Wow.. where have I been? That is one of the longer lulls I've had in blogging in a while.
So, what have we been up to? Well, we did go on one fun trip to Hilton Head over Memorial Day weekend (sure, I'll pose the two pictures I took ;)), but mostly we've been consumed with the process of selling our house and building a new one.
Yes! We sold our house! Unlike this time when we listed our house for a few months and it didn't sell, (or get hardly any showings) this time it sold just a week after we listed it and we only had to have two showings! Yeah for not having to clean up after two messy boys for showings very many times!
So our "good luck" and easy house selling process kind of stopped there... not that the process has been horrible, just a little complicated. Let's just say we are still in the process of nailing down our inspection repairs, sorting through the drama of realizing that our back fence was not built on our property line but rather on common area and needs to be moved back to our property line... aka, bye-bye back yard. (oh, and who is overly responsible and orders a survey to be done before they buy a house and what kind of HOA board cares enough to pay to relocate a fence that has been up for 12 years in common area and no one cared or knew?!)
We were also glad to find out just today that our house is in a flood plane (due to the lake behind our house), but the good news is that we just need to get some paper that verifies our house is built high enough... but the mortgage company might need this special paper before they finance our buyers, so if the paper doesn't come soon, our closing might get pushed back (currently scheduled for the end of June).
... Which might sound like a bad situation to have your closing pushed back, but for us that is actually ok news. Remember the beginning of my house story where I said we were building a new one? Yea, that's the fun and exciting part of all this. In our house shopping we had a very limited area we wanted to move and we couldn't agree on a house.. so we ended up building our own! That house however, isn't scheduled to be done until the end of September, hence the being ok with staying in our house longer.
So.. what are we going to do after we've closed on our house and are waiting for our new house to be done? Well, that's still in the works as well, but we're thinking we are going to be living with a family we go to church with. They generously offered and it seemed like an easier, simpler, and more affordable option than trying to rent. We're thankful for their offer.
I have packed two boxes (woo-hoo!), but we're hoping to hit it hard this weekend. This week is also supposed to be the week where we hear that our appraisal came back with flying colors, our buyers are A-ok with the fence situation b/c they love our house so much, we learn that the flood plane paper stuff is no biggie at all, and we know if our closing date stays the same so we can schedule our storage pod for moving day! (how's that for optimism).
We were really excited and ready to move out of our house, but it turns out that the house selling/buying process has been a little more stressful and complicated than imagined... plus it requires Lots of patience as you wait for reports and our realtor talks to their realtor, who talks to their manager, who talks back to the realtor, who communicates with the buyer, then talks back to our realtor... you get it. Communication seems a little inefficient, but that's just the process and how it goes. I'm sure it will all be worth it when we are settled in our new place and loving it. As long as we get there. :)
... oh, I just published this and realized I didn't say where we are moving, small detail. We are excited to stay in Indy! We are moving to Zionsville, which is on the NW side of Indy.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
And then he turned one...
Yes, little Creighton reached one year. We celebrated with some family in the evening. The evening of a day where Creighton didn't feel so great and didn't take an afternoon nap... he was a little grumpy. He didn't care too much about presents or his cake, but by the end of the evening he had gotten a little happier and was socializing with guests.
I was on hostess duty and Chad was on picture duty. He decided to just take videos of the party and no pictures, so I don't have any pictures to post. :) And I can never get my videos to post right... and of course it takes way too much time to figure it out.
So we will instead talk about how much Creighton has changed.
He started crawling just about a week before he turned one, so he's in full crawl mode now and getting rather fast. He's pulling himself up some but definitely no steps taken.
Being able to crawl means being able to play with his brother, much to Beckham's delight. Beck loves when Creighton chases his around the house, watches him play basketball, aids him in making a mess, or accompanies in while in the restroom. His request is usually, "mom, you go out (of the bathroom). Creighton, stay here." Must be a boy thing. Beckham also is starting to like it that someone else is being told no. He suggests that we flip Creighton's fingers when he throws food on the floor or tell him no about various things. On a few occasions he's said he's going to give Creighton a spanking... with no follow through of course. :)
Creighton has started being very interested in doors and loves to open and close them. He will go into a room and close the door and just play for a little bit... by himself or with his brother. But overall he would prefer the company. He's more social than Beck and likes to be around people. It's rather adorable to see Creighton light up in the morning when he sees Beck for the first time. He's a Big fan of his brother. If Creighton is awake, it's now easier to have Beck up too, just to keep Creighton entertained. It's been really fun to see them start to become friends and communicate through laughter. :)
I was on hostess duty and Chad was on picture duty. He decided to just take videos of the party and no pictures, so I don't have any pictures to post. :) And I can never get my videos to post right... and of course it takes way too much time to figure it out.
So we will instead talk about how much Creighton has changed.
He started crawling just about a week before he turned one, so he's in full crawl mode now and getting rather fast. He's pulling himself up some but definitely no steps taken.
Being able to crawl means being able to play with his brother, much to Beckham's delight. Beck loves when Creighton chases his around the house, watches him play basketball, aids him in making a mess, or accompanies in while in the restroom. His request is usually, "mom, you go out (of the bathroom). Creighton, stay here." Must be a boy thing. Beckham also is starting to like it that someone else is being told no. He suggests that we flip Creighton's fingers when he throws food on the floor or tell him no about various things. On a few occasions he's said he's going to give Creighton a spanking... with no follow through of course. :)
Creighton has started being very interested in doors and loves to open and close them. He will go into a room and close the door and just play for a little bit... by himself or with his brother. But overall he would prefer the company. He's more social than Beck and likes to be around people. It's rather adorable to see Creighton light up in the morning when he sees Beck for the first time. He's a Big fan of his brother. If Creighton is awake, it's now easier to have Beck up too, just to keep Creighton entertained. It's been really fun to see them start to become friends and communicate through laughter. :)
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| we dress up to play in the sandbox around here |
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| Beck asked to feed Creighton his lunch the other day. It was rather sweet and Creighton actually ate better for him than he did for me :) |
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
all about Beck
things he's saying:
He recently asked me if I could "shake my bottom like the machine on the snow plow"... which turned out to be waggling it back and forth. The idea came from one of his truck shows and he tried to explain it to me, but I didn't quite understand.
His new thing lately is telling me to "be happy." "Be happy mom." Or "let me see your smile/happy face." Kind of annoying since it's usually when he's being disciplined or I'm just being serious about something, but also a good reminder.
what he's playing:
Work. He likes to pretend that he's a worker (which isn't really a new thing for him). This might mean carrying around a tool box, digging in dirt, putting things in and out of a dump truck, or moving around sticks. Sometimes it's even something that's actual productive, like sweeping up his mess or helping me dust. The other day it meant dumping trash into the trash can, picking it back up out of the trash can (like a crane) and putting it back in his cardboard box... and doing it all again. He even told me to ask him how is day was going and responded, "Great. Works great. I'm working hard." I even got to job shadow him and learn Exactly how he did his hard job. I made the mistake of describing each piece of trash as he pick it up and had to do that several times in a row. :)
Pretend. He's good at talking to himself and playing pretend. The other day he said he was going to return some of his books to the library and they ended up in my boots. That works.
Anything that makes Creighton laugh, which is usually chase or dumping a bunch of toys or knocking over kleenex boxes. Yes, this means the boys have been making a lot of messes lately!
He recently asked me if I could "shake my bottom like the machine on the snow plow"... which turned out to be waggling it back and forth. The idea came from one of his truck shows and he tried to explain it to me, but I didn't quite understand.
His new thing lately is telling me to "be happy." "Be happy mom." Or "let me see your smile/happy face." Kind of annoying since it's usually when he's being disciplined or I'm just being serious about something, but also a good reminder.
This is old, but what he used to say after he pooped in his diaper:
B (crying b/c he knows he's not supposed poop in his diaper): I'm sorry for my poop mom!
Me: You don't have to be sorry for your poop, just go in the potty.
B: I'm sorry mom!
B (throwing his arms around my neck): I forgive you!
What he's been calling people that he's frustrated at: a scaby (as in skae-be) dog. Used in a sentence:
"Stop that you scaby dog"... directed at Creighton when he tried to take Beck's book. As first I thought he made it up and then realized he got it from a pirate story on his leap reader. Still not sure how I feel about it. I'm thinking it's definitely derogatory.
What he says to toys or other inanimate objects he's frustrated at: "you're making me crazy!"
"Hanitizer" which is his word for hand sanitizer. Makes sense to me.
CReighTon. (overly emphasizes the "CR" and the "Ton")... anytime he disapproves of Creighton's actions.
"Hanitizer" which is his word for hand sanitizer. Makes sense to me.
CReighTon. (overly emphasizes the "CR" and the "Ton")... anytime he disapproves of Creighton's actions.
what he's playing:
Work. He likes to pretend that he's a worker (which isn't really a new thing for him). This might mean carrying around a tool box, digging in dirt, putting things in and out of a dump truck, or moving around sticks. Sometimes it's even something that's actual productive, like sweeping up his mess or helping me dust. The other day it meant dumping trash into the trash can, picking it back up out of the trash can (like a crane) and putting it back in his cardboard box... and doing it all again. He even told me to ask him how is day was going and responded, "Great. Works great. I'm working hard." I even got to job shadow him and learn Exactly how he did his hard job. I made the mistake of describing each piece of trash as he pick it up and had to do that several times in a row. :)
Pretend. He's good at talking to himself and playing pretend. The other day he said he was going to return some of his books to the library and they ended up in my boots. That works.
Anything that makes Creighton laugh, which is usually chase or dumping a bunch of toys or knocking over kleenex boxes. Yes, this means the boys have been making a lot of messes lately!
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| the other night we out for a family dinner and looked over to find Beck making a pencil mustache :) |
Monday, April 14, 2014
another vacation
So about a month after we went to AZ (which puts us into the middle of March) we were due for another vacation and traveled to the other side of the country to Miami, FL with Chad's fam.
It's was fun to enjoy the beautiful weather (that we didn't get to relax in as much as we would've liked in AZ... not sure why ;)) and stayed in a place right on the beach. Having a pool and a beach right out your back door was great for the kiddos... and the adults. While the kids napped in the afternoon we could still be outside and didn't feel like we were missing out by needing to be inside close to the kids.
Each day was pretty similar, with some combo of pool/beach in the morning, then lunch, then the adults enjoying more outside time while the kids slept.... with some outdoor games and wave crashing in there. Each of the married kids got a date night out too, which was great. Chad and I went down to south beach and took in the variety of people and unique beach culture that surrounded us.
It really is a different world down there. People riding home from the beach at 8pm on a Monday. Kids walking home from school on the beach path. Every night feels like a weekend since there are so many people out and about. It was kind of refreshing and kind of odd at the same time... like people really live like that?!
It's was fun to enjoy the beautiful weather (that we didn't get to relax in as much as we would've liked in AZ... not sure why ;)) and stayed in a place right on the beach. Having a pool and a beach right out your back door was great for the kiddos... and the adults. While the kids napped in the afternoon we could still be outside and didn't feel like we were missing out by needing to be inside close to the kids.
Each day was pretty similar, with some combo of pool/beach in the morning, then lunch, then the adults enjoying more outside time while the kids slept.... with some outdoor games and wave crashing in there. Each of the married kids got a date night out too, which was great. Chad and I went down to south beach and took in the variety of people and unique beach culture that surrounded us.
It really is a different world down there. People riding home from the beach at 8pm on a Monday. Kids walking home from school on the beach path. Every night feels like a weekend since there are so many people out and about. It was kind of refreshing and kind of odd at the same time... like people really live like that?!
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| Creighton looking his finest for the camera |
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| most of my pics of the boys look something like this... head down and playing in the sand. |
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| it was so nice to have beach chairs with very comfy cushions ready for us at the beach. that little blue building was our home for the week. |
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| they love having the sun in their eyes :) |
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| the "older cousins" |
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| Beckham being a "worker" and fixing the toilet paper roll. He was so concerned about it there was no time to pull up his underwear. :) |
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| view from our balcony |
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Arizona
We took a family trip out to AZ to visit one of our favorite families... the Beer clan. (What is a clan? I think I can call them that since there are 6 of them, with 4 of them being very little!)
It's always great to catch up with friends, especially when it's in a place that's 50 degrees warmer than the place you left! The trip was a good combination of fun, relaxing time at home, play time for the kids, and of course a project tackled by Brandy and I. The project was supposed to be the girls bedroom but instead we went through all the kids clothes and put away winter and got out summer... b/c you know, it's summer-like in some parts of the nation. But it turns out that I love to to through clothes and organize them (big surprise right?!).
So... a little recap of our agenda, just so I can remember all the fun we had... in case the camera didn't capture it.
Thursday night: Arrive and have a late dinner with Adam & Renee after the kids are in bed (yes, this means we were eating dinner at like 11pm our time :)). Adam is the pastor of Seth & Brandy's church and their good friends that we met the last time we went to AZ. Stay up talking and go to bed too late and wake up too early with kids who are still on IN time.
Friday: The hard-working dads work a short day while we stay home with the kiddos. The adults get away for a hike and sushi in the evening while a very kind neighbor watches the kids. Always love to get a hike in while we're out there, which gets harder the more kids you have.
Saturday: Have a b-day party for Annaika at the playground and meet some more of Seth & Brandy's friends. Beck got his greatly anticipated ride in the Ford F-150 and turned out to be a little bit of a bad driver. :) The adults made homemade chicken curry after the kids went to bed in a nice and peaceful kitchen.
Sunday: Church and then lunch at Joe's Farm Grill, one of our favorites out there. The food's great and the setting is farm-ish with picnic tables outside to dine at.. perfect atmosphere for kids. The adults got some time away again and went out for tacos at night.
Monday: Pretty low-key day. B and I started our clothes project and Chad relaxed before his flight home. Took the kids on a bike ride along the canal to get frozen yogurt.
Tuesday: Another day at home with the kids and Adam (their church's worship leader) came over for dinner... a Tuesday tradition they have.
Wednesday: Women's bible study in the morning at church, then a trip to Ikea... my first time! I was quite overdue and it was a good thing I had to pack and travel with what I bought, or I would've walked out with a cart-full. B took some pics of the boys in the late afternoon for their 1-ish and 3-ish year pics and the kids played at the playground afterwards.
Thursday: Took the kids to the Chandler airport for lunch at Hangar Cafe. The airport has a bunch of small private planes that you can see take-off and land while you eat. A stop at a candy shop on the way home where all the kids got to spend $1 on whatever they wanted officially made us "fun moms." :) After the babies were in bed for the night, Seth took care of the other 4 kiddos while B and I went out for dinner at Postinos, my favorite place to eat there and our tradition when I come.
Friday morning: Fly home with the boys! Sad to leave but ready to come home and see Chad again. To repeat the flight to AZ, Beck slept a couple hours and Creighton stayed awake the whole time. :) But he really was a good little guy and made friends with the people around him... no crying, just a little fussy here and there.
.... and small side note: this trip took place the middle of February. I'm behind and it's work's fault. :)
It's always great to catch up with friends, especially when it's in a place that's 50 degrees warmer than the place you left! The trip was a good combination of fun, relaxing time at home, play time for the kids, and of course a project tackled by Brandy and I. The project was supposed to be the girls bedroom but instead we went through all the kids clothes and put away winter and got out summer... b/c you know, it's summer-like in some parts of the nation. But it turns out that I love to to through clothes and organize them (big surprise right?!).
So... a little recap of our agenda, just so I can remember all the fun we had... in case the camera didn't capture it.
Thursday night: Arrive and have a late dinner with Adam & Renee after the kids are in bed (yes, this means we were eating dinner at like 11pm our time :)). Adam is the pastor of Seth & Brandy's church and their good friends that we met the last time we went to AZ. Stay up talking and go to bed too late and wake up too early with kids who are still on IN time.
Friday: The hard-working dads work a short day while we stay home with the kiddos. The adults get away for a hike and sushi in the evening while a very kind neighbor watches the kids. Always love to get a hike in while we're out there, which gets harder the more kids you have.
Saturday: Have a b-day party for Annaika at the playground and meet some more of Seth & Brandy's friends. Beck got his greatly anticipated ride in the Ford F-150 and turned out to be a little bit of a bad driver. :) The adults made homemade chicken curry after the kids went to bed in a nice and peaceful kitchen.
Sunday: Church and then lunch at Joe's Farm Grill, one of our favorites out there. The food's great and the setting is farm-ish with picnic tables outside to dine at.. perfect atmosphere for kids. The adults got some time away again and went out for tacos at night.
Monday: Pretty low-key day. B and I started our clothes project and Chad relaxed before his flight home. Took the kids on a bike ride along the canal to get frozen yogurt.
Tuesday: Another day at home with the kids and Adam (their church's worship leader) came over for dinner... a Tuesday tradition they have.
Wednesday: Women's bible study in the morning at church, then a trip to Ikea... my first time! I was quite overdue and it was a good thing I had to pack and travel with what I bought, or I would've walked out with a cart-full. B took some pics of the boys in the late afternoon for their 1-ish and 3-ish year pics and the kids played at the playground afterwards.
Thursday: Took the kids to the Chandler airport for lunch at Hangar Cafe. The airport has a bunch of small private planes that you can see take-off and land while you eat. A stop at a candy shop on the way home where all the kids got to spend $1 on whatever they wanted officially made us "fun moms." :) After the babies were in bed for the night, Seth took care of the other 4 kiddos while B and I went out for dinner at Postinos, my favorite place to eat there and our tradition when I come.
Friday morning: Fly home with the boys! Sad to leave but ready to come home and see Chad again. To repeat the flight to AZ, Beck slept a couple hours and Creighton stayed awake the whole time. :) But he really was a good little guy and made friends with the people around him... no crying, just a little fussy here and there.
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| adults out on our hike... I believe the only adult only picture that was taken :) |
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| the babies bonding over their bottles |
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| ha! Creighton had weird beady eyes in this pic and somehow when I tried to edit with red eye he ended up with dark circles around his eyes. Made me lol... literally. |
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| Annaika mastering the F150... I think G's a little sad it's not her turn... |
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| Beck loving the truck, despite his poor driving skills... fast forward 15 years and this could be the picture of him leaving on a date. oh no. |
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| Norah is definitely a little worried. |
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| Dinner at the kids table. |
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| Warning: mischievous kids. |
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| I believe this would be a picture of what happens when the adults are trying to enjoy their food and the babies get whatever keeps them happy. Seeley with a mouthful of burger & fries and Creighton munching on a hot dog bun. Yum. |
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| Bike ride to fro-yo! |
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| Ah... playing in the sun. Despite the warm sunny day I was somehow still too lazy to go outside to take this pic... hence the window glare. |
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| Tramp time. |
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| And trying to get one pic of all the kids before we left. This is the "best one." Hence the others that follow... |
.... and small side note: this trip took place the middle of February. I'm behind and it's work's fault. :)
Friday, March 14, 2014
11 months
Can't believe that I'm starting to plan a 1 yr. b-day party for this little guy. And while it can seem sad that they grow so fast and you hardly remember what it was like to have a tiny baby, I love to see him get older and be able to interact with him more and more.
Creighton James has become more mobile in the last month, and while he doesn't crawl, he does what I call "the worm." Which is something like pushing up with his arms and then pushing himself forward while wiggling. The other day it became "the fish" (think of doing a superman with arms down at your side). Quite cute.
He also started clapping with delight - mostly to songs, but spontaneously as well. Of course he's getting more teeth, because that's what babies do. And he started sitting up by himself.. haha, ok, he's been able to sit for a while. He pushes himself up from laying down to sitting up.
Oh, and he's starting the ever fun stage of loving to throw things on the floor... food, toys... yea!
He's a delight. Truly. A delight.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
back to work
So... if you read this post you might have caught the part about how I felt like I had time to share this year... either in a work sense or helping others sense.
It turns out that's going to be in a work sense. I am going back to work! Actually, I already started. This week. Just part time, 2 days a week with a little more from home and some Saturday's during busy season (like the time of year right now).
Busy season? Does that mean you are doing taxes again? Yes, I am! I am going back to work at KSM where I worked before doing exactly what I did before. My new desk is two desks away from my old desk and I'm working with all the same nice people. Although when I left I thought I wouldn't do tax work anymore, some time off has helped me see that maybe it's a better fit than I thought it was.
It wasn't something I sought out, they approached me about working part-time again... and when asked, it turned out that I was excited about the thought of it and wanted to. Last fall I thought about trying to work part-time during busy season this year, but things weren't falling into place and I wasn't going to try extra hard to make it work, so I decided not to. Ever since I made that decision, going back to work was still in the back of my mind. I'm thankful that by waiting and not forcing it, an opportunity came in God's timing.
Some questions you might be asking yourself (or maybe just ones I've been answering for myself!)...
Don't you like being a stay-at-home mom? Didn't you quit work for a reason? Yes, I do love being a stay-at-home mom and spending time with the boys. It was a little hard for me to make the decision to work again because it's hard to not feel selfish, but I've decided that I want to work for a reason and I will still have lots of days at home with the boys.
Isn't it going to make you busy and maybe more stressed? Yes, for sure it is going to make me more busy, but that's kind of the point. I want to be a little more busy. I am more productive when my schedule is a little fuller than it is currently. I like really busy days so that I enjoy the low-key days more. I'm hoping that it won't add too much stress. I'm going to try to be smarter about planning simple meals on the days I work, as the get-home-from-work-cook-a-meal time of day is the worst part about it all for me.
Don't you like the time to do what you want to do when you're not working? Before I quit working last year I had a picture in my head of who I would be when I stopped working. In some ways it's true... I have done some projects I wanted to, have more time to clean and keep up with the house and time to play in the kitchen, time to sit around and enjoy the boys. But there is this other side of me I thought would change more... but it hasn't really. The side that pictured doing something new and amazing with my time or being creative super-mom or something. Not that those things can't happen, but they didn't really for me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think I made being at home something that it wasn't completely, so I'm ok with going back to work.
And since I already started, I can report that I had a good first day, it was great to see and chat with everyone, and my brain is a little rusty. :)
It turns out that's going to be in a work sense. I am going back to work! Actually, I already started. This week. Just part time, 2 days a week with a little more from home and some Saturday's during busy season (like the time of year right now).
Busy season? Does that mean you are doing taxes again? Yes, I am! I am going back to work at KSM where I worked before doing exactly what I did before. My new desk is two desks away from my old desk and I'm working with all the same nice people. Although when I left I thought I wouldn't do tax work anymore, some time off has helped me see that maybe it's a better fit than I thought it was.
It wasn't something I sought out, they approached me about working part-time again... and when asked, it turned out that I was excited about the thought of it and wanted to. Last fall I thought about trying to work part-time during busy season this year, but things weren't falling into place and I wasn't going to try extra hard to make it work, so I decided not to. Ever since I made that decision, going back to work was still in the back of my mind. I'm thankful that by waiting and not forcing it, an opportunity came in God's timing.
Some questions you might be asking yourself (or maybe just ones I've been answering for myself!)...
Don't you like being a stay-at-home mom? Didn't you quit work for a reason? Yes, I do love being a stay-at-home mom and spending time with the boys. It was a little hard for me to make the decision to work again because it's hard to not feel selfish, but I've decided that I want to work for a reason and I will still have lots of days at home with the boys.
Isn't it going to make you busy and maybe more stressed? Yes, for sure it is going to make me more busy, but that's kind of the point. I want to be a little more busy. I am more productive when my schedule is a little fuller than it is currently. I like really busy days so that I enjoy the low-key days more. I'm hoping that it won't add too much stress. I'm going to try to be smarter about planning simple meals on the days I work, as the get-home-from-work-cook-a-meal time of day is the worst part about it all for me.
Don't you like the time to do what you want to do when you're not working? Before I quit working last year I had a picture in my head of who I would be when I stopped working. In some ways it's true... I have done some projects I wanted to, have more time to clean and keep up with the house and time to play in the kitchen, time to sit around and enjoy the boys. But there is this other side of me I thought would change more... but it hasn't really. The side that pictured doing something new and amazing with my time or being creative super-mom or something. Not that those things can't happen, but they didn't really for me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think I made being at home something that it wasn't completely, so I'm ok with going back to work.
And since I already started, I can report that I had a good first day, it was great to see and chat with everyone, and my brain is a little rusty. :)
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