Santa photo 2010

Because I didn't get a chance earlier in the month to share our Santa photo...

Four years old

My babies are 4 years old today.  I can't believe it has been 4 years since these wonderful, amazing little guys came into my life.  And do you know what they got for their birthday today?  Snow.  And lots of it.  They had a ball!  I think if they didn't get a single present they would have been happy with just being able to go and play out in the snow.  Luckily it will still be around tomorrow as well so more snow play!

Merry Christmas!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas out there! 

I blinked and of course December is nearly over.  Sigh.  No many plans that didn't happen.  But I did get more done this year I think than last so each year is improving.  Woo-hoo!  The boys had a ball, will have to share all that fun stuff soon.  Just wanted to wish everyone out there a Merry Christmas!

Sickies

And of course everything was going along swimmingly and then the sickies hit our house.  Well, most of our house now.  Hoping hubby doesn't end up with it.  Cameron and I started Friday morning and Noah yesterday.  Kept Noah home from school today and attempted to keep the boys relatively calm.  Ha!  Try keeping 2 little preschoolers relatively calm after having been cooped up int he house for several days because of illness and weather.  Um, one recipe for fun, eh?  But we survived and had some fun along the way.  Praying our house is all back to "normal" tomorrow!

I did manage to get our Christmas cards done today and ordered from Shutterfly.   Can't wait to get them.  Will share with you once we get them and mail out.  :)

Shutterfly strikes again!

Once again I have to prefess my love for Shutterfly.  They have my undying love for their quality and how fast they always process my order.  Yes, I admit, I am a Shutterfly snob.  And when I found out they were giving away 50 free holiday cards I was all over that.  I mean, come on, who wouldn't be?  Especially when our Christmas card list is forever growing (which is a good thing!).

So as I was browsing all the awesome Christmas photo card designs they had to choose from I decided to enlist the help of the wee ones.  Of course the boys picked out this one.  I think it's cute too. 

I think this one fits the boys' personalities.  :)  I wonder if they have one with lumps of coal?

I love this one.



 I am starting to notice a red theme here for me.  :)

I also have to admit I LOVE this one.  Kind of reminds me of Christmas letters but I like the little twist on it.  And hey, I am breaking the red streak here too!

 And of course after I get finished up with my Christmas cards I am going to have to do our calendar.  And this year I am taking the easy way out and using Shutterfly for that one too.  They really do make the process so wasy I would be crazy not to.  Last year I did this one and I have loved looking at it all year.  Even our realtor asked me where in the world I found it when she came to visit after we moved here.  I was even able to save it as my background on my computer.  :)

And last on my list for this month to take care of is the boy's birthday invites.  Thinking they have some super cute designs over there too.  I will say one of the things I have come to love about Shutterfly is they have some super great designs all on their own or they give me the option to use my own designs.  After having gone to digital scrapping they make my life super easy.  I create, download to their site and voila...print and they send it right to my home.  Yippee!  What mom doesn't love that!  I can create at 2:00am (you know, that spare time I have). 

I still think my favoirte Shutterfly story is from this past January.  I stayed up almost the entire night and did our entire 2009 book (like 68 pages) in one night.  One night!  I still hadn't finished our 2008 book but we had our 2009 because of their awesome Simple Path they had launched then.  I am a believer!  I will more than likely be doing our 2010 book the same way this year, although I think I will forgo the staying up all night this time.  ;)

Project 365 is coming back!

I have to say I have REALLY missed doing the picture a day thing this last year.  I started off great with taking them, printing them out and even putting them in the album.  But then a few months into it everything just went downhill.  And with all the craziness these last 6-8 months, I haven't even taken a picture a week some weeks let alone one a day.  But this time of year as I am getting ready to do our book for the year and other little projects makes me realize just how much I really miss doing it.  It has been so much fun for me to look back on our pictures from the year and spend time just remembering all those happy (or sometimese not so happy) thoughts.  I will be doing this in 2011 and hopefully can at least scrounge together something for this year, although it certainly won't be titles Project 365!

So I have been pondering how to do this on the blog.  Do I do a separate blog like I did before?  Do I pick a day of the week and just kind of make a little collage and post it once a week?  I even thought of making my pages as I go along but then I was afraid I may get behind and not end up doing it.  Hmmm, must ponder some more.

Ch-ch-changes...

Ah, the changes are beginning. I am excited.  As I had mentioned before I am planning on doing some changing up of the good old blog.  So I came across a great little article over on Amanda's blog and had to do a few of the things she recommends.  I have wanted to add the little links at the botton of posts for a LONG time but just never knew how.  She makes it so easy when she explains things!  I have been a fan of her blog for a very long time now.  And her fonts are always so much fun! 

And she has also been my inspiration to get on the ball and lose some weight (more to come on that in the following months).  The sad part for me was I actually did what she recommends and it works.  I lost about 13 pounds (even during the holidays last year!) and then we found out we were moving.  Guess what, I gained all of that back and then some during this move!  So now I am motivated even more because I know it works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I spent today working on getting the bonus room cleaned out to turn it into a playroom for the boys.  I have struggled with this since we moved in.  Do I try and make it their playroom AND my craft room?  Just leave it as an office/craft room and turn the dining room into a playroom?  What to do, what to do?  I finally was struck that it needs to be a playroom and I will just have to move my crafty stuff into our bedroom for a while.  I wonder if anyone out there in bloggy land has done this and made it look like just part of the bedroom and not so obvious?  Must do some research!  But for now I am just moving out everything that doesn't belong there and getting their room finished.  They need it, they deserve it.  Plus I need to find somewhere for one of the couches from the living room so we can put up our tree tomorrow and still be able to walk around the place.  ;)

Magazines

I love magazines.  There is no question about it.  Now that I have kiddos I love them even more.  It's easy to flip through and read an article in a short amount of time.  It's really hard for me to read books during the day because I always have to stop every few sentences or paragraphs and that to me is not enjoyable.  So magazines it is! 

I have become a huge fan of Magazines.com  (and no, I am not getting anything by writing this post, I was just excited at the great deals I got today on their magazines and had accidentally bought a subscription for one I already had.).  I have always been pretty skeptical of random sites but I have used this one a few times and have really liked it.  The thing I think I love the most is if you accidentally buy a subscription twice (like I have been known to do) they automatically just renew it instead of sending you the magazine twice.  Woo-hoo!  Awesome for mom's like me who forget sometimes just what and when they had subscribed to.  :)

The only draw back for me on getting all these lovely magazines is they tend to pile up.  But I love to flip through old ones all the time so I kind of like keeping them around for a while.  While we were getting ready to move right before the summer I took over 200 old magazines to the local library and donated them.  They loved it and have a little table right at the front for people to pick them up on their way out.  I love that someone else will also get some use from them too.  So no more guilt on getting the magazines.  They get to go to a great new home after they are finished here and I am not filling the landfills.  Woo-hoo!  Sounds like a win-win to me.  Or am I just trying to convince myself of this so I can continue to feed my habit?  ;)

Seriously?

Come on, seriously?  One post for the month of October!!!!!!  Okay, shame on me.  I have let the good old blog fall by the wayside since we ventured into this move at the beginning of the summer.  But I will be back!!!!  I have been struck with lots of inspiration these last several weeks and am planning so many fun adventures for the new year.  Hopefully December too! 

One of my ideas was trying to figure out if I want to post a different topic each day of the week.  I know there are lots of good blogs out there (one of my favorite blogs) that do this and I think it would help me to be more focused and organized.  Hmm...any thoughts?

As we were driving along yesterday Cameron, out of the blue, said he wanted to move back to our old house in Indiana.  It just breaks my heart over and over again.  He has been talking about this a lot these days.  That and our dog, Indy.  I think this move has been much harder on him than everyone has realized.  That may be why we have been experiencing such a hard time with him these days (another reason for my bloggy absence).  I am hoping with the holidays and him getting to see his grandparents more this will help.  He is really such a sensitive little guy and these things really do more to him than I think.  Wish I knew exactly what to do to make it better!  I did suggest we send a Christmas present to our puppy back in Indiana.  I am sure the gal who has him now will not mind...she has been sweet about letting me know how he is doing thankfully.

So, hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.  We are lucky to now be within driving distance from my husband's family so we get to go and spend time with family this year...and I don't have to cook (or clean house)!  So for that I am very thankful!

I have decided I may brave the Black Friday crowds after all this year.  I am SO NOT a Black Friday kind of girl.  But there are a few things I want to pick up at such incredible prices so it may be worth it (one of them for me!).  The boys haven't gotten into video games yet but they are going to have a Leapster II for $25...I would be crazy not to get the thing!  Even if I wait a while to give them to the boys I would be silly not to get them if I can.  Maybe I'll just stay up the entire night instead of sleeping seeing as several places are actually opening up on Thanksgiving night!

One month

To the day.  Since I have blogged.  Ugh!  And here I was thinking I was getting back into the groove of things!  Well, I don't know what my groove is any more much less get back into it.  So very much has been going on these last several months.  Still trying hard to wrap my head around some and just forget about others.  Must find a happy place!

Craftiness

Even before we made the move this year I knew I would really need to get rid of a lot of things.  Especially when it comes to my crafty stuff.  But how do you just get rid of it?  When we finally did find a house and it was considerably smaller than what we were in I knew it had to get done.  Still not done but at least the plan is starting to come together.  I came across this tonight while waiting for some pictures to upload and it is what I want to attempt to get my craft area down to. 

Going to take me a while I know.  I am slow as Christmas these days (unless it involves getting a house ready to sell...which I in no way, shape or form want to happen anytime in the next 10 years!).  So much going on just trying to get situated int he new place and still so much unpacking to do. BUT...after seeing these photos I think I am ready to get started once we get through the next 2 crazy weeks. 

I just want a cozy corner to work in.  And really need to learn to just get the things I need for a project and not keep so many things for "later."  This is such a hard habit to break though!  Wish me luck.  :)

I have been down...

And I mean in bed down.  For 2 whole days just about.  Wow.  I don't know what hit me but I couldn't even stay awake.  It has been crazy!

I have been meaning to share this for a while so here goes.  I wish, oh how I wish, I had time to edit more of my photos.  Just a few minutes of changes makes such an amazing difference!  These are 2 shots from when we went to the beach last month and I knew immediately these were 2 of my favorites.  A few tweaks and voila!  What do ya think?  You have to love how easy Photoshop Elements makes things!

Before

After

Before

After

Almost here...

Tomorrow's the day!  Praying the people are here and installing the play set for the boys and we get no rain.  Although in reality we really need the rain but if it can wait a few more days I would be ever so grateful!

Got tickets for next week to take the boys on a train ride for A Day Out with Thomas.  They are going to be so thrilled.  Doing it as a surprise and can't wait!  This will be the first time we have ever really surprised them with something like this so will be so fun and hopefully I can capture those sweet little faces on film when they see him. 

Should I?



I am seriously itching to do this.  Seriously.  Like I am becoming obsessed with it since so many people out there in blogger land are doing it.  I keep trying to peek under my carpet on the stairs and after seeing this post I am seriously, seriously thinking the time may have come for me to just rip it up and see what is underneath.  Have I ever mentioned how much I have come to HATE carpet.  I truly have come to despise the stuff.  Love area rugs but am hating wall to wall stuff. 

After having spent so much time on the floor with the boys these last 3 years I have seriously come to despise this stuff.  One of the things I was really hoping when we found out we would be moving again was that we would be able to find a place without any carpet.  Obviously didn't happen.  And to make matters worse we got that same shag Frieze carpet they are doing now...everywhere.  I mean I can't get away from the stuff!  And the people who owned this  house before us had cats...like 4 of them. 

Where are you Fall?

Where oh where is Fall? Please send it our way. Please. I am longing for cooler days we can spend the entire day outside and just enjoy being there. No worries. And the boys are getting their play set next week so even more reason to have those cooler temps roll this way! I think I am more excited than they are. Seriously. I have wanted to get them on for over 2 years now. First we waited because of the move to Indy, then we waited because we had no grass in the back yard (mud all the time because of attempting to grow the grass), then we waited because we were contemplating moving, and finally we moved. Just praying we are HERE for a very LONG time. They will hopefully be thrilled on Wednesday when they come home from school. Now I have to figure out how to keep them out of the way while the people finiah installing the thing once they do come home. Hmm...may have to take them somewhere after school...

But I digress. I am longing to do crafty things like this...

And this one I can even do with the kiddos...

Picture day!

I hardly ever have my picture taken. EVER. I am always the one behind the camera. Every once in a while I am lucky enough someone grabs the camera and I get a shot I love. Or am at least happy with. :) When hubby took the piture he immediately told me it was a good one. And yep, I had to agree. I love Noah's expression and that little puppy he faithfully carries. And I am going to attempt to at least take a picture of me with the boys once a month just so when they get older they really do know they had a mom. :)

First day of school 2010...

Noah had his first day of school today and Cameron last week. I can't believe how big they are getting! I was looking through some pictures last night from their very first day just two years ago when they went to "school." Wow have they changed SO, SO much!

With the boys both off to school this morning I thought I was giong to get so much done. NOT. Well, I did get a lot done but not looking like much around the house. I took the doors off the hinges for our laundry area. This was driving me INSANE! To have three doors in that tiny of a space was a crime. I dreaded doing laundry just because I didn't want to fight with the doors!

I also did some serious planning on where pieces of funriture need to go, took some measurements to see if they were going to fit where I wanted them to go and then did some more planning. Most worked, one would not based on measuring. Blah! Will need hubby to help me move the furniture. Too many bug pieces to move around and my body just can't take it anymore.

We have discovered two cracks in two different rooms along the ceiling. So took some pictures to document that and also had to do some pictures of the boys' mattresses (possibly having them replaced by the company). Do you know how hard it is to take pictures of a white ceiling? Especially with a zoom lense? I know, I know, I should have switched the lens out but it takes so much better photos than my other one. Must get a new every day lens! So, after contorting my bosy in all kinds of ways while laying on the floor to attempt to get decent photos for future documentation I think I finally have a few that will work. Lovely.

The only thing I did today that actually showed any physical evidence was laundry, moving some things from the dining room that need to be gone through and either put away or taken care of and changing sheets on beds. Ugh! Pitiful display.

So why is this bothering me? I think just having the house is such a state of disarray has really been bothering us all. It makes me feel tense and like I just don't want to be here at the house. So maybe that is why I have been wanting to work on the yard so much...to escape. But I am determined that now that I will have a few hours a couple days a week I am GOING to get this done. It may take me the next six months but I will get this house back to being presentable and comfortable again. And my latest plan involves possibly sticking everything in one room and uncovering a little each and every day. Just so the rest of the house is peaceful again. Sound like a crazy plan? Am I going to hate myself later for doing this?

Look what I've got...

Pictures! Can you believe it!?!?!?!!??? Finally got the regular computer hooked up and downloaded pictures tonight. Well, I was forced to. The memory card was finally full on my camera (now that I am taking pictures again...woo-hoo!) so of course it was time.

Looking back from the pictures these last few months brought all kinds of crazy emotions back.

I should be happy when I see this one (the "SOLD" sign out front), but I'm not. I am missing my old house right now. The organized (well, was after we put it on the market), crazy thing. I think I am missing all the memories it holds for me with the boys. Although the new one I am sure will be filled with many, many more in the coming years it is just in such a state of chaos for us at the moment I am finding myself just wanting to be outside or away from it a lot lately. It'll get there eventually! Still have some brooding over this left to do I guess.

The good news is we are getting out and meeting new people and doing things. And of course school is just around the corner for the boys. Routine! Yippee!

Yikes! Just noticed what time it was. Need to get myself into bed but will post some of my favorites from the beach tomorrow. Got some cute ones of the boys and M. Excited to be getting back into the swing of things again. Yippee!!!!

Sensory issues

Dealing with children who have sensory issues is not always easy. A lot of the time people (including their parents) don't understand or "get" them. It makes it tough all the way around. Now don't get me wrong, I am no way complaining about my children's "problems" but I am learning. Learning that no matter how hard I try some days just aren't good ones. For me or for them. Today was one of those days...

It started off with the fact that we have all been sick around here this last week. I thought when Cameron had a stuffy nose it was just allergies but by the end of the week when myself and M started feeling bad I knew it was a summer cold. Yuck. Just yuck. Of course Noah had gotten it as well a few days prior but the only sign he shows is crankiness. And that is not an unusual symptom for him.

Well, this afternoon we decided to go out for lunch because my house still looks like a disaster zone from moving (at this rate I don't think it will ever get finished). Noah was cranky but I didn't think too much of it. We got into the car and at this point anything (and I mean ANYTHING) Cameron touched he wanted. It made no difference what it was, he just wanted it because Cameron had it. This has been happening often these days. Almost as if he is just doing it to see if he can get his way at times is the feeling I get. So I told him no, and just took it (a cup) away from both - and truth be known I threatened to throw it out the window and if that wasn't considered littering I would have!).

We get to the place we plan on eating and I tell M to go on in with Cameron and I'll deal with Noah. Strike a deal with Noah that seemed to calm him down well enough to get him in the door. While we are ordering he spots the cookies on the counter. Oh my...here we go again. The whole way to the table and while waiting for lunch he goes on and on about he wants a cookie. No. Not until you have your lunch.

Now at this point you are probably thinking that is a normal behavior for a 3.5 year old. Yes, I agree. But what isn't normal is that he continues this endlessly and when I am holding him he tells me to let him go. So I put him on his chair and he crawls back into my lap only to tell me to let him go. I put him back on his chair and he tells me no, pick him up. I pick him up and he tells me to let him go. I stand him on the floor next to his chair and he crawls back into my lap and tells me to let him go. You getting the picture here?

So this goes on until Cameron points out there is a video game behind us and he wants to play. Oh, that opens a while new can of worms. Ugh! Can someone shoot me right now??????? Please????? Pretty please?????? So we move on to he wants to play the game. This goes on between the game and the cookie until the food gets here.

Now in my brain during all of this I keep trying to convince myself that this is "normal" behavior for a 3.5 year old when they are hungry, tired and not feeling well. But in my heart I know it isn't. At that moment, when he was sitting in my lap crying for the game and holding his hands over his ears I knew it wasn't. I have had this feeling a few other times. I keep trying to convince myself that I am just over reacting. That he is fine, he is just stubborn. Other people tell me he is just stubborn. I just have that same feeling I always have that something isn't right. That I need to help him in some way I am not qualified to and people just look at me like I'm some kind of nut when I tell them these things.

I will say the older he is getting the more other people are seeing it. It was painfully obvious to me this last week when they went to summer camp. Seeing him react and then seeing how other kids reacted to the same situation I just knew I need to do something more for him. He needs to have help to be able to cope with things that are beyond his control. His teachers even noticed that he is a little more sensitive, etc. at this summer camp. And the fact that he is a twin and they of course compare him to Cameron is not a good thing. They are so totally opposite and there is no way they should be compared.

So, my conclusion from all of this tonight. It was a very good thing to have them separated in January for school. If they never have to be in the same classroom again I will be happy.

Second, I am coming to hate summer. Thank goodness when they get a little older I will have the opportunity to put them in year round schooling (praying we are still here at that time!). At least with the year round thing their breaks are so much shorter between and we won't have as long to get all our of whack.

And third, I feel helpless right now. I know he needs something (they both do actually) and I am feeling stretched beyond my limits and I need to focus on them right now. Screw the house and everything else. BUT...the house is part of what is causing such stress for both of them right now. The move has totally thrown them (and me, who am I kidding). So do I work like a crazy person to get this place unpacked or just keep spending the time with them and deal with the house later? I just can't seem to get both done. Again, I feel helpless!

I will get it all done and we will survive this. I just hate days like today when I feel like I am not doing all I possibly can for my children. It breaks my heart and makes me just want to cry. So that's it for me tonight...tomorrow is a new day and I will wake up refreshed and ready for it!

Just random rambling

I got brave today. I took the boys to a little Italian place for lunch...all by myself. Nothing to distract them, just a cozy little mom and pop place. And they did great! After that I decided to push my luck with a trip to Home Depot...their rooms need ceiling fans and I wanted them to be part of the process in picking them out. I had found these really cute ones there and had to get them while they still had 2 in stock! Will have to post a photo after we get them in, they are pretty cool for little ones.

Unpacking is coming along VERY SLOWLY! I can't even find my iron yet. Sigh. We will get there...I think it is just wearing on us all. Ready to have a life again. Beginning to feel like I have done nothing for 2010 but get ready to move...and it's already August!

Trying to get the boys situated with a new preschool. Praying the school system here is faster than what they have been so far. Just need to know what their schedule will be and what we are looking at because once again Noah will be in the public school system more than likely and Cameron will be in a private preschool. Still kicking myself every time I think about this and how wonderful the set up was going to be in Indy. I know, I know...don't look back. But the unknown is KILLING me on this. My poor little guys have been through enough...I just want to protect them and prepare them as best I can...they need this right now.

I think I may have found a way to get some pictures off my camera for the time being. Woo-hoo! Will have to try another day though...I'm beat and heading to bed!

To school or not to school?

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Einstein

I love this quote. I have really been struggling these last several months about what to do concerning preschool for the boys. You read and hear so many mixed things. I think the boys benefit from the social aspect so I do feel they should go a few days a week. But I also feel I should be teaching them more at home. They thrive off routine and if I could just figure out a good routine and find some great "teaching" activities I think we would be okay. I would also be lying if I didn't admit the few hours a week to get a few things accomplished sans kids is a wonderful thing too. ;)

Here lately the thought of how different life would be with only one child at a time has crossed my mind often. I hate when I get in those sorts of moods. I LOVE being a twin mom and wouldn't trade it for anything (well, most days that is). Don't get me wrong. I just find myself from time to time thinking of all the fun things I could have done with them if they were born at different times. Like the a few days last week when Cameron wanted to go to the pool swimming but Noah didn't. What do you do? It's 100 degrees out so it's not like I can tell Noah that he can just play by the pool then if he doesn't feel like swimming. It is usually Cameron that wants to do something and Noah doesn't. Sometimes I push and have him tag along anyway but I find myself more often giving in and feel that Cameron is losing out.

But then I always try to think about all the fun things we get to do because they were born at the same time. And it has been amazing to experience the world through their eyes at the same time. They both see such different aspects of things. So I am blessed beyond belief to have them. Just having a hard time finding a balance because of how extremely different they are. Even just their energy levels! Noah tires so much more easily while Cameron just can't seem to burn off enough energy.

I guess it's things like this that make me think they would do better in an actual preschool. Before we found out we were having twins I had this crazy idea in my head of homeschooling. I haven't totally given up on the idea but I am just not certain I can really meet their needs. Am I crazy?

What happened to July?

Oh wow...what in the world happened to the month of July? I wasn't expecting to go so long without internet. Although I will admit in some ways it was kind of nice. But...I am happy to once again be back among the cyber world. :)

Lots and lots of unpacking going on. Not sure when I will have the regular computer up and running to be able to download photos. Can't even find the point and shoot camera at this point. But needless to say I have fallen off the picture a day wagon. Sniff, sniff. I hate that I have virtually stopped taking photos but I will get back into the swing again soon. Trying to figure out where to put a house full of stuff in the new place. Hasn't been easy going to a house that is 1,000 square feet smaller but I will say I am glad we did go smaller. Just going to take some time to dig out of things. We got rid of a lot before we left but will still have a lot to ditch as I unpack. Crazy how much a few people can accumulate!

Okay, enough whining...

Went to the boys' first puppet show this morning. They had a ball. We will go back again although there was one part I didn't think we were going to survive. They take "mail" from all the kids in the audience and that was a LONG segment...they read each piece and show it off to the audience. LONG. Not good for 2-4 year olds! But they said they had a good time and want to go back again. Cameron even brought his beloved Boxy and showed it to them after. So stinking cute!

Okay, off to the store and possibly the pool now! Hope everyone is doing well! Will send out new info to everyone soon. Hang in there with us while we get situated here in the new spot please. :)

Closing day!

We close on the new house today. I am so thankful! Will be happy to be out of a hotel and I know the boys and M will as well. We went to a play date yesterday that was supposed to be outside. My boys immediately found the train table and cars and didn't set a foot outside. They wanted to once and spent about 3 minutes out there and then came back in. They want to be able to play with their toys again SO badly.

Not sure when we will have internet yet so may be a while before I am back. But I will also be busy, busy unpacking boxes so I have an excuse. ;) Movers don't come until Monday but I will just be happy to have a house again. And it will kind of be fun to "camp out" with the boys this weekend. Wish us luck!

Faith

I have always had a lot of faith. The thing is that even though I had a lot of faith I still worried. A lot. These last few years I have truly worked on not worrying. Now don't get me wrong, I still have a LONG way to go but I will say these last 2 years have made me much stronger in just believing and had much less worry to go with it.

Now you can believe in God or whoever. I personally do believe in God and tend to "talk" to Him anytime I start to worry. These last 2 months have been amazing. I thought getting our house ready to sell was going to kill me. Seriously. It took me over 6 weeks of working on the thing constantly. Some days the entire day. I felt like I went days without even seeing my own children. Not a good feeling for me.

When we finally put the thing on the market it truly wasn't "show" ready. But I figured no one would come and look at it on a holiday weekend anyway. I was right...but the last night of the 3 day weekend they called and wanted to show the house the next day. This I was not ready for. So of course we rushed around like crazy people to get the place ready. Then I stalked my email for feedback from the agent who showed the house. It was miserable. Thankfully the agent gave very prompt feedback (which spoiled us) and we felt like we were at least on the right track.

The house showed like 4 or 5 times that week. The following week we got an offer. What? I was shocked. Freaked out actually. All that week I had prayer every time I got worried that we would sell the house fairly quickly (I was thinking in the first 2 months) so that we would not have to be separated for too long. I knew it would be really tough on the boys. And who am I kidding...me too!

Well, He answered my prayers. So the next week we were scheduled to go and look at houses in NC. Little did we know at the time we scheduled the trip that we would be needing to find a house in those few days. But we did. And the first one we made an offer on didn't work out. I was sad, upset even. So we started over again and found one that would work. I was disappointed to be honest. I wanted a fixer upper and when M started looking he really wanted something move-in ready. So I just went with it. I remember thinking as I sat in the car with Noah (he had fallen asleep) that although this was a beautiful house I wasn't sure I wanted to be that far out, wasn't sure if M had thought through how much furniture and other things we would have to get rid of, wasn't sure about the neighborhood. Wasn't sure about so many things...and yet I was going with it.

Over the last week I have had time to think about this and reflect on the whole situation. I have come to realize through this entire process I have just kind of "gone with it" and look at what has happened. Not to say I haven't had my share of stressing out but over all this has been a strangely calm process for me. Although I can think of twice I had moments that I should have been thrilled, happy, and I was just the opposite. Strange I know. But now I am learning to just sit back and take me where life is leading. Now I just need to "go with it" for the next few weeks while we make the big move!

I came across this post the other night and I just thought of how perfect this was for the way I was feeling.

Back into the swing of things

Attempting to get back into the swing of things. Been such a crazy busy last few months. Ready for us to have some "normal" time again. Um, forgot exactly what that was actually. Oh well, wouldn't have it any other way. :)

I came across this quote today and LOVED it so thought I would share!

"People say, when you have children, everything changes. But maybe things are awakened that were already there. "

Meryl Streep

And what happened to the last 2 months?

Wow. I don't know any other word to use. Wow. The last few weeks have been this amazing whirlwind of activity. We put our house on the market the Friday before Memorial Day. Of course we had no showings that weekend. I was thankful to be honest because we just were not quite ready yet. But Monday night we got the call we would be having our first showing. Well, we had several showings that week and by the following Tues or Wed we had an offer. I could NOT believe it. I had been praying all along that we sell the house quickly so that M and I wouldn't have to be separated for too long. I knew it would be really tough on the boys to have to stay here while M went on to NC. Just was not looking forward to that one. But in an amazingly short amount of time we sold the house. I am still in shock I think. I guess it won't be real until next week when we close and I will be homeless.

So we headed to NC last week to try and find a new house to call home. That was an interesting experience. Full of ups and downs. I think Wed afternoon was the absolute worst for me. Everything just hit within an hour. We had made an offer on a house the night before and had figured out it just wasn't going to work. They wanted more than we were willing to spend on it and so I felt like we were back at square one. It was a horrible feeling.

Then, I got the inspection report from our realtor here in IN and I misread one of the things they wanted repaired. You see, M had installed out water softener. Now I had full confidence in his abilities to do this. BUT...he casually mentioned on our way to NC that if they found anything it would be with the water softener. What? So he tells me that it may not be up to code. What? He said if they had any problems with it we would just take it with us then. What? Crap, crap, crap was all I could think. I wasn't mentally prepared for all of this so it really threw me. And I don't do well when thrown a huge curve ball like that.

Anyhoo, we still don't exactly know what they are talking about. The inspector said he was not able to find a ground for our copper piping. They told me it was the main lines and not the water softener. I of course have a call in to the builder but haven't heard back yet. Will start the bugging process if I don't hear back from them by tomorrow. This has me a wee stressed out. But trying very hard not to. Just go with it I keep telling myself. It will all work out. Look at what has so far!!!!!!! Just go with it...

Oh how sad!

I just looked at my poor blog and realized I only had 1 post for the entire month of May! OMG I don't think I have been away from the blog for that long since the boys came along! Been getting the house ready to go on the market and spending every possible minute working on it. BUT...it is FINALLY on the market. It's been a week now. Trying to be patient but that is SO hard I have to admit. We had 4 showings this week and one of them stayed over the time they were supposed to be here. I know it will all work out and happen when it is supposed to but man it is had waiting!

The boys are getting so big! We were lucky enough to have their Papaw visit this last week. He was here on business but we were able to see him 3 days in a row! Now Cameron asks if it is a "Papaw day today" nearly every day at some point. So very, very sweet!

I also have to say the boys are 3.5 and showing it. One is a sassy little thing and the other has decided he likes to push and hit. Lovely. Tonight Cameron told M that he wasn't going to be his daddy for much longer. Oh my. I didn't think they talked like that until they were teenagers! Someone should have warned me about that one. I know it hurt M's feelings tremendously but I try to realize Cameron is 3 and I don't think he really fully understands what he is saying. He is mad and that is what he knows. So now how to teach him to be more constructive with both the anger and the words?????

Haven't downloaded pictures from my camera in weeks. Heck, I think I even went weeks without taking a single picture! So much for the Project 365 this year. I knew I should have gone with the digital version! Oh well...I think selling a house and moving qualifies for a good excuse of not doing that project this year. Can I just say selling a house is on of the most stressful things I have ever done in my entire life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But I will attempt to get the pictures off my camera soon and onto my blog...where they belong once again.

Hope everyone in blogging land is doing fabulous...will have to catch up on everyone's blogs very, very soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Long time, no blog

Oh my, I can't believe it has been nearly month since I have blogged! I should be in serious withdrawal but to be honest I'm not. I mean, I miss all my bloggy friends and seeing what is up with everyone all the time but it is for a good reason that I am MIA for a little while. And no, I am so not preggo!

We have decided to move back to where M is from. It was a tough decision on some fronts but an easy one on others. I have always wanted my children to grow up near relatives (I didn't) and so we have decided it is what we want to do. Strangely enough hubby found a job about 2 hours away from his family and we decided to go for it. Man, getting the house ready AGAIN to sell is NOT fun! I have been working my rear off the last few weeks and still am not there yet.

But, it will all be worth it in the end. Am purging like crazy! Had a garage sale the other day and made way more than I ever thought I would. Still have a ton left and going through getting rid of more. I have not been able to really go through our stuff since when I was pregnant with the boys...over 3 years ago! We have a lot of stuff that just needs to go. Furniture, because we know we will not be in a house even close to this size, is the main one.

So that brings me to a bloggy question. We have this computer armour thingy. It is bulky and awkward and heavy. M doesn't really care for it, and I am to the point of hating it after moving around a room this evening like 6 times because it just didn't look good where I put it each time.

Now I am pondering, do I sell it or take it apart and use it for other things? The doors would make really cute chalkboard/magnet things for the boy's rooms or even a headboard for our room for the time being. I have contemplated chopping the thing in half and trying to make some kind of table or bench. I feel bad destroying (in a sense) a perfectly good piece of furniture. I know I could sell it but it would be for next to nothing. So what to do? What do your guys think?

More decisions...

Decisions. I know I have talked about them before on this blog. Man is it tough at times. Right now we are trying to make a major decision and all I want to do is take some time to stop thinking about it and analyzing. I know what I want to do but have to figure out how to make it happen. In a lot of ways I guess it can be viewed as a step back but for me it will be a huge step forward. Something I can give my children that I wish I would have had. So, with all that being said, I can't share until we make the final decision. Sorry for the tease but had to get that off my chest!

It has been a beautiful day but chilly. The boys wanted to play outside so badly but it was just too cold and windy. Man is it windy here. Shocks me every time. But Spring is almost fully here and we get to be outside once again so I won't complain about a few chilly days. We still had fun today!

So I was reading my usual list of blogs today and came across this post. Of course I had to go and see what mine was so off I went. And guess what? I am within my average weight! I can't believe it. I still weigh more than I did before I had the boys but at least I have been able to lose a little these last few months. Now if I could just keep going. The only real thing I have been doing is watching how large my portions are. Nothing else. In fact, I haven't even been able to make it to the gym since the boy's schedule changed in January. You would think losing a little weight would motivate me to get myself back in there. Just so, so busy and the last thing on my mind at the end of the day is exercise. I know, I know, excuses. But at the moment my sanity is worth having a few extra pounds. :)

Today would have been my dad's birthday. I always miss him but his birthday is one of those days I am just kind of sad and REALLY miss him. It's so hard for me to believe he's gone at times. I just want to pick up the phone and give him a call. I just tried to keep myself busy today and enjoy time with hubby and the kiddos and even did some cleaning out of the garage. How's that for keeping myself busy?

On a happier note, we have been able to spend a lot of time outside this last week. Yippee! Sunshine is a wonderful thing. Hoping for some more great weather this next week so we can do much of the same! I'll leave you with one of my favorite photos from this week. :)

Three

OMG, all I can say is that age 3 is WAY harder than age 2!

Man it's been a while!

Wow, it has been WAY too long. Been busy with the kiddos and life. No other excuse. Not been on the computer much, which was actually a goal. But I once again miss my blogging friends! Must update soon! I had this great post in my head while putting the boys to bed tonight and of course now that I sit down to write it I can't even remember what it was about. Ugh! Must do this during the day when I am not so sleepy! Hope all is well out there in bloggy world!

We finally have had some warm weather! We have been able to get outside several days this last week. Yippee!

So for the 3rd round over at GDS I decided to try something I had never done before. Stretching my abilities to see what would happen. I think it came out pretty cool but know I could have done a few things better had I left it over night and went back to it. Lesson learned! I was just excited to be done. :)

Another year older

I had a great birthday for the most part. The boys picked Wednesday as the day to be little terrors but other than that the day was nice. M was out of town so that was the one other thing I would change but he did send me a beautiful flower arrangement. I also got two others, which really shocked me. One from my in-laws and one from a good friend. I felt so blessed and loved. I am such a lucky gal!

Strangely enough, all last year I kept saying I was 38. Only I wasn't. I was only 37. So I get to be 38 for another year! I find that kind of amusing for some reason. Strange sense of humor I guess.

Well, I didn't make the team over at GDS. That's okay. It was fun, I got some cool digi kits and the gals are very talented so I learned a lot. The more I have thought about it the last few days the more I think it's for the best. I have really been trying to be on the computer less and that would require more time on it. So for now it was what was meant to be. :) This was my final submission for the contest though. I could not decide on what to do with the title for anything. So I finally just went with this. Will change it for when I print it but for the contest I couldn't use any outside kits.

GDS Challenge

Well, I am going to go out on a limb here and say this. Praying I am not jinxing it. I decided to compete in the Go Digital Scrapbooking Supreme Team challenge these last 4 weeks. I have done this several other times but never made it past the 3rd round. This time I made it to the finals. I submitted my final layout last night and we find out who will be the lucky 12 on the team for the next 4 months tomorrow night. I pray I did not just jinx my chances.

There are some extremely talented gals in this contest. I can say for sure who a few of the people are going to be. We are down to 28 people and they pick 12. Even if I don't make it I at least made it to the final round this time. So I am happy. And we had some great kits to play with along the way. Here is my submission for the first week:

Credits: Kit by Tricia Curtis called Sew Chic, font is Cursif and Nueva Std

Speed Scrapping

I did my first ever speed scrap last week. I think this is the way to scrapbook! One hour and seven prompts. I think the prompts were the best part for me. It really helped just narrow things down very quickly and make me get it done. Very, very cool. Will be participating in these for sure again.

Credits: Background paper is from Sew Chic by Tricia Curtis, Fonts are Pristina and Trajan Pro, Elements are from Explore by Katie Pertiet

Snowy, snowy day!

It snowed all day long. I think it is still snowing. I love the snow. And I love even more that we got to go and play half the day at a friend's house. The boys were wiped out and I enjoyed getting to know a gal that lives in our neighborhood. Very nice day. Just praying the boys have school tomorrow because I have an appointment I don't want to have to reschedule for the 3rd time. Yikes!

So this was the view out our back yard tonight just before dinner.

Testing, one, two, three.

Did it really have to take that long?

It's late and I am tired. I just spent almost an hour and 45 minutes on the phone trying to get my card reader to work on my computer only to find they have to send me a new one. Now I am thankful they are sending me a new one but did it really need to take almost 2 hours to discover this????????

So I haven't been able to download photos since last Wednesday and I am a wee but frustrated with the computer needless to say. Sigh.

On the up side, got to go to dinner with some friends and it was nice. Hey, at least I got home early enough to spend the nearly 2 hours attempting to fix my computer.

Not sure I can wait however long it will be before the new part arrives...may have to go and get a card reader I can plug into my USB port tomorrow. Oh wait, I think I can download them on my laptop! Hmm, must try that tomorrow instead. It's late and I am tired...off to bed for me!

I can't believe it!

OMG!!! With just 3 minutes to spare I finished and ordered my 2009 and 2010 calendar. Yep, you did read that correctly. My 2009 book! I finished that puppy in just 2 days. I am in shock. I am so excited I don't know if I am going to be able to get to sleep. I had a free 8 x 8 book from Shutterfly and of course it had to be finished today. So I got this wacky idea in my head I would make my 2009 book because I had picked out and uploaded my favorite photos for a calendar that I didn't get to finsihed last week so I was going to get this one done no matter what. I actually ordered my 2009 book and haven't had time to upload and order my 2008 book! I am finally getting the hang of things again. Woo-hoo!

I did it!

I am so freaking excited I can hardly stand it. I just finished our 2008 book! Yes, I know, I am a year behind but I finished it. Well, almost. I still have to go back and proof each page but it is all there. Yippee! I am so very excited. Now I have to get started on 2009...maybe I can actually have that finished before 2011. Ha!

I am feeling a lot better but still don't have much of a voice. Yuck. Very hard when you have two little three year olds running around. I'll survive. But man I wish this would just go away for good. Vertigo is really not fun AT ALL! But at least I have something for the nausea so that hasn't been nearly as bad this time around.

Still so much I need to update here but am tired and heading to bed soon. I was just so excited I had to share it with someone!

Happy New Year!

I did it! I finished adding the photos for my Project 365 blog this evening. If I didn't feel so bad I would spend the next hour looking back over them but I feel terrible again and am heading to bed.

Nearly a three weeks now fighting vertigo and ear stuff. He told me this week if it doesn't clear up I will have to go to the ENT and probably have tubes put in my ears. I thought they only did that for children!

Can't believe it is 2010. So much to talk about and so little time. I'll be back though when I am feeling a bit better and can manage to keep my head from spinning.