The Andersons (who used to be) in Wyoming: February 2009

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Trying to blog without the internet

Since this is my Internet night (I go to my in-laws to use their wireless on Tuesday nights), I thought I would do a short update. We love being in our new house, but we do miss having the Internet at home! Living without the Internet and without a car can be kind of isolating for me, but I am lucky that I have two little girls to keep me company, a sister-in-law and nieces that like to come over and play, and several nice parks within walking distance.
Tempe and Lena are getting to be better friends every day! They are actually starting to play together now, and Lena adores her big sister and follows her everywhere. Lena just learned to wave and is trying to figure out clapping. Tempe is learning more colors every day, and even tried to arrange her blocks into a circle the other night! The shape she made was more like a squashed oval, but it was a closed figure, so that's pretty good! I hope to start her in a Joy School program this fall when she is three. We also have not yet started potty-training... but now that her bathroom is painted and put back together, I really have no excuse!
Now that the weather is warming up (our last bit of snow melted today!) Jason and I need to get cracking on the yard. The house was vacant all fall and winter, so our lawn is matted with rotted leaves. I'm afraid to see what the grass is like under them all! After we get the leaves up, we need to haul out a brush pile in the back yard, take out several overgrown, ugly bushes, and add some flowers. It will be a busy spring!

Some Tempe-isms

Holding Katelyn’s My Little Pony that got mixed in with our toys when we moved out of Jason’s parent’s house and subsequently became Tempe’s My Little Pony. “E [Katelyn] got this pony to me. It is so special to me. E got this pony to me!”

Dancing around her bedroom in her Sunday dress and singing. “A sunbeam, a sunbeam! Jesus wants a sunbeam! A sunbeam, yeah, yeah!”

Answering the next door neighbor’s question about where her Grandma lives. “Grandma Lisa live at Grandma Lisa house.”

At the park with Daddy. “You know awesome, Dad? Dad, you know awesome? This playground is awesome!”

Surveying her newly unpacked bedroom. “I got new toys! Look at all me new toys!” [While we lived at Jason’s parent’s house, our stuff was in storage for over eight months, and Tempe apparently forgot all of her old toys in that period of time.]

Coming into the kitchen where Helena is crying while I try to make dinner. “It’s ok, Lena. It’s ok! I’m here. Someone hurt you, Lena? Mommy hurt you?” [I tried to assure Tempe that I did not hurt Lena, but she wondered why else Lena would be crying.]

Discovering that Jason had put her Polly Pocket away in the wrong place before bed the night before. “Hey, this not go here! It go here!”

Wanting Jason to toss her in the air. “Throw me up to me bedroom, Dad!”

“Read me a story, Mom. A real story.” She pats me on my chest. “You!”
“Tell a story about me? When I was big or when I was little?”
“Little, just like Tempe!”

Bringing her green Gideon Bible into the bedroom where I am reading scriptures. “I got my scriptures, Mom! I reading my scriptures!”

At dinner at Jason’s parent’s house before we moved out. “Doodle-oodle-oo!” [Gibberish] “You know that, Grandpa?”

Walking the aisles of the dollar store after her very first haircut. “I found the perfect toy, Mom! It’s a ball!” [I told her that she could pick just one toy if she was good for her haircut; she was.]

Driving home from church and pointing at the different houses. “That not me own home, that not me own home, no, that one not me own home!”

At dinner one night. “Hey, I have the idea. How ‘bout we all go outside and play! Hey, I have the idea. How ‘bout we go to the store. Hey, I have the idea. How ‘bout we get a treat. Hey, I have the idea. How ‘bout we all play dinosaurs. Hey, I have the idea. How ‘bout we take all Tempe’s clothes off!”

Talking about whether she is obedient or disobedient. “Mommy, I make you happy… but sometimes I make you sad.”

A very bold choice

I watch enough home decorating/real estate shows to know that the color we just painted our bathroom is not going to be popular, and is probably going to reqire us to repaint if we ever want to sell our house... but before you make any judgements, let me explain. We only paid $5 for the paint. I found it in the "oops" section at Home Depot, and so, really, it's not too bold of a choice, because it was a $5 choice. Besides, me and Jason like it--we just don't think anyone else will!

And notice how the blue in the shower curtain is the precise shade of blue on the wall. Crazy, huh?

Also, bathrooms are very hard to paint. Especially ours, because the wall slopes up on one side--the side with the toilet--and so it was hard to get the ladder close enough to reach the highest corner. But, we perservered, and if we got a little paint on the ceiling, well... they're high ceilings so no one will notice :)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Want a present?

This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. BUT, in order for you to leave a comment on my blog, you have to post this on your blog first. (That means that sometime during this year you will send a gift to 3 people as well.) Get it? So, the first 3 people to comment on this post will be the lucky ones! Good Luck!

Reading and why we love it

Last night Jason and I had a fun conversation. It started because we no longer had a couch to sit on to watch tv--we moved the loveseat that had been our tv couch upstairs in preparation for the delivery of our new red sectional (see previous post). So instead of sitting on the cold hardwood floors just to watch reruns of "Man vs. Wild", we played Rummicube and then just hung out in the living room together. I was looking at our bookshelf, which is pretty well stocked, and I turned to Jason and said "Which of these books on the bookshelf here is your favorite?"
Well, that stumped him, because he couldn't narrow it down. And so we spent quite a while taking turns naming our favorite books and discussing them. Most of them we had both read, but there are a few that just one of us had read. Here is a partial list of the books we named, and who chose them as a favorite:
"Slaughterhouse-Five" (Kate)
"The Brothers Karamzov" I probably spelled that wrong (Jason)
"The Scarlet Letter" (Kate)
"Blood Meridian" (Jason)
"To Kill A Mockingbird" (Kate)
"The Grapes of Wrath" (Jason)
"East of Eden" (Kate)
"Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" (Jason)
"The Count of Monte Cristo" (Kate)
"The Autobiography of Malcolm X" (Jason)
"Kinfolk" but only as a Pearl S. Buck token--if we owned "The Good Earth" that would be on the list instead (Kate)
"On the Road" (Jason)
I know there were more that we talked about, but it's hard to remember them now... we also came up with a few that we thought we had but don't have, and want to buy: "Animal Farm", "1984", and "Fahrenheit 451".
So, if anyone is looking for something to read, there are our recommendations!

The Great Room

Isn't it great?

We just got this couch on Saturday as a Valentine's Day present to each other. We went to RC Willey just for fun, not planning on buying anything, when we saw this gorgeous suede sectional for only $800!! Can you believe that price? I didn't think it was right. But it was, and so we bought it.