Garage Sale

Yesterday, Theo and I had our first garage sale. Let me tell you, it was a LOT of work! We made a little money but unfortunately we didn't sell our furniture. Getting rid of three couches, an entertainment center, coffee table, and sofa table was kind of the point in having the garage sale to being with. Oh well. I'm going to put an ad in the paper and if we still don't sell it before we move, we'll probably just give it away to a local organization.

I was up at the crack of dawn....well actually before that....getting all the stuff organized and making sure everything was priced. Theo had to drag all of the furniture out of the garage and eventually dragged it back in once the garage sale was over. He was such a big help and I couldn't have done it without him. It was so HOT yesterday! I called it quits around noon because the baby and I couldn't take it anymore. Carter did well during the sale. He actually slept until 8:30! God must have known we needed to be outside without worrying about him running into the street!

We sold most of our small stuff which is nice because now we don't have to box it all up and send it to goodwill. I do still have quite a few books left which I will take to the library. We didn't sell any clothes but didn't really have a lot to sell to begin with so I'll drop those off at a local charity this week. Other than our furniture, we pretty much got rid of everything else! Yea!



I don't know if you can tell...I have a 25 cent sticker on my forehead. Theo thought it would make a funny picture and assures me I'm worth way more than that!



Our packers come in a little over two weeks and we'll be heading out in three weeks! I can't believe it's almost here. Time to kick into high gear. I'm finally starting to get over the sad part of moving and am excited about our new adventure. I LOVE Colorado and have always wanted to live there. Now that the garage sale is over, I feel less stressed. I have a friend of mine who I used to work with coming over today to give us a bid on interior painting. We signed and sent the lease on our Colorado house this week. Now we just have to get our house on the market to lease and we'll be set! Please continue to pray for us during this stressful yet amazing time in our lives.

A new way to save on airfare

or alternately titled: Carter preparing to move!

This has been his new favorite game. We left a suitcase out in the living room for several days and once he figured out he could fit all the way inside of it, he insists on playing in it. If only it weren't illegal.....we sure could save money on airplane tickets that way! :) Just kidding!

In other news....four short weeks until we are almost to Colorado. We are still in the process of signing a lease on a house up there (it's been a painstaking process but we want to make sure all t's are crossed and all i's are dotted). Once we are up there, I will definitely post some pictures of our new house! I'm so excited we are moving into such a big house. We could definitely use the space.

This week I have been trying to organize things for the movers. Although if you saw our house right now, it definitely does not look organized. But like I tell Theo, there is a method to my maddness! I have packed all the baby's stuff, all my scrapbook stuff and have a large tupperware container of stuff I don't want the movers to take. I also took most of the pictures off the walls but left the larger ones for the movers to bubblewrap and pack.

We are having a garage sale this weekend so once that's done and hopefully a lot of our junk is gone, I'll feel better. Mom is keeping Carter all day Friday while Theo and I clean, purge, move stuff, and get ready for the sale. I feel like an hourglass has been turned over and time is quickly running out! I'm trying not to stress too much especially for the baby's sake but I just can't help it. All of this is happening so fast and I'm ready to be moved and settled. Please pray for me, for us, that this will be a smooth transition and that there will be as little stress on the baby (and Carter) as possible. On that note, Carter is down for a nap so I think I'll do some yoga. Nothing like yoga to relax my mind (if not my body!)

Happy Father's Day

I am blessed to have two dads....one biological father and one who has known me almost my entire life. I love both of them and am grateful for their influence on my life.


Grandpa and Carter


Papaw and Leslie



I also love my father-in-law. He has played a huge part in Theo's life and much of the man Theo has become is a result of his relationship with his father.

I, of course, love the dad who is the father of my children (still getting used to the world "children" instead of "child"!) What a wonderful man God chose for me to marry and have babies with! Where would I be without him? I hope I never have to find out. Theo is an amazing father. He always knew he wanted children, even before we got married. The hard part has been not "if" we were going to have children but "how many" we would have! That's still up for debate at this point :) I couldn't think of a better person to be a role model for Carter than Theo. I know he will be a wonderful example for our daughter as well.

This year, Carter and I made Theo a picture frame for Father's Day. It wasn't much but it definitely has a lot of sentimental value. Carter had fun helping me paint it.



And here is the picture we put inside the frame...definitely one of my all time favorite photos of my two favorite fellas!




Happy Father's Day to all the dads! I'm so thankful my heavenly father brought such amazing dads into my life! I'm blessed beyond measure!

Lest you think

that Carter is always this happy, carefree, fun kid (which he is MOST of the time).....there is plenty of this going on in our house (and the grocery store, at omaw's house, in the car, basically wherever we go....)



The week before Theo got home, Carter was soooo good. Now, I'm not blaming Theo for this at all, but since Theo has gotten home, Carter has kicked up the defiance business quite a bit. He argues over the littlest things. Sometimes he will say he's sorry when he knows he is being ugly, othertimes, it's an all out war. I have put him in timeout everyday this week, which is unusual for him. He'll do good for a little while but then I say or do one thing he doesn't like and the temper tantrums come. He is throwing things, screaming at me, backtalking ALOT. I really am tired of it but have remained surprisingly calm. The calmer I am, the more in control I feel and the faster he settles down.

I really think that baby girl is going to come out and say "Who is this Carter kid that mom and dad keep yelling at? I don't know about him. And why is he screaming at them all the time too?" :) I really am trying to stay calm for her sake, Carter's sake, and my sake. It doesn't help the situation when I am out of control too. His favorite backtalking phrase is "I can't wanna do that!" with "that" ranging from eating lunch, putting his shoes on, getting dressed, getting in the car, picking up his toys, you name it. Last night when Theo got home, Carter said "I was mean at mommy and I had to go to timeout." Yep, he sure did go to timeout. Oh well, I know this is a stage and we are all doing the best we can. I just felt like keeping it real so that no one is thinking we have our acts all together all the time. The good Lord knows we don't. And I'm not even pretending to have it all together. I'm just being real. That's all I know how to be.

And in the spirit of keeping it real, let me tell you what my mischievious little man did this morning. He had just gotten out of the bathtub and I was getting ready for the day. It was a little too quiet in the house and he wasn't answering me when I called for him. So I walked into the kitchen and found him naked, on the counter, eating M&M's out of the jar that is reserved for "potty prizes". I couldn't do anything but laugh! He had gotten a little chair out of his room and climbed on the countertop that way. I was so thankful I didn't have anything cooking on the stove....or that he hadn't taken an interest in our knife collection!

Summertime Treat

PLUS

EQUALS



I made homemade popsicles today for a special afternoon treat. These were soooooo easy to make and much healthier than the Diego popsicles Carter loves so much.

Recipe:

1 cup strawberries and one tablespoon honey pureed in food processor. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Then add two kiwis pureed mixed with one tablespoon honey. Pour over semi-solid strawberry layer. Add popsicle sticks and freeze again for 30-45 minutes.

Lastly, puree one peach (or in this case I used a mango) with one tablespoon honey and freeze until firm! That's it. Super duper easy. I told Carter the kiwi was grapes and I think he liked it. Otherwise, I don't think he ever would have tried kiwi.

Sewing 101

Carter and I made a trip out to my mom's house yesterday. While he was napping, I got my first sewing lesson! Mom got me a sewing machine for my birthday which is being serviced right now so I practiced on hers. I learned how to thread the machine, bobbin, cut out a pattern, and started on my first outfit for baby girl. It's the same pattern my mom used to make this outfit:


The fabric is yellow with bunny rabbits flying airplanes. But it's girly despite the airplanes. If you click on the picture, you can see an enlarged version that shows the details of the fabric.


Totally appropriate for us, right? I'm so thrilled. I am hoping to get a few more lessons in before we move. I have always wanted to sew and am very thankful for the opportunity to finally learn how and have my own machine (and mom's patience!). I'll post pictures of all things I make. Just call me June Cleaver.....NOT! :)

Will Work for Food Will Play for Dough

I finally broke down and bought Carter some new playdough this past week. His old playdough was still soft but the colors (originally white, yellow, green and a brownish purple) were all melded together into a color that would only be found in a swamp. So I went to big lots and splurged (not really, I am a bargain shopper!)

He loves building, molding, and creating things. He has very little interest in cars or anything like that. But give that boy some playdough or blocks, and he is easily entertained for hours.

Daddy's Home

After being away from home for five weeks, Theo finally came back last night. We were so excited to see him. Carter ran out into the driveway yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" He didn't want to go to bed last night (and didn't until after 9:30) because he wanted to stay up and play with daddy.

We made this sign for Theo


I cooked some of his favorite foods (jerk chicken, rice and peas and this strawberry cake
which I will post the recipe for later)

We went to mass this morning and then came home and had a lazy day around the house. It was a good Sunday afternoon. Right now, Theo and Carter are next door and I'm enjoying a little alone time while I blog.

Tomorrow, it's back to work for Theo as we start to finalize all of our moving arrangments. We are faxing a lease on a house in Colorado tomorrow. We have packers scheduled to come July 15th and anticipate heading up there around the 21st or so after Theo's last day (20th).

Deja Vu

This morning, bright and early at 8 a.m., Carter said he wanted to go for a walk. Well, our walk turned into a trip to a park that we hadn't been to in a long time. It's the first park I really played with Carter at. I had just gotten my camera, it was October, the leaves were covering the ground and I got some fabulous pictures.

(Pictures from fall 2007) These are some of my most favorite pictures of Carter.












Theo and I also visited this park when I was pregnant with Carter and swung on the swings like big kids.


So today as I was swinging next to Carter, I was reminded of all of these memories we've created at this one park and how sad I will be to leave this life behind. I'm sad on one hand but am excited on the other hand. My roots will always be here. But my life is with the family Theo and I have created. I am often reminded of the passage in Ruth...."Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16)

Friday Fun

Carter and I had a great day today. No, make that a great week. Yes, he did have his moments but overall he was such a sweet and funny boy this week. Today, Carter's friend Harvey came over and Harvey's mom. The boys had a blast. I didn't realize until today how much Carter must miss playing with kids his own age. He got plenty of stimulation while he was a daycare but he hasn't had much "friend time" lately. At least not until this week. He got to play with his over two favorite friends, Ethan and Aaron, earlier this week too. I told Theo when we move to Colorado, I will definitely have to get involved in a play group of some sort. It made him so happy to have Harvey here today. He kept putting his arm around Harvey's shoulders saying "Come on Harvey! Let's go play in Carter's room!"

After our playdate and naptime, we spent the rest of the afternoon doing this






I think the Lord must have known I needed a good week this week. I will admit, while we were in Florida, I felt completely overwhelmed with the task of being a full-time stay at home mom and the thought of starting all over with baby girl. I have never regretted that decision but it sure is hard some days. At the risk of sounding like a martyr, I often feel as if I never get a break. I have a very helpful husband who does a lot for us but I know the responsibility of caring for our family and our house lies mainly on my shoulders. I have been praying for God to give me a renewed sense of purpose regarding staying home. I have prayed that mentally/emotionally/psychologically I could have a break and just have one easy week with Carter. The Lord heard me and answered my prayers. I also read Psamls 16 and felt that those verses were leaping off the pages at me. Even though David was not talking about being a stay at home parent in this passage, it still spoke to me... "LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance". Yes, my children are definitely a delightful inheritance!

New Favorite

I was taking a break from Carter's Little Einstein CD in the car and so I finally got to listen to my favorite (and the only one I listen to) radio station KLOVE. I gave up secular radio well over a year ago and have been so blessed by listening to Christian music in the car. It makes this momma's heart overflow with joy to hear our little man singing "holy, holy" and "praise Jesus" as he lifts his hands in the backseat. Today, I heard this song., Revelation Song, and was so touched by it. I believe I have heard it before possibly at my church. But it really ministered to my spirit today. So I found the music video on youtube and wanted to share it with you.

Like Mother, Like Son

I took pictures of Carter yesterday doing something I love. Any guesses to what he's doing? I cropped out part of the pictures so it doesn't give it away.






One more hint....


Carter loves doing this:




Just like his momma. I usually try and do it while he's asleep otherwise he's crawling all over my back and ducking in between my legs.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday we celebrated my nephew's 8th birthday! I can't believe he is already 8 years old. The time has flown by. Since he is only my nephew and not my son and his own mom has a blog, I won't post all the pictures from the party! I'll include mostly the ones of Carter and let Kayla post about his party. I just wanted to share a few because I was the official photographer yesterday.

Birthday boy and his little sister



Cousins



Birthday boy's daddy and his daddy's big (and I mean that in more ways than one) sister



Birthday boy's momma



Grandma/Omaw and Papaw



And as always, photos of Carter




Is it me or are Carter's and Leslie's hair almost the same color in this picture? :)