crazy busy

Life has been crazy busy and it is just going to get crazier.
Lance and I are about to start new chapters of our lives, he is over-the-moon excited, I am terrified.
We are both starting school.
Next week Lance is starting preschool. I am so excited for him and he is super excited, every morning he wants to go out with the kids to ride the school bus. I have been explaining to him that he isn't going to ride the school bus, but he is still going to school, in which he exclaims, "ye-haw!" I hope that he will enjoy preschool and that school will help him develop his extremely limited vocabulary and become more verbal, having two non-verbal children is HARD and at times frustrating.
And I start school as well, graduate school. This week I start my first class, Research Methods and Application, doesn't sound that exciting, but it is a required class and I might as well get it over with so then I can take Emerging Infectious Diseases and Applied Genetics. I am afraid though, I just don't know if this brain of mine works in a student-learning way anymore, it feels pretty fried from lack of sleep through the years. I also worry about finding the time to work on school work and everything else in our busy schedule. I know that worrying isn't going to do any good, so I am trying not to think about it, but there are still butterflies in my stomach every time I think about class, fortunately it is only once a week, I can handle once a week.

tag sale

yesterday the price gun for the store finally arrived in the mail and this morning lance had a little too much fun with it
our house looks like it is ready for a tag sale
the drawers, fridge, and tupperware are all priced

as well as the trashcan

his favorite blanket is quite expensive

he was quite proud of himself for pricing himself as well as lily

so he had to add more price stickers to each of them

it's my birthday and i will cry if i want to

So today is my birthday, I am now 31.
Part of me knows that 31 isn't old, but I feel old, Heck, I just got use to the idea, wait, more like accepted the idea that I was 30 and now I am definitely 30-something. I remember in high school, being 30 seemed old, not like senior citizen old, but established with the 2.5 kids and a nice house and a tight group of friends with kids the same age, someone settled. I am not where I thought I would be at 31, I feel more like a 25 year old, trying to get it together. If I feel like this at 31, I don't want to think about how I am going to feel at 40. It is funny when you are young, you can't wait to be 13, a teenager, 16, able to drive a car, 18, an adult, etc and then the upper twenties come and you don't want to get any older, and at some point you want to start subtracting years and not adding to them. I guess it is just one of those situations where "you always want what you can't have." So I will try and embrace 31 and accept that I am now a 30-something and enjoy my young 30s because before I know it I will be 35, heck 40 and that is really old. just kidding, i think, jeff is 36 and he doesn't seem too old.

ugly baby

I think Lily is pretty darn cute, though my opinion is skewed since I am her momma, but last night after dinner, I had one ugly baby on my hands,.

I had a moment of thoughtlessness and gave her some ketchup to dip her turkey burger bites in, what was I thinking? I know what she was thinking, ketchup make a great volumizing hair product, it gives lift and great hold.


She was so scary looking, even Lance couldn't bear to lay eyes on her:

She had a bath immediately after dinner and I learned that Lily is too young for condiments, but she does have potential in hair, she got those bottom curls down, she just needs to work on the controlling the top.

Lily's first year

Happy Birthday Lily!

I can't believe a whole year has gone by. My baby has grown and changed so much in the last year. It makes me a little sad to look at the pictures of her as a tiny little newborn, I miss that little baby, she grew up way too fast. I do enjoy her now so much, she dances, walks everywhere, thinks her big brother is the coolest, and loves to cuddle up with her blanket and momma.

Lily's year in pictures:

meeting big brother for the first time- a little more than 12 hours old

2 days old-my sweet baby girl

4 days old

1 weeks old

3 weeks old

September- 1 month old

1 month old

October

November

December

January- our first road trip, she was quite a trooper

February

March

April

May

June

July

August- figured out walking super fast

testing, testing, 1,2, 3

Lily's birthday is next week and we have been trying to decide what to get her for her birthday. I am at a loss, I don't know anything about little girl toys, I know trucks, trains, and cars. I don't want to buy anything that she won't play with, but I do want to have some toys that are hers and not just hand-me-downs from Lance. It is hard finding toys the kids like that don't drive me crazy with annoying lights, sounds, and the constant need to change the batteries. There are so many different brands and half of the stuff out there is just junk. So this toy dilemma reminds me of the discovery of ebeanstalk, a website that selects good, baby toys and has real families test them out. We have been lucky enough to try out the natural skwish toy from Manhattan Toy. The Manhattan Toy company makes great developmental toys, we have quite a few things from them and both kids have loved their toys.

So for the last week or so we have been playing with the natural skwish. I almost bought the colored skwish a few months ago for Lily, but we had to leave the store quickly and I never got around to going back to purchase it. The natural version is pretty cool, it is definitely a "green" baby toy, the wood is from renewable wood and it has a nice natural finish that is non-toxic, so safe for little mouths and teeth. This is one toy that you can feel good about buying, not only is it a toy that doesn't have a large impact on the environment, but Manhattan toys are sold as most locally owned stores which help small business and keep tax dollars in the community, benefiting your local economy. I really like this toy. The beads in the middle slide along the dowels creating a sound that is not at all annoying thus teaching babies cause and effect, a different, kind of rattle. Lily enjoyed trying to figure it out, pulling the bands to change the shape a bit, and shaking it. Like all the Manhattan Toys I have experienced, it is a very high quality toy that will survive being passed on from one sibling to the next. It doesn't require batteries, doesn't make annoying music or sounds, it isn't plastic, and from a design standpoint, it looks pretty darn cool so it gets high marks in my book. I would definitely purchase this as a baby shower gift for friends because it is different and and unique. I wish I would have bought this for her months ago, it would be great for the car, we are enjoying it now and better late then never, right?

photo fun

Donna at spuddy buddy tagged me for this interesting post concept so I decided to be daring and try it.
I went to my first photo folder and selected the 10th photo and there it is. Oh so very exciting, note sarcasm. It was taken Friday, July 30 by Lance, he is quite the budding photographer, if you leave a camera laying around he will grab it and start taking pictures. The day before we had gone down to the NC Zoo and I was most likely uploading my pictures from the day before on to the camera thus having the camera in reach of Lance who then began snapping pictures. The feet in the bottom of the picture are his and mine. We were sitting on the sofa watching the Today show so it must have been early in the morning, before 8, since when we turn off the TV at 8 and get ready for the day. I also see a plaid knee, which would be Jeff. Lily doesn't seem to have any body parts represented, but her tunnel is front and center. I think this was the morning that Lily slept in really late thus explaining why she is not in the picture. This was also the last Friday morning that Jeff was home with us because he had just gotten the occupancy permit for the new shop location the day before and now has a business to run and no time to hang out at home. When I first grabbed the picture I didn't think there would be much of a story behind it, especially a random one of our living room on a Friday morning.

on the hottest day of the year

i wanted to be crafty so i made Christmas ornaments while the kids napped, don't ask me why
i decided on Christmas ornaments of all things on the hottest day this summer
there are so many projects i want to complete, i just need the time, maybe when lance starts preschool i can carve out more time to create
maybe

last week

Last week was jam packed. Naps were done in the car or skipped, eating out was done daily (we had 3 picnics!), and lily is walking everywhere! Here's what happened:

monday-pictures and the lake
First thing Monday morning we had Lily's picture taken since she will be 1 very soon, it was quite the ordeal. It was at this moment when she decided she was done with crawling and walking was how she was going to go places and walk all over the studio she did. I even tried to get a picture of both kids, but neither one would sit, it was crazy, fortunately we did get some cute pictures. Afterwards we headed out to the state park to enjoy a picnic and swimming at the lake. It was nice because there were not many people there and it is shallow so Lance has a HUGE area to play in.

(Lily showing off her walking skills)

(me and my little buddy)

(lance enjoying the floatable snake in the lake)

(lance in the lifeguard chair)

(I let lance in lily's float and he LOVED it, he walked and kicked around everywhere, and Lily really enjoyed being held and not set down so it was a win-win for everyone, though i hate this picture because i look like a goof)


tuesday- cleaning, hair, and snowflex
Jeff had a friend and his wife who are a sponsored snowboard and skier come and visit and try out the new snowflex (artificial snow surface creating a year round ski slope) so much of the day was spent cleaning and getting house looking decent for their stay. I did get a chance to get away and get my hair cut and colored, so I enjoyed a couple hours of kid free quietness, which was what nice. I did though have the kids all day (minus hair time), for dinner (went to Chick-fil-a on family night), bath, and bed alone which was hard especially when you know your husband is out having a good time with friends and you are stuck doing all the work. One day, the tables will be reversed, right?


wednesday- we had a playdate and our anniversary
Wednesday morning we had a playdate and then had lunch with Jeff at the new store. That night Jeff and I went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We ate dinner relatively quickly and were going to go window shopping and run a few errands afterwards, but a bad storm was rolling in right when we finished dinner so we headed home since we knew Lance would be freaking out and my mom who was babysitting would have her had full. So we watched the storm, watched Wipe-Out and toasted sparkling lemonade to 9 years and hopefully many more.

thursday- picnic on the parkway
Why is it that you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway? We got ready for a picnic and an afternoon in the mountains and headed up to the parkway. It was beautiful, though COLD, at the top of one ridge the car thermometer read 61 degrees. Sixty degrees in August, it was COLD and I was not prepared, we were all in short sleeves and shorts so our time at most overlooks was short lived.

(though you can't really tell from the picture, the clouds were blowing up over the ridge and through the trees, very cool looking)

(we had a mini hike to the overlook and since it was so cold I tried to bundle up Lily with her blanket)

(Lance and our picnic lunch)

(the frog who still has a tail, there were tons of frogs and tadpole/frogs in the lake, finding them was kind of like playing where's waldo because at first we only saw 1 or 2 but the more you looked the you could find)

(sharp top mountain, Jeff and I got married right there by the lake 9 years ago)

(the kids and I on the bridge, I had my picture taken here in my wedding dress)

(we had a picnic lunch by the creek, I had Lance's bathing suit with me because I thought it would be hot and he would enjoy playing in the water, down by the creek it was in the 70's, warmer than the ridge, but not quite hot enough for cold water creek playing)

friday- sprinkler, house for amy, and pizza
Though it wasn't hot outside we finally busted out the new sprinkler and tried it out. Lance and his friend had a good time running around, screaming, and spraying each other. After Lance's friend went home we went and had lunch with Jeff, we are thankful the shop is open, though the kids aren't use to him being gone now all the time, so we have been stopping by frequently. The kids and I then headed home, had naps, and then met my sister and mom to look at a house that was for sale that my sister might be interested in buying. The house was dated, need renovations, but had potential, unfortunately her husband didn't like the sound of it and vetoed it without even seeing it, bummer for Am. After looking at the house and running an errand for Jeff it was dinner time and I was starved so I broke my strict dinner schedule and we all went down to the pizza place down the street and enjoyed dinner out, the food was good, the children's behavior, not so much.

saturday- shopping and had picnic dinner
After a busy week we were going to do nothing on Saturday, but the tax-free holiday (on clothes, shoes, school supplies and diapers) called to me so my mom, the kids and I all headed to Target. We loaded up diapers, got some school supplies to donate to needy kids, and some clothes for Lance. The kids and I then did nothing in the afternoon and then had a picnic dinner with Jeff at the park. We headed home got ready for bed and our day trip to Ikea.


sunday- ikea
Yesterday we headed up to NoVa to go to ikea and to take advantage of the tax-free weekend by getting some fall clothes for the kiddos. We met up with friends for lunch and Ikea shopping, it was good to get together with my friend A and her family. We ran into several people we knew up at Ikea, it was weird being 3 hours away, yet seeing friends. We got some shelves for the new store and a chair for my friend (I love shopping for other people when I don't have any money to spend, I feel like I shopped without spending my own money). We then hit up some stores and found some great outfits for Lily. I saw a couple of things for Lance, but the line in some of the stores was so long and the kids were tired and ready to go, so I will have to go back in a month or so when it won't be so crowded. We made it back safely and I am ready to relax.

9 years

jeff and I have been married for 9 years.
that is a LONG time, almost 1/3 of my life
thinking back, a lot has changed
a lot has changed, we have bought our first house,
had two kids,
started a business, lost the business, and now re-opened the business
lost family members
lost touch with old friends and made new friends
we have had good times and bad times
we have been poor and now even poorer
this past year has been a rough one for us, hopefully this next one will be better, though I think that is what I said last year
so we have made it 9 years, here's to many more

new beginnings

The new shop location has an occupancy permit and is ready to go, well almost, but we have enough to get started. Last night we went by and hung up the skateboard decks to see what they looked like on the new rack Jeff built.

Jeff wants the new shop to have a artsy feel to it and the way the decks are arranged, I think he pulled it off. The decks look more like art then skateboard decks that will be destroyed after purchase.


Lance even has a favorite and would be very sad if we sell it too soon.


Lance trying to help with his favorite deck:

So tomorrow the new shop will be open, we still have a long ways to go, but we have a space, have some product and have a start. I am excited to get everything completed and get back to normal.