Today I spent the day cleaning out Hannah's room. I am surrounded by boxes as I type, trying to finish it up. Before I got pregnant with Hannah, we made this room an office/guest room. It was also the catch all room for anything I/we didn't want to deal with at the moment. We planned to keep the kids in the same room once Hannah was born. Once she was here, and we decided it was time for her to move from the bassinet in our room, to the crib, I decided I wanted them to sleep in separate rooms. So we put the crib in the office. All she did in there was sleep, then she came out and the door got closed. She played with Zach in his room. All her clothes are in Zach's closet since "the office" has no closet. It is a tiny room.
A couple months ago we sold the huge desk. When we did, everything got crammed into boxes and stacked around the room. It also became the dumping ground for bags of grown out baby clothes, large baby items when not in use, toys that were annoying us, or anything that didn't have an immediate spot. It was not pretty.
On to my "Pack rat Anonymous" point.
I keep everything. I have finally decided that there are some things I need to purge. Cleaning out the garage last month really got me going. It is ridiculous how much I have. A lot I can't bring myself to get rid of yet, but I am starting. I have every paper from every day Zach has been in childcare since he was 14 months old. You know how they give you the reports with what they eat, when they sleep, how their day was, etc. Well I have them ALL. In binders. Organized by date. And now with Hannah in daycare I get 2 a day. AND Zach has been in preschool for a year and a half.
You should see my kitchen table by the end of the week.
So I have artwork from school and from daycare and now Hannah is starting to do art at daycare also. I had to start looking at things and deciding what I really need to hang on to. I don't NEED to keep every paper he ever colored on. But I do. I evaluated the quality of the work and started recycling some. I still have way too much, but in a year or so I will probably go through everything and purge some more.
Right now I have stuff organized in binders with sheet protectors and bigger stuff in a plastic storage drawer thing. Whenever I go through them, I see pieces and think "I should totally pull that out and put it up at Xmas/Halloween/spring time" .. But I don't. I like to think someday I will.
It takes so much time to save and organize this stuff, but there is something comforting in knowing that I can look back and know exactly what Zach ate on September 8, 2005. Or how his mood was on January 17, 2006. Or what his sleep patterns were in month 21.
It is a sickness I know, but I am working on it.
Baby Steps.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Cutest Player Of The Year
Yesterday we had the end of year party and awards for Zach's soccer team. Zach got "cutest player of the year" award.
Of course he did!
Here is a picture of Zach receiving his award:
Here he is running back to his seat:
After Zach's award, he watched patiently while his teammates got their awards. Clapping and cheering them on. One of the older players was standing near him after he got his award and Zach walked up to him and put his hand out to shake his hand and said "Good Job!".
That kid melts my heart
Of course he did!
Here is a picture of Zach receiving his award:
Here he is running back to his seat:
After Zach's award, he watched patiently while his teammates got their awards. Clapping and cheering them on. One of the older players was standing near him after he got his award and Zach walked up to him and put his hand out to shake his hand and said "Good Job!".
That kid melts my heart
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Happy Halloween!!
The kids were not very cooperative when it came to taking pictures, but ... here goes...
My little monkey:
My beautiful ballerina:
The kids did great trick or treating. Hannah was such a trooper chasing after her big brother.
Who knew a bee and a monkey could be such good friends:
My little monkey:
My beautiful ballerina:
The kids did great trick or treating. Hannah was such a trooper chasing after her big brother.
Who knew a bee and a monkey could be such good friends:
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
It's that time of year....
Zach had a lot of fun pulling all the goop out this year. You will notice that Hannah is in none of these pictures, that is because we did this while she was napping. Bad mom I know, I just didn't want to chase 4 sticky, stringy hands around my house. 2 was enough.
Every year when we do this, we ask ourselves "Why?". Why do we torture ourselves with this process. Who decided this was a good idea? Why can't we carve like a large squash or something. Something not so damn stringy. And I guess I didn't realize how acidic it is because it made my cuticals burn like mad.
Anyway, in the end, they always look great and that makes it all worth it.
The final product.... in the light:
And in the dark:
Every year when we do this, we ask ourselves "Why?". Why do we torture ourselves with this process. Who decided this was a good idea? Why can't we carve like a large squash or something. Something not so damn stringy. And I guess I didn't realize how acidic it is because it made my cuticals burn like mad.
Anyway, in the end, they always look great and that makes it all worth it.
The final product.... in the light:
And in the dark:
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Think, Think, Think....
At some point in my recent past, childrens songs have taken the place of normal thoughts. Why is it that when someone says a simple word or phrase, does a song pop in my head that just won't leave.
Earlier today, someone in my office said "Think" (I believe talking to themselves, but whatever, that isn't the point)... Now for the last 30+ minutes, all I can hear in my head is "Now's the time to think, think, think. If you have a problem think, think think.......".
In a staff meeting the other day, someone said "Brainstorm". The rest of the day it was "There's no bad idea, when your brainstorming"
The good thing about it, is that it makes me think of my kids. The bad part is, I officially know that kids songs and shows have taken over my life.
Please tell me I am not the only one............
Earlier today, someone in my office said "Think" (I believe talking to themselves, but whatever, that isn't the point)... Now for the last 30+ minutes, all I can hear in my head is "Now's the time to think, think, think. If you have a problem think, think think.......".
In a staff meeting the other day, someone said "Brainstorm". The rest of the day it was "There's no bad idea, when your brainstorming"
The good thing about it, is that it makes me think of my kids. The bad part is, I officially know that kids songs and shows have taken over my life.
Please tell me I am not the only one............
Friday, October 17, 2008
what's going on?
We have been busy! I haven't updated in what seems like so long.
Our latest project has been our new door. Our next door neighbor works for a local window and door company and he got us a great deal on a beautiful wood door. We'd seen some glass in a door that we really liked, so we got that glass put in it. Part of getting it for a good price, is that it was raw wood. I don't think Chris realized the magnitude of the project when he first started talking about wanting to do it. This is the first staining project he has done beginning to end. We both had an idea of the process. We worked together on a good portion of it, but Chris did the majority of the work. He did an amazing job. He is still scraping all the glue out of the edges and getting the little bits of stain off the glass.
While he was out working on this in the garage, and the van was parked in the driveway, I took the opportunity to clean out the garage. We had/have so much stuff. It is crazy. I am a self proclaimed pack rat and the last 3 places we have lived have steadily dropped in square footage as we moved. When we moved here, we had the thought that we would have this as our starter home and upgrade to something bigger in a couple years when we got established. Well, with the market in the toilet I realize we are not going anywhere for quite awhile, so I need to make the most of our space. I am finally in a purging mood so I have been getting rid of a lot. I should have listened to Chris when he wanted to do this 2 years ago (yes honey, I admit, you are right).
Needless to say, these were projects that had to be done at night when the kids were asleep. That is where we have been for the last 2 weeks after 8:30pm.
Here is a picture of Chris working on the door as I speak, err...type:
Now.. on to the King of our house...
Zach has been doing awesome in school. His speech has been amazing. We are making great progress with potty training. I see an end in sight! He is really enjoying soccer. The key was that his Daddy has to play with him. Chris runs with him and holds his hand. I think it gives Zach the confidence he needs to play with all those bigger kids. They are so cute to watch.
Here is a picture taken right after Zach kicked the ball:
Last week instead of practice, a local pumpkin patch shut down their slides for the team to use the slides for free without a bunch of other kids. Zach went a couple times, but they were really too big for him. He had a great time though. Here is a couple of pictures:
Close up of my crazy kids face at the top of that HUGE slide:
Now... on to our princess...
She had her 1 year appointment last month. She was 26 lbs 4 oz and 31 inches tall. Still off the charts. She is a walking, talking, running machine. She talks so much. It is such a weird concept to me how natural it comes to her. I have probably heard her say more than 75 words. And sentences. Some of them aren't words she necessarily understands or uses on her own, but she repeats everything. She has 10 teeth now and is working on 11 and 12. She has all 4 front teeth on the bottom and top and both of her bottom molars have broken through the last week after them really hurting her the last couple weeks. The top 2 molars are working their way down. She loves to color, although she ends up trying to eat the crayons so she doesn't get to do it as often as she'd like.
Hannah being silly one night: please don't mind the messy house in the back
All clean after bath:
Hannah is such a blankie baby. If she is tired or hurt or there is a blankie in sight, she must have it. Luckily she isn't insistent one one particular blanket, as long as it is an afghan. I have a couple that GG made that are small so she can carry them around the house and not trip on them. Here she is asleep one night with a blankie my mom made for me when she was pregnant with me:
Anyhow, I think that is enough updating for one night. If you made it this far, Thanks for reading and I hope you are doing well!
Our latest project has been our new door. Our next door neighbor works for a local window and door company and he got us a great deal on a beautiful wood door. We'd seen some glass in a door that we really liked, so we got that glass put in it. Part of getting it for a good price, is that it was raw wood. I don't think Chris realized the magnitude of the project when he first started talking about wanting to do it. This is the first staining project he has done beginning to end. We both had an idea of the process. We worked together on a good portion of it, but Chris did the majority of the work. He did an amazing job. He is still scraping all the glue out of the edges and getting the little bits of stain off the glass.
While he was out working on this in the garage, and the van was parked in the driveway, I took the opportunity to clean out the garage. We had/have so much stuff. It is crazy. I am a self proclaimed pack rat and the last 3 places we have lived have steadily dropped in square footage as we moved. When we moved here, we had the thought that we would have this as our starter home and upgrade to something bigger in a couple years when we got established. Well, with the market in the toilet I realize we are not going anywhere for quite awhile, so I need to make the most of our space. I am finally in a purging mood so I have been getting rid of a lot. I should have listened to Chris when he wanted to do this 2 years ago (yes honey, I admit, you are right).
Needless to say, these were projects that had to be done at night when the kids were asleep. That is where we have been for the last 2 weeks after 8:30pm.
Here is a picture of Chris working on the door as I speak, err...type:
Now.. on to the King of our house...
Zach has been doing awesome in school. His speech has been amazing. We are making great progress with potty training. I see an end in sight! He is really enjoying soccer. The key was that his Daddy has to play with him. Chris runs with him and holds his hand. I think it gives Zach the confidence he needs to play with all those bigger kids. They are so cute to watch.
Here is a picture taken right after Zach kicked the ball:
Last week instead of practice, a local pumpkin patch shut down their slides for the team to use the slides for free without a bunch of other kids. Zach went a couple times, but they were really too big for him. He had a great time though. Here is a couple of pictures:
Close up of my crazy kids face at the top of that HUGE slide:
Now... on to our princess...
She had her 1 year appointment last month. She was 26 lbs 4 oz and 31 inches tall. Still off the charts. She is a walking, talking, running machine. She talks so much. It is such a weird concept to me how natural it comes to her. I have probably heard her say more than 75 words. And sentences. Some of them aren't words she necessarily understands or uses on her own, but she repeats everything. She has 10 teeth now and is working on 11 and 12. She has all 4 front teeth on the bottom and top and both of her bottom molars have broken through the last week after them really hurting her the last couple weeks. The top 2 molars are working their way down. She loves to color, although she ends up trying to eat the crayons so she doesn't get to do it as often as she'd like.
Hannah being silly one night: please don't mind the messy house in the back
All clean after bath:
Hannah is such a blankie baby. If she is tired or hurt or there is a blankie in sight, she must have it. Luckily she isn't insistent one one particular blanket, as long as it is an afghan. I have a couple that GG made that are small so she can carry them around the house and not trip on them. Here she is asleep one night with a blankie my mom made for me when she was pregnant with me:
Anyhow, I think that is enough updating for one night. If you made it this far, Thanks for reading and I hope you are doing well!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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