Bathroom #2 Remodel

While I was taking a picture of the boys’ potty charts, I figured I might as well take some of the entire bathroom as well. We’ve been done remodeling this for a long time now, I just haven’t gotten around to posting. I actually think we might have completely finished this bathroom before the master—see, we learned all our lessons well.

We LOVE this bathroom remodel. We kept it simple, especially by deciding to skip tiling the floor and keep the linoleum. It also helped that we didn’t have to tile the wall around the bathtub, and that the counter space was much smaller and we used larger tiles: lessons learned from previous bathroom. We actually sanded the cabinets and used a sprayer this time, making the paint go on much smoother. Once again, we learned our lessons. Sensing a theme?

So without further ado, here’s our other bathroom:

Oh wait, that’s just Seth and Sam swimming in the bathtub, i.e. the hot tub to their wonderful imaginations. What would a post be without a picture of them? Now to the bathroom:

You’ll have to excuse the lighting on all these, not the greatest. Here’s the front room. We LOVE the color scheme! (I stole the wall paint color from cousin Alicia). I also LOVE the round mirror, a Home Depot find (their Martha Stewart line is great and very affordable!)

The details always make the room. Here are my wonderful white flowers—if you look closely you’ll see that they’re lit up. I had been coveting these at Craft Warehouse for years, and then our store went out of business and they were finally bought at a reasonable price! They are great to have in here, because I can leave them on as a night light when we have company. The framed picture is very nostalgic: it is of Ben and I on homecoming court, our freshmen year in college. Despite the fact that I’m obviously gazing up at him, we weren’t dating in this picture…but truth be told, I was already in love!

Again, excuse the lighting. The wall is adorned by our favorite sunset pictures, all taken by us at various places around the world.

Here’s a close-up showing the backsplash. I love the varying colors and textures. This faucet was an online steal, at least $20 cheaper than anything we could find in stores.

Although there are so many features I love in this bathroom, these decorations take the cake. Yes those are profiles of the boys. Aren’t they amazing? Who else but my mother could make something as spectacular as these. I showed her a picture torn from a magazine of the idea, asking her for tips on painting them onto canvas. She immediately whips out her computer and starts digitally tracing them and voila: perfection. I’m thinking this could be a future etsy business for me…wouldn’t you want one?

And of course, the colors perfectly match my shower curtain, compliments of World Market.

And there you have it. Bathroom #2. Oh wait. I have to show you the “before” picture so that you can fully appreciate the change.

It’s always good to finish with a picture of Seth and Sam. And just in case you can’t totally see it: yes, the stripes on the heinous counter tile are purple and pink. Goodbye 80’s decor!

We’re Potty TrainED!

Yep. That’s right. TrainED. Both of them. I know, you don’t believe me. Truth be told, I don’t really believe it myself.

It all started when Ben was out of town. Bad timing, right? Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid. It was not my intention to potty train while being a single mom for a week. This was something that Seth and Sam did all on their own. Tuesday evening they announced that they wanted to wear underwear. Who was I to stop them? I simply told them, “Okay, but if you have an accident, you’re back in diapers.” And they didn’t have one. Next day, same thing.

So many people told me, “When they’re ready, it will just happen.” I didn’t believe them (as was evident by the dozen failed potty training attempts). But you know what? For us, this was true. It just clicked. Honestly, it wasn’t even stressful potty training, where you set the timer and have to constantly be on edge because you’re afraid of an accident. It just happened. There can probably be a case made for “laying a foundation,” which is what all those other frustrating and messy days were.

I knew they were trained when Seth, yes the boy who kept announcing to everyone that he “wasn’t potty trainin’ yet,” woke up in the middle of the night and REFUSED to pee in his diaper. Yes, Seth has paved the way for the potty training this time, acting as our “clock” because he will tell me every time he needs to go. I simply just have Sam go after him.

And here’s the crazy thing, and it’s probably because they are older (two years and 8 months), but they are being really independent with it. I’ll hear the toilet flush on its own, meaning I don’t have to initiate it every time. It’s not a battle or me begging them to go before they have an accident. They aren’t even wearing pull-ups for naps, and I’m pretty sure probably would be okay at night too. Crazy, huh. Maybe there are perks to waiting so long :)

Thanks to the stomach flu, we had to stop doing treats for potty, which was a wonderful natural weaning of lots of candy every day. The boys and I created a cool chart together, where they now get a treat for every 10 stickers. Pretty fun.

Today I celebrated the “trainedness” by finally putting that darn, baby diaper changing pad in the closet. I had been awaiting this moment for a long time, ever since their feet, then their calves started hanging over the edge. I always remembered the day I changed my friends’ boy’s diaper, when he was like two, and was grossed out because he looked so big on that changing pad. My boys were WAY bigger than him by the end. Adios changing pad.

LOVE the dresser without the changing pad!

The potty charts: the boys helped by coloring the letters of their name!

Unfortunately I had just replenished my diaper/wipe stock. That’s how suddenly the boys decided that it was “time.”

When Daddy’s Away…

I hate Ben’s business trips! But thank the Lord they don’t happen very often (about 3 times a year) and I’m so thankful for wonderful friends and family who help out! Here’s the fun we had while Ben traveled to Tennessee and Kentucky:

Monday: Ben left too early for the airport for us to go with him, but I decided to head that way regardless, to let they boys watch planes and pretend daddy was on each one of them. Okay, maybe I just wanted to visit IKEA. That’s always a fun adventure, and the boys run around finding each arrow in the pathway. My college roommate, Lindsey, came over in the evening for dinner and to play with the boys. They love her and spent the whole next day asking, “Where’s Mrs. Lindsey?” Funny quote of the day: as I was explaining to Lindsey how the boys LOVE Tebow, I was trying to get Seth to tell her what position Tebow plays (they know his number, team, etc). So I asked him, “If Tebow throws the ball, what does that make him?” (leading him to say quarterback). Instead Seth answered excitedly, “Happy!” Ha ha. Of course throwing the ball makes Tebow happy :)

Tuesday: I knew this was going to be the toughest day, because I didn’t have anyone “lined-up.” However, we made the best of it, and went to story time in the morning and did errands in the afternoon (I’ve found if we’re gone most the day, then the evenings don’t seem quite so long!) I even played hide-and-seek, chase, and races with the boys in the evening!

Wednesday: My plans for this day were foiled because Wesley, the boy who I usually watch in the morning, got the stomach flu—and of, course that was the evening I was going to have dinner with his parents! But I was so thankful for great friends who came to the rescue. We popped over to our neighbor’s house to visit and play with Brandon, who is the same age and Seth and Sam; new toys are always an excitement. Then the evening was full and wonderful with our friends the Gowen’s and their three kids (one of who is only weeks old). Mike graciously ran around and wrestled with the boys, giving them their much needed “man-time.”

Thursday: I knew if I could just make it to this day, we’d be okay, because Ben’s cousin Alicia and her son Judah were coming over for a sleepover. I was hoping to at least have them for dinner, but much to my pleasant surprise, they came for lunch too! She was a lifesaver and the boys have such a fun relationship with Judah, who is a year younger than them. I planned a couple of fun activities and the sun even came out for awhile so we could go on a much-needed, energy-burning walk. Alicia gave me some much needed adult conversation and we shared tons of laughter watching Judah follow Seth and Sam around trying to be just like them. When they put their basketball shoes on, Judah was struggling to put his shoes on. When they headed to the bathroom, Judah was close behind saying “potty.” When they were racing down the hallway, Judah was close behind just having a blast. It was so fun to watch! And can you believe it: all boys smiled for a picture at exactly the same time!

Best of buds: Sam, Judah, and Seth Judah trying to be like Sammy

Here the boys were playing pretend basketball with pretend balls (I love their imagination!). As we left the outdoor courts, Seth was concerned about what to do with his “ball.” I told him to put it in his pocket, which he pretended to do. Moments later, he complained of having cold hands, so I told him to put them in his pockets. He looked at me and very seriously replied, “I can’t. My ball’s in there!”

Isn’t Judah the CUTEST kid!

Playing with Jello, my “activity” of the evening. It was actually quite the successful endeavor. The boys had lots of fun squishing and scooping.

Friday: Alicia had her ultrasound for baby boy #2 first thing in the morning, so I had all the boys for a bit. Judah was SO excited to wake-up at our house and be able to instantly play with “Shammy” (both boys are called Sammy by him!) I was treated with a mocha by Alicia, and then we headed off to a play-day at a church in our area. Seth and Sam LOVE going and it burns tons of energy. I had been wanting to bring my camera for awhile, and finally did. Seth spent his whole time riding bikes around. Sammy immediately found a basketball (surprise, surprise) but did some driving of his own. My favorite thing about this play-day is the pretend gas tank: there is always one boy who takes it upon himself to make sure all the vehicles are “gassed-up.” For some reason this just cracks me up. Maybe its because all the kids take it so seriously, and know that they must have gas. So cute!

 

Seth

Judah and Sam

The “gas tank.” Notice how all the cars are lined up ready for a fill.

A Mama’s Heart

After having very sick children the past two Christmases, I specifically prayed for health over the holidays this year. And God graciously answered that prayer for us! So when the stomach flu hit our house on Thursday, I wasn’t too upset. Thankfully the boys are at the age where they can usually “get it in a bowl” (which means less clean-up).

They can also verbalize their needs pretty well, which made my heart sad when they were begging for a drink of water, and I couldn’t give it to them (even the smallest drop caused them to vomit).

There were a few moments, however, that made my heart burst with love and happiness. Now you all know that Seth and Sam are huge daddy’s boys—to the point that almost every morning when I get them up they ask for their daddy. Although this sometimes gets old, and kind of hurts my feelings, I’m very happy to have a father for my boys that is that wonderful. So when they started vomiting I was very anxious to get Ben home from work to help out (at one time, they were sitting side-by-side puking…guess it’s a twin thing). But even when Ben arrived home, they just wanted me. That’s right: ME! MOMMY! ME! It was one of those moments where I felt like I was made to do this; I was made to be the comforter for my kids when they are sick. I’m usually not a terribly compassionate person, but when Seth and Sam are sick, empathy oozes from my pores. I will do anything to make them feel better, and they need me, their mommy. So while it was sad to see them sick, it was very special for me to feel so needed in my role as their mother. I will cherish the following moment in this picture where although my kids are sick, my heart is endlessly full:

Basketball

I’ve wrote about how excited the boys were about opening their new basketball shoes for Christmas. I’ve wrote about how excited they were to be at uncle Caleb’s basketball games. I’ve wrote about how we must play in the “court” (the entry way), and wear the proper “gear” (basketball shoes and a jersey) and even listen to the proper music…but I don’t know if you understand the depth of love my boys have for the sport of basketball.

Here’s my entry way every night:

Yep, they line those shoes right in front of the door, showing me that they are not going anywhere without those shoes on.

Here’s the shoes in all their glory:

Sam’s are the white, Seth the red. They really are cool shoes—and my bonus: Seth and Sam can put them on themselves!

Here’s their eager faces as they watch Ben play in his basketball league on Sunday (note that we have the jerseys on!):

Sam

Seth

Here’s to the rest of my life watching my twin boys play basketball!

2011: A Look Back

What I really want to be doing right now is taking a nap. However, Sam is going on a streak of 5 days without taking a nap, which means every 10 minutes or so I get to hear him yell, “I’m awake.” This, as you can imagine drives me crazy, makes me angry, and is not conducive to my nap taking. It is also doubly frustrating because it means he needs to go to bed earlier—which would be a bonus if his brother did as well. BUT, of course Seth is taking a nap, which means that when I put them both to bed early (because Sam is a wreck and there is no reasoning with two year olds about why one kid should go to bed earlier than the other), I get to spend 2 hours in the evening with the same frustration I currently have. Only this time, Seth will be awake and squawking away. There it is, my rant for the day. So I’m sitting on the couch, sipping my much needed coffee and finally going to write this blog post. Caution: it’s long, but remember, this is more for my mental archives, future scrapbooking needs, and reminscening more than anything. I won’t be offended if you don’t read it!

January: We brought in the new year with a demolished bathroom, sinus infections, serious sleep deprivation and as I wrote on my calendar on the 25th, “Worst night ever.” Wow. Sounds like fun. I described the boys’ language as “exploding” with 100+ words (little did I know what was to come!) and they started putting together 3 word sentences like “daddy car bye.” We had our first tattletale. They were obsessed with basketball (sound familiar?) They loved sitting on the bathroom counter in the morning while I got ready. We really started working on manners. They loved chasing each other and playing hide-and-seek.

February: It looks like this month was marked by finally getting some sleep, although also getting sick a lot: flu, colds, ear infections, you name it. Seth and Sam started sleeping with a stuffed animal: Seth a kitty and Sam a puppy. I loved how they said butterfly (fudderfly) and cringed (ok laughed) every time they said “fork” or even better shouted fork lift in the middle of Costco. Oh, and no, we didn’t finish that @#$% bathroom. 

March: March 3rd calendar entry, “We’re healthy, praise the Lord!” Another huge praise of the month: Seth and Sam finally stopped crying every morning when they woke up. And still another blessing of the month: going out to eat at PF Changs and having the manager pick up our tab because he’s a twin parent too! Favorite things to do this month: pillow piles, blocks, and horsey on daddy’s back. We got to have Caleb and Levi here for a long weekend while his parents celebrated their 30th anniversary in Hawaii…which was a huge bonding experience between the uncles and nephews.

April: My treat this month was that Ben surprised me with “a day off” including a pedicure, massage, and afternoon date with him. We took family pictures in downtown Portland by the flowering cherry trees and celebrated Easter with my family. The boys learned to count to five, jump with both feet, sing “Baby Bumblebee” with motions, oh and finally consistently sleep through the night.

May: The boys turned 2 at the end of the month. We celebrated their birthday, and then proceeded to take their binkies away. This possibly was the catalyst for the beginning of two months of hellish night terrors almost every night. Alas. We did have some positives of the month including camping with friends at the beach, spending a weekend in Dufur, celebrating the boys’ birthday like four different times with family, and hosting my first ever garage sale. The boys really started pretending this month and would tell me, “Bye, bye mama. Goin to Costco. Diapers. Strawberries.”

June: I turned 28 and we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. The boys learned to count to 10 and played their first one-on-one basketball game. We still struggled with night terrors: at one point Seth had one 22 out of 26 nights. We felt like we were going crazy and were recommended to a sleep specialist; however after doing a couple internet-researched home remedies (like playing music and not wearing foot pjs) they gradually got better. Praise the Lord. Seth and Sam learned to ride their tricycles. They started talking in sentences. We bought Ben a new golf iron set for Father’s Day and he was thrilled. Life with the boys was all about independence and “I do it by self.” We went on a couple of adventures with the boys: to the downtown waterfront and to watch planes at the airport.

July: Fourth of July weekend was super busy with my parents visiting, then heading to Dufur to watch Levi play baseball, then scaring the boys while letting off fireworks with friends. We had one of our funniest parenting moments as the boys caught on to Ben saying “Dang it” and started mimicking him.  We spent a weekend camping in Crooked River with the extended Morris family. I picked my token 50+ pounds of berries—the boys were very “helpful.” Oh, and how could I forget? This the month that we finally pulled the plug and split Seth and Sam into separate bedrooms…oh sweet peace from sleep! My calendar says, “It’s amazing how great I can feel with sleep.”

August: Ben and I took off for a three night vacation to Seattle and Orcas Island. As a family, we ate almost every dinner outside…oh and spent almost every single hour of every day outside in the beautiful summer. I took my first stab at potty training the boys and they set a world record of a combined 17 accidents in one day. On the weekend that we celebrated Ben’s 29th birthday, we also had a visit from my parents and took a trip to Dufur to help Nate and Holly move into their new home. The boys spent a special day at fair with Ben’s parents and their uncles. Seth established a “bed time kiss routine” that we still continue to adore. Sam had a month of pushing boundaries, always wanting more, and making me pull my hair out.

September: We had another month of traveling. First we spent Memorial Day weekend at our neighbor’s beach house and had unprecedented 80 degree weather and a glorious time as a family! Then we hopped in the car and heading to my hometown of Lakeview for a long weekend where the boys got to go in a boat with their Papa. I took another couple stabs at potty training, all failures, but boy do they look cute in their undies! Seth and Sam are excited about all things sports and being sweaty like daddy (nothing changes…actually I could write this about every month) and have very serious conversation about “being older so now they can go to football camp.”

October: I got to go to my churches women’s retreat as Ben took the boys to watch Caleb and Levi play football in Dufur. We did a fun family outing to have the boys ride the Portland Gondola. I feed squirrels? (crazy mama!) My dad comes and stays with us for a couple days and we go to the zoo with Katie’s kids. As a result of splitting the boys into separate rooms, the guest bed is moved into our play room and we do a lot of jumping on the mattress. I started watching my friend Katie’s baby, Wesley, one day a week…we love having another kid in the house! Ben gets a wild hair and decides to take Caleb to an Oregon Duck football game; they have a blast and Seth and Sam adore having their uncle here for the weekend. We end the month getting to have my mom here for Halloween (and a whole week!), because Ben had a business trip to Germany.

November: Rain comes, so we start playing in the mud and bundling up to go on nature walks. Ben has his first fire pit with the boys…a real man-bonding experience. And speaking of bonding, I get to go on a road trip with my college roommates to a wedding. We pack up the car and head to Lakeview again: this time to celebrate Thanksgiving and meet my new baby cousin, Jack.

And finally, December. A month filled with family gatherings and fun. A month where the boys hit two and a half, are still not potty trained, and become even more obsessed with basketball after watching their uncle Caleb’s first high school basketball game and opening their first pair of real basketball shoes from us for Christmas. We celebrated four Christmases in a week and a half, but spent the month establishing our family traditions and teaching Seth and Sam of Jesus’ birth.

 

Wow, looking back and reflecting on 2011, it was a pretty amazing year. Actually, I can’t believe how much we packed into it! I’m so thankful to the opportunities God gave us to spend time with family and travel. Also how we were able to bond and do special experiences just the four of us.

Here’s to 2012: may it be filled with growth and adventure!

Quick Update

Not too much to write about for two reasons:

1. The past week I’ve been consumed with painting kitchen cabinets. Yep. We’re finally taking the plunge and doing our last major remodel needed in our home: the kitchen. Learning from past mistakes (refer to http://benjamiemorris.blogspot.com/2011/11/master-bath-re-model.html), we did not demolish the whole thing in one day, knowing that it was going to be a long process. Instead, we merely started with painting the cabinets and installing new hardware. I’ll keep you updated on its status, and I’m sure someday—in like 10 months or so—the kitchen will finally be done enough for a posting. Ha ha. Well, hopefully sooner than that!

2. The post I really want to do is going to take some TIME, which, because of the kitchen remodel, is not something I have in excess. “A review of 2011”…coming soon.

But the real motivation behind this posting is to showcase a couple articles that I read yesterday and are worth sharing. Wonderful articles. Articles that I want archived on my blog so that I will always have the link and will review them from time to time. Articles that I hope you’ll read!

The first one is a phenomenal life perspective, especially for mom’s who often feel the tension between wanting to freeze special moments with their kids, yet still constantly needing a break from them! http://momastery.com/blog/2012/01/04/2011-lesson-2-dont-carpe-diem/. After reading, I couldn’t wait to browse the rest of the blog and became an instant follower. What a talented and driven lady, not to mention an amazing writer!

The second is an article about our friend Ben Petrick, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 22 while he was a professional baseball player. I’m in a small group with his wife and they are an amazing couple that God is doing great things in and through! http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=120106%2FBenPetrick

Indulge and take the time to read these articles! Enjoy!