Tidbits of Our Days

Look @ that hair!

2010-06-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

Yeah I seriously don't remember, but thought the pic was too cute not to share!

Sleeping Beauties

2010-06-06T07:46:00.000-05:00

Bad Blogger Bad!!

2009-12-21T08:28:00.003-05:00

Ok so that last post saying I was gonna try and keep updating.... Yeah I haven't blogged at all this summer or fall for that matter!! Now we're into winter and I really need to keep up with this! Uhhgggggg... Someone yell at me when I haven't blogged in a bit will you???

We're snowed in so hopefully I can get caught up today... Or at least put a dent into catching up!

Gee, I Have Issues!

2009-06-26T12:15:00.003-05:00

It's been over a month since I've updated. Things have been crazy since my last post. Jaycob's end of the school year stuff was going on, planning visitations for the Older Two, planning trips to PA, MI, and AL. Also a mini-trip to NY!! Making appointments for both the kids for school physicals for the upcoming school year, making appointments for Aby with Infants and Toddlers... The list just goes on!
But now I'm here and hopefully will sketch out a particular time in my summer routine to blog consistently! Though there's no promises! So as usual, I'll be back dating and you'll have to go click on older posts to catch up!

Visiting G-G-pa's Firehouse

2009-06-18T22:02:00.000-05:00

G-G-pa took the kids to see the firehouse and the fire trucks today. Jaycob was like on information overload! He was so happy to be there but I think the size of the trucks intimidated him! He was so quiet the whole time we were there, but soon as we got back to the house he had so much to tell G-G-ma!

A Day During Alamaba Vacay

2009-06-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

A little bit of TV in the morning. (I'll add that this is a Dora special the kids loved. Oh and not to mention that just look at them. How sweet is this??)

A little 'swimming'. Look at Abygail, she was so proud of herself for reaching the rope at the 'deep end'!

And a little bit of engineering!

Back to the Concrete!

2009-06-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

Ok so in this pic I don't remember where we were going (remember I'm back-dating here!) but I thought it was a cute picture.

And then take a look at this... They're both away from the edge of the pool 'swimming'!

Sand Instead of Concrete

2009-06-15T22:56:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the beach instead of the pool. G-G-ma and G-G-pa tried to take us to a section of beach that was super calm and super shallow, but the road was closed to that section. Driving down to the beach looked just like driving in the Outer Banks, NC. Anyway... We decided to stay anyway. The kids actually got their feet wet and wanted to weighed in a bit further, but the waves were pretty strong and I wasn't comfortable with that. I know mean mommy! But here's a few pictures!

I guess this is all damage from Hurricane Ivan! Look at all those trees!!

ETA: We did end up at the pool later in the evening, just no pics!

3 Feet and Counting

2009-06-14T22:44:00.000-05:00

Just went to the pool again today! The kids got really brave today! Check out these pictures!! Mind you this is all 3 foot water. Jaycob actually walked off the steps and into the depths first. He started only hanging on the wall with both hands with a death grip! Then he branched out and as you can see he is barely holding on with one hand! And Abygail soon followed suit!

Better in the Pool!

2009-06-13T22:50:00.000-05:00

This morning we went to a little thing the local firehouse put on that started with a home made boat race and then back to the firehouse for vendor booths and such. The kids each got a face painting.

Afterwards we went to the pool and the kids got a bit braver. Both would ride my back. Jaycob only as long as I was close to the edge. Abygail didn't care where and even let me turn her around and lay back a bit!

We're Here in Alabama

2009-06-12T22:39:00.000-05:00

Well, we're here safe and sound. The rest of our trip in was pretty uneventful. The kids started saying they were done in the truck when we only had about 90 minutes to go. Not too bad I thought!

Today we headed to the pool. I was kinda worried because last summer the kids would barely walk in a foot and a half of water. But actually they did really well. They kinda stuck to the steps, but they did really well!

To Grandmother's House We Go!

2009-06-10T22:05:00.002-05:00

G-G-ma and G-G-pa came in from Michigan during Jaycob's promotion yesterday, part of the reason he decided NOT to ride the bus home. They came in to visit because we then got up this morning to all drive to Alabama!! Yep, we're road tripping all the way to Alabama, without Daddy to top it off!

One of the stops we made for potty and maps was at a welcome center that was also a train station. We thought it would be cool if Jaycob actually got to walk across real railroad tracks. He was so excited about it all. But while talking to the guy there we discovered that a train was actually due to stop in about 15 minutes! So we decided to wait. It ended up being longer then that, but it was well worth it! A train came through all right, but it wasn't the train that was stopping it was just a cargo train with all the boxcars. He was so thrilled about that! Then the train that was supposed to come through came in and he actually recognized the CSX engine from one of the DVD's he has. It stopped and we watched people get on and it took off again. I think he was surprised at how big and loud the train actually was! While we were sitting there listening to him be excited we heard the sound of another train whistle in the distance so we sat a little longer. Sure enough another passenger train came roaring through! It was then time to get them back across the track and loaded into the truck.

The kids have done really well so far. We've stopped for the night at a Quality Inn appx half way to their home in Alabama. We stopped and ate lunch, had dinner here at the hotel, and now the kids are trying to fall asleep despite all their excitement!! I hope tomorrow goes as smoothly as today did!

Jaycob's Graduation/Promotion

2009-06-09T22:20:00.000-05:00

This afternoon was Jaycob's promotion ceremony. While parents and other family members were finding seats they had a slide show of the kids of pictures that were taken in the classroom. There was a really cute one of Jaycob playing in his all famous rice and beans and another one of him writing on the dry erase board! Awwww My Little Boy is Growing Up! Actually, I think I was one of the few parents not crying. Sorry, its nice they recognize the kids moving on, but they'll have one of these type of promotions for the next 2 years!

Anyways... Next they filed all the kids in and talked about how the kids have progressed throughout the year. Then they called each one up and give them their promotion certificate.

After all the kids from both classes got their award they asked us all to stand up and sing the Tooty-Ta song, the one I had here on my blog for awhile! It was so great seeing all the parents do it, cracked me up!

All the parents and family were then invited back to the classroom for refreshments. Then we were all sent home with our sugar high children! Originally Jaycob said he wanted to ride the bus one last time, but he changed his mind at the last minute.

Jaycob's Trucks

2009-06-07T22:14:00.001-05:00

The first one is a log truck! And the second is a milk truck!

Love My Seaglass!

2009-06-03T21:15:00.001-05:00

We went to two different beaches today and look at all the loot I found!!

Rainbow

2009-06-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

This was after a huge storm we had. The kids stayed up a little later because of the thunder and lightening. We finally put them to bed and Daddy left only to call back and tell me that there was a huge rainbow out there. I ran upstairs to show the kids and not meaning to I woke them both up!! But they got to see it and loved it!

Bird Nest 2009

2009-05-31T22:32:00.003-05:00

We have another pair of birds nesting on our porch light, just like last year. Just on a different porch light! I won't get as many pictures this year because the porch light on this house is much higher then the old house!

I'll continue to update this post just like I did last year!

Slowly but Surely

2009-05-31T22:26:00.000-05:00

Slowly but surely that is how the house is coming along. Figuring out where everything goes, what colors walls should be, and what new things we need to acquire.... Its been a trip that's for sure! I'll share more pictures of the house when we have it close to complete... But for now you'll have to be happy with a picture of Jaycob helping take down tape!

PA Trip

2009-05-25T22:06:00.003-05:00

We took a mini vacation to G-ma and Pop-Pop's in PA for the holiday. The kids were so excited to go... So excited that they wouldn't stop asking us if we were there yet!! Wow was that annoying! But we got there safe and sound and the kids even got to ride their bikes on Pop-Pop's road!

We actually realized during this ride that Jaycob does in deed need a bigger bike. So off to Wal-mart we went! Though we bought it in PA he never did really get to ride it so I have no pictures. But he loves his new big red bike!

We also got a chance to go visit Great Grandma for her birthday where the kids chased bubbles with Cousin L!

Aby's Nose

2009-05-15T06:31:00.002-05:00

I've gotten a few questions about what Abygail did. So the short of it is: She was running down a LONG concrete handicap ramp, fell, & her face caught her. She didn't have a scratch on her hands or knees. We were surprised that all scabs came off by the following Tuesday! Her nose is still quite pink where it was and I think its still a bit tender, but I think she'll be fine.

Funny note: Through it all she kept calling the scabs scales!! Even this morning she asked about her scales and it took me a minute to figure out what she was talking about!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

2009-05-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

Yep, we went to the zoo! We drove up to the Metro in a line with a couple other moms from our area only to meet up at the zoo with about 10+ more moms from other areas! We got to actually ride the Metro which I think was the kids favorite part, though it made me realize how much of a country girl I really am. All the mess of the Metro, I was completely lost! Thankfully, we had someone with us that does it often! Ok now to the pictures because I know thats all you really care about!

Riding the Metro with Breanna (her and Jaycob skipped school to make this trip!)

Awaiting everyone to gather and kids to use potties before we head off to see some animals!!

Some Flamingos for Pop-Pop! And the tiger!

Lion and kids with a tiger!

If you look really close the mama in the second picture is holding a tiny baby!

I loved this picture of a handful of the kids we went with!

Aby's Nose Dive

2009-05-05T21:46:00.000-05:00

Aby Today

2009-04-27T20:51:00.002-05:00

Funny thoughts from Aby today:
After taking her first recent try of a pretzel pizza Combo, "Momma, I like this! The sauce taste good!"
After seeing a mosquito she went to Daddy, "I want you to dead it with a paper towel."

Kid's Rooms

2009-04-26T20:23:00.001-05:00

The kids rooms almost finished!

Nights

2009-04-23T14:25:00.003-05:00

Well we've now had two nights here at the new house! The kids have done great. I thought for sure the first night would be bad. New place, new sounds, stressed, & new bed for Aby it all just spells bad night!! But nope, first night they both slept through the night. I chalked it up to being so worn out. Last night they were in bed early and still stayed in bed through the night!
Abygail got up at 6:30a and I told her it wasn't 7 yet and she needed to go back to bed. Off she went, back to bed until I got her when I got up a bit after 7a!! I really do hope this keeps up, Mommy needs some sleep!

AAHHHHHHGGGGG!!

2009-04-20T08:50:00.000-05:00

Ok so stressed... Being Monday I thought I had a day to finish getting this house ready to be packed up, since they're doing that on Tuesday. 8:25a come around and I'm just starting my day of cleaning and tossing when Oreo starts barking like crazy. I come up the stairs to the packers knocking on my door! :-0 Wow. So much for that day of cleaning and tossing! I ended up spending the day watching over the ladies pack our stuff. So not what I planned!!

Author

2009-04-17T12:16:00.005-05:00

Abygail already wants to write and tell stories like Older Sister. Here's the one she came out with today!

One little horse stepped in the boat. The princess and prince and the baby. The horse takes them to the boat. They sleep on the boat. They wake up after they get off the boat. The princess is already dressed in a pretty blue dress and they go down stairs in the castle. They eat breakfast. They eat cereal and eat it all up. They go outside and play, but the baby doesn't go outside. It stays in the house all by itself. They take a rest because its all sunny outside. It takes a long time. They make lunch and go outside and play.

I'm sure it would have been more complete if something wouldn't have popped onto the TV, but hey!

Our Puppy

2009-04-15T07:26:00.006-05:00

Our poor puppy Oreo! We've had issues with his skin lately so a greatly feared visit to the vet was in order. Daddy took him and walked out 1.5 hours, $400, and 3 medicines later... I guess they told him that they weren't sure what is was, but could tell us it wasn't that serious. They were thinking a yeast infection of some sort. So we had to give him a steroid and an anti fungal of sorts twice a day. These medicines made some sort of improvement for a couple days, but then his skin went right back to being dry, flaky, and itchy! The vet called to see how he was doing and I told them not well. So we made another appointment!

I took him last week and they took some skin scrapings and a vial of blood. From the scrapings they could tell me that it wasn't a primary yeast infection, that it was probably more just his glands secreting too much oil. They sent the blood off for all kinds of testing.

Yesterday, I get a call back from the vet with his blood test results. Not good, but definitely not the worst news we could have gotten! We found our poor Oreo has hypothyroidism. From what the vet told me a normal thyroid function level is anywhere from 2 to 4. Oreo's level was at 0.2!!! Yeah practically not functioning at all! So they gave us some meds to help out with his levels, this will be something he'll have to be on for the rest of his life. But like I said it's better then a lot of things he could have been diagnosed with and really it's only $15 for a month supply of meds. Not bad really, especially if its gonna bring our playful puppy back.

In the last year we've really noticed some changes in Oreo. Nothing bad, but we just chalked it up to him getting older! But after we looked up the signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism in dogs... Yep, Oreo has the majority of them. Here's the list:
~Lethargic behavior such as a lack of interest in play, frequent napping, tiring out on long walks (we chalked up to age)
~Weight gain, sometimes without an apparent gain in appetite (we chalked up to age)
~Bacterial infections of the skin (we were trying to get treated)
~Dry skin (yep, goes with the one above)
~Hair loss, especially on the trunk or tail (“rat’s tail”) (goes with the infection from above)
~Discoloration or thickening of the skin where hair loss has occurred
~Cold intolerance/seeking out warm places to lie down (we didn't think anything of this until we seen this... But yes this describes Oreo to a TEE)
~Slow heart rate (we wouldn't know)
~Chronic ear infections (chalked up to him being a cocker)
~Severe behavioral changes such as unprovoked aggression, head tilt, seizures, anxiety and/or compulsivity (he can have a lot of anxiety at times)
~Depression (well... he's been lazier, but again age...)

We're hoping to see some kind of improvement in about a week. Mostly just with his skin, but we're hoping his behavior too!

Easter

2009-04-12T19:38:00.002-05:00

Easter morning was kinda leisurely. All the kids sifted through their baskets. Compared what was the same and what was different. I'll tell you, it getting harder and harder for the Easter bunny to shop for Older Brother! Any suggestions? Anyway, I think we did alright this year. The younger two loved those big balloons you blow up with a rubber band on the end, and it kept Older Brother pretty entertained for quite a while too!! LOL Older Sister's favorite I think was the Twilight candy hearts I picked up. Heck, who doesn't love sparkly candy that says "Bite Me" or "Dazzle Me" on it!?! No, literally the candy had glitter or something in it, it was crazy!

Kids loved dying eggs this year. Last year was great but trading 4 cups of color between 4 kids was kind patient trying for a 2 and 3 year old. This year we had 8 cups going around and it went much smoother! Don't even ask me what Jaycob is doing in this first picture!

We joked about going to Chuck E Cheese like last year. Wasn't a bad idea actually, but we decided going somewhere new. We loved this new place for having kids of such varying ages. It had the moon bounces, video games, and go-carts! That was the best! The go carts all of us enjoyed. I think we just really love doing these family activities on Easter because we have Older Brother and Older sister and we know Daddy has the day off! It works for us! And this year we were the only people at this place the whole time!

Watercolor Eggs

2009-04-10T19:27:00.001-05:00

Both of them painting here. I don't know why there isn't a picture of all their finished eggs, I'm usually so good about that! Bad mommy!

Painting Eggs

2009-04-09T19:17:00.005-05:00

This is one of my favorite projects of the year. I love to see how children decorate their eggs, what's their view of pretty eggs??

Both of them concentrating so hard!

Easter "Up & Down"s

2009-04-09T19:07:00.004-05:00

The kids call them "Up & Down's" because that's what I tell them the whole time, "Just up and down!"

Story of a House! (Paint)

2009-04-04T22:40:00.004-05:00

Well, here's the kids rooms about finished. Jaycob's is called Sailors Blue and Aby's... Yeah I don't know, but it is purple and she loves it!!

Nasty!

2009-04-03T12:25:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting here on the couch with Abygail when I look over and she has her toe up her nose.... Eeewwwww.... I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm just picking my yucky boogies with my stinky toes!"
*shiver*

False Alarm

2009-04-01T06:56:00.004-05:00

You know that feeling when you wake up and realize your alarm didn't go off?? That was us this morning. Daddy woke up and realized it was right about the time he should have been leaving for work(7:30)!

And of all mornings, this is the morning where I had to be out of the house by 8. YEAH..... Mad dash. Daddy in the shower, me flying through the house picking out clothes for the kids and myself. Getting them up and understanding that we have to move NOW!!! They actually did pretty well. I get them dressing and I come down to put some cereal in baggies for breakfast on the go. I set the baggies on the stove and look up and realize the clock says its only 7:00.... Huh? Turn around, look at the microwave clock, only 7:00.... Double huh??

Whew... Its only 7:00! I go up and tell Daddy who's running around trying to get his stuff together! A big sigh of relief all around. We look at the clock in our room and sure enough it says its 30 minutes later then it is. We don't know how it got that way, but it did and it got us movin' this morning!!

Happy Hump Day!!

Story of a House (Walls)

2009-03-28T09:04:00.008-05:00

Walls you ask... Yeah I know I've taken about a bazillion pictures of plenty of walls!! Lets start from the beginning! Yesterday was our walk through where we tell the guys what needs fixed before we can move in. It was mostly little stuff... Paint on the light switch, red marks on the walls, nails popping through, fingerprints around a mirror, lack of paint in certain places, a really uneven closet shelf, ect. All simple enough stuff to fix.

Here's were the 'walls' title comes in... We're walking through the kitchen/sun room area and our fridge is sitting in the middle of the room. We ask when they'll get it in. The guy pipes up, "Ohhhh, well we have a problem. The fridge doesn't fit there, so we have to move the wall". What?? Move the wall?? All as he's pointing at my one and only place to store dry goods!! I'm thinking oh no you don't!!!

You see that tiny little closet door? That's my pantry. The fridge is supposed to sit right next to it. The fridge now doesn't fit (because I guess they don't expect people to buy the upgraded appliance package?). So now they're simply shaving 2 inches of the wall on the outside of my pantry. The guy assured me that my closet space wouldn't be compromised, I'm not so convinced!!

We go back on Tuesday to do our final walk through, sign some papers, and get keys!! Yay! I'm so excited. Lets keep our fingers crossed it all goes smooth enough!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2009-03-27T09:20:00.002-05:00

Valentine's Day at the end of March??

I don't know but Abygail is insisting its Valentine's Day today!! She want to do heart crafts and she told me it, "Happy Valentine's Day Mommy, I love you!". How can you refuse that??

Word of the Day

2009-03-26T07:33:00.003-05:00

Word of the day is: Geico!! Yeah you read that right. Don't ask me. The kids are now at a point that if they even walk through the room and just hear a commercial they'll stop and ask questions about it or you'll hear parts of it repeated at random times during the day!!

They were just sitting here playing with cars and they started shouting Geico, Geico, Geico!! Crazy. The funny thing is the TV hasn't even been on this morning! It's crazy to think how big they're getting. I mean you know they had to have heard that recently... But when? And how long have they been saving it up?

Oh and while we're on the subject of a 3 and 4 year old's brain... What is with the booty fascination?? Jaycob picked it up at school, gets that its not right to talk about at school or on the bus, will gladly tell us such... But when I hear them playing alone everything is booty this and booty that.... Then you'll hear a big, "Booty! Ewwwwww!". (Thankfully it's not a fascination with the actual part right now, just the word!)

Just weird!

Story of a House (Almost done)

2009-03-25T20:28:00.002-05:00

Well, Daddy went by the house today and said they had a cleaning crew in cleaning the house up. Friday we do a walk through to let them know what we think needs fixed before we move in. We have a small list already going, just minor stuff, nothing major! He did say that we don't have a fridge yet though. I'm thinking its on back order. I'm wondering if it will be in by the time we move in!!!

Sorry there's no pictures, there's really not anything to take pictures of any more except the fridge. That is until we start moving stuff in!!! I'm starting to get excited. Jaycob is super excited and keeps asking me when this or that will go over. Abygail hates visiting over there! LOL

Jaycob's bedding came in today and he loves! But now we can pick the paint for his room and double check Abygail's color that way we can start on that soon as we get keys!!

Story of a House! (Carpet, Appliances, & More)

2009-03-19T20:17:00.003-05:00

These are pictures from the 16th and 19th!

Living room carpet (from the foyer and sunroom, respectively)

Dishwasher & counters. And stove and microwave!

Mirrors in the master bath and 1/2 bath!

Kitchen counter top and playroom carpet!

Story of a House! (Cabinets & Deck)

2009-03-14T19:30:00.004-05:00

Our deck! No, there's no steps going down. It's just supposed to be like a grilling deck. They can't put steps down per code since the black rail you see on the left are the steps up from the basement. If they were to put steps down it would block the exit. Not the brightest plan if you ask me, but long as we have somewhere to grill! Jaycob has yet to see this part and he'll be thrilled. When we were looking at the models Daddy joked and said this would be Oreo's place. Since then Jaycob has kept asking when we'll get one on our house!

And here's some upper cabinets. And the basement cabinet and sink.

The kid's bathroom cabinet and the master's. Yipee, the double sinks will be a new one for us!

Story of a House! (Hardwood & Tile)

2009-03-10T19:15:00.001-05:00

Oh and lower kitchen cabinets! This is the hardwood we have in the sunroom, kitchen, and foyer.

Master bathroom's tile and tub faucet was put in. Along with the kid's bath tile and potty.

And this is the tile and potty in the basement bathroom.

Jaycob is starting to understand what's going. He's starting to ask if this and that are going with us. It started with asking about the small important to him things (his duck, blankets, puppies), now its different pieces of furniture he's worried about. Abygail doesn't get it. She thinks new house all new stuff, meaning all her stuff stays here. But I can understand that since we're buying her a brand new big girl bed and bedding set. So far she's not thrilled with the whole idea of a new bed or a new house!

Snow Day

2009-03-02T14:56:00.002-05:00

First! For Aspen!

Today was a snow day! Jaycob doesn't normally have school on Mondays anyways, but Daddy got the day off of work too! The weather people guessed a good 6"-12" and we got it all!
We took out the kids this morning to play. I have to tell you it was a pain to find clothes that were going to keep them warm enough and dry enough. Even after the fact, Jaycob's feet were soaking wet when we came in! Poor guy!

Above: Our little snow piles. The snow was just packy enough to make these and snowballs, but anything bigger it would just fall apart. Daddy and I were kinda disappointed because we wanted to make a snowman. Me, Abygail, and Jaycob making snow angels! Below: Abygail just had to go down the slide! I think she ended up with a back full of snow to tell you the truth!

I have no idea what I was doing here in this second picture!

I Ain't Afraid of no Ghost

2009-02-27T20:59:00.003-05:00

Lately Jaycob has been afraid of everything, including the dark.

Tonight we laid the kids down and Jaycob got up and wanted our bedroom door closed because it was dark in there. Daddy told him to just go close it (usually if encouraged he will do it!). Abygail comes running out of her room and says "I ain't 'fraid of anything, Daddy!" and closed the door for Jaycob!

It was just too funny. Guess it was a had to be there moment. But I wanted to remember it!!

Jumping Fun

2009-02-25T19:06:00.001-05:00

We hadn't been in a while and some friends mentioned going. Since Jaycob didn't have school today I decided that it would be a good time to go! I just wish I could remember to take my stamp cards. I probably have like 3 free trips by now if I added up all my cards!

Chuck E. Cheese

2009-02-21T21:51:00.002-05:00

We went to Chuck E Cheese this weekend with Older Brother and Older Sister. Older Brother and Older Sister are getting to the age where they have fun, but have more fun watching Jaycob and Abygail having fun. Abygail rode these rides, sorry nothing special since I didn't take the pics and wasn't with her. To tell you the truth I don't know who was with her! I know Older Brother was with Jaycob for a lot of the time driving a big rig, jet ski, or race car! Jaycob is so go at those games. Jaycob kept wanting to crawl around up in the tubes but the second platform is as far as he would make it even with one of the older two helping him.

All had fun and we had some 700 tickets by the time we got done. We decided to get cotton candy as our prizes and enjoyed that on the way home!

Story of a House! (Empty)

2009-02-19T20:56:00.005-05:00

The front of our house!!

The view from the front door. The open door on the right is the door to the basement. Straight ahead on that island will be the sink and the dishwasher. The fridge will be to the left of that little door(pantry). The stove will be on the left wall that you can't see. That area in the back where the sunlight is coming in will hopefully be like a sitting/reading corner, though we're not quite sure yet.

This is the view from in front of that little (pantry) door.

The first picture is from the top of the stairs looking at the kids bedroom doorways. And the second picture is what I could get of Jaycob's room.

And this is what I could get of Abygail's room. She also has a pretty decent sized walk in closet.

They have a hall bathroom to. Just didn't take a pic, nothing there yet soooo...

This is from the doorway of our bedroom. We also have a large walk in closet!!

And this is from the doorway of our bathroom. And the view from standing in from of the shower.

This is downstairs in the basement. The door on the left is another full bath, the door on the right leads into like a study and the laundry room. Behind me (which there is no picture of) is a walk out door to the backyard.

The kids are super excited, if we tell them we're going to see the empty house they know where we're going. We're beyond excited. Everything's not COMPLETELY finalized yet, but we don't foresee any issues.

Homework!

2009-01-21T13:57:00.003-05:00

Jaycob had homework during this four day weekend. He had to pick at least 3 pictures of his favorite animal and write where they live and what they eat. He picked a giraffe when I first told him about the project and I thought for sure he would change his mind. But when we sat down to start finding pictures a couple days later he still stuck with his giraffe! He did great writing out everything he needed to. And was actually upset when I told him his poster was finished! I hope you can see all of his hard work when you click on the picture! He did work oh so hard on it!

Boutique Bow Holder

2009-01-18T22:14:00.002-05:00

Didn't turn out quite the way I planned, but Abygail likes it! I just needed something to get all the bows of the counters!

For Lots of Babies!

2009-01-09T19:22:00.002-05:00

Tonight we were walking through the kids clothing at Target. Jaycob and Abygail are looking at all the baby gear on the wall. Aby's talking about the swings and Jaycob looks at something and says "A bed for LOTS of babies" and his eye are as big as saucers! LOL Discovered he was looking at this!!

Valentine's Day Celebration

2009-01-05T22:46:00.002-05:00

Jaycob had a day off school today so I decided to do a large part of our Valentine's crafts.

Re-inforced hearts!

Handprint Hearts! Jaycob's the only one I got a picture of actually working on his. But the finished picture is both Jaycob and Abygail's.

Decorating Cookies! We cut, baked, frosted, and decorated heart cookies.

And of course enjoyed eating them!

Catching Up!

2009-01-01T20:29:00.004-05:00

Ok so I'm back blogging everything I've been putting off... You'll have to go all the back to November 5th to catch up all the post I've inserted. Some are mingled in with the post that I DID get to!
Oh and as of right now, January 1st 8:30pm I'm still throwing a few in!

ETA: Ok its 10:54p and I'm done for the night. I have yet to do the Christmas' but those will have to wait for tomorrow! Not to mention whatever is on my camera still! But I'm gettin' there.

Frosty Humor

2008-12-20T22:57:00.000-05:00

Sorry! Couldn't help it. Thought it was funny!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-19T09:54:00.003-05:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? A little of both

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial all the way!

3. When do you put up the tree? The first weekend we have a chance to, usually 2 wks before.

4. Do you like eggnog? Nope

5. Favorite gift received as a child? Don't know

6. Hardest person to buy for? The older two at this point

7. Easiest person to buy for? Jaycob, this year

8. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, though next year will be different I think!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Uhhhhggg we won't go there

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown one. and Frosty

12. When do you start shopping? All year

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Once or twice

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Everything

15. Lights on the tree? White

16. Favorite Christmas song? Don't know

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home, now!

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Don't think so

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither!

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? From my family on Christmas Eve, our family on Christmas afternoon(after the Older Two get here), and from DH's family when they get here!

21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The rude shoppers!

22. Favorite ornament theme or color? We have all the old Christmas cartoon figures + some Dora and Star Wars and Dogz.

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Whatever I'm NOT cooking!!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? It'd be nice to see my family, but that's not happening... So I'm getting what else I want, the Wii Fit!

Office Christmas Party

2008-12-15T22:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to Daddy's office party. We went last year, but I think the kids had so much more fun this year!! Abygail did bowl a WHOLE game, Jaycob wanted nothing to do with it!

Instead he played around in the game room the whole time! Luckly he was entertained enough with the machines w/o the money being put it. I'm doubting we'd be so lucky next year!

Winter Projects

2008-12-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

December 14th, Homemade Chocolate Candy

December 8th, Hand and Footprint Reindeer

Decorating & General Silliness

2008-12-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

Christmas Party

2008-12-12T23:13:00.002-05:00

Ready to party!

Bunch of goofballs!

Sitting on Santa's lap getting presents!

Jaycob's Drawings

2008-12-11T22:44:00.002-05:00

His school bus and the tracing of his hands all by himself!

No post??

2008-12-06T17:44:00.001-05:00

Seems like forever since I've posted anything... Truth be told... No vehicle means going nowhere... Going nowhere means nothing interesting to talk about and take pictures of... Sorry! Hopefully we'll be resolving this issue soon!

Backyard Friend or Foe??

2008-11-28T22:57:00.002-05:00

Daddy took this picture! The kids just loved the whole series of the pics that he took. Gotta admit he's a bit cute! Come from the lady threatening to buy a BB to keep him off of the bird feeder!! LOL

Thanksgiving Day!

2008-11-27T22:41:00.002-05:00

Heading to P.A. to Aunt T, Uncle D, & Cousin L.

Jaycob loves Cousin L's little mower!

I love it out here!

Fall Projects

2008-11-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

September 17th, Fall Leaves

Spetember 19th, Fall Stampings

September 29th, Hand Print Trees

October 17th, Painting Pumpkins

November 4th, Leaf Prints

November 24th, Handprint Turkeys

November 26th, Coffee Filter Turkeys

Maddy's B-day Party

2008-11-22T22:30:00.002-05:00

Aspen did a great job for Maddy's party once again! This year was an ocean type theme. The cupcakes had blue frosting with ocean creatures in chocolate, crafts were to decorate fish shaped sugar cookies and a decorate-your-own-mug with fish stickers!

The kids talked about it for days! And yes that's my son in a skirt. Playing with Maddy's new dress-up clothes, just like the rest of the kids!

Tryin' It On!

2008-11-20T23:52:00.000-05:00

I bought this dress for Aby hoping to get pictures done. That never happened and we never even had anywhere to go in it. But I can tell you it sure made her feel special! Maybe it will still fit next year!

November Stats

2008-11-20T14:18:00.004-05:00

A little late, but hey. And really I wasn't going to worry about them, but we've had such growth that I just had to write it down!! I imagine there won't be much change in their head circumference or their waist for a while, so I won't tell you all about them until there's a change!

Jaycob ~ 4 years, 2 months, 10 days

Weight:

Height: 40 & 1/4 inches (over 1/2 an inch growth in a month)

Inseam: 15.5

Abygail ~ 3 years, 15 days

Weight:

Height: 38 & 3/8 inches (1/4 inch in a month!!)

Inseam: 14.5

Oops, I did it again!

2008-11-17T18:32:00.001-05:00

Yeah I fell way back on blogging! I'm just about caught up now. You'll have to go back to older post see them all!!

Grandparents Visit II

2008-11-14T22:10:00.003-05:00

Showing Grandpa G. how we jump in our bouncer!

Grandma C. really likes going down to the beach when she visits, so we thought we'd take a trip down there. Why is it the kids always have to pee once we get down there?? Problem this time is its off-season and the restrooms are closed!!

Looking for and educating my dad all about sea glass!!

The moon by the time we left!

Grandparents Visit

2008-11-14T22:05:00.004-05:00

Grandpa G. and Grandma C came to visit right after Abygail's birthday. It was such a nice treat to have Grandpa G. finally come and visit us! The kids just loved having him here!

Opening birthday presents!!

Horsey Grandma! They thought this game was the greatest!

Silly Abygail faces!

You can also check Grandma C's blog for more posts about their visit here!

Post #1

Post #2

Post #3

Growth Spurt??

2008-11-09T09:24:00.002-05:00

It's 9:25am (10:25 old time)... Why is this significant?? Because Jaycob is still sleeping!!!! I don't know what it is with him lately! I think in the last two weeks he's gotten up before 8am only twice! For him that is just crazy!
He's also been eating like there is no tomorrow! He'll clear a plate and ask for more without a problem!

Abygail's Birthday Party

2008-11-08T22:10:00.002-05:00

Birthday girl!! She wouldn't blow out her candle without my help.

Opening presents!! Grandma made her that nice blanket and pillow!

And of course I'm proud of the lady bug cupcakes I made for her!!

B-day Presents

2008-11-05T22:57:00.002-05:00

Thank you G-G-ma and G-G-pa!!!

Just to Think...

2008-11-05T22:46:00.004-05:00

I was in labor at this time 3 years ago! I can't believe it!!

Abygail just born! And not very happy might I add!

Abygail barely 2 days old.

Abygail 4 days old.

BUGS!!

2008-11-01T16:59:00.000-05:00

The kids were bug-hunting today... This is what they came up with!

A baby worm, there under the big one. and this nasty looking red bug!

Halloween Mini-Party!!!

2008-10-29T22:11:00.001-05:00

Today we went over to Aspen's for a fun filled afternoon of Fall projects! Making pumpkin mask (though they look more like oranges!!)

Eating snacks between crafts!

LM and Abygail modeling their mask!

We also made hand-print ghost and popcicle stick scarecrows!!

What a Leap!

2008-10-26T22:06:00.002-05:00

Yep, I got it all chopped off! I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my life. The lady cutting it saying "Oh my I can't believe you're doing this" over and over didn't help!!

When I came home Jaycob said I looked like his teacher and Abygail said I looked silly! Thanks kids!

Week 10 of School, October 21-24

2008-10-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

Pumpkins, the letter T, and counting seemed to be the focus this week. The paper with the pumpkins on gate had "The 5 Little Pumpkins" printed on the back. Thank goodness because I had totally forgotten the words to it!! Jaycob did come home most the week reciting the finger play.

Halloween in the Garden II

2008-10-25T22:41:00.004-05:00

We had so much fun at Halloween in the Garden last year it was a MUST DO on our list for this year! Of course this year I forgot my camera, so all these pictures are thanks to Aspen and Matt! Thanks Guys!!

We were so sure if it was going to rain on us or not, but it ended up being quite nice!

Aby the alien, Maddy the mermaid, and Jaycob the swordsman!

Jaycob refused to get in the first picture. It wasn't until we started walking away that he wanted to have his picture taken!

And I did snap these two later in the afternoon of the face painting they each picked while we were there!

Base Halloween Thing

2008-10-24T22:07:00.002-05:00

Both of them were pretty thrilled to sit inside a firetruck. We also got to play some games and paint some pumpkins!

Week 9 of School, October 14-17

2008-10-18T19:52:00.001-05:00

Nothing real special this week. Seems the worked on the 5 senses. Jaycob did talk quite a bit about tasting with his mouth and smelling with his nose.

Oh and he sure did get the touch part too. I guess he fell on the playground while running.

He came home with a medical glove full of water and ice. He told me he had to put it into the fridge to keep it like the nurse said!

ETA: He ended up having to HAVE a band-aid on his elbow for the next 2 weeks or more!!

Last Warm Beach Day

2008-10-13T22:22:00.000-05:00

It was unseasonably warm tonight so we went to the beach assuming that it would be the last warm night of the year to go!

Pumpkin Pickin'

2008-10-12T20:03:00.004-05:00

Today we went to the same pumpkin place we went last year. Here's some pictures!

Pickin' out pumpkins!

Being silly!

Posing for pictures

Maddy and Jaycob! Abygail wouldn't sit with them.

October Stats

2008-10-11T19:38:00.000-05:00

Yeah Ok I didn't get this done every month like I stated in the last stat post... But hey every few months isn't to bad, right? Right?
We were excited at some point in the last few months because the kids had each finally reached the 30Lb mark! But this week we found out that our scale has been reading 4 LBs heavier then the medical scales! Bought a new scale and these are the weights we have now!

Jaycob ~ 4 years, 1 month, 1 days

Weight: 28.9

Height: 39 & 5/8 inches

Head: 20

Waist: 19

Inseam: 15

Abygail ~ 2 years, 11 months, 6 days

Weight: 28.8

Heaght: 38 & 1/8 inches

Head: 19 & 1/4

Waist: 19

Inseam: 14.5

Week 8 of School, October 7-10

2008-10-11T07:45:00.002-05:00

This week they continued to learn about our community helpers. On top of these things that he worked on he came home with a fireman's hat!

From the looks of the papers they also worked on the letters 'P' and 'S'. You can't see it very well in this picture, but Jaycob did trace all of these letters very nicely! You can tell where he had some direction and where he did it by himself. He tells me, "P, pa-pa-pa P. Pa-pa-pa penguin. Pa-pa-pa pumpkin." And the same thing with the 'S'. Very cute to see that he's actually learning these things!
Seems they continue to reinforce the shapes they're working on, separating the triangles and the circles. And of course another one of these little books. This week, the same as the past few, only the first few pages are colored. Check out his coloring skills on the front of this one!!

Added a Song

2008-10-07T21:23:00.003-05:00

Something new here! I added a song! This song has been stuck in my head non-stop since Friday. I'll have to say more about it later, but take a listen and just imagine 12 two to four year olds (plus Aby). doing a little dance with it!

Parent Teacher Conference October 6

2008-10-06T19:47:00.009-05:00

Well we had our first (and I guess only planned) parent/teacher conference today. Jaycob is doing well in class. He listens and participates. He will interact with the other children, but he does not usually initiate it. He does sneak over to the sensory table more often then he's supposed to. But for now she lets it slid, I don't know how I feel about that one! To top it off he keeps sneaking a certain truck into the sensory table. I guess measuring cups are just to boring for him!

We talked about his speech sessions starting and she personally didn't think he needed a whole lot of help with it. But she did promise me that she would get the ball rolling with it.

These pages are what we discussed academically. I was told these three papers contain everything he should know by the end of kindergarten. The teacher said he was actually up to speed per most kids his age.
And knowing our Jaycob he knew some of this information and he was done with her questions and didn't want to answer them any more! Especially the body parts section. I KNOW he knows most of these without thinking that aren't checked. Same with some of the shapes. But hey she did say that most the kids in her classes didn't even have this much knowledge only a month into the school year! Never mind that Jaycob is her oldest student this year.

All in all so far he's having a good year and doing good in class and as an idividual!

Why Again??

2008-10-05T22:49:00.000-05:00

Why again is it my children don't sleep in their beds? And why must the youngest sleep so close to her brother? He goes to bed a good hour or more before she does, so this is her preferred sleeping spot this night! Oh and if only he knew she was sleeping on his pillow!!!

7th Week of School, September 30 - October 3

2008-10-04T07:22:00.003-05:00

This whole months focus, I think, is supposed to be community helpers and the roles the play. This week was police officers.

The day the police hat came home... Bus pulled up and all you could see were little heads wearing these hats!! Come to think of it I should have expected it since when the bus picked Jaycob up the morning kids all had them on!!
He also won this "Outstanding Character Award". He did say everyone got one though... So who knows!

Also, on Friday they had a Family Celebration Day. Us parents and siblings got to come into school and experience their last hour of school. When we (Abygail and I) walked in they were in the middle of circle time. I love the way the teacher is with the kids. She seems great! I'm really glad that Jaycob likes her so much. A good way to start out his school experience! Anyway... I heard a different version of 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' that I had never heard before that included a wolf and an ant. And then came the 'Tooty Ta' song! Yep, the one you now here when you open up the main blog page! The kids LOVED this! Abygail had joined their circle time by then and was dancing and singing right along with the other kids. After circle time we had a snack and played outside.

Small problem though... After circle time Jaycob went and hid under a table. Talk about feeling like parent of the year! Come to find out that before we got there, earlier in the afternoon, they had an intruder drill... Not such a smart move if you ask me. Go through an intruder drill and then ask all kinds of strangers to come into the classroom! I wasn't the only parent that was a little confused by this logic, but my kid was the only one hiding under the table and redoing the intruder drill! Other kids had shouted out "Stranger!" but that was all. So after most the 'strangers' (other parents) went outside with their child Jaycob finally came out and ate a bit of snack and then we went out and played for a bit! At first he wanted to ride the bus home, but he changed his mind once he knew I was taking the rest of his snack home! It was a very busy, long, and stressful day for him!

Birthday Present in the Mail!

2008-09-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

Jaycob got a box in the mail today! Thanks G-G-Ma!!

The kids immediately went and got their fire hats and had a ball playing with this for the rest of the day!

6th Week of School, September 23-26

2008-09-27T07:57:00.002-05:00

Nothing special this week. They talked about their families. They had to do homework and have it due at the beginning of the week. It had to be a poster with their family, favorite place, favorite food, and all of it labeled! Jaycob did a very nice poster! Forgot to take a picture though! I'll be sure to post it when we get it back!

County Fair 2008

2008-09-20T18:37:00.003-05:00

Today we went to the fair again this year like I said we would last year. We didn't spend nearly as much time with the animals this year as last. The kids were just to weary of them. We made it through one side of a barn and one side of the rabbit and fowl section. That was enough for them! Abygail held her noise the entire way through both saying she smelled something. It was too cute!

We played 1 game this year. The one they loved last year were they got to pick a duck and pick a prize. Jaycob got a car and Abygail picked a stuffed duck.

This year we were able to ride a couple rides! It started with a train, the kids and I rode that around the track more then a few times. They enjoyed it, to me it was the train ride that never ends!! The whole time they were riding the train they seen the kiddie roller coaster and wanted to go on it... Problem being 1)we didn't think Jaycob would handle it well by himself and 2)we didn't have enough tickets for all of us to ride. So we talked them into these cars instead. Jaycob and Abygail seemed to LOVE it!

Afterwards we then introduced them to cotton candy! It didn't go over so well with Jaycob, he's a texture eater like his father and me. Abygail was all about it. Did it taste sweet? Yep, she ate it up! Between her and I the bag has been gone for about 2 hours now...

Note: Daddy has more pictures, I'll hopefully add them tomorrow.

5th Week of School, September 16-17

2008-09-20T11:32:00.001-05:00

Well this week was an extra short school week. Jaycob didn't have school Thursday because it was Early Dismissal and since he's an afternoon student he doesn't go to school. And all the students had Friday off. It's the weekend of the fair and so many kids are part of the 4-H around here that they just assume cancel school for the kids than to have them all absent, so I've been told!

Why Oh Why?

2008-09-19T22:55:00.003-05:00

Why oh why won't my children fall asleep in their beds? Abygail falls asleep right outside her bedroom door. Jaycob falls asleep just inside his doorway! When we go to bed we move both of them to their beds. Abygail gets up appx 3am and moves back to the floor at the foot of Older Sister's bed. Jaycob has been staying in his bed the last 3 nights, but before that you'd find him on his floor come morning too! What do they have against their beds??

Beach Evening

2008-09-17T22:16:00.003-05:00

The weather is getting ohhhh so nice around here! Tonight was perfect so we headed to the beach! The kids did NOT want to leave!

Waiting for the Bus

2008-09-16T20:05:00.002-05:00

This is what waiting for the bus looks like. Accompanied by an occasional child blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, or kicking/throwing some balls!

4th Week of School, September 9-12

2008-09-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

3rd Week of School, September 2-5

2008-09-06T11:12:00.003-05:00

The first paper he said had his snack on it. They were crackers he had to count he said, all I know is they were greasy. They left little round grease marks all over the paper!

3rd: As I got Jaycob off the bus today all I hear are children screaming, "Jaycob I love you! Jaycob we love you". Yeah it was crazy! That was the loudest I've ever heard the kids on the bus and they were all screaming at my child like he was in a boy band! The bus driver said that when kids get on the bus that's the first thing they say, "Where's Jaycob?" or tells Jaycob HI!

I'm so thrilled he's well liked! As a parent I think this is something we all worry about. The fact that all the kids on the bus are in his class really helps I think. I ask him about all his friends and he has no info... All well!!

4th: Woo Hoo! I've been waiting for this! Book orders were sent home today, our first one! Now I just have to remember they're due on Wednesday the 17th!!

Followers

2008-09-04T07:22:00.003-05:00

Ok so Blogger has just rolled out a new feature, Following. You can go to your Blogger home page and right there read all of the blogs you follow, or at least see who updated their blog. Along with this you can let those bloggers know that you follow them and your picture will show up on the side of their blog if they choose to put that feature up! I have choosen to do just that. So if you read me on a normal basis... Please Follow Me!!

Grandma's Coming!!!

2008-09-04T07:18:00.003-05:00

The kids are so excited! Last night they were telling us where she was going to sit while watching TV or reading them books and eating dinner. Abygail last night told me that Grandma Cyndi is going to sleep in Older Sisters bed! Both the kids were talking about how she was gonna bring something for Jaycob's birthday. They just went on and on!

They're excited!

Way Too Hot!

2008-09-01T19:27:00.000-05:00

Just what the title says! It was almsot to hot for even this!