"I'm going to find a rock to put on your head."

....that's what my Grandma Rita used to say to me when she'd gasp at one of my recent growth spurts.  I always thought it was funny, but I've realized lately she was on to something. 

My babies are growing. like. weeds.  Sean is finishing up his first "official" summer break.  Look out first grade here he comes!  Marlee is two, going on twenty.  We swear one day soon she's going to ask us for the keys to the car. 

We are certainly proud of our kids' milestones. 

Sean is reading like a pro.  He loooooves anything prehistoric.  Dinosaurs (of course) but also fossils, prehistoric sharks, prehistoric bugs, prehistoric crocs.  He loves to learn and was a model student in Mrs. Quirk's kindergarten class (or so she told us!- proudddd!!) 

Marlee is talking up a storm.  She repeats everything. EVERYTHINGGGG!  So be careful what you say, we've certainly learned the hard way.   One thing we are super! super! super! excited about...she's fully pottytrained!  She became very interested at about 18 months and took the final leap a few weeks before she turned 2!!!!  YAY!!  It's great to see her growing, but of course it's a little bittersweet too.   Will.not.cry..........yet. 

Summer Scrapbook

 

 It's been a busy and memorable summer!  Only three weeks until summer break is over, boo!

We spent most of the summer playing and visiting with family.  Here are a few of the highlights:

 



Carnton w/ the Parmeles 

 

 

Backyard BBQ with friends and family

 

 

Dinosaur World with the Parmeles



 

 

Davy Crockett SP Creek with the Parmeles

 

 

 

 

Visiting the Finns in Springfield, IL

 

 

Fireworks at the Illinois Capitol with the Finns

 

Washington Park in Springfield, IL



Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

This year Sean put his costume order in early:  A three headed snake, dragon or shark.  While I'm flattered that he thinks I can sew anything( !!!) I knew I was up a creek without a paddle.  October has been so busy for us!  Pensacola, garage sale, school parties, OUR party- oh, not to mention work!  So needless to say we settled for a regular ole-boring dragon.   BTW, he was tickled with the wings I sewed him so it made up for the missing two heads. 

Marlee was born a kitty cat nut.  Don't even get me started on the whole "Nature vs. Nurture" thing.
While I think cats are groovy I have never loved them.  Mostly because I am allergic to them- hence no love here.  Marlee hasn't had much contact with cats at all but one of her first sounds was:  brrrrrwow!  (that's a meow for those of you who don't understand kittytalk).  At a recent consignment sale I found these shoes:

and that sealed the deal for this year's costume choice. 

I know!  I was asked half a dozen times what our family costume theme was going to be.  But alas, once kids start making their own choices it becomes really difficult.  NOT to say we're totally abandoning the idea.  I LOVE themes.  But I'm going to have to do a good job selling the ideas this year foward. 

Bryan dressed up as darkness (many of you might remember this from the ole' Saturn days) but I wasn't able to snap a picture of him:(  BOO! 

ON Halloween we decided to stay indoors for the little one's sake and went trick-or-treating at the mall.  Mimi and Poppy (the yummiest M&M's I've ever seen) came with us.    Marlee loved it!  Sean was actually a little more apprehensive and maybe a tad bored.  In a year or two we're going to have to hit one of the neighborhoods in this area to do some good ole'fashioned trick or treating.  Nowadays there are so many trunk-or-treats and festivals that it's hard to decide.  I can see that at Sean's age he's nearly ready to make the rounds! 

Aunt Esther Will Get You In Your Dreams

Have you met my Aunt Esther?   We haven't seen her in years, but due to circumstances beyond her control she's shacking up with us temporarily.  Did I mention she's a little "off"?

We tried to keep her contained this past weekend BUT as usual, she made her appearance- she's always the life of the party!

She was brewing up a nasty potion for our Halloween Party Guests:  a pinch of bat wings, a dash of frog intestines and a few eye balls sure makes a great party punch!

We had about 25 folks out to the house to eat, sit by the fire and of course....scare each other.  The kids had fun with Aunt Esther's Haunted Greenhouse and the spooky tunnel.  It was great seeing them in action.  Here are a few family shots from the evening!

Thanksgiving Resolution

As a busy mom I'm quickly finding it's easy to get overbooked.  I'm still teaching Stroller Strides and have recently added Body Back to my repertoire.  At Sean's school I've been volunteering and have taken on room mother responsibilities as well.  At church we're currently looking for a new pastor and I've been selected to participate on the Call Committee- a long and important process for sure.   We've also recently had a huge garage sale and of course our nearly-yearly Halloween Party. 

My reason for telling you this is not to complain or more ridiculously...brag,  I am simply saying..WHEW!  Bryan and I are astonished at how busy our family is getting.....but more alarmingly- our kids are only 18mos and 5 years old!  What do you do when you've got kids in sports and after school activities??!!  

Well, one thing for sure we said we'd do is make our time focused on quality.  We'd like to get as much quantity as well, but we will desperately attempt to make the time count.  We also refuse to schedule Sean and Marlee in a list of activities.  My mom made me choose between Brownies and dance class when I was in first grade.  While I'm sure I would have starred in a Broadway Play by now had she let me do both, I am sure her thinking was right on.  Especially now that I'm a mother myself.  More is not necessarily better. 

That being said, when time is tight- this blog is one of the first things that is sacrificed.  I find it easy peasy to updated Facebook instead.  But for whom?  I want my kids to be able to read about their childhood and suddenly it occurred to me that Facebook might not be the best place to find out about their first poo or intimate family moments. 

I am re-arranging my priorities and will be updating this blog much more frequently than "once a year" which seems to be my last time break.  I'm not updating it for you or for me, but for my kids and their kids to come.  I love looking back at the funny stories I've captured.  I'm not worried about writing like a journalist or like those other cool mom blogs I see.  This is just me writing for you, kids;)

Out With the Old and In With the New

Our little man is growing up. Quickly- might I add.

About a month ago on our regular trip to the dentist our hygenist informed us Sean had(has) two loose teeth. WHAT? I guess I wasn't prepared for that at all. My son is four- for at least 10 more days! I thought kids lost teeth at five or six. Okay, so completely in denial about my aging baby we began talking to him about loosing teeth and what exactly happens. We prepared him, his teachers at preschool, his Mimi and Poppy and sure enough the tooth became verrrrrrrrrry loose!

This past weekend (Saturday the 7th) when he crawled in the back seat of the car I thought I was staring at a bulldog. His tooth was pointing nearly 90degrees straight out of his mouth. So I called on the only dentist I really trust- my father. Okay, he's not really a dentist, but he is really good at helping teeth fall out. Afterall, he plucked my first tooth out of my mouth! Two little tries later it was out! Sean was proud as a peacock! The tooth fairy visited that evening and left $5.00 (since Poppy informed Sean that was the going rate- thanks Dad!)



Funny thing is, Marlee's first tooth poked through the surface that exact same day. Out with the old and in with the new. Sean told me that the Tooth Fairy takes all the kids' teeth and grinds them up and sprinkles them on babies so their teeth grow too. Makes perfect sense to me!

Everyone Remembers Their First Kiss

My beautiful girl Marlee is now nearly 9 months old. She's growing like a weed, full of personality and is like two peas in a pod with her brother.

Last week she did the most amazing thing. She gave me my first kiss. Much like every morning, I was smothering her with kisses and asked her to give me one pointing to my lips. She leaned her head in, exhaled and rested her forehead on mine. Of course my heart started to cartwheel!

While she IS very interactive a lot of the time, this was the first on-demand show of major affection that i've witnessed from her yet. Don't be confused though. She is VERY picky about when and where she gives her kisses away. I've yet to be able to show her Daddy her new trick and usually get a slobbery hand to the face when I ask her to perform. I guess she's reserving her kisses for our quiet times.

Baby's Nursery

I've been in love with the idea of a woodland themed nursery for some time now. Baby animals, outdoors, bright colors= 100% up my alley!

I'm about a quarter of the way done with the room and today we're going to finish up the basics- (cleaning and re-arranging).

Here are some of the inspirations for the room:

Of course I'll post the "after" pictures as well!

Busy as a Bee

It's a snowy day in Tennessee! To make the most of our indoor time, I started a few projects that I NEEEED to get done. Little Man's birthday is just around the corner and we're pulling a "While You Were Out" on him. Here's a glimpse of a painting i'm doing. Uncle Mikie drew it while he was visiting last week and I started painting it today. Vrooooooom!

I also started sewing some fleece soakers (diaper covers) for little miss thing. She'll be here in a mere 3 months!! Here is a link to the pattern...it is fabulous and FREE!

Katrina's Sew Quick Soaker Pattern

Next i'm going to try some out of some wool sweaters. So stay tuned for more upcycling cuteness!

Whew- update!

I can't believe it's been six months since we've posted something on this blog. Here's what we've been working on........

Baby Ultrasound Video - It's a girl!

Baby Ultrasound Video - Swallowing etc.

I think Sean is going to be a fabulous big brother. He is so thrilled! We've already been blessed with a wonderful son and can't believe we'll be meeting our new baby girl mid-April. The pregnancy has been going fairly smoothly (despite some killer heartburn these last few days). I'm planning on continuing to teach Stroller Strides as long as possible to maintain a healthy lifestyle for me and my girl. Keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for us that things continue to go smoothly.

Here are a few pictures of Sean from the last few months. (BTW- all pictures have been updated in the sidebar. Please use pword finn to access them if prompted).