This Time Last Year

May 2009

This time last year Dean had just built the girls their very own teepee. The grass was lush & the garden was well on its way to producing veggies. This year we have had such a long winter. Dean has started the veggies but they are no where near where they were last year. While others are already starting to enjoy the bounty of their gardens, we are at the sprout stage. I love listening to him talk about what each little plant is going to be. They all kind of look like weeds in pots to me. This weekend he moved all the fruit trees from the old house to the new one. They barely peek over the tall weeds that he has been pulling all day today. There are so many projects to do here but I am falling in love very quickly with the new house.

I started having contractions yesterday evening & by late last night I thought for sure my labor had started. My midwifes assistant came and checked me & I was only at a one. Blasted contractions all but stopped. I have had quite a few contractions throughout the day but nothing serious has come of it. My lower back is in quite a bit of pain. I'm guessing this is the getting ready part. Crazy to think that this time last year I wouldn't have even dreamed of having another baby. I was enjoying sleeping through the night too much ;) I couldn't be happier though. We are all pretty excited to meet the little guy.

I have thought a lot lately on how quickly things can change. Like in a matter of moments. How choices can affect not just ourselves but others as well. I really am trying to treasure my family more. Treasure all the special time with my sweetheart, love even the trying times with my children, & learn from my mistakes. I make so many! Hopefully I'm moving ahead and not stepping back. I'd like to think that maybe this time next year I can look back on these memories we are making now with a smile. That I may have the chance to see the growth and evolution of our family. I am sure that there will be a couple winces mixed in with all the happiness, but I'm guessing the good will outweigh the bad.

Only two weeks to go! I'll keep you posted on how things are progressing.

Hoping you all have a lovely & safe holiday weekend!

A Little Less Stressed

Image found ::here::

Image found ::here::

Image found ::here::

Image found ::here::

I've started compiling some ideas to use in the girls rooms. Right now Sloan's room is bright yellow. I love the color yellow. When it's done right it can make for a beautiful room. This yellow, not so much. The same could be said for the little ones room. It is painted in two different pinks one the color of pepto bismal. It also has some pretty lame Disney stamps and stickers placed all over the walls. I'm all for the darling Disney princess rooms. Really I am. I've seen where they look very charming. The previous owners just missed the mark in this room.

So when it comes to paint I'm thinking pale colors for the walls and cream colored wainscoting along the bottom part of the walls in both rooms. I really want the girls rooms to grow with them. I think this is a look that is pretty timeless. I love the butterfly pendant idea for Sloan's room. I think it's something I could maybe make for her. We have to work with the furniture we have for the time being. I'm thinking painting what we have will pull everything together and work for now. I will be keeping my eyes open for a cute armoire for the little ones and a really unique bookshelf for Sloan. I also have plans for the giant house bookshelf in the little ones room. I'm thinking paint for the body & wooden shaker shingles for the roof. How cute would that look? Oh and I can't wait to hang up all the fun art I have for their rooms. I actually have space to do this now.

I feel so badly for being such a party pooper over the past week. I've been able to get a ton of sleep over the past two days & my girls are almost completely back on their old schedules. This has made a huge difference for all of us. Dean put the girls beds together tonight. They were delighted. Probably not as much as I was. Now I can keep organizing without the beds being all over the room. Then Dean fixed my car that I haven't been able to drive since Friday. We were so blessed that the problem wasn't worse than it was. It was the shift cable that had worn through. Dean got my car stuck at the lake about a year ago. Ever since then the cable had been wearing down until Friday it finally gave out. Dean used to work on cars and because of this it has saved us a ton of money over the years. This was a $200 fix, meaning the part cost $200. I am almost positive if we had taken it to a dealership to have it fixed it would have been double that if not more. So now I have wheels again! Dean is the best. I still haven't been able to find my camera cable. Please bare with me on the lack of updated photos. Looking forward to getting a ton of boxes emptied tomorrow. Can't wait to share the new place with you very soon. Hope you all have the best Wednesday ever!

What I'm Craving

both images found ::here::

I have been thinking a lot about how I want our home to look. We have a ton of painting to do, scraping of ceilings, new lighting, and other projects. I am ready for a fresh start. A crisp clean pallet to work from. As much as I love color I feel the need for clean nice white walls in all the main living spaces. I like the idea of adding color with art & furniture. In the bedrooms I'd like to keep it light too. I'm ready for this change. What are your thoughts? Is white too stark or a nice clean pallet to work with?

3 weeks

June 2009

This was taken right after Zoe fell in the little lake we went fishing at. We had warned her several times to not dangle her legs over the water but she just couldn't resist. She ended up in the water. It would have been much worse if Dean hadn't immediately pulled her out.

I feel a little like the above photo. Like I could just sit down and cry while I pound my fists and kick my legs. Just a little temper tantrum. Please don't think I am ungrateful for all the blessings we have in our life right now. I guess I'm a bit overwhelmed & haven't had enough sleep over the past week. I miss our routines. I feel so out of sorts in this new house. I still have a ton to unpack & put away. When my house is not in order I feel out of order too. I know everything will be back to normal very soon. So I'm trying to keep it all in perspective.

It's been so cold here. I'm not talking a little breeze, nope, like in the low 30's. Oh and did I mention that it has snowed on and off all weekend? Hailed too. I keep waiting for the warm weather to show up & I think it's being pretty stubborn. The upside to all of this nice cold weather is I haven't been miserable due to hot weather during this pregnancy.

I'm HUGE right now! Only 3 weeks to go. I'm finding it harder to do the things I would like to do. Bending over to clean a cabinet is pure torture at the moment. I keep plugging away in the hope that all this movement will help move things along. The baby is kicking like crazy these days & I'm trying to savor these last few weeks of this pregnancy. I think it has been easier for me to enjoy this one knowing it's my last. I am so excited to meet this little guy. It's always fun to see whom they favor. Plus little baby boys always look like old men to me. It will be fun to finally meet him.

I'm dying to share some photos with you. As soon as I find my camera cord I will post them. I think I know where it is but I'm not quite sure. This could take a while folks. I hope not too long. Sorry to be such a grouch in this post. I'm sure some will blame it on hormones. I do think I'd feel this way even if I wasn't pregnant. Really in truly life is amazing. I'm sure I'll feel back to my peppy positive self once we are all back in the swing of things. Hugs to you all. Hope you have had a great weekend!

Moving Time

Aris October 2008

We finally have almost everything moved over from the house. I stopped by to pick up a few things from the old house yesterday and almost cried. So silly. It made my heart ache just a little to see how empty it was. I will confess all the new found space of our new house is lovely. The kitchen is huge, the living room, huge, the bedrooms, huge, the garage, well you get the picture. I love our new yard also. The girls love running through the weeds in the back yard. They look like little gazelles. They have even made little forts in the weeds. Cracks me up. Can you tell we have a lot of yard work to do? The to do list grows every day. First on the list pulling all the weeds in the yard. They are full of goats heads. After that we will work on scraping the ceilings and repainting the rooms. Mustard yellow, murky red, & Pepto Bismol pink are not my idea of colors that I would enjoy living with. Then will come the lighting & so on & so forth. It's a work in progress. I'm excited for the challenge & looking forward to making it our home.

::Awesome things that are happening right now::

I've already met 5 of our neighbors

We live on a cul-de-sac

The back porch is huge

Zoe just taught herself to ride her bike all by herself (on said back porch)

Sloan now has her own room

Dean doesn't have to work this weekend

I'm setting up my art space this weekend (in the house for now)

Life is wonderful

I will admit that I'm super grumpy today. My legs hurt & I'm not sleeping very well these days. The girls haven't gotten to bed on time in over two weeks. It has made for some very grouchy children as well. I'm really hoping that by this time next week we can be back on our regular schedules. Can't wait to share some pictures of the new house as soon as I find my camera cord for the computer :)

Hope you all have a great weekend!