Rian's birthday/Christmas

Our computer's messed up again. I pretty much only use it to upload pictures from my camera to Facebook and to update my blog but its still annoying! I don'tlike using the Blogger app.

Rian turned 3 last Saturday, THREE. It is so hard for me to believe, she's my baby. Three seems so old, but she's so different compared to Aiden. She's so independent and can do things he can't (like button her jeans and buckle herself into her carseat.) but at the same time, she's so much more like a baby to me than he was at three. She's still attached to me at the hip, she always wants me to hold her, she rarely sleeps through the night (waking me up for a kiss or trying to come in our bed which usually results in a full-blown fit at 2am- yay.) But they are two totally different little people so I shouldn't compare. She had a fun birthday, of course it was Pinkalicious! Aiden keeps calling her Rianlicious. :)

One morning last week (a few days before her birthday) the kids were outside with Steven, I heard her screaming and he burst through the door, I saw blood. Sooo much blood. She smashed her finger in his jeep door. It looked so gross (still does!) We were unsure what to do and I knew it'd be awhile til we got ahold of somebody at the pediatrician, so we drove there. Steven took her in and the nurse had us go to Urgent Care, which is the next building over. After waiting forever, the doctor said they needed to clean it to see if she needed stitches then do an X-ray to see if it was broken, augh! Thankfully, neither. :) Her nail is totally out and dead, we're waiting for it to fall off. I've always known my first trip there would be with her, our "problem child" in medical terms. She had problems before we were even discharged after her birth, they discovered things that needed to be looked into at her one month well-check, put on sensitive formula, horrible bowel problems, has had some pretty bad owies... And the list goes on. But she is healthy and happy, love that crazy girl!

Aiden is doing so well in school. They're always telling me what a good boy he is, how he always helps clean up and he's so smart! I know he's smart, but the other things?! Why can't he be like that at home? When he's naughty at home, we tell him we're going to tell one of his teachers and he gets so scared! He doesn't want them to know how he is here. My mom always says that means we're doing a good job.

We choose two kids from the Angel Tree this year, it was so awesome. Honestly, I was a little nervous about taking the kids to Toys R Us (we never go there, kid Heaven!) but we talked nonstop about why we were going and who we were shopping for. They did AMAZING. They were so happy to pick things out for kids they'll never meet. It was such a proud moment for me. :)

The day after Rian's birthday we all went to church, Aiden and I have been going a lot lately. Rebecca, Tim, Steven and I dedicated our kids with all of our parents and Steven and Rebecca's grandparents. It was scary to go up on stage but it wasn't so bad, it feels good knowing we have so many people who love and support us. It was pretty special too. :)

Our Christmas morning at home was easy and simple. We're not huge gift givers when it comes to the kids, but they don't mind. I kid you not, all they talk about from 2011's Christmas is that Santa brought them toothbrushes and tooth paste. Rian told me all month long she wanted him to bring her toothpaste. We forgot about stockings and did them last, at the very bottom was their brushes and paste, once again: they got HUGE reactions! Aiden gasped and said, "Oooh my goodness!" Haha. We had a busy day after that, spending it with both of our families. Next year, when my kitchen's done and pretty, I want to have Christmas dinner at our house, so everybody can be together. Speaking of my kitchen, I was tired of not liking any countertops and sooo over the piled up stuff. So Steven put in my new sink, faucet and garbage disposal. I LOVE it!! It's so pretty, I like washing now. :) And going from a disposal that hardly worked and made soo much racket, this new one is so quiet- it's amazing! We just need to make the wood plank top for the island then do the flooring. Excited! (Still.)

One last thing: on Christmas Eve, Steven took Aiden's training wheels off. He did soo awesome! He doesn't have it down perfectly yet but he'll get it quick, just haven't had time to practice. And his first soccer practice is next week! When did my kids get so big?!

Christmas!

Who doesn't love this time of year?! Its the best. :)

I've decorated the house early before but never put the tree up early, this year I let the kids talk me into [wasn't hard] into it, we set it up the Monday before Thanksgiving. I wish Christmas lasted longer! But honestly, I like doing it on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving better. We'll try to stick to that from now on.

The house looks so pretty and smells so good! Its our first Christmas owning the house and with our pretty floors. [Wish my kitchen was finished too!] so it feels a little different this year. Wish the weather matched though, 80s gross.

Our tree is full of mine and Steven's old ornaments, ones we've bought for the kids every year, and now homemade ones. Its covered in love. :) I borrowed one from my Mom, its the same size as ours but a little fuller. And it has acorns attatched! We wrap in with burlap again [probably be awhile til I find something I like better!] and added red berries, pretty. I bought a bunch of pretty jingle bells and we always add candy canes! It has a rustic/country feel to it- perfect since thats what I aim for in my house decorating.

I love our tree!

We started/are starting new traditions this year, I'm ALL about traditions! Creating them with my little family is so fun. A few we already have are: listening to The Chipmunks Christmas while we decorate, lots of Christmas pjs and pictures in front of the tree in pjs. We also take a family picture with Santa every year.

One new tradition is our bedtime stories every night are Christmas books. And we brought home a new friend, our Elf on the Shelf, Jacob! He's not that great of a help yet though. When the kids are older, I'm sure he will be. Its fun setting him out every night and the kids reactions in the morning:

 

 

This year we'll also be buying gifts for kids from the angel tree. I wrote last year about how important it is to us that the kids know how blessed they are. We don't go nuts buying Christmas presents, they get a few small things and something special from Santa. Getting presents isn't what this time of year is about! I know they'll always look forward to the gifts [what kid doesn't?] but I want them to understand that its WAY more than about that, starting at a young age is the best way.

 

Also, on Christmas Eve we'll be baking cookies for Santa. We set them out with milk every year [and a carrots for the reindeer] but I want them to be homemade, something they look forward to every year. The past years they weren't able to help and I didn't want to be doing it alone so this year, we start!

 

Aiden's already asked me to make him a "Christmas lunch" uh oh, I raised the bar too high! Now they expect fun lunches. I'll have to look some stuff up. I got two Christmas cards in the mail yesterday and realized I hadn't even ordered ours yet- oopsie! Got on that and that's checked off of my list.

 

Christmas coming means Rian's about to be three. Waaaah. So not ready. :(

 

 



Halloween. And life.

Halloween was a fun, busy day! We met some friends downtown during the day and did trick-or-treating at some local shops down there. I love it downtown, its so pretty. My dad stopped by to drop of fun flashlights for the kids, we ate a quick dinner then we stopped by my Mom's work so she could see them. Then we came home and picked up Steven and went to his parents' neighborhood to trick-or-treat.

My gnome and flower pot. :)

Their costumes were a HUGE hit, especially Rian's! She got millions of compliements and lots of people wanted to take her picture. Best costumes of the day/night! If I do say so myself. :) We came home and watched "The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" then we were off to bed for Aiden's first day of preschool!

He loved his first day! He didn't want to leave when I went to pick him up. :) Definitely makes me happy [and it easier] that he loves it so much. He woke up Monday with signs of a cold and yesterday he woke up with a bad cough so he had his first sick day- already. He, in his words, was "not so happy." He wanted to be at school oh so badly. He couldn't wait to get there today!

I'm still a little "eh" about the whole thing. Mondays I know all the schools in the district have early out. On Friday, I waited a minute to see if they'd say anything. Of course not. So I had to ask them about it. Turns out, on Mondays he goes in at a complete different time! I would've liked to have gotten some sort of "Welcome" paper or something. Also, Friday he tells me he ate a "bean taco" and Monday he said he had pizza. So I called Tuesday morning and it turns out, they provide lunch for them! Would've been nice to know so I wasn't already feeding him here. Whatever.

Saturday I decided to take the kids downtown to the Festival of Arts. I'd never been but I want to try to start taking them to do more things around town. I wasn't sure what to expect, I invited Steven's mom to come with us.

It was fun! There were a ton of booths set up with a bunch of different crafts. And it was free! The kids loved it, it just stunk because it was sooo dang hot. Its November, the heat needs to go away already! Then we went to lunch and let the kids play for awhile. We had a nice day with Grandma!

We haven't done anything to the house. Nothing. I'm so over living like this. Seriously. I finally told Steven that since he's not doing any of the major stuff, then he better build me my tv stand! I've been wanting a different for soooo long. He started on it on Sunday and Tuesday I painted it and it was in the night.

Honestly, I can't even begin to express how much I love it! It makes our little living room feel so much bigger. I just put one coat of paint on so you can still see all the wood grain and natural wood imperfections, just my style.

Some randomness:

A few weeks ago, I signed Aiden up for a Lowe's Build and Grow craft class. My dad took him. [I love how involved our parents are with the kids, they help us so much and all love being around each other.] Well, while he was waiting for Papa to pick him up, he told me he wanted to spend the night over there. I told him he needed to ask but don't be upset if he can't. He said, "But I already packed my backpack!" I went and looked: jammies and Curious George. :) [He ended up getting what he wanted and they both spent the night.] I signed him up for another one but had to cancel because he has plans. But he's going to the one after that. They gave him a Lowe's apron and everytime he goes to one, he gets a patch to iron on it. Fun!

-He's back to calling me Momma again. So weird. He's been calling me Mommy for about a year!

-Last night at dinner, during his and Rian's little chit chat, he called her Obama. I asked him who that is. He said, "That guy that's on tv with Mitt Romney"- whaaaaat?! Little brains are like sponges!

-He doesn't talk much when I pick him up from school. Gives me the "yes/no" when I ask questions. But for some reason, around dinner time he spills the beans. He tells me alll about what he did. Even days later he'll tell me something random, like they sang a song about a turkey or that the teacher opened a pumpkin so the kids could take the seeds out but he was playing with Play Doh so he didn't get seeds. I wish I could secretly watch him at school, I hope he's a good boy!

-Geoff and Jeanette got him a big fire truck puzzle for his birthday, he did it about four times with Steven and one night he kept bugging Steven to help him. He told him to try it himself, he did it!

 

He does it in record speed now. Its cute watching him, he has a little technique. I think Santa will be bringing him a couple more puzzles!

Happy that Thanksgiving is coming up and we get to see some family! Also, the boys' [Steven's, his Dad's and Aiden's] "Second Annual Guy's Camping Trip" is coming up next weekend. Better find some fun girly stuff to do with my Punky!

Preschool

I'm not sure [but I probably did] if I mentioned back in August, that I registered Aiden for preschool at one of the school districts and he was put on the waiting list. I didn't know how big the waiting list was and the school is free. FREE. I assumed no parent would want to lose their spot, so I had no expectations of him actually getting in.

Well yesterday I got a call, he was next on the list. Omg! They asked if he could start today... okay. I wish I had a few days to prepare myself. Aiden, no preparation needed. But I needed to wrap my mind around it!

I cried twice yesterday but we were so busy I didn't have a whole lot of time to think about it. [Halloween post soon.] This morning we went out to get him a new backpack and he asked every other minute if it was time to go to school. His class is 12:30-3:30. I fought the tears all morning. About twenty minutes before we left, I posted a picture on facebook and it hit me. That's when I really wished Steven was doing this with me. Taking our baby to his first day of school. This is huge!

We got there and I met two of the aids. The teacher wasn't there today. I got to see the classroom, they showed Aiden his cubby, they showed me all of the centers and told me the schedule. But I feel like I have no idea what they really do, ya know? We were just thrown into this thing with a day to prepare. Our friends' son goes to the morning class- they went to open house before school started in August and had a home visit. And time to get used to it! I feel so overwhelmed.

Aiden had no problem with me leaving, none. It almost seemed like he couldn't wait for me to leave!  I had to get out of there before I lost it. I carried Rian to the car and used her hair to hide my ugly cry face.  :(

Oh yeah, we also signed him up for soccer...

He starts in Janary. He's excited. :)

This whole growing up thing is so hard to deal with. As we were driving home from Steven's parents' last night, I thought about how a little over four years we were on that very same street, taking our brand new baby home. How did we get here already?

October!

Not a whole lot's been going on over here. Glad its finally October. We had four really nice days last week but its warm again... at least its not in the triple digits!

Since its a bit cooler, I finally decided to make the kids their teepee. Have you ever checked out prices on those things?! $100-$250. Steven picked up four poles for $10.12, drilled holes at the top and I strung them together, then hot glued an old sheet around. Perfect! Its not the most stable thing in the world but the kids love it and you can't beat that price! Eventually I'll probably get a more durable fabric around it and make it sturdier.

I used a stencil I alread had and made designs around it.

That back board's going to be a real chalkboard soon. And we took down the other one that was to the left. I like that it lets more light into the house and I can see the whole yard from inside, but while I'm outside, I can now see all the junk in the corner. Boo.

But we're slowly getting things cleaned up back there. Its actually the prettiest its ever been. We love being outside! Still have a ton of things I want to be done, patiently waiting. :)

Everything is blooming. I took this last week, since then the bougainvillea in the corner has pretty pink blooms on it and the yellow flowers on the ground have a TON more. Hopefully I can continue with this rare green thumb. :) The grass also looks better than this, I didn't water it for about a week- its nuts how fast it gets green again! I think we should plant winter seed. We spend so much time and energy in the summer trying to keep our grass nice, to only let it die in the winter. I want pretty grass all year long!

We got Aiden a big boy bike a few months ago, the kids fight over it constantly. Friday night Steven called me and said he wanted to get one for Rian.

She was so excited.

They look so big. Well, they are so big. On our first walk with her new bike, I got emotional. I've gone on so many walks around this neighborhood, all through different stages with the kids. Pregnant belly, wearing/pushing a screaming baby at all hours of the day and night, pushing a toddler with a second pregnant belly, pushing a huge double stroller, one kid on a bike the other in the stroller and now two kids on big kid bikes! Oh my. Time, you can slow down anytime you want. Just a litle, please? :\

We carved pumpkins for the first time as a family. The kids had so much fun! Rian refused to put her hand in though haha. I don't blame her!

Aiden drew the face on the right and Steven drew the one on the left.

The kids now know letters A, B, C and D. Aiden totally surprised me by writing A and C all by himself.

So proud of him!

Chores. Alphabet. Detergent. Kitchen Door.

Our computer kind of works but is still being weird- so annoying. I don't like updating from the iPad- it took over an hour to upload the other day! Then I go on the computer and put the pictures where I want them, I didn't like how jumbled my last post was. Anyway...

We started chores for Aiden last week, Rian too but his are more something he has to do. They both love helping out anyway already. I want to make some sort of chart for them. He helps set and clear the table, vacuum, folds his clothes (mosly shorts and pants because they're easiest for him) and clean his room every night (that was already his responsibility) they also help empty the dishwasher- big kids!

The kids now know letters A, B and C. They know ransoms like o and r too. But we're going in order. Today I had them look for the letter A in a bunch of other letters. They did so well!

 Rian easily picked them out, but as you an see, is still learning how to circle, etc. :) I should've put more on her paper, she was helping Aiden because she finished hers so quickly, he wasn't happy about that.

This morning I decided to make my own laundry detergent. Since I don't work I have so much extra time to be trying out things like this. Plus if I can save us money, I'm all for it! I've recently also stopped buying cleaners and am using homemade ones- mainly a vinegar mix. Hard to get used to the smell  instead of my old favorite Mr. Clean, but I'm learning. :) I bought all the supplies and the bucket for less than $16! I'll get tons of detergent out of all of this for less than one thing of Tide- exciting! I've read mixed reviews so my fingers are crossed it works for us.

One thing I already want to change, a few blogs I read said you can use any soap but most said this certain specialty brand I can't remember or Ivory, so I'm getting Ivory next time. It has to sit for 24 hours so I'll be updating soon!

Steven's dad ended up not coming over the other day, that's okay! My beautiful new door came in yesterday, a week earlier than expected!

It came with only primer on it so we're painting it next weekend (white). Can't wait!

Wearing their new Halloween jams! Aiden picked them out. They love them and want to wear them every single night!

So happy its Tuesday- New Girl starts tonight and of course my favorite, Parenthood! Better bring out the tissues.

Crazy. Growing up. Fall.

Things around here have been crazy. Cuh-ray-zie. Our computer is acting up so I'm doing a full update from the iPad- this'll be interesting! Boo to not being able to upload pictures from my camera. Also I don't know how the pictures will upload in the post, I can't attach them in certain areas like I want.

The kids have been in two modes lately: fighting and crying horribly or getting along so well that they're going nuts together and being naughty. Honestly, I feel so drained!

Rian's 3rd birthday is in exactly three months, how's this possible? Today we were in the car and she asked me if I could turn the music up louder, my heart melted then sank. She's so grown up: potty trained, sleeping in a twin bed, forward-facing... nothing "baby" about her. They were looking at books in Aiden's room [a moment of peace] and I heard him telling her to watch him. She said, "Stop! I'm looking at what's on sale." Haha! Mini Me.

Last night I was looking at pictures from when Aiden was 13 months old [which was exactly 3 years ago yesterday] it's crazy to think at that time I thought he was SO big. If only I'd known!

Steven's dad came over last weekend as promised, instead of working on the floor, they removed and covered the old phone landline faceplate and installed a light switch, since the old one was on the wall that we knocked down. Now that we have a working light switch again, we bought a new ceiling light fixture for when you first walk into the kitchen from the garage. He's coming back over tomorrow and they're going to work on patching up the area where we knocked the wall down. Then I have to repaint a small area. Eventually it'll look like a home again. :)

We decorated for Fall this week, the kids think its so fun! That's one of the best thing about them getting older, the holidays get better and better. Steven surprised me with my favorite creamer! I didn't think it'd be out until sometime next month- ahhh so good. I have to talk myself out of drinking more than one cup of coffee every morning. :) I had gotten new living room curtains a few months back, I love them but I was thinking how they won't look good with the Christmas tree against them so I got some new ones yesterday- using tablecloths! Perfect. Cheaper and they're wider so they work even better.

Happy first day of Fall!