??? thermometer ???

I’m not prepared. My daughter is sick. Being the person that is home and having a husband that is pretty busy I usually stock up on all the items you need for a sick kid/me (7up, juice, chicken noodle soup, apple sauce, meds, banana’s, bread, frozen popsicles). We keep most everything for the BRAT diet. That way when someone gets sick we have it and I’m not wondering how to take a sick child to the store. Well, today I am not prepared. Since we just moved, and let me note everything is unpacked I still can’t find the thermometer. So I am sitting here wondering about the unknown. How sick will she be when she wakes? Will we be able to make it to the store? When will I have the friendships here that I left behind in MO where it was apparent that everyone was there for each other at a drop of the hat? I could simply pick up the phone and ask for help. And mostly… why wasn’t I prepared… oh yeah… it’s summer… not sick season.

New Home

A new home or should I say a 14 year old home offers a lot of work.

I didn’t originally like the house. Eric completely talked me into it and I had hesitations all the way up to our first week here. He told me after a week I would love it here and he was right. I love it here now.

Our backyard backs up to a beautiful forest and a creek. The trees are very mature and reach about 40 to 50 feet high. They originally draped down to about 4 feet from the ground so we cut a number of branches off so we could enjoy the beauty of the forest and see the remainder of the backyard. We also hung a swing and a rope for the kids.

Inside the rooms were kind of small so we decided to take out half the wall to open it up. I’m sure many of you have heard me say how awesome my father-in-law is but again he’s amazing and I’m so blessed he taught his kids/Eric how to do a number of things. Both Jack and Eric sat down for a few hours and constructed a plan to take the wall out. A few days later we started the project. We are so close to finishing. We are mudding, sanding, painting and adding molding and a shelf. Then it will be complete and it’s beautiful already.

We found these bugs which we originally thought were flees but lucky for us they turned out to be Springtails. You all know how I like bugs. We had the bugs examined to determine what they were and the best way to treat the area. Then my husband went to work finding the nest of the Springtails and spraying. He found a few nest. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more.

The carpets were pretty discussing. I guess we didn’t notice how bad they were when we came out to find a place to live. Eric was allergic to something in the carpet and his hands would swell up after doing his workouts. For a few days he moved to the bathroom to do pushups and such. It was not long before we were shopping for carpet. Our new carpet is awesome and feels like silk.

Well that is what we have been up to. Mostly house projects.

What we love about the house…
The sunroom – wow didn’t know how awesome these were.
The backyard - breathtaking
Remodel - ½ wall being cut down – more space
The kitchen, the playroom, the living room.
The laundry room being on the same floor as the bedrooms.
The layout of upstairs.
My kids laughing and playing and loving it.
The neighbors and all the kids
Swimming pool a few doors down.
We will have a paycheck to pay our mortgage.

Thankful

There are a few things in life where I actually take a step back and hand everything over to my husband that is related to the family. We love doing things together. I love being in the middle and helping out in matters and listening to whatever the topic is and yes having my say too.

But I have to say that when it comes to owning a home he is the one that truly makes it happen. I am the one that would be perfectly happy renting a apartment for the rest of our life. I guess it comes to trust (from the current owners) and risk. I am not a risk taker when it comes to homes. If there is any risk I would rather back out.

My husband on the other hand makes the process of owning a home look easy. He takes it by the horns. I have told him many times today that I am so grateful that he is taking over on this because I would have put my foot down at the beginning. He returns by telling me that if it were not for me he would let a lot slide so I guess we are a good pair. But all in all… I am so thankful for him being the man of this house and dealing with everything.

Expensive piece of furniture

Yep, that is what I feel for. I have been searching for a certain piece to turn a dining room into a playroom. My whole idea was to come up with something from Pottery Barn without purchasing the “name” itself. I spent hours looking for the right piece that could pull off what I had in mind. And you know what…. My awesome father-in-law will be making my dream into a reality. I’m so excited that I just had to share. Here is a picture of it…. I can’t wait!

Life has been busy!

Life has been busy! I spent many hours researching schools, homes and the Greenville area. We spent last week there and were greeted by a wonderful family who happens to be a resident at Greenville Memorial Hospital. They were ever so kind and took us in and shared their beautiful home with us. We spent all day with our realtor, traveling the town and becoming accustomed to the surroundings. After walking through 20 plus homes and about 5 apartment complexes we made a offer on a home and have a signed contract.

In 2 weeks, Eric will complete medical school. In 3 ½ weeks our family will be here to celebrate Eric and his accomplishments as a DOCTOR. My husband will be a Doctor! Looking back I have to say that the last 4 years have flown by. That anyone can do this. But in reality, I know there were times that were slower and harder than others.

Perks about Greenville…
1. My family/friends are coming to visit.
2. Sweet wine.
3. My brother and cousin Ash are a hop and skip away.
4. We will have a pay check.
5. My hubby and kids are there.
6. New memories will be made.
7. It’s God’s plan.

On top of spaghetti...

On top of spaghetti
All covered cheese
I lost my poor meatball
When someone sneezed.

This song filled our house a few weeks back. We are big readers here and that so happened to be one of the books that we checked out. Around the same time, one of my friends posted a recipe for meatballs. I have never been a fan of meatballs and have never had any inclination to make them. But with the power of my kid’s musical voices and the responses of thanks and appreciation my friend received from posting her recipe I thought that one day I would have to make those meatballs.

That day came… and for anyone that is interested… spaghetti will never be the same. Who eats spaghetti without meatballs, anyways???

Oh ya… US!

Here is her blog/recipe if you just so happen, to want, to question, Who eats spaghetti without meatballs?

http://scottyandnatalie.blogspot.com/2010/12/wanna-meatball.html

M&M’s

Did you know that M&M’s were given to given to soldiers in the World War II? They were a easy packed snack full of energy.

I would be very interested in how they advertised these in the 1940’s. Did they use the appeal of the war? I can’t seem to find anything on it.

For 7 years they were sold in cardboard tubes. Like these….

In 1954, the famous slogan of “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" was introduced.


The history of advertising has always appealed to me. There is so much in marketing. It’s not just artwork but you have to understand you audience. If you are a good marketer you will know what your customers value but more importantly you will know how to create a demand to those customers.

Life Simplicities

I have this new fascination of wearing eye makeup lately. (That’s another story… maybe I’ll get to it in another post.) My problem is that I have not found the right removal. The products that I have tried leave my eyes oily. It’s frustrating because I have those days, where a bubble bath is just the right thing after dinner. Perfect for relaxing. In which case, the eye makeup is removed but the oil remains.

Today, I was introduced to a new Simplicity. Ever since I was a child I was told do not get soap in your eyes. If I did it would burn and I would learn my lesson. Well the lesson today… My friends… is to grab that shampoo, rub it in your eye and your makeup will be removed, pain free and the best part… No oil left in your eyes. Can you believe it? Well, I do! I have not tried it but it’s on my next shopping list. What is it? You might ask…. Johnson and Johnson, No more Tears. Life is so much simpler than we give it credit for.

The next simplicity I am looking for is the cure to removing water marks on the glass shower… anyone??? I just know it’s out there… It must be and when I find it I’m sure my mouth is going to drop open and the same wonder will come over me.

Here’s a list of some of the simplicities I know of, off hand….
Sunscreen takes off Permanent mark
WD40 takes off crayon from paint.
Hairspray removes ink from fabric and furniture
Peanut butter is the key to separating gum from hair.

I would love to hear others Simplicities that are out there.

Genuineness

Madeline has always loved giving gifts but she really takes it to the heart. In the last year, she has started picking out her friends gifts. She loves the gifts that she picks out and really thinks of the person. I love that about her. But what I love more is what happens at night.

This afternoon, we wrapped Eric’s birthday gifts. Each of the kids picked out a special gift for Eric. They were a $1 but what matters are that they are from the heart. We came home and wrapped them. Madeline immediately said, “I am going to hide mine. Mom, want me to hide yours.” I said, “Sure.”

Fast forward till bedtime, Eric walks in and she is holding Eric’s gift, wrapped in Ironman paper (her choosing). She pulls the gift into bed with her and says dad, “I want to sleep with it. It’s your present daddy.”

She is pure genuine. So if you ever wonder after reading this if my daughter sleeps with your child’s birthday gift… the answer is yes. I’m sure it’s been hugged and kissed too. ;)

Hello

I really don’t know if I have any readers any more. It’s been months since I last posted. Yes, that would have been Aug when my son went off to school. And though people might believe that when a child goes to school you get more time… WRONG. What happens is your world speeds up… you jump from a having a nice slow paced day with both of your children to realizing that you now have to get everything done before 4 o’clock so you can spend time with the child that you just gave to the school system. Don’t get me wrong the school system is great but from being a stay at home mom to giving up your child for 8 hours a day… well… lets just say it’s a huge adjustment. You might ask who the adjustment was for and if you are pointing your finger at my child you are wrong… just direct it to me! Yep… that’s right!

So here I am; 5 months later getting back on track. Funny hu? Well, there’s no excuses but just the plain old fact that this mama was sad and yes I would say maybe a little depressed but now I’m back, in full swing! And here I am! (Waving hello)

Boat Race

First Kiss

If they knew what they were doing I would call it a make-out session. Of course, after the initial shock, I had to get a picture of Maddie’s first kiss (I think this was the 5th) and then we stopped it. We might have to keep an eye on the two of them.

Kindergarten

I like to think that this is his way of saying, “Mom, I got this.” When he got on the bus he said, “Mom, wave to me.”

Of course, I followed the bus and went to his class to make sure he made it. ;) The boy next to Caleb is Drew. He lives down the street. We do not know him very well but that will change will all the time they spend together.

End of the day... looks pretty happy. He ran straight for Eric gave him a hug and then looked for his friends. It was really cute!

Water Olympics

Mom put on water Olympics for the kids. They each had to participate in 3 events. They didn’t compete against each other but did events at their own levels. After their event, all the adults would score them. Everyone received 10’s. They were giving gold medals.
The kids were also given charts that included swimming, reading, learning and a few other things. The kids would get stars for each thing completed. Mom did a amazing job at putting this together!!!

5 hours a day in the pool or more…

What a awesome time!!! We lived in or besides the pool from early morning hours till the evenings. Caleb regained all of his swimming skills and both kids excelled in the water. The videos below will show them doing flips into the pool. They also did back flips off of Papa. The whistle that Papa is wearing was a huge hit. All the kids loved to swim to him and blow it.

It’s been a long time since I have posted anything. Eric has had the last 3 weeks off. Well honestly, he has had anatomy. He loves anatomy and is very good at it. He was able to make up his own schedule and he finished his dissection way before the 3 week marker so it is what I call vacation and it was awesome!!!

Posted below are random photos of the last 3 weeks… I forgot my camera on a number of them so I’m kind of bummed about that. Here’s the events from the last 3 weeks.
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We were at a BBQ/birthday party and the kids were having so much fun. All the boys were having so much fun. One time Caleb bounced out of the blow up and landed on the grass, hoped right back up and joined in on the fun. Caleb was getting so much air that Eric ran home to grab the camera. Madeline also loved the slip n slide and both kids got a kick out of the water balloons.



Caleb has been asking Eric to build a bird house for awhile now so Eric just had to build it with him. The spent a couple hours going to the store, measuring, cutting, and then building it. It was really cute to see them work on this together.


We have been having fun at the library. We picked up a book on how to build airplanes. They are intense airplanes that require a lot of direction, cutting and glue. Eric and caleb put these together.


Another book we picked up was how to draw. This is Caleb’ first official drawling. I’m seeing my side of the family in the picture.



We went to Castlewood State Park with Doria and her family. We had a picnic and enjoyed playing in the water. Eric and Caleb took off down stream and found all kinds of bugs and such.



DAMN YANKEES -THE MUNY
Eric and I had a awesome double date at The Muny. My friend’s husband was given 4 tickets from work and we were the lucky ones that went with them. We had a picnic dinner next to the water with live music and then we went inside to find that we were sitting in box seats. We watched Damn Yankees. It is now my favorite show and I am beside myself for living here for 3 years and not going before. The acting, singing, dancing, backdrops were amazing.

This is the first time we took the kids to the Sting Ray exhibit at the zoo. We were there for over a hour. The kids loved it!



Madelines loves butterflys!


Hermann, MO
We took off for the Pettijohn’s house. They live about 1 hour away from us now. We had a lovely weekend hanging out, swimming at their local pool, (the kids LOVED the diving board) and I put on Keely’s baby shower.

Madeline’s Dance Recital

In the dressing room. She was pretty excited to get her hair and makeup done in here. She told me that she doesn’t like mascara because she can’t see. Daddy gave her those wonderful long eye lashes… one day she will LOVE them. She loves lipstick and was very happy to have that applied.



She was pretty darn excited when it was her turn. Her name was called and she made her way to the stage and started to climb it. She had a great time on stage dancing her little heart out. They danced to Wings (A childs gift to Lullabies and Do It Again (The Beach Boys) The video is not uploading so I will try it again in a few days.
Madeline is on the far left.

The finale was all the children dancing to I Got Feeling. Madeline is the 4th one in on the left

11 years

We spent our morning running around doing our regular routine.

Madeline finished up her last dance class. Soon she will have a recital. How fun it that?

Then we signed the kids up for the reading program at the library. They only need to read 5 books which is already complete to get a goodie bag. But each time they check out books they get entered into a bigger drawling. I am going to try to have Caleb read his 5 books and well I guess Maddie is done because there is a lot of reading in this family.

Caleb’s Coach Pitch game was canceled. It seems to me that the coach really doesn’t want to coach and is just looking for way out of practice and the games. I’ve been thinking about calling and asking to be put on another team or for a refund.

We ran to Sam’s so Eric could get his much needed coffee.

Our AWESOME friends took the kids and we had a afternoon to ourselves. We watched a movie, Daybreakers cuddled up on the couch and then went to St. Louis Bread Company for dinner. St. Louis Bread Company is now my all time favorite! There salads, soups and bread are so yummy! We could see ourselves there together when we are old and grey eating lunch once a week.

Madeline’s swimming lessons

We put Maddie in swim lesson to off set the time that Caleb would not be here. As you can see, she loves it! She is always the first kid up to jump into the teachers arms for a turn and even when it’s not her turn she tries hard to squeeze in. She gets away with it too because she is too darn cute! Today she was jumping all over the place and submerging her head solo. She is also the first one out of the pool before the time is up due to her being cold. When she is done, she is just done!

Treasure Hunt

I put together a map for the kids with lines and a X marking the spot that we were going to. Along the way they drew the surrounds that they saw and loved every minute of it. On their individual pictures you will find our home, trees, the sun, birds, a forest, cars, ice-cream (had to reward them), a fire truck and much more. I was so surprised at how much they put into their maps and was very impressed.