Our summer!

We had a great time at the beach! Although for mommy it's more work than play, I enjoyed watching how much fun they had! Hopefully next year it won't take us 3 days to get enough courage to get in and swim in the ocean.

                               

Somehow
 after about 800 pictures, this is the ONLY one I have with both of them in it! crazy.

We also had a great time at the lake! The kids LOVE riding the boat and I can't keep them out of the water!  Cole especially loves "driving" the boat. (Poor Jared.)

                                           Going in with his pj's still on!

Loving his shark floatie

AR and AF

Dancin' with daddy

OK, time flies when you're having fun... and raisin' kiddos. I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted.  I'll blame it on working really hard when I have a few spare minutes on my other blog - http://www.homeandsoulredemption.blogspot.com/ .. ya know, the one that is probably a little more interesting. Anyway, we have had a good summer this far and am never staying still for long. We wear out McWane, the Zoo, the parks and the library! We also have started using the pool at the gym (why did I wait til now?) With my sister getting married and having a husband living with her now, and my parents having moved out of my childhood home, and are building another house, we haven't been to Gadsden as much.
Anna Reed is trying to copy her brothers every move, which Cole is trying to annoy the stew out of her. He loves to boss her around, but he really love her too.   I love hearing them laugh together over eating eggos, and someone making a funny noise or something. Cole memorizes books and loves reading them to AR.  She of course prefers an adult around to read to her, but he will do sometimes. (helps me!) 
I am getting ready to plan Cole's 4 year old birthday party! I can't believe he is getting so big! AR is 19 months, and running around trying to keep up! Cole heads off to his first VBS next week, and I'm not sure who is more excited?! It will be nice to have some mother/daughter time, since pookie rarely gets that! Off to enjoy this rare moment of my house being quite, with children sleeping, and the rain pouring!!

I love my children...

Of course, I love my children, isn't that my job? But lately, it's become so much more than that. I think for the first time, I am actually breathing them in. I'm taking the time to smell their hair and try to remember it, or looking at their feet so I won't think back and say I don't remember it ever being that small.  Not trying to do or be the best at everything else in my life. I have accepted my situations and surroundings (and am very thankful) and just enjoy being home. I have to admit, staying home was/is hard for me. No, I've never wanted to "work" a day in my life, but I like to stay busy doing things outside the home. I find myself reading more to them, instead of sweeping one last time. It's always bothered me that laundry needed to be done and I've always struggled with trying to make myself realize which is more important. It's like a weight of rediculous expectations I've put on myself has realized it's place. It might sound confusing, but hey I know what I mean, and well, it's my blog. I want to dedicate more sincere blog entries about my family so I can really remember these precious moments. I've always thought of a blog as a way to talk about yourself, and tell all the interesting things you do, and less about documenting and having a virtual scrapbook.

So, I will start by what C and AR are up to these days. Well, Cole has a couple imaginary friends, Bog and Beeb. Yes, creative names and no clue where it came from. But he talks to them and tells them they are not obeying him all day long.  Cole also got a trampoline, that he usually only gets on if PJ is watching, so I have threated to sell. (grandparents sigh in relief.) He only eats chicken and hot dogs and sour flinstone vitamins. He loves playing T-ball and I'm not kidding he is amazing at it. I know we will be living at the ballpark in a couple years. He is so smart. He can tell me what every number plus every number adds up to equal. He counts to 60. After 60, it turns into 60t-ball set, 61t-ball set, no clue where all that came from. And he is dead serious. He also loves to read, play train tracks, ride on his gator, puzzles, watch Olivia,  be with anyone kin to him, or be Melissa. He also has developed a few freckles across his nose:)

Anna Reed on the other hand, is growing up so fast. She is still NOT walking alone, but will with a tad of guidance. She likes to push her grocery cart, and her favorite thing to do is read! She is obsessed. She also loves Mickey Mouse aka "mi me mos." She can say anything you ask her to, and tries as hard as she can to tell you things, but only me and PJ can understand most of what she says.  She also loves fruit, which is a nice change for me since Cole would never touch it!

My sweet husband has been working about 70 hours a week. It's be really tough on everyone, especially him. I am so lucky to have such a great husband who works so hard for us and who brought me flowers yesterday, for no reason, may I add.

Edible Myarrangement

A few weeks back I hosted a lingerie shower for my sister, Anna, who is getting married next month.  I tried to plan for foods she really liked, which means her very favorite FRUIT! So, as I was cutting up all the fruit I thought I should have just got an edible arrangement and was curious to see how much they were. Redic!  $100 for about the size I needed. Already being in Gadsden, I scowered around my parents house and decided to try it myself! I found a shoebox, which happened to be pink and purple, the colors of the shower. Then, I put styrofoam cut to size inside. Now I know it sounds crazy, but I happened to have a pink plastic tablecloth in the jungle known as my car. (I honestly can't rem. why it was in there, or how long it had been! And to argue my case, my back hatch is huge!) Anyway, I cut and covered the styrofoam with the pink cloth.

Then, I started putting the cut fruit and layered them on my long wooden skewers.

It took a little while, but I think she liked the finished product.

                    Now, not to toot my own horn...  but toot toot.

Cole told me "mom, it is 8, balls, zero, nine o'clock." I had to laugh, and take a pic to share.

So, there are these sheets called "untuckables" that a local girl makes. The bottom is sewn together, so that when you make the bed, the top sheet can't become untucked. They are awesome! Even when you don't make the bed it stays nice and neat. I choose the ones with dinosaurs, and can you tell his delight?! (The matching dino pj's were not planned.)

busy kids...

We have really enjoyed this awesome weather! I find myself running around the house in just a tshirt, because I am already so hot! What is going to happen when it rises above 80 degrees?! I don't know if it's just age, or chasing children, or a combo of both, but it's HOT. So, PJ has buzzed Cole's hair, he now looks 10.

Anna Reed tries her hardest to keep up with what Cole's doing, and loves getting down and dirty which gives me at least 2 heart attacks a day. Cole is even more "clean" than her. He hates his hands getting dirty, but not this sweet pea!

We have also got..... a trampoline! These little monkeys need a way to let some energy out! With basically no backyard, PJ has figured out a way to "install" it into the cliff, that is our backyard. So, it will be like a walk-on. I will let ya know how that turns out. Anyway, Yes, we have the safety net and all, but this was taken right when it was put together and he couldn't wait! If you have little ones please come join us anytime!

Spring pics

We all got dressed to go out for lunch last Sat, and decided once we got in the car to make a stop by Bot Gardens and snap a few pics. Not exactly how we would have dressed, had we planned, but they were just fine. The flowers were beautiful, but the kids tummy's must have been yelling, bc they weren't in the best of moods. We still managed to snap a few cute ones. Oh, and there was a photog there waiting on a client, who had a live little bunny to use as a prop, I guess. Well, knowing good and well I had full intentions of somehow getting that bunny in my "it's almost Easter" pictures, I whisper in Cole's ear "Cole, let's go see that bunny!" Of course he is on board, and we walk over to it. I say "Don't worry, we are just looking, we won't touch!" The nice lady I'm sure knew what I wanted, and says, "here you can hold him!" I snapped away, and got a zillion of Cole holding him, but everytime AR would try the bunny would run away! It must have been bc she wanted to kiss him the whole time.

We spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Botanical Gardens this weekend. After 369 pictures, literally, a kind lady asked if we wanted her to take a picture of all us. We obliged. Apparently, I was the only one still happy to there:)

leggo my eggo'

The kids are now to the age where I can walk out of the room, and they can peacefully play together, without me fearing he will put stickers all over her hair, or force feed, and I mean FORCE, her to take the bottle. AR of course tries to do whatever Cole does, and Cole LOVES bossing her around. (I can hear myself in him:) I know I complain a lot about how tough having 2 toddlers is, but I truly love it, and go to bed wishing I had more time with them every night! This is them having breakfast together in the playroom.

what's new

Check out my new blog http://www.homeandsoulredemption.blogspot.com/ which will explain where I've been and what I am up to!:)

Gettin' dirty

Now that I am home more, and it's not freezing, we've been loving the outdoors. We recently went down to Eutaw Al, where PJ's hunting property is, and took the kids. I had never even been there and it's his home away from home 6 months of the year! We took the golf cart and the gator - the kids, and big kids, had a blast!

lovin' the mud - notice he has on 2 different boots.

I'm sure Cole will grow up on this land, what a memory!

exciting info coming soon... sneak peak:)

Today me and Melissa Wood took the girls to Soho Sweets. I picked up the kids some swirlpop suckers - had a blast cleaning that up too. I picked Cole up from school, and gave him his sucker. He took a lick, looked at me and said "mommy, am I a miracle?" My heart melted and I said of course, and took a picture to remember that innocent moment!!

So, every one warns you when you have a boy, that it will be completely different than having girls. Well, I guess that is true, now having both and seeing the difference. When Cole was just 2 he was being put to sleep to have surgery on a hand that had been closed in a door. (One of the scaredest moments we've ever had with him!) He is still always getting hurt and just last week, was running through the kitchen while I was cooking supper, and ran into the side of the cabinet and basically knocked out a tooth. It stayed attached, just knocked backward. After panicking and calling every dentist I knew, PJ reset it back in place, then put him to bed and thankfully we awoke to it pretty firm in place. We had an appt. right away, and got it all under control. So, as he was playing in the tub tonight, I decided to snap a picture of his feet. Maybe this will capture just how rough my little boy is:) I'm sure there will be more trips to the Dr. for emergency accidents, but I pray it will never be anything more serious!

birthday girl

My sweet girl turned 1, and since I'm back to blogging now, thought I would catch up with some birthday photos.

She loved the tickle monster book and hands that Aunt Melissa (Mo) gave her.

It's official - I'm a thrifter.

As I am sitting in my den this am - alone, thanks to the children still sleeping- I realize something. Every. single. thing. from my den is from a thift store. Ok, maybe not a thrift store, but awfully close. Something I love so much, is stealing from people. I love to find something someone doesn't want and "fix it." So, I will spend pennies on something worth so much more. I absolutely love a good deal. Get this right.. not a sale.. a STEAL. It's like I almost want to look over my shoulder after the purchase and say "suckaaaa." Ok, kidding. But, I wanted to show you bloggers the deals I have found along the way, in the one year + I have lived in this house.

These chair are from Craigslist, I believe I paid $50/ea. for them. I planned to have them recovered, which I will eventually.

The ottoman, was $3 from a thift store. (Don't worry I steamed it well.)

The silk drapes are from At Home, which I bought from a friend that was moving. They sell for $380/pr but I paid $50/pr.

The buffet style table was $35, yardsale.

If only I could find a replacement window system...

This was someone's fireplace screen they had bought from At Home, that broke, so I took home and broke apart, and made 3 handy "memo/card" holders.

This lamp cost $2, thrift. I painted it and added a shade.

These are 5 silk panels that I actually got from a friend, which she bought at a yardsale or something, but couldn't use them. They were took cheap to not buy!

I have a large area between my couch and chair, so this large table works great here. I paid $50, I think it goes for $500 from Ballard Designs.

My favorite deal of all time, is my coffee table. I paid $40 from a thrift store. It opens up for storage and is awesome. The cream/iron bowl on top from an estate sale somewhere. The child was free. Well, kind of.

This light hangs over my breakfast table. When we moved here there was an 1880 pendant. I removed the previous shade/plastic thing, spray painted the chain from bronze to brown, and replaced the shade from 3 Sheets. $25 total project. They sell these exact ones there for around $300.

Isn't it fun... practice with me... "SUCKKKAAAA!!"