Richmond update!

I am in Richmond right now and am happy to report this trip was a success! I found a MDO program for Kale that I love! The teachers are all certified and have tons of experience. It's a nationally accredited preschool and comes highly recommended. And finally...they have an opening for him! He will start after Labor Day and will go 2 days a week.

Additionally, I interviewed for a part-time position teaching adult ESOL students. They offered me the position on the spot. I will start at the end of August. I will work 2 evenings a week. I am so excited to have the opportunity to stay home with the boys but still stay current in my career.

In other news, my flight did get cancelled so I am stuck in Richmond another night. I miss my boys!


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Memorial Day Weekend

We really enjoyed our Memorial Day Weekend. We went swimming on Sunday afternoon. Kale was completely in his element and had a great time.

Kris repeatedly threw Kale up in the air and caught him. Kale jumped off the ledge into Kris' arms and he was even willing to put his face in the water! I was impressed by that. He would make swimming motions by paddling his arms and kicking his feet. I think he will do really well at swimming lessons. We will have to work on running though--he was terrible about running around the pool. It just about scared me to death!

Liam had a good time too...though not as much fun as Kale. 

Wow! Does he ever look like Kale here!

On Monday we went to our favorite park to show Kris the ducks. The ducks weren't too hungry, as there must have been a ton of people there feeding them. After many attempts, we finally found some that would take our bread. 

Liam hung out in the stroller and chewed on his toes while we fed the ducks.

These pictures don't do justice to the ducks, but we found some massive ganders! If you know me, you know I do not care for our feathered friends. They freak me out. The most giant duck came right up to us and probably would've taken the bread from our hands. (I ran away at that point). The duck proceeded to follow us down the sidewalk. Scary!

School's out for Summer!

School is officially done for the year! I am very excited to be out. Next week, I am headed to Virginia for a few days while Kris is home with the boys. 

We plan to enroll Kale in swimming lessons during the first few weeks of June. The movers come to load up our stuff on the 25th of June. They will deliver it to our new place in Virginia on July 2nd. Our plan is to head to Richmond as soon as everything is loaded and do a little sight seeing and getting to know the area. Have I mentioned we are excited about this move???

Liam has started baby food. He loves it (as you can tell by the way he is grabbing my hand)! I have really struggled getting him to eat cereal, but he willingly eats baby food. 

It is a messy process! In other news, Liam has been sleeping through the night! He goes to bed every night around 6:30 or 7:00 and usually makes it until 5 or 6 a.m. We are beginning to feel somewhat alive again!

Liam is also sitting up! He is still wobbly, but he can do it. Time is passing so quickly with him...much faster than it did with Kale. It seems like he is sitting up much earlier than he should be, but then I have to remind myself, he is almost 6 months old. 

Look at those gorgeous blue eyes!

Kale loves to help Kris mow the lawn! Kris is excited about our new place in VA, because it means no more mowing for him...a community lawn service takes care of that for us as part of HOA dues. 

Just a Few More Days...

I have just 1 1/2 days left until I begin my new job...full-time mom. I have to admit, I am more nervous about this job than I have been about any other job I have ever held. This is, by far, the most important job I have ever had. As a matter of fact, I am so nervous about it, I have developed shingles...again! I think that I will enjoy it and I know it is something I will get used to, but I can't help worrying about officially leaving the "working world" for the time being (all stay-at-home moms know it is much easier to work than to stay at home--taking care of babies is hard work!).

The move to Richmond will take place in just 5 short weeks. We are SO excited about this change. Things seem to be coming together. I have an interview next week for a part-time position (2 days a week in the evening) working with adult learners. I have found a great Pre-K program that Kale will attend 2 days a week in the morning. We felt it was key that he attend some type of Pre-K program for the social interaction (he is not the greatest around other kids). I have also been researching Richmond and have found tons of fun activities for us to do this summer.

I haven't taken many picture lately, so I decided to include some quotes I found on pinterest.

I love reading and am always looking for a good book. I particularly love series, but always feel like a little piece of me is missing whenever I get to the end...

Amen!

I know this will probably really be my prayer in the coming days of being home with my boys...

I couldn't help but laugh when I read this! Going to Wal-Mart used to be a chore. Now it is one of my favorite activities!

I love my husband!

Having a 2 1/2 year old can be very, very challenging at times. He is right in the middle of the terrible twos and the tantrums are truly terrible! Some days it feels like he whines and cries nonstop. But some days--oh, he is so sweet. He loves his little brother fiercely! He likes for Liam to go everywhere he goes and actually attempts to carry him around sometimes. (This is difficult considering Liam only weighs 3 lbs less than Kale.) He kisses and hugs on Liam constantly and everything he talks about is "Ni." 

Mother's Day

We had a great Mother's Day. Kris had just gotten in town from Spain, so we got to celebrate all together. 

The boys took me to brunch. Kale and Liam cooperated nicely and didn't throw any major tantrums (that in itself was a great gift!) 

Kale was so happy his daddy was back in town. The morning of Mother's Day, Kale came into our bedroom bright and early. As soon as he saw Kris, he giggled and giggled. 

Liam was very happy considering he was still sick. He started running fever on Saturday night and as of today, Monday, he is still running fever. His rash has cleared up on in some places, but then spread to other places. Right now, it is all over his face. The nights at our house have been rough. He didn't sleep much Saturday and hardly slept at all on Sunday night. I suspect tonight will be a rough night as well. 

The boys bought me beautiful pink roses. They also ordered a new cover for my kindle and a Crockingirls Cookbook for me. Those should both arrive this week. Kris, however, gave me the best gift of all--sleep! I got to sleep in on Sunday until 9:30 a.m., then I took a long nap on Sunday afternoon. This was a great present! 

Mother Son Time

Since Kris has been out of town, the boys and I have gotten plenty of mother/son bonding time. I knew if I was going to make it through the weekend, structure was the name of the game! 

One of the activities we did was make a fort. This is the first time I have done this with Kale and he loved it! I am pretty proud of myself for thinking of this idea, because "boy stuff" doesn't come easily to me. 

Kale loved having his own little space to crawl into with a good book!

We also did some painting. Kale enjoys doing anything crafty. I think his picture was a masterpiece!

We also made strawberry cupcakes. Kale listened surprisingly well and did a nice job helping me bake. 

After nap, we went to the park. There, we went on a walk around the pond, played on the playground equipment, and fed the ducks. There was a momma duck with her babies following her everywhere. It was cute. This pond was pretty large and had probably close to a hundred ducks of all varieties in it. There were even swans. I took a loaf of bread and Kale feed the entire thing to the ducks. If you know me, you know this is big! I am terrified of our "feathered friends." Some of them did get a little too close for comfort. Kale loved it though and laughed and squealed the whole time. 

Finally, we went to Chic-Fil-A for dinner. Kale sat in the booth across from me like a big boy. We played in the play place for a while. Kale did have to throw a fit when we left, so that was quite embarrassing. I was attempting to drag him and Liam and the diaper bag out of the restaurant, while Kale was screaming. 

Too Good to be True

Kris has been gone almost a week. Things have been going very well. I thought we were going to make it through the entire seven days without any drama. Then I woke up this morning. Liam had a rash all over his stomach. I called and made an appointment for him to see the doctor first thing this morning. I was worried it might be chickenpox. As the day went on the rash spread. It turns out he probably has hand foot and mouth disease. It's not really a disease. It's just an illness. I feel so sorry for him. He has a rash everywhere. He has it on his arms, legs, stomach, head, neck, feet, hands, and even between his little fingers. So far we've only run a low-grade temperature. Hopefully he continues to feel pretty good. I am sure kale will get it next.


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Big Boy Bed

Kris and I were planning to convert Kale's bed to a toddler bed soon...however, I had to do it sooner than we anticipated. On Wednesday in the wee hours of the night, Kale learned to crawl out of his crib. Don't ask me why...but he did. I was sleeping in bed and Kris was out of town. I felt this little hand touch me in bed. It just about scared me to death. I literally almost wet my pants. Kale proceeded to get out of his crib several more times throughout the night. Since I was afraid he would break a bone, I decided we couldn't put off converting his crib. 

This is Kale the first night he slept in his toddler bed. The bed is so low, his feet are literally touching the ground. I figured he would fall out of bed, but I don't think he did. We have a railing, but I couldn't figure out how to get it on. I got up to check on him several times during the night and he seemed to do pretty well. One time, about 1 a.m., he was sitting up in bed and greeted me with a loud, very awake, "Hi!" as soon as I opened the door. I told him it was still night, night time and he needed to lay down and go back to sleep. I guess he did because I didn't hear from him again. Luckily, I didn't have a single visit from him that night. The next morning he woke about 6:40 a.m. (that's late for him), and made his way into the bathroom where I was getting ready. He was smiling from ear to ear, so proud of himself for sleeping in his big boy bed. 

Quotes from Pinterest

I finally decided to get on the Pinterest Bus. I am usually a little late on fads...it took me forever to get on Facebook and I am just now starting Pinterest. I don't think I have time to be as committed as some, but who knows, summer's comin'! These are some cute sayings I found. The one above is something I need to post on my fridge. I am such a clean freak. I really have a hard time enjoying anything if my house isn't spotless. I have found with 2 little ones, my house is only spotless on Wednesday (when the housekeeper comes), and then, it only lasts about 5 minutes. 

I hope Kale and Liam are able to do all of these things!

I love this one! Being a mother is such a special thing. I love knowing that I was the very first one to feel my little guys move. No one loves like a momma!

This one is for my dear hubby. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband! I really could not make due without him. He travels alot and sometimes I have borderline panic attacks when I think about what I do if he didn't make it home. I don't think I could go on without him. 

Oh my sweet Liam...is still not sleeping through the night. I can't find it in my heart to let him cry it out either. So I get up...sometimes several times a night. But I try to remember, it won't be like this for long. 

This quote made me think of Richmond. I am so stoked to get out of Amarillo. I cannot wait for the move to Richmond in just 6 short weeks. There is so much to do there.  Virginia Beach is only an hour and a half away. We are 2 1/2 hours from DC and 4 hours from NYC. I predict lots of fun weekend trips! Not to mention, the city of Richmond is full of fun things to see and do. I am looking forward to being home with my sweet boys, too!

I wish that I was crafty and could make this sign for my mom, but since I am not, I thought I would post it instead. I love you, mom!

Things I Hope my Boys Remember...

Mother's Day is right away the corner and I have been thinking about the things I remember most about my mom growing up. It got me thinking about what I hope Kale and Liam remember about me. I hope they remember...

• I let them jump on the bed. I don't understand what the big deal is. Sometimes I am afraid Kale will jump off...and maybe when he gets a little bigger, it could be a problem. But for now, I let him jump!
• Sometimes I let him have juice and sweets before bed. The dentist says you are not supposed to allow your child to have sugar before bed because it sits on his teeth and can cause tooth decay. Sometimes I let him have sugar anyway.
• I hope they know I pick my battles. I know the importance of deciding what's really important. If Kale doesn't want to sit in the chair and eat dinner, I let him sit on the floor. My theory is that he gets to make decisions on the unimportant stuff (like where he eats dinner), while I decide the important stuff (like being kind to your brother).
• I'm okay with stuff getting broken. I know it's bound to happen, so why freak out over it? Over the weekend, Kale ripped a key off my keyboard and a piece of the blind off...he didn't mean to. He's just a little boy. If I would be mad at anyone, it would be myself, for letting it happen. Things will get broken, but they are just things...
• I hope they think I have a sweet spirit. I have been praying about this alot lately, because sometimes this is a hard one for me. I tend to be loud in everything I do. Even in disciplining, I want to have a calm, sweet spirit. 
• I hope they remember that I sing them to sleep. I don't have a good a voice, but Kale knows every night before bed, I sing Twinkle, Twinkle. He even joins in now that he is older. 
• I hope they know that I pray for them every day of their lives. I pray that they are happy, healthy, and safe. I pray they are kind, successful, and dedicated to the Lord. I even pray for their someday spouse. God has given me heaven on earth with my two sweet boys, I am so thankful.
• I hope they remember that I play with them. I don't really know how to play "boy stuff" sometimes, but I fake it until I make it. We play basketball, cars, we knock blocks over, I use sound effects. This is a stretch for me sometimes. I wonder if I am doing it right, but I have discovered there is no right and wrong. They don't care, as long as you are there. 

Things I Remember about my Mom

• The way she smelled--always like coffee.
• Every night before bed, even into my teenage years, she "tucked me in." She would say "I love you, sweet dreams.
• That she picked her battles (probably the number one thing I learned from her). Even as an adult, she is not intrusive. She doesn't give unsolicited advice. She truly understand the value of learning from one's own mistakes. 
• She made major sacrifices for me. My family did okay while I was growing up...but we definitely weren't wealthy. My parents made sure I went to private school and always had my needs met. I remember being young, like 5 or 6 and begging to go to McDonald's. My mom told me no because we didn't have any money. I begged and begged and she took me, but paid with change. I was always taken care of, and then some.
• She made me clean up after myself. This is important. I am now a clean freak as a result.
• She knows how to forgive and forget mistakes. I have made plenty and she still loves me. (and she doesn't bring up the stupid things I have done along the way.)
• She is my mother and my friend. 

Guess Who's 5 Months Old?

If you guessed Liam, you are right! Time flies! My little man is close to sitting up. 

I bought Kale and Liam Big Bro, Little Bro shirts. Kale's mouth is full of fruit snacks in this picture. 

Liam is always going for his toes--his new favorite toy!

I think Liam is also getting ready to get a tooth, due to the excessive slobbering.

In this picture, I think he looks just like Kale.

Funny/Sweet Things Kale has done to Liam recently:

He calls Liam "my buddy" and hugs him. 

Liam was in the bouncer and Kale was loving on him, while I was putting my make-up on. I was enjoying watching this display of affection, thinking how lucky I was to be the mother of two great boys...Liam was smiling at Kale, so his mouth was open. Kale takes his finger and jams the entire thing in Liam's throat. He gagged, of course. I have a feeling kale won't do that once Liam has a few teeth.

Liam was in the bouncer in the kitchen while I was making dinner. He was starting to fuss. Kale would run over to him, wrap his arms around Liam's middle, put his head on Liam's chest and just chatter away to him. Liam would stop crying. Then, Kale would run away. A few seconds later, Liam would start fussing again and  Kale would do the same thing. This process went on at least 20 times. 

Liam was laying on a blanket and Kale wanted to lay next to him and listen to a story. Liam kept reaching out and touching Kale or grabbing his clothing. Kale repeatedly told him, "No, Ni, " or "Stop, Ni." in a whining voice. And so it begins...(Kale calls Liam "Ni" because he can't say Liam. This is his attempt to say "Lee")