Meet My New Friend *UPDATED!(update not exciting)

I call her Lizzie the Lizard. Clever, huh?

I watched Lizzie scamper across our deck while I ate breakfast. And then again while I ate lunch. And again while I sat and did my Bible study. This picture was taken while I was safely inside. That is the way I prefer to view lizards, behind glass.

I wish I had something profound to say about Lizzie and my Bible study, but I don't.

I just can't get over the fact that there was a lizard on my deck. I have also seen Lizzie scamper in front of me on the sidewalk while walking to my car. And I cannot get over the fact that there are lizards where I live. Lizards. Real, live lizards.

It helps that this one is tiny and almost cute. Almost. Not cute, almost cute. I don't think Lizzie will get cute if she happens to get bigger. Or have lizard babies.

I just won't think about that!



Sage spotted Lizzie and he is now window watching for Lizzie, he even got Kolby to look for her too, but I don't think Kolby had any idea what he was looking for! He also said he saw two!

What's in my belly?

July 7, a week from Monday, we will have our ultrasound. I am so excited to find out if we are having another brother like Sage and Daddy are pulling for or if we will experience a little girl.

I have no gut intuition. Nothing swaying me one way or the other. 3 boys would be fun. But a best friend for Baby Lulu would be great too!

But for the fun part, a contest. In the comments, tell me whether you think I'm having a boy or a girl and then on July 7, I will draw a name from the people who guessed correctly.

The prize? Undetermined, but it will be good!

And, the technician will also be looking for all the other important parts that should be pretty far along in development. Among those, the feet! I am a little anxious to find out if we will have another clubber or not. Since it is determined what causes it, genetics or womb positioning, some families have multiple children with club foot and some don't, so for me, it will be feet first, gender second.

The Modern Mom

Finds recipes online and instead of printing and possibly wasting paper, plugs in the laptop to consult recipe as she makes it and doesn't apologize about the messy kitchen:

Lets the kids lick the beaters: (notice the blue dining room behind them, kitchen is the same color)

Takes a picture of each child to post on the internet:


Turns the light on for entertainment for the 2 year old:

Shows you a picture of the final product:


I must confess, I did not find this recipe online by myself, I was directed to it by Holly. She is a mom with 4 girls under the age of 3!

And tastes them before posting this: Verdict Good! Very Good! I made 24 muffins and 24 mini muffins, I'll probably freeze some of these.

The time I lost Kolby

Her name is Lucia Louise and she shall be called, Lulu. Isn't that adorable?!
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Kolby loves his shoes. Last week, a strap broke and one night he couldn't wear them to bed. Drew explained that he wasn't going to wear them and Kolby cried and said "Peas, shs, ba." That is Kolby speak for "Please, shoes, bar." And that night, he woke up for no reason which is very unusual for him. Today, I was trying to be a lazy mom (so I could go take a nap) and not put his shoes on and he said "Peas shs."
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Today we went to our first playgroup through the Sunday School class at First Baptist that we went to on Sunday. It was held at a place called the Ruckus Room. Isn't that an appropriate name for boys of any age? It was three rooms with blow up bounce toys. I should have realized that something was amiss when I had to sign a waiver. It was quite fun except for one particular blow up thingie. It was pushed against a wall but when you walked on it, it would slide you off toward the wall, especially if someone larger was walking toward you. Unfortunately, for Kolby most of the kids were larger than him.

At one point, I had totally lost track of Kolby. I was searching and then heard his familiar cry. He was standing between the wall and the blow up thing, completely smashed and stuck. It wasn't too horrifying as he wanted to get back on.

Later, I knew right where he was, crawling through a tunnel on that same dreaded thingie. And then I heard the crying. And saw his little gray footed socks sticking out from the bottom. My heart leaped to my mouth as I ran toward him. Of course, it was no big deal to rescue him but I think that time it scared him more than the first. He didn't stop crying as soon as he was in my arms and didn't want to get back in. As I think back, I regret not talking to the man in charge about what happened, because it could have been a lot worse. But, I had already signed a waiver and I didn't want to be a complainer. And part of the problem is that a lot of moms just weren't watching their kids.

Remind me when my boys are 8 and 10 or 10 and 12 that they still need to be supervised? Thanks.

My Best Friends Baby!

My best friend had her baby yesterday and she waited nine long months to find out what she was carrying.

It's a girl!

The boys and I went shopping for her gift this morning. I would love to link to what I bought but I haven't mailed it yet. But oh my, it was hard to choose. Drew's right, if we have a girl, he is in trouble!

Girls need shoes and bows! And they have plenty of cute stuff out there. I mean pink crocs, pink Chuck Taylors the list goes on.

Go congratulate Karoline! Oh, and she's having trouble deciding on a name. Give her some suggestions! I'm kidding, kind of, she is having a hard time deciding, but I don't think she is open to suggestions!

And then tell me one little girl item that you would buy for sure.

A litt bit more about me

I was tagged for this by my friend Steph. I had a hard time completing this one, it took 2 days!

I am…wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.
I want…to know Jesus more deeply.
I wish…my children would sleep past 6:30am.
I hate strongly dislike…(we don’t use the word hate) mushrooms.
I miss…living somewhere I know how to get places, especially a park!
I fear… my husband dyeing.
I feel…overwhelmed in a new city and new house that needs every wall painted.
I hear…Sage playing cars and talking in his own language. Is this normal?
I smell…sweet water by Method.
I crave…time away from the house.
I search…the internet to waste time.
I wonder…if I will make great friends here, how long we will live here.
I regret…the moments I don’t appreciate my life.
I love…my boys, Drew, Sage, Kolby and the new baby, although I don’t know if it is a boy!
I care…for Sage and Kolby.
I ache…for good girlfriends in the same city as me.
I always...sneak food so I don’t have to share with my kids (like m&ms), it’s getting harder!
I am not…creative.
I believe…in Jesus Christ.
I dance…only when I am being silly.
I sing...songs of praise to my Lord.
I cry…easily lately.
I don’t always...like to make dinner or grocery shop.
I fight…not being in control.
I write…on my blog, in my prayer journal (not consistently), and in my head.
I never…say never!
I listen…to Christian music and the sounds of boys playing.
I need…chocolate and caffeine.
I am happy…in life.


I tag Mindy, Karoline and anyone else who wants to do it!

Whoops!

We were going to the pool and I like to apply the spray sunscreen right outside our front door. We all stepped out and I didn't shut the door all the way as it locks. But, Sage thought I meant to, so he did it. I sprayed the boys. And turned around to let them back in while I sprayed myself. Door was locked.

We haven't hidden a key yet. All patio doors were locked.

We were wearing swimsuits, no shoes, cell was in the house with my keys. Luckily, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt over my swimsuit.

I knelt down and prayed. I said "Lord, we locked ourselves out of the house, please help us to think calmly and figure out a plan." As I was praying Sage was hhmming.

We have met our neighbors, Tricia and Butch but I was pretty sure they both were at work. I rang the door hopefully and heard the dogs barking. I was about to give up and think of a different plan when I hear "Who is it?"

She graciously lets us in, let me call long distance to Drew's cell (we really need to get local numbers) while she shows the boys her goldfish. It was 10:15. Drew said he could drive home on his lunch break while we were at the pool.

It went really smoothly walking to the pool without shoes and just swimming while we waited for dad to be our hero and unlock our house. And we didn't even have a towel!

I was nervous to not have Sage's ring floatie as he likes to "swim" but he did great staying in the shallow end. Kolby is getting so much braver but his balance isn't always the best walking around the shallow end. He only head dove once and didn't cry when I scooped him up.

When we got home, we talked about how God answered our prayer and took care of us. And quickly dried off on our towels which were sitting on the bench, right by the front door.

Pretty soon this problem will be solved because I ordered sunscreen without chemicals, also known as sunscreen that must be rubbed in therefor not making me step out of the house. Or I could spray them on the patio where I stand no chance of locking myself out from the sliding door.

Silence

My mom always told me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I also apply it to complaining. If you can only complain about something, don't say anything at all.

But, in my head as I think through my list of complaints, they are often silly. Likewise, the things that I am grateful for right now seem silly too, but here they are:

1. Ice maker with in door dispenser, water too!
2. Air conditioning
3. New insulated straw cup from Starbucks (purchased with my birthday gift card, thanks mom!)
4. There are no boxes waiting to be put away in the living room
5. Sky lights
6. New bed with heavenly sheets
7. Kolby napping
8. M&Ms
9. 2 hours and some minutes until Drew is home!
10. Starting a new Bible Study online through Beth Moore's blog!
11. Unpacking 6 more boxes today!
12. Counting down the days until I get our new van and not being stuck at home! 2!
13. And Nana and Matthew visiting!
14. And bringing the boys bunkbeds!

Wow, I started to almost smile there at the end!

It's better for me to think and write down what I am thankful for than what I want to complain about and I hope it makes your day better too!

Amidst the Painting

We went to the zoo! It's right in the middle of the city which was so weird to us. I kind of feel like we are living in a zoo with this new climate. I have seen several lizards scamper in front of me!

Apparently, we didn't take many pictures, but we bought a family membership, so we will be going back!











I was a bad mommy and didn't pack snacks or enough water for myself so we didn't stay long, but it was long enough to wear us out! I'll get better at this zoo thing. And we did get a yummy meal of Chick Fil A! I don't want to admit how many times we have eaten there in the two weeks we have lived here. It is so yummy, the play lands are clean, and Sage and Kolby actually eat the chicken! Sage has totally bought into the advertising and tells us to "Eat more chiken!" He also tells me, "I do not want the fries, I want the fruit!" But he does appreciate trading in the toy for an ice-cream cone!

As for the painting update: the living room, dining and kitchen are done, pictures will be displayed after I clear out the few remaining boxes and clear off the bar shelf. And maybe actually purchase the bar stools we want. The boys room has been painted, it needs one more coat of trim paint around the top and the trim needs painted white. I found comforters for the boys that match the paint that we bought too bright for the living room so we didn't waste 3 gallons of paint, only 1. And, I really like them, I am seeing a fun room for them. Their bunkbeds will arrive next week along with our new minivan! Drew's parents gifted him their minivan as his graduation gift. We are so blessed. Drew pointed out that it was more a gift for me and I reminded him that we would have had to buy one anyway! Now, when I drive the Saturn, I have visions of a minivan in my head and I can't wait! I am excited that the boys will have air conditioning reaching them right away, not waiting for the cold air to blow back from the front. Sage likes to remind us that he is sweaty, a lot!

Tonight, we are going to dinner at our neighbors house. We haven't actually met face to face but were connected through blog land! Crazy internet!

Starting A New Life

Have you ever thought when you move, no one knows me, no one knows what I am like, I can be a totally different person? I've thought about that with the way I dress, I can recreate myself and no one would know, they would think that is how I have always been. I have always wanted to be more of a funky dresser or unique, but am really quite plain. Solid colored shirts with denim or a type of khaki pants or shorts dominate my wardrobe. Not that it is bad, just plain. I see shirts with patterns that I think are cute, but the problem is, they cost money and my plain shirts never seem to go out of style. So, I think I am going to look for some fun earrings on Etsy to go with my plain shirts.

This isn't what I intended to write about.

We visited a church this morning. Houston's First Baptist Church. I was so overwhelmed walking in, finding the welcome center so they could show me where to drop off my children. I can't describe how huge the church is, just huge, two floors, we probably walked a quarter mile to drop our kids off and I don't think I am exaggerating. I kept thinking what if Kolby has an asthma attach and I get paged and I can't find his room again? (He rarely has asthma attacks and they usually come when he has a cold also, which he doesn't, but come one, I needed to worry about something and then I wondered what would happen if there was a fire, how would I find my kids, would the workers really get them out? Irrational, I know, hey, I'm pregnant). We made it into the service (we were late and arrived 25 minutes before it started, how did that happen unless we walked a quarter of a mile to drop our kids off) and I wanted to burst into tears. I don't know why. I was overwhelmed with the number of people that were in one building to learn about God and how it seemed like the same number of people who live in all of Connecticut, not really, but it felt like it. Overwhelmed that in this huge crowd of people, I only know the 3 that I came with. Overwhelmed with the realization that we are starting over. Starting from scratch to meet people. People who already live here. People who already have friends. Do they have room for one more?

It was a great service. The music was upbeat, praise songs. The message was great. I learned something and walked away with something. The pastor wants us to memorize a verse, Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still." (I totally had to look, guess I will keep working on that!) The message may have been written to me. He talked about the Isrealites and how their faith was weak and forgetful. Like mine. On Sundays, I am bold, ready to tell people about Jesus and his love for them. Mondays, I am terrified to mention his name, afraid of offending people. I need to remember that my God is strong and faithful not weak and forgetful. It is my faith that is weak and forgetful not my God. He also talked about how we live in a negative, complaint filled society. The weather is forecasted from the Severe Weather Center, and they told him the high would be 94, the low 75 and it will be partly cloudy today. Catch the negativism? Severe. Partly cloudy. It could be just the weather center or partly sunny. Kind of like my house right now, do I see it as half painted and partly messy or half done painted and lots of boxes put away? I am being the most honest when I say, I see a mess and a lot more work, but we have gotten a lot done and put away.

I took notes and was able to follow along easily. I loved it, I paid attention the whole time and didn't have time to fill our my visitor card. It would be so easy to go back and settle in, but we know that we need to visit more churches to we can find a church family and not just a church.

It will remain high on the list.

We took today off from doing work around the house, Sage was quite excited that mom and dad weren't painting today. I think we are going through an adjustment period with him. We are busy, boxes are open but untouchable for them, everything is different. He is crying really easily, throwing fits, which is not normal for him. We are going to take today to hang out with the kiddos and we have promised a zoo trip this week.

We're alive!

We made it on Sunday around 3pm and just today got internet access today. It was supposed to be all set up to be installed on Tuesday but, the best laid plans...get changed!

Our trip was uneventful and relatively easy, we even discussed that driving to see family wouldn't be too difficult.

Our truck was a day late, it came Wednesday. It is so nice to have our stuff, sitting in boxes around us! Just kidding. I have got a good bit put away but we are trying to paint at the same time, so it makes for a lot of clutter and mess. And you know what painting leads to? Painting the trim and replacing light switches which require multiple trips to Home Depot or Lowes. And painting leads to buying the wrong color, painting 1/4 of the wall and going back to Sherwin Williams to buy a different color. I can't even admit to you how much money we have wasted on paint. We are going to salvage about one gallon of paint for the boys room and bathroom but that doesn't really help the 5 gallons that we purchased.

Live and learn. That is our motto.

Painting also leads to a desire of replacing the towel bar, toilet paper bar and faucet. And after checking some prices at Lowes, those will have to wait. We will live with our shiny silver and gold faucets. Not our style, but they will work.

We will also live with our bathroom mirrors as ornamented as they are. We are more simple and modern type people, but we will live with it and maybe replace things slowly. We'll see.

Life is slightly crazy but we love, love, love our new home. It feels absolutely huge! We added a bedroom and a bathroom and a half and many closets and cupboards. And, I have been doing laundry whenever I desire and leaving it in the dryer or washer and I am the only one who can move it.

Sage doesn't like to go upstairs by himself. If someone sits at the bottom of the stairs (which aren't seen at the top) he is okay, if Kolby goes with him (finally, his little brother is good for something), he is fine, but don't ask him to go himself. But, if we are all upstairs and go downstairs, he is fine.

Life is good. We're still adjusting, unpacking, organizing and settling, but life is good.

I wonder how long it will take to not say, "we just moved here."

Uneventful

Today we drove through:

North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama

Today we ate:
Gas station snacks $11
Chick-fil-A $16 (It was in a mall, but good ole Gregory (the GPS) found it!)
Olive Garden $50
2 bottles of water $2

The boys watched:
Monsters Inc.
Facing the Giants
Boz
Blues Clues

We left at 7:45 and got to Olive Garden at 5:00. 600 miles.

The boys did awesome. I can't complain one bit. We considered continuing all the way but decided setting up air mattresses at 1 in the morning was not ideal.

We have been in that car driving for 20 hours in the last 3 days, I have driven one.

What an awesome husband I have! He puts up with my sobbing through my book, Ever After by Karen Kingsbury.

The boys are in bed and since we are sharing a hotel room, that means I need to be also!

Hotel Crisis

We promised Sage that if his pull up was dry all day yesterday we could go swimming.

At 4, I decided we should call and make sure our hotel has a pool.

"No, but we have a fitness center."

We texted google and found a new hotel.

For $30 extra dollars.

A promise kept.

Today we made our way to my brothers house. Check out his new blog!

We are going to up our driving schedule so that we can arrive on Sunday night rather than Monday night. Tomorrow we are scheduled to drive 600 miles. We'll see how it goes!

A New Beginning

The truck is packed.

It's "on its way".

We are still in Connecticut.

Our last night, not in our apartment, in a hotel.

Tomorrow, we drive away.

Away from the only place Kolby has known, away from our life for the last three years, away from the familiar.

Our new adventure begins, come along for the ride!

Drew Graduates From Yale

The Dean of Architecture asking the President of Yale to grant the degree of Master of Architecture.


The Dean of SOM asking the President of Yale to grant the degree of Master of Business Administration.


Drew's class from SOM graduating.


Sir Paul McCartney receiving Doctorate of Music.


Cesar Pelli (whom Drew worked in his office) receiving his doctorate of Fine Arts.


Sage drinking water.


Sage and mommy waiting for the diploma ceremony to start.


Sage napping on Nana during the diploma ceremony.


Kolby napping on mommy.


Sage being held by Drew in line for the diploma.


Drew and Sage walking across the stage towards diploma. Kolby was sleeping so he didn't get to walk across with Drew.


Drew receiving his diploma from the SOM Dean.


The Family

The day was long but short. The boys didn't go to the morning ceremony on Old Campus, the 307th graduation of Yale. Our good friends, James and Kim graciously watched them and shuttled me and them around. They went to the diploma ceremony at the School of Management and were invited to walk across the stage with Drew. Sage napped perfectly right before and Kolby conked out right as they started handing out the diplomas, so he stayed with me. I must say, they both behaved wonderfully and made a too long ceremony sitting in the sun enjoyable.

I am so proud of Drew. I don't think I realized how much work and effort it was going to be for him to complete graduate school. In a way, I felt like our whole family should have walked across the stage with him. Drew did a tremendous job of balancing school and family. He went to school in the early morning and was home almost every evening for a family dinner and bedtime. Words can't adequately describe the amount of pride that I have for Drew.

We made it!

I should be packing but this is more fun

This lovely picture is me and Drew in his dorm room at Iowa State. There is something in particular that I want you to notice. Drew's eyebrows.

Here's the story. The summer before this picture was taken, he worked at Mt. Carmel Bible Camp in Alexandria, MN. He used Sun-In. He claims that Sun-In misted down from his hair to his eyebrows. On one occasion, he said that maybe some Sun-In got on a q-tip and onto his eyebrows.

He still gets teased. Mainly by me when we find old pictures. I think his eyebrows stayed this white for the next 3 years.

The Beginning of the End

We have had a few lasts here already. Some of them on purpose, some of them unknowingly. Yesterday, we went to NYC via the train for the last time. We played in Central Park, saw Thumbelina, the worlds smallest horse, ate lunch with some friends who moved from Iowa, and picked up my mothers day gif. It was a great exhausting day.

A week or so ago, we went to the library story time for the last time without realizing it. It was sad as I looked back and didn't even get to tell Miss Mary, thank you for making story time so fun for my boys, we won't be coming back. I thought we would go the next week but circumstances kept us from going.

This morning, we went to our church for the last time. We are excited to find a new church in Houston.

I don't know when Sage played with his Little Tykes firetruck for the last time. We had to sell it. Moving into a town home without a garage and without a yard of our own, we have to get rid of quite a few outdoor toys. Drew had to deliver it Friday night as I put the boys to bed. Sage was so sad. I was so sad for him. We were both crying. He kept telling Drew "You don't have to deliver it!" Sage wasn't asleep when Drew got home and he started telling him again not to deliver it. Drew replied with "I think it is time to get you a bike!" We haven't heard another word of being sad about the firetruck. And no, we have no idea where we will keep the bike, but we will figure it out later.

I think some of the things will be easier if we don't realize they are our last time. We have a park a couple blocks away, the park where both boys learned how to slide, to swing and both love that park still. I don't want to know when the last time we go there will be.

On Saturday, Drew's parents arrive for his graduation, after that, nothing will be the same. We are giving them our room and taking an air mattress in the boys room, his brother will sleep on the couch (if we still have it). Friday night will be the last time we sleep as a family in our little apartment, like we are supposed to be.

I am excited for the new adventure that awaits us, but I am a little sad to be moving too. I haven't written too much here about what a surprise moving to Houston is. I knew we were open to moving anywhere but assumed we were moving to Minneapolis. Close to family. But, we are moving the same distance away, but in the opposite direction. And as we have gotten ready to move, I have realized how much I have liked living in New Haven. It took me awhile, but I like it, I do.

We sang "I Surrender All" for our closing hymn this morning. And I was thinking, I haven't surrendered all. I have held on to many things. My kids, my husband. I don't surrender them. I want to hold them tight and keep them with me always. I haven't surrendered this move. I want to do it myself.

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain

I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessèd Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

Refrain

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Refrain

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

So, this week, I am going to work on surrendering. All. Because I want to. Because I know life will be easier if I do.

Random and Slightly Boring

I went to the grocery store hungry this morning. I just needed a few things, here was my list:

dishwasher detergent (the main reason for going)
hamburger buns
snacks (for the boys)
sour cream

I know, it is a totally random list. But, it all made sense in my head. I came home with all those items, plus some. Like:

oreo cakesters
chocolate chip cookie dough
ice cream sandwiches
cherry coke

As I write this I am eating an oreo cakester and they were a lot better when I tasted them at Sam's a month or so ago. Bummer.

I did also get some vegetables so I can fix the most perfect bagel sandwich ever. Veggie cream cheese, tomato, cucumber, lettuce and green pepper. I usually get whole wheat but I was in a hurry and grabbed plain, not quite as good, but they will do.

Here is the list of things that I am procrastinating doing while I read blogs and write this:

pack bathroom
pack clothes
make list of things to take in car to stay at house with nothing
pack dining room closet
pack boys closet
pack boys clothes
pack desk

And now, I have made myself feel guilty so I am going to go sort out and pack the bathroom stuff. Right after I...

Add a Week!

This morning I had my last OB visit here. I can't say I am sad. When I was pregnant with Kolby, it was common to wait an hour or two to be seen and I always had Sage with me.

From the ultrasound last week, they moved my due date up a week so now I am 13 weeks! That means, that I am officially, by some books, through my first trimester!

I gained a week of pregnancy and 1.5 lbs. The heartrate was 148, if that means anything to you.

But, now I passed my goal of not wearing maternity clothes until after 12 weeks!

Yesterday

Yesterday was my birthday. 29.

Drew temporarily forgot. Sage reminded him. It sounds worse than it was. I had bought my own present about a month ago so he didn't really have any prep work. And the day before, he was taking his last final from 7 pm - 11 pm and studied all day.

And we were still laying in bed when Sage reminded him. So, to give him the benefit of doubt, I am sure he would have remembered before the day was over, probably pretty quickly after getting out of bed.

The most exciting part of the day was getting an ultrasound. I am 11 weeks along. We even got a 3D ultra sound, a perk of going to a research hospital!




We ended the day with a family dinner to Friendly's and then to the Awana Awards Ceremony where unknowingly to me, I had to hand out the Cubbies awards. I got promoted from helper to teacher in January when the teacher had to take a job and couldn't make it to Cubbies anymore. I was not sad to see Cubbies come to a close. Some nights, I thought, I should have been a preschool teacher but most nights I was thinking how much longer until their parents come?

Looking Forward

Saturday, Drew's first free Saturday, was great.

I slept in! Until 8:30!

I showered, with the door closed!

I went grocery shopping, by myself!

Drew grilled pork chops.

It was a great day.

I look forward to many more Saturdays like that. But, I wonder when they will come. Soon, we need to start packing. And then it will be unpacking and painting. We were talking about what we want to get done realistically in the two weeks that we will have before he starts work in our new house. I said, paint the boys room, our room, living, dining and kitchen. My first priority will be the boys room because I read that will help them adjust better. Then I can slowly unpack, organize and get us settled. While working on organizing the living room/ play room so it doesn't look like a play room. Because right now, our living room is over taken by toys. And it bothers us. There isn't enough toy storage so some of it just sits on the floor and it never really seems "picked up". I know, it is just a time of life.

I am concerned that I don't realize how much work the next month or two is going to be, how stressful it will be on our family to move.

Last time we moved, Sage was just 10 months old and it took me 5 days to unpack the kitchen!

How do we paint major rooms (living, dining and kitchen) in our house with children under foot? These three rooms are all kind of connected. It will be an experience!

We are so excited. Any ideas on paint colors for me? We are going to get a khaki couch. So, no khaki walls, maybe a light chocolate brown?

Plan B

I have been following Audrey Caroline, Bring the Rain since about March. It is written by Angie Smith and at the time I started reading she was pregnant with Audrey Caroline and they knew that Audrey wasn't going to survive outside of Angie's womb, the doctors told them maybe two minutes.

Sweet Audrey was born on April 7. She lived for 2 hours 27 minutes.

There is a video made about their story here. It is about 20 minutes but so worth your time.

The biggest thing that I took away from the video is that God doesn't have a Plan B for your life. You may think you are on Plan B, with whatever it is that you are going through, good, bad or ugly. But, God always knew that you were going to be right there. This might not be the path that you saw your life going or maybe there have been obstacles in your path. But, God knew they would be there. He planned for you to go through them.

Your life is God's Plan A. My life is God's Plan A.

I didn't have the childhood that I would have liked. But, it was God's Plan A. The childhood has led to relationships that look different than I would like them to look. But it is God's Plan A.

And you know what? God's Plan A, is a lot better than my Plan B.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know that plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me wen you seek me with all your heart.

On Fire

Drew usually puts Sage and Kolby to bed. The other night, he read them Clifford, The Firehouse Dog. After the story, Sage was asking a lot of questions about fire and why we want to get out of a fire. Drew explained how fires can hurt us and burn our skin.

Then it came time to pray. Drew was praying, Sage was looking around, not seeming to pay attention, then Drew said "God, I pray that we can be more on fire for you." Sage looks at him, says "No!" and bursts into tears, full sobs.

Try explaining an analogy to a three year old.

The Countdown in ON!

Not for moving.

Drew will be done with studio Thursday.

THURSDAY!!!! Glorious Thursday.

I don't know how to explain my excitement to you. This is the last Saturday that Drew will be gone all day at studio. The last Saturday ever. Next Saturday, he won't go to studio. Amazing.

He has been getting up at about 4 every morning so he can go to studio, today included.

We have been married almost 6 years and every Saturday during the school year, he has been in studio. So, I'm sure he missed some Saturdays, but I don't think this semester, maybe year, he has missed a Saturday.

It is pretty easy to feel sorry for myself on Saturdays. It is easy to feel lonely. Every other husband is home with their family, hanging out, doing chores, maybe going for a walk, but not mine. It is just another day to be home all day alone with the kids.

I'm ready for a normal Saturday.

I have big dreams. Maybe Saturday mornings we can have a big family breakfast, maybe I can do all the grocery shopping on Saturdays,maybe we can walk to a coffee shop and then a park, maybe we can sleep in, maybe we can go to the pool together, maybe... the possibilities are endless!

Most likely, we will be spending time packing before we move, unpacking and painting after. But, it will be together.

The Mall Time Warp

What happens when you walk into a mall? It feels like time stops. And then when you go to leave, time didn't stop, it sped way up!

Take today for example. I had three stops to make. 1) Gap charged me when I tried to return something a couple weeks and I didn't realize it until I got my credit card statement 2) Two year old picture of Kolby at Kiddie Kandids 3) Borders Bookstore to look for the Berenstain Bears Moving Day book.

We got there a little after 11, which was a late start because Kolby had physical therapy this morning. We left at ten minutes to two. What happened?

I was planning on getting Kolby's picture taken first thinking that we would have to wait an hour. He fell asleep right as we got off the exit for the mall and amazingly stayed asleep in the stroller for 45 minutes.

During that time, Sage and I shared pretzel bites and lemonade, looked at a really cute dress that was way overpriced at New York and Company, did the Gap return and found a pair of jeans on sale for Sage for next year. He is also going to wear them this spring because he has exactly 4 pairs of pants that fit him and one pair went MIA. Then we looked at H&M and I was so excited to find a gray linen A-line skirt for $9.90, until I tried it on. Then I was bummed. Kolby woke up! Sage had to go to the bathroom. We went and got Kolby's picture taken. We didn't have to wait for the pictures, it was really fast since he only cooperated for 6 pictures. Then Sage had to go to the bathroom again. (After a lot of prodding from me and telling him he would get a stomache ache and not want to eat lunch unless he did. And while Sage was busy on the toilet, Kolby pressed the Emergency button that calls Security!) Then we decided to eat pizza for lunch. Pizza from Target, not Sbarro. Sage insisted. Then we got the stuff we needed at Target. And then came home.

That paragraph up there apparently took 3 hours.

So I was sitting in the back of a police car...

Wait, maybe I should start at the beginning.

The boys and I were playing out in our back lot (it is a lot, not a yard, there is no grass). Sage was playing baseball, then he was playing soccer, then he was playing that he had to go inside to get his soccer buddies. Kolby was sitting in the fire truck on the porch. At one point, I saw a man walking along the street that is diagonal from our apartment, not unusual, people walk along the street all the time. He was walking by the empty lot. I noticed that he stopped at the entrance of the lot, by the column and kept glancing in our direction.

At first, I thought that he was using the entrance column as his personal urinal. Disgusted, I read a couple more paragraphs in my book. Kolby was starting to walk down the stairs, so I started to help him. Sage was inside gathering his "buddies". All of the sudden, I realized that he was not urinating. He was doing something else with that same part of his body. And I got really disgusted, especially since he kept looking at us. I swooped up Kolby and we went inside. I told Sage that we had to stay inside for a few minutes. And then the passing thought of I should call the police turned into action. Everyone should have the non-emergency police number programmed in your cell phone.

I called, reported that a man was pleasing himself on the street diagonally in the back of our back lot, left my name and number, gave a description and that was that. Civic duty done. Or so I thought.

About an hour later, Drew had come home and taken Sage to play baseball in the grass (he was very excited about playing in the grass, I know my kids are so deprived). I get a call. It is the police, an officer will be out front in a few minutes to pick me up and take me to id the man. Um, okay. I called Drew back since Kolby was home with me. I was confused. Did I just sit in the back of the car and they show me a picture? It ended up that I went for a ride in the police car. They had picked up a man matching my description in the projects, a whopping 4 blocks from my apartment. On the way, I asked, he won't see me, right? Oh, no I was assured.

So, I was sitting in the back of the police car and she parks about 50 feet in front of another police car. She tells me that they are going to get him out of the car and then she will come back to me and I will tell her yea or nay.

It was him.

And he totally saw me. He had to be able to, I mean, I could see him.

Anyway, not the point. They got the creep and apparently, this was the second complaint of this nature for him. The officer told me that he had been going on about his small, well, and how everyone knew it and he always got made fun of for it in prison and so on.

Civic duty done.

I didn't think quick on my feet trying to explain to Sage what was wrong and why I had to call the police. After I tried my best to explain, he burst into tears and I said "I'm sorry he scared you." And he said, "He didn't scare me, you did!"

The things I'll do to protect my kids.

Later, Drew said, why didn't you just tell him he was breaking the law? Right, wish I had thought of that!

After that, I wasn't so sad that we will be moving.

You Could Win A Thousand Dollars!

How? Shannon is hosting a haiku writing contest about your mom. CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS!

Here is mine.

Taking care of me
A full time job for no fee
Oh the joy and glee


As you can see, I am clearly going to win with that little bit of wit, but I think you should enter too. You have to enter before 8 pm tonight. It looks like you can enter as many as you want! I might have to go write more...

(Go Brad! Enter under Al's blog or as yourself, whatever. I know you want to.)

We're Almost Homeowners

Almost. We overnighted the papers and large check today.

It took us twice with the notary to get the documents right. The first try, they were printed two sided and before sending, we checked if that was okay. It wasn't.

So, it took us an hour and a half to go through 84 pages of paperwork, twice.

Did I mention the boys were with us?

Running around?

And the milk and eggs were in the trunk of the car for about 3 hours?

Not the most fun day.

But, by tomorrow, we should be the proud owners of our townhome.

The Setting:


The Townhome:


I'm already dreaming about paint colors and how to decorate bathrooms!

From the Mind of a 3.5 Year Old

Sage really likes to take books to bed and he really likes to use a flashlight to read them. Last night, he was looking for a flashlight, found one and then realized that it didn't work. Drew said "It has no batteries." Sage then asked if we could get yes batteries.

*******

The other night after dinner, we were talking about what Sage wants to be when he grows up. I said, maybe you can be an OB/GYN and deliver babies. And he responded enthusiastically. I kind of giggled and said maybe you should be in the delivery room with mom. And he said "And then I will say, I will go get my mail truck!" It took us a minute to realize that when we were saying deliver the baby, he was equating it with delivering mail! If only delivering babies was as easy as delivering the mail.

*******

Sage got some new sunglasses the other day, little aviator glasses. He was wearing them around the house saying "I am rock and roll!" If only he hadn't lost them the same day we got them, I would show you a picture.

Kolby's Big Bed

\
Apparently, he prefers the floor!

Also, I am entering these into a contest over at 4tunate. All you have to do is dump your camera and email her your favorite pic that you snapped! And, since they are so cute, I posted them here too.

The Flash Comeback

The year, 1989

The event, Awana Pinewood Derby Race

The winner, Flash - my car


(Flash is the red car on the far left, the red track.)


The year, 2008

The event, Awana Pinewood Derby Race

The winner, a Cubbie named Joy with a Doc Hudson car


(Sage setting up Flash for one of his four big races)

The Rundown:

Race 1- Flash crushes the competition, mom smells victory!

Race 2- Flash comes in second by a bit, mom settles down

Race 3- Flash races on the far right track and flies off! Sage reminisces later saying it was like The King crashing in Cars. I agreed except that the Flash didn't actually cross the finish line, mom feels slightly cheated thinking the lady that was supposed to help set up the cars, jipped us, mom smells conspiracy.

Race 4- Flash barely takes second, like good thing there was a machine to make the call or mom might have protested. The dad of the little girl's car who won that race actually pumped his fist in the air and shouted "Yes!" (His daughters car took third, cheater)

But man, let's remember that Flash is nineteen years old! I'm thinking in six years when he turns 25, I will register him as a classic.

Thanks mom for boxing up Flash with his original trophy.

We were pretty excited to open that box an hour before heading to the Pinewood Derby and I think it was God watching out for a certain little boy who had a blast and told everybody that he won! (all the Cubbies got a prize for participating, so in his mind, he won!)

He's A Growin

Kolby.

At his two year appointment, he is 35 inches tall, and weighs 35 lbs. That put him in the 50 - 75th percentile for height and off the charts for weight. As in, not chartable. As in, weighs more than 100 percent of other two year olds. And do you know what his pediatrician said?! "He is so trim now!" That was before he knocked her over while giving her a hug.

I noticed it was getting increasingly difficult to shove his foot into his size 6 Extra Wide shoe. Finally, today we made it to the mall with the sole purpose of getting Kolby shoes. Size 8.5 Wide. Sole purpose, get it!



Notice a difference? The gray one is the new shoe. Why yes, that is black sharpie marker on my table and no, magic eraser didn't work.

And because Stride Rite had a buy one get one half off sale, the cutest green crocs complete with a football thingy. (What do you call those?) Actually, I fully intended to buy him the crocs too, I just settled on green because of the sale.

Helping

cheese pizza, yum!

Needs No Words

Due Nov. 23

An Exciting Evening to a 3 Year Old

Ikea and a hot dog.

That's it. Sage is so excited that we are having a family date to Ikea and he gets to eat a hot dog.

We are so lame.

But I am looking forward to the hot dog.

Confessions and Random Thoughts

The Cadbury eggs did not make it into the Spring Baskets as planned.

I do not like my hair cut. I have been trying for 2 weeks now and keeping a good attitude and yesterday, I realized, I just don't like it. The main thing that I don't like is the layers. They are all long layers and they must be styled. They must be straightened and flipped under or they must be curled. And, I don't like the way it looks either way. The bangs, I am still not sure about. They look okay, but they kind of make me look like a 12 year old girl who tried to cut bangs herself. I keep chanting, it will grow, it will grow.

I think I want to cut it all one length to the shortest layer. Drew is against this.

I am attempting to fill out a preschool application that is 6 pages long and asks to describe your child as objectively as possible and to describe why I want him to attend this preschool.

When I fill out why I want him to attend, I can't help but think, I don't! I want him home with me.

Sage wants to go to preschool.

I kind of want him to go to preschool.

He's napping right now, so I want him to stay home!

How do you objectively describe your child? He's perfect, he's smart, he's eager to learn, he has a soft heart, he is learning to be a good friend and brother.

I go back and forth between wanting to home school or not.

Then I try to teach him to write letters.

And I want to send him to preschool.

I am excited to move.

These are going to be the hardest weeks of all of Drew's school career.

We have already started getting rid of stuff.

Okay, so Drew did. He listed stuff on Craigslist. And it was sold within 2 days.

Except our washer.

Anyone know of anyone who wants a little washer that hooks up to the kitchen sink?

I kind of don't want to use cloth diapers anymore.

Kolby's poo has been especially tarish lately.

Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs are so yummy.

They did make it in the basket, barely.

Special Night

Drew took Sage on a Special Night tonight. Sage's pick. McDonalds with a play place. Ronald loves to hear that.

Drew asked Sage "What can I do to be a better dad?"

Sage answers, "You can play with my cars with me. And drive me to Cubbies."

Drew, a little bit taken aback, laughs a little.

To which Sage replies, "I'm being silly aren't I?"

Isn't it amazing how much of an impact we have on our kids? All day, every day, I spend with them, and I wonder what impacts them? Do they remember that I pray before we eat? Do they notice if I don't read my Bible at the breakfast table? Do they notice if I spend more time on the computer than I do with them?

Sometimes, I think I am failing miserably. I spend too much time reading blogs, searching for new blogs to read, or browsing stores.

I used to have a rule, no internet when the kids are awake. I think I need to go back to that rule. I know I need to go back to that rule.

I don't want to realize as I am dropping them off at college that I missed their little years reading about other kids' little years.

Drew's going to start driving us to Cubbies too.

Sickies

My mom watched our boys while we were searching for a house. This is the third time this year that she has traveled, stayed in our home and unfamiliar city and taken care of our boys. This is the first time that she ventured out in the city in the car!

What can I say, she is my mom, so I trust her completely. The first time, was for our anniversary trip in May, the second was for a quick weekend trip for us to check out a job possibility and the third was the longest, almost a week, Monday morning before the kids woke up to Saturday night after the kids went to bed.

The first trip, my mom got sick the first half of the stay, so the boys watched a lot of dvds, just like they would if I were sick. The second trip, the boys got colds, so the watched a lot of dvds, but nothing serious, just the laying around variety of a cold. The third trip, Kolby got sick.

On Thursday, mom told me he was coughing a little, but it didn't seem to be a big deal. On Friday, mom called and said he was coughing, raspy and wheezy and had been up in the night. I told her to go ahead and give him a breathing treatment and he probably had an ear infection. She decided to call the pediatrician and take him. Like a good mom, I had left her google directions to the pediatricians office. And then to Target to get prescriptions, thinking that if I left them, surely, she wouldn't need them. They gave Kolby another treatment at the office, less than 3 hours after his first, sent her on her way with prescriptions for anti-biotics and more nebulizer treatments. I had discontinued his daily nebulizer because he was doing so well, apparently, I should not have done that. The instructions they gave her were for every 3 hours, around the clock. So, Friday night, like he is a newborn, Kolby wakes up every 3 hours for a breathing treatment and then from 1 am to 5 am "were not good" according to mom. She calls the ped. in the morning who wants her to bring him in to check his oxygen levels and such. So, she's tired, Kolby's sick and Sage feels slightly left out. She tells Sage that they have to take Kolby to the doctor again. He looks at Kolby and tells him that he ruined all the plans. Kolby burst into tears. Mom tells Sage that wasn't nice, he didn't mean to get sick, Sage burst into tears and I think I called about 10 minutes after that.

His levels were fine, she just needed to continue every 3 hours.

We are at every 4 hours, which means I am still getting up once a night around 3 to give him a treatment. Last night, Kolby and I were both wide awake while he took his treatment. Then, when I thought he was asleep, I heard some banging noises. I go to check on him and he is snoring away. It must have been his shoes hitting his crib bars.

Yesterday, we were driving home from the grocery store and Sage was telling me how Grandma pretended to be his mom last week because she took care of him. I asked if she did a good job, to which he replied, "Yeah, except, she goofed on the roads and she said Oh shoot, Oh shoot." He kept saying "Oh shoot. Oh shoot."

I'm still hearing little stories about Grandma!

A Not So Surprising Announcement

We bought a house! A townhome, really. It will be the first place we have ever lived that we own. How exciting. We are committing to living there 3 - 7 years. It is such a great location to downtown and almost everything that we need to do. And it is in a great school district.

Life will be changing again with such a big move, to a different city, a different part of the country, adjustments will be made to weather, townhome living, Texas living. But we are excited! The next few months will be filled with packing, cleaning out and daily life.

Tomorrow, the story of how my mom survived watching my boys!

House Hunting

Tiring

Stressful

Tiring

Stressful

Tiring

Stressful

Eating Lots of yummy Mexican food

Not so great on the digestive

I miss my boys

I feel on the verge of tears a lot during the day

And I am never sure why

Tiring

Stressful

My Baby

So, he's not so much a baby anymore. He's 2 today!

Happy Birthday Kolby!

Before and After Shots

I'm nervous

I have a haircut today.

Check back later this afternoon for before and after pics!

Babywearing Boys

Ode to the Cheeks

These Cheeks

Squishy
Kissable
Can't stop kissing
Everytime I pick you up
Your cheeks I must kiss
Not just one
Can satisfy
I must kiss
And squish my lips to your cheek

I compare your cheeks to the clouds
Soft
Bouncy
Beautiful
Big
Pink

I kiss one side
You point to the other
As if to say
"Don't leave my other cheek out"

Melt my heart

You throw a fit
I pick you up
Cannot resist the URGE
To Kiss Your Cheeks!

Strangers comment
Women resist the natural, obvious desire
To pinch
To kiss
To stroke
To squeeze
The soft, squishy skin

I eat them up
I can't get enough