Ten surprises in 2011

Ten ways Grayson has surprised Tanner in 2011

1. Grayson knows all of his body parts; including things like armpit, forehead and knuckles.


2. Grayson started potty training. He knows when he has to poop, but not pee.


3. Grayson has counted to 10 on his own. He doesn't do it often, but he has done it.


4. Grayson finally figured out how to take long car trips. It helped that we got a car DVD player.


5. Grayson calls me by my first name about as often as he calls me daddy.


6. Grayson LOVES sports. He learned to golf and can't get enough of it. Everything turns into a golf club.


7. Grayson has an attachment to me that I both love and hate at the same time.


8. Grayson knows when it's appropriate to yell "SHIT!"


9. Grayson says "please", "thank you" and "bless you" without being prompted.


10. Grayson loves going to daycare. That's a huge change from 2010. Thank you Katie!

Merry Christmas

We've been very buys lately. Grayson has been learning to use the potty. He is getting so good that we have put him in underwear the last two days. We've done a lot of laundry, but it will be worth it if he learns. So far, he has not pooped in his underwear! I'm sure that it's going to happen 15 minutes after I publish this.

I don't want to speak for Trina, but she seems to be feeling a little better. She didn't have to take her medicine that last few days. We will be at 20 weeks on Monday. You will get to find out if we are having a boy or girl in about four more weeks. We can't wait!

We also wanted to let you know that Travis and Kerry had a little boy this week. His name is Colby Bruce Juilfs. He is really cute. Check out Kim's blog to see better pictures. We met him last night, but the photos were too dark. He is really cute. Congratulations Travis and Kerry!

Baby update!

Today I had a doctor appointment. I'm measuring right at 17 weeks, which keeps my due date as May 6. Despite my appearance and all the food over Thanksgiving, I've lost another 4 lbs. I never thought I'd hear a doctor of mine telling me "you better have gained weight by your next visit". Seems like a dream come true, but actually sounds difficult to me. Even when I am hungry (like yesterday when I decided to make chili cheese tator tots, sounds gross now) I hardly eat anything before I'm full.

I'm feeling baby move! It's the best part about being pregnant. And it helps to remind me that all the sickness is worth it. The heart beat was 153 and the baby moved a ton when we tried to listen. After having Grayson, I bought a doppler thing that I can use to hear baby's heartbeat (not the cheap ones you buy in the store, those don't work). I agreed to not use it at home until I knew the doctor could find the heartbeat easily. So, it will be fun to try it this week!

Next visit- Dec 27, and Grayson is coming along.

Pee Pee On The Potty! (You know the song)

WARNING: LONG POST WITH LOTS OF UPDATES
That's right, we are potty training! For those of you who realize Grayson is only 21 months old (and you are under the age of 40), I understand your shock. The reason I said, under the age of 40, is because it seems the previous generation potty trained kids at a much younger age than people do now. So for them, 18 months would be normal. But today, boys typically potty train between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 years old.

Here's the story:
Last Friday when I was home with Grayson, this conversation happens out of nowhere:
G: "potty. poop on potty."
Me: "you want to poop on the potty?" (he hadn't pooped yet that morning)
G: "mommy poop on potty?"
Me: Grayson do you want to poop on the potty?
G: Runs to the bathroom.
Me: "Grayson should we take off your diaper and poop on the potty?"
G: "potty"
Me: I proceed to pull down his pants take off his diaper and sit him on the potty without a potty seat. He lets me hold him there without complaint.
G: grunt. grunt. "Poop?"
Me: "no poop yet, keep trying." wait. "can you pee on the potty?"
G: grunt. "poop!" (no poop) "all done"
Me: "are you all done?"
G: "all done." starts to get down. "poop on potty!"
me: "look, no poo, but good try. let's go get a diaper on"
we proceed to walk with pants around his ankles to his room to get a diaper.

Grayson initiated this same thing 8 times that day. Needless to say, Tanner and I were very surprised! I always thought potty training would be something I planned in advance, bought all the supplies for and introduced to my children. Leave it to Grayson to do things his way!

After much discussion (and, I'll admit, a little research), we decided to take Grayson's lead. We're following an eight week "program" I saw on babycenter.com (click here to read about it). We also decided with the holiday traveling, now wasn't the perfect time. So we are starting at week 3 (we've done week 1 and 2 without knowing it). It fits great to work on this "casually" for 5 weeks, leading up to Tanner's Christmas break when he'll actually hit the subject hard. We've modified the program to give a sticker every time Grayson pees (or poops) on the potty. He has gone 4 times in 6 days. Not amazing, but good that he is happy to sit there several times a day without complaint.

On other subjects...I've been getting a lot of questions about the pregnancy, so here's an update. I am still experiencing "morning" sickness, and these days it is mostly in the morning. It seems there are no good solutions and no way of indicating when it will come and go. I'm lucky to get food in every day. As for placenta previa, it's still here. And it's VERY difficult to not lift Grayson. Much more difficult than I expected. In fact, I still lift him several times a day, especially when I'm home alone with him and he is throwing tantrums. For the past week or so, I think it's starting to catch up to me. Just after I lift him, I feel some "cramping" (not really like a cramp, but I can't think of any other way to describe it) in my lower abdomen. It concerns me, but I know I'm doing my best. My next check-up is November 28, but I'll still be restricted until late January.

A lady said to me Monday: "Boy, you look like you could pop any day now!". Please learn from this lady's mistake and NEVER assume anything based on someone's belly size!

I guess the only person we haven't discussed is Tanner. What's new with him? Well, since my guilt set in a couple weeks ago, we ordered Naomi's Kitchen. I know this goes completely against our budget, but sometimes it makes sense to stray. He's enjoying not cooking much anymore. He also just bought an iPod Touch for school. His new toy (for work of course). Grayson has decided Daddy is the parent of choice right now. So Tanner gets a lot of attention from Grayson. They're getting a lot of QT together this weekend when I go to Des Moines for my annual Girls Craft Show and Shopping Day.

Halloween 2011

Grayson was a Kangaroo for Halloween this year. He looked so cute. He did a really good job of saying "trick-or-treat", "thank you" and "bye-bye." Sometimes he didn't want to say bye. There were two houses in a row that had a dog or a cat. One of the houses he didn't even take any candy. He just talked to the dog and tried to give it a big kiss. Trina put whiskers on him. He thought it was a very fun day.

Pinterest.

I finally formed an educated opinion of Pinterest, and here is what it is...

I gave in 30 minutes ago and signed up, so I could start pinning too. What was the "pin" that converted me? The idea of using a rubberband to unscrew a stripped screw. Completely random. A good idea I might need one day.

But...
Who has enough time to do half of the things listed on these boards? It makes me feel like it's a never ending to-do list. A list of dream vacations I can't afford and dream houses I'll always want and never get. I'm happy with my home and content not always wanting.

I will admit that there are some really cute, clever, interesting things out there.

I've learned I don't utilize the internet the same way as "pinterest people". Beyond email, online banking, craigslist and a couple of blogs I follow, I don't search the internet. Not sure what I would even search for.

But is it just me who gets error messages all the time when attempting to use Pinterest? Am I the only one who doesn't actually understand how it all works. When to pin and when to re-pin? It just seems so complicated. I had to create 1 board 5 times before it stuck. And the 4 things I've tried to pin (or re-pin, I'm not sure which is which), nothing happened! Where did it go?!

Maybe I need a tutorial, maybe I am too content with what I have and know, maybe I'm too lazy to do all these cutesy things. Or maybe this is just another trendy technology thing that I'm not into.

Correction...

Just talked to the doctor...turns out I do, in fact, have placenta previa. We will have a second ultrasound at 24 weeks (guess we are waiting until then to know the gender) to see if it corrects itself.

So for the next 12 weeks I can't lift anything 15-20 lbs, or "exert myself to the point where my abdomen is using 20 lbs worth of energy". The example they gave me last time was pushing a full cart of groceries.

...Grayson weighs 28 lbs...

Also no sex.

Did I mention it's our 3rd Anniversary today?! Happy Anniversary Honey!

Emotional Rollercoaster and Ultrasound!

After 4 days of various medications to help with morning sickness, last week I suddenly started to feel better! I wasn't sure if it was because I started drinking a protein shake in the middle of the night or if this was just a more "normal" pregnancy.

After about 2 days of feeling great and being excited about it, I started to wonder if maybe feeling great wasn't such a good thing. Maybe something bad happened to the baby. The following 4 days, I had convinced myself that it's possible I miscarried. Even though there were absolutely no other signs or symptoms, it just didn't seem right that I was suddenly not sick, when with Grayson I was sick for 20 weeks.

Luckily we had out 12 week doctor visit already scheduled for yesterday afternoon. We were very nervous going in, to the point that Tanner even had a plan lined up for a sub the next day and I almost cried when a co-worker said I looked pregnant (because I thought I wasn't anymore).

The doctor looked and looked and looked and LOOKED for the heartbeat with no success. I knew at that moment that I had lost my baby. She sent us to St. Luke's to get an ultrasound. She didn't even have us schedule our next "pregnancy" visit. Needless to say, we were devastated and didn't even know what to say to each other. We drove to St. Luke's and waited in 4 different waiting rooms before finally getting the ultrasound. Within seconds of having the paddle on my belly, she found the baby...

I can't describe the relief I felt when I saw our baby's heart beating!

We were so excited to see our tiny baby waving at us in the ultrasound! The heart rate was 163 bpm. The ultrasound indicated I might be due between April 30-May 6, but it's not a big enough difference to change my date from May 6. My placenta looks a little long and low, which could be an indicator of placenta previa (I had that with Grayson), but there is still plenty of time for it to correct itself.

It was an emotional rollercoaster, but the result was great!

Sometimes Pictures are Better Than Words

We're due May 6, 2012. Trina has been feeling very sick with all-day sickness. With Grayson that lasted until 20 weeks, so we have about 2 more months of this. We get to hear the heartbeat on Monday. Tanner has not gained any weigh, yet.

Fishing Weekend

Fishing weekend was a success this year. We didn't set a record for the most fish caught. We didn't catch the biggest fish in the lake. We didn't even hook a muskie. However we did have a lot of fun. Between the eight of us we landed 196 fish. I never pull my own weight. I only landed 13 I think. That was good enough for second to last place. Leaving me out of the running for the bottle bass trophy.

Day one was so windy we barely fished at all. In fact, after the first 45 minute outing, I was in first place with two fish. Within the first hour of day two, I was still in first place with four fish. That's about all the longer I could say that. Everyone else started netting fish left and right.

Normally we catch about even numbers of bass and northern pike. This year we caught about 80% bass. All the years of throwing them back has been paying off. Most of the bass we caught were around 15 inches or bigger. A few were bigger than 18 inches. The northern we caught were much smaller than normal. It seams that every year we catch at least one that hits the 30+ inch mark. Some years we all catch a 25+ inch northern. Not this year. They were short and skinny. Maybe next year they will grow a little?

Poker always goes well for me. I think I've only gone backwards once in the past 15 years. This year I came out ahead again. Not a big winner, but not a loser either. I had high hopes when my first hand I was dealt had four jacks. However when it's nickle a chip and 25 cent max bet, you can't get rich off of your family.

A Post for Tanner: Go Lake, Go Fish!

It's that time of year again when the Roos men enjoy a weekend far away from children, chores and wives to enjoy the company of men, beer, food, poker and a little fishing. I'm jealous that Tanner gets to enjoy the well deserved time away this year because 20 months of parenting is finally catching up to both of us. Grayson and I will be at home for 4 days without him. And Tanner's biggest responsibilities are to not drop his fishing pole in the lake and return home withOUT bottle bass or deer butt.

I know Tanner is excited because he's had his bags packed since last Thursday! So, Tanner, I hope you have a great time away with The Men. As Tanner posted in 2009, the following poems were written by those who enjoy the trip every year:

Alex
Every year at summer’s end when the leaves do hint at turning
The Roos men gather with rods in tow to fee a year-long yearning
We’ll wave good-bye to our wives and hug our sons and daughters
And head straight north to a well-known place between familiar waters
One’s called Le Homme Dieu, the other Carlos, and both hold great potential
They’ll be fished hard in any weather, including rains torrential
We’ll tell our stories and spin some yarns of fishing and cards and such
Countless have become the memories of this tradition started by Dutch
But before our boats can be manned there’s shopping to our liking
Beer by the case and loads of snacks—enough for Ole the Viking!
One more stop for our fishing crew before we leave the shore
The annual trip to Christopherson’s, our choice bait and tackle store
We’ll swarm the place from front to back like a pack of hungry skeeters
And fill our hands with spinners and spoons and hooks and line and leaders
With permits bought and reels at the ready, there remains one consensus wish
To head for the boats, and let loose the ‘ol battle cry of “GO LAKE, GO FISH!”
Our lures will fly and our poles will bend in the glorious lake chain setting
Unmistakable strikes and occasional lunkers are what we’re hoping and betting
Whether the fishing’s good or there’s hardly a bite, you’ll find smiles on our faces
‘Cause there’s always beer and poker and beer…we may need three more cases!
And when we’ve had our fun and it’s time to depart and our arms are sore from casting
We’ll all be mindful of next year’s trip, and of a tradition everlasting!

Lake Therapy
At summer’s end we all prepare for the utmost of our likings
The lakes await, our hunting grounds; our Valhalla to us vikings
We’ll strike at dawn with our first casts no matter what the weather
With hands on hips we laugh at rain and firmly grab our nethers
We’ll fish through sleet and high winds too; it’s all considered fun
We only stop when beer runs low and chips are to be won
We’re teachers, builders and all providers; uncles, grandpas and brothers
This weekend is precisely what we need and the envy of all others
This trip has stood the test of time and can’t be taken lightly
Its healing powers can fix what ails, no matter how unsightly
But what really makes this fishing trip a thing to be upheld
Is no matter what’s transgressed in life; our bonds remain unfelled
So grab a beer and raise it high and join me in this song
To many more years of this fine time and tradition staying strong!

Photo Uptate

5 second rule Ready for a shot!

Trina in Kindergarten

Our family photo

Hanging out with Grandpa

Early morning swimming

Watching the boats

Cool new toys

Merry Christmas a little early

Clara and Grayson camping

Grandma took us to the apple farm

It's a well know fact...

This is better than a sandbox

So big! (we actually never say that)

Watching a roof get replaced

Day 30: Super powers

Day 30: If you had any superpower, what would it be?
Trina: I would like to take me and my family and just show up at the location we wanted at the snap of my fingers. I would be able to see family more often, go on vacations all around the world, save time traveling to/from work without traffic and eliminate the risk of a car accident.

Tanner: I would like to be 5% faster, stronger and smarter than all professional athletes. I think playing professional sports for a living would be so much fun. If I were 5% faster, stronger and smarter than everyone else, I could probably get away with not having as much natural skill. If I found out that 5% wasn't enough, I would be okay with being 10% faster, stronger and smarter than everyone else. It wouldn't be fun if I were 50% faster, stronger and smarter than everyone. I would need to still be challenged.

Grayson: I would like to speak and understand multiple languages.

Day 29: In a Perfect World...

Day 29: Finish this sentence: In a perfect world....

Trina: In a perfect world, there would be no war (isn't that what everyone wants?). In a perfect world, salaries would be distributed differently, providing more for jobs that better our society and less for jobs in entertainment, and there would be some sort of stipend for stay-at-home parents and caretakers of elderly. In a perfect world, my body would stay the same perfect shape and size no matter what!

Tanner: In a perfect world, the average work day would be about 6 hours to accommodate family a personal life. In a perfect world, people could trust each other. In a perfect world, products wouldn't break or stop working for a more reasonable amount of use or time.

Grayson: In a perfect world, everyone could understand what I'm saying and I could open all the doors in the house without help.

Day 28: Favorite Web Searches

Day 28: Favorite Web Searches

Trina: Craigslist addict!, family blogs, parenting blogs (funny ones), frugal living blogs and websites, ebay.

Tanner: Yahoo News Stories, family blogs, Facebook and all of our TV shows come online direct from the Networks full episode guide.

Grayson: YouTube

Day 27: Vacation with friends

Day 27: Where would you go if you could go on vacation with your best friends, why?


Trina: First of all, I would much rather go on vacation with Tanner or family than friends. With that said I would always choose vacation to be on a tropical beach with all expenses paid. That way I would feel like I could partake in a variety of excursions. Any time away from home would be enjoyed.


Tanner: I would want to go on vacation with my best friends and their families somewhere with a beach. Not a really hot beach or a really crowded beach. I would want Grayson and the other little kids to be able to go into the water and play in the sand. It would be really fun if that beach rented pontoons and jet skis. I think staying in cabins would make it more fun than in a huge hotel with hundreds of other families. There should also be enough shade on the beach that I don't have to sit in the sun all day long. Oh yeah, good beach chairs. Not the bag chairs we bring camping, something you could fall asleep in.


Grayson: I would want there to be a pool and a lot of balls.

Day 26: kids personality

Day 26: Describe your kids personality

Grayson is generally happy. He almost always has a smile on his face. He is talkative and very social. He talks to everyone at the grocery store. He loves saying "Hi" and "Bye" to other shoppers. Right now he is yelling "Hi" out the window to the kids walking to the school bus. Grayson is the loudest kid we know. He screams so loud that we cringe when he's happy and cringe when he's mad. He is very intelligent and curious. He investigates everything. Especially stuff that we don't want him to play with. He loves to help in the kitchen. If we give him a task, we know he will follow through. He also has a sensitive side. He loves his momma and daddy very much.

Day 25: Lost contact

Day 25: Who have you lost contact with over the years and wish you could reconnect with?

Trina: There are a couple of college friends that I would like to be in contact with, had we been closer friends.

Tanner: Kim Stephen. She was a close friend my freshman year of college that transferred to ISU over the summer. She and I kept in contact for a few months, but then school stared again and we got busy. Kim, Mandy, Nick and I did everything together (I know her name starts with a K, but I didn't date her). Once she asked me to run a 20k race with her so I said sure. I didn't realize she was going to stop and talk to kids and pet dogs as she ran through Des Moines. I ran with her for a mile then told her I would meet up with her later. I'm pretty sure she got 10th to last out of several thousand runners. At least she finished. I've googled her, but can't find her.

Grayson: Sophie the Giraffe. I can't find her anywhere. I think Mom and Dad put her in a box.

Day 24: Big project

Day 24: What is the biggest project you can do that can be completed by the end of the year.

Trina: Determine a way to make supplemental income for when I stay at home one day.
Tanner: Pay off either all of my college loans or Trina's college loans.
Grayson: Learn to consistently climb up the couch without help.

Day 23: The past year

Day 23: What is your favorite part about the past year?

Trina: My favorite part of the past year is making family decisions with Tanner. It was so much fun planning really long term together while house hunting. It felt so good to decide together what we wanted for our family in the future.

Tanner: My favorite thing in the past year has been moving into a much bigger house. I love all of the space we have now and the space we will continue to have as our family grows.

Grayson: Playing in the pool with Mom and Dad.

Day 22: Milestone Birthday

Day 22: What would be an awsome way to celebrate a milestone birthday?

Trina: Any celebration can be complete as long as there are: Drinks, Piano Lounge, and a Babysitter!

Tanner: I think going to Wrigley Field with my wife and kids would be a great way to celebrate a milestone birthday.

Grayson: I like balloons and cake. That would be awsome to get those for my birthday.

Day 21: Best Vacation

Day 21: What is your best vacation ever?

Trina: My best vacation was when Tanner and I went to Ixtapa in July 2008. It was the last "vacation" I went on. It was the best for several reasons... 1) I didn't argue or fight with anyone such as siblings, parents, or boyfriends. 2) It was at a beach. 3) We went on a great excursion consisting of biking, kayaking and snorkeling. 4) I thought the entire time that Tanner was going to propose.

Tanner: When I was a kid I couldn't wait until the morning we left for vacation. I couldn't sleep for the days leading up to it. Vacation was way better than Christmas. I couldn't wait for Dad to come into my room at 3:00 in the morning and tell us that it's time to get in the car. I should have slept, but I was so excited I stared out the window until the sun came up. It was like this no matter where we went. Usually it involved a baseball game, amusement park, Red Lobster and an indoor swimming pool. The best parts were the car trips. We would get some sort of surprise about every hour. It might be from the five pound bag of candy or something wrapped in paper. It might have been stupid, but I couldn't wait until mom turned around and handed it to us.

The best moment in vacation history was when we were on our way home from a great vacation and mom told us we were having a junk food supper. After a while, the entire back seat of the car started shouting "Junk Food Supper, Junk Food Supper, Junk..." At some point I accidentally said Junk Food F#cker. I thought I was dead meat. I thought Mom was going to pull the car over and find the bar of soap in her toiletry bag. But when everyone started laughing, I started to breath again. Somehow the cheer changed from Junk Food Supper to Junk Food F#cker. And it was loud. Everyone was cheering. It was the best day of my young life.

Grayson: Besides my summer vacation home with dad this year, my best vacation was to the Blank Park Zoo.

Day 20: Childhood memory

Day 20: What is a memory you have of your childhood?

Trina: My memories are of my friendships with my sisters. Tasha and I had so much fun sharing a bedroom most of our years growing up, even though at the time we wanted different rooms. We were silly together and talked serious together as we got a bit older in high school. We used to "draw" lines in our bedroom to determine sides of the room, then be silly about getting on each other's side. When I was in Junior High and Trilby was college, we got to spend time with her away from home. She would let us pick what we wanted for dinner and buy whatever food we wanted. I enjoyed having a safe place away from home/my parents where I could have fun.
Picture of me in either Kindergarten or 1st grade.
Trina :

Tanner: I remember going to the baseball diamond everyday to play "flag pole" with other kids that roamed the streets of Denison. That's where I hit my first home run. I felt like a million bucks! Shortly after, I learned how to hit left handed and did the same thing. Only this ball landed in the cemetery. I loved baseball as a kid way more than I do today. Those were the Ryne Sandburg days.
Picture of Grayson at his 18mo doctor check up last week.

Grayson: I remember getting three younger girl cousins that were about my age. I was so excited to have friends to play with.

Day 19: First Pet

Day 19: Describe your first pet.

Trina: Bubba was a "mutt" dog. I'm not sure what breeds were mixed but she was short with black hair. I remember her being around for my entire childhood until I was 17. Bubba was a fun dog. She was a great playmate. There are several pictures of Bubba taking naps with us kids, we would lay her head on a pillow next to ours and cover us up with a blanket. She went along with it. She was both and inside and outside dog. Bubba was always afraid of thunder. She could eat every lick of a plate full of casserole, but leave the peas. She was a great childhood pet!!

Tanner: Lotty was my first pet. She was a cocker spaniel. When my parents went to pick her up we thought she was going to be red. She was more light brown than anything. Lotty was a great dog for us growing up. She traveled well and loved to sit with you in your chair. I think she spent most nights in Belinda's room when we were kids. I tried to trap her in my room once and she hated it. The story I like best about her is that one day Tyler was taking her on a walk and she took a bite out of a police officer. It was funny because she wasn't the type of dog to bite people. Lotty had a lot of seizures during her life. She lived to be 12 years old.

Grayson: Marley the miniature poodle and Max the yorkie. They like to bark. Sometimes I hug Marley. Max is too fast to catch. They are nice dogs.

Day 18: Holiday Prep

Day 18: How do you prepare for the holidays?
Grayson and Trina, January 2010 (Grayson had just learned to point)

Trina: I would consider "the holidays" to be Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I prepare by decorating and putting up a few trees immediately following Thanksgiving. I keep those decorations up until the end of December, then leave snowman things up through January (February if Tanner lets me). I listen to Christmas music starting November 1 as much as I can. It makes me feel the love in the air! I light "holiday" scented candles to remind me of cookies and pine needles. Following the holidays, I continue to buy Christmas CDs and decorations on clearance and at garage sales.

Tanner: I assume this topic means Thanksgiving and Christmas. I really don't do much. I mostly pull the boxes out of the basement and move them wherever Trina wants me to move them. I am a little bah-humbug around the holidays. I don't get into buying a bunch of decorations that sit around for a month then go back in a box for a year. However, I have been trying to be more open minded. At least this year I didn't prepare for the holidays by drinking two bottles of wine at the PTA Christmas party like I did in 2008.

Grayson: I prepare by wearing Christmas theme pj's to bed as soon as it cold outside.

Day 17: Back to school

Day 17: What am I looking forward to most about kids going back to school?

Trina: The only way it affects me is that Tanner is back in school and Grayson is back at daycare. There isn't much I look forward to in these regards. I think it will be good for Grayson to relearn his sharing skills and have a chance to learn from his daycare provider. She really is fantastic and he loves going to her house! Things I'll miss include: Tanner and Grayson standing in the Garage waiting for me to come home and having Tanner home to somewhat maintain the house while I'm gone. I also go through horrible guilt sending Grayson to daycare knowing that he is being 38% raised by someone else.

Tanner: I'm looking forward to seeing all of the kids being on their best behavior at school for a few days. After a few days, they start to feel out their teacher and get a better understanding of what they can and can not do. It's then that they really show their personality. So that first few days of being quite robots is what I look forward to most.

Grayson: I look forward to seeing my friends at Katie's house.

Day 16: 10 things about us!

Day 16: List 10-15 things about yourself that other's don't already know. Since there are 3 of us, we'll stick to 10.

Trina:

1. Tanner and I can easily convince each other to buy something. We both like instant gratification and in the moment can justify almost any purchase. That makes it much more difficult to keep our expenses low. It's better for us to just agree to buy nothing.


2. Although I'm beyond excited to stay at home with my kids someday (hopefully) there is 5% of me scared and nervous of the extreme change in so many aspects of our life.


3. I miss music.


4. I dream every night, in a lot of details, and wake up crying 1-2 times a month.


5. It is going to be difficult for me to stop having kids. I'm prepared for needing to get some counseling. I loved pregnancy (despite the 22 weeks of sickness) and love this first two years so much!


6. I never buy underwear. I just wait for the Victoria's Secret free coupons in the mail, and get one pair at a time.


7. I can't stand showering and NOT using a Qtip in my ears after. It just feels all wet and slimy and weird. I try to not clean my ears once a week and I usually end up doing it at some point in the day.


8. Recently I tried to learn beading, like making bead jewelry. I thought it would be a way to make a little money selling it and a fun hobby to start. After buying all the stuff at a garage sale (someone who had beaded for years was selling her supply) and giving it a few tries, I found that it's much harder than it seems and I don't enjoy it. So if you know anyone who wants to start beading and needs supplies, send them my way.


9. I don't really enjoy small talk with people I'm not "invested" in. If there is a stranger or an acquaintance that I won't see again for a long time, I have to force myself to have conversations with them. I just find small talk with random people a waste of time.


10. I love opening mail (real mail, not email) for the thrill that there might be something important or interesting inside.

Tanner:

1. I can eat the same lunch everyday for four months and never think about it.


2. I can go a week without drinking water and not notice.


3. I didn't really think that we would still be using cloth diapers after 18 months. I figured I would give up once it got really gross.


4. I am not competitive at all. If I am in a competition I don't care if I win or lose.


5. I often think about teaching middle school PE again.


6. Running club is my favorite part of my job. I will continue to do it when I stop getting paid for it next year.


7. Trina and I eat a hot breakfast every weekend. It's usually cinnamon rolls or crescents.


8. I didn't sign up for Facebook until after I graduated from Morningside. I am easily distracted and would have probably not finished any of my classwork.


9. When I worked for campus security I helped bust about 20 people in one night for doing drugs in behind the tennis courts.


10. I enjoy shows like "The Bachelorette" and "Project Runway." I would watch it even if Trina wasn't interested.

Grayson:

1. I sleep with a pillow and love it!


2. I can say 35+ words.


3. I can make a ton of animal sounds, including cat, which sounds like a donkey.


4. I'm a daddy's boy.


5. I ask to go to the pool at least 3 times a day.


6. My best friend is Marley.


7. I'm 93% for height and 52% for weight (found that out yesterday).


8. I love my baby doll.


9. I prefer to go down the slide on my belly.


10. I often go the the bathroom drawer and say "teeth" so that I can suck on my toothbrush.

Day 15: Goals

Day 15: What stands in your way of achieving your goals?

Trina: One of my main goals is to be the full-time caretaker for my child(ren) by staying at home. It all comes back to money standing in our way. We are working hard to pay off student loans and minimize our spending. Lowering our monthly expenses will help me achieve this goal. We're also working to scale back our lifestyle, which is difficult when it isn't extravagant to start with. We've found that expectations of others impacts our budget. Although it's difficult not to buy nice gifts (or any gifts), drive to see family, have lunch with friends/coworkers and pay for a babysitter to have alone time, we are focused on our goal. Every decision comes down to money and the goal. Staying home with my kids is far more important that a candy bar.


Tanner: I think that time plays the biggest role in me not setting and reaching more goals. I have a lot of things I am interested in doing, but only enough time to do the important things. Family is always at the top of this list, so things like exercise and hanging out with friends often get forgotten about.


Grayson: Having to nap.

Day 14: Addiction

#14: What are you addicted to?

Well we skipped 13, since we've been a bit busy. This weekend we went camping, so no Internet access.

Trina: As I've mentioned before....spreadsheets. I'm also addicted to checking and re-checking dumb things. Such as looking at the video monitor, backing out of a parking space, asking someones opinion, or new listings on craigslist. Those are all things that I may have just done 20 seconds ago, but proceed with re-checking again every 20 seconds. However, this addiction never applies to important things like making sure our dog supplies were packed for camping this weekend.

Tanner: I am addicted to Mountain Dew. Because I like Mountain Dew so much we don't keep it in stock. If I had it I would drink it at a pace only Bud and Kim would comprehend. I love Mountain Dew so much that I'm constantly thinking about the next one.

Grayson: Milk

Day 12: best part of summer

Day 12: What was the best part of the summer (so far)?

Trina: My favorite thing about this summer was that my entire family had a three day weekend, every weekend. I loved that we had this extra time to spend together doing things we enjoy as a family.Tanner: My favorite thing I did this summer was going on bike rides with Grayson. We usually went right after breakfast while the temperature wasn't too warm. We usually rode for between 45-60 minutes. As we got later into the summer I started bringing my Ipod and portable speakers.

Grayson: I loved being home with mommy and daddy all summer. I only had to go to daycare three times.

Day 11: Regret

Day 11: What do you regret?

Trina: I regret letting my high school and college boyfriends control me so much. At the time, I was overtaken by their control and couldn't see how it was harming me. As a result, I don't have any friends from high school (they were all by boyfriends friends) or college (my boyfriends wouldn't let me hang out with girlfriends without them). It's less about my HS/college experience and more about my life now. We struggle to make friends as a couple/family. Thank goodness for sisters!

Tanner: I regret not going out for baseball my 10th-12th grade years. I didn't like the baseball coach and decided I wasn't going to spend my summer getting yelled at. As I look back at it, I still don't like his personality, but I love baseball. I wish I would have played three more years. I was a better central infielder than at least one of the varsity players my 10th grade year. I think I would have had fun, despite the coaches personality.

Grayson: I live my life with no regrets!

Day 10: characteristics from parents

Day 10: What characteristics do you get from each of your parents?

Trina: I get a lot of my traits from my mom. I'm controlling and have her hair. There are a few things I get from my dad, like my chest size and my love of animals.

Tanner: I get my thick hair from my mom and my curly hair from my dad. I get my eye color from my mom and my facial hair from my dad. I get my athletic ability from my dad and my parenting abilities from my mom.

Grayson: I get a lot of my looks from my dad (except hair color). My loud, rebellious, whiny personality comes from my mom.

#9. The One Thing You Do

9. What's the one thing you do today that you didn't think you ever would do?

Trina: I work will Excel every day at work and about every other day at home. I love spreadsheets! I never thought I would enjoy using spreadsheet as much as I do. We recently got a laptop which comes with the newest version of Excel. I spent about 45 minutes just playing with the new features, and still don't know everything it does! I use it most often for tracking our monthly/annual budgets, estimating future budgets and making all sorts of lists.

Tanner: I wasn't a singer growing up. I sound like those people on American Idol that don't know their bad, but sing the heck out of the song anyway. Ever since Grayson was born, I find myself singing to him things I could have just said normally. Trina things that everything I say turns into a song. I also never thought I would talk baby-talk. I guess things change.

Grayson: Say 35 words that people can understand and 10 more animal sounds.

Day 8: Movie?

Day 8: What movie can you watch over and over and not get bored with?

Trina: My list would go on and on! I love to watch movies! Making this list would be:
The Bourne series, Italian Job and Oceans series- all for their action, romance and suspense;
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Failure to Launch- for their romance and humor, and apparently I like Matthew McConaughey;
Inception and Conspiracy Theory- for their detail and imagination


Tanner: I love the Jason Bourne movies (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum). I'm pretty sure that another Bourne movie is being planned. It would be one of very few movies I would pay theater prices to watch.

I also love Shawshank Redemption. I've probably seen it more than twenty times. I don't know anyone who has ever passed by that movie while channel surfing. On a side note, Trina and I vacationed on the beach that Andy (Tim Robbins) told Red (Morgan Freeman) to meet him at after he was released from prison. It is in southwest Mexico in a town called Zihuatanejo.

Grayson: If Yo-Gabba-Gabba or Backyardigans made a movie, I would watch it every day!

Day 7: Secret hope for children

Day 7: What do you secretly hope each of your children will grow up to be?

Trina: I secretly hope that one of my children grows up to be involved in music. When I see/hear people with a talent in music, it makes me emotional and proud. I can only imagine those feelings would multiply if it was my child producing the music.

Tanner: I hope that Grayson grows up to be a great father and husband. However, that's not much of a secret. I guess secretly I hope that Grayson grows up with a passion for youth sports like me. Maybe he can be on the business side or get sweaty outside on the fields with the kids.

Grayson: I want to be dog.

Day 6: who would you eavesdrop on?

If you could be a fly on the wall, who would you eavesdrop on?

Trina: President Obama (or any president). I would be very interested in seeing/knowing exactly what a day in the life of our president is like.

Tanner: President Oprah. She could turn around all of our countries problems in 60 minutes.

Grayson: DJ Lance Rock from Yo Gabba Gabba!

Day 5: Lisbon/Mount Vernon city wide sales

Day 5: What is the best purchase you made at the Lisbon/Mount Vernon city wide garage sales?

Trina: On Tax Free Weekend, it's still cheaper to go garage sale shopping than to the store. That's the only way I could get 11 name brand shirts for $11.50.

Tanner: I found a pair of Neos brand overshoes (nearly new) for $3.00. They are boots that go over my gym shoes in the winter when I have recess duty. I was told that I could get them new at Scheels for $65.00.

Grayson: I found a wooden golf club that was just my size in a free box.

Day 4: What is laying around your house that you could sell?

What is laying around your house that you could sell?

Trina:

I always have something that I've purchased used with the plan to sell for profit. We love the show American Picker and wish we had something cool of value, however our items usually consist of formula coupons, clothes that don't fit, toys or other small things. I've been asking Tanner to help out by listing an entire box of things on craigslist...it remains full. If you know anyone who wants a baby bath tub seat, baby floaty for the pool, 2 size M nursing shirts or anything else, we've got it.

Tanner:

We have a box full of things that Trina wants me to post on Craigslist or Ebay. We also have a box of things that need to go to Stuff Etc. However, I think the thing that could be sold is the glider we used when Grayson was born. It is not holding up as well as we thought it would when we bought it.

Grayson:

I think we could sell the baby gates.

Day 3: worst chores around the house

Day 1-3 were all posted at the same time. You may need to go back to see posts you missed.

Day 3: What is your least favorite chore around the house?

Trina:
Cleaning. I don't enjoy any aspect of any chores around the house. The only chore that I do enjoy is tracking our budget. I would rather do diaper laundry that most of the other chores around the house.

Tanner:
I hate dusting. Hate it. I'm terrible at it. When I'm done dusting a room, you can't tell I've done anything. I'm so bad at it, Trina banned me from dusting and put me on dog poop duty. I prefer the dog poop.

Grayson:
I don't like picking up my toys.

15 minutes uninterrupted

Well, we're off to a bad start on blogging every day, but here is question 2.

2. If you had 15 minutes of uninterrupted time, what would you do, when would you do it, and where?

Trina- I would sit in a hot tub. I love hot tubs. They are so relaxing. It would be ideal if that hot tub was somewhere tropical.

Tanner- I would lay on the couch and do nothing. I heard a new song on the radio today and the guy sang about not wanting to do anything all day. I am pretty sure that guy's going to be a billionaire. Most people can relate to his song.

Grayson- Play in the pool. "Pool" is what I ask for any time mom and dad say we are going somewhere.

Blog Challenge - Aug 1

In following Belinda's suggestion to participate in the August Blog Challenge, we are going to attempt to blog every day in August, using her questions. The interesting part will be that Tanner and I will each put in our comments every day. Although we typically see eye-to-eye on everything, this will give us each an opportunity to share.


Day 1: What are you looking forward to the most for the last 4 months of the year? (Actually there are 5 months left in the year- Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec)


Trina:
I look forward to fall weather, so we can spend more time outside. I love having dinner on our deck, but with the weather recently, we've only done it 2 times this summer. I look forward to seeing how much Grayson can learn between now and then. As always, I look forward to Christmas season with beautiful decor, cinnamon smells and playing in the snow.


Tanner:
I look forward to school starting again. Each year brings new challenges and new students. I also look forward to fishing in Alexandria, MN. I have the bottle bass and would like to return it to its rightful owner- Brad. Lastly, I look forward to being comfortable in blue jeans again. I can't stand the heat and humidity during the summer months.

Grayson:
I want to play outside, go on walks and bike rides. Eating snow!

Tanner's July Update

Grayson gets the majority of the face time on this blog, so today you are going to get to see the rest of his family.

Here is Max as he tries to pop the water balloons we made for Grayson. We didn't put him in the pool. He jumped in after the balloons and stayed in for about twenty minutes.
I have no idea what the story is behind this picture, sorry.
You may not be able to see, but he has a police hat and radio in his hand.

Did you read the book Marley and Me? This is my Marley. He is about 7 years old. We picked him up at an animal shelter after the flood of 08'.

Trina, Grayson and I celebrated the MLB All-Star game by supporting the Cubs the best way we know how. Although the Cubs are terrible at best, we love watching them play.

Max is Trina's dog when he is being a pain in the butt. He is about 4 years old. Trina had him when we met. Max convinced me that I was a dog person not a cat person. Good Boy!I had a huge list of things to do this summer. My list kept me going for a while, then I decided to just relax and play with Grayson. I only have about two weeks left before I am headed back to work. Here you can see me fixing our closet. One day we were putting our stuff on hangers and the entire shelving unit fell down.

I was teaching Grayson how to signal a touchdown. Let's go HAWKS!

We spent a little time helping Mike and Trilby finish their house. Nate enjoyed helping paint his room John Deere green and yellow. I think Peyton is going to end up with International Harvester red and black in his room.