It happens every year. Someone comes up to Hannah and says, "Have you gone to see Santa yet??? What's he gonna bring you? Have you been a good girl?"
So, now that she's finally old enough to understand I gave her the "Santa" talk.
We don't celebrate Santa in our house; same reason we don't celebrate the Easter bunny. (Oh, we still give our kids candy on Easter but it comes from Mom and Dad and is just a part of celebrating the real reason for the holiday). Chris and I want Hannah and Caden to grow up knowing that Christmas is about Christ's birth, the reason we give presents is to celebrate that Christ gave us the greatest gift, His Son. To us, Christmas is a CELEBRATION of all that Christ has given us through his precious gift.
We also want our children to know that they get presents from us regardless of how bad or good they've been. We love our children, not because of what they do, but because of who they are, and that is why we give them gifts. We just don't want them thinking they have to DO something in order to receive good gifts. I know some of you think we're crazy, but I do think we need to be very careful about the messages we're sending our children.
Now I realize that our views on Santa Claus are probably a lot different then yours...that's OK. I don't think that Santa is the devil incarnate, and that everyone who brings their kids to sit on Santa's lap is not teaching their kids the real meaning of Christmas. Chris's family always got a present from Santa every year and he turned out normal! :)
So, we just told Hannah "some people celebrate Christmas with Santa Claus, he's just a made up pretend man who brings presents to children who've been good for Christmas. We give you presents because we love you and you're our child. We celebrate Christmas as Christ's birthday and we give gifts as a part of celebrating Christ giving us the BEST GIFT EVER!.. JESUS!!!"
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
More Injuries
Anyone who knows Hannah knows that she's an active girl. She loves to run, wrestle, jump, tackle, fall. The surprising thing is that we've had 4 1/2 years without incident; until about a month ago when she broke her nose, and until Sunday when she broke her elbow.
We had some friends over and one of the kids was playing around with Hannah and tossed her on her bed. Hannah came out of her room white as a ghost and screaming. At one point she even said "this is the worstest time of my life" (which actually made me laugh.)
Her elbow swelled up and she still wasn't bending it on Monday morning so we took her in. Four hours and three doctors appointments later we were on our way home with Hannah in a bright pink cast. She'll be in the cast for 4 weeks which doesn't sound long to any of you I'm sure, but to me it sounds looonnggg. No riding bikes, no sledding, no horse playing, no hitting brother with the casted arm. Hello, have you met my child??? It won't be easy. Although I will say that she's been a lot more docile since the incident and she's even been encouraging Caden to stop jumping off the arm of our chairs.
So, now I'm back in the mode of taking her potty, getting her dressed, helping her take the lids off the markers, you name it. She still has pretty limited mobility in her fingers but I'm hoping that will be getter as the swelling goes down.
Never a dull moment in the Wassenaar household!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Only one more day
....
to hear the wood floor creaking at 5 am when Chris gets up for work
to wash and dry all my dishes by hand
to use my stove from 1954 that takes 30 min to boil water
until I have shades on my windows that don't fall down every time I try to open them
to have the towel rack fall down after my shower
to sweep up dust bunnies...all the time...no matter how often I sweep
to climb over Chris just to get out of bed, which I'm sure he just LOVES at 2 a.m. when the kids are crying for me
to double check the fridge door every time you close it to make sure it actually is closed. Yes, it's been left open all night before.
to clean my entire house in 30 min flat
to have one square foot of counter space to prepare all my meals
Yahoo! Moving day is only one day away! Although we've been very grateful for our little rental house, we are also very ready to be in our own place again. Chris has assured me that even if not a single person helps him he WILL move all our possessions into the new house tomorrow!
to hear the wood floor creaking at 5 am when Chris gets up for work
to wash and dry all my dishes by hand
to use my stove from 1954 that takes 30 min to boil water
until I have shades on my windows that don't fall down every time I try to open them
to have the towel rack fall down after my shower
to sweep up dust bunnies...all the time...no matter how often I sweep
to climb over Chris just to get out of bed, which I'm sure he just LOVES at 2 a.m. when the kids are crying for me
to double check the fridge door every time you close it to make sure it actually is closed. Yes, it's been left open all night before.
to clean my entire house in 30 min flat
to have one square foot of counter space to prepare all my meals
Yahoo! Moving day is only one day away! Although we've been very grateful for our little rental house, we are also very ready to be in our own place again. Chris has assured me that even if not a single person helps him he WILL move all our possessions into the new house tomorrow!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Tuesday
I was sitting in Women's Bible Study and I hear Hannah SCREAMING for her mommy, which is not like her. She's a pretty tough cookie most of the time so I knew something must be wrong. I walked down to the nursery and one of the workers was on her way out to get me.
"Hannah fell down and bumped her nose, it's bleeding and she's pretty upset."
Yeah, I can tell she's upset, she is screaming so hard she can barely breath. So I head in the nursery and they've got her laying down to stop the bleeding. I scoop her into my arms, take one look at her nose and about freak out. The poor girls nose was about twice the size of normal....it looked more like Caden's nose then her own. (No offense little man, but you're a guy, you don't need a cute petite nose like little Hannah). The bleeding was almost done by the time I got there so I just held her while she cried. I gave her a piece of candy and even that didn't work!!!
Thankfully Marie was at Bible study (a friend whose a pediatrician) and she said that if it was broken there wasn't much they could do unless it was crooked or obstructing her breathing, which thankfully doesn't seem to be the case.
So for now, she just has a big, black and blue nose. She's such a trooper though, she hasn't really complained about it at all. The swelling seems to be going down so I think she's on the mend.
Here are the pictures to prove it (although it looks worse in person)
"Hannah fell down and bumped her nose, it's bleeding and she's pretty upset."
Yeah, I can tell she's upset, she is screaming so hard she can barely breath. So I head in the nursery and they've got her laying down to stop the bleeding. I scoop her into my arms, take one look at her nose and about freak out. The poor girls nose was about twice the size of normal....it looked more like Caden's nose then her own. (No offense little man, but you're a guy, you don't need a cute petite nose like little Hannah). The bleeding was almost done by the time I got there so I just held her while she cried. I gave her a piece of candy and even that didn't work!!!
Thankfully Marie was at Bible study (a friend whose a pediatrician) and she said that if it was broken there wasn't much they could do unless it was crooked or obstructing her breathing, which thankfully doesn't seem to be the case.
So for now, she just has a big, black and blue nose. She's such a trooper though, she hasn't really complained about it at all. The swelling seems to be going down so I think she's on the mend.
Here are the pictures to prove it (although it looks worse in person)
House update
Well moving day is less then two weeks away. I am very ready to be settled in a house and not living out of boxes! So far I absolutely LOVE everything about the house...with the exception of the fire place. It's kinda ironic that with all the decisions I had to make the fireplace was the one thing I DIDN'T worry about. I absolutely loved the tile we picked out and thought it would tie together the paint, furniture and carpet perfectly. BUT...now that I see it up I'm definitely not crazy about it. It's much more orangish then I thought it would be; who knows, maybe once the carpet gets in it'll look great.
Here are some recent pictures. Unfortunately these were taken before the fireplace tile was put in so you can't see it. I was also just by the house this morning and the appliances are in! The carpets guys were there as well so I believe that by the end of the day our house should have the carpeting complete.
Here are some recent pictures. Unfortunately these were taken before the fireplace tile was put in so you can't see it. I was also just by the house this morning and the appliances are in! The carpets guys were there as well so I believe that by the end of the day our house should have the carpeting complete.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Caden is two
My sweet little boy turned two today! He has brought so much joy to our family with his sweet smiles, hugs and kisses; you can't help but fall in love with him! I wanted to share with you a story by Max Lucado that I read to Caden tonight before bed. (It was one of his birthday presents).
Just In Case You Ever Wonder
"Long, long ago God made a decision- a very important decisions...one that I'm really glad He made. He made the decision to make you.
The same hands that made the stars made you. The same hands that made canyons made you. The same hands that made trees and the moon and the sun made you. That's why you are so special. God made you.
He made you in a very special way. He made your eyes so they would twinkle. He made your mouth so you could smile. He made your laugh so you could giggle. God made you like no one else.
If you looked all over the world- in every house-there would be no one else like you...no one with your eyes, no one with your mouth, no one with your laugh. You are very, very special.
And since you are so special, God wanted to put you in just the right home...where you would be warm when it's cold, where you'd be safe when you're afraid, where you'd have fun and learn about heaven. After lots of looking, God sent you to me. And I'm so glad He did.
I'll never forget the first time I saw you...your eyes were closed, your fingers were curled in two little fists, your cheeks were puffy and round. I knew in my heart God had sent someone very wonderful for me to take care of.
You first night with me, I heard every sound you made: I heard you gurgle, I heard you sniff, I heard your little lips smack. I heard you cry when you wanted to eat, and I fed you.
You're bigger now, and you do more things. You can walk and run. You can play and talk. You can eat and sing and look at books. You are not a little baby anymore.
But as you grow and change, some things will stay the same. I'll always love you. I'll always hug you. I'll always be on your side. And I want you to know that...just in case you ever wonder.
Remember I'm here for you. On dark nights when you hear noises in your closet, call on me.
When you see monsters in the shadows, call me. On hard days when kids are mean and don't treat you like they should, come to me.
If your grades are bad and your teacher is made, come to me...'cause I love you. And I always will, just in case you ever wonder. Most of all, I'll teach you about
God. He loves you. He protects you. He and His angels always watch over you.
And God wants me to make sure you know about heaven. It's a wonderful place. There are no tears there. No monsters. No mean people.
You never have to say "good-bye," or "good night," or "I'm hungry." You never get cold or sick or afraid.
In heaven you are so close to God that He will hug you, just like I hug you. It's going to be wonderful. I will be there, too. I promise. We will be there together, forever. Remember that...
Just in case you ever wonder."
Sweet Caden, I want you to know that Mommy and Daddy and Hannah love you SO much! But, Jesus loves you even more. He sent his son for Caden James Wassenaar! Please never forget how precious you are to him. You are a child of the King!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
30
My husband turned the big 30 this week and it got me thinking about how blessed I am to have him in my life. So here are 30 things I love about my husband.
1. He makes me laugh
2. He puts others needs before his own
3. He helps me not take myself to seriously
4. His muscles :)
5. The smell of his cologne
6. He loves the Lord with all his heart
7. His intelligence
8. His work ethic
9. His discipline
10. He never gives up
11. He plays with our kids
12. He helps me clean the kitchen after dinner
13. His hugs
14. He's organized :)
15. He lets me hang out with my girl friends and doesn't make me feel guilty for leaving him with the kids....again
16. He supports me
17. He provides for our family
18. He leaves me notes to tell me how much I'm loved
20. He's athletic
21. He leads our family
22. He just holds me when I cry and doesn't try to fix my problems
23. His eyes
24. He cried when our kids were born
25. He trusts me to make decisions
26. He loves to read (we're both nerds that way)
27. He prays with me
28. He's loyal
29. His hands
30. He listens to me
1. He makes me laugh
2. He puts others needs before his own
3. He helps me not take myself to seriously
4. His muscles :)
5. The smell of his cologne
6. He loves the Lord with all his heart
7. His intelligence
8. His work ethic
9. His discipline
10. He never gives up
11. He plays with our kids
12. He helps me clean the kitchen after dinner
13. His hugs
14. He's organized :)
15. He lets me hang out with my girl friends and doesn't make me feel guilty for leaving him with the kids....again
16. He supports me
17. He provides for our family
18. He leaves me notes to tell me how much I'm loved
20. He's athletic
21. He leads our family
22. He just holds me when I cry and doesn't try to fix my problems
23. His eyes
24. He cried when our kids were born
25. He trusts me to make decisions
26. He loves to read (we're both nerds that way)
27. He prays with me
28. He's loyal
29. His hands
30. He listens to me
Thursday, October 15, 2009
I hate when that happens
Today was clipping along quite spendidly. I woke up early and made french toast for my husbands 30th birthday. Then I decided I should clean my house because, I am not joking one bit, I have not cleaned in probably a month! I know! That is SO gross...I'm normally such a clean freak, I'm just feeling highly unmotivated to clean our rental. So, I clean the house and then hop in the shower. Before I get in the shower I decide I need to blast some music, something I haven't done in quite a while. I head TO the shower, singing away my praises to Jesus. Caden comes in to play while I'm showering which he normally does. So now Caden and I are jamming away, singing at the TOP of our lungs.
Suddenly Hannah walks in holding a bag I've never seen before.
"Where'd you get that Hannah?"
"Oh, Alison gave it to me!"
"What?????????" "Was she here?"
"Yeah, she just dropped off the pictures."
"Hannah, was mommy singing when she came?"
"Yeah."
"Loud??"
"Yep."
"OH NO!" "HANNAH, DON'T YOU KNOW YOU NEVER OPEN THE DOOR FOR PEOPLE WHEN MOMMY IS SINGING NAKED IN THE SHOWER!"
Suddenly Hannah walks in holding a bag I've never seen before.
"Where'd you get that Hannah?"
"Oh, Alison gave it to me!"
"What?????????" "Was she here?"
"Yeah, she just dropped off the pictures."
"Hannah, was mommy singing when she came?"
"Yeah."
"Loud??"
"Yep."
"OH NO!" "HANNAH, DON'T YOU KNOW YOU NEVER OPEN THE DOOR FOR PEOPLE WHEN MOMMY IS SINGING NAKED IN THE SHOWER!"
Friday, October 9, 2009
It's looking like a house
view from the back
Caden's room
looking from the kitchen/dinning room to the living room
entry way
Here are the most recent pictures of our new house. The sheet rocking is almost complete and it is actually looking like a house. I am especially pumped about the vaulted ceiling in Caden's room. He has the smallest bedroom in the house and it just feels a ton bigger with a high ceiling.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
House: Kitchen Cabinets/Paint
I talked with our stain guy today and am feeling MUCH better about our kitchen cabinets. We are getting Birch cabinets but we really wanted them to be a dark brown color. I was getting nervous about them b/c our house is going to be complete in less then 6 weeks now and we haven't even finalized our stain colors. Dick, the stain guy, was very helpful and is going to make me samples of stain on birch wood so I'll know exactly what they'll look like. We're also still deciding on what kind of paint to get. If we upgrade from flat to Semi-gloss it's an additional $1700. Yeah, steep price huh? So, tell me what you think, do we go with just flat paint which is easier to touch up, or do we spend the extra money for semi-gloss which is easier to clean?
I'll try to post pictures later this week of the house progress. It's fully sided and insulation is going in. I haven't been by to see it in over a week so I'm hoping I'll get a chance soon! I can't believe we're so close to the end! I can't WAIT to be in that house!
I'll try to post pictures later this week of the house progress. It's fully sided and insulation is going in. I haven't been by to see it in over a week so I'm hoping I'll get a chance soon! I can't believe we're so close to the end! I can't WAIT to be in that house!
Monday, September 28, 2009
gift bag idea
If you're like me you like your gifts to look pretty. On the outside I mean, you want to the packaging to be pretty. But, if you're also like me, you hate spending five bucks on a cute gift bag. So, here is my super cute (well, I think so) and inexpensive solution.
I bought this plain white bag at Target for $1.99, the smaller sizes were only .99 cents. I used leftover scraps from scrapbooking, added a couple stickers, tied some ribbon around the handle and viola... totally transformed,cute gift bag for less then 2 bucks! Hannah helped me since the gift was for Lillian so it turned out to be a fun project for the two of us. I love it when I can make crafts and still be spending time with my kids!
I bought this plain white bag at Target for $1.99, the smaller sizes were only .99 cents. I used leftover scraps from scrapbooking, added a couple stickers, tied some ribbon around the handle and viola... totally transformed,cute gift bag for less then 2 bucks! Hannah helped me since the gift was for Lillian so it turned out to be a fun project for the two of us. I love it when I can make crafts and still be spending time with my kids!
Friday, September 25, 2009
house
This week has been CRAZY!!!! ....I have a million things I want to blog about and I'm hoping to get sometime this weekend (although we've decided to go camping with friends so that may not happen). Anyway, these pictures are long over due. Here is the progress of the house.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Mail Tampering
Chris is turning 30 this year and I wanted to surprise him with something really great to celebrate. So, over A YEAR ago I get this great idea to get him tickets to watch his favorite hockey team, The Red Wings, play the Colorado Avs. It's perfect because Chris's sister lives in Denver so we can stay all weekend for pretty cheap. Great, because I wanted to get him front row tickets which are a little spendy so it'd be nice to not have to pay as much for lodging. I start saving every penny I make (which for a stay-at-home mom without a paying job takes dedication).
Finally it's about two months before his birthday so I check out the tickets online. Perfect, the game is on a weekend our church is having a woman's retreat. I'm a little bummed I can't go on the retreat but it's a perfect cover, Chris won't plan anything that weekend b/c he's suppose to be on kid patrol while I'm away with the ladies. I look online, talk to my brother-in-law and brother in Germany to find out exactly what seats they think I should buy. I decide that I want to get front row seats...the row directly behind the players. It's not everyday you turn 30 and it's not everyday we get to go watch an NHL hockey game. I order the tickets. Chris never checks our credit card statement so I pay for them that way. Fed Ex is suppose to deliver the tickets to my door, which is perfect b/c I'm at home...all the time.
Yesterday I take the kids to the park and as we're playing I see the Fed Ex truck drive buy. I quick grab the kids and head home, remembering that my tickets were going to be delivered that day. I rush as fast as I can but I miss him. They leave a ticket on the door telling me that they'll be back tomorrow. OK, we're still in good shape, I'll be home tomorrow afternoon which is when I'm guessing they'll come.
Friday comes and we're out all morning running errands, I don't see any notice on the door so I figure they haven't made it to our house yet. At 2 pm I get a call from a friend asking me to make a meal for another friend who just had surgery. I get occupied with scrounging up something to cook for them, go get Hannah from preschool, stop at McKinneys for some last min. groceries and head home. I wait, no FedEx guy. Chris gets home and I completely forget about my tickets, I put the meal in the car and take off. I deliver the meal successfully and head home. As I round the corner to my house I see the FedEx truck. My heart stops. Please, oh please, let me get inside before Chris opens the package. I run inside, open the door and I see Chris. "Honey, I'm SO sorry." That's all he had to say. I tare inside, grab the package and go to my room. I just didn't know what to do, I was so disappointed, and a little mad that he opened the envelope addressed to "Mrs. Rachel Wassenaar."
As soon as Chris knocks on the door I open it of course and start bawling. He gives me a big huge hug and says "I am SO PUMPED to go that game." Then I get to explain the whole story of how I saved my money for over a year and got him FRONT ROW tickets to the game. I got over being bummed and he's had a HUGE grin on his face all night. At least this way he will get to look forward to the game.
On a side note, we were eating dinner and Hannah starts crying. Apparently Chris told Hannah she could open the package and when she pulled out the tickets Chris only saw the back and thought it was some coupons I had ordered. Then she flipped them over and his first thought was "Oh crap!" ...but then he was super excited. Oh yeah, back to the side note. Hannah was crying because she saw me crying and felt bad for opening my mail. I reassured her that I wasn't mad, I just wanted to get to see Daddy's face when he got the tickets. But all is good now. Chris got the tickets and we're looking forward to a weekend in Colorado and especially looking forward to our AWESOME seats at the Wings game.
Finally it's about two months before his birthday so I check out the tickets online. Perfect, the game is on a weekend our church is having a woman's retreat. I'm a little bummed I can't go on the retreat but it's a perfect cover, Chris won't plan anything that weekend b/c he's suppose to be on kid patrol while I'm away with the ladies. I look online, talk to my brother-in-law and brother in Germany to find out exactly what seats they think I should buy. I decide that I want to get front row seats...the row directly behind the players. It's not everyday you turn 30 and it's not everyday we get to go watch an NHL hockey game. I order the tickets. Chris never checks our credit card statement so I pay for them that way. Fed Ex is suppose to deliver the tickets to my door, which is perfect b/c I'm at home...all the time.
Yesterday I take the kids to the park and as we're playing I see the Fed Ex truck drive buy. I quick grab the kids and head home, remembering that my tickets were going to be delivered that day. I rush as fast as I can but I miss him. They leave a ticket on the door telling me that they'll be back tomorrow. OK, we're still in good shape, I'll be home tomorrow afternoon which is when I'm guessing they'll come.
Friday comes and we're out all morning running errands, I don't see any notice on the door so I figure they haven't made it to our house yet. At 2 pm I get a call from a friend asking me to make a meal for another friend who just had surgery. I get occupied with scrounging up something to cook for them, go get Hannah from preschool, stop at McKinneys for some last min. groceries and head home. I wait, no FedEx guy. Chris gets home and I completely forget about my tickets, I put the meal in the car and take off. I deliver the meal successfully and head home. As I round the corner to my house I see the FedEx truck. My heart stops. Please, oh please, let me get inside before Chris opens the package. I run inside, open the door and I see Chris. "Honey, I'm SO sorry." That's all he had to say. I tare inside, grab the package and go to my room. I just didn't know what to do, I was so disappointed, and a little mad that he opened the envelope addressed to "Mrs. Rachel Wassenaar."
As soon as Chris knocks on the door I open it of course and start bawling. He gives me a big huge hug and says "I am SO PUMPED to go that game." Then I get to explain the whole story of how I saved my money for over a year and got him FRONT ROW tickets to the game. I got over being bummed and he's had a HUGE grin on his face all night. At least this way he will get to look forward to the game.
On a side note, we were eating dinner and Hannah starts crying. Apparently Chris told Hannah she could open the package and when she pulled out the tickets Chris only saw the back and thought it was some coupons I had ordered. Then she flipped them over and his first thought was "Oh crap!" ...but then he was super excited. Oh yeah, back to the side note. Hannah was crying because she saw me crying and felt bad for opening my mail. I reassured her that I wasn't mad, I just wanted to get to see Daddy's face when he got the tickets. But all is good now. Chris got the tickets and we're looking forward to a weekend in Colorado and especially looking forward to our AWESOME seats at the Wings game.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Garage update
First of all let me start by saying that after my initial response to our driveway issues I've had some time to reflect on how I acted. Chris and I had a good discussion about why we were so upset about the driveway not being the way we had planned. I think part of the reason that we were upset (or rather, I was upset) is because we're paying a lot of money to have a house built the way we want it. I guess I just assume that if I'm paying someone to build the house that I want I expect them to build the house the way I want.
Anyways, Chris and I both just talked about how we could bring glory to God in this situation. How could we live with this driveway and not let it bug us every time our kids went out to ride their trikes? It was good to think about what it is that fulfills my life and makes me content? Is is having a comfortable life? Is it being in control? Is it having the perfect house? It's so easy to say that my contentment rests fully in Christ and what he has done for me and not in the things I have or the way my life is going, but when the rubber hits the road what do I do? Do I get mad and demand my way, or do I come back to Christ and I say, "all I have is yours, please show me how to have joy in you alone, not in my perfect house."
So, with these thoughts in mind we decided to meet with our builder out at the building site so that we could talk through our options with him. I, of course, was feeling quite sick; it's never fun to tell someone you don't like their work, however, we're planning on living in this home for a long time so we just wanted to talk things through. Chris helped with the talking and the discussion went really well. We weren't defensive or mad, we just tried to work out what we could do to fix the situation. In the end Ed, our builder, said that he would rip out the entire garage, foundation and all and lower it for us so that our driveway would be flat. I felt sudden relief...although I still feel bad that he is paying several thousand dollars to fix the mistake. But as my husband tells me, "that's just business Rachel."
Regardless of how the driveway turns out I am thankful that God loves me enough to gently remind me to find my contentment and joy fully in Him! I pray that God will continue to challenge me to grow more and more into a woman after his own heart.
Anyways, Chris and I both just talked about how we could bring glory to God in this situation. How could we live with this driveway and not let it bug us every time our kids went out to ride their trikes? It was good to think about what it is that fulfills my life and makes me content? Is is having a comfortable life? Is it being in control? Is it having the perfect house? It's so easy to say that my contentment rests fully in Christ and what he has done for me and not in the things I have or the way my life is going, but when the rubber hits the road what do I do? Do I get mad and demand my way, or do I come back to Christ and I say, "all I have is yours, please show me how to have joy in you alone, not in my perfect house."
So, with these thoughts in mind we decided to meet with our builder out at the building site so that we could talk through our options with him. I, of course, was feeling quite sick; it's never fun to tell someone you don't like their work, however, we're planning on living in this home for a long time so we just wanted to talk things through. Chris helped with the talking and the discussion went really well. We weren't defensive or mad, we just tried to work out what we could do to fix the situation. In the end Ed, our builder, said that he would rip out the entire garage, foundation and all and lower it for us so that our driveway would be flat. I felt sudden relief...although I still feel bad that he is paying several thousand dollars to fix the mistake. But as my husband tells me, "that's just business Rachel."
Regardless of how the driveway turns out I am thankful that God loves me enough to gently remind me to find my contentment and joy fully in Him! I pray that God will continue to challenge me to grow more and more into a woman after his own heart.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Hannah's prayer
Here is what Hannah prayed at dinner tonight.
Dear Lord,
Please be with Mrs. Hall.
Please help her to be a really good mom.
Help her not to feel left out.
Please help her leg to get better.
Please help her kids to be really good to her, help them to make her lunch and dinner while she sleeps.
Amen
Hey Hannah, while you're at it, would you mind praying that you would be really good to your mommy and make her lunch and dinner while she sleeps? Thanks.
Dear Lord,
Please be with Mrs. Hall.
Please help her to be a really good mom.
Help her not to feel left out.
Please help her leg to get better.
Please help her kids to be really good to her, help them to make her lunch and dinner while she sleeps.
Amen
Hey Hannah, while you're at it, would you mind praying that you would be really good to your mommy and make her lunch and dinner while she sleeps? Thanks.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Firsts
It's been a week of firsts at our house.
Hannah had her first soccer game. She was a little nervous at first but I think the jitters went away once she got out on the field. She did great, she has her dad's natural athletic ability. She did get hurt a couple times and came off the field crying but I was so proud of her for going back out and trying again. She even scored her first goal!
We still have a few things to work on. Namely, being aggressive with the other kids....I guess she gets her competitive nature from her mommy. :) All, in all it was a lot of fun and she's looking forward to next week.
Oh, quick story. Chris is her team coach and he told the kids to call him coach Chris and Hannah says, "you mean daddy." Chris says, "nope, on the field, I'm coach Chris." Hannah says, "daddy... you're teasing me!" It was pretty cute.
It was also Hannah's first day of preschool. Chris was home for lunch so he watched Caden and I was able to take Hannah by myself. We had a really great time talking on the way to school about the fun things she was going to experience. We also got a chance to pray for the school year, the teachers, that God would provide Hannah with friends, that she would bring glory to God through the way she acted and that God would help her mind to absorb lots of wonderful things about His world. It was so cool.
And then she was off, hardly even a hug, just a "see ya at 3 mom." She did great and surprisingly so did I. It was actually nice to enjoy 2 uninterrupted hours during quiet time. Hannah normally has quiet time but she's seriously not sleep anymore so she sings loudly, plays in her room and keeps asking if it's time to be up yet.
When Caden woke up from his nap he just kept looking around saying "Nana, Nana." He loves his big sister...although after I told him Hannah was at preshcool and that he would have time to be with mommy all by himself he got a big 'ole smile on his face! He's never really had me all to himself. We got about 15 min. of playtime and then it was time to get Nana.
Of course Hannah loved school, but she was EXHAUSTED when we got home. We stopped by the store for groceries and as soon as we were in the door she put her jammies on and just vegged out watching the cooking channel. After dinner we decided that we would take the kids out for ice cream to celebrate Hannah's first day of school. I think we'll keep that as a tradition in our family.
So, the first day is done. My baby isn't a baby anymore. But I'm super excited about this new step in her life. I can't wait to hear her stories and watch her develop into even more of girl then she already is.
House Woes
Things are coming along with the house. The basement is poured and the garage is up!.... But, here's the woe part. The driveway.
When we picked the lot for our house it was VERY important to both Chris and I that we have a flat lot. We specifically said multiple times that we wanted a flat driveway for our kids to play on. We made that abundantly clear to our builder. The kids ride bikes and play soccer all summer and when they get older we'd like to put up a basketball hoop for them to play with; hence the need for a flat driveway.
So, we got to look at the house last night and I'm not kidding you, it seriously looks like they made a 3 foot mound of dirt right where our house is sitting and just built our house on top of it! The house is pretty close to the road too so it's not like they can make the top part of the driveway flat and then just slope it at the bottom. Nope. It's gonna be a hill. A huge hill.
I know what you're thinking. It's not that big of a deal, you're getting a brand new, beautiful home and you are complaining about a slope in the driveway. OK, to some degree I'm upset with myself for getting so miffed about a driveway, but this is my home, the one I'm gonna live in for the next 20 plus years and I want it to be usable....or at least fixable. A driveway is not fixable. I had visions of Chris and I sitting on the front porch watching our kids play outside, drawing chalk, riding bikes, playing soccer and basketball. Not anymore.
So, we're driving away from the house and I'm almost in tears telling Chris how the kids won't be able to ride bikes....we made it very clear that we wanted a flat lot....why would they decide to build a hill under our house... on and on. I keep hearing Hannah's voice pipe up from the backseat, "mommy, we can still play on it, it's OK, it's not to steep, don't worry." She's such a sweetheart. After I rant some more I hear Hannah say, "mommy, I already prayed two times for our house." Thank-goodness my children are learning the lessons I'm trying to teach them even though I'm obviously not putting them into practice myself. So, then we all prayed and I felt better. A little.
Anyway, Chris called the builder and told them about the problem. We're still waiting to hear back from them. I already know there's nothing they can do. It's not as if they can rip up the entire foundation. Oh, and even if they could, we don't have time, we HAVE to close on that house November 15th. We already paid a big chunk of change to lock in our interest rate and that is only good til Nov. 30, so basically if we don't close before then we lose the cash.
Ok, enough ranting and raving. I'm upset, but I'll get over it. In the grand scheme of life it's a SMALL problem to have. We're just hoping that somehow the builder will work with us and let us make a big patio on the back at no charge so that at least our kids have some place to play.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Psalm 121
"I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."
This week has been hard for many reasons. Partly because we're living in a rental house with half of our things in storage. Partly because I am sinful and my children are sinful...and well, that just makes for some long days sometimes. Partly because I miss my family. Partly because I am overwhelmed by all the decisions I have to make for our new house. Partly because I have GOT to get things organized for Women's Ministries at church and that is always a challenge for me.
Anyway, today I took the kids to the park to play with Cury and Praja and I was talking to Angie about some of this. On the way home these verses just popped into my head. It was just a reminder that I am not doing all this on my own, my GREAT and AWESOME and POWERFUL God is my help. He does not even sleep because he is watching over ME! I don't have to muster up my own strength to be a perfect mom and wife and Women's Ministry coordinator. The same God who made Heaven and earth is my help.
This week has been hard for many reasons. Partly because we're living in a rental house with half of our things in storage. Partly because I am sinful and my children are sinful...and well, that just makes for some long days sometimes. Partly because I miss my family. Partly because I am overwhelmed by all the decisions I have to make for our new house. Partly because I have GOT to get things organized for Women's Ministries at church and that is always a challenge for me.
Anyway, today I took the kids to the park to play with Cury and Praja and I was talking to Angie about some of this. On the way home these verses just popped into my head. It was just a reminder that I am not doing all this on my own, my GREAT and AWESOME and POWERFUL God is my help. He does not even sleep because he is watching over ME! I don't have to muster up my own strength to be a perfect mom and wife and Women's Ministry coordinator. The same God who made Heaven and earth is my help.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Pantry challenge: Day 6 and 7
Day 6
Day 7
Breakfast:
Cereal
Lunch:
Baked potatoes with cheese and bacon bits. As a child I LOVED eating baked potatoes for supper, but since I have a husband who doesn't like potatoes I rarely cook them. I had bought some a few weeks back because I got a 5lb bag for only .86 cents! I was surprised that my kids both really loved them.
Dinner:
Chicken fajitas. I took all the leftover chicken from Sunday and added in some onions and peppers from our garden.
Day 7
Breakfast
....I cannot remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday...Hannah had a bagel with cheese. I know we were out of milk so I didn't have cereal. Well for all I know I completely forgot to eat breakfast yesterday, it's just been one of those weeks!
Lunch:
Fajita nachos.
Dinner:
Grilled tuna sandwiches, cucumbers and rice
Grilled tuna sandwiches, cucumbers and rice
We did it! We survived our pantry challenge, and I think we ate surprisingly well. Of course we didn't have the variety of foods we normally do but we weren't eating mac-n-cheese every meal either.
I actually learned quite a lot from this little challenge. I am BLESSED! I sometimes spend my time complaining about the food that I can't afford to buy instead of seeing the abundance that God has given us! It also taught me to think about my meals before I prepare them. Every time I would use an ingredient, like an egg, I would think through how it would affect my meal planning for the rest of the week. I'm also very thankful for our garden, that thing was a life saver!
I will make a little confession though--my husband did stop by the store at the beginning on my challenge to grab some milk. While I did have powdered milk on hand, I remember drinking that nasty stuff as a kid and would rather "cheat" then make my kids drink it.
Anyway, I'm really glad I took the challenge and it's probably something we'll be doing more of. It saved the time and hassle of going to the store and I also have $75 bucks in my pocket. Let me know if any of you decide to do it, I'd love to hear how it goes.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Pantry challenge: Day five - breakfast day
Breakfast: Cinnamon bread....yet again. I do love that stuff but I also need a little variety in my diet. I think Hannah and I will make some banana muffins for tomorrow... oh wait, I'm out of flour...nevermind.
Lunch: Cereal. Hannah thought it was SO fun to eat Golden Grahams and Multi-grain cheerios for lunch. We watched a home movie in the morning and made popcorn so we weren't that hungry at lunch.
Afternoon snack: Granola bars
Dinner: Sausauge, egg and cheese bagel sandwiches. We also had some green grapes left so we ate those as well.
After dinner we went swimming in the pool and of course when we got back Hannah was "starving". So, what did she request for snack time. Cereal. Apart from the morning snack of popcorn we truly did eat breakfast all day!
Lunch: Cereal. Hannah thought it was SO fun to eat Golden Grahams and Multi-grain cheerios for lunch. We watched a home movie in the morning and made popcorn so we weren't that hungry at lunch.
Afternoon snack: Granola bars
Dinner: Sausauge, egg and cheese bagel sandwiches. We also had some green grapes left so we ate those as well.
After dinner we went swimming in the pool and of course when we got back Hannah was "starving". So, what did she request for snack time. Cereal. Apart from the morning snack of popcorn we truly did eat breakfast all day!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Pantry challenge: Day three and four
Day three
Breakfast: Cinnamon bread. Hannah and I had fun making that on Saturday
Lunch: Grilled chicken, vegetables and biscuits
Dinner: Party at a friends house...I lucked out again. I did make some almond sugar cookies to bring along.
Day four
Breakfast: Cinnamon Bread
Lunch: leftover lasagna, vegetables and biscuits. Let me take a second here to tell you how I feel about leftovers. I don't like them. But, wasting food is wasting money so I have been trying to eat our leftover food before I make new dishes, and I can honestly say it is saving money.
Dinner: Salad and Pizza sandwiches
We also ate green grapes and pretzels for snack time today at the pool.
So far so good, 4 days down only 3 to go.
Breakfast: Cinnamon bread. Hannah and I had fun making that on Saturday
Lunch: Grilled chicken, vegetables and biscuits
Dinner: Party at a friends house...I lucked out again. I did make some almond sugar cookies to bring along.
Day four
Breakfast: Cinnamon Bread
Lunch: leftover lasagna, vegetables and biscuits. Let me take a second here to tell you how I feel about leftovers. I don't like them. But, wasting food is wasting money so I have been trying to eat our leftover food before I make new dishes, and I can honestly say it is saving money.
Dinner: Salad and Pizza sandwiches
We also ate green grapes and pretzels for snack time today at the pool.
So far so good, 4 days down only 3 to go.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Pantry challenge: Day two
Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes with boysenberry syrup
Lunch: leftover burgers and brats.
Dinner: BBQ Pork Sandwiches. We actually got invited over to a friends house for dinner so it saved me from having to make a meal myself. Although, we thought we should contribute some food for the meal so my natural reaction was to just swing by the store on the way and grab some chips and dip...but then I remembered I can't go shopping. Hannah and I had just finished making a batch of cinnamon bread so we brought that over along with some vegetables from our garden.
So, another successful day without a trip to the grocery store. I have to say so far this has been a lot easier then I thought.
Friday, July 31, 2009
more hannah stories
last night on the way home from volleyball
Hannah: "mommy, did baby Nolan's daddy have to watch him during volleyball because he likes his daddy more then his mommy?"
Mommy: "No, his daddy just wanted to give his mommy a chance to play volleyball. He likes them both the same...just like you like daddy and mommy the same."
Hannah: "No, I don't....I like daddy more."
Mommy:...... "thanks...."
The other night Chris and I took the kids to the park. A lady walks by and Hannah yells out
"Hi, big lady!!!"
I turn red, what the heck am I suppose to say????
The lady was bigger but come on Hannah she was out walking, she's working on it, give her a break!
I know Hannah wasn't even thinking about the lady being big, she had just been playing with Chris and calling him big daddy which is why she just yelled "big lady"....but of course, I can't explain that to the lady as she's walking by..... so I just sit there looking like an idiot!
Hannah: "mommy, did baby Nolan's daddy have to watch him during volleyball because he likes his daddy more then his mommy?"
Mommy: "No, his daddy just wanted to give his mommy a chance to play volleyball. He likes them both the same...just like you like daddy and mommy the same."
Hannah: "No, I don't....I like daddy more."
Mommy:...... "thanks...."
The other night Chris and I took the kids to the park. A lady walks by and Hannah yells out
"Hi, big lady!!!"
I turn red, what the heck am I suppose to say????
The lady was bigger but come on Hannah she was out walking, she's working on it, give her a break!
I know Hannah wasn't even thinking about the lady being big, she had just been playing with Chris and calling him big daddy which is why she just yelled "big lady"....but of course, I can't explain that to the lady as she's walking by..... so I just sit there looking like an idiot!
pantry challenge
We're moved into our little rental house and adjusting to life here. The house has plenty of space for us, with the exception of our kitchen. It's tiny. I'm OK with that because we're only here for four months, however, it has made cooking and baking a little more challenging. For one, I don't have all my dishes out because there simply isn't room for them. Storing groceries is the other issue. We have one small cabinet and the rest of my food I have on top of my fridge and out on my counters, and if you know me at all you know that this is not how I normally keep my kitchen.
Anyway, this brings me to the task on hand; the pantry challenge. I went grocery shopping on Monday and should probably make another trip today. But Hannah has swim lessons at 10 am and that just completely breaks up the morning. Either I have to go shopping at 6 am (not gonna happen) or I need to go after nap. I have done that before but I prefer not to because I have to get the kids going as soon as they wake up and they're still cranky and groggy. Plus, I end up getting home right at dinner time with a trunk full of groceries that need to be unloaded and put away before I even begin thinking about what we're gonna eat. So last night I'm telling Chris about my dilemma (I know, I have such big issues in life) and he says, "You just need to take the pantry challenge" (moneysavingmoms idea) and you know what? I'm gonna do it.
Here's the challenge: I will not go grocery shopping for another week (which is almost 2 weeks without stepping foot into a grocery store.) I'll be creative and make meals from the food we already have on hand. Remember, we have a small kitchen so I haven't been able to stock pile food, I pretty much just buy what I need for that week so this could be interesting. But I'm up for the challenge. It will save me 75 bucks and a trip to the grocery store. (It'll also clean out room in my already cramped "pantry" for new groceries the next trip).
I'll be posting pictures everyday of what we eat and letting you know how the progress goes.
Anyway, this brings me to the task on hand; the pantry challenge. I went grocery shopping on Monday and should probably make another trip today. But Hannah has swim lessons at 10 am and that just completely breaks up the morning. Either I have to go shopping at 6 am (not gonna happen) or I need to go after nap. I have done that before but I prefer not to because I have to get the kids going as soon as they wake up and they're still cranky and groggy. Plus, I end up getting home right at dinner time with a trunk full of groceries that need to be unloaded and put away before I even begin thinking about what we're gonna eat. So last night I'm telling Chris about my dilemma (I know, I have such big issues in life) and he says, "You just need to take the pantry challenge" (moneysavingmoms idea) and you know what? I'm gonna do it.
Here's the challenge: I will not go grocery shopping for another week (which is almost 2 weeks without stepping foot into a grocery store.) I'll be creative and make meals from the food we already have on hand. Remember, we have a small kitchen so I haven't been able to stock pile food, I pretty much just buy what I need for that week so this could be interesting. But I'm up for the challenge. It will save me 75 bucks and a trip to the grocery store. (It'll also clean out room in my already cramped "pantry" for new groceries the next trip).
I'll be posting pictures everyday of what we eat and letting you know how the progress goes.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
good-bye
saying good-bye to our first home was so hard! It was hard because I love that house but mostly it was hard to say good-bye to all the memories we've made there.
Chris and I built that home together. I thought I was so brave to paint my living room bright green... it turned out to be my favorite room of the house and I never regretted painting it that color. Chris and his friend Brent landscaped our entire house, complete with an awesome paver patio. We planted one tree the year Hannah was born and another the year Caden was born, I started my first little garden in the backyard. Chris and Derek fenced in our backyard.... well, mostly Derek, but Chris did build the gate. :)
I remember sitting on the stairs of our home right before it was finished, we prayed that this would be a home where Christ was honored and glorified...and I believe it was. Our marriage has always been great but we both feel like it really grew in that home... God taught us so much about grace and love and about being servants.
We became parents in that home. We brought Hannah home on a sunny spring day in April, I will always remember our crab tree in the front being full of pink flowers (perfect to bring a little girl home to). I remember Caden in his little pumpking shirt on Halloween the day after bringing him home from the hospital. I remember many sleepless nights nursing my babies....I remember thanking God that I had beautiful, healthy babies to wake up in the night with. (I also remember potty training, and tantrums and diapers).
I remember celebrating our first Christmas as a family in that home, sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. I remember tenting in the backyard, having water balloon fights, grilling out on our patio, giving Hannah her new trike and watching her speed down the driveway, making strawberry jam, catching fire flies, playing with neighbors, swimming in our pool, dance parties after dinner, birthday parties, movies and pizza in the basement, our fireplace, building snowmen, eating warm cookies.
I think of all the family and friends we had over to that home. It reminds me of how truly blessed we are to have such Godly people in our lives. We had many late night talks with family and friends....we laughed together and we cried together.
When I think of that home I am just overwhelmed by God's goodness and faithfulness to our family. And I am just so thankful that even though we're moving to a new home the same God will follow us there....or rather, he's already there, preparing many more memories for our family.
And by the way, I'm never moving again....I don't like saying good-bye!
Chris and I built that home together. I thought I was so brave to paint my living room bright green... it turned out to be my favorite room of the house and I never regretted painting it that color. Chris and his friend Brent landscaped our entire house, complete with an awesome paver patio. We planted one tree the year Hannah was born and another the year Caden was born, I started my first little garden in the backyard. Chris and Derek fenced in our backyard.... well, mostly Derek, but Chris did build the gate. :)
I remember sitting on the stairs of our home right before it was finished, we prayed that this would be a home where Christ was honored and glorified...and I believe it was. Our marriage has always been great but we both feel like it really grew in that home... God taught us so much about grace and love and about being servants.
We became parents in that home. We brought Hannah home on a sunny spring day in April, I will always remember our crab tree in the front being full of pink flowers (perfect to bring a little girl home to). I remember Caden in his little pumpking shirt on Halloween the day after bringing him home from the hospital. I remember many sleepless nights nursing my babies....I remember thanking God that I had beautiful, healthy babies to wake up in the night with. (I also remember potty training, and tantrums and diapers).
I remember celebrating our first Christmas as a family in that home, sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. I remember tenting in the backyard, having water balloon fights, grilling out on our patio, giving Hannah her new trike and watching her speed down the driveway, making strawberry jam, catching fire flies, playing with neighbors, swimming in our pool, dance parties after dinner, birthday parties, movies and pizza in the basement, our fireplace, building snowmen, eating warm cookies.
I think of all the family and friends we had over to that home. It reminds me of how truly blessed we are to have such Godly people in our lives. We had many late night talks with family and friends....we laughed together and we cried together.
When I think of that home I am just overwhelmed by God's goodness and faithfulness to our family. And I am just so thankful that even though we're moving to a new home the same God will follow us there....or rather, he's already there, preparing many more memories for our family.
And by the way, I'm never moving again....I don't like saying good-bye!
Friday, July 3, 2009
SOLD
We sold our first home!
We had a couple come through on Tuesday, they were from out of town and were looking at over 20 houses that day! On Wednesday they came through again because our house was on their top two list...and I guess they liked it because that night we had an offer. The offer was really good and then our builder (who is married to our real estate agent) decided that he'd give us an extra $1500 toward the new house, so we took the deal. Here's the kicker though, we have to be out of our house by July 23 (yeah, three weeks!) and we're out of town EVERY weekend from now until then. Oh, and small detail, our new house won't be done until November 15!
But GOD IS GOOD!!! We accepted the offer Wed. night and were planning on spending Friday looking for an apartment. BUT... Thursday morning (literally hours after accepting the deal) Chris attended his Thursday morning Optimist Club (it's a PR thing) and the guy next to him "happened" to ask him what he was doing this weekend, Chris "happened" to mention we were looking for an apartment, the mayor of Gretna "happened" to be sitting close by and "happened" to hear the conversation, and just "happened" to have a 3 bedroom 2 bath HOUSE in Gretna coming up for rent...on July 20!!! Three days before we need to be out of our house!
When Chris called and told me I about broke down in tears. I felt so loved by God who knew of our needs before we ever knew we had a need and TOTALLY provided a HOUSE...not just a tiny apartment, a HOUSE in the exact town we want to live in. We went at saw it that afternoon!...it's great and we're taking it! (only a block from the pool too!) What a blessing to not have to spend time trying to find an apartment that we can rent for only 4 months. Plus we'd have to find a storage facility for all our furniture that wouldn't fit in a little apartment...and now we can avoid the hassle of bringing things to two separate locations.
Now, what am I doing blogging? I have a house to pack!
We had a couple come through on Tuesday, they were from out of town and were looking at over 20 houses that day! On Wednesday they came through again because our house was on their top two list...and I guess they liked it because that night we had an offer. The offer was really good and then our builder (who is married to our real estate agent) decided that he'd give us an extra $1500 toward the new house, so we took the deal. Here's the kicker though, we have to be out of our house by July 23 (yeah, three weeks!) and we're out of town EVERY weekend from now until then. Oh, and small detail, our new house won't be done until November 15!
But GOD IS GOOD!!! We accepted the offer Wed. night and were planning on spending Friday looking for an apartment. BUT... Thursday morning (literally hours after accepting the deal) Chris attended his Thursday morning Optimist Club (it's a PR thing) and the guy next to him "happened" to ask him what he was doing this weekend, Chris "happened" to mention we were looking for an apartment, the mayor of Gretna "happened" to be sitting close by and "happened" to hear the conversation, and just "happened" to have a 3 bedroom 2 bath HOUSE in Gretna coming up for rent...on July 20!!! Three days before we need to be out of our house!
When Chris called and told me I about broke down in tears. I felt so loved by God who knew of our needs before we ever knew we had a need and TOTALLY provided a HOUSE...not just a tiny apartment, a HOUSE in the exact town we want to live in. We went at saw it that afternoon!...it's great and we're taking it! (only a block from the pool too!) What a blessing to not have to spend time trying to find an apartment that we can rent for only 4 months. Plus we'd have to find a storage facility for all our furniture that wouldn't fit in a little apartment...and now we can avoid the hassle of bringing things to two separate locations.
Now, what am I doing blogging? I have a house to pack!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
As promised
...I didn't forget. Here's the video of Caden jumping. He is just to precious, I love that boy.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Seriously people!
So we flew out to California today to spend a week with Chris's sister and brother-in-law.
All was going smoothly. First flight, no incidents, the kids did GREAT even though we woke them up at 5 am. Caden did decide to poop on the flight though (I know that's gross to share but anyone who's had kids knows it's not fun to change a poopy diaper in a tiny airplane seat). Small problem though.
Second flight started out great. Caden fell asleep and Hannah was happily entertaining herself with her planner and books. Then, some lady reaches around her seat and Hannah says "that lady tried to grab me!" I'm like "what??" then the "lady" (20 something year old punk who OBVIOUSLY has not spent time around children) says "your daughter is kicking my seat."
Ok, fine, no big deal, she's not doing it on purpose so I ask her to please stop. (Um, on a side note lady, even if my child was kicking your seat that does not give you the right the grab her leg!!!)Now mind you, right now I'm not too annoyed. I have Chris with me so I'm not worried at all...and I'm kinda in my momma mode of "if you say or do anything to my kids when they are doing nothing wrong, big mean momma bear will protect her cubs!"
So here's the really annoying thing. Every stinkin' time anything would slightly bump this lady's chair she would turn around and glare at Hannah, huffing and puffing (Ok, I couldn't exactly hear the huffing, but she was VERY upset). I even just moved her tray table up and the chick just whips around like she's gonna catch Hannah in the act of purposely bumping her chair.
Honestly, I thought it was hilarious but Hannah was a little nervous for a while. She said "mommy, will you switch seats with my that lady scares me, she keeps looking at me like (wide eyes, really stern scary face). "
Well, we're here now. The kids did, in my opinion, GREAT! There were no tantrums or melt downs or tears of any kind. I guess Hannah's a pretty seasoned veteran when it comes to planes and Caden is pretty chill if he's with his mommy and daddy. Funny thing, the stewardess walked by at the end of the flight and commented on how well our kids fly! Yes, thank-you very much!
All I have to say is, thank-goodness my kids were on their best behavior because I wouldn't have wanted to see how upset that girl got if they were actually screaming and kicking her seat and being a nuisance.
All was going smoothly. First flight, no incidents, the kids did GREAT even though we woke them up at 5 am. Caden did decide to poop on the flight though (I know that's gross to share but anyone who's had kids knows it's not fun to change a poopy diaper in a tiny airplane seat). Small problem though.
Second flight started out great. Caden fell asleep and Hannah was happily entertaining herself with her planner and books. Then, some lady reaches around her seat and Hannah says "that lady tried to grab me!" I'm like "what??" then the "lady" (20 something year old punk who OBVIOUSLY has not spent time around children) says "your daughter is kicking my seat."
Ok, fine, no big deal, she's not doing it on purpose so I ask her to please stop. (Um, on a side note lady, even if my child was kicking your seat that does not give you the right the grab her leg!!!)Now mind you, right now I'm not too annoyed. I have Chris with me so I'm not worried at all...and I'm kinda in my momma mode of "if you say or do anything to my kids when they are doing nothing wrong, big mean momma bear will protect her cubs!"
So here's the really annoying thing. Every stinkin' time anything would slightly bump this lady's chair she would turn around and glare at Hannah, huffing and puffing (Ok, I couldn't exactly hear the huffing, but she was VERY upset). I even just moved her tray table up and the chick just whips around like she's gonna catch Hannah in the act of purposely bumping her chair.
Honestly, I thought it was hilarious but Hannah was a little nervous for a while. She said "mommy, will you switch seats with my that lady scares me, she keeps looking at me like (wide eyes, really stern scary face). "
Well, we're here now. The kids did, in my opinion, GREAT! There were no tantrums or melt downs or tears of any kind. I guess Hannah's a pretty seasoned veteran when it comes to planes and Caden is pretty chill if he's with his mommy and daddy. Funny thing, the stewardess walked by at the end of the flight and commented on how well our kids fly! Yes, thank-you very much!
All I have to say is, thank-goodness my kids were on their best behavior because I wouldn't have wanted to see how upset that girl got if they were actually screaming and kicking her seat and being a nuisance.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
random happenings
Ok, I have all these random things that I need to post so that I don't forget them.
First of all, Caden has learned to jump. He bounces around the house so much that we've nicknamed him tigger. I'll try to post a video tomorrow, it's super cute! :) I think he bounces as much as Hannah runs, and that's a lot!
Caden has also learned a few new words. He can now point to water and say "wawa". He also says "I ove oo" (that's I love you). He also says something strange whenever he ways goodbye to someone, he says "dare dey doe" ...we think it's "there they go".
Hannah and my mom were playing upstairs while the rest of the family watched a sports game downstairs. Apparently Hannah heard us cheering and said matter of factly "The Cubs just won the Stanley Cup." ...Hey, we're just proud that our little four year old knows what the Stanley Cup is!
The other night Hannah told Chris and that she loved Jesus more then anything in the whole world!
First of all, Caden has learned to jump. He bounces around the house so much that we've nicknamed him tigger. I'll try to post a video tomorrow, it's super cute! :) I think he bounces as much as Hannah runs, and that's a lot!
Caden has also learned a few new words. He can now point to water and say "wawa". He also says "I ove oo" (that's I love you). He also says something strange whenever he ways goodbye to someone, he says "dare dey doe" ...we think it's "there they go".
Hannah and my mom were playing upstairs while the rest of the family watched a sports game downstairs. Apparently Hannah heard us cheering and said matter of factly "The Cubs just won the Stanley Cup." ...Hey, we're just proud that our little four year old knows what the Stanley Cup is!
The other night Hannah told Chris and that she loved Jesus more then anything in the whole world!
Friday, May 29, 2009
we're movin' to Gretna...
if we sell our house that is.
WE FOUND A LOT!!! In Lincoln Place in little Gretna, Nebraska.
We have been looking at lots for about a month now and just didn't feel comfortable with any of the neighborhoods we looked at. I guess we're a little picky. We want a big, flat lot (so that our kids can play and I can have a garden), west facing (so we get lots of sun and our driveway melts in the winter), on a quiet street, and not in a neighborhood with all towering two stories (since that's what ours will be). We looked at Lincoln Place, Whitehawk, Cinnamon Creek, Lincoln Place, Harrison Woods (which does has a sweet pool if anyone wants to move there), Falcon Ride and....Lincoln Place. We just kept on coming back to that neighborhood.
It felt like home.
We went around and around about the pros and cons about living in Gretna vs. Omaha and finally we decided that Gretna was the right place for us. It's actually only 5 min. from Lincoln Place to our current home so that means only 5 extra min. on Chris's commute. We also really like the school system, and although we're planning on sending our kids to a Christian school we like the option of sending our kids to a public school and it's good for re-sale. We also feel that b/c our church is in Gretna we would like to become more involved with the community there. We have friends there. Hannah is going to preschool there.
So, the decision was made.
Now, we just had to find the right lot. We looked for about a week and found one that we really liked. Only problem was that lots in Lincoln Place run about $6000 more then the lots we had picked out in Omaha. So, we just prayed that God would provide the perfect lot for us at the perfect price.
And he did.
Chris actually was the one who said "let's just drive up this street and see if there's any lots available." I agreed but figured we wouldn't find anything since most of the lots were filled with existing homes. But there it was, right between two houses, a ranch on one side and a corner lot on the other so we're not right next to that neighbor. It was west facing, flat, didn't have an electrical box in the yard, is was BIG, and our neighbors even had up fences which means we'd hardly spend anything finishing our portion of the fence.
We went home and checked the price...and to our shock it cost $7000 LESS then the average lot in Lincoln Place. We were a little confused though b/c although the lot looked really big the measurements on the Internet were REALLY small (hence the lower price). So we talked to our builder and realtor who checked into it and found out that the Internet was wrong and the lot was actually 40 feet larger then what the Internet showed.
We met with our builder at the lot site and he said he would call the developer and try to negotiate a price for us. We were just hoping and praying that they didn't decide to raise the price. Ed (our builder) thought he'd just try for a low offer and see if they'd take it...
and they did!!!! We ended up getting the lot for $9000 less then most Lincoln Place lots.
We are so pumped!!! We both really felt like this was where God was leading us and he TOTALLY provided. We drove by the lot and prayed over it and that was awesome.
I remember doing the same thing with our lot here in Coyote Run. We prayed that God would give us clear direction with the house, that we would seek him, that he would close the doors if this was not his will, and most of all the HE would be GLORIFIED in that home.
So, another journey has begun in the Wassenaar household. We're signing the documents on Monday night and our house goes on the market on Wed. night.
It's been a crazy process so far. But both Chris and I have felt God's hand leading and we are just trusting that if he wants us to build this house that he will continue to provide.
We'll be posting pictures soon. Pray for us.
WE FOUND A LOT!!! In Lincoln Place in little Gretna, Nebraska.
We have been looking at lots for about a month now and just didn't feel comfortable with any of the neighborhoods we looked at. I guess we're a little picky. We want a big, flat lot (so that our kids can play and I can have a garden), west facing (so we get lots of sun and our driveway melts in the winter), on a quiet street, and not in a neighborhood with all towering two stories (since that's what ours will be). We looked at Lincoln Place, Whitehawk, Cinnamon Creek, Lincoln Place, Harrison Woods (which does has a sweet pool if anyone wants to move there), Falcon Ride and....Lincoln Place. We just kept on coming back to that neighborhood.
It felt like home.
We went around and around about the pros and cons about living in Gretna vs. Omaha and finally we decided that Gretna was the right place for us. It's actually only 5 min. from Lincoln Place to our current home so that means only 5 extra min. on Chris's commute. We also really like the school system, and although we're planning on sending our kids to a Christian school we like the option of sending our kids to a public school and it's good for re-sale. We also feel that b/c our church is in Gretna we would like to become more involved with the community there. We have friends there. Hannah is going to preschool there.
So, the decision was made.
Now, we just had to find the right lot. We looked for about a week and found one that we really liked. Only problem was that lots in Lincoln Place run about $6000 more then the lots we had picked out in Omaha. So, we just prayed that God would provide the perfect lot for us at the perfect price.
And he did.
Chris actually was the one who said "let's just drive up this street and see if there's any lots available." I agreed but figured we wouldn't find anything since most of the lots were filled with existing homes. But there it was, right between two houses, a ranch on one side and a corner lot on the other so we're not right next to that neighbor. It was west facing, flat, didn't have an electrical box in the yard, is was BIG, and our neighbors even had up fences which means we'd hardly spend anything finishing our portion of the fence.
We went home and checked the price...and to our shock it cost $7000 LESS then the average lot in Lincoln Place. We were a little confused though b/c although the lot looked really big the measurements on the Internet were REALLY small (hence the lower price). So we talked to our builder and realtor who checked into it and found out that the Internet was wrong and the lot was actually 40 feet larger then what the Internet showed.
We met with our builder at the lot site and he said he would call the developer and try to negotiate a price for us. We were just hoping and praying that they didn't decide to raise the price. Ed (our builder) thought he'd just try for a low offer and see if they'd take it...
and they did!!!! We ended up getting the lot for $9000 less then most Lincoln Place lots.
We are so pumped!!! We both really felt like this was where God was leading us and he TOTALLY provided. We drove by the lot and prayed over it and that was awesome.
I remember doing the same thing with our lot here in Coyote Run. We prayed that God would give us clear direction with the house, that we would seek him, that he would close the doors if this was not his will, and most of all the HE would be GLORIFIED in that home.
So, another journey has begun in the Wassenaar household. We're signing the documents on Monday night and our house goes on the market on Wed. night.
It's been a crazy process so far. But both Chris and I have felt God's hand leading and we are just trusting that if he wants us to build this house that he will continue to provide.
We'll be posting pictures soon. Pray for us.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
the house situation
So I said that the house situation was another blog for another time and I guess this is the other time.
Chris and I have been looking at homes for about 5 months. We've looked at exsisting homes as well as new homes. First let me say that we absolutely LOVE our home right now....it's just that we are quickly outgrowing it. We've done a lot of researching, looking and praying and feel that right now would be a great time for us to move to a new home. Interest rates are low and with the 8K tax credit we think it may be easier for us to find a buyer for our home this year. So, we have decided that we are going to build a new home!!!! We found a home that we both love, it has everything on both of our wish lists. Nothing is final yet though. We've met with the builder and are working on picking out a lot. We drove around tonight and found ONE that we like. (I guess we're kind picky about the lot!) We have four months to sell our home while our new home is being built so we are busy getting everything ready to put our house on the market.
I'm super excited about building a new home with my husband. But, I have to confess that even though we'll be getting a bigger, nicer home it's going to be SO hard to leave our old home. We've been here for six years which is longer then I've lived anywhere. We also built this house together and have had both of our kids here. We love our neighbors, Hannah has friends here, we have a running trail, a park near by....the list goes on.
A lot of details still need to be worked out before everything is a go, but so far it's looking good. We are trusting that if this is God's plan for us that he will continue to open the doors. If not, it will be disapointing, but we trust in Him and his plan for us. We know that everything is in his control and he works all things for our good.
We'll keep you posted on the progress!
Chris and I have been looking at homes for about 5 months. We've looked at exsisting homes as well as new homes. First let me say that we absolutely LOVE our home right now....it's just that we are quickly outgrowing it. We've done a lot of researching, looking and praying and feel that right now would be a great time for us to move to a new home. Interest rates are low and with the 8K tax credit we think it may be easier for us to find a buyer for our home this year. So, we have decided that we are going to build a new home!!!! We found a home that we both love, it has everything on both of our wish lists. Nothing is final yet though. We've met with the builder and are working on picking out a lot. We drove around tonight and found ONE that we like. (I guess we're kind picky about the lot!) We have four months to sell our home while our new home is being built so we are busy getting everything ready to put our house on the market.
I'm super excited about building a new home with my husband. But, I have to confess that even though we'll be getting a bigger, nicer home it's going to be SO hard to leave our old home. We've been here for six years which is longer then I've lived anywhere. We also built this house together and have had both of our kids here. We love our neighbors, Hannah has friends here, we have a running trail, a park near by....the list goes on.
A lot of details still need to be worked out before everything is a go, but so far it's looking good. We are trusting that if this is God's plan for us that he will continue to open the doors. If not, it will be disapointing, but we trust in Him and his plan for us. We know that everything is in his control and he works all things for our good.
We'll keep you posted on the progress!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Our crazy week
Last week was crazy!!!!
First of all, we are in the process of getting our house ready to put on the market (that's another post for another time.) So we've been packing and decluttering our house which has made for some busy days. We've also had several meetings with a couple from our church and our builder this week. In the middle of all that I decided I needed to make strawberry jam...don't ask me why, I guess it's because I got strawberries for $.99 a pound and I just couldn't pass up such a great deal. Anyway, the jam turned out GREAT so it was totally worth the extra time.
Then we had a garage sale! Who knew a garage sale would be so exhausting!!!! I was telling a friend of mine that having a garage sale is kinda like having a baby; after it's over you can't think about the next one for a while! :) Finding tables and getting our signs to stay up proved to be quite a challenge...but we survived! We actually had a combined garage sale with the Hydeens and it was so nice having a friend to hang out with in my garage all day.
Did I also mention we had our five kids with us ages 4 and under running around during all this? They had a great time watching movies, eating lunch outside and running through the sprinklers. One of the mornings Hannah and Lillian even had a lemonade stand. It was really cute for about the first five minuites until Caden kept trying to spill the lemonade and gouge his fingers into all the brownies! :) (and let me tell you those brownies were AWESOME!)
I have to say though, even though it was a lot of work it was totally fun, in a crazy way. Considering the older kids didn't get naps and the younger kids were completely out of their routine they did surprisingly well. Hannah absolutely loved hanging out with Lillian all day, I loved having an adult to talk to while I worked, and I even made a little money!
And thank goodness for my awesome husband! He got home early on Friday and played with the kids and let me spend yesterday recovering while he cleaned up dishes and played with the kids while I took a nap. He also bought Hannah a new bed and brought our extra furniture over the Arms.
So... we survived one crazy week, now for this week. We just have to get the oil changed on the car, call the plumber, meet with our builder, find a realtor to sell our house, patch up a few paint spots on the wall, get groceries, do laundry, find a lot to build our house on, go to Tulip Festival, run the 10K... all in a weeks work right??
Sunday, May 3, 2009
yes, I'm a bloglifter (thanks for the idea andrea)
Dear Hannah,
I can't believe you're four!!! Well, I can and I can't. Some days I look at you and see this grown up girl and I think time is flying by to fast, but then other times I can't remember what life was like before you came along.
I have so enjoyed watching you grow from a tiny 7 pound baby to my four year old little girl. You have many amazing talents already. You love to sing and can pick up any song after hearing it once. You sing all day long while you play, you really like to make-up your own praise songs. I think your favorite is "Jesus loves me in my little tiny heart." You also have a crazy ability for puzzling, you're better then me for sure. I remember right after you turned one you could flip pages in a puzzle book and find the correct puzzle piece for each page. Now you can whip out a 100 piece puzzle by yourself during your quiet times.
I think one of my favorite things about you is your passion for life. You LOVE to laugh. Our dinner times are filled with laughter. You can make Caden laugh SO hard...I love it!
You are full of energy; you run, not walk, wherever you go. You love to ride your big girl bike. Last summer you were a little scared of riding without mom and dad holding the handle bars but this summer you're riding like I pro. I am so proud of you for facing your fears and not giving up!
I am also so proud of you for not sucking your thumb anymore (well, mostly, we're still working on bedtime). Mommy sucked her thumb when she was little to so she knows how hard it is to stop.
You LOVE your brother. You are going to be the best mommy ever. You always make sure Caden is buckled in his seat belt, you remind him to say please when you share your snacks with him. You make sure he eats his dinner before giving him candy. You always want to hold him and snuggle him.
You are learning so much about God and asking so many questions mommy doesn't even know the answers to. We've had many long conversations about death and life and heaven. You have an amazing ability to memorize Scripture.
Mommy loves you so much Hannah, just for being you. I love your craziness (most of the time :) ), I love your excitement over seeing a wild turkey, I love how we scrapbook together and how you get to come along on girls day with mommy, I love your fearless determination to do anything that you set your mind to. I am so glad that God blessed mommy with such a beautiful little girl! You are a gift! I LOVE you times infinity + forever!
Love, Mommy
Saturday, April 25, 2009
we found it....
one our many missing sippy cups.
Don't you feel like you're constantly looking for your kids sippy cups? I seriously cannot figure out where they are all going to.
Well now I know.
Hannah has been sleeping in our room while my parents are here and the other night she calls Chris into the room.
Daddy, I found Caden's sippy cup under the bed. It smells like throw-up and spit-up.
Yea....I think we'll just throw that one away.
I so wish I had a picture to post of that nasty cup...but you wouldn't get the full effect of the nastiness unless you smelled it... SO gross!
Don't you feel like you're constantly looking for your kids sippy cups? I seriously cannot figure out where they are all going to.
Well now I know.
Hannah has been sleeping in our room while my parents are here and the other night she calls Chris into the room.
Daddy, I found Caden's sippy cup under the bed. It smells like throw-up and spit-up.
Yea....I think we'll just throw that one away.
I so wish I had a picture to post of that nasty cup...but you wouldn't get the full effect of the nastiness unless you smelled it... SO gross!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
beautiful day
Why is it that the sunshine has such an affect on my mood?
Today has been BEAUTIFUL!! The sun is shining, the wind isn't blowing, it's a perfect 70 degree day. The kids and I packed a picnic lunch and brought it to the park. We played for an hour and ate our food. Hannah was her happy, imaginative self; pretending that the jungle gym was our shelter from the big storm. Caden was even brave enough to go down the slide a couple times by himself! Even though Caden was throwing sand and running away from the park and Hannah was playing instead of eating, it didn't bother me. In fact, I had a BLAST just playing with my kids.
Why is it that when the sun is shining I stop freaking out about all the little things that normally bug me?
We got home, the kids went down for their naps without a peep and they have both been asleep for 2 hours. I sat outside with my iced mocha (yes, that also makes me VERY happy!) and read my Bible. I just basked in the sun and drank up God's truth. I didn't feel overwhelmed by all that I have yet to learn on my spiritual journey, like I sometimes feel. I was just overcome with the joy that I have when I search God's word and discover new truths.
How I love these beautiful days!
All too often I am so consumed by my to do list for the day that I forget to look around and see all that God has given to me. God, would you teach me to enjoy every day as a gift from you. Thank-you for sending the sunshine and warmth to slow me down and remind me of how precious my children are. Thank-you for gently teaching me to enjoy your word.
Maybe it's just me, but somehow the sunshine has a way of changing my entire day.
Today has been BEAUTIFUL!! The sun is shining, the wind isn't blowing, it's a perfect 70 degree day. The kids and I packed a picnic lunch and brought it to the park. We played for an hour and ate our food. Hannah was her happy, imaginative self; pretending that the jungle gym was our shelter from the big storm. Caden was even brave enough to go down the slide a couple times by himself! Even though Caden was throwing sand and running away from the park and Hannah was playing instead of eating, it didn't bother me. In fact, I had a BLAST just playing with my kids.
Why is it that when the sun is shining I stop freaking out about all the little things that normally bug me?
We got home, the kids went down for their naps without a peep and they have both been asleep for 2 hours. I sat outside with my iced mocha (yes, that also makes me VERY happy!) and read my Bible. I just basked in the sun and drank up God's truth. I didn't feel overwhelmed by all that I have yet to learn on my spiritual journey, like I sometimes feel. I was just overcome with the joy that I have when I search God's word and discover new truths.
How I love these beautiful days!
All too often I am so consumed by my to do list for the day that I forget to look around and see all that God has given to me. God, would you teach me to enjoy every day as a gift from you. Thank-you for sending the sunshine and warmth to slow me down and remind me of how precious my children are. Thank-you for gently teaching me to enjoy your word.
Maybe it's just me, but somehow the sunshine has a way of changing my entire day.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Flowers
Monday night Chris gave me a call around 6pm to tell me that he'd be working late that night and that he wouldn't be home in time to put the kids to bed. So, I tell him that is completely fine (even though inside I'm thinking...UGH!!!...but I know tax season is almost over so I try to sound supportive.)
I hang up the phone and about 2 min later the phone rings.
Hello
Hi, this is the HyVee floral shop, we have a delivery for you and just wanted to make sure someone was home to receive it!
You should have seen the smile on my face. I am just glowing thinking of what a wonderful husband I have. He must be thinking that he has the best wife ever. After all I have been taking care of the kids pretty much on my own for the past 3 1/2 months. I've gotten up EARLY, fed them 3 meals a day, given baths, changed about 300 diapers, cooked and cleaned up EVERY meal. I've been so supportive of the late nights and unpredictable schedule. I've given him back rubs at night when he gets home even though I'm dog tired. Yep, I pretty much deserve those flowers.
So, I'm bouncing around the house waiting for the delivery.
The door bell rings and I run to the door (try to act surprised) and get my BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers. I tell Hannah how daddy sent us these beautiful flowers because he loves us so much.
Whenever Chris sends me flowers the note always says "Just because." So I open the note fully expecting it to say "Just because" and I see that he has written us a long note. Now I'm SUPER excited. I am such a great wife he just wants to tell me what a great job I've done of sustaining our family through the long months of tax season. He loves me and couldn't have made it through without my support.
Before I even read the card I see the name at the bottom.
Travis.
WHAT!??
Now I'm thinking I have to call HyVee and tell them they dropped off the bouquet to the wrong house and give them back my flowers!!!
...and then I realize that they are from Chris' friend Travis who stayed with us that weekend. He just wanted to thank us for our hospitality.
So, the flowers weren't from Chris (even though I'm SURE he thinks all those wonderful things about me! :) but hey, I still got flowers didn't I, and I love them!
I hang up the phone and about 2 min later the phone rings.
Hello
Hi, this is the HyVee floral shop, we have a delivery for you and just wanted to make sure someone was home to receive it!
You should have seen the smile on my face. I am just glowing thinking of what a wonderful husband I have. He must be thinking that he has the best wife ever. After all I have been taking care of the kids pretty much on my own for the past 3 1/2 months. I've gotten up EARLY, fed them 3 meals a day, given baths, changed about 300 diapers, cooked and cleaned up EVERY meal. I've been so supportive of the late nights and unpredictable schedule. I've given him back rubs at night when he gets home even though I'm dog tired. Yep, I pretty much deserve those flowers.
So, I'm bouncing around the house waiting for the delivery.
The door bell rings and I run to the door (try to act surprised) and get my BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers. I tell Hannah how daddy sent us these beautiful flowers because he loves us so much.
Whenever Chris sends me flowers the note always says "Just because." So I open the note fully expecting it to say "Just because" and I see that he has written us a long note. Now I'm SUPER excited. I am such a great wife he just wants to tell me what a great job I've done of sustaining our family through the long months of tax season. He loves me and couldn't have made it through without my support.
Before I even read the card I see the name at the bottom.
Travis.
WHAT!??
Now I'm thinking I have to call HyVee and tell them they dropped off the bouquet to the wrong house and give them back my flowers!!!
...and then I realize that they are from Chris' friend Travis who stayed with us that weekend. He just wanted to thank us for our hospitality.
So, the flowers weren't from Chris (even though I'm SURE he thinks all those wonderful things about me! :) but hey, I still got flowers didn't I, and I love them!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
it's official
I'm signed up for the 10K Tulip Festival race....so now I really have to do it! I printed off a little running regiment on line so hopefully it works! I've never run 6 miles before but I'm hoping to run a half marathon in the fall so I figured this was a good first step (well, acutally 2nd step since I ran a 5k last fall). I'm super pumped!
Andrea and Audrey, you guys better be there! :)
Happy racing girls! :)
Andrea and Audrey, you guys better be there! :)
Happy racing girls! :)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
DEALS DEALS DEALS
I have always loved to get deals. Whenever I need to buy something I think of ways to get what I want for less! ...and I think I do pretty good at it. I keep our grocery bill low by using price match and buying foods that are on sale. But recently I discovered moneysavingmom.com and let me tell you it has taken my savings to a whole new level.
Guess how much I paid for all this?
I got three bars of Johnson buddie soap, 1 package of Huggies wipes, a box of popcorn, multi-surface pledge, 4 baguettes, 1 bottle of Kraft salad dressing, 3 boxes of fruit snack and 6 bags of cheetos all for $3.60
That's a savings of over $26.00!
If you haven't checked out this site, YOU NEED TO! I don't believe in running all over just to get deals so I got these deals all at Target, with the exception of the salad dressing which I got for $.08 at Walmart.
so for now this is my new hobby...it's so fun, you've got to try it!
Guess how much I paid for all this?
I got three bars of Johnson buddie soap, 1 package of Huggies wipes, a box of popcorn, multi-surface pledge, 4 baguettes, 1 bottle of Kraft salad dressing, 3 boxes of fruit snack and 6 bags of cheetos all for $3.60
That's a savings of over $26.00!
If you haven't checked out this site, YOU NEED TO! I don't believe in running all over just to get deals so I got these deals all at Target, with the exception of the salad dressing which I got for $.08 at Walmart.
so for now this is my new hobby...it's so fun, you've got to try it!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
the ding ding man
I think our ice cream man (or ding ding man as we call him) has gone mad...seriously mad!
First of all he ONLY comes around when it's below 60 degrees, cloudy, raining, hailing or snowing. Yes, he has come around the neighborhood while there's snow on the ground....but not when it's 80 degrees, no, then he might actually have to sell ice cream to some cute little kids! We know this because we've lived in our neighborhood for 5 plus years now and this is how he has always been. So, we pretty much have our ears ready in any kind of weather for the beautiful sound of the ding ding man.
So, on Thursday afternoon I'm playing outside with the kids. It's pushin' 70 degrees out so of course I'm not expecting to hear the ice cream man....but Hannah starts yelling
"the ding ding man, the ding ding man! I hear him mommy!"
I rush inside to get some cash, because who knows, this could be the only time we see him all year! I get back outside and I hear that he's getting close and then we see him slowly driving down the main street in our neighborhood. Now if you've ever been to our house you know that we're the first house off the street....you can't NOT see us. I am waving like crazy (I can't run b/c I have to hold Caden so he doesn't run on to the road) and that crazy ding ding man just drives past!!!
Hannah is totally bummed but I think "certainly he's just taking a different route to get to our house."
wrong!
he turns around and comes by our house AGAIN...music playing, driving slowly, ding ding going...but he doesn't stop, even though I'm waving money at him!
so, now I am completely certain that our ding ding man doesn't like kids and doesn't like ice cream and obviously doesn't like to make money! Yes, he has definitely gone mad!
First of all he ONLY comes around when it's below 60 degrees, cloudy, raining, hailing or snowing. Yes, he has come around the neighborhood while there's snow on the ground....but not when it's 80 degrees, no, then he might actually have to sell ice cream to some cute little kids! We know this because we've lived in our neighborhood for 5 plus years now and this is how he has always been. So, we pretty much have our ears ready in any kind of weather for the beautiful sound of the ding ding man.
So, on Thursday afternoon I'm playing outside with the kids. It's pushin' 70 degrees out so of course I'm not expecting to hear the ice cream man....but Hannah starts yelling
"the ding ding man, the ding ding man! I hear him mommy!"
I rush inside to get some cash, because who knows, this could be the only time we see him all year! I get back outside and I hear that he's getting close and then we see him slowly driving down the main street in our neighborhood. Now if you've ever been to our house you know that we're the first house off the street....you can't NOT see us. I am waving like crazy (I can't run b/c I have to hold Caden so he doesn't run on to the road) and that crazy ding ding man just drives past!!!
Hannah is totally bummed but I think "certainly he's just taking a different route to get to our house."
wrong!
he turns around and comes by our house AGAIN...music playing, driving slowly, ding ding going...but he doesn't stop, even though I'm waving money at him!
so, now I am completely certain that our ding ding man doesn't like kids and doesn't like ice cream and obviously doesn't like to make money! Yes, he has definitely gone mad!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Haircut
Hannah's hair was getting SO long...and a little unmanageable. I was also getting a little tired of the drama everytime I combed through her hair. So I cut it. 4 inches!
And I LOVE it!
I was a little nervous about cutting it short but I had been thinking it needed to be done for a while and when Chris told me he thought Hannah's hair was getting a little wild I knew it HAD to be done!
After I cut it Hannah was bouncing off the walls with excitement (even more so then normal if you can believe that!)
Here are the before and after pics. We'll probably let it grow out long again (because I love long hair on little girls) but for the summer it will be nice to have it short.
And I LOVE it!
I was a little nervous about cutting it short but I had been thinking it needed to be done for a while and when Chris told me he thought Hannah's hair was getting a little wild I knew it HAD to be done!
After I cut it Hannah was bouncing off the walls with excitement (even more so then normal if you can believe that!)
Here are the before and after pics. We'll probably let it grow out long again (because I love long hair on little girls) but for the summer it will be nice to have it short.
Friday, March 13, 2009
not so quiet mommy time
Yesterday the kids both took short naps so at 2:45 I said
"Mommy needs a quiet time!"
I thought I would just lay down for a few minutes with the kids played quietly by themselves.
So I lay down
and am woken up by Hannah
"Mommy, Caden's doing naughty stuff. He's dumping spices out!"
I sit up to go see where the spices are being dumped out....
and I am covered in an entire bottle of cilantro! In my hair, on the blanket, in the hood of my sweatshirt, all over the carpet!
Apparently I fell asleep, and I guess I'm so use to having kids climb all over me that I didn't even notice Caden dumping spices all over me! I'm just glad it wasn't Chili powder! That would not have been fun to clean up.
So much for mommy quiet time!
"Mommy needs a quiet time!"
I thought I would just lay down for a few minutes with the kids played quietly by themselves.
So I lay down
and am woken up by Hannah
"Mommy, Caden's doing naughty stuff. He's dumping spices out!"
I sit up to go see where the spices are being dumped out....
and I am covered in an entire bottle of cilantro! In my hair, on the blanket, in the hood of my sweatshirt, all over the carpet!
Apparently I fell asleep, and I guess I'm so use to having kids climb all over me that I didn't even notice Caden dumping spices all over me! I'm just glad it wasn't Chili powder! That would not have been fun to clean up.
So much for mommy quiet time!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
plane ride
I survived!!...ten days without my husband and 4 plane rides with my two monkeys!
We had a great time in Florida visiting Grammy and Papa and now have many more wonderful memories to add to our collection. I'll be posting pictures soon.
I just had to tell this story before I forget.
Our flight got in last night at about 6:45 pm so Chris was just gonna pick up McDonalds on the way to pick us up b/c he knew we'd all be starving.
So, that being said, here's the rest of the story.
As the plane is taking off Hannah says:
Hannah: Mommy, what if our plane crashes into the river?? (remembering the Hudson River plane crash a few months ago...yes, she still remembers it vividly!)
Mommy: Then all the boats would have to come rescue us.
Hannah: What if they couldn't save us and we all died.
Mommy: Then we would go to Heaven and be with Jesus.
Hannah: Mommy, that would be so fun if you and me and Caden all got to go to Heaven together.
Mommy: That would be awesome!
Hannah: Oh no, mommy, if we died we wouldn't get to eat McDonalds!!
We had a great time in Florida visiting Grammy and Papa and now have many more wonderful memories to add to our collection. I'll be posting pictures soon.
I just had to tell this story before I forget.
Our flight got in last night at about 6:45 pm so Chris was just gonna pick up McDonalds on the way to pick us up b/c he knew we'd all be starving.
So, that being said, here's the rest of the story.
As the plane is taking off Hannah says:
Hannah: Mommy, what if our plane crashes into the river?? (remembering the Hudson River plane crash a few months ago...yes, she still remembers it vividly!)
Mommy: Then all the boats would have to come rescue us.
Hannah: What if they couldn't save us and we all died.
Mommy: Then we would go to Heaven and be with Jesus.
Hannah: Mommy, that would be so fun if you and me and Caden all got to go to Heaven together.
Mommy: That would be awesome!
Hannah: Oh no, mommy, if we died we wouldn't get to eat McDonalds!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Life through Hannah's eyes
"Mommy, your tooth is crooked."
"Which tooth?"
She thinks for a second...."all of them."
"Maybe we could use your winder mommy. "
"....a winder???"
"You know the thing you use on your hair."
"Oh, a blowdryer! :) "
While holding her cinderella princess..."mommy, you look like her, you're pretty like a princess!"
"Thanks babe!!!"
"Which tooth?"
She thinks for a second...."all of them."
"Maybe we could use your winder mommy. "
"....a winder???"
"You know the thing you use on your hair."
"Oh, a blowdryer! :) "
While holding her cinderella princess..."mommy, you look like her, you're pretty like a princess!"
"Thanks babe!!!"
Saturday, January 10, 2009
My night
Last night I got home from bookgroup around midnight, which is pretty normal. I figure if I get home and am in bed by 1am I still have a good six hours sleep before my kids wake up. Of course last night right after I get home Caden starts crying. He's been sleeping through the night for over a year so this is not normal....although lately it's becoming a little more normal. (Maybe it's teething, maybe it's nightmares, I just don't know, the kid's only a year so he doesn't exactly tell me why.) He cries for all of about a minute and goes back to sleep. Chris and I ended up talking a while and we don't get to bed until about 1:30 am. Ok, I'm still in good shape, by the time I fall asleep I'll still have five hours of sleep, not my ideal but it'll work.
I barely drift off to sleep and I hear it again, Caden's crying, a little longer this time. So now I'm thinking "what's wrong? is he sick, did he pee through his diaper again??" I let him cry it out and he falls back asleep. At 4am I hear him again so I think I better check to see if he's OK. I get him some motrin, rock him back to sleep and put him back in his crib. He sleeps until 5;30am and starts crying again... so I give in, go to his room, pick him up and just hold him... the rest of the night.
I gave up trying to figure out what was wrong, I stopped thinking about how I was gonna function the next day on only 2 hours of sleep, I quit worrying about what I was gonna do the next night if it happened again (and trust me, this is not normal for me). But at least for one night I just held my little baby boy. I know these times will be ending soon and I want to enjoy every minute of it. I just rocked him and prayed for him and watched him sleep and guess what? He woke up with the HUGEST grin on his face!....who knows, maybe he just needed a little cuddle time from his mommy! :)
I barely drift off to sleep and I hear it again, Caden's crying, a little longer this time. So now I'm thinking "what's wrong? is he sick, did he pee through his diaper again??" I let him cry it out and he falls back asleep. At 4am I hear him again so I think I better check to see if he's OK. I get him some motrin, rock him back to sleep and put him back in his crib. He sleeps until 5;30am and starts crying again... so I give in, go to his room, pick him up and just hold him... the rest of the night.
I gave up trying to figure out what was wrong, I stopped thinking about how I was gonna function the next day on only 2 hours of sleep, I quit worrying about what I was gonna do the next night if it happened again (and trust me, this is not normal for me). But at least for one night I just held my little baby boy. I know these times will be ending soon and I want to enjoy every minute of it. I just rocked him and prayed for him and watched him sleep and guess what? He woke up with the HUGEST grin on his face!....who knows, maybe he just needed a little cuddle time from his mommy! :)
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