Saturday morning...this was better than my coffee.

There are a few people that I need to credit with the highlight of my weekend...

Ok, so we went out on Friday night with neighbors and went to the MOA today with the boys, both of which were super fun too...but what was less exhausting yet slightly more expensive, was our new POT RACK!!

Andy and I have been talking about buying one of these for awhile. We had a small one, that was just a single length 3-4 ft long hanger, in our townhouse years ago, but the only place to hang it was on the outside of the cabinets that divided our kitchen and dining room...and the back of the cabinets was technically our dining room. Quite the way to decorate.

That one didn't work in our current house, especially after the greatest idea ever (knocking out the wall between the kitchen and previous living room/new dining room) resulted in everything being moved around in our kitchen. So...this has been our pot/pan solution for awhile now. I swear I actually cook less than I would otherwise just to avoid the hassle of moving this pan and that pot off the pan/pot I need to take out, and then putting this pan and that pot back in the closet. Ugh. Plus, moving pots and pans around is loud...and after 6 or so, when D & Owen go to bed, we can't be that clangy in our house. We eat a lot of frozen pizzas. And now my excuse is gone.

This isn't even full!

We shopped around a lot online. Sticker shock.

And then...a certain family member (I don't want to out them...employee discount is a sacred thing that is shared sparingly!!) started working at a certain retailer (They once shipped me my order of children's cooking utensils...and a wine cooler. Now, I want a wine cooler as much as the next person...but I called THREE times to get them to come pick up this item that, from reading the shipping information, appeared to be a WEDDING gift for someone else. I just couldn't live with myself if I'd kept it. But I was kinda secretly wishing they wouldn't have come to pick it up after the third time I called...I'm sure the person in California was thankful I have a conscience...I digress...) and the solution arose.

Mind you, it still wasn't cheap...but paired with self-installment (thank goodness my husband and his dad are so capable...it took them under 2 hours!!...what do other people do?!), and it was about as good as you could get. I can't stop staring at it.

First step...find the trusses (that's what they're called, right?).
I love that Dylan is in this picture...he's like, "When do I get to be like Daddy and Grampa?"

Andy considered climbing through the crawl-space, through all of the insulation to find the trusses, but then they came up with this solution...measure and make your best guess, and then drill and stick flags through the ceiling...they are SO clever! Seriously, how does your average person install this stuff? The Sandberg men have years of experience! There was hardly any swearing and I was so impressed!!

The drills were made and they hit on every spot. Time to commit to the location and hang it up!

We decided to get the low profile pot rack because we didn't want it blocking our view across the island it hangs over...or want any of our monkey-children grabbing hold and swinging around. It works...on my tippy-toes I can reach everything that we hung up.

Here's a pic with a few things hung up. Now that everything is visible, I'm so glad we took a hit to our checking account years ago when we got the All-Clad pots and pans. But I really need to scrub these babies up!

And now I'm left with this. And I said to myself, could it be? An empty shelf in my kitchen?! I'm sure it will fill up fast.
(I like to sneak movie quotes into my blog posts...anybody catch it?)

One of my favorite snaps from the day...Mr D and his Grampa Pete

Is this seat taken?

This series of pictures cracks me up...Owen usually gets a little bullied by Dylan...but the tables were turned here.

I didn't have the good camera nearby, so I missed the sneak-attack. Dylan was just sitting in this little chair, when Owen decided that he would like to sit in that chair. He climbed right behind him and they sat together for a moment (mental snapshot....SO cute!) until Owen apparently started feeling a little cramped. I know, I know...Dylan was there first, but there's so few times when Owen takes charge...I just let him.

He might let Dylan take his toys and shrug it off, but this little dude is no pushover!

**I clearly need more of these chairs!!

The victor!

Ethanisms

Oh, I try so hard to keep a straight face, but this kid is seriously funny...but I don't think he's trying to be!

"My Uncle Marty...you know him? Well, I'm going to make him a Valentine because I haven't sent him one yet"

This is especially funny because Uncle Marty is my Uncle, but that's cool...Ethan's memory is incredible. He has seen Marty, who lives in AZ, a few times...and still remembers exactly which cars he brought Ethan as a gift. As far as the Valentine...well, it's February 24th, so maybe we'll just send an Ethan original drawing instead. Hi, Marty!!

"Emma realized something. She realized that she had a green St Olaf cup"

Seriously, do 3-year-olds use the word "realized"?? The "St Olaf cup" is really a small Nalgene bottle with a sippy top. Ethan has one that has "St Olaf College" on the side. The other day, I was at Target and picked him up a Nalgene that looks pretty much like it, and now he calls it his "New St Olaf cup" even though it doesn't have "St Olaf College" on it anywhere. He went on to say that he needed 4 blue St Olaf cups and that next time I go to Target I should get more and it would fill up many bags. And then he told me that there were red, green, and pink St Olaf cups, be he only wanted blue. He was so serious while telling me all of this...it was hard to act like I was taking him seriously, so I just had to crack up afterward.

A few nights ago, I was laying with Ethan in his bed at bedtime and we were discussing our Springtime plans (Ethan says often, "I'm sick of Winter and snow!" Amen!) and he was listing off the things he thought we should plant in our garden (we're going to make a better effort this year!)...apparently, amongst our tomatoes, carrots, and peas he wants to plant bananas. I think he understood why we still had to buy bananas at the store, but it sure would be fun if we could grow bananas in our backyard!

Whenever we are telling/asking Ethan to do something, we usually make sure he's heard us by asking him if he understands....recently I asked him, "Do you understand what I'm saying?" and he replied, "I understand, but I don't know what you are saying" So funny.

I can't believe that's all I have written down for Ethan gems. He is so funny and is constantly making us laugh, and pull our hair out at the same time. Three is such an interesting age. He's so smart and trying so hard to figure out the World, and we're trying really hard to help him do it.

I love this picture...he's all wound up playing football with his brothers and he has those crazy eyes!!!

Catching up with D & Owen!!

This one is about the "little" guys, but I just can't risk forgetting to document this little gem from last night. Ethan was sitting on one of the island chairs playing with his cars, dropping them from the island into his Cars suitcase, which was open on the floor below. One car missed the target and landed on the floor...so Ethan said to me, "Mommy, can you put that car into my suitcase? That would be very helpful!" I immediately looked over at Liz and I think both of us were simultaneously trying not to laugh...or cry. It was so sweet. I went over and put the car in his suitcase and he said, "Thank you, that was very nice" I made sure to thank him for asking me so nicely, and for being so polite. Oh. My. Gosh. That totally makes up for some of the other things he's been yelling lately...like, "Leave me alone. I know what I need to do" Okay, are you 3 or 13?!

*****

D & Owen were 14 months old on Feb 8th!! This is a total hodge-podge with no rhyme or reason, but here is the latest!

I'm going to pinch those cheeks, Owen!


Dylan looks so cute in a hat, I can't wait for Springtime!!

*****

Dylan is 100% walking now. I think since about early January...maybe late December. It seems like it's been awhile now. It's so cute. He's actually starting to really pick up some speed too...coming in for running hugs. It helps that he's now bending his knees when he walks...for awhile there it was a stiff-leg waddle, but it got him from A to B.

Owen could walk if he wanted to. In fact, the past few days he has been taking a few steps here and there when prompted. He can free-stand, and walk along objects, but I think he's a little too cautious. He's a speed demon with the crawling though!

There has been a LOT of talking lately. They are big on the "D"s so of course, they can say "Dada". Dylan will say "Mama" clear as day sometimes, but not as much as other words. They do a lot of "Mum"...but it's usually when they are blowing bubbles...you know, with all their drool....cute?? They also say "Uh oh", and "bye bye". One of my favorite things right now is when they climb into their little play-house/tent and wave while saying "bye bye." They are clapping lots too, and playing "peek a boo"...so cute. For the most part, there is just a ton of babbling, yelling, screeching...they definitely have something to say. A favorite game of mine is to ask Ethan what he thinks they are trying to say to us, and he will typically come up with something very funny, or sweet, like "Dylan is saying he wants to hug me."

We throw a blanket over the play-house tent and it's like a cave...they love it.

They are so snuggly and affectionate...crawling or walking over to check in and give us a hug, before going off to play again.

They are super physical...one thing that I could live without is them climbing up on the couch. Owen just recently started doing this and he is SO proud of himself when he gets up there. He doesn't yet really respect the edges of the couch though, and has to be watched really carefully. We usually put up our flexible play gates to block off the couch, leaving us nowhere to sit!

They are just like their older brother in that they LOVE vehicles. Playing with the little cars is fun for everyone if Ethan decides to be good about sharing. We have like 500 little cars...I'm trying to convince E that there are enough to go around for at least 3 boys!! They like to drive them around on the floor and I swear they are making car sounds now. Owen cracks me up when he drives two at once, because he is just a little boy on wheels and knees crawling around. We also have 3 riding vehicles in our house (crazy!)...a tractor, a motorcycle and a Spiderman-mobile. D & Owen are getting big enough to get up on these and ride them around a little bit. But, they aren't that great about the dismount...and sometimes think it's fun to stand up on them. Another thing to watch out for!!

Owen standing on the motorcycle and making Mommy nervous!

Owen makes the funniest faces...he is super expressive. One of the best (and most comical) is his cranky face when he furrows his brows and makes an over-the-top pout. He is such a even-keeled kid these days and so smiley, that it is just hard to take the pout face seriously. Owen is also an eating champ. I can't believe I just wrote that!! It used to be so hard to feed Owen when he was a baby. He oftentimes drank less formula than Dylan and was really finicky about it...feedings took forever!! Now that they eat all "real" food, he's a monster. Sometimes I get worried about how fast he eats, but he never seems to have any issue with too much in his mouth at once. He's like a chipmunk with room to store food in those cheeks of his! He's not very picky and will pretty much eat whatever is on his tray...I think he might close in on that 3-lb difference to Dylan sometime soon!

Owen's cranky face

Dylan still has a great appetite, but is pickier. He will simply turn his head away and refuse to acknowledge the spoon...or, if it's finger food, throw it on the floor with authority! If he keeps this up, Owen will definitely close that weight gap! I like to refer to D as my gentle "giant"...he is really sensitive, needs a lot of attention, will hang on my legs and check in for hugs more often than Owen, who is pretty comfortable doing his own thing. D is really into his blankets, or "softies" as we call them (because that's what Ethan refers to his blankets as). He is usually carrying one around, or draping it around his shoulders or head (Confession time: the other day he had the blanket draped over his head and walked right into the garbage can...and I laughed...he wasn't hurt, and it was kinda funny!), and then he does this thing with his tongue that I can only describe as sucking on a pacifier without the pacifier. Whatever it is, it's adorable.

Dylan with one of his "softies"

They are into "reading" books, playing the piano, listening to music. They also put Ethan's music players and play-phones up to their ears. They know how stuff works and they want to do EVERYTHING!!

Owen's favorites are the books with the googly eyes...it's true, they are fun!

They are pretty good sleepers. Still rocking the nighttime sleep, and taking two naps, most of the time. I think we are right in the middle of the two-naps to one-nap transition. That was closer to 18-months with Ethan I think, but they can really protest their afternoon naps some days, and then I have some REALLY tired babies on my hands. And, as much as we try to push back bedtime, it still falls around 6/6:30. And they get up around 7 (but it was 6am a few times last week...oy!) Owen sucks his thumb when he's going to sleep, and Dylan does his "tongue thing."

Like I wrote above, they are pretty good eaters and are eating "real" food...we still do some Gerber Graduate meals and Gerber fruits and veggies, but for the most part they are eating the same food as us. What limits us now is that they can't use utensils yet...I guess I just haven't been that brave yet. SO much mess!...like there isn't enough now with finger-food eating! I think their hand-eye coordination is probably getting close to being good enough to try this out. I can't wait!! Dylan drinks whole milk, and Owen drinks 1% now. Owen was having some spitting up issues when we switched from formula to milk, so we thought that he might be lactose-intolerant or something. So, we switched to Lactaid. Still had issues. So, we switched to Soy Milk. Then he got a fever and broke into a rash...could have been coincidence, but why risk it?! One day there were no other options in the house, so Gramma tried 1% and we've been good ever since!

Lunchtime was a disaster today...Mommy let the boys eat her pasta bake...with red sauce!! Sometimes you have to get messy!!

Each of the boys is so different and it's amazing to see their personalities! It will be interesting to see if our theories pan out...Ethan, the musician, Owen, the thespian, and Dylan, the jock. Whatever it be, each one of them has their own way of just making me melt to pieces!

Last post?

Going on hiatus until I figure out what to do with this blog...it's not like I post often, anyway.

Until then, here are some pictures of Ethan and his snow-man, "Snow-Bob"...that he built with his best friend, Liz, last week when we got some good sticky snow.



Could these two be any cuter? I submit that they could NOT!

Random bits

Yesterday was February 1. I thought nothing was noteworthy about that date (besides it being the beginning of a new month...and a chance to start over on my "resolution") until I was getting ready to go to bed and remembered that this was the day that Deb was supposed to return to work from maternity leave. That realization sucked. I miss her, and think about her lots.

I'm so uplifting.

Moving on...

I'm working on a Christmas post, although it is SO ridiculously long that I might break it up into "Pre-Christmas Chaos", "Christmas Eve", "Christmas Day", and "Christmas 'Vacation'". It's February, is anyone even thinking about Christmas anymore? I mean, Christmas 2009?

One of Ethan's new phrases is "You know what?..." There's no pause, he just keeps going. And it's usually something incredibly fascinating, and hilarious.

Now that my organization system is up, I've received about 3 things in the mail. Ugh, catch 22...too much paperwork and no system, or no paperwork for a great system. Win some, lose some.

Ellie is becoming somewhat of a "family cat" at last. She is tolerating the kids and it's so great! I think she might have a little thing for Owen...I realize she's behind the safety of the gate in this picture, but she's really coming up to him and letting him pet her. Now, just a little caveat here...she's actually coming up to him when he's held by me...because she's kinda a Momma's girl, but still...she lets him pet her and he absolutely loves it!! Cutie pie.


There's an overdue post about D & Owen coming up also...they are changing SO much these days and I just can't keep up with everything!