Sullivans mad house

A Change Of Place

2008-12-20T19:29:00.003-05:00

Please follow me over to my new bloggy home. I will not be posting anymore on this particular blog and have moved everything over to:

http://sullivanfamily4.wordpress.com/ Hope to see you there!

New Blog

2008-12-18T11:46:00.002-05:00

Those of you who are interested in midwifery, natural childbirth, homebirth, doulas, etc. I have created a new blog about my journey to being a doula and midwife: http://midwifesomeday.wordpress.com/ At times these subjects can be controversial so only visit with an open mind.

Just For Fun

2008-12-17T22:58:00.001-05:00

I saw this and I thought it looked fun.

Your rainbow is shaded green.

What is says about you: You are an intelligent person. You feel strong ties to nature and your mood changes with its cycles. Those around you admire your fresh outlook and vitality.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

Wonder why my bloggy colors ended up being green?

Christmas Photos

2008-12-16T22:24:00.002-05:00

We usually go to target to get Christmas pictures done but this year I decided to take the pictures myself. As most of you know I do have a little experience and have taken a couple college classes in photography. However a digital photo class is something I was never interested in, so basically I know the just of posing and color co-ordinating but once it is uploaded to my computer, cropped and resized my skills are at a stand still. Another problem is that I have a VERY basic digital camera and the photo program I have is hmmm.... more than lacking. Apart form all that the pictures didn't turn out too bad.

Caleb was my first victim... I mean subject. He was such a good sport about it and said "Merry Christmas" for all the shots.
Man that kid needs a hair cut! Oh well, maybe I'll just let it grow out and see what it looks like long haha.

Getting Leland to stay in one place was REALLY a challenge!

Hurry Caleb kiss your brother! Click click. Good job boys!

The resolution to getting Leland to stay in one place was a little... no A LOT scary! I had Caleb sit on a stool and hold Leland in his lap while Dave is below them hoping no one falls.

Cute though don't you think?

For my last task I had to figure out the self timer on my camera (something I had never used before). Try to get everyone in the picture in the 10 seconds allotted and smile.
Okay so everyone but Leland in smiling but that was a little unrealistic.. at least we are all in there.

Merry Christmas!

What Did We Do With Our Recently Finished Room?

2008-12-08T21:18:00.003-05:00

For now it is a play room, Caleb LOVES it! I love it too, I can just trow all the toys in there at the end of the day and close the door, although I do clean and re-organize it about three times a week its a lot better than two or three times a day like I was doing before when the whole house was a "toy for all".

At some point I want to put a futon or sofa bed in there for guests but for now the only seating is our toy storage thing :)

Its nice to have space for Caleb's tunnels and tents to be up all the time. He and the cat play cat and mouse with it, although sometimes I'm not sure whos who...

In one corner I set up a little reading area.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little House

2008-12-08T18:49:00.003-05:00

We finally got to decorating the outside of the house this weekend. I changed this a bit from what we normally do and still have some more things I'd like to add but I am liking it more this year than years past. Before we get to that though I want to explain the improvements to the "train yard". Basically I painted the sheet of ply-wood that the train is on and added some snowmen... just wait 'till next year though I am hoping to have a couple houses and maybe a pond with ice skaters.

For the most part Leland has been good about not touching the trains or tree, he does need reminding now and then... like in this picture.

Oh, Mommy pleeeeaaaase can I touch it?

Usually we would have those trendy, annoying ice-sickle lights around the top of the porch but I decided to go with the more classic multi-color big bulbs instead. The garland with lights around the railing are the same but I changed the bush lights from multi-color to white this year.

I want to get some candles for all the windows and a small tree for the "play room" window ( second story, window to the far right)

Decked

2008-12-01T10:21:00.003-05:00

On my Dads side of the family they have a tradition of putting up elaborate trains sets under the Christmas tree every year. So a couple years ago my parents decided to send us a train track plus accessories to keep this tradition going. This year I finally got around to putting it together. Ours isn't extravagant or elaborate yet but as the years go on we will add a little house here and some deer there so eventually it will be a great train yard.

I am thinking that I don't like this cotton snow stuff too much so I might just paint the wood white and add some of the cotton snow stuff in some places.

Thanksgiving Cont.

2008-11-28T11:47:00.003-05:00

This is what Moxie did all day.

After we ate and took a walk we piled up all our pillows and couch cushions on the floor. I made popcorn and while Leland took a nap Dave, Caleb, and I watch The Polar Express. After the movie Leland woke up and we ate dessert the rolled around on the floor for a while before bed.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T11:05:00.004-05:00

It was just us this year, we had had a mini Thanksgiving with Grandma Mary , Jennie, Sheldon, and our newest little cutie Abigail a couple weeks ago. All day Caleb was asking me about the turkey which he mistook for a chicken a couple times, then for about an hour was asking if lunch was ready.

The turkey; I kept it pretty basic and just seasoned it with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and olive oil. We all liked it and the gravy I made with the drippings was SO good.

Sweet potato casserole, corn bread, and
stuffing getting warmed up for dinner.

A pose before dinner.

The boys.

Ready to eat, Leland was not happy about taking

a picture when there was food waiting to be eaten.

I made my own cranberry sauce this year with just a little orange juice and sugar simmered with the cranberries. Then gravy was REALLY good. Green beans were from the garden that we had frozen. Then stuffing was slightly different from what I would normally make since Dave refuses to eat pork I had to substitute the sausage with chicken sausage but it was still my favorite part of the meal.

Leland LOVED the cranberries and sweet

potatoes as well as the stuffing.

Getting stuffed!

"I Pledge Alliegiance"

2008-11-19T13:24:00.002-05:00

Caleb saying the pledge of allegiance.

More Pictures of the Boys Swinging

2008-11-17T19:53:00.003-05:00

It was a little cold outside, about 47 degrees I think.

Giggle baby

Caleb wasn't very interested is having his picture taken
but he complied anyway.

Leland on the other hand was thrilled about everything.

A Swingin' Good Time

2008-11-17T19:36:00.005-05:00

On Saturday we finally replaced the swing that Benoni( dog we had for a while until he drove us crazy... I mean decided he was too much for our family) destroyed. No, No we didn't destroy the dog, the dog destroyed the swing you sillys.

Anyway, so Leland tried it out, he had never been in a swing before except the little baby swing when he was a couple months old. He loved it and started laughing hysterically.

Another Critter

2008-11-14T21:20:00.002-05:00

Dave seems to always be the one who spots theses things... bugs, squirrels, deer. I guess because he is the one who goes out to take care of the trash and other "manly outdoorsy" things haha.

A praying mantis, they really blend in
with their surroundings.

Looks kind of scary.

An Oddity in the Back Yard.

2008-11-14T21:09:00.003-05:00

A week or so before we flew back from California Dave informed me that there was an albino squirrel living in the woods behind our house. I wasn't sure whether he was trying to joke with me or if he was serious but here it is a happy little "winter squirrel" that is what he reminds me of anyway.

It was hard to get closer to him and my cameras
zoom doesn't work very well but there he/she is
gathering acorns in the back yard.

Look closely hes in the tree.... see the little white speck haha.

He almost looks like a ferret in this picture, we
see him everyday out there with all the other "normal"
squirrels gathering nuts for winter. I wonder if they notice that
he doesn't look like them.

The Finished Room

2008-11-05T17:38:00.002-05:00

Here it is finally done! Yippy! I love it and can't wait
to furnish it.

Side facing the driveway.

This is the side facing the street.

Moxie had to get in the shot... what a ham!

Can you see the pretty leaves out the window?

hmmmmm now what to put in here... Any suggestions?

Lots of new pictures

2008-11-05T17:22:00.001-05:00

All the pictures form our trip to California are here. You may have to click on older posts to see them all. The first set begins with Jason and Heather's wedding

Bed time

2008-11-05T17:18:00.002-05:00

Every once in a while the boys would completely
wear my Mom out. She would be sitting there with Leland
and just crash.

A pretty sunset from my parents porch.

The park

2008-11-05T17:12:00.002-05:00

We went to the park almost everyday.
At first Caleb was afraid of the slides but he got used
to it and it became the only thing he wanted to do.

Leland and I

Caleb in his pretend jail.

Leland at the bottom of the slide.

Leland going down the slide.

This was Caleb's pretend car.

Peaches

2008-11-05T17:08:00.002-05:00

Caleb just LOVED the peaches for Gram and Pop Pops trees!
One day I think he had 7 or 8.

Caught red handed!

Leland loved them too! He loves all food.

Peach face.

Hangin' with Gran

Getting sleepy.

2008-11-05T17:04:00.000-05:00

San Juan Capisrano Cont.

2008-11-05T16:59:00.002-05:00

A new restored part of the mission. They were
doing construction on this last time I was there.

I believe this is part of what they call the
old church.

They would ring these bells to announce weddings,

deaths, etc. They had a different ring depending on what

they were announcing.

Caleb looking at a fountain.

San Juan Capisrano

2008-11-05T16:52:00.002-05:00

San Juan is one of the missions in Southern California,
it has beautiful foliage and architecture.

Grandma and Leland at one of the fountains.

The fish in the fountains are very friendly, this one was
looking for food.

Looking at the fish.

Smelling the flowers.

Grandma and the boys.

Sea World

2008-11-05T16:49:00.002-05:00

Caleb checking out the manitee

A sting ray

Caleb trying to touch it... they are very slimmy.

Julian,CA

2008-11-05T16:40:00.002-05:00

A small mountain town know for their apples, and
boy were they good. While we were there we picked some organic
apples then had lunch with apple pie for dessert.

Leland loves apples.

Leland and I

Dave and Leland

Caleb holding a very heavy bag of apples.

Caleb loved picking the apples and snacking along
the way.

Jason & Heather 2008

2008-11-05T16:29:00.003-05:00

The beautiful bride and her father walking down the isle

Groom waiting anxiously

The vows

Smoooch

Caleb, ring bearer (Andrew) and Heather

Sometimes Things Don't Work Out Like We Planned

2008-10-23T21:21:00.003-04:00

Well I think I have informed most of you on our decision about moving or not moving really. So we are staying in Georgia which I am happy about, I was really dreading leaving my friends and family and of course my house which we have made many memories in. I am super grateful to the family members who loaned us the money to finish our bonus room and I can't wait to make use of it finally. To my parents I hope you understand that things just didn't go as we had hoped and that we love you and wish we could live closer, but we will come visit as much as possible and hope you will come visit us too. I thank everyone who supported our decisions and continue to, it is always comforting to know you are there for us. We enjoyed our long vacation here and being able to be here for my brothers wedding... I pray you and Heather have a great marriage. To my friends who live in California I am sad we won't be spending more time together but I have had a great time with you these last few weeks and hope to visit with you all again. We truly have the best family and friends in the world! In about a week and a half we will be back in Georgia and I can't wait to see our niece who will be coming soon... Abigail you are a gift from God to your parents and the rest of us. Hugs and Kisses Carrie

Theres no place like home!

Just a Little News

2008-10-03T23:13:00.002-04:00

As most of you know Caleb if probably one of the pickiest kids in the world. He loves almost anything sweet but when it come to the healthy good stuff its like a world war trying to get him to eat it. some of his favorite foods are cheese, mac and cheese, yogurt, cereal... do you see the trend? Anything made with milk he loves but I am happy to say that since we have been in California he has a new interest... PEACHES! My parents have three peach trees and I guess he likes the idea of picking it himself and getting to eat what he found. I kid you not yesterday he ate SIX peaches within a couple hours he just runs back and forth getting a peach from the kitchen (we pick a basket full every couple days and bring in the house) goes to the living room eats his peach puts the pit in the trash and gets another. He seems to have a better appetite and will snack on other things as well but peaches are his choice. I say all this to tell you that Caleb has finally gained some weight for a year he has been 25 pounds. I weighed him today and he is 28 pounds yay!

Leland is sill and hopefully always will be a great eater. He eats whatever I give him and always wants more. I weighed him today too and he has taken over the 25 pound slot but I'm sure he won't be there for long... my little michelin baby.

New Plans

2008-09-25T17:16:00.002-04:00

After a week of anxiety over what we are going to do about trying to get the house sold and moving back to California the Lord has brought some clarity to this whole mess. I will be taking my scheduled flight back to Georgia on November 4th and weather or not the house is sold by then we will pack things and be driving to California around November 15th. In the mean time Dave is getting the bonus room finished with borrowed money so we can hopefully sell it for what we owe. If the house is not sold my the time we have to leave we will rent it out until it is sold. I really didn't want to do that but at least this way the house will be paying for its self and we can get on with our lives instead of being in limbo. I am even okay with just renting it out for a few years so we can get some equity out of it. God sure has a way of changing my anxiety into peace. Thank you Lord!

Moving Update

2008-09-17T17:41:00.006-04:00

Things have gotten pretty crazy with our moving plans... ha ha... plans... I don't think we really have a plan now. Dave's boss in Georgia wanted a date, a set date for him to transfer... is he crazy? So we had to give him a date. We said mid November, now the house really needs to sell and the realtor wants to lower our price. No one has looked at the house and Dave wants to finish the bonus room to try and get more money. I think I may scream and have a panic attack! If it weren't for my faith in God to guide us through this that is exactly what I would do. Please please pray for our house to sell soon, please.

Where We've Been

2008-09-17T17:41:00.002-04:00

Since my last update we have only gone a couple places. Last week we went to Mission San Juan Capistrano, they have opened up a couple places within the mission since I was there last. It is one of my favorite places to take pictures, it was cool to see the new stuff there. After that we went to a beach in San Clemente and tried to get Caleb to get in the water but he hated it. He is very afraid of the "moving" water. Yesterday we went to another beach in Oceanside and met up with some friends. Caleb seemed to have more fun this time since he had friends to play with but he still wouldn't go near the water. Leland loved it and wanted to crawl around on the beach with the other babies.
I am still without a way to get pictures on here but maybe soon I can figure something out.

Wedding, Julian, and Sea World

2008-09-03T23:46:00.006-04:00

My blogging has been slowed a bit due to this old computer my parents have and their internet connection is sloooooow. Almost as bad a dial up. The wedding was fun! Caleb made a couple friends; Andrew who is Heather's(my new sister in law)nephew, and a little girl... I can't remember her name but she is my brothers best friends daughter. They had fun dancing together it was very cute! I have pictures of them but I still have no way of up up loading them. We all got to ride in a hummer limo from the hotel to the wedding. The boys were so tired by the time we left to go back to the hotel that Leland fell asleep in my Mom's lap and Caleb with his head in my lap.

A couple days after the wedding we drove up the mountains to Julian and picked a bag of apples then had lunch and bought an apple pie.... Oh so good! Yesterday we went to Sea World, I think Caleb liked Shamu but it was kinda hard to tell since he was tired and cranky. We all got to touch the star fish and Bat Rays at the tide pools. It was all pretty exhausting but fun.

Not Much Yet

2008-08-25T12:58:00.003-04:00

So far Leland and I haven't really been doing much, mostly helping with gardening chores and the occasional 40 minute drive down the mountain into civilization. On Saturday I picked peaches and mushed some up for Leland then Mom and I made peach cobbler, yesterday we made banana bread. I'm going to need some serious exercise or I'll be gaining some pounds with all these treats! Tomorrow we will be taking that trip down the mountain again to pick up my Dads tux for my brothers wedding and I will get a few things in preparation as well.
Dave and Caleb are in Chicago until the 28th(the day of the wedding). Dave calls me everyday to tell me how Caleb is doing, most of the time he is good but wants to get into things like most 3 year olds. I try to talk to him on the phone but I don't get a lot out of him, maybe just a "hi" and a couple "yes" or "no" answers. I wonder what he will do when he sees me at the wedding???
Leland is doing a little better with sleeping. Today was the longest he slept, close to 12 hours. I will probably have lots more to tell after the wedding and when we actually venture out more and maybe go to Sea World or the beach!
Love you all!

Our First Day In California

2008-08-20T13:29:00.002-04:00

Our fight was good, Leland did very well on the plane. He got a little fussy on our two hour drive to my parents house but he feel asleep for part of it. I put him to bed about 9pm California time but this morning he was still stuck to his normal schedule eastern time and woke up at FIVE. My Dad got him out of bed so there was no chance of getting him back to sleep. Hopefully I can get him to adjust to a new time zone in the next couple days.
We haven't done much yet, just hanging around the house but it is fun here. There are lots of peach trees on my parents property, apple tree and fig tree that need picking a huge garden to weed (I offered to do this chore since my Mom can't really get down on her knees too long). I'm not sure when or if I will be able to put any pictures on here since his computer neither has the software or any other way to put pictures from my camera to the computer. I will keep you all up to date on our house selling or any other adventures we may have.

The Painting is Done... On The Inside Anyway

2008-08-17T22:19:00.002-04:00

Finally we are done with most of the painting, Dave will have to do the deck and porch himself while I am gone but those should be fairly easy. Tomorrow the house goes on the market so we are doing a little more packing and cleaning.

Okay, okay its a little bright but its a small bathroom that gets no natural sunlight so it needs some cheeriness to it.

The upstairs bathroom. Very neutral!

Sleepy Eyes

2008-08-14T13:37:00.002-04:00

A few days ago I was busy upstairs with something while Dave was feeding Leland breakfast. I hear some crying for a minute or two then silence. Turns out Leland was really tired and feel asleep after eating.

So precious

Hey dude why are you waking me up?

Back to sleep again.

A little blurry but stunning blue eyes.

Getting There

2008-08-14T13:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Dave took the day off so we could get the kitchen finished. We are pleased with the outcome and are bummed that we didn't paint in here a long time ago, now it looks so nice and someone else will enjoy it instead of us. I'm okay with that though if it will get the house to sell faster.

No more ugly maroon, so much better!

It looks so much bigger with out everything in it.

Oh, check out the sunflowers on the table straight
from the backyard.

Two Down Four To Go

2008-08-12T13:51:00.004-04:00

We moved the boys to the other upstairs bedroom and painted both rooms a neutral beige color. One room is now an office and the other is the boys room. We still have the stairway area, 2 bathrooms and the kitchen to finish painting... inside the house. We still have to paint the deck, the trim on the from porch, and the shutters. After that some landscaping and a good cleaning then we are ready for random people to start scrutinizing our house,picking out things that they don't like, and hopefully deciding that this is the best house they have seen and pay us lot of money for it.
Last weekends yard sale was really good. We sold almost everything and what we didn't sell we took to the Salvation Army, we still have some more random things that we are doing to take to a thrift store. The Grand total for the yard sale was around $600.00! Praise the Lord!

The new office

Different view

New boys room

The beds fit much better in here... more spacious.

Progress

2008-08-08T17:30:00.002-04:00

This weekend is the last of the yard sale, yay! I can't wait 'til that is done. We painted one room so far and hope... I mean WILL paint the other upstairs room, stair well, and foyer. After that it is on to painting the kitchen and bathrooms. Today I took down all the annoying wall paper border in the bathrooms, kitchen, and upstairs bedroom to prepare for painting. I have packed about 12ish boxes and have just a few more things to pack in the kitchen. Amazingly it seems that is most of the packing is done, maybe a couple more for clothes and other odds and ends. Then it is off to vacation which may or may not end up REALLY being vacation but just getting things ready to move out there. That is all for now :)

So Far....

2008-08-07T08:44:00.002-04:00

This Morning :
Leland woke up an hour earlier than normal.
Caleb decided it was a good idea to eat his cereal on the couch and spilled it just as I had discovered where he was.
As I was cleaning up the cereal mess Leland spilled the cats water and ate a piece of cat food, Yuck!
I need to be out the door in about 45 minutes and I haven't even showered yet.
So why on earth am I on the computer AAAAAAAHHHHH!

AAAAAAHHH Elmos Gonna Get Me!

2008-08-06T08:57:00.003-04:00

Leland reaction to Elmo

Random Stuff

2008-08-06T08:50:00.003-04:00

Leland eating his first pizza crust.
He really liked it.

Pizza crust heaven.

Trying to shove as much into his mouth as possible.

Leland playing with his friend Julian.
It seems even at the baby stage they always
want whatever someone else is playing with

Julian: "what is that shinny light flashing contraption?"
Leland: " Put that thing away or I will beat you with this
almighty powerful paper towel roll."

Yard Sale

2008-08-05T20:54:00.002-04:00

My apologies, I have no actual pictures of what last weekends yard sale looked like... we were just a tad too busy I suppose. It was fairly successful. The first day it took me three hours to set up everything(I was awake by 6am) then I waited, and waited.... and waited but nobody came. Dave suggested I go make sure our signs were still okay, turns out they had curled up over night from the moister in the air and no one could see the signs. We made new signs and as Dave was putting them up people started coming woohoo! The first day we sold the pool and a few more small items. The second day was much better our first customer bought a bed frame, bakers rack and side tables. We had lots of people come and bought a decent amount of stuff and our final amount was around $260... not too bad. Next weekend I'll put out some more furniture items and a few more things I found that we don't need then what ever is left from that we'll bring to the salvation army. Thank you to Vanessa for the good advice on having a yard sale!

All in one place, so much better.

2008-07-29T18:45:00.003-04:00

First we has piles of yard sale stuff in every room, now it is all in the bonus room which makes me feel much less claustrophobic. There is still more to be added to the pile and I got a great idea while reading a friends blog who is also moving. Hopefully, Prayerfully, I can get someone to "host" my yard sale for a couple weeks and I can take all this stuff over there so we can get on with getting the house on the market. We interviewed some great realtors this morning and I am thinking we may be able to put the house up for sale by next week. This can only happen if I can get a "host" for the yard sale and get all the painting and fixing done by then.

Some baby stuff, books, and self.

Movies

These are the storage containers the clothes are in, one has clothes, the other is office type stuff and craft stuff.

The clothes racks are still in our room but at least its not a pile.

News Flash..... Leland can now......

2008-07-29T18:20:00.002-04:00

Pull himself up on things aaaaaaaaahhhh!
No child sit down! J/K
He started on the stairs and now everything is something he can use to help him stand.

Please don't learn to climb the stairs... pleeeeeease!

Piles, Piles Everywhere!

2008-07-29T18:12:00.002-04:00

First thing I tackled was the books, for the most part I have no emotional attachment to these items to it was a relatively easy task. Only a small pile of keepers and a huge pile to sell. Woohoo!

Sell pile.

Keep pile.
(Basically some keep sakes and some Favorite novels).

Oh, how I dreaded the pile'o clothes. Thankfully Dave let me get some cheap racks to hang them on and helped me put the rest in hugungous storage bins in the bonus room.

How did we ever accumulate so much stuff?!

Good News, Bad News and Everything in Between

2008-07-23T12:25:00.002-04:00

I really don't know how to start this post, part of me is very happy and excited another part of me is sad, overwhelmed, nervous etc. Most of you know Dave has been having some.... " issues" at work. So with many prayers and discussions we have decided that we need to move back to California. One reason as I just stated is Dave's work, its too much to type so I'll just say that things are harder than ever... hes not happy there and his pay is too little. Reason number 2 we prayed about moving back and God answered with "YES THIS IS A GOOD IDEA". Say that in your most godly voice ha ha :). The last reason is all about friends and family, as hard as we have tried Georgia just doesn't feel like home. We love the family and friends we have in this area but I have struggled without having my Mom close by, and I know she has a hard time too with us living so far apart.
The plan so far is: well first we have a lot of work to do to put the house on the market, painting, sorting, fixing, and yard selling. Hopefully we can get the sorting and yard selling stuff done before our vacation. Next would be the painting and fixing then we could feel good about putting the house on the market. Ideally this too will be done before our vacation. So I've got to get busy.

David Gets Whipped in Tennis

2008-07-23T12:11:00.002-04:00

Poor Dave he kept saying he could beat our neighbor
who plays tennis weekly and has a coach.
He hasn't played in 5 years... but he didn't do too
bad last game was 5 to 6.

Dave trying to do better.

Tanya serving.

The kids hanging out waiting for the game to be over.
It was pretty hot that day.

She did it.

Caleb's Third Birthday

2008-07-13T17:16:00.002-04:00

Opening a present from Ben.

Cool a basket ball hoop from Lara

The singing kitty card from Aunt Karen

Opening more presents, Camryn really liked
listening to the singing kitties.

The whole group; Camryn, Ben, Caleb,
and Lara( she looks like she has to go potty, haha).

Caleb's New Bed

2008-07-10T17:41:00.003-04:00

On our trip to North Carolina we also picked up Caleb's bed that Grandpa Rich
made that matches Leland's crib. When Leland is older his crib will turn into a transitional bed, then a full size just like Caleb's.

It all barley fits in their room.

Too cool!

North Carolina Trip Continued

2008-07-08T12:08:00.003-04:00

Playing Pirate:
Mopping up the deck.

At the wheel.

Arrrrr!

Going back to Grandma and Grandpas
for a much needed nap.

Tired after having so much fun at the museum.

North Carolina Trip

2008-07-08T11:50:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we drove up to North Carolina to see Grandma Mary and Grandpa Rich. Caleb and Leland both had a great time tormenting the cats and getting into everything they could. Caleb got his birthday presents... 2 cute outfits, I'll have to take pictures of him modeling them. He also got a hat, sunglasses, and a pretend cell phone.
We went to a children's museum which was a lot of fun for Caleb:

Here he is trying out the fireman clothes.

Driving the ambulance.

Grocery shopping.

The boys at the cabin.

Water play.

First Time Bowling

2008-06-30T21:25:00.002-04:00

We took Caleb bowling for the first time today.
Over all I think he liked it, he just had a hard time
remembering the rules.

Leland hanging out with Daddy.

Wait a minute Caleb... watch your ball!

1,2,3 now throw...

Friends

2008-06-30T20:28:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Camryn came over to play and Caleb kept saying he was tired so Camryn said she would put him to bed. I decided to sneak up there to see if I could get pictures... So here they are!

Caleb is still in love with his blanket and thumb.
Camryn is fake sleeping.

Later Caleb got over his tiredness and came down stairs
to watch T.V. with Camryn.

Caleb The Sailor Man

2008-06-30T20:25:00.001-04:00

Caleb had the idea of putting a ball in his shirt so I showed him how he could use it to make a muscle. Hes so cute!

A Cat In The Box!

2008-06-30T20:22:00.004-04:00

Moxie decided to use a box we had lying around
for a house.

Raawr!

A rare sighting of wookie... Caleb calls her hoopie.

Bubbles!

2008-06-30T20:16:00.001-04:00

Caleb's bubble mo-hawk.

Leland's bubble mo-hawk.

Brothers having fun

Crawly Boy

2008-06-25T12:50:00.003-04:00

Leland has been trying and trying to crawl and get to the places he wants to go but he hasn't quite got the idea yet. He can sometimes get on his hands and knees but thats as far as he gets. Last night he somehow got on his hands and feet but I couldn't get the camera fast enough to get a picture.

Sitting up from hands and knees.

Now what do I do?

Rock on!

Baby Phat

2008-06-24T14:00:00.003-04:00

My giggly chunky boy!

He wants to eat everything.

Look at those back rolls!

Caleb 25 pounds.....Leland 20 pounds

Veggies Veggies Everywhere

2008-06-16T22:10:00.003-04:00

The garden has been giving us lots of vegetables to eat. I've made some baby food for Leland with the green beans,he really loves them... maybe he can try zucchini next. Today I started pickling some cucumbers, its my first time doing it so hopefully they come out okay. There was one cherry tomato that was ripe so I ate it for a snack since it was just one... there are more green ones that will be ripening soon. A few days ago I planted some more radishes, beets, carrots, and green beans. I also added broccoli, swiss chard, and lettuce which have already started sprouting. Below our bathroom window I planted sunflowers that have grown about 3 inches tall already. My plan is to use them in vases to "prettify" the house and also attempt to harvest the seeds for future planting and eating.

We discovered that the tree in our side yard is a plum tree so I looked up how and when to prune and take care of it online. It turns out that they need to be pruned in June... kinda weird but we did that today and ended up with a bunch of plums. My Mom says they will ripen off the tree so in a couple days we'll we having a plum feast.

I haven't been able to get much information about these kind of plums, but from what I can tell they don't get very large. There are a lot of plums that have ripened and fallen off the tree that are just about the same size as these.

Lelands Belly Laugh

2008-06-16T21:37:00.010-04:00

I was just starting to make dinner when I heard what I thought to be Leland crying in the living room. I asked Dave to go see what was going on and he found out that he was really laughing. Caleb was playing with a couple motorcycles and Leland must have thought it was just too funny.

Playdate

2008-06-12T19:29:00.002-04:00

We had some friends come over for lunch today. They all had lots of fun destroying Caleb's room.

Caleb, Lara, and Ben having lunch together.

Caleb playing with someones sunglasses

Julian and Leland

Swimming

2008-06-11T14:40:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we were invited to go swimming with some friends I had meet through a home birth group online. We had a great time with everyone and got really burnt too... The day after Caleb was real tired and thirsty, but very well behaved all day. The next day he was back to normal and getting in trouble again :).

Caleb with all his floaties... how cute.

Checking out the water.

Daddy and Leland

Mommy needs a new swimming suit... YIKES!

Brotherly Fun

2008-06-07T10:19:00.003-04:00

Look up! Leland is such a big boy learning to
sit by himself. He is even learning to kind of push himself
forward while on his belly.

Caleb's tower that he likes to build then push over.

My silly boys

Watch out Caleb your brother is going to be
bigger than you... hes only 6 pounds away!

Riverbend Trail Kids... Summer 2008

2008-06-07T09:33:00.002-04:00

These are the kids that are out playing every night. Caleb wants so bad to be one of the big boys, but they are all very nice to him and try to involve him as much as they can... he not quite ready for basketball yet though! Leland loves to watch everyone running around. The younger ones usually are drawing with chalk on the driveway or chasing each other around, while the older boys play basketball.

From left to right: Can't remember the first boys name...
Kiayah(spelling is probably wrong), Cameryn,Manny,
Anthony with baby Amany(Bad spelling again), Leland,
Diqante, and Caleb.

Garden Update

2008-06-07T09:22:00.002-04:00

The radishes are all gone, I plan on planting some more in the next couple of days. On Wednesday I pulled out ALL the weeds... It took 1 1/2 hours, hopefully I can keep up with them and just pull them as I see them. We got our first round of green beans that I picked this morning... we'll be having potatoes and green beans for dinner!

A baby cucumber just waiting to get pickled
or put in a salad.

Idn't it purdy :)

The tomatoes plants have more little green
tomatoes everyday... can't wait till they
get ripe!

After a difficult beginning the pepper plants
are really starting to grow.

Blast From the Past

2008-05-22T15:38:00.003-04:00

Me and my Mom at our old house in Quail Valley

Dad and me ( I was about 2 years old)

Me and Jason, it must have been his birthday

Me and Aunt Karen riding Devil

Me and Grandma

First Radishes

2008-05-21T11:37:00.001-04:00

These are the first radishes that I have gotten from our garden.
I think I'll put them in my salad for lunch. Yum!

New Accomplishments,Company Picnics, and First Teeth

2008-05-21T08:24:00.003-04:00

As most of you know Leland has been learning to sit by himself
he still falls sometimes but he is sitting longer each day.

Last Saturday we went to a company picnic for Dave's work.
There was a lot of fun stuff, Caleb got a dragon and a puppy air brushed on his arm,
Dave got a tiger, and I got a butterfly. We also got this caricature done.

Leland has his 2 bottom teeth, they came in a few
days ago.

Growing Garden

2008-05-14T11:56:00.002-04:00

The garden is getting greener and greener everyday,
these are the zucchini, cucumbers, and green beans.

Radishes... these will be ready to harvest soon
and I will plants more seeds for a second harvest
in the fall.

Green beans

The first tomato

Pepper plant

My Little Frogs

2008-05-13T18:51:00.003-04:00

I believe this is an outfit Mary got for Caleb when he was a baby. It is soooo cute!

Playing with the hat.

Peak a boo

Friends

2008-05-13T14:36:00.002-04:00

Caleb playing with his friend Camryn, most of the time they are taking things away from each other but this day they were actually playing nicely with each other.

Just hanging out.

Leland Says Bye Bye..... well not really

2008-05-09T16:33:00.007-04:00

I Don't Wanna...

2008-05-09T16:28:00.001-04:00

What Leland did instead of saying mama:

Lelands First Food

2008-05-09T16:05:00.002-04:00

Ummmmm Avacado

So satifying

Buuuuurp

The Garden Has Sprouted

2008-04-27T16:24:00.002-04:00

I have been watering the garden every couple of days and yesterday and today we got some good rain so now there are lots of new little plants starting to grow.

Radish sprouts, the carrots and
beets have sprouted too but they are
sooooo small I didn't even try to get a picture
of them.

Zucchini

Cucumber

Green beans.. They just sprouted yesterday
and look at how fast it has grown!

And the tomato plants are getting bigger.

Bath Time Fun!

2008-04-27T16:20:00.002-04:00

Caleb with a sudsy moe hawk.

Ahhhhh!

Playing with his submarine Elmo.

More Nature Pics

2008-04-23T11:34:00.002-04:00

Dave took these this morning.

Don't know what this is but maybe I will try to
transplant it since it looks like a "domestic" plant.

More azaleas

Something I have never seen before, don't know
what it is called.

Why does this have to be in my creek!?
Ahhhhh!

A Nature Walk

2008-04-20T21:15:00.004-04:00

A dogwood blossom

Wild azalea

The creek at dusk

A cool tree "stump"

The Garden Plot

2008-04-20T21:12:00.001-04:00

This is what the garden looks like now after planting everything.
I'll post new pics as things start to grow.

Tomatoes and a few other things

Yay! Its Finally Done

2008-04-20T20:59:00.002-04:00

After two days of working in the soil and bending over planting seeds the garden is finally finished. We have green beans, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, green and regular onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, beets, and radishes. Hopefully we will have a plentiful bounty this summer and fall.

My victory pose

Leland playing with the kitty
while we were busy in the garden.

Hard working men (boys really)

Chillin' in the shade

Digging in the dirt.

The Best Things Happen By Accident

2008-04-16T13:15:00.003-04:00

As you know I have started some seeds indoors for my veggie garden and I was having trouble getting my bell peppers and jalapeno peppers to sprout. I had pretty much given up and stopped watering them and decided to get some later that were already grown. To my surprise when we got back from our fun weekend in N.C. they had sprouted. I guess I was watering them too much. Now they will be ready for planting out in the garden this weekend. Yay!

A Long Trip!

2008-04-16T13:00:00.002-04:00

Well we got back home a couple days ago from visiting Mom and Rich in N.C. and boy were we ever exhausted after a long day in the car. It didn't help that we ended up in Atlanta during rush hour and also needed to go grocery shopping before going home. We all had so much fun at Grandma and Grandpa's though that it was well worth it. I (being the forgetful person that I have become since having kids) forgot my camera again. So we have no pictures but we always have memories. Grandma and Grandpa took us to a butterfly exhibit where there was also a train that we all got to ride on, along with the butterflies there were wolves, bears, and lemurs. Grandma made yummy food as always and we watched "underdog" together. What a fun weekend!

Whew! I am soooo tired

A nice refreshing bath after being in the car all day.

splish splash

This looks so cool

Learning So Much

2008-04-10T13:05:00.002-04:00

After many many tries Leland has mastered rolling over.
He seems to love his new talent.

Yay!

Leland is also doing really well with sitting,
he still needs a little support but he his well on his way.

Oh, and the biggest news ever we moved Leland into Caleb's room and he will sleep up to ten hours now. I think Dave's snoring was waking him up :)

Slowly taking away the pillow.

Getting Ready For Church And My New Issues With Having a 2 Year Old

2008-04-10T12:45:00.002-04:00

Leland chillin on the couch waiting
for the rest of us to get ready.

Caleb is always so happy that we are going to church.

Leland look pretty happy too.

Okay here we go, last Sunday we were all in a good mood ready to enjoy our first Sunday of Dave's new schedule that allows him to join us for church. We get there and put the boys in their classes. Caleb in the 3-5 class and Leland in the nursery. That is where my good day became very bad. First of all I have been putting Caleb in the 3-5 class because he is board and gets no interaction or real "Bible learning" in the nursery, second, I don't think 2 year olds and babies belong in the same class and third ... this is my big issue if I put MY son in the class I believe he needs to be in and he isn't behaving rightly then come tell me don't take it upon yourself to remove MY son from the class I put him in and put him in a room with BABIES. I was told the problem was that Caleb was off playing with toys when all the other kids were sitting in a circle soooo I decided to practice with him this week , reading a story while he sits on the floor. He did really good so whats the problem? Did no one tell him what he needed to do? GRRRRRR!
So tell me am I over reacting or is this just how other people think they are allowed to act with other peoples kids?

A Day in The Life....

2008-04-10T12:30:00.002-04:00

Caleb's day:
Wake up
Eat(maybe
Play
Eat(maybe)
Play
Eat(maybe)
Nap
Eat (maybe)
Play
Eat (maybe)
Sleep.... start again tomorrow

What you see over and over again is that Caleb has got to be the most difficult kid to get to eat his food. I put him in time out for not eating, I make him sit at the table until he eats or its time for bed. I think he would rather starve sometimes, it is soooooo aggravating. Sometimes I just don't know what I am going to do with him.

The one thing he will eat in a quesadilla, and cereal is another
favorite of his other than that it is nearly hopeless sometimes.

Yay! good job Caleb!

Leland eats all the time no problems with him yet :)

He is learning how to roll from back to belly.
Good job! keep trying.

At The Table

2008-04-03T12:47:00.002-04:00

Leland has made it clear that he will no longer tolerate being in a different room when everyone else is in the kitchen. We have a high chair that Caleb used but it is super hard to clean so we got one that is easier to clean and is less bulky and straps to a regular chair....
Look how excited he is!

Just hanging out.

How do I reach these toys anyway!

Bread Making

2008-04-03T12:41:00.003-04:00

We got a bread maker on Tuesday so we tried it out yesterday and made Potato bread and cranberry bread.

Caleb was very interested in seeing it work.

Enjoying his potato bread that we had with roast beef sandwiches
for dinner. YUM!

Bread hog!

Big Boy Leland

2008-03-29T19:24:00.002-04:00

First I have to apologize for the fuzzy pictures, I still don't know why they are so fuzzy but I hope I can figure it out soon. Caleb got a hold of my camera so maybe that has something to do with it.

Smiley guy.

My hand! You cant have it.

More smiles

Attack of the slobbery baby!

"I am going to eat you Mr. caterpillar"

The Boy of Silly Faces

2008-03-29T19:20:00.001-04:00

Who me?

Cheeeeese!

Is there something in my nose?

Gee I'm cute

Finaly I Will Plant My Veggie Garden

2008-03-29T19:10:00.002-04:00

For the last 3 years I have wanted to plant a vegetable garden but it never got done. If I wasn't pregnant I was just too busy taking care of Caleb but this year I don't care that I have a new baby to take care of I will have my garden. I have started a few things indoors: Green onions, onions, bell peppers and jalapenos. After I am sure it won't frost anymore I'll plant green beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.

My peppers have yet to sprout yet because I didn't know the temp. had to be at least 70 for them to sprout( I had to call the seed company to find that out). I have moved them up stairs in a window that gets a lot of sun and I expect to see them soon.

Silly Leland

2008-03-29T19:02:00.002-04:00

Caleb is constantly telling Leland how silly he is. I guess he is right Leland is a typical baby with funny faces and doing silly things. These are a couple:

Funny Face #1

Eating his arm.

And falling asleep on the floor.

Silly, silly baby!

Sleepy Baby

2008-03-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago Caleb and I were eating lunch while Leland played in his jumper. I noticed it was really quiet and glanced over at Leland who had fallen asleep and was still jumping every few seconds. After snapping a couple pictures I put him to bed. So cute!

Silly Stuff

2008-03-13T21:04:00.001-04:00

All wrapped up

Caleb showing off his baseball he got from Grandma Donna(Gran)

A little blurry but still cute

Bath Time Fun!

2008-03-13T20:57:00.001-04:00

Leland playing with his feet

Kisses!

Silly Caleb

More Deer Pics

2008-03-13T20:52:00.003-04:00

This is the baby deer (not much of a baby anymore)

Mama and Baby (can you find them?)

Look What I can Do

2008-03-08T16:29:00.003-05:00

Out of curiosity I thought I would get out my nursing pillow that I haven't used in 3 months and see if Leland could sit with it surrounding him. I really didn't think he could sit for very long without falling but WOW he really could. He did very well sitting there for 10 minutes or so not falling at all and seeming pretty aware that he had to keep himself stable.
Four months and almost sitting, its crazy!

Caleb's New "Do"

2008-03-08T16:20:00.002-05:00

Caleb got his hair cut yesterday, he looks so cute with spiked hair.

Kisses for Leland

Playing Around

2008-03-08T16:13:00.002-05:00

Leland playing on the bed

I'm so chubby

Jump Jump Jump

Ahhhhhhh

Daddy and Leland

2008-03-08T16:10:00.000-05:00

Catching some extra z's with Daddy

Big smiles!

Deer

2008-02-21T15:26:00.000-05:00

Dave took this picture a couple days ago while I was gone. The deer is across the street.