Traum-us

When Thomas was little and went through his tantrum-throwing stage, Chris lovingly referred to him as "Traum-us". The nickname still makes me laugh.

Today, however, we really did have some trauma with our Tommer. I was at work when Chris called to say that he had gone to pick Thomas up from school after Thomas fainted in class. Apparently, he stood up and just fell over like a tree, flat onto his face. The poor little guy had a bloody nose and still has a few little cuts and bruises from the event.


The cuts and bruises weren't serious, but we were concerned about the cause of his fainting spell. Thomas has had some little issues here and there with migraine-like symptoms and "spacing out" in class that made us wonder if there may be something more going on. I took him to the doctor this afternoon and fortunately, he seems to be okay. His balance is good and the doctor couldn't see anything abnormal from his exam. The unfortunate part is that the doctor wanted to run a few tests just to rule out some problems ranging from anemia to epilepsy. Thomas had to endure his blood being drawn at the doctor's office and will be heading back tomorrow morning for an EEG. For this test, we need to wake him up at midnight and keep him awake until we take him to the hospital at 7:30 tomorrow morning. I really don't think there is anything wrong, but I am glad that we are doing this just to be sure.

Our sweet little guy has been such a good sport today and I am grateful that he has handled this little trauma so well.

Cute Gordy-Gord

He may have TROUBLE written all over him, but I am just in love with this silly little stinker! Gordon is not quite 2, but he is certainly practicing. Along with the tantrums, the struggles for independence, and the constant fights with his older brother, this age is also bringing some of the sweetest parts of Gordon's personality out. Just looking at his huge eyes and snaggle-tooth grin makes me break out into a big smile!


So maybe a lot of the "terrible twos" really aren't much fun, but the kisses, giggles, and spunkiness of this kid make it all worth it!

C is for Conifer

Ah yes, the spectacular Colorado Blue Spruce... wait, these aren't "spectacular"? Ha ha...

I took the boys and met my parents and Caitlan on Friday evening at Alpine Gardens in Perry, UT for their special after-hours sale. The sale did not disappoint, and we came home with three baby spruces to plant in the northwest corner of our backyard. Aren't they sweet little things? "Spectacular" is a few years away...

In addition to the conifers, we also found a lovely Pacific Sunset Maple for the front yard. Chris named it "Stockton" and planted it in a very nice spot (picked by yours truly!).

We also bought a couple of easy-to-grow aspens for the South corner of the back and some cute little shrubs to line the side yard.




With all of these items at an extra 10% off, I certainly enjoyed my little shopping spree!

Our yard is really starting to look lovely, minus the dandelions, of course. For that problem, I took my mother-in-law's advice and bought a Weed Hound. It's a fantastic little contraption. I did a bit of weeding today and found myself humming a certain tune from the Beastie Boys as I went about the yard searching and destroying. As I was busy at work, my neighbors pulled into their driveway with several weed-destruction tools in tow. I wonder if they've been reading my blog?

Point me toward the sale...

Even as I write this post, I can't really believe it. My husband, yes, let me repeat, my husband is EXCITED about a sale. He even said things like, "40% off!" and "special after-hours prices" when we were on the phone just now. Can this be real?

Of course, he is talking about going to a nursery this weekend to buy landscaping items for our yard (like the Colorado Blue Spruce, as pictured here). Still, the shopaholic in me is relishing this moment.

My Nemesis

This picture actually makes them look kind of pretty, but these little yellow weeds are making me crazy! Our front yard is unfenced and borders two neighbor yards on either side. On the South side (where the majority of our front yard is, thankfully), our neighbors take impeccable care of their yard. They mow, fertilze, the whole bit. On the North side, however, our neighbors seem to have lawn care at the low end of their priority list. Hence, their dandelion problem has now become our dandelion problem. And not just dandies, but also crabgrass and clover. The sight is not pretty!

We've sprayed once, but apparently our efforts need to be much more consistant than that. My friend even suggested spraying our lawn and our neighbor's. I'm strongly considering it.