it's official

Our house is on the market.  

hey all you mommies of toothless kids

You have to check this out.  How adorable is this kit?!?!?!

zombie

4:44 am and here I am blogging - yikes!  Derek and I have been up cleaning, spot painting, doing Goodwill runs, putting boxes in our storage unit, etc.  My life seems to be all house all the time - I need to find some balance.

The house seems nearly ready to list.  Flooring guys will be here Tues. - Thurs. and then we will be ready to take some pictures and list the house.  The only glitch in the plan (and the reason we haven't gone to bed yet) is that a realtor asked our realtor if she could bring some clients in tomorrow to see the house (actually that would be today since it's so early in the morning) even though we don't have it listed yet.  I guess they have been looking for awhile and haven't found the perfect house but their realtor seems to think our house might be the one.

We'll see what happens.  We are not holding our breath for a quick, pre listing sale - I mean, really, what are the chances that someone would give us the amount we want before we even list?  It would be awesome but it seems highly unlikely.

I think I really need to get to bed now.  4:51 am and I have to get up far too soon.  Poor Derek has to be up for a 7 am meeting.  Any bets on if we are going to be taking naps today? 

:(

My mom left, I have workers in my house, I have a killer stomach ache, I'm beyond the point of exhaustion and it's raining.

Why did we decide to sell our home?

some more kid pics

Ashlee, the photographer I mentioned in a previous post just posted pics of the kids from the photo shoot.  You can see the Baker kids here.

Thanks Ashlee for the great photos.  

the mom report

Paint Emily's room - check

Clean Emily's ceiling fan - check

Paint kid's bathroom - check

Install light fixture - check

Paint master bath (until 1 am) - check

Continually pick up after four kids because they can't seem to grasp the concept of "we have to keep the house picked up so some one will want to buy our home" - check

Install toilet paper holder - check

Hang shelves - check

Keep me from having another total breakdown (Sunday was not pretty in regards to my mental health - why must selling a house be so stressful?) - check

The above was my mom's list for Monday - I'm sure I didn't even cover everything she did.

Today promises to be as work filled as the last few days (will it ever end?) but I do think we are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

don't tell derek but i think i'm in love with jay reily

Can't wait to see all the pictures from the photo shoot but you can check out a few here.

I also have a bit of a girl crush on Ashlee, but that's a secret too. Ashlee is an adorable mom of 5 from Provo that was shooting with Jay for the day.  She couldn't be nicer and her photography is amazing.  Be sure to check out her blog to see her work.

when your mom is a work horse

First off...my mom is one of the hardest working people I know.  Derek and I along with the kids were gone for a good part of the day yesterday at the photo shoot with Jay Reilly (more on that in a minute)  My mom pounded through a ton more house projects and got so much done.  My pantry sparkles right now, my newly painted bathroom cabinets are amazing - why did I not paint them such a glorious "brown velvet" (paint name) before so that I could enjoy them?  She cleaned up our backyard - I think she wanted to help but more than anything I think she worked in the backyard so she could bask in the warm California sun.  She has been a tremendous help and we are just so thankful she is here.

Hanging out with Jay (like the hanging out phrase?  I'm sure he and I are best buds right now) was a lot of fun.  He is just a low key super cool kinda dude.  The kids liked him and they had a great time having him take their pictures.  We can't wait to see how they turn out!

I have a bit of camera envy - his camera was sweet.  I also have some house envy - not because of size, layout or anything like that but because his walls are covered with amazing family photographs that truly capture the feel of his cute little family.  I now have an idea for some creative family goodness to grace the walls of my new home but I'll share that idea later. 

there may be a serious lack of posts

I've been a little busy...

We have made the decision to put our house on the market and if you have ever done that before you know what it involves.  My mom flew down this morning to be my handy man for a week so that we can get our house listed.  Since about 1 pm today she has completely taken care of my boys room - took down bunk beds, cleaned out bookshelves, took down old blinds, puttied holes plus she cleaned my kitchen, painted my pantry plus a ton more.  I am so glad that she is here - we wouldn't be able to do this without her.

If you're in the market for a house let me know and I'll send you an email when it is finally listed (hopefully within a week)  If you are not looking just say some prayers for us - I'm not looking forward to following around my kids picking up after them so that the house can stay "ready to show clean"

lucky, lucky

This guy has invited our kids to be a part of his photo shoot tomorrow in Carlsbad - can you see me grinning from ear to ear?!?!

diy

I am so making this perpetual calendar.  How great would this look on a wall?  It is so full of graphic goodness I can hardly stand it.  Keep track of your appointments and other calendar jive by using post-its.  

I'm off to take pictures and find a suitable wall to display this beauty.  Who am I kidding?  I'm actually off to clean my fridge and organize my pantry but after that maybe I'll shoot some pictures.  Sometimes the realities of life really get in the way of my creativity.

NOTE:  I realize the picture is cut off - sometimes I hate Blogger.  I can get the full picture if I download from Iphoto but Blogger is not letting me go that route at the moment.  For a full picture just head over to the link.

"prepare" for a great giveaway

For those of you that have goals to get yourself & your family more prepared for whatever may come - bad economy, earthquakes, etc. you need to check out this great giveaway at the Totally Ready blog.

primary birthday gifts

I have shared this birthday idea with a few folks that I thought would be interested - others who might need an idea for primary, young womens, etc.  There has been a lot of great response so I thought I'd share a quick how to on what our primary presidency did.

The theme this year in primary is "My Eternal Family" we wanted a birthday gift for the kids that would be a reminder of the theme as well as inexpensive so we don't break the budget.  We decided on scripture tag pulls that were personalized saying...the Baker (each child's family name) is forever done in the primary colors...red, yellow and blue.

We made the tags using Shrinky Dinks.  We found them at Michael's - 6 sheets for $10.  We could fit 6 graphics on a sheet.  The graphic was a simple square (3x3 - I believe) done up on Adobe Illustrator.  You want to keep the design simple because when it shrinks you may lose some detail.

After the computer work was done we ran the shrinky dink sheets through the printer - there are different kinds of shrinky dinks so if you are doing this make sure to get the sheets that go through the printer.  Once printed we used a 2 1/2 in circle punch to cut out the circles and a regular hole punch for the top.  Then it's time to bake - follow the directions on the shrinky dink package.
3 - 5 minutes later you have small, round tags that have thickened into a pretty thick plastic that wont bend.  You may notice the difference in color...when the tags shrink the colors get more vibrant so you need to print your graphics a bit lighter then the color you are actually going for (this info is in the directions)

After they cooled we sprayed them with a gloss sealer (also found at Michael's) and then attached them to cell phone cords.  You can buy the cords at Michael's for $3 for 6 or buy online at a much better price.  We got ours at D&I Beads for $1.25 for 12.  Here is the link. Shipping was quick (even in December)
We are happy with how they turned out and we hope the kids will like them.  I have mine on my scriptures and love the visual reminder of the theme.

This was a mock up of the packaging - the final packaging looks better.  We just did another graphic on Adobe Illustrator but you could use any program.  It says Happy Birthday love your Primary leaders.  In the top left hand corner it says scripture pull.  We printed it on card stock and used a xyron machine to cover the back of the tag in adhesive.  They we simply folded over the top of little jewelry bags that a member of the presidency already had.
I think we ended up spending a little less then 40 cents a gift - which we think is pretty good for a personalized gift.

If you have any questions let me know - I'm happy to help!

uvu, byu and fry sauce whoo!

On the 2nd day of our trip, Saturday, we of coursed played in the snow most of the day but then headed over to Utah Valley University to watch Derek's nephew Davis play basketball. Davis (#25) plays for Southern Utah and they were playing UVU.  My whole family went (us, Grandma, Grandpa, my little bro. Garin, my sister Lauren and her hubby Brett.  Once we got there we met up with Derek's older sister Dena and her son Liam.

We also met up with Santa who seems to be a basketball fan - who knew?  Thanks Santa for coming over and talking to the kids - you saved us a trip to the mall.
While the b-ball game was going on so was the BYU bowl game (I also believe a Laker game was on - sports overload for Derek - all his favorite teams)  After the basketball game we headed over to Iceberg for food and Derek got to watch the end of the game.  The black and white of the picture is being used to help you feel Derek's mood about the game - dark and dismal.
While he suffered through the last bit of the game the rest of us happily devoured fries and onion rings dipped in that glorious Utah creation - fry sauce!  If we ever make a pros/cons list about Utah because of a move fry sauce will be on the pros side.
We also ordered Iceberg shakes which are gigantic.  These pictures don't even show you how big they are.  This one pictured below is a small.
Megan and I shared it and we still only made it to the top of the small sized cup (they have to double cup them because the shake comes so far out the top)  I think we were both ready to throw up - we were so full.  These shakes are a nice treat but I'll take my mini Golden Spoon any day.

The little late night snack was enjoyed by all - including Luke.

He enjoyed it so much he had to get every last bit of the goodness in him.  Yes, I realize this picture is super blurry but I had to post it.  Oh, the joy of being a kid - you can lick food of yourself and no one thinks twice about it.  I dare one of you adults to go and try that.

the things one can learn

We love our apple peeler but we were always under the assumption that it was for peeling and cutting apples - hence the name apple peeler.  

On our trip Grandma showed us that this magical tool is not just for apples but you can use it to peel potatoes too.  Do you hear the angels singing?  We love potatoes but none of us is fond of the peeling, especially when you have to peel a ton of potatoes (I think Megan could sustain life by just eating mash potatoes - she is addicted).  Now with our new found knowledge we can eat away because the nasty job of peeling has just gotten a whole lot easier.  Thanks Grandma!

let the christmas vacation posts begin

Here it goes - what used to be boring vacation slides in the good ol' days has turned into boring vacation posts on blogs - feel free to skim through the post stopping only when you feel a great desire to actually know what we're doing.

We were supposed to begin the long drive to Utah on Wed., December 17th but because of weather the Cajon Pass was closed as was I15 between Baker and the Nevada line.  We kept our eye on the weather and waited for the roads to open up and finally got on the road around 1pm on Thursday.  The plan was to stop halfway but we the weather was good and we had the energy to push through (amazing for us old people, huh?)  We finally pulled into Orem around 1am.

The kids wasted no time the next morning - they were up and out the door ready to experience snow.  The girls and Nate have been to the snow before but Nate remembers nothing and the girls don't remember much either.  

We pulled together some stylish snow outfits using snow clothes that my mom had picked up at various stores and from my little brothers closet (Derek and I took turns wearing my 14 yr old brothers camo pants - and if you are wondering....yes, we looked good in them!)  Megan wins for most stylish get-up.  She was looking pretty dang sweet in some way too short snow overalls and at beanie Derek brought back from Chile when he came home from his mission.

Snow balls fights started soon after we got outside.  I was spared because of the camera (at least for this first round of snow fun)

My brother Garin built this fun ramp in their backyard using an old swing set that was at the house when they bought it.  The kids were all game to try it until they got up to the top and then some nerves kicked in - not to worry though, after the first trip down they were sold and continued to sled own the ramp. 

Nate's first trip down (I know you're checking Derek out in those camo pants)...
Do you not love the shot below of him?!?!  Click on the picture to make it bigger so you can see his cute little face.
Emily's turn...
A spectacular finish to her ride.
Megan's first trip and I'm thinking she's having second thoughts...
Look at that Chilean beanie fly.
Like I said...she wins for most stylish outfit.  Look at it!  You know you are all jealous of it.
The first day out Luke was too nervous to do the ramp (He eventually got brave and then went on it a ton)  He was happy to spend his first day ever in the snow making snowballs and eating them.
How cute is he?  Seriously, his eyelashes, little tongue and cute cheeks that are starting to get cold.
Derek had to show off his sledding skills too.  Not sure what the face is about.  Maybe it's not the sled ride but the fact that he is a 6'4" grown man wearing a 14 yr old boys pants - that could be painful.

Of course there was some snow angel action going on too.

At the end of every snow adventure this was the scene...lots and lots of cold wet clothes dripping all over my moms dining room but also lots of happy chapped faces.

we wish you a merry christmas

Greetings from the very white and very cold state of Utah.

We have enjoyed a fun filled family Christmas here in Orem, Utah at the home of my parents. We were joined by my siblings and their spouses/families. We have enjoyed being together and spending the holiday with each other.

The kids have been thrilled with their first white Christmas. There has been lots of sledding, snowball fights, snow angels and snowmen making. I'm not sure we will be able to get some of the kids back in the car for the drive back to California.

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas today!

christmas letter

Miracles of miracles we sent a family Christmas card this year.  We've tried to send cards out the last few years but we always get hung up on the family update letter - hung up meaning we never get around to writing an update and so we always decide to forgo the card for another year.

Hurray for the world of blogging.  We no longer feel the stress of trying to come up with the yearly happenings of our family - we simply put our blog address on our Christmas cards and those that care can visit here to see what we have been up to.  Oh the simpleness of it all - I love it!

To keep you from having to scroll through the mundane episodes in our life to see what has been happening in the Baker household this year I'll direct you to a few posts documenting happenings in our life that I would have included in a written letter.  (click on the bold red to be taking directly to the post)

January brought the following...

a new calling for me

Derek gets a new calling too - called to serve on the High Council

we demoed our kitchen - a big job and took it all the way to the walls

work began on our new kitchen

here

here

here

February...

more kitchen work and an entertainment unit

kitchen countertops - yea!  Can you tell that the first few months of the year were consumed with remodeling - I'm not sure we had much of a life.

March...

entertainment unit done

Derek celebrates a birthday

flooring in - yes, more house jive in March - will it ever end?!?!?

Emily's choir concert - she loves to sing and was a member of the 6th grade choir last year.  This year she is in Madrigals and she enjoys every minute of it.  She can be heard constantly singing around the house.

April...

I celebrated a birthday

the kitchen is finally done - the before and after

Nate's first Pinewood Derby - he loved building the car

Luke gets glasses

the girls and I get to an American Idol taping

May...

Nate celebrates his 9th birthday

We took family pictures - finally!

Megan's first Youth Conference and some of what went on

Megan turns 14 years old

A little vampire action

The boys head off to a daddy/son adventure at Lake Powell while the girls and I venture off to San Francisco.  More on SF here  and here  

June...

Luke is in The Little Red Hen

Derek learns the hula

Emily's last choir concert of 6th grade

Megan says farewell to middle school

Disneyland - we enjoyed another year of Disneyland passes.  It is always fun to head to the happiest place on earth and enjoy time as a family.

scout camp for Nate

summer swim lessons

Derek and I celebrate 15 blissful years of marriage

July...

Megan's first trip to EFY

our medical emergency

our brush with the law

August...

I got to visit with a dear friend

one of the highlights of our year - cliff jumping - a favorite shot - coba - tulum - cenotes - I want to be back there so badly - I miss it!

proposition 8

September...

back to school

soccer - both boys played for the first time and loved it

my baby is 7

I started a new blog - Little Ant Design

Emily is 12 and beyond excited to be a part of Young Women's at church

October...

a serious blur - let's just say the election took up all our time

November...

a friend lost

a new calling comes my way

Now we are into December - we are busy with the holidays and with planning a trip to Utah for Christmas.  We have enjoyed a very busy, yet fulfilling year.  It was filled with some heartache but also with lots of fun and laughter.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!