and we hope to sneak in a trip to the movies while the grandparents watch our children...we could really use a small date. TTFN!

GO WILDCATS!

Well, we survived our trip to Utah with two small children. I think the only thing that saved us, was buying Maxton his own plane ticket and strapping him down in his car seat...that way if he was going to have a fit, it wouldn't be in our laps. Honestly they did very well, we were pleased.
So, we went to Utah because it was David's last Weber State Home Game (Ben's little brother). It was a big deal for the whole family. All four of the brothers have played football for Weber State over the last 17 years and have also been season ticket holders. All seven of the brothers and sisters have worked hard and received they're bachelors from Weber...what more can I say...they all bleed purple! The local newspaper there in Ogden wrote up a nice article about the family and their love and commitment to Weber State and the Football team. It was nice to be at the game and to celebrate with family and friends. We enjoyed a nice dinner after the winning game and talked and reminisced over the passed years.
While in Utah, Ben and I were also able to see and visit with most of his brothers and sisters, along with their beautiful children. It's always nice to attend the temple while in town...there are plenty who are happy to watch the boys and it's so easy to get in and out at one of the many temples there in Utah.
One of my favorite things about coming home from Utah is that the kids sleep in so late...it will take them a while to get back on eastern time...and that is just fine with me.
I'm sure the Hale family will still keep up with the Weber State Wildcats, but one thing is certain, they will never forget the fun and memories that were made these last 17 years. "Weber State, Weber State, Weber State, Great, Great, Great!"

The Best Baby Tender Ever

So, last Saturday night Ben and I decided to go to dinner on a whim...It was 7pm and our plan was to leave the house by 8pm (we were taking Seth with us since all he does is sleep and would not interrupt our date, besides the fact that I'm not ready/comfortable leaving him with a sitter yet)...I lucked out...Ol' Alex B. just happened to be sitting at home with nothing to do and was happy to come over and watch Maxton. He's been over before and Max has really enjoyed him, so I didn't leave much instruction, just told him where to find the diapers and about what time to put him to bed.

When we got home, it was a little after 10pm (yes, Ben and I had a great time) and I asked Alex how things went...he said that it was a little hard to get Maxton to go to bed and that he kept getting out and that he would have to put him back to bed. Of course I jumped to attention when he said, "he kept getting out," Max is still in a crib! So, I asked the obvious..."He kept getting out of his crib?" Alex replied, "No, his bed at the end of the hall, I assumed that Seth was in the crib (Seth is still in our room in the pack n' play)." I then asked, "Is he asleep?" Alex, "Yeah." I was so shocked and impressed with this 17 year old, I informed him that I would be calling when it was time to potty train.

Even though we were happy that Maxton had reached this milestone and was sleeping in his "big boy" bed for the first time, we were a little nervous about how the night would play out. He did pretty good for the most part, he did wake up a bit after 5am (which it was really 4am since the time was changing that night) and we heard the little sounds of small feet running across the tile. Ben was a sweet heart and got up with him and let Seth and I sleep a little longer. Needless to say, Maxton fell fast asleep on the way to church and was tired most of the day. And Yes, we put Max back in the crib on Sunday...I think we'll revisit the "big boy" bed in another month or so...Ben and I aren't quite ready to wake up at the crack of dawn with Maxton when Seth is still getting up a few times during the night. We're just satisfied to know that he can sleep in the bed and thanks to Alex we know how to get him to sleep in his new bed.

Time

Time...don't we all wish we had more of it?!? I wish I had more time for the following:

1-Holding and rocking my sweet baby boys.
2-More time to sleep between feedings with Seth.
3-Extra time to scrapbook and blog the memories that are made each day.
4-Time to get my laundry done in one day.
5-Time to sit and relax with Ben after the boys go to bed.
6-More Summer Time for swimming and playing at the park.
7-Time to take longer showers.
8-Time to exercise.
9-A little longer nap time.
10-Sometimes, I wish Time stood still when I think about how fast they are both growing.

Time is definitely something I'm starting to cherish!