I am not 5-years-old...I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!!!

It it 4:19 am...no lie, check the time stamp on the post. Well, it may say when I actually finish and hit the publish button, but believe me it is 4:19 am. Why am I blogging at 4 am you ask? Well let me tell you (Oh yeah warning, this is a complaining post btw). My friend Kristen & her neighbor Donna go running every Saturday morning at 5 am. A LONG time ago they invited me to go with them. While I am NOT a morning person I have wanted to go with them, but just about EVERY Saturday morning at about 5 am Kent is getting out of bed to go to work so going running is not an option. Well this week Kent has been "on vacation" from Midgley so I told Kristen that I would go running with them. Last night I tried to get to bed at a good time, but I'm just not used to an early bed time & I always struggle with going to bed early because I feel like there is so much I have to do before I go to bed. Finally I tucked myself into bed and then the winds started up. Crazy fast winds that make you nervous that the roof is going to blow off. I texted Kent, from bed, to ask if the new playhouse would be ok since it hasn't been anchored down with sand. He checked on it & said it was fine. So finally about 12 or 12:30 am...ish I got to sleep. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for sleeping when you're planning on waking up at 4:40 am. Well just before 4 am Kent's alarm goes off and he tells me, "there's your alarm babe." I'm thinking, "WHAT? My Alarm? That was your phone. I have my very own alarm and I set it for when I need to wake up. I am a big girl I don't need your alarm. I'm going back to sleep." That would have worked, maybe, if Kent hadn't hit snooze. Five minutes later his alarm goes off again and by this point I am so annoyed that there is no way I am going to fall back asleep. So I throw back the covers, jump out of bed and head for the bedroom door when I hear, "good luck babe." I know that he is trying to be a helpful and supportive husband. I get that, but seriously, I am not a 5-year-old. I don't need help getting up when I am already so nervous about waking up in time that I can't even sleep. AGHHHH! So what am I supposed to do for 45 minutes while I am ready to go & waiting for them to come get me? Fine I'll complain on my blog because there isn't enough room for this on facebook & no one else is up to listen to me at 4 am. The worst part is as I sit down here & blog I keep hearing alarms go off. Either turn the alarm off and go to sleep or turn it off & get up but you don't need it to keep going off. I'M UP!!!!! UGH! Ok now that I have that out of my system and in cyberspace never to be recalled so it can be used as evidence against me in the courts of heaven (note that I am diffusing my anger so that, hopefully, I don't take it on my run with my thank you). I am a married woman I have the right to be bugged every now & then. Ok  now I am going to go find a quick project to do for the last 15-20 minutes before I go for my run. Wish me luck that I don't blow away before the storm hits. :)

LOVE my husband!

I am trilingual in love languages. My main love language is Quality Time, my secondary love language is Words of Affirmation, and my last language is Physical Touch. Well it's very hard to communicate love through physical touch if you are not physically together. That rules out one love language. Kent is also NOT a Words of Affirmation kind of guy. Kent will not give you fluffy happy comments to make you feel good so my love language is usually not filled by that. That leaves us with Quality Time but when you husband works a ton he usually doesn't have a ton of energy to do things with the family when he is home. Having said all this I am in LOVE with my husband this week. I got most of his time on Friday. All of his time on Saturday. The majority of the day on Sunday and all day today. Spending time with him makes me want to make more money so I can pay him to stay home. Being with him let's me know how much I miss him when he's gone, but for now I am sure happy to have a full love bucket. I wish you all a full bucket too! 

Love,

   Marlies

Santa Found our New House...

Christmas day is here and gone and all in all it has been a nice day. As excited as I was about Christmas morning it sure started off for me with a struggle. Around 3 am I woke up to Cort crying. I went in to check on him & pulled the blankets up over him and told him to go back to sleep. To my delight he did go back to sleep. Then about 4 am Kent's alarm went off by accident and I was really not happy to be woken up by it. I was able to again fall back asleep until a little before 6 am when I woke up from a dream of me being so angry with Braxton that I dreamed I was yelling at him. At that point I decided it wasn't going to get any better so I may as well get up & try to spend time getting myself ready for church. Maybe working on making myself beautiful on the outside would help to change my inside.

After Kent woke up and we talked for a bit I was feeling better. My morning was totally turned around when I heard Braxton from the top of the stairs say in the most delighted high voice, "Oh (ha ha ha) it's Christmas!" I LOVE that kid. He is so delighted by the smallest things. He was enjoying going through everyone's stocking to inform us all of what Santa had brought us. He then enjoyed searching through the presents reading all the names on the packages, handing out gifts, and opening them.

We all made out like bandits this year. Kent got new shoes, a space heater, a sleeping bag, a thermos set, child locks for the drawers & cupboards (this was his favorite stocking stuffer I am sure he he he), & mixed nuts. I got new boots (except when I put them on first thing they broke...SO not happy about that!), running shoes, a new printer/scanner/copier, headphones, jewelry, body spray, new rubbermaid/tupperware type items. Santa brought Braxton a new rocket & a Transformer toothbrush & a Flynn Missile car (cars 2) & from everyone else he got a dresser, a puzzle, some books, a U of U sweatshirt, and a hooded towel . Cort was also on the nice list and received a Hammer Away (boat you hammer balls into), Working Trio (cute Discovery Toys set of three trucks), a new coat, and a hooded towel as well as his first toothbrush. The family got a couple of DVD's.

One of the best gifts ever was from Kent's co-worker Troy. He built a nice outdoor playhouse with his boys when they were younger that as 12 and 14-year-old's they have outgrown. He decided to give it to us (lucky, lucky us!!!). Braxton has already been outside loving his new playhouse. He enjoys playing in it, but I think soon he'll need more friends to play with him in it (hint, hint). As Kent and Troy dropped it off on Friday Troy was telling Braxton he can get his sleeping bag and sleep in there, and he needs cookies and soda to put in the little cupboard. Braxton takes off for a bit and as soon as he is back it is with sleeping bag in tow. After being told he couldn't really sleep out there he ran back in the house to put the bag away and came out asking for cookies. He is such a funny kid. We have really enjoyed this weekend.

It's interesting to me that sometimes we forget that it doesn't take a lot of money to make a happy home. It's those little moments of delight that make us feel that sense of love, security, home & family and those moments are the ones that make life worth living. My hope is that with Kent off of work this week he'll realize the importance of spending time at home with his family. I know he feels the burden of providing for this family, but I believe that if you have priorities straight the finances will always work out in the most miraculous ways. I love my life and as this year comes to a close I feel so abundantly blessed. I have more than my heart could ever want or imagine. Merry Christmas to all of my friends & family and a Happy New Year too!
Love,
 Marlies

Top ten signs there is a 1-year-old in your house...

10. Baby gates are camping out in front of the stairs.
9. Anything that can be used as a latter or stool is hidden somewhere where a child can not use it as a latter or
    stool.
8. Garbage can is sitting upon a bucket in order to keep its contents secure inside the receptacle.
7. You can never find what you are looking for because the baby has found a new place to store it.
6. No need to bother with cleaning the floors the baby will find anything you happen to miss.
5. Somewhere there is a diaper bin making a fabulous collection.
4. Any drawer not latched has had it's contents removed and dumped on the floor...10 times a day.
3. Bathroom door is constantly closed...
2. Actually any door that can be closed is!
1. Your Christmas tree is only decorated from 4' tall & up.

End of 2011 Review

Well here we are nearing Christmas and the New Year and I am finding that I haven't written this year like I want to. While this year is very eventful there are only a few very big events and that is about it. This last year has been wonderful! With the new addition of Cort to our family in 2010 I can honestly say that I enjoyed Cort's first year much more than I imagined. I guess there is something to say for having been there before. While having a baby in November wasn't the best timing with a toy business I have to admit I loved every minute of being home during the holidays with a new baby. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was just a nice time of year to be slowed down.

After a few months of having my boys crowded in their bedroom I realized it was time for our family to move on. After prayer and inspiration I knew it was time for us to look at buying our first home. It was a long process that started in February in Utah County and happily ended in West Jordan in July. It has been a wonderful experience working with my cousin (our Realtor) and having that confirmation that the Lord is aware of us and our needs and He can make even the smallest details work out for us. The only thing the Lord didn't give me was the extra

50 sq. feet I asked for. I think that was just His
sense of humor. When I struggle to adjust to this new area I take comfort in knowing that this really is where the Lord wanted us to be.

Just before the move Braxton graduated preschool. He had his 5th birthday. He also learned to ride a two-wheel bike without training wheels and started T-ball for the first time. He has had a great summer!

It's amazing how quickly kids grow up. This fall was the start of his first year in grade school and he has loved Kindergarten. He has the best teacher. I have enjoyed being his room mom and getting to go help in his classroom for the holidays.

The next big highlight of 2011 was in July I took my first trip to the Discovery Toys convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was a blast and I learned so much about how to better my business and myself. I love being a mom, but it really was nice to take a weekend to be called by my first name...it's Marlies, by the way. It even helped Kent and I to have a better understanding of each others roles. It was nice for him to understand the frustrations of sitting at home waiting for someone to get home while dealing with two kids and for me to understand how hard it is to hurry to get home when someone is waiting. 

In August Braxton, Cort, and I ended up on an
impromptu trip to see my friend Becca in Mesa, Arizona. Her friend, Amy from Riverton, was headed there and she allowed me to go with her on the trip. While I enjoyed seeing a new place I think I would like it SO much more when the temperature isn't above 100 degrees. That trip has since helped me stop begging Kent to move to Arizona when the snow flies. Now I just think I'd like to start vacationing there in the winter. :)

In November we celebrated Cort's first birthday. I still can't believe he's one year old. It's amazing to me still that he was climbing stairs at 8 months and just before his birthday he felt it was time to get up and start walking. He's even getting really good at walking now. He is so much fun. He loves to growl with us for fun and he's even starting to try to talk. He says, Da Da Da all day long. He'll now say yeah and he loved to make a Ba ba ba sound. He gives Braxton the best hugs. It's fun to see their friendship grow and develop. He LOVES pushing anything he can around on the floor. That includes cars, bottles, cookware, hot pads, etc. He is one happy baby. I swear that he thinks we go to church or the store so other people can see him. I don't ever remember Braxton being this social. I love it.

All in all we are well and enjoying life in the new house. I hope for Kent to find a Saturday at some point in his life to help me with some home improvement projects, but for now I may have to make do or do it myself. I'm still debating which way to go. With managing a household, taking care of children and running a business I am finding myself pretty busy. I'm secretly looking forward to winter coming because maybe we'll all slow down just a little for a month or two...maybe. I look forward to starting the new year and hope to share a little more of my life in my blog next year than I have this year. For now I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,   Marlies

I just love this look on his face. ha ha ha