A Taste of Snow

We have ski trip coming up soon so I didnt go all crazy taking pictures of the boys in the snow but since it is officially Bennett's first encouter (and only Shep's second or third... crazy) then I thought it needed documentation.

Ready to go... he looked like a big Puff Ball... actually both of them did. haha

I dont know if I have mentioned it or not but our lot is flat... and when I say flat... I mean F-L-A-T.  So sledding didnt really happen, instead it was pulling a sled around the yard.

All 4 of them... and yes, Shep's coat is too small but I refuse to buy another one.

 The trampoline... it was great because the snow stayed on it even when they were jumping

Individual shots

Bennett safe on the playground... he had a hard time walking in it and face planted it twice.

Shepherd loving the snow

Ashton, though not one to normally enjoyed the cold, stayed out the longest.  He really loved it.

Hunter- definitely the most excited by the snow.  He was out in before any of us were ready

 Bennett and I stayed out for about 20 minutes.  Apparently that was absolutely exhausting.  He was squirming in my lap and I let him down.  He grabbed his blanket and fell asleep on the floor in seconds. 

Crashed.

Enjoy the snow and be safe! 

Dresser Facelift

I just love it when I have an idea that turns out to not work only to discover that Plan B is perfect! :)

BEFORE

AFTER

This dresser was Chad's dads dresser when he was a kid.  It has sat empty and unused for awhile now and Hub brought it up to us last time he came.  Nothing overly impressive about the dresser.  I liked the legs and the 9 drawers but knew the darkish wood veneer would not work.

My first plan was to strip it, stain it... keeping the old feel of it.  The corners were already in bad shape and the veneer was peeling off in spots anyway.








I looked around for a tutorial and found a couple.  In my mind and on the tutorials I read, beautiful or at least plain ol wood was going to be under the veneer.  NO, not the case with this little dresser- I got rough, splintery plywood.    Staining was no longer an option and questioned whether painting was going to smooth out the top of the dresser enough to not cause splinters.

I pressed on though.

Here is what I did.

1- Wood Compound to smooth over some of the stripping veneer on the sides

2- Rough sanding 

3- Prime


4-  I chose to go a little Pottery Barn/ Restoration Hardware in the look by showcasing numbered drawers.  There is surely a better/ cleaner way to do this than my method but I am too impatient and cheap.

I traced the numbers off the computer onto computer paper.

Cut numbers out.  Placed numbers on drawer and then painted over it...

yes, I had a TON of paint on my hands and yes, my eczema is not happy about it. And yes, the paint did bleed under the numbers a tad.  But, a damp sock easily got the bad mistakes and the smaller bleed throughs add to the character, right?  :)

5- Paint (2 coats on sides and 3 coats on the top.  The top was the only part that had the rough wood).  The paint was a find. Every time I go to Lowes, I check the paint section for the "mess ups"... the paint that people have mixed but wind up not buying.  I have found some awesome deals here.  I actually couldnt decide what paint to use, but once I saw this little quart of paint sitting there for $2.50, I knew I found it.  It is actually a flat, exterior paint but it had primer in it as well... which this little dresser needed all the primer it could get. 


6- For the hooks.  I was going to spray paint them and still might if what I did doesnt hold up but...  I went to Dollar Tree and bought a thing of thinnish rope and just double knotted it through the holes.

My goal with this dresser was to finish so that I could put it almost anywhere in my house though its first home is going to be in Ashton and Shepherds room (as they share one small dresser).  And I am happy to say that I achieved it.  I could put it in the den, the boys bathroom, the foyer, or even make it the computer desk... so may possibilities.  But, for now, here she is in her new spot. 

Rearranged the room a bit.  Small table is on the other wall now.

Total Cost
- Medium block sandpaper $5.00
- Tube of Wood Compound $7.00 (this busted my budget, looking back, I could have probably been ok without it)
- Quart of Paint- $2.50
- Rope - $1.00

TOTAL- $15.50

Thanks again Papa Hub for the dresser (and nightstand).. they are perfect and very needed!

Its Your Party and I'll Cry if I want

Ok, so maybe not your party just yet, but it is your birthday and a part of me could cry.

Bennett,
I have so much to say to you.  You are a promise.  You are the final answer of God's faithful plan to make me a mom. You have been prayed for and dreamed about since I was a little girl.

I am happy to say that you turning one is bringing me so much joy.  You have had a beautiful first year and a part of me is sad to see it ending so quickly.  Many moments of your first year feel like a blur- a blink of an eye.  People warn that time goes by more quickly when you have kids- magnify that by 4 and my life is spiraling... in a good way.

A little bit about you at one.
- You love music and to dance
- You love to be held
- You put everything in your mouth and wait for a reaction from someone (normally daddy). Your current favorite thing is Connect 4 pieces.
- You love your blankets but have especially started to love white blanket the most.
- You are enjoying your naps again and dont fuss when I lay you down.
   In fact, some nights, if my prayers get too long you start pointing towards your bed like, "finish up and put me down."
- Your brothers adore you and spoil you rotten.
- You eat like a champ though your size tries to tell a different story.
-  You are fascinated by Elmo
- You have begun to look at books
- You are a momma's boy... the perfect kind of momma's boy in that you dont suffer from separation anxiety, you just favor me above anyone else in the world.
- Your eyes squint when you smile really big

- You love to be outside
- You are walking like a pro and are getting quite fast
- Because of that your forehead has had some kind of bruise on it for the last month.
- You still love bath time... a lot!
- You eat almost everything with your hands- it is gross
- You love to play chase/ hide n go seek around the house. You are quite good at "finding" me when I am trying to have a moment to myself.
- You love the Power Wheels and are quite persistent with your brothers to give you a ride.... and they normally cave to your requests.
- You recognize a bunch of words (dog, shoes, juice, eat, hungry, mommy, daddy, brothers. etc)
- You babble all the time and say dada, ah ma (ma ma).
- You love to play catch and just learned how to kick a soccer ball (makes me proud)
- You like to slide but only enjoy swinging for about 5 minutes.
- You still ride perfectly in the car and will rear face for another year.

Bennett, I love it when you are waking up from a nap and you nestle up against my neck and just mumble.  I love your open mouth drooly kisses, I love giving you your bottle at night and kissing your forehead as I lay you down, I love the way you toddle to me with a big grin on your face so excited to see me.  I love watching the way you interact with your brothers... you guys love eachother so much.  You are now included in a lot of the active play and it is beyond exciting to you.

I pray for you.  I pray that God has His ever faithful, sovereign hand clasped around you.  You are His and I find peace and comfort in knowing that His plan for you is perfect.

And here is a walk down memory lane.

1 day old

 1 month

 

2 months

3 months

 4 months

5 months

 6 months

 7 months

 8 months

9 months

 10 months

11 months

 12 months- The birthday boy.

Happy 1st Birthday!
I hope you have an incredible year full of laughter, learning and love.

End of the day on his birthday--- I look exhausted.

Just remember, you will always be my baby... always.
Mommy

-------------------------------- --------------------------------  --------------------------------

Today was supposed to be super low key by just hanging out at home.  However, I noticed Bennett's eye was really red yesterday.  See picture.

Didnt quite look like pink eye so I thought I would wait to take him in.  It looked worse this morning in that it spread so we had to drive to the doctor which is an hour and twenty minutes away because I never switched since we moved and apparently you have to be 18 months for CVS minute clinic.
Anyway, the eye was not normal "pink eye" but was an eye infection due to an ear infection (the same thing used to happen to Hunter... I always knew when he had an ear infection because his eyes would look awful and red).

We turned lemons to lemonade though and mom and dad met up with us and we had lunch and shopped for a bit at the mall.

When we got home, we had delicious steak... Bennett was too impatient and had leftover spaghetti.  We then did the cake (dont laugh at my attempt at cookie monster - I ate all the cookies out of his mouth).  Then his presents--- kept it super low key.

A happy baby with a lighter and two cakes in front of him

He did the smash cake the right way... two fists.

With assistance, opening his presents. 

Just an FYI- I have every intention of doing a little party for him we just ran out of weekends in January.  Looks like beginning of March we may do a little get together to celebrate. 

Closing Up Shop

After 41 months and 4 kids- the milk shop is officially out of business.  Ya'll that is almost 3 1/2 years... add the pregnancy's of said children and that is over 6 years of having my body and the purpose of my body belong to someone else.  I got pregnant with Hunter in March of 2005 and am officially done with it all in January of 2014.  So, less than 3 years of the last 9 have I not been pregnant or nursing.  Oh, it makes me tired and makes me say no wonder my awesome 6 pack is no longer and my hips are wider and legs thicker... lets not talk about the poor scale that now reads heavier.  Truly each stretch mark is a reflection of the past 9 years.  The story of my 20's (plus one year in the 30's).  And I wouldnt trade a thing for it.  :)

"Thanks for feeding me!"

I am proud to say that I have successfully nursed/ pumped for all the boys.  Shep and Bennett never had formula. 

I drastically slowed down on pumping a couple weeks ago and started digging in the freezer supply.  I have only pumped three times in the last week and I think it is finally finished!   Bennett had his last breastmilk bottle this morning.  His nighttime bottle has been whole milk for the past week and he has transitioned perfectly.

I wish I could say it was bittersweet to be done with this stage, but it wasnt.  I could have thrown myself a party.  I know it is a bit different in that I have been full time pumping the last 8 months but regardless, I am thrilled!

TMI- I hope to be able to go bra-less again when I go to bed! I tell you... It truly is the little things that make me happy.

Let me add my normal clause.  This is not to make anyone feel bad if you chose to not breastfeed or if you couldnt or if you did for only a bit.  Everyone is different.  This made sense for me--- mainly because it is free.  I am a huge breastfeeding advocate but I am also a huge formula feeding advocate.

I am looking to pack up all pumping stuff soon!  Sandee, your pump is coming back to you.

Bed and Breakfast Review

Friday night I stayed in the most wonderful bed and breakfast. 

This all inclusive inn allows and encourages that your pet come with you.  They serve a delicious breakfast:  fritata and grits with coffee.  They have a mechanic on site that will fix your car when the brake lights will not go off.  And, will chaffeur you around town with a personal shopper who pays for lunch.  Let's not forget to mention the jetted tub which I enjoyed Saturday morning and the comfy down pillow, fluffy duvets and flannel sheets... Oh, and a smooth glass of wine with sea salt dark chocolate on Friday night was just icing on the cake. 

I mean, they could charge $200 a night...

:)

Thanks mom and dad for a nice relaxing Friday night.  I spent my first night away from Bennett this past Friday night.  We are going skiing in a couple weeks and Molly is staying at my parent's house.  This was the best weekend for me to get her to their house so Chad was able to keep the boys Friday night and all day Saturday.  Though, I went to drop off Molly, I left mom and dad's house feeling refreshed.  It is amazing how just 1 night away from the normalcy makes you miss it... makes you miss them. 

Another perk was I got to visit and half way help my dear friend Olivia move into their house!  She and her family are so much closer to us now and we are soooo happy about it!

When I got home, I was greeted with hug after hug after hug and many big smiles... with some making multiple trips back to hug me.  They make a girl feel loved!

In conclusion, I give this bed and breakfast a huge 5 star review! 

My Little Readers

Ashton
Frick and Frack (Ashton and Shepherd) are both doing great reading.  In addition to what Ashton is learning at school, we are doing The Reading Lesson at home.  We are trying to get back in our groove since we did nothing over Christmas break :(.  But he is really picking it up.  Here is what he is reading now.

Ashton's current reading spot (Chapter 12).

 Shepherd
Shepherd just amazes me.  He just turned 4 and he is reading.  I was tentative to start The Reading Lesson with him at the beginning of the school year because of his age, but he has known all his letters and and the sounds for well over a year and a half.  It just seemed wrong to not start the next phase... and that was blending the sounds together.  And now I am so glad I started him in August, he is doing great!  Here is what he is reading.  I recorded him reading this today, but it is over a minute long and it would take FOREVER to upload it on here.

And Shep is on Chapter 8.

Here is a picture of The Reading Lesson.  I want to sing this program's praises.  It is easy to follow for the teacher and child.  Starts really simple but builds at a nice steady pace. 

Hunter
Let me also add Hunter into the mix.  He continues to love to read.  He has always loved to look at books, but he is really into non fiction type/ educational books like space, animals, weather.  As of the end of the first nine weeks, he was where he should begin in 3rd grade.  He has read a couple chapter books but enjoys the chapter books that still have pictures laced through them.

An example of what Hunter can read

All this reading makes my reading heart very happy.  I have always been an avid reader.  I can sit down with a big ol novel and finish it in a day (while neglecting every bit of responsibility that I have.)  I really need to list some of the good books that I have read recently.... another day.

Ok, that is the end of my brag... Let me just add, I know I have people reading this that have kids Shepherd's age who are no where near reading.  Shepherd is outside of the norm on things like this and always has been.  I dont necessarily thing he is overly smart but learning this type of stuff (puzzles, etc) have always come easy.  Hunter didnt start blending sounds together until the middle of k5... and look at him now!  So, please dont think you need to start your 3 or 4 year old on the reading path if you they are not ready, you are not ready, or ya just dont want to. :) 

Walking and Push Ups

Bennett
My baby is officially a walker.  He still opts to crawl some of the time, but he has discovered his legs and can move pretty good on them.  He is turning around and walking while holding his blanket so he has some moves.

He is a little person now just casually walking in the kitchen holding a Wii remote... love it!

So proud of his new skeels

Here is the most recent walking video. (yesterday)
*** Turn it down a bit- Hunter sings like my dad. :)  This video cracks me up and will give you a full look inside my noisy, crazy afternoon. 

Hunter
I love to laugh with at my kids.  Little kids just cant do push ups... heck, I can barely do more than 15 in a row.  Anyway, I told Hunter that I would take a video of him doing a push up to show him how funny he looks doing them.  The last time I saw him do them, it was the typical little kid push up (butt in the air, not moving elbows, etc).  He surprised and pulled off 2 pretty good push ups (now the butt still goes up, but at least the arms are going down).  Just another reminder that he is growing up so fast1

Graveyard visit

How morbid is that title?

While we were down at Chad's parents house, we took the boys to the church playground.  While they played, I grabbed Bennett and the stroller and went across the street to the church graveyard.  Chad's grandpa, Edgar, is buried there and I thought we would pay him a visit. 

As a friend put it, "there is something about seeing a beginning and an ending date."  It is unnerving to see dates that are only years apart, or months, or even days.  Or to see a date that is practically my age.  Perspective?

The view is breathtaking.

I dont know about you, but I walk away from graveyards feeling humbled that I have today... that I have this moment to use.  Just in recent weeks, we have had friends and friends of friends that have died or come close to death and it is such a reminder that this is not our home.  I am here... in this moment... to bring Him glory. 

How do I bring Him glory?  I praise Him in the mundane.  I fold mounds of clothes.  I pick up piles of toys.  I watch football with Chad.  I get them dressed and change diapers and load and unload the dishwasher and feed them and feed them and feed them again.  He is glorified in my work.  More importantly, He is glorified in my attitude to do it joyfully.

My prayer is that no matter how long I have that those see me doing the mundane with joy.

Graveyards can be such a great reminder to re prioritize.... to have a softer voice with the kids... or the husband.  To take time for the seemingly insignificant.  To jump on the trampoline or grab them and spin to not sweat small stuff... 

...Wow... I had no intention of getting sappy/ deep...  you just got some insight to my scattered brain.  I had actually just wanted to post a funny story of Shepherd.  :)

The boys all decided they wanted to walk the graveyard with me. 

We walked to the very top where PapaEdgar is buried.  I pulled out my camera to take a picture (again, it may be morbid... but I get it from my dad) of Edgar's headstone.

I love the bottom part, "a wise man who built his house upon the rock."  They took this from my blog post... obviously it came from the Bible, but I blogged about it here and I was so glad they used it because it truly sums up PapaEdgar.

 I turn around and see this...

 Yep, he is planking on someones headstone.  I was mortified... not mortified enough to not take a picture, but mortified nonetheless.  In addition, he also was playing in the little pebbles at PapaEdgar's gravespot, 

I explained to him that we dont do things like that in a graveyard, but I really couldnt get mad because all I could hear was Edgar's hearty chuckle over the spirit of a scattered 4 year old. 

Go... enjoy the mundane.

A First

In honor of January 1st, I thought I would post one of Chad's first.

We got the boys a trampoline for Christmas.  As Chad and I were setting it up, he casually mentioned that he had never been on a trampoline.

<<>>

"What??? You have never jumped or even been a trampoline?"

Though he is significantly over the weight limit... especially with the boys on it, I said he needed to experience it.

And so... he did. And I laughed and realized yet again how awkward he can be sometimes.

His first jump

No words

Though the jumping was funny, I got totally tickled when he attempted to get down.

Attempt #1

Belly got in the way

Attempt #2

With help from Ashton.  I thought he might just topple out head first

 Funny stuff I tell ya... funny stuff.

As 2013 is officially done, I look back on the year and realize how blessed we were.  We brought home baby boy #4, Chad got a new/ much better job, we listed our house, sold our house and made a bit on it, nice beach vacation, bought a new house, made it through football season, and have adjusted to life in a new place.  Not bad for a year.

Now looking at 2014, I see areas that need improvement.  Like everyone, I want to tone up.  Sure losing a few more pounds would be nice but I just really want to tone up the area that has housed 4 beautiful little boys.  :)
I also want to get back in the Word.  I have majorly slacked since Bennett was born... struggling to find my rhythm again.  Any suggestions for good Bible studies or a favorite book of the Bible?
 And lastly, to firm up on finances. We have both been a little lose on spending since we moved.  I think we are both set to make wiser decisions for the ol budget.

So, no ground breaking resolutions, just little things to make life smoother!

Hope you all have a Happy New Year!