I've Moved

Hey readers, no worries. I'm still blogging, just at a new site. Come join me at Kailadoscope

New Name, New Site, Same Blog

With all the change happening in our life, I thought a new blog name was in order. From here on out, I will no longer be posting under factotum, but kailadoscope. So sound your bell, change your link list, call your friends, do what ever you need to do. Factotum is getting upgraded.

Columbus Indiana...who knew?

We have a home (a rental), and now it even has Internet!

Since it's been a while, let me put your minds at ease by saying this--we're in love with our new town. Here are a few reasons why:

It just happens to be the mecca of child fun. Infact, Nick Jr. Family Magazine selected Columbus, Indiana as one of the ten most playful towns in America, for the quality of its park system, unique architecture and its cultural offerings for kids.

Columbus, Indiana is ranked 6th in the nation for architectural innovation and design by the American Institute of Architects

Smithsonian Magazine called Columbus a "veritable museum of modern architecture."

AND...

In the November/December 2008 edition of National Geographic Traveler, Columbus Indiana (city of 40,000 residents) is ranked 11th out of 109 historic destinations worldwide by National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations. Columbus scored 78 points in the annual survey, placing it 11th on the list, higher than any other U.S. destination. Read about it here.

Needless to say, you should Definitely visit us!

A sampling of what we see every day:

This is our courthouse. Almost makes me want to go to court. . . almost.


This is our bridge (Noah has to go under it every day on his way to work)

We're all getting pretty sick of seeing these red birds EVERYWHERE

On a sad note, Alex has strep throat. Pardon me while I get back to being a mom. I'll post more tomorrow, maybe I'll even include a video with Oliver's new trick...
P.S. Gabby started school. Are you just aching to know if she likes it?

To be continued.

(Could there be a bigger cliff hanger?)

Between Worlds

I'm using Uncle Ernie's (a Lifferth Uncle) Mac with a very small, 21 inch screen (you're welcome Grandpa Wes) and am discovering that I love the sleek look, but really--are they so much better than a PC?  I can't even figure out how to open two screens, which is why I have no picture in this blog post, sigh.

By the way, we're now Hoosiers.  Unfortunately we're also homeless (while still being home owners).  Explanation:  we're still waiting on the Utah estate to sell, and are simultaneously waiting for our apartment to be ready for us in Indiana (it's been vacant since the second, but is apparently in need of some painting and repair).  We've been living in a Holiday Inn for the last week.  Tonight, we're staying with Noah's uncle and aunt as the small living space was starting to get to us.  It's nice still having family around.  We really feel at home and are being pampered like you wouldn't believe.

We're finally starting to adjust to the time change (which is 2 hours later).  Gabby and Alex fell asleep tonight at 8:30 PM Indiana time so we're hoping for happy children tomorrow.  I've been trying to keep them busy so we don't have to spend too much time in cramped quarters. So far we've gone to Chuck E. Cheese's (which has "way funner games than the Orem one"), we've also visited the only GAP/ Old Navy/ Banana Republic warehouse in the world, and as you can imagine, it was AWESOME.  Today, I took the kids to open gym at a gymnastics place.  Tomorrow, we're getting together for a play date with someone from our new ward, and we may also hit a children's museum in the area that has an over sized bathroom with a toilet you can actually slide down--is this Heaven? 

Hope all is well with those of you that we left behind (we do actually miss you all, and we REALLY miss having our own place--Hope you're enjoying it Bridgett and Rory)!

Form Follows Function

To Gabby, school is a holding facility where you're forced to sit down ALL DAY soaking up lessons with the expectation that you'll be able to regurgitate them on demand. In addition to reading and math, Gabby has been learning about weather anomalies and seems to be really holding onto these lessons. Today, I picked Gabby up from school and was informed that "one time, a volcano blew up so fast [and this REALLY happened mom] that the people in the city couldn't run away from it and THEY ALL DIED. And later, people came to the city and it was all buried in dust--with people buried in it too--from the volcano. Are there any volcanoes in Utah Mom?" Thank you public education, because every six-year-old deserves to know about Pompeii.

Anyway, as I was saying . . . school is a holding facility. So why not create a school that conveys this message, where form follows function. Well, in Indiana they're way ahead of us in this regard. Below, is where Gabby (my child who already dreads schools that are aesthetically pleasing) will be attending elementary school when we move.
Noah and I had heard rumors that this elementary school resembled a prison, but we weren't informed that this particular structure resembles NOTHING BUT a prison. It's actually one of the top schools in the area (I'm big on schools so we're making sure to move into the area with this school, so I can't bag on it too much since it's our decision). I will say this though, it does look sturdy.

Wii are lucky!

For those of you who don't know Noah, you're probably unaware that he is THE luckiest man ever and I'm not exaggerating. If you know Noah, you already know this.

Fact: Before marrying me Noah paid for his schooling, housing, and food from gambling winnings, never bringing more than $20 of his own money to the casino. His biggest win: $900 in one day. He has since stopped gambling for moral reasons.

Fact: he married me, 'nuff said.

Fact: in the three years he has worked at Intelliserv (a company that employs roughly 250 people), there have been three annual parties with drawings for prizes (usually 10 available, one being "the big prize").

Fact: In the past three years, Noah has won "the big prize" every year--year 1: a Garmin GPS unit, year 2: a digital camcorder, year three: keep on reading.

Fact: Gabby and Alex have been saving their money for a Wii this year.

Fact: Gabby has employed the services of a fellow classmate to pull her teeth out at school (two to be exact) in order to get money from the tooth fairy for the Wii. She is currently working on another tooth and wiggles it until it bleeds.

Fact: Alex has become potty trained with the main motivation being $50 added to the Wii fund. We have not had any accidents since he started, not even bed wetting.

Fact: Yesterday marked mine and Noah's eight year anniversary (more on that in a later post) and was also the night of Noah's third big company party. The main prize of the evening--a Wii.

Fact: People teased Noah before the drawing saying, "haven't you won the main prize every year? You better not win the Wii." Noah simply smiled knowing deep down inside that the wii was his.

He was right.

Guess who's laughing

It has only happened twice

Both times in the same place

With the same two cute kids with him.

But I got it on film...

Wet Toilet Explained

This morning Gabby informed me that the toilet was all wet. "Why would the toilet be wet?" I wondered briefly, but then my question was put to rest as I was met by a proud Alex who informed me that this morning he "peed like Daddy."

I'm glad Noah has better aim.

Miracle

Something truly amazing has happened that I never thought was possible. I enjoy running. I don't know if it's because of my awesome stroller that makes me feel better than everyone else, or if it's the sexy brown stretchy pants I wear, or the over sized T shirts. It's for sure not because I'm fast.

As of late, I've been making my jogging more meaningful by running to Macy's and doing grocery shopping or buying other needful commodities (today we were in desperate need of printer paper and a watch battery). I make sure to get in the line with the same checker every day (don't worry Noah, it's a girl) so I get the little nod of approval "wow, you're really dedicated." I shrug as if it's no big deal, then I pull out my debit card and flex my biceps while sliding my card in the reader.

As I return home, I make sure to sprint by the houses belonging to people I know and then I work out my neighbor's probable internal monologue, "Hey, is that Kaila? Didn't she just have a baby? Wow, she's really booking it! Those are some awesome stretchy pants!"

So I don't know what it is exactly that has me hooked on running. It must be the stroller.

P.S.
Noah I miss you. Bedtime was far better tonight than it was last night so you can come home as planned. I took your advice and let Gabby be the leader tonight (except I overruled when she said she wanted to play UNO 60 times). Oliver laughed in the bath again. We went and saw Madagascar 2 and we showed our house.

Enjoy the quiet nights and peaceful mornings until you come back. Love you.