Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lord, I Was Born a Ramblin' Man (or woman)

*I just got an Iphone 4 and it's making me want to use Groupon, Pinterest and Zulily a lot more. If you have any suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate it. I don't know what I'm doing!

*Lucas is so close to crawling. He moved his knees and hands a few times this morning and he's definitely interested in being on his knees. It's so cute:)

*I'm off school today because Nick's grandma died:( She's been sick for awhile in a nursing home, so it's a blessing, but it's still hard. I'm glad she's in a better place and not suffering, but I never knew the healthy, happy Betty and I'm sad about that.

*I wish I had more interesting things to blog about

*I wish I took more pictures

*I love that FoodieFriends is up and running again. I really missed it!

*I'm excited to see my Great-uncle Jay and Great-aunt Nancy this weekend at their 50th anniversary party. They haven't met Lucas yet and I'm excited to see my family. It's been awhile...too long!

*I really want to meet Delia

*I need new fall clothes. I have so many cardigans. I want more blouses. Wow! Am I old or what?

The End. Nothing exciting going on in my head.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Eight Months (A Week Late)

Lucas Boy,

I can't believe another month has past! You are growing up so fast and time is flying by! Each month that comes and goes, I stand amazed. It just flies and we cram so much in, but you just go with the flow and adapt so well:) We are so proud of you!

One huge thing this month was the start of school and softball games! It has been so busy! You started full swing in daycare and picked up right where you left off. Keeping your same schedule and being easy for Mrs. Lisa, just like you were in May! She couldn't believe how much you'd grown and changed over the summer! She also couldn't believe you'd already had a haircut and were close to needing another one! Mommy has lugged you around on errand after errand after school and softball game after softball game! You loved all the little kids at the games and you loved seeing Daddy, but sometimes it was hot, so you'd fall asleep in your stroller:)



You are still in size 3 diapers, but are wearing 12 month jammies and 6-12 month clothes! You are so long! We put a 9 month outfit on you the other day that was brand new, and the pants looked like capris! It was hilarious:) You are just growing, growing, growing! You still have just two teeth, but I think the top ones will come in anytime! You've had another haircut, too!



A big reason for your second haircut was to get ready for Aunt Megan's wedding! You looked so cute in your tux as an honorary ring bearer right next to your cousin Colt! This was the first time you all met and you just loved to stare at each other!



You seem so much bigger than him! I can barely remember you that small!



We got a lot of pictures of the two of you! I'm so sad that you won't get to see each very often. They live in Alabama (10 hours away), so I think the next time you'll see each other is around Christmas! I had cousins that lived far away, too, but you will always love each other and be excited around each other and grow closer and closer each time:) You two will have so much fun:)



You are just so handsome:)



You mastered rolling from belly to back and as soon as you did, you started rolling everywhere! You are all over the living room:) You love to go to the fireplace, the piano and the TV! I think you'll pull up on the fireplace first. We have also had to start using "No" because you want to pull off the DVDs and eat all Jovie's toys:) It scares you when I say it loudly, but then you turn around and look at the thing you were playing with, then you look at me like "what am I supposed to do or not do with this?" You're so confused. It'll take some time, little man, but we'll get it figured out:) You just want to explore everything!



You are scooting some, but not crawling yet. One time you went from belly to sitting up, but you haven't done it since:) I can't imagine how hard that must be! You are also getting confused on where you can roll and how you get out if you get stuck! It's pretty funny to watch, even though it makes you upset:)



You helped surprise Daddy for his birthday this year:) We had a lot of fun having all of his friends at our house! They just oohed and awed over you!



You love to drum and bang on things and you love to talk! I can't wait to hear actual words coming from your mouth! This joyous sound is what lets me know when you're awake each morning. You wake up right at 6:30a now. Why? I don't know, but you have an internal clock that goes off right at 6:30a. No matter what, though, you wake up happy and ready to go:) You just talk away in there until we come get you! Every once in awhile, we will bring you to our bed on a Saturday morning at 6:30a and you'll snuggle with us. Mommy's being very brave putting this picture up because she didn't know Daddy was taking it, but it's so sweet and I'll cherish this moment forever!



You are still eating great. You have cereal and yogurt for breakfast; a 5 oz bottle, fruit and vegetable for lunch; a 5 oz bottle a meat and a fruit for dinner, and we've cut down your night bottle to 4 oz. You are loving Turkey and Rice and Sweet Potatoes and Turkey. Pears are your favorite fruit and your favorite yogurt! You still love squash too:) For a snack, you will drink White Grape Juice or water, eat Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon or Sweet Potato puffs, or Peach yogurt melts.



You have a bath everynight and we brush your teeth now, which you love! You love to have stories read to you and you love when we sing "This Little Light of Mine" before we go to bed. Most of the time, you want to go right to bed instead of being rocked or snuggled, but just like the earlier picture, I absolutely love our snuggle times and I don't ever want to put you down.



You are just so fun to have around and you make us laugh all the time! Your laugh is sweet too and we hear it more and more! It's so exciting to see you maneuver your way around things and we are loving this stage! We're excited for the next too! Everything with you is an adventure and we're lucky to be a part of it!



We love you so much little man,

Mommy and Daddy

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Brightening Up

I have been thinking about redoing my living room for awhile now.

Right before Nick and I got married, we purchased living room furniture. A matching coffee table and end tables. We thought we were all modern:) It is very pretty furniture: glass top, curved legs, a little stainless steel...but enough!

We want something brighter and safer for a little boy that looks more interested in pulling up every day. They stay dirty no matter how much I clean them and we're just sick of it! I bought some new couch pillows in July and they started the whole revamp! I then bought some new things for my mantle and repainted my mantle. It was dark wood; now it is creamy white! I bought new lamps and a storage ottoman that I'm having re-upholstered! I have an antique end table that I'm repainting the same creamy white of the mantle, but I need one more end table! I'm looking at different antique places, but I haven't found one that strikes me, yet! I want to have it done by this weekend. I'm just one of those that wants to finish a project, as soon as I start it! This is driving me crazy to have different parts done at different times! I pick up the ottoman today and I'm painting the one end table today!

As soon as I find another end table and get it repainted, I'll post pictures!

This post was kind of pointless, but I'm just having fun redecorating and it makes me feel like Sarah Richardson! HGTV anyone? I love "Design Inc" and "Sarah 101".

She inspires me!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Giveaway and Going Away

Before I start, please go see my beautiful friend's Giveaway! It looks pretty amazing!

Okay, even before I was pregnant I wished to be a Stay-at-Home-Mommy someday:) Oh, to spend your days with your children; playing, learning, and soaking up the love! Doesn't it sound wonderful? But that's not what life's like for a lot of us. We have to have insurance and we have to have jobs to have insurance. We have to make a house payment, hospital bills, and two car payments and we have to have jobs to do those things. I am really sad about this. I know Nick is too. He absolutely loves his teaching/coaching job, but unfortunately teachers do not get paid what they should. We make other jobs possible, but we are pretty low on the salary food-chain. So, I must work.

So, my child must be in some sort of day care. I found a lady when I was pregnant who lived in my town, had just a few other babies, and watched them inside her home. The pay was right and we were good to go. I couldn't have been happier. I walk in after school and Lucas is on her or her husband's lap having a good ol' time! He naps great, eats great, etc. Life is good.

Then, Tuesday night, this lovely lady called me and said she'd taken a job outside the home. What in the world? Who will take care of him like you do? There aren't many people who will keep babies inside their home and not treat it like a "day care". Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not my first choice.

**Well, my first choice is to stay home with him and not have to make a choice at all! But, that's not what the Lord wants right now. So, I deal...

Back to my story. I call around to the few ladies I know and they have no openings for babies. Babies are hard work, I know this. It's hard to find someone that has the time and energy to watch babies and older ones too. So, I go to a day care. A wonderful day care not far from my job where some other teacher's children go to. The ladies are so sweet, but it's an actual day care. The babies are in one room, the 2-3 yr olds are in another, there are centers, it's not just some sweet lady in her home "babysitting". But, that's what I needed to do.

Until last night! There's a lady in our church that has an in-home "day care" just like my previous lady. I've wanted to send Lucas to her from the start, but she normally doesn't take babies. Like I said before; babies are hard. I know this. I understand. However, she knows that although I don't get paid well, I have fantastic hours! 8-3 M-F, summers off, a big Christmas break, a big Thanksgiving, Fall Break, Spring Break, etc...So, she will make an exception! She's cheaper than my other sweet lady and she lives just a few blocks away!

Does the Lord answer prayers or what?????