Welcome Aliya

Aliya Carolyn arrived today at 8:15am.
She weighs 6lbs 2oz and is 19.5 inches long.
She was born by c-section after she quickly let the doctor and nurses know that she was not going to tolerate labor well. Her heart rate was decellerating with each contraction after the doctor broke Darcie's water and they decided to take her to surgery for an emergency c-section. Aliya was born about 40 minutes later with her umbilical cord wrapped in a figure 8 around her upper torso and arms. We are so thankful that the doctor was there to perform the c-section immediately because she would not have been able to stand labor with that cord configuration.

As you can see, she is completely perfect:

She was very angry at being removed from her very cozy home and showed us that she has a good set of lungs!
Once she got to the nursery and they turned the warming lights on, I was able to talk to her and get her to calm down. She was super alert and looking around. She had quite a crowd looking through the windows at her! She only cried when she couldn't get her thumb in her mouth:

I have never seen a newborn suck their thumb like that.

She is absolutely precious and we are all smitten.
Including her cousins who are so excited to have a baby girl cousin, since I won't give them a sister! Noah told one of the nurses that she was his 'sister cousin'. I think he was trying to say girl cousin and got mixed up because he wants a sister so badly! They sang twinkle, twinkle little star to her today and she just laid there and looked at them and listened.
Watch out Darcie, she is going to be adored and spoiled by my boys!

God Bless whoever invented audiobooks

We happened to go to Wendy's last week and in the happy meals they gave the kids Magic Treehouse books on CD. They put them in last night and sat in their room for over a half an hour - quietly listening and sitting on the floor. I went and checked several times to make sure they were still alive, and they were just sitting there listening.
They got through both of the CD's last night, so I went to the library today to find more. I got more and this is what my evening was like:

I was able to find the books that go with these CD's and so they followed along with the CD. I think this might actually be a great thing for Noah and his reading issues. It keeps his attention and he gets to also practice reading. Tonight we got through 2.5 magic treehouse books.
They have a lot of books on CD at the library and I think we will be checking them all out in time! This is their new favorite thing, and mine too since it doesn't seem to incite fighting.

Around the house

Here is the house after the staining:


It always startles me a little at how dark it looks right after it is stained. I know that Troy picked the lightest (if not totally clear) stain and it still darkens a lot! The stain for our house cost almost $1000...we had to get a better stain because we were having issues with the nails on the front of the house 'bleeding' down the wood. I thought that the wrong nails got used when we built our house, but the painter told us it was the stain and we needed to buy better stain this time. It's probably not a bad idea since our house is south facing and gets exposed to a lot of sun in the summer and lots of snow and wind in the winter. For that kind of money, there had better be no more bleeding in the front of the house!
See my nice planter there at the bottom with the plants still in the pots? When we got home from Reno with those plants and lots of other stuff, Troy didn't follow me back to the truck. I got more out and walked back to the planter, there was Troy with my garden claw (which is the best invention ever as far as I am concerned) - stabbing the ground with great force. I asked what he was doing and he told me the 'ground was moving'. I wasn't sure what he could possibly mean...
Until he got a shovel and showed me the mole that he had stabbed (with my precious garden claw). The boys were totally fascinated by this, Troy quickly threw it away and the boys were completely bummed. I was too actually, I think that stuff is interesting. So, I had to spend the next day researching what the difference is between a vole and a mole. You can look here to find the difference. What Troy killed was a mole. He drowned a vole a few years ago in the backyard, by flooding the entire yard to flush it out. I think he has declared a gihad against these critters.
Back to nicer things to talk about; here is the new hearth in the game room:


We got the stone off of craigs list and had someone install it. It is beautiful. You can't tell in this picture but the thickness of the stone is varied and he did a great job blending it throughout. Now, we just need a gas stove (and the money to buy it!).

How many ways can you use a pressure washer?

Way #1:

To clean the outside of your house, the day before you are going to have it stained.
Doesn't it look nice, all the dark spots from water splashing on it all winter are gone!
Most of my windows are now covered in plastic, ready for the painters to arrive in the morning, its a little weird! Troy did leave the living room windows uncovered so we don't die tonight of heat. It's still hot here...

Way #2:

To clean the car seat that your wife takes out of the car, covered in puke.
Lovely...
We were on our way to Reno and Dillon had a loud burp and I commented to my Mom, "Wow, that sounded like he was going to throw up. I was afraid he was going to puke chocolate milk in my car." That was pretty quickly followed by the actual event. Unfortunately, we were stuck in the construction on the freeway and I couldn't pull over.
So, it just kept coming and coming
I finally found a spot to pull over and got him out of the car seat. It was full of puke and he was covered in it. I got him undressed and cleaned out the car seat as much as I could. I decided that I was not going to Reno to let the puke seat bake in my car, it already smelled so bad it made me want to throw up. We turned around and went back home.
Where I got the car seat out and helped Troy pressure wash it. It actually worked pretty well. Considering that you cannot take this seat apart, the cover won't come off to go in the washer. I am positive a man that does not have kids designed this car seat. It is truly the dumbest thing I have ever seen. Even if you have the good fortune to never have your kid throw up in the car (and I think there are not many of you out there), car seats get dirty. They get filled with crumbs, paper and whatever else a child can rub into the fabric.
So, if you have this brilliantly designed car seat, you better get a pressure washer for it. Or maybe the car wash would work, I would have tried that next.

BTW, Noah got into Donner Trail!! Yahoo! We are so happy and Ashton is happy that his big brother will be with him at school. This is such a relief, I know that for our remaining time here our kids will be in a school where they actually educate the kids. (Novel idea, I know...)

He's gonna be a pool shark

With the game room getting closer to being totally finished, Noah has been spending a lot of time up there.  His favorite thing to do is play pool:

Troy helps him, which is good because I have always been terrible at pool.  I think it's because I hate geometry, it was my worst subject in school.  I passed calculus at UNR with no trouble, but I hate geometry- all those angles and trying to visualize things is just torture.  Which now that I think about it is funny, I deal with angles all day at work, but that doesn't seem to bother me in the real world, it's only the abstract that irritates me...

Back to Noah, he is catching on pretty quickly and loves to play.  He is learning all the terms, like 'scratch' and loves to throw them out there while he plays with Troy.  Ashton likes to try and play too, but he is not allowed to have a pool cue, we think it would quickly become a sword in his hands.  The game room is also great for dancing with the new woods floors:

All of our kids, LOVE to dance.  In fact, when I asked Ashton to clean his room before dinner he went in there like I asked.  But, when it was time for dinner and I asked if his room was clean, he said, "No" 

I was a little shocked.  

"What do you mean?  What were you doing in there?"  

He calmly told me, "I was playing."

"Well, get back in there and clean, you can come out for dinner when you finish cleaning and not playing."

Whining and throwing himself around followed, of course.  I just ignored him and sent him to his room.

I went to check on him a few minutes later when I could hear music blasting from the room.  I peeked in there and he was dancing around, not really cleaning.  I think he had cleaned a little, but decided that dancing was more fun.  I was talking to Darcie on the phone and said, "See, he is just like you!"  She laughed and agreed, she said when she was little she always thought that being in her room by herself was enough, she shouldn't have to clean too.  I think Ashton would agree with her logic, if I told him.  I asked him to pick up while he danced and he smiled at me and said, "I am!"

I had to walk away before I started laughing...

Sand anyone?

I usually have Ashton take his shoes off at school and empty them out before we leave, I forget this day...

Seriously, how does he walk with all that in his shoes?  I was lucky this day because it stayed in his shoes, usually it gets flung all over my laundry room.  

I write my name!

Last week we went to Target and bought lunch boxes for Noah and Ashton.  They browsed the aisles and picked out matching Star Wars Clone Wars lunch boxes and $15 thermos'.  (Can you believe that?) While they were shopping, Dillon did a little shopping of his own.  I guess he decided that he needed a lunch box too.  He picked up several and carried them around, before he finally settled on a Cars one.  He carried it around the store, until I noticed that he didn't have it in his hand.  I was kind of happy, because I didn't really want to buy him a lunch box, he doesn't go to school and doesn't need one.  So I asked him where his lunch box was, and he told me 'in the cart'.  I looked and sure enough, there it was.  The one time I want him to lose something he puts it where it belongs?  

Here he is with his lunch box (which he also harassed the checker at Target for, because he didn't see it after it was put in a bag.  He made the guy take it out and give it to him, I think he knew I wanted to ditch it and was determined not to let me.)

We also had to find a Sharpie marker that would write on black.  I found a metallic silver one and when we got home I wrote Noah and Ashton's name on their lunch boxes and pricey thermos'.  Dillon brought me his lunch box to 'write my name' on as he so nicely demanded.  I wrote his name and he walked around with it happily showing everyone his name - 'Dillon James'.  Now, this is not his name, it's Dillon Everett.  But, he apparently hears Noah get called 'Noah James' so much that he has decided that everyone is named that.  Including me, I get called 'Mommy James' and told that I am a bad boy.  It is really hard to keep a straight face and tell him to not talk to me that way and be nice.  

He fell asleep with his new lunch box that night and wanted to know exactly where it was the second he woke up in the morning...

On Sunday, Troy caught him with the silver Sharpie.  He quickly took it away and went in search of where he wrote with it.  I can't tell you how lucky we got, he wrote a little on the counter (Silestone is great, it came right off!) and all over his arm:

He very proudly told us, "I write my name!" And when you ask him what his name is, he tells you, 'Dillon James'.  

Because towels should be cute too

I got Darcie a hooded bath towel off Etsy for her shower, and it was the cutest thing ever! I wanted some for the boys, but they were a little expensive at $26 a piece. So, I decided that I could probably make them myself. And when I say myself, I really mean buying the towels and asking my mom pretty please. I went to Ross and got 3 towels and 3 hand towels (they are Nautica towels and are super soft and big and they only cost $6!). My mom used the towel for Darcie to figure out how this girl made them and then did 3 for me, she even custom fit the hood part for Noah, since he is bigger than the other two boys (although he is barely bigger than Ashton ha!).

I don't know why there appears to be a white stripe on the back on Noah's towel, it's not really there...

I printed out big block letters from my printer then traced them onto the backside of the polka dot fabric, we tried using the Cricut but it doesn't like to cut fabric. Then I put Fuseweb on the fabric and sewed them onto the back (I did do that myself and that is why there is no close ups of the initials, as Troy said from the kitchen to me in the dining room, "It looks good from here.") The initials were a must, you know with the fighting and all, no reason to be unsure of who's towel is who's!

Now when I get them out of the bath, they have nice big towels to dry off with! And it doesn't hurt that they are super cute!

Toddlers and Tiaras here we come!

Last Friday, Gymboree had a casting call for a photo shoot they are doing later this month. Ashton was the only one of my boys who fit into the clothing sizes they were looking for, so I thought what the heck. We went out to Squaw and tried out. This consisted of waiting in the lobby until the photographer showed up, then pushing in the door to the conference room, being cut in front of by all the people who just got there. Then filling out the paper work and then being cut in front of once again, this time by Siren and Starfire's mom. Yes, those were actually their names. Good Lord, why would you do that to your children?
Ashton did great, followed her instructions perfectly. Here he is, on his way to being famous:

I am a little biased, but how could you not pick that cutie pie? He is adorable, here is more proof of how adorable he is:

A friend is a brother who once was a bother

I have to share these after the post yesterday:

See, they do love eachother and they can play nicely for a little bit...

I had to get this on film to prove that there are moments of peace here, not many but they do exist.
A coworker has assured me that brothers are worst enemies and best friends, this quote about sums it up:
It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. ~Dylan Thomas

On another topic completely, Ashton got into Donner Trail Elementary (the summit school)! This is such an answer to prayer, we have been sick over the thought of him going to Truckee Elementary. We still have to find out all the specifics on how and when to get him to the bus that will drive him to the top of Donner Summit (yikes!) and where he stays until the bus brings him back down in the afternoon (kindergarten is only a half day). But, things seem to be falling into place, the childrens center is a bus stop in the afternoon for the Donner Trail bus, so he can still go there after school for 45 minutes until I get off work. I still don't know if Noah got in, so please keep praying that Noah will get in too. Although, with Ashton enrolled, it puts Noah to the top of the list for his grade (if he isn't in now, which of course is what we are praying for!). If Noah doesn't get in I can ask the psychiatrist to write a letter for us, but I really hesistate to do that, because I'm afraid the school will label him as a problem. And he isn't. So, I feel like I should just be waiting to see what happens and not try to do this my way, which is super hard for me...

Bubbles anyone?

For Dillons birthday, Dolan got him a bubble blower. This is one of his favorite gifts (along with his tractors, that jump out in front of me and get tangled on my foot...I'm still limping).

See, he even has a tractor that he is chasing the bubbles with. If you have little kids and don't have one of these, GO GET ONE! It is truly the most fantastic toy, they will play with it forever. And bubbles are cheap, you can even make you own if you want.

Ashton even gets in on the bubble chasing, and so does Noah. I didn't get a picture of Noah because my next picture was this:

Because tractors make fabulous weapons to hit your brother with. This is what these boys have been like lately, it is driving Troy and I absolutely nuts. They spent the weekend picking weeds and throwing rocks...except Dillon of course, but when his brothers are working he has no one to fight with or scream at. Any suggestions on how to make brothers stop fighting? It is seriously out of control, they fight over anything and everything...

Our 4th of July

So, I'm totally late getting this on here...but here it is anyway. On the 4th we got up before 6am and motored back to the marina after a very late night. The boys slept most of the way in, while we packed up and got ready to hit the road. Once we pulled the houseboat out of the water and put it away, we headed home for the parade. Ashton knew that the parade was today and was insistent that we go.
We hurried and of course got stuck behind every slow person on hwy 20...we made it back into town in time, BUT you couldn't get anywhere near the deli to watch the parade. We tried asking a cop to let us in to get to the deli, no luck. I was really wishing I had my hospital badge, that would have got us through the road closure. We ended up having to take the 89 exit and then take High Street above downtown and then we got to Donner Pass Rd and could walk to the deli form there. We got there just in time to see the parade start. Everyone was happy!
After the parade we went home and hung out for the day. I did laundry and some cleaning and the boys watched movies, we were all still super tired from the night before. Troy and Dad went up to the top of Richards to park my car to save a spot for the fireworks that night.
Once it started getting dark, we made hot chocolate, put it in travel mugs and drove up the street to see the fireworks. It was really crowded, and we had a big group of kids next to us who seemed to want to share our little space, we didn't really want to share, and they eventually got the hint. It also strangely smelled of skunk up there, as Ashton told me. I just agreed, yep it smells like a skunk.

The boys thought it was fun to turn the 3rd row around and watch the fireworks from inside the car. Dillon also got stuck in there to avoid him falling down the hill and ending up on the freeway. He really wanted to run around, but that was not going to happen. We watched the fireworks, and all the boys fell asleep.
We got home and quickly got everyone in bed - only to be woken up after 11 by our new neighbors setting off overhead fireworks in front of our house. For those of you that don't know, fireworks are absolutely illegal in the Tahoe Basin. This is a huge forest and people seem to forget that sending fire into the air when you are surrounded by trees, brush and pine needles is a really stupid idea. I don't know how many they shot off (Mom counted 20), but they were loud and lit my bedroom up light it was daylight outside. I called the police, and Troy went outside to see if he could catch them. Two cops (see, we're not messing around here) showed up within 10 minutes and drove up and down the street, but they were all back inside by then. Luckily, no more fireworks for the rest of the night.
The next day, Mom and Dad brought Dillon home for his nap and told me to come outside to see something. Here is what I saw:

That is one of our neighbors cars, in the drainage ditch in between our houses. Now, I don't really believe in karma, but this sure shows that what goes around, comes around. I think they must have still been drunk to manage this. She was apparently backing up and wound up in the ditch. I've almost ended up in that ditch myself, but it was in the winter when my driveway was a sheet of ice. They seemed to think that they were going to pull that out with a Ford Ranger, I told them good luck on that one, I'd send Troy over with the Bobcat when he got home. Troy did go over there, but told them they needed to call a tow truck, because he didn't want to be responsible for ripping the bumper off. The tow truck came and got the car out with no damage, I was impressed...

Bullards Bar

While I was off last week, Ed and Sheri invited us to visit the lake with them. We, of course, said yes, yes, yes! We left Wednesday and arrived and found this:

on the back deck of the houseboat. It is a wasp nest, and here is what I found out about these little creatures. We drove down to the parking area, where we tried to figure out what to do with it. Troy climbed up onto the deck and no sooner set foot on the boat, and they all came out of the nest and started to swarm. He quickly got down (obviously). Ed found a fire extinguisher and sprayed the nest with it. They all flew out, covered in white, and then quickly fell to the ground. He did this several times, until he was sure they were all gone. Then Troy hit it and knocked it down. Inside were the combs with the larvae, I picked up one of them to look at it and noticed that they were moving. Oh. Yuck, that was gross - I very quickly dropped it.

The boys were in the truck this whole time, feeling very left out that they couldn't come out and watch. We didn't want the boys out there in case the wasps/yellow jackets were mad about the whole eviction process. It turns out that fire extinguishers are pretty effective at getting rid of them.

Once that was taken care of, we got the boat in the water. It took a little time to get the houseboat running, so the boys jumped in the water on the shore at the marina. Not where I would normally let them swim, but it was hot and its a small boat for three excited boys!

We spent our time hanging out on the boat, swimming, knee boarding (Noah and Ashton), tubing (Noah and Ashton), riding the jet ski, swimming some more...you get the idea. I can't think of anything better during the summer. Here are a bunch of pictures, just keep scrolling!

It apparently never gets old to climb on the boat, them jump off the back.


This is a BIG deal for my very cautious Ashton, he has such a good time and was so proud of himself.

Noah was practicing all his "tricks" like going outside the wake, turning around backwards, and my favorite "the spin and fall" as Noah explains it, you try to spin and then you fall. Hopefully, that will eventually become just the spin without the fall. He didn't want to try wakeboarding yet, maybe next time.

This is their new thing, everyone want to make silly faces for the camera all the time now. My favorite is Dillon's he will do this anytime you ask him to make a silly face, turn his head, stick his tongue out and put his finger on his cheek.


Playing in the water to Ashtons air guitar...




Tractors are even fun at the beach. But if you ask him, he'll tell you "noooo(pause)pe".
It was a great 3 days, the boys had a blast and now I am back at work, but if I turn my head just right I still feel like I'm swaying on the houseboat!

Well, it was hot

It has been hot around here, and the boys wanted to play in the sprinklers last week - and I had just cleaned the windows...so we got out the whale toy and put it in the middle of the lawn. The grass looks a little dry there anyway, right?







I swear I do feed these two boys, why can we eat (mostly) the same things and you can't count my ribs?

By the way, I took these pictures from inside - through my so very clean windows! I know I'm weird, clean windows make me happy...