Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Zeke is back!!

Our dog Zeke has been staying with TAG’s sister & her husband while we were at our other house because our yard was just too small for him. We felt bad that he didn’t have much room to run so Brooke volunteered to keep him until we could get moved. Now that we are finally staying at the new house, we got Zeke back! He is such a good dog & the kids love him. I adore these pictures of them playing together Sunday before church.

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Where did my baby girl go? She looks so grown up here! Can you tell she has a black eye? She woke up with it one day last week. I honestly have no idea what happened but considering the fact that she tries to do everything big brother does, I’m sure she got it honest. It’s starting to clear up finally.

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P.S. Happy Fall! :0)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Riley’s 1st Day of Preschool

Riley’s first day of preschool was Thursday, September 22nd (which is also the same night that we slept at the new house for the first time-more on that later). We had been prepping him for a week getting him excited to go meet new friends & have fun at school. He was all excited up to the night before. Then morning came. Let’s just put it this way, my kids are not morning people. I waited until about 8:00 to get him out of bed & start getting ready. The school is an all day school, but most of the preschool curriculum/activities are done from 9-2. So I wasn’t too worried about him being late. Especially on his first day. I wanted to ease him into everything since this is all brand new to him.

I finally woke him up & got him to crack a smile for a few pictures. He was excited but a little nervous acting too. He knew he was going to school but of course didn’t know what all it entailed.

It was also green shirt day at school. :0)

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We got his teacher a container of mints & wrote her a little note as a first day gift.

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Waiting to be directed to his room!

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Would you believe that there were no tears when we left him the first day?! From me or him! I felt myself want to tear up a few times, but never let them pour. I’m sure it was because he did so well that I did ok! As soon as I got home I turned the monitor on from my computer (they have cameras there, which I love) & saw him having fun & behaving so well. I was so proud. I was sure to watch him at lunch time because he is literally the world’s pickiest eater & will not go far out of his realm when it comes to food, so I was anxious to see if he would eat anything. You are not allowed to bring your own food unless you have food allergies, according to the state. So Riley will  either have to eat what they cook or starve. The first day they had baked ham, pinto beans, and macaroni & cheese. I watched as close as I could to see if he was eating anything but nope. He just sat there quietly as the other kids were chowing down. At this point I did cry. I know he was hungry & I just wanted to make him a peanut butter sandwich! I know he has to learn to eat other types of foods & this will probably be the best way--him seeing other kids eat. I’m really hoping it gets better though because every day when I look at his little “report card” I know he is hungry throughout the day. Also, naptime has been a little bit of an issue. At home he generally goes down for a nap around 1:30-2:00. At school, it’s 12:30. So if he even falls asleep, it is right at the end of naptime & he doesn’t get much of a nap in. I’m trying my best to move his nap up a little at a time at home, but with us in the middle of moving it is extra hard. We are always on the go, whether it be to Lowe’s or back to our other house to get another load of stuff. We are just usually gone during mid-day right now. I am so ready for things to settle down around here!

(It got honey mustard on it because we went to Sonic for an after school treat & he refused to put his paper down!) 

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And this is what school has been doing to him at night! He completely crashes!

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All in all preschool has been a good experience for him. He has made lots of friends & learned about bugs, he says. :0) Apparently they were studying insects last week. The drop off is the hardest time, of course. He is still crying that he doesn’t want to go & he wants to sleep in his own bed. TAG usually drops him off in the mornings & I pick him up. After he takes him I & turn on the monitor he is just fine playing with the other kids & doing what they do with no complaints.

I am so thankful we found such a great school for him with wonderful teachers & a Christian based curriculum. We really do love it there & I know Riley is in good hands.

I just can’t believe my baby boy is a preschooler!!!

Monday, September 12, 2011

My Little Secret/Project

I have been so MIA lately due to several things keeping me occupied—soaking up the beautiful fall-ish weather with my family, making some door hangers for friends, football games, and this:

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Our new old house. Beautiful, right? I know you’re jealous.

TAG’s job that he got a couple months back is much closer to his hometown than where we currently are living so we knew that the best thing for us to do would be to move. Here. Mortgage free. That part sealed the deal for me.

It actually has some good bones under what you’re seeing here. Lots of potential for this little gem. TAG’s great-grandparents built this house back in the early 1900s & it is the house TAG lived in as a child, but after his mom passed away about 18 years ago, the family just rented it out. Due to that, it has not been taken care of & was pretty much run down. The renters left a few weeks ago & we have been cleaning, repairing, & painting like crazy on the weekends to get this house back into decent shape. It is really starting to shape up & is almost back to livable condition.

This is obviously the before picture & I will be sure to post the afters. If we ever get there! Right now we are in the during stage & I will try & post those pictures soon as well. As I said, the house has character that I love. We found some little treasures in the kitchen behind some paneling that I am super excited about! However there are some not-so-exciting things as well. Like a tiny master bedroom & bathroom. And I do mean TINY. Like we are having to sell our king size bedroom suite because it won’t fit, tiny. (Let me know if you are in the area & interested in it!) And there is no central heat or air. We have those lovely window air conditioners in several rooms. Blah! We debated putting in a unit, but honestly, we don’t want to put too much money into it because we are hoping that it will just be a stepping stone while we save up enough money to build the house we want. I keep telling myself that it will all be worth it in a few years!

The house is a lot bigger that it looks from the outside (except for the master!) but it has an awkward floor plan. You have to walk through Riley’s room to get to Averly’s room. Her room doesn’t have a closet & it has a front door out to the porch. I’m thinking this room was originally an office of some sort. We’ll make it work with armoires due to the closest situation though.

I have actually enjoyed the process of fixing up the house. We are doing everything ourselves, (nothing too major) which makes things very interesting! And we’ve had lots of help from family & friends.

And here’s the reason I’ve been so secretive about the whole thing. I didn’t know what I was going to do as far as work. I really didn’t want to leave my current job & definitely didn’t want to have to job hunt again. So I have been waiting on my boss to get it approved through her boss to let me work from home. It was finally 100% ok-ed & I start working from home next week! I am beyond thrilled about that & so very thankful! Riley is also starting preschool next week (Thursday) so I have everything lined up as far as where he will be while I work. Averly is a different story. I don’t want to send her to a daycare just yet so I think my mom is still going to keep her as needed. Praise God for such wonderful parents that want to keep my kids!!

So there it is, my latest project. I will get back into the routine of blogging more frequently soon. Promise.

Oh and PS, I actually snuck in a very much needed little girls’ night last weekend! It took 4 men babysitting my 2 kids (TAG included), but I hear they had lots of fun watching football, reading RedHead catalogs & picking out camo ensembles. :0)

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Monday, August 29, 2011

My Babies

They are not so much “babies” anymore, which makes me sad. They are both getting so big & changing so much. Averly has hit a growth spurt lately-both physical & learning. She is really starting to take more of her surroundings in & starting to communicate through words so well. She has started putting 2-3 words together. The other day she climbed behind the chair in her room & couldn’t get out so she started yelling “Stuuuuck! Mama! Help!” She loves to work puzzles & “daw” (draw/color). She understands 2 part commands like throw this away & then bring me your cup. I remember Riley hitting this stage just like it was yesterday! He was around the same age (she is 17.5 months) because it was a couple months before Averly was born, which put him at about 17 months doing the same. She is like a parrot & will repeat, or attempt to repeat anything you ask (or don’t ask!) her to. Yesterday I was getting Averly dressed at my sister-in-law’s house & Brooke was calling me from another room. As soon as she did, Averly started hollering “Jesh-ca! Jesh-ca!” It was hilarious to me. She also tries to keep up with everything her big brother is doing. She is literally his shadow.

She has started wanting to wash her own face & brush her own hair. Here she is washing her face with a wipe. :0)

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We have been staying so busy with all kinds of things. Birthday parties, playing with the slip & slide, going to visit Aunt Brooke & Uncle Josh, as well as Bubba & Vivi. Plus, there’s still that one BIG thing that’s taking up LOTS of our time. I am close to being ready to let y’all in on what’s going on. Either in the next few days or next week.

Oh & my big 3 year old is about to start pre-school in a few weeks too! We are a little late in enrolling due to that “BIG” thing going on, but I think it will be fine. They are holding a spot for him, so we are good to go!

I was trying to teach him the 1st President of the US last night & a few minutes later he told his Bubba so proudly that the "Pwez-a-dench is Mike Wash-a-ton" :0) Where he got Mike-I don't know but man, I love him.
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She was so cute laying down getting ready to slide!

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We’ve been blowing bubbles a lot lately too. They love it. What is it with kids & bubbles?! Cheap entertainment!

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Gah, I can’t believe she’s practically 1.5!!

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Peek-a-boo!

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“Uh oh bub-buls!”

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These are the days that I will remember forever as some of my favorites.

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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

So much to say, so little time

Therefore, I will just let the pictures do most of the talking. One day soon I will actually write a post with words.

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I love them.

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Riley’s fascination with Hot Wheels cars has re-appeared. He wants to sleep with them now too.

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Averly makes a mess no matter what she’s eating. It's tons of fun to clean up after her!

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He has been 3 for 10 days now. I still can’t believe it.

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Something good was on TV. I couldn’t get them to look at me for anything!

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Yep, I love them. A lot.

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And just to embarrass her someday…

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(She was actually not trying to pick her nose, but saying shhhh. This is just how she does it! Ha!)