Big Bad Two Year Old

My lil' mischief maker turned two last week! It seems like just yesterday we were marveling over his newborn punk hairstyle, and here he is...a full-blown two year old punk. I feel a little bad for my Brenster, being third in line he doesn't quite get the same attention (and planning) that his older brothers got at his age, but hopefully he will forgive me for his lame unplanned birthday at the car dealership (he did get a balloon), a dessert from Chili's, and some play time in the park. I guess that's a pretty fun day for a two year old, right?

Brennan channeling Chris Farley.
The only way to achieve this is by
stuffing his face as full as he can.

Chocolate Molten Cake...no candle, but so gooey and delicious.

And the race to "Stuff-Yo-Face" is on....

Going, Going....

Gone. Chocolate "nirvana" reached.... so good!

I loved this picture. It captures it all.

Brave enough to slide by himself. What a big boy.

That's all folks!

(We did have a real birthday cake with a candle the following day at the Scothern family reunion, but being third child, un-organized Mom forgot to take pictures. Sorry, kiddo.)

Fun In Moab (part 2)

Ahh, Moab. No place on Earth like it. As promised, here are the Jeep day pictures on trails called "Steel Bender" and "Hell's Revenge". Sounds like a walk in the park, right? Come to find out (later in our hotel room) that they are two of the most difficult trails to conquer in Moab. Only "Poison Spider" beats them out in degree of difficulty (which I went on with Brennan in another family's vehicle when Sean and the boys were 4-wheeling.) Was it fun? Most of the time. Did I have a death grip on the car handles the entire ride? You betcha.

Thankfully someone took a picture of all of us together.
I admit I am a little camera-phobic, but it's nice to say
I was there, too. So often we look like a motherless family.

These two photos are of a "Bathtub" which is exactly what its like if
you could drive into your bathtub. Except not as relaxing.

A bit steep, isn't it?
I have to say I am really impressed with what our
little rental jeep could do. I may have to write a letter to Jeep and
tell them their commercials aren't as far fetched as I once thought.

Thumbs Up! We're still alive.

So there were times when the "boys" had to compete to see who could climb/dive the biggest rock. We went with some pretty adventuresome families, (which I now love dearly) but holy cow! We'd unload the kids and nervously watch our mates scale rocks that would make your hair curl. I am so glad we said a prayer of protection before doing really stupid stuff like this.

Fun in Moab

This will be a two part post. Mainly because I forgot my camera on our greatest (scariest) adventure...the jeep safari. I will have to rely on others who remembered their cameras for their awesome pictures of that adventure. I did manage to capture some of Arches National Park and kickin' up some dirt while four-wheelin' for your viewing pleasure.

My boys and balancing rock.

Not such a hard tree to climb, was it?

Cute dorks.

I love you, trailer...you haul my beloved toys.

The look of pure content.

Ready to go exploring with my cool hat and security device...

Kicking up dust is fun!

Throwing dirt...there's nothing better!

Yes, I am a little stinker!

At the end of the day, Brennan just decided he was tired of walking and took a dirt nap.

Facelift and Fourwheelin'

I am very affected by seasons, mainly the lack of sunshine. On a gloriously sunny day, I cannot help but be in a fantastic mood. Same goes for my blog backgrounds. As you may (or may not) remember, it went from black and white to shades of brown and now to green. I guess my moods match the seasons. Anyway....I like the change. What's in store for summer? Think blue, like a nice refreshing pool on a hot day. I bet you can't wait!

Now on to four-wheelers; a topic I struggle with. We are going to Moab this weekend for some much needed R & R (mainly to get away from the black hole of a house that dominates our lives). Sean prepared a speech on how we need to actually enjoy ourselves from time to time even if it means spending money on something other than the new house. "Jen, we still need to LIVE!" was the final blow to our debate. I have mixed feelings...four-wheelers are dangerous, true. But man, are they fun too! I have never seen such unbridled joy on Connor's face. Gavin is a little more like his momma, cautious and slow, but loves the freedom only an ATV can bring. So, with apprehensive excitement, we are now the proud owners of a used dirt bike and two kid friendly four-wheelers. I will post about our amazing adventures in Moab when we return on Sunday.

Never were there two happier boys.

Names will never hurt me....

I got this from Emily's blog and laughed so hard I had to try it out...in fact as I went through the questions, I plugged my own in and laughed even harder. Here we go!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Pooper Pilot

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Rocky Road Macadamia Nut... (Doesn't sound too tough does it? I would get beat up.)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
J-Mat

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Green Chimpanzee

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Barbara Ogden

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
Matje (kinda sounds like Padme's sister)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)
The Brown Zero (sounds more like a stain)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Wendell Reed (nice!)

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy)
Very Sexy Swedish Fish (my personal favorite)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names)
Mom doesn't have a middle name, so "Jackson Lee" will have to do.

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Evans Eureka

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Christmas Lilly

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Pinapplejeanie

14. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Brownie Bamboo (Hey, brownies are good for breakfast! Not healthy, but good.)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (The + Your fave hobby/fave weather element + Tour)
The Reading Rainbow Tour ( So where's Lavar Burton when you need him?)

This was really fun. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a little flavor in their blog. I was feeling the need for a little spice, and now I am content.

Mischief Maker

Toddlers are fun. They leave you little presents all over the house. Today was a trash bag collage and an empty tissue box with tissues strewn all over the house. Fun little gifts, aren't they?

Someone once said that you'll wish for the day when you have to clean sticky fingerprints off of the walls, because you won't have them anymore. I don't know about that. I do understand the thought behind it, however. So, instead of getting upset that I have yet another mess to clean up today, I think I will just smile and give my little mischief maker an extra hug and kiss.

Man, he's a mischievous child! Just look at that face!
Notice what he's sitting next to....stuffed full of toilet paper.

Stone, Floods, and Fender-benders

It has been a crazy week. First, the good news...we have stone on our house. It's fun to see it shaping into a "Home". I wasn't sure about the stone at first, but now I really like it. My only concern is that it's light. The paint color will now have to be darker than the stone, which I hope will look good in the end. I think it will. We shall see.



I am in love with my front door. I don't know what it is about mahogany, maybe the smell of it, but it makes me all emotional, like a beautiful piece of music does. I know...I am weird. Maybe I was a carpenter in a past life.

This is just a perspective shot of the entry. We are leveling the floors in order to lay the wood planks. Let me tell you how much I loath drywall dust right now. Curse you, drywall dust! It's impossible to vacuum up. Any ideas? Should I mop it up? I haven't a clue how to get rid of it.


And now the bad.....
The basement flooded. The quick change in weather last weekend melted a lot of the massive snow mounds still present in the window wells and back porch. I have been up to the new house every 2-3 hours to be on "flood-watch" and to siphon out the window wells (with a garden hose and some good old fashioned suction by mouth) into the basement drains. Let me tell ya, that water is gross. I don't even want to know what kind of microbes/mosquito larvae/creepy-crawlies I have ingested just to keep my basement dry. Our window wells have pulled away from the foundation because of the weight of the snow and the constant expanding/contracting. I am not quite sure what we can do about this, but it's a problem.

And today, someone rear-ended us on Washington Blvd. Even though our car shows little damage, we all feel like we've been through a wreck. My neck is killing me. The kids are rattled and complaining that their backs hurt, too. Thankfully Sean pushed the brakes in time to not damage the car in front of us, even though we did end up tapping her rear bumper.
I hate that feeling of being in a wreck. It's scary...I foresee nightmares from the kids tonight.

Anyway, that's the week in a nutshell. We are laying our wood floors on Saturday if anyone would like to come and learn/help/eat some pizza. Anyone is welcome. (We kinda need the help).

We have walls!

Amazing but true...I never thought I'd see the day when our collection of kindling would begin to look like a house. Sheetrock is done! Stone is going on the outside of our house this week! Hooray!

Here's the latest look....

They are prepping the wall with tar paper and mortar.
There'd be stone to look at if it did not snow this weekend.
Dang snow! Nobody wants you here!

The entry way looking into the living room.

The office to your right....

The master bedroom, or as I like to call it my "oasis" from the kids.

This is the master bath so far...not much to look at right now,

but imagine "tranquil spa" and your almost there....

Is it possible? Could we actually move into this house in the summer!? Amazing, but true.

Look out! Here come's Spiderman...

It is a funny phenomenon when you put a simple pair of Spiderman pajamas on a toddler. Suddenly, they have amazing spider powers that they have to show everyone in the immediate area. It was hilarious watching him jump around with his cute little body and diaper butt. It's amazing how well children at this age imitate others, (some things you wish they wouldn't imitate), but nonetheless...we love our little super-hero!

Are your spidey-senses tingling? Someone needs help!

Brennan is getting ready to jump and shoot his spidey-web,

at least I HOPE that's what he's doing in this shot.

(We may have to change a diaper instead.)

Looking Good, Boys!

This Easter I let the boys pick out their own outfits. They went for the gusto and wanted suits, ties, new shoes, dress socks, and a crisp white shirt. Aren't they handsome?

We had a wonderful Easter. In the morning we went to church, then had an afternoon easter egg hunt with our good friends, and then a nice family dinner at Mom's. I think my favorite thing about Easter is the quality time spent with my family and extended family. (Eating really tasty food all day long isn't too bad either). I feel so incredibly lucky and blessed.

What a weird looking egg...oh, there's the egg, under the chew toy.

I miss the care-free life of a child.....

Hello my darling booger-factory.

Never A Dull Moment....

Gavin keeps my life full of spontaneity. His naturally funny, sweet nature keeps our family from taking ourselves way too seriously. It's nice to know he'll be there to make me laugh after a long, hard day. Don't ever change, Gavin. By the way....what are you doing?

If you have a caption for this photo, please share with the group.

100% Spelling Test!

I have to brag a little about Connor today. I've told a few people about Connor's struggle with all things wordy...(reading and spelling, a mild case of dyslexia), but I am so proud of him for bringing home a perfect score on his spelling test! It has surprised a few people to find out that Connor has a reading problem. I guess because he is so mechanically inclined and comprehends so much. For him reading has been a major struggle, and we are finally seeing him turn the corner! He's "getting it" and I love seeing that spark in his eyes when he can sit down and read a whole book by himself without help. We still are working on the b-d, d-b problem, and words like "was" looking like "saw"and vise versa. But for now, he's doing so much better and the smile has returned to his darling face.

I love you Connor, you smart cookie!
PS-Thank you Tash for the great picture.

Middle Name Tag

I legally changed my middle name to my maiden last name (Scothern) when I became married, but most of my family still think of me as Jenny-B...at least my mother's side of the family, anyway. For entertainment purposes, I will use my legal middle name (I cannot possibly think of enough B-A-R-B-A-R-A words to describe me.) So here I go...

S- Sympathetic. I try my best to wear another person's shoes, so to speak. Not literally, that's kind of gross. I don't like feet. But that's a story for another day.

C- Content. I finally feel like I have everything I have always wanted. A loving family, a nice area to live in, and I am finally happy with myself, flaws and all. (Which is a pretty big deal for me.)

O- Oddball. I am a little strange and quirky. Some people don't get my sense of humor. But once you get to know me....I am still a little strange and quirky.

T- Terrified of spiders, roaches, (and big nasty bugs in general).

H- Hairy. It is a common Scothern trait. I pluck and wax...a lot.

E- Enthusiastic. When I get excited about something, there's no stopping me even if it kills me! Like building a house, or illustrating a children's book, or losing 9 pounds this week... to name a few.

R- Realistic. I try to do what I can and not beat myself up over the things I can't do. My motto is "Let It Go", unless I am really enthusiastic about it.

N- Neurotic about being on time. My house is usually a pig-sty, my kids are always dirty, but I am never late!!! If I am late, something is seriously wrong. Call the police.


I bet you are so excited about finding out all about me, huh? Your turn!

I love CAD programs...seriously.

As a so-so artist, anything that has to do with floor plans, house design, architecture, and so on, I am completely hooked. I don't know if I could do it for a living, but it sure is a fun hobby. This week, we've gone back and forth our cabinet design for our kitchen. I am proud to say we are finally done after many, many re-designs. (The microwave was problematic!) Anyway...here is a glimpse of what our cabinets will hopefully look like once complete.
(Expand images to get the full effect).



Also, this is a rough-draft of what the front elevation might look like when complete.
We are going for a contemporary "Craftsman-Prairie" look, which does have a major Japanese influence... Frank Lloyd Wright was inspired by the Orient in the 1930's. Classic, but also edgy.
(Again, I apologize if this kind of thing just bores you all to tears).

Communication Frustration

I am at a loss when it comes to communicating with Brennan. I am kicking myself for not teaching him sign language, because I thought it might delay speech. Well, here I sit with a baby who's speech is delayed anyway and our days have become an exercise in frustration.
For all of us.
Brennan understands everything. If I ask him to "grab his blanket and go lay down on the couch", he does it just as I have asked. But when I ask him what he wants, all I get is screaming and crying and throwing of objects. I guess because I cannot read his mind, he throws a tantrum of embarrassing proportions...especially when we are somewhere very quiet and in public. I try to narrow down what he might want with clear words and pointing at objects, but he seems to get more angry. Forget it if it's something he wants and cannot have! Wow, the fireworks this (demon) child can start!
The only consistent words I can get out of the kid are, "get out", "uh-oh", "a-choo!" (A game we play), and sometimes "juice". (These words all kind of sound the same). He grunts or yells at us, never calling us "mommy" or "daddy". I thought that it wasn't that big of a deal...he'll talk when he's ready. But now I am growing concerned at how it affects the whole family. To have a tantrum after every meal, play time, slight breeze gets really old really quick. I need help. Any advice out there? The tricks that worked on Connor and Gavin do not work on Brennan.

Another strange thing....Brennan's almost 2 and he has no back teeth. Just the 4 front top and 4 front bottom teeth that he's had for almost a year. Is that strange to anyone else with kids?

Old Women Rule!

My friend sent me this email today, and I thought it was funny enough to share.

After being married for 44 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, "Honey, 44 years ago we had a cheap apartment, a cheap car, we slept on a sofa-bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep every night with a hot 25-year-old gal.

Now I have a $500,000 house, a $45,000 car, a king-size bed and a plasma screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 65-year-old woman. It seems to me, you aren't holding up your end of things."

My wife is a very reasonable woman. She told me to go out and find myself a hot 25-year-old gal, and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap apartment, driving a cheap car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV.

Take that, Mid-life crisis!

A new form of superglue!

I hate mopping my floor. I'd rather change a hundred dirty diapers, or fold laundry (which I also hate) than mop my floor. "Why?" you may ask. "What could be so terribly hard about mopping your floor?" Cheerio-&-milk super glue! Once a milk soaked cheerio dries on a wood floor, it forms a bond like nothing I have ever seen. I am thinking about calling 3M (the post-it notes company) with my amazing discovery. Now granted, if I were a truly anal person and kept my floors clean after each meal, I would not run into my cheerio/milk nemesis. But in reality, whatever screams the loudest is what gets done around here.
Cheerios don't scream, as far as I can tell.Some other forms of glue are:
1)Crusty old spaghetti sauce.
2) Any kind of dehydrated juice.
3) Dried on egg.
4) Boogers. (They are plentiful in my house)
5) Ramen noodles, once stuck to a soft surface (like carpet) and stomped in nice and good.

As you can see, I am an adhesive expert now. Feel free to use any of these great "organic" glues whenever you are running low on the real stuff. They truly do work!
Now it's your turn.... any more "glues" you could add to my list?

Guppies, Guppies, Galore!

Over the 4th of July, my boys won some goldfish and guppies out of a baby pool at a carnival. I thought they'd die off immediately, but I promised them I would get a tank and TRY to keep them alive. So off to Walmart we went, I bought the cheapest filter tank they had, and threw in some rocks. I bought three more tank mates for our 5 baby pool fish....two more guppies and an algae eater.
Fast forward 7 months. Of the original 5 baby pool fish, two are still alive and kickin'. Of course, it's the two guppies that survived. (Goldfish have a two week life-cycle, I swear). Anyway, when I bought the two extra guppy tank-mates, they must have been males because the female just had 30+ babies! I have never seen fish be "born" because I had no idea guppies give live birth.
It was quite exciting and educational. I think we'll be shopping for a bigger tank. Or...do any of you want some guppies? They live forever.

And the snow keeps on comin'!

So I am a broken record, but nonetheless....this snowfall is crazy!!
I have never in my life seen snowfall like this. I remember deep snow every few years in Layton, but nothing like this. Wow. Here are some comparison shots from my last post on this lovely topic.

Out my front door, the snow is now eye-level.
The mail lady hates us, because we cannot keep our mailbox from being buried.

Where'd the fence go? Under 4 feet of snow! The Swingset is almost gone!

Barbecue, anyone?

Fun with Markers!

Connor is my little artist, and always has been.
Today he decided that Brennan and Gavin could do with a little "make-over" kitty-cat style. It's hard to punish Connor when you're laughing so hard tears are rolling down your face.
Gavin thought he looked so dang cool, strutting around with his ghastly blue cat face, it made me laugh even harder. He had snakes drawn down both arms, too.

When asked "What happened to Brennan", Connor innocently replied,
"He did that to himself, Mom." Wow! Really, Connor?
(P.S. That's the first time I have ever caught Connor lying).
Gotta love kids. They certainly keep you on your toes!

....and one day later, Brennan actually DID do this to himself!

(I am throwing the markers away now).