Update Overload 3!

Here we go!  All the fun kiddo updates!

 

Christopher's after-bath mohawk!

 

Which leads me to....  cut the curls for the 3rd time.... 

 

 Always a good boy for a haircut.

 

Lookin' like a big boy!

 I was sad to cut his curls off (again),

but I think he looks extremely cute with short hair, too!

(Pictures below may be pre-haircut!)

 

The boys have started wearing socks on their hands.

I'm not sure where it came from, but they call them 'gloves'.

 

Helping make muffins!

Wearing 'gloves' (?)

 

 

                           Before the haircut.....crazy hair!                 We now have 2 Batman masks!

Sunday after church.  I love our weekend family time!

 

 

                                      Shark week!                                        Reading with Grandpa

 

 

What is a Wiley blog post without a coupon deal?

We needed to keep the house smelling fresh for showings...

The Glade products seen below (valued at $35+) were FREE.

We just paid tax.

I love couponing!

 

My favorite couponing sites: Here and Here

 

 



 My handsome Bro....

Can't believe he's in college now!!

 

 

The boys love to 'dress-up'. their toy box is full of dress-up clothes.

They change in and out of costumes all day!

We usually get dress-up clothes from super cheap after-Halloween-Clearance

at Target, Walmart, Consignment Stores, or Garage Sales (if it is washable).

 

                             Knight Christopher    Christopher has this eye patch on all the time!   

 

Cocky and Pirate

Loving the balloons from our Open House!

 You think I'm joking about the eye patch ??

He sleeps in it, too!

 

 

We had a yummy one dish meal this week!

Roasted potatoes, carrots, and polska kielbasa sausage:

Dice potatoes, carrots, and sausage.

Mix in bowl with EVOO, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, oregano.

Pre-cook in microwave (if you're running behind like me!)

Spread on a large tray, roast in the oven at 400 until browned (30+ mins).

YUM!  We all 3 ate it up!

 

 

Roasted potatoes, carrots, and polska kielbasa sausage

Pirate Christopher enjoying dinner!

 

Yesterday I woke up to this -----

Blanket, pillow, and books, books, books!

Rather than missing their toys (75% sent to storage),

They are loving the new organization of their books

(when they aren't all over the floor).

 

 

 Michael reading on the couch.

 

                   'Gloves', pirate patch, and a smile!             Friday has a sticker on his nose!!

 

Intently looked at books all day!

Michael took this picture :)

 



Christopher has returned to being good at naptime.

 

Michael during naptime.

This kid will play around for 3+ hours and never go to sleep.  *sigh*

 

 

In other news.....................................

 

Yesterday was the first day of school in Richland 2.

It felt really weird to be focusing on my house last week when I

would normally be CRAZY getting ready for school to start.

 

But yesterday, I experienced all the roles of my new job:

Mommy

Pre-School teacher

Private Studio - Violin Teacher

Homemaker

and it was very, very fulfilling.

 

I also decided that maybe my lack of productivity this summer was due to the fact that Summer is usually "vacation mode" as a teacher.  I suddenly feel motivated, inspired, and more positive about actively getting more stuff done around here! 

 

Christopher's tooth, the one he injured when he fell on a bed, is discoloring.  He goes back to the dentist in 2 weeks to see if there is any infection.  If there is, they may have to pull the tooth to avoid harming his permanent tooth.  If not, he will either have a discolored tooth or it may change back over time.  I'm praying it's fine.  I know this might be selfish, but I think he would look silly missing a tooth for the next 5+ years! 

 

I've been spending hours researching Homeschool Pre-School curriculums and ideas.

I spent some time in the Homeschool bookstore flipping through books, but

there are a lot of free resources online if you have time, ink, and paper.

 

I have also bookmarked some Christian Homeschooling blogs so I can get ideas, free printables, and support.  It feels like a massive undertaking to get started, but I am feeling better now.  I am excited to check out all of the stuff I found and get us started!

 

Most importantly, I am trying to focus myself and our family more on God. 

The old saying, "If Satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy"

has been very true for me. 

God created us to love and serve Him and to love and serve others! 

 

Well, Casey will be home in 4 hours! 

That means a fun, family weekend away from the computer!

 

Did I mention Casey will be home for 4 days and 5 nights next weekend?

WooooooHoooooooo!

 

<>< Stacy

Update Overload 2!

Sunday I will officially be 20 weeks pregnant!  HALFWAY there! 

 

Even better, Friday we will find out if the baby is a BOY or a GIRL!

Hopefully he or she will cooperate :) 

I usually find out at 17 or 18 weeks, so I am just dying to know!

 

Pretty much everyone says, "Are you hoping for a girl?".

Well, yeah, I would love to have a little girl!

But we'll be happy either way as long as it is HEALTHY!

 

If it's a girl, she will need clothes, clothes, and more clothes!

(and anything else I don't want to be boyish).

 

If it's a boy, he will need newborn Winter clothes

(since this is our first Winter baby).

 

Either way I will get to have a little Garage Saling fun.

 

Speaking of Garage Sales, I have had very good luck finding Winter Maternity clothes at 2 Garage Sales!  You can't beat $1.00 a piece for nice stuff!  Even jeans! Like I said, I'm pregnant on the opposite seasons from last time so I am wearing the same summer things over and over again until the weather cools off and I can break out my "new-to-me" stuff!

 

Have we thought about baby names?

Not really.

No sense in coming up with girl names again if we don't need to.

 

I've been feeling baby move around a good bit lately.

Michael really wants to feel the baby, but can't yet.

He is also going with us on Friday to find out the gender.

He is such a sweet big brother :)

 

Casey finally got to feel baby last weekend. 

I was so glad!

 

I still can't believe I get to stay home with my baby this time!

(No constant pumping!)

I'm sure it will be different, and difficult at times, but I can't wait!

 

 

Torturing Christopher

(Trying on a Hotsling I got at a garage sale.)

 

We still have unanswered questions about our life between now and January 13th,
but we know God is in control and that plans will work themselves out as baby time approaches.

 

Still praying everyday that our house will sell before baby!

 

<>< Stacy

 

 

 

 

Update Overload 1!

Whew!  The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind!  When I plugged in my camera, I found even more pictures of all the work I did last week.  Although I'm sure you have already seen enough pictures of painted doorframes on last week's posts, I am proudly going to post some more.  (Don't worry, the next post will be cute kid updates).  This took a lot of HARD work!

                                          Before                                                          After

                                          Before                                                           After

Beautiful! (I spent like 5 hrs painting these...)

 

                                          Before                                                       After 1st coat

 

                                        Dusted/Cleaned Walls           Hideous Door Painted

 

         Door Before Orange Oil             Door After Orange Oil





                                               Sunroom Floor                         Painted!!!                          

MORE Painted Baseboards

                               To-Do List Disappearing               No Leaves Under the Carport

                                  Kids' Room Before                            After Packing up 75% of Toys

                                        Kids' Room After                     Clean Driveway + Flowers

                                          

 

 

Fresh Pinestraw...

 

 

As for the Open House?  No offers, but a good turnout and some serious interest.  Open House or not, the house is looking much, much better than it did before.  The boys haven't even complained about 75% of their toys being gone (to storage!) although Michael keeps pointing out things missing when he realizes they're gone.  He was happy enough with the leftover Mylar balloons from the Open House signs (9 of them)!

 

Praying everyday that God has a buyer in mind for our home!

 

<>< Stacy

 

Updates

Tuesday lunch break - updating Casey on progress. 

3 hours of paiting so far today..............

BEFORE

AFTER 

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER (planning on another coat...)

<>< Stacy

Okay God, I'm listening!

Have you ever felt God went out of his way to get your attention? 

I have.

First of all, Sunday's church service included 2 special songs:
1)  Because He Lives (see my blog post Because He Lives! from last April to find out why this is a special hymn to me. Of course, we never actually sing the verse that I love because it is verse 2 and somehow verse 2's get skipped a lot in Baptist churches).

and

2)  Blessings by Laura Story (This song came out while Christopher was in the PICU - it helped me find strength and encouragement through our trials.  Her inspiration for this song is inspiring - she was by her husband's side as he fought a brain tumor.)

My Blessing

The choir also sang a touching song - Be Still -  it was equally thought provoking. 

I'm not sure how these particular songs ended up in the same service, but they did. 

Just for me.

Fast forward to me painting today.  What song was stuck on my head?  Blessings. 

Fast forward to me laying pinestraw.  What song was stuck in my head?  Blessings.

It was literally stuck in my head for hours. 

I thanked God over and over for my blessings -

even though things seem hard right now. 

Fast forward again - to painting round 2 - I decide to turn on Pandora. 

What song comes on FIRST? 

Blessings.

Okay God, I'm listening.  I hear you.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy

And what if trials of this life

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise







God has been trying to get my attention...and He did!

I am so blessed.  Blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed.

Take a moment to look past your trials - big or small -  or your selfish desires - to realize that God has filled your life with Blessings.  Then thank Him.

God, I'm listening!

 

<>< Stacy

Not my usual Monday...

I've missed blogging! 
(and believe me, I have some extremely cute stories and pictures right now...)

But for now...
Here's my craziest Monday in a long, long time....and I'm sure I left a few things out...

7:30 am Woke up
Enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet (enter 2 kids waking up)
Fed me, boys, and animals
Put clean dishes up
Cleaned up kitchen
Opened all the blinds and made the beds
Got myself and the boys dressed
PACKED for the kids to go to Grandma and Grandpas
Straightened up the house (in case of showing...as usual)
11:00 Visited with family and left the boys with Grandma and Grandpa
12:00 Ate lunch with an awesome friend (saw her new school, too!)
Stopped at Babies-r-us - used a great $5 coupon to score a nearly free baby item or 2  ;)
Explored the SCAIHS homeschool bookstore (yikes! so much stuff!)
5:00 Painted baseboards in the kitchen
Painted doorframes
Ate dinner at crazy fast speed
Put out pinestraw
Put out an Open House sign
Painted more baseboards
Painted more doorframes and doors
Midnight - Blogged (mainly so Casey can see pics...)

Productive, much ??? 
Not to mention, 18 weeks pregnant!  Geesh!

Special Thanks to my parents for taking the kids for a few days!  I will be able to get SO much painting done!  I know they'll have a great time too.  AND Casey gets to see them.  :)

Just finished the pinestraw as the sun went down.

Open House Sunday!

 WHITE baseboards?

More white baseboards and doorframe.

Doorframes take FOREVER to paint

The boys' doorframe is improving :)

NOW can you tell how badly I am ready to move ???  I have been weeding for hours, putting out pinestraw, and painting !?!  I hope it pays off someday soon.  God's timing is always perfect...

<>< Stacy

1st Dentist trip!

Last week, Christopher jumped off of a bed, busted his lip, and pushed a tooth out of place.  That prompted our first trip to the dentist (I know, I know, Michael is 4!  But he is so difficult with doctors!).  So today, Christopher had his first teeth cleaning and x-ray of the damaged tooth.  Luckily - no damage to permanent tooth.  We go back in a month to clean Michael's teeth and x-ray Christopher's again to make sure there isn't any infection or reason to extract the tooth.  We can expect some discoloration which may be a bad sign or may just go away.

I was hoping Christopher's appointment would be a good experience for Michael so he will feel better at his own appointment.  It definitely was!  He came home saying, "I had lots of fun at the dentist".  Yup.  Played with toys, saw fish, watched cartoons, got a prize even though he didn't get the x-ray, played video games, watched them work on brother, played with his new Disney Princess Ring (not sure why they chose rings as their prize), got a sticker - again, Disney princess was his choice, and got his own goody bag with toothbrush and Buzz Lightyear flossers even though he didn't technically see the dentist.  He was pretty excited about everything.  I let him watch Beauty and the Beast this afternoon since all of his 'goodies' had Belle on them and he seemed quite interested.  Now he is going around talking about sleeping in a cabinet (like the tea cup - chip) and fighting off 'beasts'. 

Christopher was pretty good for a 2 year old.  He keeps talking about how they brushed his teeth and how it 'tickles'.  Oh, and every worker stopped at least once to tell me how cute they were.  The boys really hammed it up.  Christopher was happy once he saw the life-size pirate painted on the wall.  It all seemed 'worth it' to take them to a pediatric dentist!!!!

Not to mention...the boys were begging me to brush and floss tonight.  Yes, to FLOSS too.

Christopher playing with his prize (a Beauty and the Beast ring)
while Michael watches the video games.

Watching Beauty and the Beast from a tent.

Dinner!!

The kids ate up this tilapia (it's frozen - I take no credit) and the fiesta lime rice complimented it well (no scallions or cilantro on-hand, but that's probably better for the boys anyway).

Fiesta Lime Rice and Tortilla Crusted Chipotle Lime Tilapia.

I can't believe tomorrow is Wednesday already!

Busy weeks pass by faster!

<>< Stacy