recent happenings

Last week, we took a day trip up to Asheville to visit the Biltmore. Brad had gotten free tickets through a work friend, so we picked a weekday (when it wouldn't be busy) and headed on up there. I hadn't gone since high school, and Brad had never been.

 

Noah did SO well. He even walked some of the tour and didn't try to jump on any beds or anything. :) He liked the tunnels in the basement, and his favorite part of the whole trip was the bus ride to the house.
When we were getting dropped back off at the parking lot, he starting waving and saying, "bye bye"... not because we were leaving, but because he wanted to go "bye bye" longer in the shuttle bus. lol.

I won't bore you with a ton of details of the house, but if you're in the area, definitely go for a visit. Especially if you watch Downton Abbey. It's very very similar to that. Except I recommend going in the spring. I mean, it was great for a free trip, but it would've been nice not to be so flippin cold!

(dude. bright sun. yikes.)

 We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but we did grab a quick shot with Brad's phone of Noah and me at the indoor bowling alley. The quality sucks, especially since it was pretty dark down there. It is what it is. Photos of me with Noah are rare, so I'll take it.

 

Because Noah did so amazingly well, we decided to give him a treat. They had a little vintage toy shop, full of old timey type things like spinning tops, marbles, etc. They also had plenty of Melissa & Doug toys and these cool clocks (which Noah was mesmerized with). He found some trains, so we grabbed him one of those. And I was kind of surprised that the price wasn't too bad... $6 for a high quality, metal train that makes sound is better than those Thomas ones.

We also stopped by the candy shop, and his little eyes couldn't believe all of that chocolate behind the glass. He got a chocolate covered graham cracker, which he only ended up eating a few bites of (momma helped him with the rest...).
I'm kind of regretting I didn't get any cute candy shop shots with my fancy camera, but it was a little hard juggling everything (purse, backpack with Noah's stuff, stroller, etc).

 

We had a really good time. Brad was a little creeped out by some of the darker hallways, saying how he'd hate to visit at night. It did have a little bit of a haunted house type vibe goin' on. I'd like to take one of those tours where they show you the secret tunnels and doors and stuff.

You can get a better idea of just how big the house is by comparing how small Brad and Noah look standing next to it (bottom right, with the stroller). Now that I'm a mom? I kept telling Brad how I couldn't imagine raising kids in that house. I would be scared to death one of them would fall down the stairs or hang off a balcony or something. Or I'd lose them in a secret passageway.

Other Random Happenings:

The tickets we got expired March 1st, and part of the reason we waited so long to go was because Noah kept getting sick. I swear it's the school. He gets therapy there on Mondays, and it seems like by Thursday, he's sick again. Thankfully, it was just a fever this time, but it was still sad to watch him feel so lousy.

 

***

 

I've already decorated for Easter. I got my snow, so I'm good to move on now. 

 (bunny bums make me happy)

Actually, even though I'd like spring to show up early, it'd make for an awful summer. The mosquitos around here are ridiculous, and an earlier spring means more mosquitos (and other bugs). I'd rather wait a couple more weeks than get eaten alive.

I've also been planning Noah's Easter outfit. I'm so excited about it that I'm not even telling Brad what I have planned yet. Mostly because he'll probably veto it. He tends to do that when he can't see the whole picture yet. Seriously, half the fun of having a kid is dressing them up, and dangit, that's what I'm going to do.

***

We got a knock on our door recently. It was a surveyor telling us that our fence was on our neighbor's property by a few feet. Brad was super annoyed, since we'd had our HOA send out someone to check out the property lines before we built it. Turns out, that guy wasn't official.
So Brad went ahead and moved it now before it got too hot. Our neighbors behind us have a little girl who is about a year older than Noah. She was adorable chatting Noah's ear off, and most of it just went right over his head. He loves playing with other kids, and it cracks me up that little girls are drawn to him. They must think he's a great listener. ;)

 

Toss in a few hours of play doh and some therapy appointments, and that's pretty much the last couple of weeks for us.

Happy Tuesday!

Christmas Catch-up

This is going to be a really fast Christmas catch-up post, for documenting purposes. I have a pie in the oven, a few more gifts to wrap, and our first Christmas stop in an hour. So yeah. Very fast post.

We were invited to tag along with a coop homeschool group to make salt dough ornaments. It was just Noah, Alice, and Jack that day... but I think that was plenty. lol. Noah actually loved participating. He played in the flour (his favorite), got to touch the dough, and even enjoyed making handprints. Jessica was the teacher for the day, and she did a great job.

We also took Noah to see Santa, but I can't find the actual picture WITH Santa at the moment. Which is okay, because it sucked. Not the moment with Santa... but the picture quality. I'll never pay that much for a crappy photo ever again. Next year, I'll take my own pictures, thankyouverymuch.

But the mall has this cool exhibit with fake snow falling, and Noah loves it.

 

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

Happy Stuff

Yesterday, my mom Martha Stewart'ed my home.
See, I've had this problem. I grew up in the same house for most of my life. I lived there for 20 years, basically, until I got married. In my old home, I knew where things went. They'd gone in the same places for years. My mom will be the first to admit she's total Type A, OCD, clean freak. It's her way of having some sense of control over life. I swear you could walk into our home at any point in time, as long as there weren't any major renovations going on, and it would be spotless.  It's still that way. Growing up, we knew there were expectations of how things needed to be. Don't get me wrong; we still got to be kids. We'd grab our sleeping bags and slide down the stairs on them, all Slip-'n-Slide-like during sleepovers. We'd have pizza and movie nights in the living room. We made messes, but we knew those messes needed to be cleaned eventually. Everything had its place, and it stayed that way. We all had chores, and we did them. Because my mom said so. That's just how it was.

Fast forward to now. I could give you the entire story of how we got to where we are. Actually, I did, but just erased it, because it was going to take over this whole post. But after almost 5 years of marriage, I was at a loss. I didn't know where things needed to go. Where they should go. Where all of this crap that we couldn't throw away, but that didn't have a home, needed to go. If certain random objects should be thrown out/donated/kept. And where in the world to put all of Noah's toys. I needed an objective opinion. I needed my mom.

So yesterday, we spent five hours organizing. Along the way, she'd give me tips, which I promptly wrote down. I made a list of supplies that will make our lives a million times simpler and more organized. She gave Brad a little come-to-Jesus talk about how we can make our little home a "palace", and it's not that hard; we just need to agree on prioritizing what we want to do (like finally paint our kitchen!) to it.

In the meantime, this girl is extremely happy. I feel like I can breathe again.

***

While we were cleaning, Noah found his old high chair. And has been obsessed with it ever since. Yesterday, he fell asleep in it. This morning, he's eating his breakfast in it. It's actually really cute. And helpful.

***

We've been doing lots of crafty, simple type fun lately. Like cardboard box playing. And sidewalk painting. I prefer that over video games and tv any day.

(1 cup corn starch + 1 cup water, pour into muffin tins, then add food coloring)

I would also like to say how happy I am that android finally got instagram. I've been jealous of my iphone friends for a while now. I saw where some of my friends have uploaded like 5000 pictures already. I have a lot of catching up to do...


***

This time next week?
I'll be sitting right here:

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I can't begin to tell you how excited I am.

I don't normally announce vacations before we actually leave, because that's supposed to be a big internet no-no. But I can't help it. Plus, our neighbors will be watching our house like hawks... with a loaded shotgun... ready for anyone that might try something. Okay, not really. But we do have a cop as a neighbor, so I'm not too concerned.

***

Speaking of our neighbors...

Ever since my bro-in-law came to get their trampoline from our yard, we've been looking to get one for Noah. He loves to bounce and jump, and he had so much fun on theirs. I felt bad that he didn't really have much to play with back there, except for his sand box.

Last week, our neighbor came over and said they were about to put their trampoline on craigslist, but they wanted to offer it to us first. For free.

I thought I might cry. Instead I gave him a hug. And eventually some cupcakes. We just couldn't justify spending the money at the moment, even on one from craigslist. So this was totally unexpected, but such a major blessing.

We have the best neighbors ever. And they've made one little boy very very happy.

 

Monday Musings

Sorry for the silence last week.

It's not that I don't want to blog. It's just that there's really not much to write about. Turns out the ol' blog is suffering from the post-holiday letdown too.

Really.
Our days consist of wake up, breakfast, play outside, watch Baby Einstein, nap, go to grocery store, play, dinner, bath, Baby Einstein/George, story time, and bed. Maybe with a little cookie-baking thrown in there.
But in a sad effort to blog about something... here's some complete randomness for your Monday:

Feeding the birds.
This was more of an attempt to do something crafty with the boy, but he wasn't the least bit interested. So while he ran around, I globbed peanut butter and seeds onto pine cones. Turns out? Watching these birds enjoy my little project made me happy!

(chickadees are my favorite)

We have a family of sparrows living in our bushes, and I think we've made their home permanent now.
As long as there aren't any mockingbirds or geese involved, I'm cool with this arrangement (because seriously, those things are mean...).

***

Playtime Bits & Pieces.

Like I said, we've been going outside a lot lately, since the weather has been so amazing.
The pups are loving it too. Have I ever mentioned how weird Flash is with his snacking?
The dog will eat anything.
Dodger has to sniff everything before he trusts what you're giving him. Even obvious stuff like chicken. But Flash? Well, he has a pile of goodies in the back yard... from our garden.
We had some leftover carrots we didn't use, and guess who's been gnawing on them?

Yep. He's such a weirdo.

We also got to fit in some cousin playtime. I could just eat this little guy up. Such a cutie.

While I'm really craving some snow, I'm trying to be thankful for how nice it is at the moment. Last year, we were blessed with snow on Christmas. Not sure when or if that will ever happen again.
But still. The warmer temps are convenient for taking Noah out. I don't really enjoy the bitter cold unless it's going to snow.

***

PSA.
This happens to me quite often actually. It seems there's a general misunderstanding among the U.S. population... at least the ones who shop at places like Target or WallyWorld.
So please, people.
Wait until I've completed my transaction before invading my personal space with your buggy. If I haven't paid yet, it makes it very difficult to do so with you standing right in front of the credit/debit swiper-thingy. And really, it's just rude. Trying to bulldoze me out of the checkout lane isn't going to make the process go any faster. In fact, it's just going to make things awkward. So yeah. Please just wait your turn. I don't have a million coupons, and I know how to use the transaction thingy (just don't know what they're called, obviously). Give me some space, and it won't take long. 


***

Running.
Still doing it. Sort of. Ever since I got sick over New Years, it's taken me this long to get over my cold. I still sound all nasal-y, but I'm almost all better. Which is good, because I was really on a roll before. One day, I actually went 6 miles. That's probably not much for all you avid runners out there, but for this girl? You might as well have given me a medal. That's huge for me.
And then I proceeded to use a walker for the next few days...

***

Which leads me to...
Weight Watchers.
Yep. I joined.
I decided it was time to just bite the bullet and admit this last bit of weight wasn't going to come off without some sort of outside help. I have so many friends that have had success with the program and look phenomenal now. I guess it was only a matter of time before I caved to the peer pressure. And honestly, I'd forgotten how I used to eat before I was pregnant! I ate like a bird!
See, I'm technically right in the middle of my "healthy weight range". So in order to lose weight, they've given me the bare minimum of points. At least I hope so. Basically it's the "Eat Healthy or Starve" plan. If I don't lose anything this time? There's something really wrong with me. It's really not bad, though. It's made me realize how much crap I'd been eating and how little fruits and veggies I'd actually been consuming. I thought I was doing fine, but apparently not. You wouldn't believe how many points just everyday little things I'd been eating are. Anyway, it's only been about 4 days, so I have to wait a bit for any real results. Also, it might help if I owned a scale...

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Happy Monday!
xoxo.

Gimme Some Sugar

This post has been in the works for almost a week now.
Actually, I was working on it yesterday and accidentally hit "publish" instead of "save". Whoops.
I know. Where have I been?
Well, I had every intention of blogging. Heaven knows we've had plenty enough happening around here to blog about. Christmas cookies, bridal showers, Christmas parties (get ready, I've got some catching up to do before we do anything else). But see, I left my camera at my mom's Sunday... and I'm sorry, but telling y'all about Christmas events without any pictures is just... well, I can't do it. And after that? Well, like you just read.
I haven't had much time to read blogs, let alone post a few myself. Frankly, I don't know how the big-time bloggers do it. Even with somebody paying me, I'd be all "too much pressure!" ANYWAYS.


Over the weekend, we invited my dad and step-mom over for dinner and cookie decorating. Obviously, I knew decorating with a toddler was going to end in a mess. Noah and I tend to bake at least once a week, so I've gotten used to the messes. I still don't like them... but nothing surprises me anymore.

Noah loves having the extra attention. And every time we have guests over, he surprises us again with showing off some skill he's been hiding. This time, it was serving salad.

He didn't really want to eat it, but he certainly had fun putting it on the plates.

As for the cookies, we went ahead and baked a few before my parents came over. We thought it'd be a great idea to just use the Pillsbury premade kind to save time (I know, I KNOW. The baker in me is hanging her head in shame...). Uhh... fyi, you gotta roll that stuff REAL thin. Otherwise, they come out looking like pancakes.

Oh well.

We still had fun, and that's the point, right?

 

Noah definitely enjoyed himself. Especially the dough. Every time Brad turned around, Noah quickly grabbed a wad of dough and stuffed it in his mouth.

Which left him resembling his hero (Curious George).

 "What? You can't prove nuffin..."

So after all that sugar hit his system? We had a hard time getting him to sit still to decorate. In fact, he was more interested in eating the frosting instead.

But he gave it a good effort. He at least attempted to amuse us with this insane idea of using the frosting to decorate with instead of eat.

And then he decided we're all nuts and liked his original plan better.

Hope everyone's had a great week!
(Hopefully) I'll be back later with another update!