Probably not the last time she will drive him around

More Signing Time

The after lunch, pre nap time, treat!!

Weatherman, oh weatherman

This is not a good sign for DaddyDaycare! I might need some serious "DaddyJuice" soon

An Indoor Castle!

Hiding from the rain on a DaddyDayCare Sunday!

Sometimes Daddy is a regular MacGyver!!

Early Morning Chaos!!

Here we go!!!

Just Another BY Morning

Another year... another bad BY school picture....

We just can't understand why cuteness personified cannot be captured on film.

 

But alas, another picture day (groan) has come and gone at the CLC and our suspicions remain the same.

 

Coco is the cutest thing in America in person, but this cannot be captured in a picture (knowing him, he's already contemplating how to dismantle the camera.)

 

The Double Deala will NOT smile on command.  Oh, she understands what we want her to do.  But she's just not into doing things unless it's her bright idea.  Apparently smiling on camera is not one of them.

 

The Pizz steals the show here.  But actually has a tendancy of over-smiling.  Alas.

 

But of course, WE know that these three are jammed packed with cuteness, from the tips of their toes right on up. 

Super cute! Even sideways!!

 

GM Reno #3: hello master bathroom!

In case anyone hasn't been here or listened to us complain about our bathroom, here's the deal:

• it was separated by a wall into two spaces for no good reason
• it was skinny - so skinny that when the DQ was toting twins inside we couldn't even pass through simultaneously
• it had an awkard set up - a dead end into the toilet which sat annoyingly close to the tub
• it had overmount sinks: the kiss of bathroom death according to the DQ
• it was formally white and had miles of formally white grout that drove the DQ crazy
• it had a cave-worthy shower that could not be rid of grime

Still not convinced?  Here's the proof:

We just couldn't stand it anymore!  So down the wall came...

Bye bye wall...

Sayonara cave-like shower!

Hola new layout!

Voila!  The most beautiful bathroom in the world (to us, at least!)  We saved the tub since it fit so well, but everything else is new.  A new dual flush toto toilet (ahem... my favorite feature), moen low flow fixtures everywhere, spiffy new spanish mod tiles with almost no grout, glass shower doors, ikea soft close drawers, undermount sinks, quartz counters, huuuuge medicine cabinets!  There is storage for days!!  The DQ was so enraptured she didn't know how to start organizing!!

 



 

Just in time to potty train two toddlers, eh?

3 months later....

So... we aren't fortunate enough to have a lot of free time here in BabyYarnozLand, with the jobs and the volunteer work and, well, the 3 stooges running around.  Admittedly we've been pretty remiss recapping what's been going on around here.  Hopefully we'll start to rectify!

First off, we never really said a proper BY goodbye to Edna, our au pair from Mexico.  She came in a pinch in January and left in September to go back to her own family.  But at the end we had a party!

She also left a note for us, and with her permission here it is:

"Dear Yarnoz Family,

I want to thank you for the time that I stsayed at your home, for giving me the chance to be your Au Pair and above all for letting me know three beautiful little people.

• Kemper: the big girl, not just because she is the oldest, but she acts and talks like an adult.  She's amazing, she made me laugh with every funny thing that she says and I liked it when she corrected me when I pronounced a word improperly.  She's right, she's the teacher.
• Court: My Coquito hermoso, what a good, lovely, and cuddly boy.  The big boy with his smile and flirty eyes, how not to love him.  He's so patient and mischievious - at the time I know he does not do it with bad intention, he is just playing.  His hugs are the best I have ever had.
• Mila: Mi Mimi or Mimi hermosa determined, fearless, and strong little girl.  She's always curious and exploring the world.  I love her beautiful eyes and energy.  I'll miss when she came to sit on my lap.
• Mike and Charmaine: Thanks for everything and being the best host parents.

Love,
Edna"

GM Reno #3: Twin bath before and after

For those of you who don't know, the DQ is not someone who covets clothes, or shoes, or fancy cars, or anything like that.  Nope.  She loves her coffee, and well.... she loves her renos.

So, despite the fact that we've only lived in the Green Machine for 3.5 years, we've actually done three renovations.

To recap: Reno #1 was the 1966 kitchen, the miles of putting green carpet.
Reno #2 was the window/skylight upgrade, geothermal HVAC, solar hot water, and taming the jungle
Reno #3 (and hopefully the last) has been upgrading the bathrooms, a new roof, and a photovoltaic power system on top.

The twins' bathroom was particularly cramped, especially for it's high occupancy.  Since the plan is to transition to KP and Mila's room one day, it was in need of a tune up. It got the "mini-gut job." Oh, and everything needs to be green, or we wouldn't be the Green Machine!


Before: Lots and lots of turquoise and a 20gallon (it seems) flush toilet



Before:  Turquoise sink!  Non-functional cabinet!

 

Before: The swing of the door takes up most of the room not taken by the giant blue toilet

After: Toto dual flush wall mount toilet and new pocket door.

 



After: beautiful oyster shell concrete floors, warm for toes and bums

It's official! The GM is solar powered!

 

TaDa!

 

We have hit the pinnacle of green-ness!  Thank goodness!  We were wondering if the Green Machine could really take the title!

 

Yep, we are officially crazy green people.  We are powered by the sun.

 

24 beautiful blue 240W panels in three rows grace our roof these days.  The are sending us about 2/3rds of our energy needs! Wahoo!