Ten on Tuesday

After the long holiday weekend, I pretty much forgot that it was Tuesday today!  So, this post will be short and sweet.

1.  Grantism of the week : "this is a nut-house!"  Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff???

2.  Dessert from last week=delicious.  It was a little heavy on the nuts for me, but it was still scrumptious.

3. I love all the new features on the new and improved blogger.  Supposedly, I have 85+ people reading my blog!  That is so strange to me since most often I only have comments from the same 2-3 people.  Who are all of you mystery readers?

4. We had a fabulous holiday weekend.  We didn't get anything done on our house, but it was SO nice just to relax for once and spend some quality time together as a family.

Friday we went out to our favorite restaurant for fish tacos and a bloody mary on the deck.


5.  On Saturday, Jason shoveled sand and I unpacked some boxes at the house.  The kitchen is mostly put away at this point.  We also took out the pool for the boys, enjoyed a happy hour under the pergola and then watched The Descendants -love that movie! 

6.  Sunday we went to church, had family pictures and then had everyone over for a slip and slide in the front yard.  It was so much fun to watch the kids have an absolute blast on that thing.  Even Ashton got a turn!

7.  On Monday we went to see great grandpa march in the parade and then went to his house and rode his tractors. 

Grant LOVED the tractor.  He rode with daddy, grandpa and great grandpa.  I even took my first tractor ride! 

We finally told Grant it was time for the tractors to take a nap.  He got to ride home with grandpa in the convertible and this was the result....

 

 8.  Can you tell that we are definitely going to miss living out in the country?  It is going to be really hard to go back to a city lot in a week!

9.  Ashton is crawling everywhere!  I actually caught his first moves on camera.  He loves being mobile.  I however, would prefer if he would go back to sitting in one spot!  

10.  Blessing of the week:  being able to slow down for a few days and enjoy quality time with my boys. 

1.  We are still living with the in laws.  The floor was put in the kitchen and bath last week and the carpet goes in the living room, up the stairs and in the closets this week.  Now we need to build some closets, put in toilets, purchase and install bathroom vanities and find some ancient gold fleck tile to match the current ones that are missing.  Hopefully it will only be a week or so until we can finally settle in our "new" place.

2.  We spent a wonderful weekend laying around the pool at my parents house this past weekend.  It was really hot, but nice to be outside.

3.  My work is in love with pot lucks.  In love.  As in, they will bring in food every day if we would all cooperate!  One of my fellow employees assigned us special food days to celebrate.  I was assigned Chocolate Caramel Day, but it fell when we were super busy packing and moving so I was able to post pone until today.  Yum... can't wait to take a bite out of this.

Source: kraftrecipes.com via Jessica on Pinterest

4.  I finally watched The Help this weekend.  I realize I am a little behind the times, but I get all my movies from the library and there were like 563 holds on it!

5.  Everything in Grant's world needs to be BIG lately.  He needs BIG blueberries, BIG bubbles in his bath, BIG glass of milk, etc...  Must be a boy thing.  It is kinda funny, however I did not appreciate it when he looked at me and said,"you are big mommy..."

6.  My project once we are in the house is to find the perfect place for this sign and then create it.  Can you tell that I am already procrastinating unpacking????

Source: Uploaded by user via Krista on Pinterest

7.  Ashton went in the pool for the fist time this weekend.  It was so cute to watch him splash his hands around in there.  I am pretty sure he would have stayed in there for hours if I let him.
 
8. I am so antsy to start my garden.  I am hoping to grow tomatoes, peas, broccoli, beans, peppers, zucchini, mint (shh...don't tell Jason!), basil, lemon verbena, parsley, and whatever fun herbs I find at the farmers market.

9.  This is the project that has been keeping my hubby extremely busy these days.  I am very proud of all that he has accomplished (this is just one of the three sections...) in just a few months!

Before:

 After:

10. Blessing of the week:  air conditioning.  Silly thing I know, but I always like to praise God for the things I tend to take for granted.  The last place I would want to be when it is 95 is attempting to sleep in an upstairs bedroom with just a fan to cool me off!

7 Months

Ashton Nowell- you are now 7 months old.  In my opinion, you are growing up way too fast!  You went from rolling to sitting and now you are almost crawling....  I want time to stand still so you can be my little love forever!  This is what you have been up to lately...

* you are trying so hard to crawl, but just haven't figured it out yet.  You get on your knees and weeble back and forth and you go either backwards or just straighten your legs and almost stand up.  I am really not ready for you to be a crawler...

*you are wearing size 6, 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers.  Not sure of your weight and height right now.

*you love to put everything in your mouth.  Your favorite is paper.  Once you get your eye on some paper, you do whatever it takes to get over to it and you stuff it in your mouth as fast as you can.  It is so funny to watch!

 *once again, it has been a tough month for you health wise.  You had another ear infection and just seem kind of out of sorts lately.  We keep thinking that you are getting a tooth, but so far nothing has popped through.  Your ear recheck is on Friday so we shall if you are headed for tubes or not.


*you are starting to get hair finally!  I love this little sprout that is on the top of your head.

*you are not sleeping so well these days.  Not sure if it is because you don't feel well or if it is because so many changes have taken place in our lives these days.  You have been waking up at least once a night.  Once you get a bottle, you usually go back to sleep though.  You still don't go down until about 9.  I tried to get you down earlier, but you just woke up earlier.

*you eat about 5 T of cereal, a jar of fruit and a jar of veggies a day.  I try to give you more and you let me know you don't want it by spitting it all out at me!  You get such a kick out of yourself when you do it, but it makes quite the mess!

*you are holding your own bottle these days.  It comes in handy while we are in the car or when I am busy cooking dinner or something, but I am not liking the independence you are showing. I want you to be my little baby forever!

*you love to hang out with your daddy, but I definitely think you are a momma's boy as you have started to cry when I leave the room.  It is interesting how different you are from Grant (besides the fact that you look nothing alike!).  He had no anxiety at all, and you seem to have quite a bit.  Guess you really are my little clone!

It is so fun to watch you grow and discover the world around you. Even though I am not ready for you to be scooting around yet, I am excited to watch you discover all the fun that surrounds you.  I love you so much ~ mommy

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Things heard by Grant over the last week:
"Look mom, it looks like a hot dog."  In reference to his poop in the potty.
"Let's eat dinner on the pork chop mom."  You mean porch Grant?  "Porch.  Yes, yes"
One morning I told Grant that I was going to jump in the shower really quick.  His response.... "don't jump in the shower mom, you might get hurt."  LOL!

2.  Beautiful roses from my parents for mothers day.... one for each of my babies.

3.  Will I ever stop feeling so overwhelmed?  I feel like ever since Ashton was born I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off and it doesn't seem to be getting any better with time.

4.  Does anyone else have mornings like this?  Up at 7:15 with Ashton. Went to change his diaper.  He had pooped all the way up his back. Throw him in the tub.  Throw his clothes in the sink.  Look for the shout.  Shoot- it didn't make it here in the move.  Rinse the clothes out and unfortunately, forget about them and leave them there!  Grant gets up crying- that means it is going to be a tough morning.  Grant goes downstairs and asks grandma for some yogurt.  He starts crying. I go downstairs to figure out the problem. He says he needs to go back to bed.  I lay him on the couch- he falls asleep.  I put Ashton in the jumperoo so I can get in the shower.  Jason has taken all of the towels and left them in the bedroom.  Thankfully the in laws are gone so I make a dash for the bedroom with a hand towel!  Ashton is crying.  Grant has woken up and wants strawberries in his yogurt- aha that was the source of the tears.  Give him strawberries.  More tears.  He doesn't like the spoon I gave him.  Give him another spoon.  In the process, yogurt falls on his shirt.  More tears.  Ashton is still crying. Make bottle. Lay him on floor with bottle.  Run upstairs and do my make up and hair in 5 minutes.  Grant is crying again because he wants more strawberries.  (This kid obviously is not a morning person!)  Go back downstairs for more strawberries.  Grab bottles out of the fridge, grab diaper bag and throw those in the car.  Put Ashton in his seat and take him out to the car.  Grab the spoon from Grant and gently shove the remaining yogurt into his mouth because I should have left by now.  Put his tennis shoes on as he screams he wants to wear his rain boots.  Ignore him.  Get in the car.  Run to close the garage door because I don't have an opener.  Realize I forgot my purse  Back into the house.  Up the stairs.  Back in the car.  Both boys are crying and I have no energy to figure out why so I turn up the radio.  Put the car in reverse.  Realize I left my cell phone plugged into the charger upstairs.  Decide it is not worth it.  Drive away to day care 10 minutes late and realize for the third day in row I never even looked in the mirror to make sure my outfit looked ok or my hair wasn't sticking straight up.   I say a prayer in hopes that one day I will get my act together!

5. It took 1 1/2 years of offering them, but this week Grant finally asked for more carrots.  I guess my persistence was worth it!

6.  Ashton is going to be just as naughty as Grant.  The other day he was pulling my hair and laughing so hard.  It was cute, but man that kid has a strong grip.  Just wish he knew how to sift through and only pull out the gray hairs!

7.  Are kids just born with the natural instinct to pick their nose and eat it?  I find it hard to believe that any family member actually taught Grant how to do that....

8.  We  handed over the keys to our house on Friday afternoon.  I shed quite a few tears as I stood in the nursery as that room held so many memories.  Once everything was signed, I just felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulder.  Now we just need to get our rental house completed and then we will finally have this crazy time in our life past us. 

9. Last week I was able to get downtown with the boys and snap a few more pictures in their dutch costumes.  Thankfully, these turned out a lot better than the first attempt.

10.  Blessing of the week:  The best mothers day gift was a woman at church coming up to me with tears in her eyes saying,"I remember and am thinking of you today."

 

Thankful to have my boys in my arms this Mother's Day but will never forget the two little girls that actually made me a mother.  Thinking of all the mothers out there that are unable to hold their babies in their arms.  May you be filled with peace and strength today.

Cherry St

The first time I met you was in the fall of 2001.  I was working at the salon and had run to the bank inside the grocery store to get some change.  It was there that I ran into Jason.  I knew him through friends but hadn't seen him in a while.  He told me that he had just bought a house and was having a party that weekend and invited me over to celebrate.  I give you credit for bringing us together!

The first time you were mine was the night of January 31. 2004.  We walked into a huge mess of boxes and furniture since all my stuff had been moved from my apartment that day.  The day that we became J and K.

The last time I stepped out your door was May 11, 2012.

Every night as I say my prayers, I thank God for shelter over our heads.  When I think about it, the word shelter doesn't really do you justice.  You were much more than just a roof over our heads.  You were the place we laid our heads after a busy day, the place we shared our fears, struggles, happiness and joy.  You were the place we fought hard to become a family and the place we finally brought our boys home to.

Not all of the times spent with you were happy.  I yelled and screamed at you for flooding in 2008.  I know that it wasn't your fault, but I admit that I blamed a lot of our problems that year on you!  You were the place that my water broke.  Your were the dark, cold, quiet house we walked into the night of July 21, 2008 after we said goodbye to our baby girls.   

You were also the house we brought Grant and Ashton home to.  The place we watched Grant go from being a tiny baby to a big boy.  You kept me warm in the middle of the night as I rocked my babies back to sleep.  You watched as Grant took his first step and as Ashton rolled over for the first time.  You have been there for everything and those memories will live on in our pictures, our minds and our hearts.  Cherry St, you were so much more than just a roof over our heads, you were our home. 

"Home is a place where a person lives, spends much of her time, or feels generally comfortable with. While a house is often referred to as a home, and is home to many people, the concept of "home" is broader than a physical dwelling. Home is often a place of refuge and safety, where worldly cares fade, with things and people you love becoming the focus. Home is central to one's life, primarily emotional, and partially physical. It is an environment offering affection and security."

Marguerite Duras

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Friday we moved boxes.  Saturday we moved furniture.  Sunday we moved everything that hadn't made its way to a box and all the random things we found hidden in the house.  I am still kind of numb from it all.  We are settled in with the in-laws for now with hopes of getting into our rental house in a couple of weeks.

2.  I took Grant over to say goodbye to his friend Blake before I brought him to grandma's house on Saturday.  They gave each other a big hug and said bye and I totally started balling.  The only other time I shed a tear was when my mom took a family pic of us in front of the house.

3.  Oh wait... I take that back.  Yesterday Grant looked at me and said that he wanted to go home.  I cried then too!  It just breaks my heart that he is confused and just wants his room back.  I realize he is two and won't even remember any of this, but it isn't stopping me from being sad about all of it.

4.  Enough moving stuff.... Ashton is trying to crawl!  He pushes himself up and weebles back and forth.  He hasn't figured out how to go forward, but it is only a matter of time.  I don't think I am ready for this stage yet!

5. 2 days of living upstairs at my in-laws and I am already thankful that our house plans are for a ranch style home.  I have gone up and down the stairs so much that my legs hurt!  You would think after the first hundred trips I would have learned to bring everything down with me at once.... slow learner I guess.

6.  Have I mentioned that Grant talks in a southern accent?  It is becoming more apparent with every new word he says.  We are not sure where this comes from, but it cracks us up.  Our favorite words are house (hey-owse) and again (a-gay-an).   I grew up in Georgia so I figure he must be channeling my southern roots somehow!

7. It is Tulip Time again in our little town.  Unfortunately, with all of the warm weather earlier this spring, it is more of a stem fest than anything else.  I took the boys down to Windmill Island a couple weeks ago to catch the tulips at their peak and to get the pics done before everything got crazy in our life!  I was not pleased with any of my pictures.  Grant is making a funny face in most of them and Ashton was just sitting up so he is falling in the other ones.  This was the best of the bunch....sad I know, but it will have to do for this year.  At least the tulips look good!

8.  We took Ashton in for his ear re-check a few days early because he had a lot of screaming fits this weekend and just seemed out of sorts.  Wouldn't ya know that his infection was still there.  Poor boy had to get 2 shots since he has already been through 3 different antibiotics in the last 2 months and the infection is still there.  We are hoping that it clears up with this new round of meds.  Next step will most likely be tubes for my little love.

9. I went to a Moms Night Out last week with the moms group that I am a member of.  We got to eat yummy apps and desserts and get pampered with 5 minute massages, mini manis and make up lessons.  I felt so relaxed when I got home.  I wish I could have a night like that every week....  hint hint J.

10.  Blessing of the week:  all of the people that showed up to help us move, all the wives that gave up their husbands for an afternoon so they could help, and grandma for watching the boys.  Our move wouldn't have been so smooth without all of their help!  We are so appreciative.

It was prescribed on 2/7/08.  It expired on 2/5/2009.  What is it?  It is the medicine we used to get pregnant with the girls.  Where is it?  Still laying in the same spot we left it 4 years ago.  At first it was left in there in case it didn't work and we needed to do another round of injections. Then, we found out we were having twins and it just got overlooked and covered up. Then suddenly, it became another reminder that our girls existed.  That they were here.  That they were ours.  As I am cleaning out our fridge, I am having a hard time getting rid of this silly little package from the bottom drawer.  It may be just an expired medication to everyone else, but it represents the beginning and end of so many dreams that it is difficult for me to just throw it away...

Ten on Tuesday

1.  As I was driving the boys down to Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house this past weekend, I saw this sign and thought it was cute.....   God Answers Knee Mail

2.  Grant's memory amazes me.  He actually is memorizing his books and "reading" them to us now and he actually gets almost all of the words right.  I tried getting him to read one on camera but he wouldn't cooperate.  His favorites are Brown Bear his Daddy book.

3. There is nothing like moving to bring your control issues front and center. 

4.  Conversations overheard this past weekend as we packed...

J to K: "did I just watch you use two different size markers to write on top of that box?"
K to J:  "yes, I like to use the thick marker for the destination of the box and FRAGILE if needed and a small marker to list the contents of the box. Do you have a problem with my fonts?"
J: rolls his eyes..... "you have some really strange quirks."


K to J: "did you just pack a box with computer keyboards, easter baskets and gun cleaning supplies?"
J to K:  "yes, do you have a problem with that?"
K to J: "of course not."  (box was repacked about half an hour later...)

5.  I am pretty sure I re-enacted an episode of Friends as I packed up my fine china and moved it.  You should have seen the size marker I used to write FRAGILE on that box!!!

6.  Ashton's hair is finally growing!

This is obviously a wig, but his hair really is starting to come in finally and it appears to be as blond as blond can be!

7. I have to go to a baby shower on July 21.  That is the 4th anniversary of Alexcyn's death.  I have hives already thinking about how I am supposed to celebrate two babies being born on a day that I am filled with such sadness.  I am so excited for these ladies and want to be able to celebrate with them, but that day is just.so.difficult for me.

8. Nothing is quite as amusing as sitting in a bathroom for half an hour with a 3 year old trying to convince a stubborn  2 1/2 year old that he needs to poop on the potty!

9.  I am starting to get very sad about moving......   I am trying to focus on our final goal of building our dream house on this amazing property, but I fully expect a complete emotional breakdown to hit me any day now.

10.  Blessing of the week:  My parents watching the boys for 2 nights so we could pack up our house without interruption.  It was our first time away from Ashton.  I missed them like crazy, but I do admit that it was nice to be able to get so many things done.