When it RAINS......

Its safe to say that when it rains it pours, right? Well here is our rainstorm.... George and I have a cold. Its one thing for me to feel like crap, but he is only 3 weeks old and too young to take any meds. So the humidifiers are going, my hands feel cracked from the constant sterilizing and bath time with vapor bath bubbles has become playtime for both boys. I actually just put Liam in the bath due to regular 2 yr old boy yuckiness and got the bathroom all steamy before the bath so George and I could all enjoy a little spa treatment while Liam bathed. 

Here's the kicker...our refrigerator just stopped cooling yesterday (we didn't notice until 7pm...oops) so all of our food is in bins in the snow in our backyard and I'm waiting for the repair man to get here. Matt thought he had fixed it last night but lets just say that this morning my kitchen floor (that I had actually just mopped that morning prior) was very colorful from the melted  Popsicles that oozed out during the night. Poor Matt even got up at 230am to make sure it was cooling and he thought it was. So all of the meat/pre-cooked meals that we had stored in our freezer (we actually prepared for the baby....way to be responsible) may or may not make it and I'm sick to think of the hundreds of dollars wasted!

Oh, and I can't find my bottom retainer. I know this is super petty, but I got braces to straighten my bottom teeth while I was prego with Liam and if I go more than a few nights without it, it looks like I never got braces in the first place. I think I wore it Friday night but after a sleepless night with George I didn't put it in its regular place and its now playing hide-an-go-seek with me and I'm losing MISERABLY!

One more thing....Matt's cell phone is broken so we have to buy him a new one. This month just got SUPER EXPENSIVE! 

Anywho, these are the things that just happen right. Life is good!! Here is a video clip of my boys from earlier in the week(before the colds)...I can't get enough of them (even when Liam trys to drive me nuts)!

I've also got an amazing hubby who is the best dad ever and treats me like a queen!

-for some reason the 1st paragraph is BOLD-don't know what happened, but I can't change it

What's Been Happening

We are now officially on our own. My mom left on the 13th, Judes left on the 17th, Kris left yesterday and Jer came in for a few days right after G was born. We have been super spoiled with TONS & TONS of help from family and are so grateful for their love & support.

Matt and I have decided that his parenting thing is CRAZY....it makes us completely nuts one minute 

(and I mean looney!) and then happier than we could have ever imagined the next. 

We are in absolute love with our boys and want to thank our family for being so Amazing!! Here are some recent pics:

& George makes 4

Our newest little monster has made his way into the world (all 9 lbs of him...Yikes) and we couldn't be happier. He came two days early and labor went super well. Liam is in absolute love with his little bro and is adjusting to our new life. My mom has been with us for over 3 weeks and to be honest we are a little nervous for her to go. Its been so nice to have someone to hold the baby during part of the 'night shift' have three meals a day and my house SPOTLESS (not to mention that Liam has the time of his life with her). I know....we are Absolutely Spoiled!

 We named him George Frederik: 

-named after my dad who is a third generation 'george' (my mom had all girls so she couldn't use the name)

-Frederik is after Matt's great-great-grandfather, the 1st to emigrate from Holland

-both namesakes are the first members of the church for each of our families 

Its crazy how you forget how bad 'the recovery' from birth and starting breastfeeding (even if you were a pro the 1st time around) SUCK! Anywho, Matt and I are just happy that we are all healthy and feel so blessed to add a new member to our crew. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes, phone calls and visits!

No Baby

I've put off blogging in hopes that we could post pics of the newest Steenblik, but he is loving my uterus and I'm wishing I didn't have one. I take that back, I know how lucky I am to be prego and have easy pregnancies. My mom is here with us and as she says, "if we clean the house one more time the finish will come off of the cabinets." I can honestly say that EVERY square inch of my house is clean and I LOVE IT! Liam is having the time of his life with his Nana and Gus (my mom's dog) so life is good....but we are honestly going stir crazy waiting for this baby. Who stays at a 3 for over a week??

Anywho, life is good and I've decided not talk about how miserable I feel. The other night while I layed in bed from 2-5am I came up with the 'top ten reasons' why nobody should be 39 weeks prego, but it got a little graphic and decided at that point I need to be grateful for the monster coming my way and that we are all healthy! As Liam sings, "think happy thoughts, happy thoughts, that's what you've got to do!" (we love yo gabba gabba)

Here is a pic of Liam reading himself "Goodnight Moon" during a morning/cleaning episode.

WARNING!!!!

I have had the WORST experience with Piper's Quilts & Comforts in Sugarhouse and I want to make sure that I let everyone I know how dishonest they are. Here is the story in a nutshell:

I have been in the store a few times (despite the smell of kitty litter & cig smoke) and the owner and even employees have been overly nice. A few months ago I went in because I was interested in taking their beginning sewing classes. There were no more classes left so the owner convinced me that I could get one-on-one attention during one of her quilting classes and I would be instructed as if I were in the sewing class (which is cheaper than the quilting class). The next thing I knew I was being rung up for over $90- fabric, thread, the pattern and the class fee. When I got home I realized that they charged me for the more expensive class so I call the store and totally got the run around. I figured that I would take care of it in person when I went for the class the following Sat. 

I'll try and shorten things up....when I got to the class it started late and it was extremely full and I was asked if I could come back on Sunday during their knitting time (free class but I was still being charged for the expensive class) and get help then. I really didn't want to do that and I only had a few hours during the weekend when Matt was home to watch Liam so I could go. So basically she told me to start following the pattern....hello, like I know how to do that! After 15 mins of trying not to cry cuz I was totally clueless I got up and told them that I would come tomorrow (on Sunday-when I didn't want to come). I showed up on Sunday and 30 mins after the class was supposed to begin the teacher called the store and reported that she had been in a 'car accident.' I was told again to just start looking at the pattern. Accidents happen...I understand, but I was told that there would be all of these people there to help me and I was alone. I asked for a refund and would only be given a store credit and nothing was done about the quilting fee verses the sewing fee difference. 

I went in to use the store credit with my BFF the other day and while working on our projects with the fabric we had purchased we noticed that one of the fabrics had THREE HOLES in it. We took the fabric in to once again try to get our money back or get a credit (although I'm not stoked about using ANY of their fabric) and were told that if we had brought it in not sewn (we didn't notice the holes until we were almost done sewing and ironing the fabric) that they could have cut it into fat quarters and sold it but now they would be out $20 if they were to reimburse us. Here is my problem- they would sell fabric that had three holes in it ANYWHERE as fat quarters, she kept asking us what we were making and how it is used (baby sling) which was RUDE and absolutely pointless and the store will not stand behind anything they sell. The owner told us that we take a chance buying anything we purchase from anywhere....we should have inspected the entire fabric before sewing. 

I could go on and on, but after the confrontation she was telling me how cute Liam was and asking about my pregnancy....can you say PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE! She gave us 50% of what the fabric was worth, which did nothing for me because I needed two yards and the 50% only covered one yard. Oh....and her prices are way high. I go to TONS and TONS of super nice fabric stores with my mother-in-law in UT and AZ and the prices at Piper's are not fair. Do yourself a favor and don't get sucked into their charm and end up with a huge bill ( i know others that this has happened to) and faulty fabric with no guarantee that it won't have holes. 

GYMNASTICS!

Liam is loving the gymnastics class he is taking at the Fairmont Aquatic Center. Its only once a week for 30 mins, but it goes at least an hour....and its CHEAP! Anyone looking for something fun for their toddler should definitely look into this. Here are some pics from a couple of weeks ago. I will admit that my Liam is a little on the 'handful' side and after three classes he sings all the songs, follows direction and waits in line. Its been a MIRACLE. I love him (and I'm his mom so only I can say this), but honestly I didn't think the class would work out due to his......uummmmm.....energy! Look into your local county recreation centers, they have great programs that not many people take advantage of!

Here Comes Baby!

I totally starting to freak out about babe #2 making his arrival. The Steenblik's came into town and helped relieve some of my anxiety by painting what is going to be a playroom for the boys. Judes and I made a trip to IKEA and found some super cute decorations (all for under $100). Now my poor husband is trying to clean out our basement and organize all of the CRAP we have accumulated over the last almost 8 yrs. because frankly, lifting ANYTHING makes me feel like George is on his way out....not good! There is nothing quite like thinking that there is a arm or leg making its way out of your 'you know what!'

Has anyone heard about this new Federal Law mandating stores that sell anything for children to undergo new health testing? Well apparently as of February all children's items have to meet new requirements and although this is a good thing, stores that are already opened and fully stocked have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to meet the new requirements or close their doors. I found this out when Judes and I visited the cute store Tiara (in Sugarhouse across from the post office) because they had a 50% off EVERYTHING

sign up. They are closing their store and if you haven't been in there---IT IS SUPER CUTE. Needless to say Judes spoiled me and bought the diaper bag I have been wanting. We couldn't pass up 50% off, so I got a "Ju-Ju-Be" bag from JuJuBee (that is what Liam calls her.....cute huh?!) Oh, and this cute outfit for George.